Metsovo

On Friday, I had the opportunity to visit a middle school and an elementary school in Metsovo.  Another Fulbright grantee, Stephanie, was asked by the U.S. Embassy in Athens to give some presentations to students learning English in schools in the area of Ioannina.  She asked if I would like to participate and I jumped at the opportunity.  Stephanie's typical Fulbright assignment is teaching English at an elementary school in Athens.  Stephanie is from Massachusetts and recently graduated from Seton Hall University.

Metsovo is a mountain village about a half hour from Ioannina.  The village has an elementary school and a middle/high school.  It is built on the slopes of Mount Pindos at an altitude of 1200 meters. 

Chryssa, an administrator for the Ioannina Schools, was our host and driver.  She oversees curricular issues related to environmental studies and gives presentations to students in the Ioannina area on this topic.

We began our day at the Metsovo Middle/High School.  Stephanie gave a presentation on recycling to a group of middle school students.  Chryssa informed us that her husband designed the school.  It was beautiful.  After finishing at the middle school, Stephanie gave a presentation on Thanksgiving to four classes of students at the elementary school.  At both schools I became the unofficial photographer.

The most memorable moment for me came when Stephanie presented on Thanksgiving to the elementary students.  She showed a slide of typical foods related to the holiday.  As she named them in English, the students spontaneously and as a group responded with the correlate in Greek.  For most of the students, Stephanie was the first native speaker of English that they had ever encountered.  When it came time for Q & A, some students were not confident to ask questions in English so they would ask in Greek and Chryssa would translate into English.  However, some of the students displayed excellent English skills although they sometimes mixed up wh-questions (e.g., using "What" when they meant "Who").  Some of the questions that they asked Stephanie included: What is your favorite color?  What is your favorite animal?  Do you have a pet?  Do you know Kobe Bryant?  Do you like Michael Jackson?  Do you like Lady Gaga?  Are you famous?  Are you married?  Do you have a brother or sister?  Where do you live in America?  What is your favorite Greek dish?

The photos below feature Stephanie presenting at the Metsovo Middle/High School (the screen didn't work very well so Stephanie showed the slides on the wall).  You will notice above the slide a depiction of Jesus.  Religious pictures and symbols were common in school classrooms and offices.  Chryssa is featured in the second photo.  The third photo features middle school students.  Stephanie and I are standing in front of the school library in the fourth photo and in front of the middle/high school in the fifth photo.