Talk with Miss Yee

Consortium for Overseas Student Teaching

(Greece, Fall 2023)

First week in Thessaloniki

Wow! It's crazy to think that I have already been in Greece for almost a week. A couple of things I have learned since being here

Older buildings in Greece use a hot water switch that you have to turn on to have hot water
Nothing is open on Sundays (do your grocery shopping on Saturdays)
Kids are the same anywhere you go
Jet lag is real.
"Real" bagels aren't a thing here, just koulouri (sesame bread rings)
Flights to other places are not only fast but SO cheap

At my new placement Pinewood the American International School of Thessaloniki the kids not only have so many resources but every single one of them speaks at least two languages. The schooling is around the same they use Lucy Calkin's curriculum and Math Expressions. This past week, Kentrell Martin (author of Shelly’s Adventures) came to our school today to talk about his book, which follows a little girl named Shelly all the while teaching kids about American Sign Language.

This upcoming week we have a 4-day school week because our school observes Thanksgiving, no big deal but I am going to Rome, Italy for the 3-day weekend! Have a great week 🫶

(November 18, 2023)

Happy Thanksgiving from Greece

First and foremost, Happy Thanksgiving! It's currently 9:10 pm (or 21:10😉) and 2:12 in Michigan/North Carolina where my family is. I should be packing for my flight tomorrow but I feel a little bittersweet about Thanksgiving. A holiday that reminds us of what we are thankful for, and it's strange because even though my family is spread out, I am really thankful I get this opportunity. Not everyone gets the chance to ever travel let alone study abroad or go to Rome for the holiday weekend. Even though my mom and brother are in the Carolinas, my sister/dad/aunts/uncles/boyfriend are back in Michigan and I am across the world and we are not together I am so thankful that I have the "chance" to miss them.

Anyway, enough of the sappy-ness, this week at my placement all of the students were getting ready for Thanksgiving as we do a Thanksgiving feast where all of the students can bring in food and we take Thursday to eat all together. All of the elementary kids also spent all week writing strips for what they are thankful for so we could make a paper chain out of them for the decorations (Pinewood is one of the only schools that observes the American holiday). I also got invited by a couple of work friends for Friendsgiving, and we had an amazing spread of all sorts of delicious food (homemade might I add, now I didn't come to Greece to cook so I did pick up cookies). I love being here and I am learning so much not only about myself but about "what's out there" in the world.

As always have a great week!🦃

(November 23, 2023)

Rome, Italy! 🇮🇹

Well, now that I have had some time to really process Rome all I can say is WOW. I am so incredibly happy that I got the opportunity to go to fantastic Italy! Now I will preface that I do not recommend doing as much as we (Lexie, another COST student, and I) did because let me tell my body is hurting... But we wanted to make the best of it, 32, 566 steps, 13.22 miles, and 34 flights climbed later and I am very grateful for all of the history we got to see. We were able to see:

The Trevi fountain (If you ever go, go in the morning its early but way less crowded)
Spanish steps (breath-taking and near higher end shops)
Piazza Venezia (We wanted to sit on the steps but it was under construction)
Tour through the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Chapel (This tour was just okay, it was nice however to skip the lines and get into all of the museums via group tour access)
Tour through the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, and tomb of the previous Popes (you could spend 5 days in the Vatican Museum and still not see everything. The Sistine Chapel is HOT but so beautiful, I just wish we could've taken pictures of it. The Basilica wasn't originally on my list but it was probably my favorite thing we saw, it was so breathtaking that I didn't even really take pictures of everything because I just wanted to take it all in)
Pantheon (It felt surreal to just be standing in front of it)

More about Rome!

We ate at:

Lunch after our travel day at Molino (the pizza is to die for)
Dinner at RomAntica (the fettuccine with mushrooms!)
Breakfast at L'Antico
Pit stop at Cafe Roma
Lunch at Taverna Lino (Four cheese pizza!)
Gelato at Giolitti’s (a must!)
Drinks in the Piazza Della Rotonda
Dinner at La Locanda Del Tempio

We traveled by:

On the airport train to Termini
Subway to Cipro
Subway to Spagna

We shopped at:

Shops near the Trevi fountain

Pandora
Limoné for lemon candy

Overall Rome was one of the greatest trips I have ever taken, and I just cannot believe how incredibly lucky I am to live in Greece and be so excited about Italy! But now that I am home, I am excited to get back into the swing of things, I only have a couple more weeks left with Lexie here and I want to see what we experience next!

Have a great week <3

(November 28, 2023)

Happy December! ❄️

I have now finished half of my student teaching placement here in Greece. It is crazy because I feel like I also just got here but have also been here for a long time?

