Tomorrow is 21/12/12 or 12/21/12 depending on how you write it. Anyway, it's the Mayan end of the world, or maybe just a change...anyway, as I said at dinner, if the world did end tomorrow, for me, it would be sad, but also okay. It's sad for the obvious reason, that when I said goodbye to my parents on september 5th in New York, hugged them, it was the last time that I saw them, and felt their presence. BUT! On the good side, it would mean I died living my dream. Isn't that the best way to die? Not suffering, not from illness, or in a place you didn't want to be, but in a place you always dreamed of, a place that you took risks to get there, a place that you (and maybe other people) always wanted to be, and you got there!! Also, if we put a little christian into this, my family here, and my family in the USA will all be able to meet each other in heaven. Nonna Carmen will let my family try some of her amazing food, dad can let everyone taste what REAL pancakes and other baked goods taste like, Nonno Sergio will get to see God, who he has faitfully been following and reading about for so many years, all will be okay.
5 days till christmas. :) No tree yet. Going to do that Saturday...I hope. Tomorrow school, shopping in Padova with Diletta and Andrea, and the dinner for 3^C. Saturday is school, then lunch at Nonno Sergio's (it's his birthday), and Rugby dinner. Sunday should be free, then Monday is Christmas eve, Tuesday is Christmas, Wednesday is another feast day, Thursday-Saturday are homework days, Sunday-Wenesday (2nd January) we are going to the mountains to ski and have fun, Thursday-Saturday I go to Ancona to meet "Franca" a person I have been hearing about for years but never met. Sunday rest. And monday the 6th back to school. Gosh. This break will go fast!
I promise to post pictures of christmas! Buon Natale!
Ciao!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Wait, what is this I am eating?
So, I have eaten some pretty strange things here in Italy. Mostarda, various types of squid, quail, cow's intestine, horse meat. Yesterday at lunch I ate something that was on the same level of gross as the cow's intestine. It was a calf's (baby cow) liver. I was not told what I was eating untill after I hade taken a few bites. It did not taste good, but it wasn't awful either. Once they told me I was eating a calf's liver, I almost lost it. That is soooo gross. Yuck! Good thing there was more normal meat being served as well.
After lunch we went to Verona. Not to like Verona Verona with the history and all that, but to a Villagio di Natale (Christmas Village).
After lunch we went to Verona. Not to like Verona Verona with the history and all that, but to a Villagio di Natale (Christmas Village).
There were soooooooooooooo many manger scenes, and things to add to your manger scene. Ornaments, yeah it just kept going and going. When we finally reached the end/main part there was this little kids Christmas play. Daniele (my host dad) was asked to be Babbo Natale (Santa Clause). Alessia was laughing because she said that Nicola needs to watch out because papa is Babbo Natale, can't be a bad boy, Babbo Natale may be closer than you think! haha anyway...
Today I made chocolate chip cookies. Enrico kept complaining that I was using the wrong bowl, and I was doing stuff wrong. I asked him if he would like to help, but he just said "no no vai vai" (no no, go go). But the cookies came out pretty well. I am always so nervous about translating recipes from cups to grams, because it never feels like the measurement is correct. Every sight has a different translation. This is the recipe I used to try and copy the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies. Tea spoon meaning the spoon Italians use for coffee, not a soup spoon.
300 grams chocolate chips
335 grams flour (farina)
1 teaspoon aking soda (lievita)
1 teaspoon salt (sale)
225 grams butter (burro)
180 grams sugar (zucchero)
180 grams brown sugar (zucchero di canna)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs (uova)
Then just follow the instructions of normal Toll House Cookies.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The TWILIGHT MOVIE and other things.
So this past weekend I didn't do too much because i have a cold and it was the worst this weekend. BUT! I felt a bit better Sunday night and went to see twilight breaking dawn parte (notice that is parte, not part) 2! In Italiano with my friend Michaela. It was soooooo good! I understood it because I read the books, I also understood some of the conversations in Italian just because I have been here for 2.5 months and well, you start to understand things. I think it also helped that usually there was only one person talking at a time in the film, unlike real life when there usually are many many more, and they talked a bit slower than normal Italians Another thing I that was different (and a bit strange) was seeing Robert Pattinson, Kristin Stewart, Taylor Laughtner, etc...but hearing SOMEONE ELSE'S voice. Woah man! But I got over that after a bit. All in all the movie was amazing, beautiful, scary at times, ah I won't say anymore if you are a sad soul who has not seen it yet.
