Keeping Up with Parco!
10-23 February
These past two weeks have been quite eventful!
We started the first week as usual, with our office day and the Speaking Club. This time, we chose Valentine’s Day as our theme. We discussed how it is celebrated in different countries and shared our personal experiences.
Later in the week, we visited the beautiful town of Camerana to help set up Interfaces, an architecture exhibition of students from Politecnico di Torino where they presented their projects. Before the exhibition, we worked on cleaning and organizing the space to make it ready for the event.
Friday was an especially busy day. We began with our Italian class, where, in the spirit of San Valentino, we did themed activities and learned related vocabulary—it was a lot of fun! Then, we said goodbye to Hanna, one of our fellow volunteers.
In the afternoon, we traveled to Bergolo for our weekly closing with volunteers from two other organizations we collaborate with. We expressed our feelings through mandala drawings, and, as always, the town’s famous peacock was there, wandering around and mesmerizing us.
That evening, we also celebrated a friend’s birthday in Bergolo. Of course, there was plenty of dancing, we started with American pop but soon moved on to traditional dances. Everyone taught a dance from their own country, making it a unique blend of birthday, Valentine’s Day, and cultural celebration all in one!
On Saturday, we returned to Camerana to finalize preparations for the exhibition, helping to arrange the area and hang the pictures. Then, on Sunday, February 16th, the exhibition took place. The students from Torino joined us and presented their maquettes, filling the space with creativity and energy. Afterward, we climbed to the top of the tower in Camerana and, of course, visited the town’s church.
The following week was more slow-paced. We kicked things off with another Speaking Club, this time diving into conspiracy theories. We watched some videos of the theories and had lively discussions. On Tuesday, we joined the locals for an aperitivo as volunteers, enjoying the chance to connect with the community.
By Friday, it was time for our weekly closing again, where we reflected on what brings success and played a card game as well.
As for the weekend, Natalia and I were busy preparing for our On-Arrival Training in Rome, which we were set to attend on Monday. Stay tuned for the next report to hear all about our adventures in Rome and Venice!
-Ebru
