Only two more days til Christmas vacation! Im so looking forward to my last day of school tomorrow, you have no idea! I think that we are all feeling this way, when Christmas is just around the corner we all start to get ants in our pants and just want to be done with work or school. And while were all at school or work during those last few days before the 25th no one can keep focus on anything for a long period of time. Our minds simply drift away and all you can think about is how much you want your vacation to start. Then reality hits and you suddenly rememeber that your exams are less than 24 hours away and you havent cracked your books open.
In Italy they dont use letter grades instead they give you a number 1-10. In northern Italy school is a lot harder than it is in the south. Im also at one of the hardest schools in my region. Ive been told that is extremely rare for someone to get a perfect 10. Its basically like someone getting an A++... practicly impossible. I rememeber one of my friend took a math test and got everything right and the teacher would only give her a 9. Weird but true. To pass you must get a 5 or better. If you fail here its kind of a big deal. Getting below a 5 can ruin your class average and you have to study a lot to bring it back up.
Anyways my exams all went really well! Since Im only taking three subjects (english, spanish and gym) I didnt have to study my bum off like I would have to back home. Here my gym final included me doing this fairy-like dance routine on a balance beam. All of us looked rather silly doing the routine and trying are hardest to look poise and graceful.... easier said than done! I got an 8/10 on my dance which my friends say is really good! In Italy an 8/10 is equal to a B+/A- back home, so not bad! For my Spanish final I though I was going to take a written exam with the rest of my class but at the last minute my super nice teacher thought it would be better for my to have a short oral exam. = ) All I had to do was describe the memebers of my American family in Spanish which would have been a snap... about 3 months ago. Ive been noticing that the more Italian I learn the lass Spanish I rememeber. So during my oral exam I keeped mixing up the two languages but my teacher was very understanding and have me a 7/10 which is equal to a B-.
Now I have three English exams- writting, grammer and literature. The writting exam I got a 9+/10 which is about an A+ so I was super happy when I found out my grade!! Then I had my grammer exam which I got back this morning and got a 7/10. It was actually kind of difficult considering the exam was on British grammer, so it was a slight challange. Today I finally had my literature test which I had to talk for what seemed like forever about 5th century to 15th century settlement in England. Now I dont know squat about that so I actually had to study for this exam. I got a 7+/10 which is a solid B. I probably would have gotten a higher score if she hadnt asked me about the two types of ballods becuase I thought there was only one type of ballods = p
Now Im finally done with all my exams! Haaa Zaaa! Odd thing about exams in Italy is that majority of them are done orally. Something Im totally not used to since almost all test are written. Another difference is that there are never an exact date for these exams. The teacher will say to the class that they will be tested for example sometime between Tuesday-Thursday... for me I wasnt actually tested until today (monday) almost a full week later! It was a huge pain in the bum studying every night and not being tested! I definatly like American school systems more than Italian ones!
So basically this last week has been all about school as boring as that is. My host parents got a kick out of watching me studying the same subject for a week and asking me every evening if I had been tested yet. I also finished reading Pride and Prejudice and now have to write two essays on the novel over Christmas break. Ive also been assigned to read A Christmas Carol as well. Lovely.
Apart from school Italy had its first snow fall over this week! I rememeber getting ready for school and looking out my window and seeing what I thought was a layer of frost everywhere. It was really a half inch of snow. = ) So not nearly as much as Boston but Im happy with the white blanket. All the Italians were freaking out that morning. They were all amazed at the snow and thought a half inch was a lot. And they all drive super slow esp since majority of cars dont have 4 wheel drive. This week the bus takes 40 minutes to get to school instead of the usual 20. Ive also had to start layering up since Italian dont like to use heat. Ever. The school has these tiny vents near the window so classrooms are cold, stairscases you can easily see your breath and at night im wearing leggings under my pajama pants. Ive also been wearing two pairs of socks everyday because I didnt bring any Uggs with me in Septemeber. So now I have to wait until Christmas day to wear them since they are all wrapped up. My fall boots caved out the other day so Ive been wearing converse. They are not water proof, snow proof and struggle to keep your toes warm. Oh well Christmas is in a few days so ill just have to suck it up until then.
Yesterday (sunday) I had the most fantastic surprise. My American brother's very good college friends Mark and Andrew were in Milan! So they sent me a facebook message asking me to meet them. They had spent semesters abroad and were going back home soon. Luckily I was able to take a train and hang out with them in Milan for the whole day! It was so amazing to see both of them! My train to Milan was delayed and so were all the other trains in my region due to the very small amount of snow. Oh Italians and snow.... Anways the three of us had a great day, it was the coldest day of the year but we were all having so much fun we hardly noticed. = ) Mark and Andrew had the whole day planned out for us so we did a lot of sightseeing and everything was so magical looking with the snow. The boys were super nice to me, they paid for my metro ticket, lunch and dinner!
The only down side to our day was that every train was delayed some were even cancelled. So I planned to leave Milan around 6pm and arrive home before 7 so I could go out and celebrate one of my friends birthdays. Very sadly the train from Milan to Treviglio (my area) was delayed then delayed again then finally cancled. Whamp whamp whaaaamp. Since it isnt safe for me to travel alone after 9pm I took a train to Brescia where my friend Frederick from Canada was taking a train from Venice. So the two of us met in Brescia (a city an hour away) then took a train to Bergamo (our mini city) which of course was delayed by an hour. We finally made it to Bergamo at midnight where Fredrick's host dad picked us up and drove us home. We arrived in Castel Rozzone around 12:30 am and I dropped into bed and fell asleep in seconds. Overall it was an amazing day in Milan with Mark and Andrew but the whole train situation was an absolute nightmare! I was so glad that I had Mark and Andrew with me in Milan. If I had to figuare out the whole train thing by myself I probably would of had a nervous breakdown since Im a total hyper with that kind of stuff!
Tomorrow is my last day of school before Christmas break = ) And tomorrow night I have an AFS dinner with my advisors, volunteers and with the two other exchange students Michelle and Akiralie and our families. Then I can finally have two weeks of relaxing, sleeping in, eatting yummy Itlian food and hang out with friends = ) A lot of people have asked me if I can go home for Christmas but sadly Im not allowed to with my exchange program. Its going to be really hard to be away from them this year but I have a great host family who will make Christmas extra special. I dont believe my family and I are going anywhere for Christmas, I think its going to be a low key vacation. They havent really given me the details about our vacation so we shall see soon! Ill write more about my first Italian Christmas sometime before the new year. So Until Next Time....
Arriverderci!
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Okay so last week I had some new adventures that I wasnt at all expecting to part take in. My first big expierence happened on Wednesday in Milan on my class trip. I asked my host parents and my school friends what exactly I would be doing on the class trip to Milan. And they all said the same thing, you will find out when you get there. I even tried reading the permission slip about the trip but of course it was in Italian so I couldnt get all the details. Rats.
So Wednesday morning I got so sleep in a little and my mama drove me to the train station to meet my class and teachers. Of course we had left the car outside the night before and there was a frost so we had a rather hard time getting the engine going. So I arrived at the train station late, but got on the train just fine and headed to Milan. Thankfully it was a georgous sunny day unlike majority of the days here! We all walked around the Duomo and had a toured the inside of the church. This time there wasnt a mass going on so more of the church was open than when I came on Sunday. After we explored the gallery next to the Duomo and then walked to this giant castel in the center of Milan. The tours for the castel were really pricey so we just explored the outside on our own for about 10 minutes becuase it was freezing and we were all starving for lunch.
After seeing the castel we took the metro to this new museum. While our teachers were buying our tickets we all quickly went into a cafe to buy pizzas for lunch. The museum was unlike something I had ever been to. It was a museum where you learn without using you eyes, but thru using your ears, hands and nose. Basicaly it was a museum for blind people. Now I wasnt expecting that we would go there, I thought we would go to some "very rich in culture" art gallery or something. This museum was so cool, we started off in a small room where a blind woman talked to us about seeing only darkness, reading braile and how the other senses become stronger when you dont have the sense of sight.