On another topic...this British lady came into my English class on Monday. Apparently she is here to help the students practice their English and pronunciation She will come every Monday for the next 8 weeks. haha I loved her accent! My goodness! And they way she spelled spoiled, as spoilt, and called sneakers trainers! Ah made my day! The poor kids in my calss though kept forgetting words, and probably felt awful because the teacher was...well...she was exactly what I thought British people would be like. All black and white, dress pants, not saying "oh this word is better" but just saying "the word is sleeve." well then. Some phrases I did not agree with at all, but I guess that is what makes American English different from British English.
Other random stuff:
Diletta and Michaela want to go abroad next year. Michaela want's to either do the summer in the USA, 2 months in Canada, or 3 months in Australia Diletta said she chose the countries 1) USA, 2) Hong Kong 3) (Australia?) can't remember. But ooooh Hong Kong That is one big challenge. But I think that would be really cool! Especially because she has been to the USA and Canada before, and her english is pretty good, a new language would be cool!
I was thinking the other day...you know, we have never ever truly seen our face, yes you can see it in the mirror but you never really know what it truly looks like. Because the miror is just a reflection, light is bent to show you an image Other people can see your whole body, but depending on where they are standing you may look different. I don't really think this is important, but kind of interesting.
Lastly, I guess I should say that tonight I am going to hip hop! I can't wait to try it! I am planing on trying different dances and then choosing one of them that I like the best. It will help me do stuff in the afternoon and make more new friends. I am walking down a road on a foggy morning, I don't know where I am going, what's down the path, but I keep walking. This is the journey I decided to take. This journey is about finding myself, I have changed so much since I started this journey, and when it ends, I know I will have changed even more. :)
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Yet another wonderful weekend!
Later that night I went to Elisa (the girlfriend of Fabio, my host uncle) 's birthday party. I was told she was turning 21...but she seemed a bit older than that...maybe 25. Ah well, anyway that was a lot of fun because Elisa Candeo (a girl from school) was there with a few of her friends from the marching band (only drums though) she is in. I made a lot of new friends because of that. Most of the people go to other schools besides Cattano, and then there were a few who were young adults maybe in their 20s but they were still really funny.
Then Saturday I went to Ferrara to cook with Trine, Nathalia, Maxim, and one volunteer Christina. We made homemade ragu, pasta, and beshamella (for some reason I can't seem to spell that correctly) sause for home made lasagne. It was a lot of work, but lot's of fun! When the TV stopped playing music, Christina put in a CD of a sort of popular Italian band, called Moda, click here to see a beautiful song by them! Here are a few pictures from that day as well.
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| Me, Trine, and Nathalia preparing veggies for ragu. |
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| Nathalia, Trine, Christina, me, Maxim |
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| Trine, me, Nathalia, Maxim |
Talking in Italian is much easier than at the beginning I am using less and less English with my family. But, a few of my friends still talk to me in English so that makes it difficult to learn. I love that Elisa Candeo and Andrea talk to me only in Italian it makes me try to respond in Italian and helps me continue to work on my comprehension.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
This was October
Ciao!
Today is November 1st...it was a wonderful October! I ate Mustarda (go here if you haven't read about that) , attended a very amusing birthday party for Nicola, Piero, Diletta, and Elisa, attended the AFS welcome camp, and began to understand generally what was going on.
Last night I carved a pumpkin with the boys. They wanted me to draw on paper the face for the jack-o-lantern. When I was done, they told me it was not scary enough so they changed it. Whatever. Here, Halloween is all about the scary. Everyone's costumes are supposed to be creepy (so there are no faries, ballerinas, "Dorothy"s, nerds, cowboy/girls, or any of that) they go full force in to the scary. Well, that's because here, Halloween is actually the day of the dead, and November 1st is All Saint's Day. See, here it actually has a bit of meaning, not just "give me candy!". Of course they think that Halloween is extravagant in the USA, which I guess it is in some places, but I think the look at the USA like it is God or something amazing like that. Which really, I think we are cool, and our country represents a lot, but I think people give us too much credit...I don't want to start a debate so I will hush up on that now.