This week at school the students have been preparing an “Extreme Weather” presentation with research that they have worked on over the past week or so, and they started presenting those this week, the presentations turned out really great.

The whole school had a school-wide advisory to learn more about the human body via different books, physical demonstrations from some of the other school's staff, and virtual reality simulation via the new Oculus (https://www.3dorganon.com/) it was amazing to see the kids loved it!

As December has begun so have spirit days, this past Friday was Christmas Jumper Day (Christmas sweater!) But I have realized that Greece does not get too cold because it has been 60-68 degrees this week, and everyone is wearing puffer jackets, hats, and gloves… I am getting funny looks wearing my T-shirts.

I ate a ton this week, trying a real bougatsa (a custard pie), fried cheese, different bruschetta, and having an apartment pizza/movie night. I also got dinner with my on-site coordinator, my mentor teacher, and Lexie at Nautilika (which is a traditional Greek restaurant) I got to try so many great dishes, I definitely will be going back.

Back at home my sister's dance studio, Karen's School of Dance, had their annual showing of the Nutcracker. This is the first Nutcracker I haven't been at (or been in!) Feels weird but happy to hear that they all performed beautifully!

This week our school is going on a field trip and Lexie only has one week left so we are going to be eating everything that we can think of!

Have a great week! <3

(December 4, 2023)

Last Week with Lexie:/

This past week was our (Lexie and my) world tour of different good food and experiences. Between getting our absolute favorite of battered feta cheese with honey (no sesame! I am allergic)

This week at school we had a couple of events

The students got to go to the theatre to watch a live-action play about a story about a giant (the performance was in Greek, so I did not understand it but it was cool)
In STEAM my students are working with ScratchLink to control Lego robots and eventually they will play soccer together
It is also still Spirit Week December and this past Friday was a crazy hair day

Thessaloniki Food Tour Favs with Lexie and Darian

Mon: Familigano for pasta! The Estia for dessert

Tues: After school, we stopped at Newspaper (Bruchetta) and then we got dinner at Nautliaki (traditional Greek tapas dishes, dolmas and potatoes!) and the Estia for dessert

Wed: Kaferonio Alos Tropos and the Estia for dessert

Thurs: Oύζο στον πίνακα (Ouzo on the Table) for battered cheese and great meat platters...the Estia for dessert

Fri: Join for yogurt bowls and Familigano (again for pasta), we tried the Hoppy Pub (it is right downstairs from Lexie's apartment), Newspaper again, and Choureal for dessert (the Estia was closed), and then Snob

Sat: Estia for coffee and Oyiros for gyros

Sun: Estia for coffee, Oyiros for gyros, Oύζο στον πίνακα (again for battered cheese and a meat platter), Newspaper for bruschetta, and the Estia for creme brulee

Overall we stuffed our faces full of our favorites and I seriously think we live at the Estia as we also get coffee every morning there before school! The next thing up is Budapest this weekend! Have a great week🫶

(December 12, 2023)

I Got Hurt Again...

My week started off really well with a lot of fun things happening at school and a lot of fun things to look forward to. But of course in typical every other year fashion I just had to sprain my foot again...I'll get more into it later.

First things first, my students this week got to witness a presentation put on by Dimitris Antoniou about his life being in a wheelchair and on road safety. It was an amazingly well-done presentation and the kids were receptive and had many amazing questions for him. My students are wrapping up their passion projects and will be testing their F1 cars in the wind tunnel very soon. The grade 5 students decided a couple of weeks ago to have a charity soccer game on Rainbow Day where the grade 5 kids held a bake sale with an option for donation and also a soccer game between the 4th graders (blue) and the 5th graders (purple). It was such a fun event and even though the 5th graders beat the 4th graders it was a great event for an even greater cause!

As for myself, it was my first week without an "eating" buddy and I tried a whole bunch of new restaurants. Big Barn for Greek "fried" chicken, Kapamaru Pasta for of course pasta with mushrooms, To Elliniko for kebabs and potatoes, and Noodle Bar for sushi! The teachers had parent/teacher conferences on Wednesday and I was not required to go, I tried to visit Halkidiki but I did not do my research and I took the bus and ended up in Halkidiki but not anywhere I wanted to be. I decided to come back to Aristotle Square to get some last-minute things for school and make my Secret Santa gift (to combat consumerism we decided to hand-make the gifts). I had to run back to the craft store on Thursday and it wasn't open therefore to pass the time I ran to the pharmacy. Now I am not sure if I was just not paying close attention but I stepped off the curb wrong and caught my shoe causing me to completely trip over my shoes and I knew immediately that I had re-sprained my foot... After ordering a boot I was good it is more annoying if anything.