After they showed us how to usewalking canes and brought us into these series of dark rooms. Now when I say dark I mean pitch black, I cant see my hand infront of my face dark. Each room had a theme for example the beach, a classroom, a city, a food market and a forest. We had a blinded guide to take a thru all the room and we would have to figuare out what kind of room we were in by the smell and the sound. We would also feel different object around us. At first I was really scared using the cane and having to walk around the obsticales. All of us were bumping into each other and at first having a difficult time getting around the rooms. So many times Id back myself into a corner and have to idea where anyone was and just wanted to scream "can we turn the lights on please!" By the end we made it to the final room which was a cafe and we even ordered drinks and snacks and payed with real money, we even sat at a tabel and talked. It was a serious taste of walking in someone elses shoes!
Being in that museum and walking thru the dark was an amazing esxpierence. I never really thought what it was like for blind people. It really a drastic change from seeing everything to just darkness. My mom has always told me that I should be thankful that I was born healthy, and she is so very right!
So basiclly I only had school from Thursday-Saurday becuase Monday and Tuesday were holidays and I had the school trip on Wednesday = )
Friday I saw the Christmas Carol in 3D with my friend Ray from Candada on Friday. We were both wicked excited to see the movie but we were sadly disappointed. The movie tickets themselves cost 9 euro so $13.50... I think it was my most expensive movie ticket yet! So we sat down for the movie and were surrounded by little Italian kids and their parents and the movie started off great, with the music playing and you get that Christmas rush... Then the narrorator started speaking in Italian, great. We thought that it would be in English with Italian subtitles but no. So as the movie progressed I noticed it didnt have the same feeling as when I watched the muppet version. This new version was rather... Scary! I did the whole jumping out of my seat, gasping thing for serval parts. Even the ghosts of the past, present and future had this erie feeling. The little 5 year old boy sitting next to me was crying his eyes out! I just didnt get that cheery and happy feeling you get from watching a Christmas movie. Oh well, I guess not everything is what you expected.
Alrighty then on Sunday I finally got to go to Brescia! = ) I had been dying to go to Brescia since Ive been in Italy because all my good friends live in or near the city. So Sunday morning my advisor Chiara picked me, Michelle and the new exchange student Akiralie from Australia up and we drove about an hour to Brescia. It was a bright sunny day but extremly cold!! Luckily I brought my new matching hat, scarf and gloves set so I was prepared. When we got to Brescia there was about 30 exchange students and we all got lunch at this giant cafe. We were all chatting about a mile a minute since we hadnt all seen each other since orientation in Aprica. After lunch we went to this small building where we met some local volunteers who had prepared a surprise for us. Turns out we were all going to dress up in Christmas themed clothes for the holiday Santa Lucia and we were going to be a parade of exchange students and march thru Brescia singing and handing out candy. Kinda a cheesey I know, but when your with your friends you just laugh about it.
So the volunteers were all dressing us and asked all the blonde haired, blue eyed girls to come to the front. Out of 30 only 5 of us matched that description. They wanted to use one of us to march infront and lead the parade being Santa Lucia. Now she gets to wear the big gold crown covered in ivy leaves and has white candels on top of the crown. She also wears a long white dress with a red sash. Bascially they had the five of us try on the crown and see which one of us could pull of the part. The crown fit my head well but it weighed so much it kind of threw off my balance when walking with it. They ended up picking my friend Marianna from Finland who fit the part perfectly with her naturally long light blonde hair. Anyways all the girls who are short dressed up as elves, medium height girls were angels (me) and the tall girls were lumber jacks. Most of the boys played the part of Santa and a couple were lumber jack men. One was even a reindeer = p We even wore these pins with our countries flag on it just in case if a person saw us they would instantly know we were all very foreign.
The parade was fun, me and most of my friends were angels so we had long white dresses with silver sash and silver crown and carried a white candel. We would all randomly stop and have to sing Jingle Bells, Silent Night or other Christmas songs. Only the Aussies and Americans really knew the words so it was it was up to us to lead = p
After the parade we all got coffees and hot chocolates and said out goodbyes. When exchange students say goodbye its sometimes forever. Some kids only stay for a a couple of months and others live really far away and will be going home before you. Sad but true.
Although Brescia was a very fun day! = )
So this week Ive learned that being abroad means expect the unexpected. I never know when I wake up that Ill be thrown a giant curve ball or not. Sometimes I handel these obsticales really well other times.. well its a lesson learned. For example this week my English teacher told me that I needed to give an oral presentation on the book Pride and Prejudice to my 3rd year English class. She gave me about 2 days to prepare. Sadly I was only less than half way threw with the book. It was simply up to me to pull together an accurate, easy to follow and interesting oral presentation which I did ( I got an 8 out of 10 which is equal to an A back home) = ) Another time I threw away my English literature notes from another class and was later asked a lot of questions by the teacher about the notes. I ended up sounding like a total dumb American blond = ( Now that Im abroad and I dont have my mom asking me what I have for homework and seeing me do it, Im realising its only up to me to study really. I guess ill be ready for college! = )
This is my last week of school before Christmas break = ) Tonight my school is having a holiday concert so im going with my family and friends. My host brother will also be preforming with his band so it should be a good night. Tomorrow I have an English and Spanish exams. Ick. Some what prepared for those. Hopefully they will be the only exams so I can finish this week in a stress free note! So until next time....
Arriverderci!
So basiclly I only had school from Thursday-Saurday becuase Monday and Tuesday were holidays and I had the school trip on Wednesday = )
Friday I saw the Christmas Carol in 3D with my friend Ray from Candada on Friday. We were both wicked excited to see the movie but we were sadly disappointed. The movie tickets themselves cost 9 euro so $13.50... I think it was my most expensive movie ticket yet! So we sat down for the movie and were surrounded by little Italian kids and their parents and the movie started off great, with the music playing and you get that Christmas rush... Then the narrorator started speaking in Italian, great. We thought that it would be in English with Italian subtitles but no. So as the movie progressed I noticed it didnt have the same feeling as when I watched the muppet version. This new version was rather... Scary! I did the whole jumping out of my seat, gasping thing for serval parts. Even the ghosts of the past, present and future had this erie feeling. The little 5 year old boy sitting next to me was crying his eyes out! I just didnt get that cheery and happy feeling you get from watching a Christmas movie. Oh well, I guess not everything is what you expected.
Alrighty then on Sunday I finally got to go to Brescia! = ) I had been dying to go to Brescia since Ive been in Italy because all my good friends live in or near the city. So Sunday morning my advisor Chiara picked me, Michelle and the new exchange student Akiralie from Australia up and we drove about an hour to Brescia. It was a bright sunny day but extremly cold!! Luckily I brought my new matching hat, scarf and gloves set so I was prepared. When we got to Brescia there was about 30 exchange students and we all got lunch at this giant cafe. We were all chatting about a mile a minute since we hadnt all seen each other since orientation in Aprica. After lunch we went to this small building where we met some local volunteers who had prepared a surprise for us. Turns out we were all going to dress up in Christmas themed clothes for the holiday Santa Lucia and we were going to be a parade of exchange students and march thru Brescia singing and handing out candy. Kinda a cheesey I know, but when your with your friends you just laugh about it.
So the volunteers were all dressing us and asked all the blonde haired, blue eyed girls to come to the front. Out of 30 only 5 of us matched that description. They wanted to use one of us to march infront and lead the parade being Santa Lucia. Now she gets to wear the big gold crown covered in ivy leaves and has white candels on top of the crown. She also wears a long white dress with a red sash. Bascially they had the five of us try on the crown and see which one of us could pull of the part. The crown fit my head well but it weighed so much it kind of threw off my balance when walking with it. They ended up picking my friend Marianna from Finland who fit the part perfectly with her naturally long light blonde hair. Anyways all the girls who are short dressed up as elves, medium height girls were angels (me) and the tall girls were lumber jacks. Most of the boys played the part of Santa and a couple were lumber jack men. One was even a reindeer = p We even wore these pins with our countries flag on it just in case if a person saw us they would instantly know we were all very foreign.
