An Adventure of a Lifetime: Work, Grow, Learn, and Immerse Yourself in Beautiful Italia

I have been working with Educo for two years now in their TEFL-PP programs, teaching and touring Italy during the summers. I don't even know where to begin to explain how much I have personally and professionally grown as an individual, a teacher, and a team player. As a half-Italian, half-Peruvian woman living in Canada, I am so grateful for the opportunity to explore one of my ancestral countries and to fully immerse myself in it during the magical summers, but the idea that you are just coming to travel and have fun is a big misconception that I noticed during my two years - especially with teachers who are just starting out. When you sign on to work with Educo, be clear that you are coming to work, grow, and learn for long days of work (usually 9-5PM from Monday to Friday) and that doesn't always look glamourous. So much of the experience depends on the mindset that you come with, where you are personally in your own life, setting your ego aside, and to prioritize the act of serving your community through the work that you are doing.

Setting personal and professional goals for yourself would be my advice to those who are interested in this opportunity. Do you want to become a more confident teacher? Do you want to learn how to work in a team? Do you have some personal adversities as an individual that you want to overcome and you think this experience will teach provide you with those life lessons? Educo gives you all the tools that you need to feel confident going into summer camps with a week-long of intensive training led by a didactic team that has years of experience and, what has become one of my most prized possessions, a manual full of interactive and teaching material. Even outside of Italy - as a drama teacher working in Canada - I find myself going back to the manual and my experiences during the summer for inspiration, with a strong conviction in knowing that if I prepare myself ahead of time with the right materials, I have the confidence to lead any classroom. As someone who has also created lesson plans and manuals for schools, I know how much work went into that book, and I appreciate it wholeheartedly. That is a priceless gift that Educo has gifted me, one I will always be grateful for, and while I have always felt supported by the extremely hard-working, generous, and kind team that are Sophia, Giuseppe, Charlie, Kuba, James and the administration, you need to be the one making that active choice for yourself, and to realize that in this experience, much like in our whole lives, there will always be adversity and obstacles to overcome, that sometimes you won't be working with people that you connect with, that sometimes you'll miss a connection or a train, that there might be miscommunication, or maybe the town that you're in is not what you were dreaming of when you thought you were spending a summer in Italy, and that words (and the way you choose to use them) can make or break a situation and relationship, and that you can only control the way that you conduct yourself in these situations. Through all of this, of course, you have to make sure that you take care of yourself, your well being, and your energy throughout the summer.

I love the work that I do with Educo profoundly. I love the kids that we get to teach. I love seeing them become confident in themselves at the end of a class, a presentation, a game or a song. I love being able to be a little part of their journey through this company. I love meeting new people in different regions and understanding their stories. I love the life-long friendships I made with colleagues and school staff. The work that we do for this company goes beyond "a summer in Italy", you are given the opportunity to touch people's lives, to create an impact in different communities, and to be a vessel of light and safety for those kids who might be scared to learn something new.

As long as you are choosing all of this for yourself and your perspective is one of personal and professional growth, then you will also be investing in yourself through this opportunity and will never regret it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Grazie di cuore, Educo!