School lunch day

I spent almost the entire morning at R.I.S. First, I had my Italian class with Charlotte. Then I had my usual after-class, 40 minute conversation with Miss Ivana. It's not as though I don't enjoy it. She is an interesting and insightful person to speak with. Today, we discussed school politics and she gave me an entire history of R.I.S. Tuition for the 2010-2011 academic year was recently released and the parents are staging a revolt of sorts. Culturally, it's fascinating to observe the dynamics at play.

Then, I walked across the street to Piazza Ungheria for a manicure and a cappuccino. After which, I returned to R.I.S. for a school lunch. As a class representative (I'm the assistant class representative, but I guess that counts), I was invited to join the children in the lunchroom and to sample the lunch served. Taking the school lunch is an option my kids declined, so I have the privilege of packing them a "home lunch" each day. Still, I thought it would be interesting to see what the school lunch program was all about. Needless to say, this is Italy, and they take their food seriously -- even if it's catering for several hundred school children. There was much discussion at the start of the year about the new catering company that was hired -- a big improvement over last year, we were told -- as well as the menus. Parents were invited to tastings, and to give feedback, etc. Yet, the choice for our kids did not really hinge on the freshness, the quality or the tastiness of the food. No, deciding not to sign up for the school lunch program was purely a function of who Charlotte wanted to sit with at lunchtime. Italian law prohibits children eating a school lunch to be seated with children who bring lunch from home. So, there you have it. In the Middle School, social dynamics trump food, every time! In fact, I learned that only seven of the "impossible to please" kids from the entire Middle School signed up for the school lunch program. And, once Charlotte decided she wanted to bring lunch from home, the decision was made for Avery and Olivia too.

Today, I was joined by only two other moms and someone from the administration. Relatively speaking, I can't say the lunch was super tasty, but it wasn't bad. There were three courses. Can you imagine a three-course lunch being served in the States? A sign of their seriousness! The administrator told us she speaks with the vendor every day after sampling the food in order to discuss its taste. First, as always, the primi is a pasta dish -- today it was a risotto. One of the moms went on and on about how good the risotto was, particularly given how difficult it is to make, and how it was served at exactly the right temperature, and how does the school keep it warm when it comes from an outside vendor, etc. Next, for secondi, we had a meat in a tomato based sauce -- I think was chicken; it was in very small pieces -- along with zucchini. Lastly, a bowl of whole fruit was set on the table. The administrator explained that the kids are not served the fruit during lunchtime, but rather, a box of fruit is brought to the floors in the afternoon and children can choose a piece of fruit and eat it in their classrooms. All of the fruit is organic, of course. The best part was, that neither the parents nor the administrator (not surprisingly) spoke English well, so I had to use my Italian. Brava!

At the conclusion of this lunch period, the room was cleaned up and the next group of students, which included Olivia's class, was allowed to enter. While not formally part of the invitation, I decided to stay and sit with Olivia during her lunch...and to see first hand what really goes on. First of all, since it gets VERY loud in the lunchroom, the children are not allowed to speak for the first five minutes so they can concentrate on eating some food. Apparently, it used to be 15 minutes of no talking, and then 10, and now they are down to five. Even so, the execution was difficult. All of the kids have assigned tables -- the result of the Italian law I described earlier -- but not assigned seats. So, Olivia sits at a table with other children in her class that also bring a lunch from home. It was interesting to see what the other parents packed for their kids. Again, it underscores the seriousness of the meal. From hot tortelloni in thermoses, to sausage (cut in bite size pieces) and cheeses, to pistachios -- I'd have eaten any one of the lunches brought in by Olivia's friends.

Back at home in the afternoon, I have no idea what the official temperature was, but I sat outside on the upstairs terrace soaking in the sunshine in my shorts...successfully wresting away any potential vitamin D deficiency. It was heavenly. Soon enough, the kids were home from school, and it was time for the dinner/driving dash..but I didn't mind one bit.

***PS Dear blog readers,

The blog for Sunday, January 17 was inadvertently posted late but is now available for your reading pleasure!