Today I went to the "sagra" basically it is this big market/fair rides thing in the center of Monselice. It was crazy. So many people, you kind of had to waddle in some places since there were too many people to walk normally. All of the fair rides were pretty similar to ones back in the USA. I went on bumper cars with Enrico. I hope he passes his driving test, that was very very scary. Hahaha! Nicola loved the train, and then the fun house, I enjoyed watching them do all of that. Then we walked through the market and that's when the waddling came in :) But there was this place that you could buy...salami...but it was not exactly salami...oh well. Anyway it was huge. Here is a picture. They use these really, really long knives to cut it into chunks and then you use your slicer at home to make sandwich meat out of it.
I will post more pictures of the sagra tomorrow because I am going there with my friends tomorrow.
Upon my sister's request, I am working on taking pictures of my life here, my room, my school, my family, my friends, my favorite gelato place, yeah things like that. I will post them all on FB hopefully Monday and then I will post a few of them here as well.
Till then,
Ciao!
Today is November 1st...it was a wonderful October! I ate Mustarda (go here if you haven't read about that) , attended a very amusing birthday party for Nicola, Piero, Diletta, and Elisa, attended the AFS welcome camp, and began to understand generally what was going on.
Last night I carved a pumpkin with the boys. They wanted me to draw on paper the face for the jack-o-lantern. When I was done, they told me it was not scary enough so they changed it. Whatever. Here, Halloween is all about the scary. Everyone's costumes are supposed to be creepy (so there are no faries, ballerinas, "Dorothy"s, nerds, cowboy/girls, or any of that) they go full force in to the scary. Well, that's because here, Halloween is actually the day of the dead, and November 1st is All Saint's Day. See, here it actually has a bit of meaning, not just "give me candy!". Of course they think that Halloween is extravagant in the USA, which I guess it is in some places, but I think the look at the USA like it is God or something amazing like that. Which really, I think we are cool, and our country represents a lot, but I think people give us too much credit...I don't want to start a debate so I will hush up on that now.
Today I went to the "sagra" basically it is this big market/fair rides thing in the center of Monselice. It was crazy. So many people, you kind of had to waddle in some places since there were too many people to walk normally. All of the fair rides were pretty similar to ones back in the USA. I went on bumper cars with Enrico. I hope he passes his driving test, that was very very scary. Hahaha! Nicola loved the train, and then the fun house, I enjoyed watching them do all of that. Then we walked through the market and that's when the waddling came in :) But there was this place that you could buy...salami...but it was not exactly salami...oh well. Anyway it was huge. Here is a picture. They use these really, really long knives to cut it into chunks and then you use your slicer at home to make sandwich meat out of it.
I will post more pictures of the sagra tomorrow because I am going there with my friends tomorrow.
Upon my sister's request, I am working on taking pictures of my life here, my room, my school, my family, my friends, my favorite gelato place, yeah things like that. I will post them all on FB hopefully Monday and then I will post a few of them here as well.
Till then,
Ciao!
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
AFS Welcome Camp
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| Aren't we attractive??? hahaha Trine and me. |
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| Thailand, USA, Germany, and Paraguay (I think?) are all here :D |
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| The boy's danced to Gangnam Style for the talent show. They are posing afterword. |
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| South Americans...and Gokalp (with the glasses). |
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| Singing a Spanish/Portuguese song...I don't remember. |
Monday, October 8, 2012
Foto
Here are some pictures from our trip to Venice with AFS yesterday and then there is one from Enrico (my host brother)'s birthday. It is hard to imagine that I have been here for a full month. I am very proud of how far I have come with the language. I am still usually confused in class, but when I am with my host family, and they talk a little slower, I understand most of what they are saying.
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| It's not just in movies...ahh so beautiful! |
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| Piazza San Marco |
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| Piazza San Marco |
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| One of my close AFS friends. Flora. She is from Brazil. <3 |
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Mangia Pane!
So, I was going to wait until Friday to post (because that will be exactly one month since I arrived in Rome), but I have had many requests for updates, and I did want to tell you about some really really weird stuff I ate today.
