We were informed on Friday that there would be a school assembly on Tuesday, and Toby and I should put on a dimostrazione (dog and pony show) to display what we’ve been doing with the kids and what they’ve learned.
Aiyaiyai!
So the goal with the deaf kids was to teach them a foreign language (ASL). What to do? What to do? With the piccoli I had them do a version of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, to show how they had learned colors and animal names,
while the 3rd, 4th and 5th grades carried on a conversation in ASL. It went OK 😬. 

And then Toby on guitar and Antonio on harmonica led la quarta and La quinta in a rousing rendition of This Land is Your Land
All the deaf kids got “diplomas”. Diplomas are a thing. Because Italians love gold stamps and timbrare (embossed seals) and other official looking notaryish stuff on fancy paper. Complete the times tables? You’ve earned a diploma. Name all the regions and their capitals? Here’s your diploma.

The staff was thankful for our work and so sweet.
They gave us a beautiful figurine of Pulcinella, the hundreds year old character that represents Naples in all its contradictions. When I first pulled it out of the box I thought it was some kind of religious icon, and frankly was relieved to be holding Pulcinella instead.
Tomorrow, we come just to say goodbye to the kids and the staff, and finally to Napoli.
So a very rewarding experience comes to an end, well done both of you! What next?
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We’ve taken a breather on the Amalfi coast. Headed back to Naples, then Pieve tomorrow. That’s literally what’s next. Existentially speaking….unclear. But I’d really like to go back next year.
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