The week of the map! — REGGIO EMILIA LEARNING

The map of the ‘Historic Centre’ of Reggio Emilia has hardly left my hand. The little map you see in the photo has been a marvellous way of connecting with all sorts of people who have given me directions and tips about places to go. From getting lost on the first night to being confident to go for a run around the outer boundary this morning has been no mean feat.

It has been a good week- readjusting ties with home (thank goodness for WhatsAPP and the 12 hour time difference!), noticing lots about what it means to belong & realising more completely what makes New Zealand unique and beautiful. I am very excited about the course starting in two days time.

“Ahhh, Reggio Children!”

One of the main purposes of the map has been apartment hunting. As you know, for the first two weeks I am staying in the NonnAnna B & B.

It has been a treat because as soon as I mention that I am with the Reggio Children Foundation people respond with something like, “Ahh, Reggio Children” and I feel like I belong. Because of this I have had help from two lovely Real Estate Agents, my new hairdresser (and his team), a New Zealander who owns a cafe here who have gone above and beyond to help out. I am learning a lot apartment hunting but I am not quite there yet. As well as that the lovely lady who owns the B & B is a teacher from the Reggio Schools. This week one of her guests has been a young Japanese woman and her family who have just finished a three month block of learning at the Reggio Schools. Tomorrow, another of my PhD colleagues arrives to stay here too, she is the Director of the Reggio International centre in Japan. I am looking forward to meeting a colleague!