I had lunch at Nonna Carmen's house like usual, I was basically done, and then they told me to try this stuff called "mustarda". It looked like apple sauce and they told me it was like marmalade but very spicy I assumed they used the wrong word, and were describing the cinnamon in the apple sauce being a spice. So I took a normal sized spoon full and WOAHHHH MAMMA! That was like eating a chunk of wassabi (that green stuff you get with sushi)!!! Geez. Nonna Carmen, Nonno Loris, and Alessia were all laughing at me. Apparently my face was really red, and they said that I probably felt the spice coming out my ears. Then they pointed to bread and were like "pane! Sara, mangia pane!" So I frantically ripped the piece of bread in front of me trying to get the darn taste out of my mouth. After a few minutes of "mangia pane" my mouth was mine again. It's so weird how when you eat something like that all your brain can register is what you are feeling/tasting. It takes deep thought to figure out how to get rid of the taste. Anyway, I am fine now, but that was an intresting experience to say the least.
Other than that, I did not do much this week.Let's see, what did I do last weekend? Saturday the 29th I went to Anna's (a girl in my class) birthday party at BBQ in Tribano. That was fun! Last Sunday the 30th, I spent the day with the host family at Enrico's rugby tournament in Treviso, then later arround 5:30, I went to the piazza (center of town) with Michela (another girl in my class) and we got gelatto and walked arround.
As far as the language goes, I am still really struggling, but every day gets better. I randomly can pick up what people are talking about, but usually I just stand there in the circle of friends looking at everyone, trying to find words I know. I still don't understand much in school. I always look forward to english class, listening to everyone's english, smiling when they struggle with a word or use the wrong one (no, I'm not being mean, I just think it's cool how people learn a language. I do/will do the same thing many times these first few months). I also taught my class that there is a BIG difference between ice hockey and laccrosse. I love how you have to explain things like this to them, things that everyone knows in the USA, they don't always know but they want to know. It's cool :) My math teacher is really helpful. She offered to work with me one period that she did not have a class because she noticed that the way she teaches math, is different from what I am used to and she wanted to help me.
Well I think I will go get some gelato now. :) Ciao!
I had lunch at Nonna Carmen's house like usual, I was basically done, and then they told me to try this stuff called "mustarda". It looked like apple sauce and they told me it was like marmalade but very spicy I assumed they used the wrong word, and were describing the cinnamon in the apple sauce being a spice. So I took a normal sized spoon full and WOAHHHH MAMMA! That was like eating a chunk of wassabi (that green stuff you get with sushi)!!! Geez. Nonna Carmen, Nonno Loris, and Alessia were all laughing at me. Apparently my face was really red, and they said that I probably felt the spice coming out my ears. Then they pointed to bread and were like "pane! Sara, mangia pane!" So I frantically ripped the piece of bread in front of me trying to get the darn taste out of my mouth. After a few minutes of "mangia pane" my mouth was mine again. It's so weird how when you eat something like that all your brain can register is what you are feeling/tasting. It takes deep thought to figure out how to get rid of the taste. Anyway, I am fine now, but that was an intresting experience to say the least.
Other than that, I did not do much this week.Let's see, what did I do last weekend? Saturday the 29th I went to Anna's (a girl in my class) birthday party at BBQ in Tribano. That was fun! Last Sunday the 30th, I spent the day with the host family at Enrico's rugby tournament in Treviso, then later arround 5:30, I went to the piazza (center of town) with Michela (another girl in my class) and we got gelatto and walked arround.
As far as the language goes, I am still really struggling, but every day gets better. I randomly can pick up what people are talking about, but usually I just stand there in the circle of friends looking at everyone, trying to find words I know. I still don't understand much in school. I always look forward to english class, listening to everyone's english, smiling when they struggle with a word or use the wrong one (no, I'm not being mean, I just think it's cool how people learn a language. I do/will do the same thing many times these first few months). I also taught my class that there is a BIG difference between ice hockey and laccrosse. I love how you have to explain things like this to them, things that everyone knows in the USA, they don't always know but they want to know. It's cool :) My math teacher is really helpful. She offered to work with me one period that she did not have a class because she noticed that the way she teaches math, is different from what I am used to and she wanted to help me.