The parade was fun, me and most of my friends were angels so we had long white dresses with silver sash and silver crown and carried a white candel. We would all randomly stop and have to sing Jingle Bells, Silent Night or other Christmas songs. Only the Aussies and Americans really knew the words so it was it was up to us to lead = p
After the parade we all got coffees and hot chocolates and said out goodbyes. When exchange students say goodbye its sometimes forever. Some kids only stay for a a couple of months and others live really far away and will be going home before you. Sad but true.
Although Brescia was a very fun day! = )
So this week Ive learned that being abroad means expect the unexpected. I never know when I wake up that Ill be thrown a giant curve ball or not. Sometimes I handel these obsticales really well other times.. well its a lesson learned. For example this week my English teacher told me that I needed to give an oral presentation on the book Pride and Prejudice to my 3rd year English class. She gave me about 2 days to prepare. Sadly I was only less than half way threw with the book. It was simply up to me to pull together an accurate, easy to follow and interesting oral presentation which I did ( I got an 8 out of 10 which is equal to an A back home) = ) Another time I threw away my English literature notes from another class and was later asked a lot of questions by the teacher about the notes. I ended up sounding like a total dumb American blond = ( Now that Im abroad and I dont have my mom asking me what I have for homework and seeing me do it, Im realising its only up to me to study really. I guess ill be ready for college! = )
This is my last week of school before Christmas break = ) Tonight my school is having a holiday concert so im going with my family and friends. My host brother will also be preforming with his band so it should be a good night. Tomorrow I have an English and Spanish exams. Ick. Some what prepared for those. Hopefully they will be the only exams so I can finish this week in a stress free note! So until next time....
Arriverderci!
Wow okay so this week a lot of really random things happened! Im just going to start from the beginning and work my way thru!
Allora, (which is Italian for okay/so/now) anyways Tuesday I took a train with my friend Michelle to Milano to meet the new exchange students from New Zeland and Australia who are here for there winter holiday season. They stay here for about 6 weeks, which I think is the shortest amount of time you can do as an AFS exchange student. Anways Michelle and I met our advisor Chiara and got a coffee and window shopped for a little bit then went to the giant Milan train station to meet the new comers. It was the weirdest feeling being back in that train station. Almost 3 months ago I arrived there with the other 60 students, all of us wearing our bright yellow matching t-shirts and huge suitcases. This time there was only 6 new students, they could wear their regualr clothes and had less stuff with them. Only one of them is some what close to me. Her name is Arkiralie and lives in the mountains about an hour away. She seemed really nice, I wish she was going to be a lot closer to me and Michelle and here for a longer time.
After Michelle and I did a little shopping and went to the brand new Abercrombie and Fitch that just opened in Milan. Its the only one in all of Italy, and the prices are three times higher than regular American prices. Total rip off! The least expensive thing I could find was 30 euro so 45 dollars. After we got Mcdonalds so it was a very American like night. Although Michelle and I got a challange from our advisor- to make our way back to the underground metro and then take a line to the gaint train station in Milan, and find a train home. Okay big challange for me becuase I wasnt at all pay attention on how we got there in the first place. And not that many people speak english here, so we had to rely on our crummy Italian. So we found the metro, but got off at the wrong stop. Great. Luckily a very nice metro engineer pointed us into the right direction and told us what stop to get off. So we made it home ay-oh-kay. = )
Wednesday I got back my third year English exam and didnt get the grade I was expecting... my teacher and I thought I was going to pass it with flying colors. I ended up getting a 7.5 out of 10. The kids that arent so great at English got higher scores then me. My teacher explained to me and the class that American English and British English are very different languages esp when it comes to grammer. That exam was so difficult... I later found out that I am at one of the hardest schools in my region. Now they tell me. After I had Italian tutoring with Michelle and met her Candian friend, Ray who is an exchange student for a year as well. Luckily he wasnt French Candian so he cool and normal and it was so good to here a somewhat familar accent. I could also use the words wicked and sick and he wouldnt look at me like I had two heads. = p
Thursday, nothing really to report. Friday I got coffee with Michelle and Ray after Italian tutoring. When I came home my host parents told me I didnt have to go to school the next day since it was a long weekend and Saturday I only have one first year Spanish class. So I was really happy about that. So friday night I went to this disco with some friends. The disco wasnt your typical disco, it was more of a bar/club for people of my American parents ages. Therefore my friends and I esp stuck out. I think I was the youngest person there but my friends always tell me I look 20 so it wasnt a big deal. So we made the most of the night, overall it was a good time with my friends but I dont think ill be going back to that club for another 10, 15, or 20 years.
Saturday- No school! =) A morning of sleeping in very late, watching tv, going online and overall relaxing. I decided to make some brownies since I had a free afternoon. Funny story about the brownies... I mixed up the batter without a problem and pre heated the oven. While pouring the batter into the pan I smelled something odd... Now I dont have the strongest sense of smell, and my lack of sense of smell hasnt really been a problem, until that day. When I went to open the oven smoke poured out... I thought what the heck!? Turns out my mama made pizza dough and put it in a plastic bowl with a huge wool blanket over it so the dough would rise, and she put it inside the oven! Normally its on the counter or something. So I opened the oven and the blanket luckily wasnt on fire but had some black marks. I pulled it out and quickly ran to the outside porch and threw it on the ground. Then I stuck the plastic bowl which wasnt melted, by the window so the dough would rise. The house smelled so bad, I opened some doors and windows and put the brownies in the oven. Lucily no one was home so the icky smell was gone in a short time.
I felt like I was 5 years old and had accidently broken my moms favorite dish or something. Just that embarrassing and awquard feeling you get when you have to tell your parents that you did something bad. When I told my hosts what had happened they both just looked at each other and burst into laughter. They thought it was so funny, Pheew! So the dough rose just fine, and brownies came out amazing so it all ended okay.
Sunday was another relaxing day, I went with my family to a big shopping mall, where they did some Christmas shopping and I window shopped. Later I went out to some local bars with my host brother and some friends. So another good day = )
Monday I took a train with my new friend Ray from Canada to Milano to meet Michelle to hang out in the city for the day. Sadly it was raining and it was wicked crowded in every store but we had a good time. I finally went to the inside of the Duomo and it was so beautiful! I have taken a bunch of quick touristy pictures from the outside but finally had extra time to go inside. We all did some Christmas shopping and explored the area a bit. Normally when we go to Milan were all on a tight schedual and dont really have to time to go into the funky store and look around. So it was overall a very good time. My very cute pink umbrella that I brought over from Boston broke the second I opened it. Rats. So then I had to buy one from a street vendor, after an hour or two that one broke to. Double rats. I ended up having to buy one of those big unbrellas from a store which was the same price as the previous crummy umbrella. Talk about a rip off! We got burger king for dinner and this time we didnt have a problem with the metro and got off at the right stop and all made it home.
Tuesday (Today) I have no school so got yet another morning of sleeping in. When I woke up my mama made me a big cup of hot herbal tea and gave me little tea cakes while she and my papa made home made lasanga. And when i say homemade I mean they made the pasta themselves! It was so yummy! Today we are decorating the house for christmas and putting up our tree = )
Tomorrow I have a field trip to Milano, im not sure exactly what class the field trip is for, why were going and what were going to to exactly...
This Sunday is going to be wicked fun because AFS has organized a trip from all the kids in our region to go to Brescia for this big festival. Im not sure what the festival is about but im just happy to see all my friends that I havent seen since the Aprica orientation. So im excited for this weekend! = ) Ill fill you all in on what exactly my field trip to Milan and about my AFS trip to Brescia! Until next time....
Arriverderci!
