The Italian Summer of Dreams with Educo

My summer with Educo was an AMAZING EXPERIENCE. I was blown away by the beauty of Italy, the kindness and welcome of the Italian families and the support Educo gave me and my fellow tutors throughout.

Pros
1. Getting a week of orientation - There was so much information in this week and we got a Manual packed with so much information that at first it was overwhelming but when I tell you you could sell it for 100s of euro I mean it! It has everything - including the terms and conditions if you get confused throughout the weeks what is expected of you. We were also broken up into smaller groups during orientation with specific mentors that have supported us the whole way through (Shoutout to James for always being the other end of the phone for me, especially in my first week of camp when I was suffering from a case of self doubt! #safewithJames - if you get it you are the elite!). I will admit orientation was not my finest hour of teaching but the support from the team helped me to overcome whatever wall I was hitting and I am so glad they were there or I would have gone home! (For reference I am a secondary school teacher as my permanent job)

2. The host families ... need I say more on this one! My families and I are already planning trips throughout this year to meet each other in Ireland, where I can hopefully repay their kindness towards me! I got to go camping in Venice, Lake Garda, a private boat tour of Venice and my last host mother organised for all the tutors to get a private tour of Carpignano Sesia - this included opening the museums and special buildings for us that only get opened once a year! But please don't expect to have mad things happen every day, just sitting with the families for dinner for me was more of a beautiful experience than anything!

3. The safety of Italy! This one is fairly self explanatory!

4. You don't need to have Italian - in fact its nearly better in some cases to have none (or pretend you have none) as some of the students love to test the boundaries of speaking English and Italian in the camps! Of course in the host families it would only be good manners to know a bit at least and put in the effort but that is your own personal choice.

5. Friends for life and new experiences. Because I was 23 when covid started I missed out on a lot of travelling so this was my first time properly away from home without my family with me. I was petrified but I had no need to be! Educo is an amazing place to meet new people from all walks of life and parts of the world and make life long friends, as I have this year!

6. Travel is sorted for you from one camp to another - PLEASE NOTE this does not include the weeks you have been put on hold or your first and final travel to San Remo / home but this was and is made very clear to all tutors before you arrive and during orientation - just be sure to listen and write down all the important info so you don't get confused.

7. Sophia. The woman is a superwoman!! I am incredibly grateful for her quick, kind, helpful responses. She has always been quick to respond with information not just with me but everyone. Even when I was back in Ireland she was able to answer questions and give me support when I needed it (and mind you I always forget about times so the messages came late and she still answered which I was very grateful for.) Sophia is a lady through and through and I am very grateful for her support - it eased a lot of nerves throughout this process.

Now for me, the list of positives goes on and on and on but there is only one negative but really this can be seen as a positive too - it just depends on your attitude.

Being on hold. Although the concept is difficult to get your mind around it simply means that you will not have a camp for one week, now it was made very clear to us at orientation (again write everything down as I did if you are prone to forget like I am) that you can book time off and be on a voluntary hold or it could happen that Educo doesn't have a camp for you. It is NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. I would just have a budget put aside for this week just in case before I even set foot in Italy. I wasn't put on hold through my six weeks but my week 7 was suppose to be but I went home early due to family reasons. Don't look at this negatively - look at this as an opportunity to travel and enjoy the beautiful country. Again it was said at orientation that Educo would TRY to get you in one of their two Educo apartments but that was NOT guaranteed and you would get 50 euro to put towards food but what you do in that week is up to you Educo can't be responsible for that (makes sense though because if it was the case we'd all be charging unlimited Spritz and room service on them!!) So like I said, have that budget. You could also use this time to go back to a host family. Yes, the concept does seem like you're inviting yourself over but the host families tend to be really chill about it and you could offer to teach a lesson or two of English to the children or even contact a camp director - thats what both the camp director in Montichiairi and Carpignano Sesia offered !! You will never be left on the streets you just have to use common sense and look for solutions not reasons to get annoyed.

Like I said it is down to who you are a person! Do you like children? Do you like to work and be part of a team? Do you have a positive mindset and can you go with the flow? If all these are yes then sign on up but if the answer is on then walk away because the days are intense and long, the teams need to be strong and the children pay a lot of money to attend the camps so they deserve their money's worth but the rewards are so worth it not just for you but for the memories the children get after the camp!

I am so grateful to Educo and the amazing Sophia, Charlie, Kuba, James and Daniella for all the kindness and support they have shown me through my time and I cannot wait until next year to be back with them!