Well I think I will go get some gelato now. :) Ciao!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Italia: Day 18
Wow, I can't believe I have been here 18 days! Next Friday will be 1 month! A lot has happened. I guess I left off on the first day of school! Wow, what an adventure! The first day was only 2 hours, then the rest of that week school was 3 hours. Then Monday the 18th started with the normal days of school. It was kind of funny because only my English teacher actually knew that I was an exchange student. Diletta had to say "Lei e americana, non capito italiano." Haha :) Well, since then, I have been mostly doodling in class. I enjoy (well, sort of) math and physics class. English is defiantly a breath of fresh air. The teacher is constantly wanting me to talk more because everyone wants to hear my perfect English. That stresses me out, I am like "Just talk, try not to make any grammatical errors, you will be fine." But I have come to realize that no one really cares if I make mistakes in Italian (or English I guess). Every morning I walk into class and hear multiple "Ciao Sara!" it feels wonderful! Italians are so friendly, my new friends want to include me in everything. This past Saturday night my friends and I went to down town Monselice. We got ice cream, and hung out. Then the Sunday before that, there was the Medieval festival. In the morning there was a parade. Diletta, Elisa, 3 of the 4 other Sara's, Samuele, and many of my other friends were in it. Then in the afternoon there was this horse race where the rider carries a pole and tries to catch a giant ring. The horse/rider that gets all 3 rings, and finishes first, wins! Hmm would you like to see some pictures?? They are on FB, for those of you who know me personally, but if not, here you go!
Also some things I have noticed:
-no one uses mechanical pencils (besides me) in school.
-you can buy bread at the store that is soft (like normal) or super hard...I think its dehydrated or something.
-place settings (fork, spoon, knife) are put on the right side rather than the left. I learned this the hard way, having my fork stolen a few days in a row. Then I figured it out!
-normal binders have 4 rings, not 3.
-drive super fast! (and, it may just be my family, but if you sit in the back you don't need a seat belt...I wear one, but the boys don't.)
- you drink coffee in super small cups, with lots of sugar.
I shall add more later!
Ciao!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Italia!
Well, after 5 days of travel and various orientation, I arrived in Padova at about 2pm on Sunday. Ever since I arrived in NY I go through phases of reality and dream. Every time I go to sleep I am surprised to wake up and not be in my room at home. I constantly have to remind myself that I AM in Italy, and I will be here for 10 months.
I will tell you what each day has been like so far. Let's start with Wednesday, travel and first day (well more like afternoon) in New York.
Wednesday was full of fun, I met all of the people I have been talking to on Facebook from the USA for the past few months. They were all so nice! I also met a ton of new people going to Italy, Spain, Portugal, Egypt, Ghana, France, South Africa, and Turkey. Talking was not awkward at all, it was so easy, and we were all going through similar emotions (which is why the volunteers had to calm us down a couple times haha!) The group of 30 Spain students was by far the loudest, but Italy was up there too. Later in the evening we played "people BINGO" which is where you have a bingo sheet with different things like "has gone to Disney world" "can stand on his/her head" "is on a soccer team" "will dance in front of a large group for 1 minute" you sign in the box that is true about you on other peoples sheets, you try to get BINGO with other peoples names. Then we watched a AFS video, had a few different talks about safety, and other information like that.
Thursday morning we had a few more random instructions and then the afternoon was just chill time. In the evening we left for Switzerland from the Newark Airport. Dinner and breakfast on the plane was not awful, but I like the food here better. (hehe) Most of us only got an hour of actual sleep, but about 4 hours of shut eye time.
Friday we arrived in Switzerland, and had to rush to get through security, the place where they stamp your passport, (because we had a little less than an hour before our plane left) and we all fast walked to the airplane. We made there on time! We arrived in Rome around 2 pm, but we had to wait like an hour and a half to get on the bus because one of the girls lost her cello and another her suitcase. It was funny because we saw AFS Thailand, Poland, and some other country in the airport when waiting. Finally when we figured out the bag was in Switzerland and would be mailed home we organized ourselves and walked to the bus. At some point we arrived in Rome. I recognized right away Mikael, Anni, Neea, and Jòn. The rest of Friday was kind of just a party, we all talked. Bedtime was scheduled for 11 but was not enforced at all. I went to bed around 11:30 because I was so exhausted!