Allora, (which is Italian for okay/so/now) anyways Tuesday I took a train with my friend Michelle to Milano to meet the new exchange students from New Zeland and Australia who are here for there winter holiday season. They stay here for about 6 weeks, which I think is the shortest amount of time you can do as an AFS exchange student. Anways Michelle and I met our advisor Chiara and got a coffee and window shopped for a little bit then went to the giant Milan train station to meet the new comers. It was the weirdest feeling being back in that train station. Almost 3 months ago I arrived there with the other 60 students, all of us wearing our bright yellow matching t-shirts and huge suitcases. This time there was only 6 new students, they could wear their regualr clothes and had less stuff with them. Only one of them is some what close to me. Her name is Arkiralie and lives in the mountains about an hour away. She seemed really nice, I wish she was going to be a lot closer to me and Michelle and here for a longer time.
After Michelle and I did a little shopping and went to the brand new Abercrombie and Fitch that just opened in Milan. Its the only one in all of Italy, and the prices are three times higher than regular American prices. Total rip off! The least expensive thing I could find was 30 euro so 45 dollars. After we got Mcdonalds so it was a very American like night. Although Michelle and I got a challange from our advisor- to make our way back to the underground metro and then take a line to the gaint train station in Milan, and find a train home. Okay big challange for me becuase I wasnt at all pay attention on how we got there in the first place. And not that many people speak english here, so we had to rely on our crummy Italian. So we found the metro, but got off at the wrong stop. Great. Luckily a very nice metro engineer pointed us into the right direction and told us what stop to get off. So we made it home ay-oh-kay. = )
Wednesday I got back my third year English exam and didnt get the grade I was expecting... my teacher and I thought I was going to pass it with flying colors. I ended up getting a 7.5 out of 10. The kids that arent so great at English got higher scores then me. My teacher explained to me and the class that American English and British English are very different languages esp when it comes to grammer. That exam was so difficult... I later found out that I am at one of the hardest schools in my region. Now they tell me. After I had Italian tutoring with Michelle and met her Candian friend, Ray who is an exchange student for a year as well. Luckily he wasnt French Candian so he cool and normal and it was so good to here a somewhat familar accent. I could also use the words wicked and sick and he wouldnt look at me like I had two heads. = p
Thursday, nothing really to report. Friday I got coffee with Michelle and Ray after Italian tutoring. When I came home my host parents told me I didnt have to go to school the next day since it was a long weekend and Saturday I only have one first year Spanish class. So I was really happy about that. So friday night I went to this disco with some friends. The disco wasnt your typical disco, it was more of a bar/club for people of my American parents ages. Therefore my friends and I esp stuck out. I think I was the youngest person there but my friends always tell me I look 20 so it wasnt a big deal. So we made the most of the night, overall it was a good time with my friends but I dont think ill be going back to that club for another 10, 15, or 20 years.
Saturday- No school! =) A morning of sleeping in very late, watching tv, going online and overall relaxing. I decided to make some brownies since I had a free afternoon. Funny story about the brownies... I mixed up the batter without a problem and pre heated the oven. While pouring the batter into the pan I smelled something odd... Now I dont have the strongest sense of smell, and my lack of sense of smell hasnt really been a problem, until that day. When I went to open the oven smoke poured out... I thought what the heck!? Turns out my mama made pizza dough and put it in a plastic bowl with a huge wool blanket over it so the dough would rise, and she put it inside the oven! Normally its on the counter or something. So I opened the oven and the blanket luckily wasnt on fire but had some black marks. I pulled it out and quickly ran to the outside porch and threw it on the ground. Then I stuck the plastic bowl which wasnt melted, by the window so the dough would rise. The house smelled so bad, I opened some doors and windows and put the brownies in the oven. Lucily no one was home so the icky smell was gone in a short time.
I felt like I was 5 years old and had accidently broken my moms favorite dish or something. Just that embarrassing and awquard feeling you get when you have to tell your parents that you did something bad. When I told my hosts what had happened they both just looked at each other and burst into laughter. They thought it was so funny, Pheew! So the dough rose just fine, and brownies came out amazing so it all ended okay.
Sunday was another relaxing day, I went with my family to a big shopping mall, where they did some Christmas shopping and I window shopped. Later I went out to some local bars with my host brother and some friends. So another good day = )
Monday I took a train with my new friend Ray from Canada to Milano to meet Michelle to hang out in the city for the day. Sadly it was raining and it was wicked crowded in every store but we had a good time. I finally went to the inside of the Duomo and it was so beautiful! I have taken a bunch of quick touristy pictures from the outside but finally had extra time to go inside. We all did some Christmas shopping and explored the area a bit. Normally when we go to Milan were all on a tight schedual and dont really have to time to go into the funky store and look around. So it was overall a very good time. My very cute pink umbrella that I brought over from Boston broke the second I opened it. Rats. So then I had to buy one from a street vendor, after an hour or two that one broke to. Double rats. I ended up having to buy one of those big unbrellas from a store which was the same price as the previous crummy umbrella. Talk about a rip off! We got burger king for dinner and this time we didnt have a problem with the metro and got off at the right stop and all made it home.
Tuesday (Today) I have no school so got yet another morning of sleeping in. When I woke up my mama made me a big cup of hot herbal tea and gave me little tea cakes while she and my papa made home made lasanga. And when i say homemade I mean they made the pasta themselves! It was so yummy! Today we are decorating the house for christmas and putting up our tree = )
Tomorrow I have a field trip to Milano, im not sure exactly what class the field trip is for, why were going and what were going to to exactly...
This Sunday is going to be wicked fun because AFS has organized a trip from all the kids in our region to go to Brescia for this big festival. Im not sure what the festival is about but im just happy to see all my friends that I havent seen since the Aprica orientation. So im excited for this weekend! = ) Ill fill you all in on what exactly my field trip to Milan and about my AFS trip to Brescia! Until next time....
Arriverderci!
Okay so as most of you know Thanksgiving was last week. Sadly Italy doesnt have Thanksgiving so Wednesday was a totally normal day in Castel Rozzone, Italy. I asked my host mama if I could stay home that day and she said that I was in Italy now, and Italians dont celebrate Thanksgiving so I better hurry up or I would be late for school. =( And of course it was raining outside, and my clothes werent dry yet (they dont use driers here, everything is hung dry so it takes longer to get your laundry back) so I threw on a sweatshirt and pulled my hair in a pony tail and was ready for the day. Wednesday I dont have many classes so I spent the school day mainly in the library youtubing Thanksgiving things like Charlie Browns Thanksgiving, The Cosby Shows Thanksgiving, and Miracle on 34th Street. After school I had italian tutoring with Michelle and after got cappichinos and cookies (luckily it had stopped raining by after school) then I waited for my bus home... which I strongly believe never came. I have been taking the same bus home for the last 2 months and never had a problem with it. That day it just decided not to come or became invisible when it came to the stop becuase I was watching for it like a hawk. So I had to call my mama and brother to come and pick me up at the bus station. When I finally got home (2 hours than normal wendnesday time).
I was super excited to video chat my American family. I hadnt talked to most of the by phone yet and they were going to see my for the first time in 2 1/2 months. I even changed my clothes, redid my hair and makeup so I looked more pulled together than I was feeling. Of course the skype decided to go Ka-Put on me and wasnt in the mood for working. Great. I tried making the little bugger work for over an hour (and the skype is all in Italian making things a little harder). After a cyber fight with my older sister about how much I was hating skype at the moment I ended up talking to my family thru facebook messanger. Not at all the same as video chat with skype but at least I got to talk to them on Turkey Day.
After chatting with my American family I sat down for dinner and my mam had made chicken legs and home fries for dinner. Not bad but not the same as dinner back home, but I was happy that she made the effort to make that instead of the standard pasta. Since Italy doesnt have canned pumkin (I endlessly searched the food market for it and there was nothing) so I couldnt make pumkin pie. =( so i had to opt for apple crisp. I would have made apple pie but I had to go to school and tutoring. The apple crisp was good and I made an extra for my adivsor, Chiara who is an awesome and a huge apple fan. That night I went bar hopping with my friends and then went to bed late.
