Fri 11/14/08 Lucca - Photo Day with Carmine's Group

Today we were invited by Carmine to participate in a special activity with his therapy group. Today the group was engaged in a photo assignment around the town of Lucca. Carmine works at the local psychiatric clinic. He has introduced innovative methods to treat his group. These clients have different disabilities, but are able to function on certain social levels. The sessions are always open to the public. In this case "normal" people interact with the patients as equals. It is amazing to observe these people engaging in tasks that require concentration, and discipline. The program starts with photo taking, and later progresses through art assignments in a creative way. At the end of the session we sat with everyone reviewing the photos with comments by Carmine on angles, lighting, expressions, etc. We even shared lunch in the art room. I mean really shared. One of the members of the group pulled out sandwiches and offered them to us. They were traditional Italian paninis. We obliged by giving our (cherished) peanut butter sandwiches, which most had never tasted before (even though we found the peanut butter at the local supermarket). We must say that everyone truly enjoyed the peanut butter paninis we offered, and may have since become converts themselves. We felt lucky to be able to interract with a group of people that many societies shun.