Saturday was a day of actual orientation. We were given information, but we also sang songs and played games. Most of the games had an objective to either have us practice talking louder, or get used to touching and being close to people. It was really awkward at first, but then we just kind of went with it. For example, in one of the games the volunteer would say a statement (like,"who has more than 3 siblings" or "who likes fashion") and if you were answering yes, you would move to the next chair. If there was someone in the chair next to you, you had to sit on their lap. haha
Sunday I woke up at 6 AM to be on the bus to Roma Termini (the Rome train station) by 7:15. Well...that was the plan, but we left 20 minutes late. haha Italian time...no, more like disorganized people. The train took about 3 hours to get to Padova Train Station. I gathered my bags, and was not completely off the train before I was greeted with "Ciao Sara! Mi chiama (fill in the blank)" and hugs and kisses. Finally I found my way to my host family, people I actually recognized! A few minutes later i found out that there was not only my host family there to greet me, but also my tutor (liaison) her daughter, and my host uncle Manuele. When I got home, there was a sign "Benvenuti" (Welcome) on the stairs. I went upstairs to put my stuff away, and a few minutes after I came back down, I was greeted my more people! My other host uncle whos name is Fabio (No mom, I am not joking) and mia Nonna e Nonno who were Alessia's parents. Later came Fabio's girlfriend.
Monday Daniele, Enrico, Nicola, and I went to the Posta to get some AFS paperwork exchanged, then we went to the police office to hand in another paper, and then we went to tour the market!!!! :D Mi piace (I like) the market!!! It went on and on. They sold fruit and veggies, cheese, fish, and clothes. Later that afternoon we checked out my school. It is old, but in a charming way.
Today I spent the whole day at my tutor's house. Before i go on explaining their names, I shall tell you that she has 5 children. I met her daughter Diletta (who will be in my class), her son Samuele (a senior in high school who went to the USA last year), and I also met the two younger siblings...names are not sticking right now. I also met Diletta's friend Sara (apparently, including me, there are 5 Saras in the class this year...quite confusing.) They were all sooooo nice! I had so much fun!
Well that is it for now, tomorrow's adventure is the first day of school. Only 2 hours!!!!!!! Very amazing! The rest of the days will be about 5 hours.
Ciao!
I will tell you what each day has been like so far. Let's start with Wednesday, travel and first day (well more like afternoon) in New York.
Wednesday was full of fun, I met all of the people I have been talking to on Facebook from the USA for the past few months. They were all so nice! I also met a ton of new people going to Italy, Spain, Portugal, Egypt, Ghana, France, South Africa, and Turkey. Talking was not awkward at all, it was so easy, and we were all going through similar emotions (which is why the volunteers had to calm us down a couple times haha!) The group of 30 Spain students was by far the loudest, but Italy was up there too. Later in the evening we played "people BINGO" which is where you have a bingo sheet with different things like "has gone to Disney world" "can stand on his/her head" "is on a soccer team" "will dance in front of a large group for 1 minute" you sign in the box that is true about you on other peoples sheets, you try to get BINGO with other peoples names. Then we watched a AFS video, had a few different talks about safety, and other information like that.
Thursday morning we had a few more random instructions and then the afternoon was just chill time. In the evening we left for Switzerland from the Newark Airport. Dinner and breakfast on the plane was not awful, but I like the food here better. (hehe) Most of us only got an hour of actual sleep, but about 4 hours of shut eye time.
Friday we arrived in Switzerland, and had to rush to get through security, the place where they stamp your passport, (because we had a little less than an hour before our plane left) and we all fast walked to the airplane. We made there on time! We arrived in Rome around 2 pm, but we had to wait like an hour and a half to get on the bus because one of the girls lost her cello and another her suitcase. It was funny because we saw AFS Thailand, Poland, and some other country in the airport when waiting. Finally when we figured out the bag was in Switzerland and would be mailed home we organized ourselves and walked to the bus. At some point we arrived in Rome. I recognized right away Mikael, Anni, Neea, and Jòn. The rest of Friday was kind of just a party, we all talked. Bedtime was scheduled for 11 but was not enforced at all. I went to bed around 11:30 because I was so exhausted!