This is now my last week of student teaching which is SO wild to me, but who knows we may see me back in Greece sometime soon... But my family comes in a week and I am extremely excited to see them! As always have a great week! <3

(December 17, 2023)

Budapest, Hungary 🇭🇺

This was my first weekend "alone" in Greece and it was also the weekend between when Lexie left and my family came, so I figured since the price was right to go to Budapest! Unfortunately, I did sprain my ankle the day before departing, and as Nick would say, "bootapest" but I still made the best of it.

On Friday, I got there and came to realize that most things close at 10 in Hungary and it was too dark that I just stayed in. On Saturday I was everywhere, I started my day at Matthias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion and got breakfast at the "Starbucks Castle". It wasn't ideal but I wanted to get over to the "Pest" side of Budapest and because of my foot I had to order a taxi. I went over to Vajdahunyad Castle, Hero's Square, and a Christmas Bazaar was going on and I was able to get a potato pancake while listening to Christmas music and watch all of the figure skaters on the ice. I decided not to go to the thermal baths and decided to go through museums, I enjoyed the Museum of Exhibitions and learned all about Francoise Gilot. After I taxied over to the Budapest Ferris wheel to ride on the Ferris wheel before going to St. Peter's Basilica and Vorosmarty Square, which also had a Christmas market going on (I tried mulled wine!). I also went over to the Hungarian Opera House where I would have loved to watch a show but the next show wasn't for another 4-5 hours and I had so much more I wanted to see! I taxied over to the Great Market Hall Christmas market and it was breathtaking how beautiful it was! They had everything you could think of there, from Greek food to goose liver? (I was going to buy some but I couldn't justify 20 euros especially if I didn't like it)

Later I took the tram to the Parliament building and got to see how beautiful it was before walking over to the Shoes of the Danube River, "a memorial and a monument to the Hungarian Jews who, in the winter of 1944-1945, were shot on the banks of the Danube River by the members of the Arrow Cross Party" (Yadvashem.org) The sun started to go down and I wanted to rest up my foot before my boat ride later, I made my way back to the Buda side and got a Lango (like a pizza) and Chimney Cake from the market by the Matthias Church. Later in the evening, I went back over to the Pest side and went on the Danube river cruise that serves unlimited prosecco and focaccia bread, it was a great end to a fun day!

Spending time and traveling to another country alone was something I never imagined myself doing but I am so happy that I did! It's now the last week before my family comes and I am so excited to see them and show them all around! Have a great week!

(Decemeber 19, 2023)

Ms. Zoi (the other 4th grade teacher) and Ms. Lania (2nd grade teacher) at the Christmas Luncheon

Last Week at Pinewood🥹

A very long overdue post about my last week at Pinewood, I just felt like everything went by in a blur and I feel like I am just now having the time to reflect on everything and get down my thoughts. My mentor Vicky had some family emergencies to deal with so I never really got to say goodbye to her (so Vicky if you are reading this I miss you a ton!) With it also being the last week before holiday break my students were busy all week with their holiday show rehearsals and other festive events. The teachers and I did Secret Santa with the students and the only difference between a normal Secret Santa is that all the gifts had to be homemade, I got one of the funniest joke books I have ever received! The students did a wonderful job in their talent by singing a couple of different songs and a few of them showcased their wonderful artistic talents from singing to piano playing, and glee club!

On the last day before the holiday break, we had breakfast in the morning similar to the feast we had at Thanksgiving where all the students brought in a dish or treat to pass we had wonderful food and a good time eating together. Two of my students brought in a vasilopita, a vasilopita "the traditional Greek cake or bread served at midnight on New Year’s Eve to celebrate the life of Saint Basil. After baking the Vasilopita cake, a coin is inserted through the base. When cut, the person who finds the coin is said to be granted luck for the rest of the year!" (Taken from MyGreekDish.com) The kids were very excited to see who got the lucky coin, unfortunately, I did not get it not with my class or with my family a couple of days later, I'll try again next year. After school is over, the school puts on a school luncheon with a white elephant gift exchange. It was nice to meet and talk with people, I was able to put a lot of names to faces, eat again amazing food, and I even came home with a lot of chocolate candy!

Altogether I had such a wonderful time at Pinewood, I do not think I can even put into words how impactful this experience was for me. To all of the teachers I met, connected with, collaborated with, and simply came across at Pinewood it was such an honor to get to work alongside everyone and I can't wait to hopefully see everyone again soon. Lastly, the biggest thing I learned from this experience is how much I love working with children. I have and may never again work with such a diverse group of people and the fact that these students didn't even realize I was learning so much from them, to anyone who is ever on the fence about going abroad or trying something scary, do it, do it, do it! The experience is priceless <3

(December 26, 2023)