Overall Thanksgiving was a super sad day for me. I hadnt felt that sad while in Italy. Of course I miss my family back home, but im not crying everyday saying that I want to go home. Italy feels like my home away from home. Im really happy to be living in Italy, it was just Thanksgiving was a very dark day for me. I know Christmas will be super hard to get thru, at least Italians celebrate that holiday!
The next day I tried skype again and of course it worked with no problems.... just my luck!
Early that week I had got a package from home which makes me super happy. Getting a package from home is probably one of the big things exchange students look forward to. The other things we love are seeing our other exchange student friends, seeing new cities and speaking our native language and eatting food from home. When I opened my package I felt like Raulphy and Randy on Christmas morning =) Its so strange how the smallest things like finding a tube of chapstick or a pack of gum in your winter coat from home can make you happy. Its very odd but those little things can put such a big smile on your face. I guess its an exchange student thing....
Saturday I had school but had to make a trip to the post office with my papa to get this paper stamped for my school trip to Scotland. So we stood in the very long line and when it was finally our turn I handed the man the paper and he asked for a credit card so I gave him my moms number and he gave my a big thumbs down. He said it was illegal for him to take a random credit card number so I gave him mine... which wouldnt work either. So luckily my papa stepped in and gave the man his card. If I didnt have the paper stamped I would have gotten a very big whack on the hand by my school adivsor because it was actually due on Thursday so she said in her very posh British accent that I absolutley must it in Saturday or I wont be going to Scotland. So I arrived at school late with the paper in hand and gave her the dang thing. One thing I can check off my list.
Saturday night I went out with some new friends to this wicked cool disco in Bergamo. The place was huge and the whole night was a lot of fun! Sunday we were supposed to go to Venice, again but it was raining so we had to cancel the trip, again. So sunday was a lazy day due to the rain =p
So tomorrow (Tuesday) the new AFSer from Australia will be arriving in Milano sometime in the afternoon. So after school Michelle and I will meet up at my school, go to our regular lunch cafe (we go there so much that the owner sees us and knows what to bring) and then we will take a bus to Treviglio where we will take a train to Milano where we meet our advisor, Chiara and do a little shopping. I think the Aussies train comes in later afternoon and we will all give her a big welcome to our area and hopefully not completly overwhelm the girl. Im excited to be going back to Milano, I havent been for over a month and Iver heard the shopping there at Christmas time is amazing so im wicked excited for tomorrow =)
So until next time...
Arriverderci!
I was super excited to video chat my American family. I hadnt talked to most of the by phone yet and they were going to see my for the first time in 2 1/2 months. I even changed my clothes, redid my hair and makeup so I looked more pulled together than I was feeling. Of course the skype decided to go Ka-Put on me and wasnt in the mood for working. Great. I tried making the little bugger work for over an hour (and the skype is all in Italian making things a little harder). After a cyber fight with my older sister about how much I was hating skype at the moment I ended up talking to my family thru facebook messanger. Not at all the same as video chat with skype but at least I got to talk to them on Turkey Day.
After chatting with my American family I sat down for dinner and my mam had made chicken legs and home fries for dinner. Not bad but not the same as dinner back home, but I was happy that she made the effort to make that instead of the standard pasta. Since Italy doesnt have canned pumkin (I endlessly searched the food market for it and there was nothing) so I couldnt make pumkin pie. =( so i had to opt for apple crisp. I would have made apple pie but I had to go to school and tutoring. The apple crisp was good and I made an extra for my adivsor, Chiara who is an awesome and a huge apple fan. That night I went bar hopping with my friends and then went to bed late.
Overall Thanksgiving was a super sad day for me. I hadnt felt that sad while in Italy. Of course I miss my family back home, but im not crying everyday saying that I want to go home. Italy feels like my home away from home. Im really happy to be living in Italy, it was just Thanksgiving was a very dark day for me. I know Christmas will be super hard to get thru, at least Italians celebrate that holiday!
The next day I tried skype again and of course it worked with no problems.... just my luck!
Early that week I had got a package from home which makes me super happy. Getting a package from home is probably one of the big things exchange students look forward to. The other things we love are seeing our other exchange student friends, seeing new cities and speaking our native language and eatting food from home. When I opened my package I felt like Raulphy and Randy on Christmas morning =) Its so strange how the smallest things like finding a tube of chapstick or a pack of gum in your winter coat from home can make you happy. Its very odd but those little things can put such a big smile on your face. I guess its an exchange student thing....
Saturday I had school but had to make a trip to the post office with my papa to get this paper stamped for my school trip to Scotland. So we stood in the very long line and when it was finally our turn I handed the man the paper and he asked for a credit card so I gave him my moms number and he gave my a big thumbs down. He said it was illegal for him to take a random credit card number so I gave him mine... which wouldnt work either. So luckily my papa stepped in and gave the man his card. If I didnt have the paper stamped I would have gotten a very big whack on the hand by my school adivsor because it was actually due on Thursday so she said in her very posh British accent that I absolutley must it in Saturday or I wont be going to Scotland. So I arrived at school late with the paper in hand and gave her the dang thing. One thing I can check off my list.
Saturday night I went out with some new friends to this wicked cool disco in Bergamo. The place was huge and the whole night was a lot of fun! Sunday we were supposed to go to Venice, again but it was raining so we had to cancel the trip, again. So sunday was a lazy day due to the rain =p
So tomorrow (Tuesday) the new AFSer from Australia will be arriving in Milano sometime in the afternoon. So after school Michelle and I will meet up at my school, go to our regular lunch cafe (we go there so much that the owner sees us and knows what to bring) and then we will take a bus to Treviglio where we will take a train to Milano where we meet our advisor, Chiara and do a little shopping. I think the Aussies train comes in later afternoon and we will all give her a big welcome to our area and hopefully not completly overwhelm the girl. Im excited to be going back to Milano, I havent been for over a month and Iver heard the shopping there at Christmas time is amazing so im wicked excited for tomorrow =)
So until next time...
Arriverderci!
With Thanksgiving around the corner Im starting to get into the whole holiday mode. In a couple days is Thanksgiving Day, Italy doesnt celebrate it becuase they didnt have the pilgrims or the Mayflower. Its kind of sad knowing this is my first big holiday away from home. Yes, I made it thru Halloween just fine but that holiday teens spend more with their friends than with their family. My mama asked if I wanted her to cook the big traditional meal. When she asked a huge smile spread across my face. So we are going to give the whole Thanksgiving thing a whirl which is really cool and different. Im thinking a skype session to my home in Duxbury, MA will be in need on Thanksgiving!
So this week the weather has again been really crummy. Its odd, whenever the weather is nice here, its icky back home and vise versa. Very odd! I really cant complain about the weather here since it was gorgeous for the first two months. My italian family told me that october, novemeber and december are northern Italys not so nice weather months. And I must agree on this one! Everyday is very cloudy, gray, foggy, cold, and windy. It always seems like its misting!! Its so foggy here that you cant even see the mountains. On a normal day they are so big and in your face its impossible to miss them, I miss my mountains!
I wish I could be home to see the trees change color, to smell fire burning in a fire place, the crisp air, eatting a big juicy apple that is covered in carmel... How I miss New England in the fall! The other day me and my friend Michelle from Hong Kong were walking to our bus and train after Italian lessons when I realised something. Italy doesnt have those leaves that crunch when you step on them. I know thats really random but the leaves here are all the same color- this icky brownish orange. And there arent many of them. I remember being a little kid and my dad having me and my brother and sisters all hands outside to rake up the backyard. Our yard was huge and it would take hours for all 6 of us to get the job done. I remember hating the fall season because it ment raking up the leaves. As pathetic as it is I kind of wish there was some big crunchy colorful leaves for me to rake up...
School is good theres a new girl here. Shes from Africa and doesnt speak english or italian just french. So I tried introducing myself and seriously failed. It wasnt until after I tried talking to her that I realized we dont speak the same language. Luckily my exchange student friend from Canada is fluent in French so he was able to show her around the school.