Saturday was a day of actual orientation. We were given information, but we also sang songs and played games. Most of the games had an objective to either have us practice talking louder, or get used to touching and being close to people. It was really awkward at first, but then we just kind of went with it. For example, in one of the games the volunteer would say a statement (like,"who has more than 3 siblings" or "who likes fashion") and if you were answering yes, you would move to the next chair. If there was someone in the chair next to you, you had to sit on their lap. haha
Sunday I woke up at 6 AM to be on the bus to Roma Termini (the Rome train station) by 7:15. Well...that was the plan, but we left 20 minutes late. haha Italian time...no, more like disorganized people. The train took about 3 hours to get to Padova Train Station. I gathered my bags, and was not completely off the train before I was greeted with "Ciao Sara! Mi chiama (fill in the blank)" and hugs and kisses. Finally I found my way to my host family, people I actually recognized! A few minutes later i found out that there was not only my host family there to greet me, but also my tutor (liaison) her daughter, and my host uncle Manuele. When I got home, there was a sign "Benvenuti" (Welcome) on the stairs. I went upstairs to put my stuff away, and a few minutes after I came back down, I was greeted my more people! My other host uncle whos name is Fabio (No mom, I am not joking) and mia Nonna e Nonno who were Alessia's parents. Later came Fabio's girlfriend.
Monday Daniele, Enrico, Nicola, and I went to the Posta to get some AFS paperwork exchanged, then we went to the police office to hand in another paper, and then we went to tour the market!!!! :D Mi piace (I like) the market!!! It went on and on. They sold fruit and veggies, cheese, fish, and clothes. Later that afternoon we checked out my school. It is old, but in a charming way.
Today I spent the whole day at my tutor's house. Before i go on explaining their names, I shall tell you that she has 5 children. I met her daughter Diletta (who will be in my class), her son Samuele (a senior in high school who went to the USA last year), and I also met the two younger siblings...names are not sticking right now. I also met Diletta's friend Sara (apparently, including me, there are 5 Saras in the class this year...quite confusing.) They were all sooooo nice! I had so much fun!
Well that is it for now, tomorrow's adventure is the first day of school. Only 2 hours!!!!!!! Very amazing! The rest of the days will be about 5 hours.
Ciao!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Goodbye for Now
It is really strange to think that this is my last day in Maryland. Although I have been saying goodbye for the last few months, it still has not quite hit me yet that I, Sara Cochran, will be going to Italy for high school, and staying there for 10 months. No coming back for thanksgiving, or Christmas, or any other time for that matter. None of that. Honestly, I am not nervous at all. Just a bundle of happy and sad mixed in a blender and poured into me. Emotion smoothie, yes, that is what I shall call it!
My emotion smoothie tastes great at times, disgusting at others, and just kind of bland the rest of the time. I have really had a great summer. I went to Ross Mountain Club like we do every Forth of July to visit the Niemanns. I went to Long Beach Island New Jersey to go to the beach with my cousins. I went to Bethany Beach earlier this month with my parents and sister, yet we met up with a lot of our friends who happened to be there that week. 5 out of 7 nights we ate dinner on the beach. Yes, that was very awesome!
This past month my mom and her friend decided to become the local liaison because the old one decided to step out. She took many tests and worked so hard, but I think it really paid off. Just this past weekend my mom and Mrs. Engel (the friend) hosted a welcome party for the 3 exchange students in St. Mary's County. That was a TON of fun! Saya is from Japan, Alessandro is from Italy, and Bernadette is from New Zealand. Bernadette has two little host brothers and I really had fun playing with them, and they made me excited to see Enrico and Nicola. Saya seems shy at first, but she is really fun to be around. She reminded me of my two Korean friends from Ryken. Alessandro is very nice and quite amusing, he says he thinks that American girls are crazy...but he says it with a smile so I bet he likes it. I would think that he could be pretty popular back in Italy too...well, maybe not if Italian accents not accents, just the every day way of speaking.
I would like to thank my parents (I love you! Thank you for supporting me throughout this!), my friends (I love you so much! I know you kind of thought I was crazy when I first put out the idea of going abroad, but you still have supported me. I will miss you so much, but I know that you will be here for me when I get back! <3), Mrs. Moreno my Spanish teacher (you are so special to me. Thank you for supporting me and helping me figure out what program was best for me.), my sister Isabel who I will miss dearly but I know that we can catch up in July! Have a great sophomore year of college, and lastly my doggies. Holly and Bradley I will miss you so much. Always wanting a pat, somehow always putting a smile on my face, too bad you don't fit in my suitcase when it is packed.
