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Lena. 76 years old. Born in serino, Naples, Italy. Currently lives in Melrose Park, Illinois

Interviewed Lena at her establishment, Scudiero’s—a deli that once was a bakery and now a Deli run by her sons. Lena was a bit anxious before the interview. She was worried she’d have nothing to say. She was only 6 years old in 1945 and was worried she would not have much to tell. As the interview went on, Lena got more comfortable and more emotional. She mentioned that she had just spoken to her older sister that now lives in Florida about the war. She said they had cried about their memories. As Lena spoke about her memories, her eyes became sad and her mind went to her husband. It was the anniversary of his passing. Lena missed him and began to tear-up. Her tears then directed her back to her memories of living in Italy during WWII. I remember hearing all the background noise in the deli as Lena told her story in a soft-spoken manner. She too spoke in English with a slight Italian and Chicago accent. Yet amongst the customers’ food orders, conversations at the tables, and the periodic interruptions of old cliental wanting to say ‘hi’ to Lena, not a single word was lost—her story came in loudly and clearly as if it needed to be told. I was grateful to have heard it.

Organized with my family in Italy in regards to my stay—will be leaving for Italy on August 3rd. Also continued correspondence with Prof. Portelli in Rome in regards to a possible day for our interview—narrowed down the dates to sometime in October.
Had to prepare and organize logistics in the States before leaving for Europe—set up all my online bills, held my mail in 30 day cycles, paid assessments, secured an internet connection for Europe, secured phone communication while away, etc, etc, etc…

I had been communicating with Carrie S (Sub at OPRFHS) who graciously provided me with resources about WWII and met an Italian woman who had her own experiences of WWII outside of Naples, Italy. Carrie helped organize the interview—It was originally scheduled for the 13th yet cancelled due to a minor injury that Lena S-the interviewee-had suffered. We rescheduled for Wed. July 29th to meet at her Deli, Scudiero’s, in Melrose Park, Il.
Grazie Carrie for your help, interest and support.

The sabbatical logs-7/2015 to 5/2016

7/6/2015

Janina. 85 years old. Born in Poland. Currently living in Norridge, Illinois

Interviewed Janina, a Polish woman who had very detailed memories of WWII. I remember being moved by her facial expressions and her moments of silence as she told her story. She would sometimes get very serious and the lines around her eyes and lip would change from an upward direction to a downward direction and then to a straight and firm line. She’d look at me and then up, as if she was thinking, or couldn’t quite remember everything, or maybe she was just struggling to find the correct translation of the word she knew in Polish or in Russian into English. The interview was conducted in English. (I will be translating most of the interview into Italian or I may leave it for my students to translate--a good lesson plan idea). Janina spoke English well yet with a Polish accent that added warmth to her chilling personal WWII stories. She was also humorous and her facial lines would move from a straight line to curves that moved in unison with her laughter. It made me smile. It was humbling hearing her memories come to life again. She wanted to share. She was excited to share her story and would sometimes hesitate and ask, ‘should I say this?’ yet would not wait for the answer—she just continued to tell her story.

Anna C.

Instructor of Italian language and culture at OPRFHS

**Throughout the logs, highlighted and underlined in yellow are links that will lead you to resources about Italy, WW2, and many other miscellaneous topics that may help you utilized the site in a more effective way**

the sabbatical logs

the sabbatical logs

the sabbatical logs

The sabbatical logs-7/2015 to 5/2016

Anna C.

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