Oh and speaking of new students there is going to be a new AFS exchange student coming to my local area. Her name is Akiralie and is from Australia, she will be in Italy for 3 months. Since she is Australian she is about to have summer while its our winter. Odd yes, but very cool! Im so happy that there will be another AFSer in my area because currently its just me and my friend Michelle. So on December 1st Michelle and I will take a train together to Milano to meet her with the AFS volunteers. Hopefully with Akiralie coming it will put a fire under my adivsors bums to organize more trips and activites for us to do since we dont do anything really!
So in the beginning of last week I had to write a letter to my school asking if they can pay for half my school trip to Scottland in March. My school adivsor told me today that they said to book my flight so Im guessing thats a yes!! Haaa Zaaa! When I was writting the letter in Italian with my brother and sisters help they were telling me that I was wasting my time, that the school was going to say no and basiclly laugh in my face. Well look who is laughing now = p Im wicked excited for the trip, I dont think ill ever get a chance to go to Scottland. Its a cool country and all but its definatly not the first place you think to travel to in Europe. Anyways I leave in mid March and I go for a week with three third year classes and stay with families in Scottland. During the day we will go to school, afternoons sight see, and nights go out and have fun. Ironic that I will be an American exchange student living in Italy and going to be an exchange student in Scottland who is from Italy...
So on Saturday I made banana bread, I know its not the best American treat but I found a recipe online that was amazing! Most people compare banana bread to fruit cake aka ick. But this banana bread was wicked good! I took it out of the oven and when I came back from yoga class two hours later it was almost gone = o Ill have to make another loaf of it soon!
Saturday night I went out with my friends to a pub and then to a disco which was a lot of fun! My Saturday nights are a lot different in Italy. Back home I usually go out with my friends around 8 or something and we go to Plymouth and walk around and get Mcdonalds for dinner then go to someones house and hang out and watch a movie. Im usually home around 11 or midnight. This Saturday night I left the house at 11pm and went to the pub with my friends, got some late night fries and then went to the disco at midnight and came home around 3- 3:30 am. The disco was wicked crowded and there was a long line. Luckily one of my friends new the guy at the door so we went right in and for free! = ) Inside was really chic and cool and was blasting house music. There was also by far more guys than girl there. Lagit 1 girl for ever 5 or more guys. I would think it would be the total opposite! Drinks were a shocking 12 euro each so me being a not so rich exhange student could only get one. I knew there had to be a catch to getting into the club for free. But overall the night was very fun!
Sunday my mama had another yoga retreat in Torino so she was gone before the sun was up. Luckily my brother let me and my sister Ottavia sleep in peacefully that morning. I woke up at noon and to find one of my cats got hungry in the middle of the night and thought my cell phone charger looked tastey. Needless to say Im in a need of a new charger. But my nonna made a big home made lunch of steak and home made french fries- yum! Since it was raining again, we all stayed inside and had a lazy day. After lunch my belly was so full I went into a food comma and ended up taking a very long afternoon nap. Later I did some homework and played wii. Then had an early dinner- 7:30 pm of homemade lasagna double yum! My nonna is such a good cook, she always makes the best meals! Then sunday night me and my brother Ale went to a pub to watch the soccer game with our friends. So overall a good weekend!
So this coming week I have my first and probably last Thanksgiving in Italy, AFS Australian girl coming, and probably going to Milano to show her around the city and I think my Italian friends want to take me ice skating and to a Chinese restaurant in Milano. Hopefully the weather will shape up, if not Im in Italy so I shouldnt be complaining about fog and mist. So until next time...
Arriverderci!
So this week the weather has again been really crummy. Its odd, whenever the weather is nice here, its icky back home and vise versa. Very odd! I really cant complain about the weather here since it was gorgeous for the first two months. My italian family told me that october, novemeber and december are northern Italys not so nice weather months. And I must agree on this one! Everyday is very cloudy, gray, foggy, cold, and windy. It always seems like its misting!! Its so foggy here that you cant even see the mountains. On a normal day they are so big and in your face its impossible to miss them, I miss my mountains!
I wish I could be home to see the trees change color, to smell fire burning in a fire place, the crisp air, eatting a big juicy apple that is covered in carmel... How I miss New England in the fall! The other day me and my friend Michelle from Hong Kong were walking to our bus and train after Italian lessons when I realised something. Italy doesnt have those leaves that crunch when you step on them. I know thats really random but the leaves here are all the same color- this icky brownish orange. And there arent many of them. I remember being a little kid and my dad having me and my brother and sisters all hands outside to rake up the backyard. Our yard was huge and it would take hours for all 6 of us to get the job done. I remember hating the fall season because it ment raking up the leaves. As pathetic as it is I kind of wish there was some big crunchy colorful leaves for me to rake up...
School is good theres a new girl here. Shes from Africa and doesnt speak english or italian just french. So I tried introducing myself and seriously failed. It wasnt until after I tried talking to her that I realized we dont speak the same language. Luckily my exchange student friend from Canada is fluent in French so he was able to show her around the school.
Oh and speaking of new students there is going to be a new AFS exchange student coming to my local area. Her name is Akiralie and is from Australia, she will be in Italy for 3 months. Since she is Australian she is about to have summer while its our winter. Odd yes, but very cool! Im so happy that there will be another AFSer in my area because currently its just me and my friend Michelle. So on December 1st Michelle and I will take a train together to Milano to meet her with the AFS volunteers. Hopefully with Akiralie coming it will put a fire under my adivsors bums to organize more trips and activites for us to do since we dont do anything really!
So in the beginning of last week I had to write a letter to my school asking if they can pay for half my school trip to Scottland in March. My school adivsor told me today that they said to book my flight so Im guessing thats a yes!! Haaa Zaaa! When I was writting the letter in Italian with my brother and sisters help they were telling me that I was wasting my time, that the school was going to say no and basiclly laugh in my face. Well look who is laughing now = p Im wicked excited for the trip, I dont think ill ever get a chance to go to Scottland. Its a cool country and all but its definatly not the first place you think to travel to in Europe. Anyways I leave in mid March and I go for a week with three third year classes and stay with families in Scottland. During the day we will go to school, afternoons sight see, and nights go out and have fun. Ironic that I will be an American exchange student living in Italy and going to be an exchange student in Scottland who is from Italy...
So on Saturday I made banana bread, I know its not the best American treat but I found a recipe online that was amazing! Most people compare banana bread to fruit cake aka ick. But this banana bread was wicked good! I took it out of the oven and when I came back from yoga class two hours later it was almost gone = o Ill have to make another loaf of it soon!
Saturday night I went out with my friends to a pub and then to a disco which was a lot of fun! My Saturday nights are a lot different in Italy. Back home I usually go out with my friends around 8 or something and we go to Plymouth and walk around and get Mcdonalds for dinner then go to someones house and hang out and watch a movie. Im usually home around 11 or midnight. This Saturday night I left the house at 11pm and went to the pub with my friends, got some late night fries and then went to the disco at midnight and came home around 3- 3:30 am. The disco was wicked crowded and there was a long line. Luckily one of my friends new the guy at the door so we went right in and for free! = ) Inside was really chic and cool and was blasting house music. There was also by far more guys than girl there. Lagit 1 girl for ever 5 or more guys. I would think it would be the total opposite! Drinks were a shocking 12 euro each so me being a not so rich exhange student could only get one. I knew there had to be a catch to getting into the club for free. But overall the night was very fun!
Sunday my mama had another yoga retreat in Torino so she was gone before the sun was up. Luckily my brother let me and my sister Ottavia sleep in peacefully that morning. I woke up at noon and to find one of my cats got hungry in the middle of the night and thought my cell phone charger looked tastey. Needless to say Im in a need of a new charger. But my nonna made a big home made lunch of steak and home made french fries- yum! Since it was raining again, we all stayed inside and had a lazy day. After lunch my belly was so full I went into a food comma and ended up taking a very long afternoon nap. Later I did some homework and played wii. Then had an early dinner- 7:30 pm of homemade lasagna double yum! My nonna is such a good cook, she always makes the best meals! Then sunday night me and my brother Ale went to a pub to watch the soccer game with our friends. So overall a good weekend!
So this coming week I have my first and probably last Thanksgiving in Italy, AFS Australian girl coming, and probably going to Milano to show her around the city and I think my Italian friends want to take me ice skating and to a Chinese restaurant in Milano. Hopefully the weather will shape up, if not Im in Italy so I shouldnt be complaining about fog and mist. So until next time...
Arriverderci!
I know totally crazy right? Its mid November, why are there already Christmas decorations?? I thought it was an unwritten rule that you cant decorate or have a decent Christmas commercial until they have finished showing the Macys day parade on tv on Thanksgiving Day. Well in Italy they dont have Thanksgiving because they dont have pilgrims or the mayflower. My mama told me that Italy starts decortating for Christmas the day after Halloween. Really Italy? Jumping the gun dont you think??
Okay so over this week I baked chocolate chip cookies for my family and they were all gone in 24 hours. I forgot how long it takes to make them from scratch. Normally I just by the betty crocked package and just add water and an egg. Or if Im really lazy I buy the premade dough were you just put them on the cookie sheet and bake til golden brown. But I went old school this time and did everything myself and I have to say that cookies from scratch and premade dough cookies basically taste almost the same... to me at least. Most people will totally disagree with me on this one but for me I dont really tatse the difference.
Anyways the rest of the week I had school... blah. My tutor cancled lessons this week because she was out of town or something so that ment two extra afternoons of napping = ) This week I have a meeting with my school advisor and teachers to talk about me going to Scotland with my school in March. The trip is pricey so Im hoping for a scholarship since coming to Italy alone is very expensive. So my school adivsor told me I have to write a letter to the school basiclly saying who I am and what I want... in Italian. This is where my lovley brother Alessandro comes in with his great knowledge of English and Italian = )
Oh and in my last blog I mentioned I was going to either Verona or Torino. Turns out I didnt go to either. Yeah huge bummer! So my friend Michelle from Hong Kong invited me to Verona, but my mama invited me to Torino as well. I decided I wanted to go to Torino since my good friend Julia lives there and I hadnt seen her since AFS-NYC orientation. So while my mama had her yoga retreat I would hang with her. So I told Michelle to go to Verona without me so she left Friday night. Then on Saturday evening my mama told me we would have to leave the house at 5:30 am!! Seriously?? 5:30 am?! She said that her yoga started at 8 am and it was a very long train ride so we would have to leave early. Normally on Saturday nights im out til 2:30 am... so I would only get 2 1/2 hours of sleep. So I didnt go to Torino on Sunday like I planned. = (
Sunday morning it was raining and my brother Ale thought it would be "funny" to wake me and my sister Ottavia up at 8:30am. To the normal person waking up means saying "hey wake up" and maybe giving the person a nudge. But to Alessandro Spreafico it means swinging the bedroom door open shouting "WAKE UP!!" then opening the windows so this nice freezing cold breeze fills the toasty warm room. Then turning all the lights on to full blast. Ottavia and I just looked at each other like what the heck?!? We asked him why he was waking us up, was there an emergancy or something?? And replied with a simple no and said that we had slept long enough and it was time to wake up. I was simply flabbergasted. He then procceded by jumping on our beds while we were still in them and then taking off our blankets. I procceded by kicking with impressive force him off my bed and ripped my blanekts out of his hands. Then he marched into the living and blasted heavy rock music at its full volume. I raced to the bedroom door, slammed it shut, and locked it. Ottavia and I tried desperatly to go back to sleep but it was impossible when your house has paper thin walls.
So Sunday morning I was cranky, tired and we were out of cocoa puffs ceral so I was also hungry. Great way to start off your one day off from school!! Luckily my friend Roberto took me Christmas shopping at this wicked big shopping mall. For those of you reading this that are from the Boston area, this mall was the size of the prudential/copley shopping center and had south shore type stores. It was actually Robertos idea to go shopping there. I know weird right? Most guys only go shopping when forced by their mothers. This guy drove me, followed me into any store I wanted to go in, knew all the stores like the back of his hand, insisted on carrying my shopping bags, bought me a mcflurry, and didnt complain once. Hes a keeper! Im sorry but you can only find those kind of guys when they are seriously whipped by their girlfriends; other wise its rare to find them in America or at least in Duxbury, MA.
This amazing shopping center is probably my new favorite place to shop, its also where I saw all the amazing Christmas decorations. I must say that I have to give myself a pat on the back because I was able to get something just right for all 5 memebers of my family by mid Novemeber. The only reason I shopped so early for them is because it take about a month for large packages to get from Italy to America. So kudos to me = p
No other new to report here, I think Im going to try to make some banana bread when I get home from school. When the weather is crummy like it is today and I dont have Italian tutoring or yoga I like to bake. Almost every exchange student tends to have a hard time filling their afternoons. Esp. when your host country has never heard of your sports like lacrosse and field hockey. So for me baking is relaxing, enjoyable, I can watch mtv while doing it and it makes my Italian family happy which is always a plus. So until next time...
Arriverderci!
Okay so over this week I baked chocolate chip cookies for my family and they were all gone in 24 hours. I forgot how long it takes to make them from scratch. Normally I just by the betty crocked package and just add water and an egg. Or if Im really lazy I buy the premade dough were you just put them on the cookie sheet and bake til golden brown. But I went old school this time and did everything myself and I have to say that cookies from scratch and premade dough cookies basically taste almost the same... to me at least. Most people will totally disagree with me on this one but for me I dont really tatse the difference.
Anyways the rest of the week I had school... blah. My tutor cancled lessons this week because she was out of town or something so that ment two extra afternoons of napping = ) This week I have a meeting with my school advisor and teachers to talk about me going to Scotland with my school in March. The trip is pricey so Im hoping for a scholarship since coming to Italy alone is very expensive. So my school adivsor told me I have to write a letter to the school basiclly saying who I am and what I want... in Italian. This is where my lovley brother Alessandro comes in with his great knowledge of English and Italian = )
Oh and in my last blog I mentioned I was going to either Verona or Torino. Turns out I didnt go to either. Yeah huge bummer! So my friend Michelle from Hong Kong invited me to Verona, but my mama invited me to Torino as well. I decided I wanted to go to Torino since my good friend Julia lives there and I hadnt seen her since AFS-NYC orientation. So while my mama had her yoga retreat I would hang with her. So I told Michelle to go to Verona without me so she left Friday night. Then on Saturday evening my mama told me we would have to leave the house at 5:30 am!! Seriously?? 5:30 am?! She said that her yoga started at 8 am and it was a very long train ride so we would have to leave early. Normally on Saturday nights im out til 2:30 am... so I would only get 2 1/2 hours of sleep. So I didnt go to Torino on Sunday like I planned. = (
Sunday morning it was raining and my brother Ale thought it would be "funny" to wake me and my sister Ottavia up at 8:30am. To the normal person waking up means saying "hey wake up" and maybe giving the person a nudge. But to Alessandro Spreafico it means swinging the bedroom door open shouting "WAKE UP!!" then opening the windows so this nice freezing cold breeze fills the toasty warm room. Then turning all the lights on to full blast. Ottavia and I just looked at each other like what the heck?!? We asked him why he was waking us up, was there an emergancy or something?? And replied with a simple no and said that we had slept long enough and it was time to wake up. I was simply flabbergasted. He then procceded by jumping on our beds while we were still in them and then taking off our blankets. I procceded by kicking with impressive force him off my bed and ripped my blanekts out of his hands. Then he marched into the living and blasted heavy rock music at its full volume. I raced to the bedroom door, slammed it shut, and locked it. Ottavia and I tried desperatly to go back to sleep but it was impossible when your house has paper thin walls.
So Sunday morning I was cranky, tired and we were out of cocoa puffs ceral so I was also hungry. Great way to start off your one day off from school!! Luckily my friend Roberto took me Christmas shopping at this wicked big shopping mall. For those of you reading this that are from the Boston area, this mall was the size of the prudential/copley shopping center and had south shore type stores. It was actually Robertos idea to go shopping there. I know weird right? Most guys only go shopping when forced by their mothers. This guy drove me, followed me into any store I wanted to go in, knew all the stores like the back of his hand, insisted on carrying my shopping bags, bought me a mcflurry, and didnt complain once. Hes a keeper! Im sorry but you can only find those kind of guys when they are seriously whipped by their girlfriends; other wise its rare to find them in America or at least in Duxbury, MA.
This amazing shopping center is probably my new favorite place to shop, its also where I saw all the amazing Christmas decorations. I must say that I have to give myself a pat on the back because I was able to get something just right for all 5 memebers of my family by mid Novemeber. The only reason I shopped so early for them is because it take about a month for large packages to get from Italy to America. So kudos to me = p
No other new to report here, I think Im going to try to make some banana bread when I get home from school. When the weather is crummy like it is today and I dont have Italian tutoring or yoga I like to bake. Almost every exchange student tends to have a hard time filling their afternoons. Esp. when your host country has never heard of your sports like lacrosse and field hockey. So for me baking is relaxing, enjoyable, I can watch mtv while doing it and it makes my Italian family happy which is always a plus. So until next time...
Arriverderci!
Thats right I am now offically part of the Italian goverment system!!
Okay so Thursday morning I didnt have to go to school (Yeah!) and I got to sleep in (Double Yeah!) and I went to the Bergamo police station with my papa that morning. I got to sleep in, take my time getting ready for the day and even had time to get a coffee and pastry and a local bar. Very lovley. Unforuntely it was raining.... a lot. Luckily my USA mom had sent me a very cute rain jacket so it wasnt a problem. We drove about 25 minutes to Bergamo which is a mini city near my town. I went there last weekend for halloween. Anyways we arrived at the police station and were sent to a huge waiting room... that was full of immagrints from around the world! While I was waiting in line this lady heard me speaking english and asked if I was American. I of course replied yes, and she said she had a daughter who was American too and long behold was my very good friend Erin from Oregon! =) I had met Erin in New York orientation and we had become good friends at the Aprica orientation. It was so awesome seeing her again. Talking to a friend in English for two hours really makes the time go by fast then just sitting there twiddling your thumbs.
So me and Erin had brought all of our paper work so we could be put into the Italian system. Of course me being me, I totally forgot to bring my 4 passport photos and had to take them in a near by photo both. And I wasnt looking my cutest that day since I was still sick with that horrible cold. So now Italy has a lets just say not the most flattering picture of me. Great... So Erin and I got our fingerprints scanned and had signed and few papers and we were free!
After the police station Erin came with me and my papa to get McDonadls for lunch, this is only my third time eatting McDonalds in Italy. Very strange for me since I eat it probably once a week back home. After me and Erin hung out for little bit then she had to get back home since it was a school night.
School all week was boring. I was only at school for half the week becuase I had my cold and it seemed like everyone else at school and home were sick too. Anways today is Tuesday and it has been a solid week and I am totally back to my normal self. Feel great!!
Over the weekend I met a lot of new and interesting people... they were my host brother, Ale friends. The are mainly 19 years old and are really nice and fun guys. Some dont speak english that well, which can get really funny when they have a few beers in them. Its good hanging with Itlains esp when they speak slow italian for me so I can learn more! When ever I talk to them I have to adjust my english so they can understand me. I have to drop my Boston accent ( i didnt know i had one til i came here) and then i have to take out the slang words, then i use really simply words and try then to use birtish sounding words. After I just sound liek my english teacher when they are giving a lesson to thrid year students. Weird I know!
Sunday my host parents took me to a small choclate factory where I tried a bunch of yummy italian chocolate = ) Lesson that I learned was just because something is free, doesnt mean you have to have a boat load of it. (The night ended with a belly ache) But it was so worth it! I hadnt had chocolate for the longest time. Italian chocolate kicks American chocolates butt!
Monday and today I have school. Blah. Tomorrow I have a half day becuase at the last half of the day all the students are supposed to go on a run. Strange I know; were supposed to run 3 miles tomorrow and it counts in your gym class. And they record your time and everything. It shouldnt be bad, ive run a lot further for lacrosse and field hockey I just wish I had found out about this earlier, so I might be a little more prepared for tomorrow. Oh well...
This weekend I think I will go out with the guys that I went out with last weekend. Im also supposed to go to Verona with the exchange student Michelle from Hong Kong and her family on sunday. My mama told me she has a yoga retreat in Torino and I could come with her on sunday instead. I have afs exchange student friends in Torino that I havent seen since New York back in September. Im not sure what city I will be on sunday but I should figuare that out in the next few days. Thats all the news here right now... Until next time....
Arriverderci!
Okay so Thursday morning I didnt have to go to school (Yeah!) and I got to sleep in (Double Yeah!) and I went to the Bergamo police station with my papa that morning. I got to sleep in, take my time getting ready for the day and even had time to get a coffee and pastry and a local bar. Very lovley. Unforuntely it was raining.... a lot. Luckily my USA mom had sent me a very cute rain jacket so it wasnt a problem. We drove about 25 minutes to Bergamo which is a mini city near my town. I went there last weekend for halloween. Anyways we arrived at the police station and were sent to a huge waiting room... that was full of immagrints from around the world! While I was waiting in line this lady heard me speaking english and asked if I was American. I of course replied yes, and she said she had a daughter who was American too and long behold was my very good friend Erin from Oregon! =) I had met Erin in New York orientation and we had become good friends at the Aprica orientation. It was so awesome seeing her again. Talking to a friend in English for two hours really makes the time go by fast then just sitting there twiddling your thumbs.
So me and Erin had brought all of our paper work so we could be put into the Italian system. Of course me being me, I totally forgot to bring my 4 passport photos and had to take them in a near by photo both. And I wasnt looking my cutest that day since I was still sick with that horrible cold. So now Italy has a lets just say not the most flattering picture of me. Great... So Erin and I got our fingerprints scanned and had signed and few papers and we were free!
After the police station Erin came with me and my papa to get McDonadls for lunch, this is only my third time eatting McDonalds in Italy. Very strange for me since I eat it probably once a week back home. After me and Erin hung out for little bit then she had to get back home since it was a school night.
School all week was boring. I was only at school for half the week becuase I had my cold and it seemed like everyone else at school and home were sick too. Anways today is Tuesday and it has been a solid week and I am totally back to my normal self. Feel great!!
Over the weekend I met a lot of new and interesting people... they were my host brother, Ale friends. The are mainly 19 years old and are really nice and fun guys. Some dont speak english that well, which can get really funny when they have a few beers in them. Its good hanging with Itlains esp when they speak slow italian for me so I can learn more! When ever I talk to them I have to adjust my english so they can understand me. I have to drop my Boston accent ( i didnt know i had one til i came here) and then i have to take out the slang words, then i use really simply words and try then to use birtish sounding words. After I just sound liek my english teacher when they are giving a lesson to thrid year students. Weird I know!
Sunday my host parents took me to a small choclate factory where I tried a bunch of yummy italian chocolate = ) Lesson that I learned was just because something is free, doesnt mean you have to have a boat load of it. (The night ended with a belly ache) But it was so worth it! I hadnt had chocolate for the longest time. Italian chocolate kicks American chocolates butt!
Monday and today I have school. Blah. Tomorrow I have a half day becuase at the last half of the day all the students are supposed to go on a run. Strange I know; were supposed to run 3 miles tomorrow and it counts in your gym class. And they record your time and everything. It shouldnt be bad, ive run a lot further for lacrosse and field hockey I just wish I had found out about this earlier, so I might be a little more prepared for tomorrow. Oh well...
This weekend I think I will go out with the guys that I went out with last weekend. Im also supposed to go to Verona with the exchange student Michelle from Hong Kong and her family on sunday. My mama told me she has a yoga retreat in Torino and I could come with her on sunday instead. I have afs exchange student friends in Torino that I havent seen since New York back in September. Im not sure what city I will be on sunday but I should figuare that out in the next few days. Thats all the news here right now... Until next time....
Arriverderci!