After that mixture of blog and letters to my loved ones, I guess I should tell you that on Friday I finally finished the required level one of Rosetta Stone!!!! I know it will help me a little when I am over there, but still man that was sooooo boring! You may also want to know (or maybe not) that my bags are 100% packed! 1 VERY LARGE bag, one carry on for my orientation clothes, and my backpack are ready to go. Just need to add my toothbrush, brush, and my ipod and we shall be on our way!
We will leave for New York tomorrow morning at 8am, I will stay overnight and leave at 10pm on Thursday from Newark airport. We will arrive in Switzerland, and then head off to Rome, and arrive there at 2 o'clock. I will FINALLY get to Monselice Padova on Sunday to meet the Rosi family!
Talk to you in Italia! Arrivederci!
My emotion smoothie tastes great at times, disgusting at others, and just kind of bland the rest of the time. I have really had a great summer. I went to Ross Mountain Club like we do every Forth of July to visit the Niemanns. I went to Long Beach Island New Jersey to go to the beach with my cousins. I went to Bethany Beach earlier this month with my parents and sister, yet we met up with a lot of our friends who happened to be there that week. 5 out of 7 nights we ate dinner on the beach. Yes, that was very awesome!
This past month my mom and her friend decided to become the local liaison because the old one decided to step out. She took many tests and worked so hard, but I think it really paid off. Just this past weekend my mom and Mrs. Engel (the friend) hosted a welcome party for the 3 exchange students in St. Mary's County. That was a TON of fun! Saya is from Japan, Alessandro is from Italy, and Bernadette is from New Zealand. Bernadette has two little host brothers and I really had fun playing with them, and they made me excited to see Enrico and Nicola. Saya seems shy at first, but she is really fun to be around. She reminded me of my two Korean friends from Ryken. Alessandro is very nice and quite amusing, he says he thinks that American girls are crazy...but he says it with a smile so I bet he likes it. I would think that he could be pretty popular back in Italy too...well, maybe not if Italian accents not accents, just the every day way of speaking.
I would like to thank my parents (I love you! Thank you for supporting me throughout this!), my friends (I love you so much! I know you kind of thought I was crazy when I first put out the idea of going abroad, but you still have supported me. I will miss you so much, but I know that you will be here for me when I get back! <3), Mrs. Moreno my Spanish teacher (you are so special to me. Thank you for supporting me and helping me figure out what program was best for me.), my sister Isabel who I will miss dearly but I know that we can catch up in July! Have a great sophomore year of college, and lastly my doggies. Holly and Bradley I will miss you so much. Always wanting a pat, somehow always putting a smile on my face, too bad you don't fit in my suitcase when it is packed.
After that mixture of blog and letters to my loved ones, I guess I should tell you that on Friday I finally finished the required level one of Rosetta Stone!!!! I know it will help me a little when I am over there, but still man that was sooooo boring! You may also want to know (or maybe not) that my bags are 100% packed! 1 VERY LARGE bag, one carry on for my orientation clothes, and my backpack are ready to go. Just need to add my toothbrush, brush, and my ipod and we shall be on our way!
We will leave for New York tomorrow morning at 8am, I will stay overnight and leave at 10pm on Thursday from Newark airport. We will arrive in Switzerland, and then head off to Rome, and arrive there at 2 o'clock. I will FINALLY get to Monselice Padova on Sunday to meet the Rosi family!
Talk to you in Italia! Arrivederci!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Getting Ready to Go
Ciao!
Well, my VISA came. It was really quick, we got it back 3 days after the appointment! This week has been kind of crazy with a bunch of appointments! On Monday I got my braces off, yesterday I had my 2 year post op appointment (had scoliosis surgery two years ago, now I am pain free!) and that went well, today I had a dentist appointment, tomorrow I have something else, and Friday I will get my haircut! Goodness me (or should I say "Mamma mia!" haha)! On Saturday evening I will go to a picnic near me to meet the local AFS host students. I hear there is a guy from Italy so I hope he knows enough English to understand me and I can figure out where he is from :)
Today is exactly one week until the orientation in NYC! AFS students going to Egypt, Spain, France and Italy from the USA will all be at the orientation. I think it will be a lot of fun! 9 days until my feet step onto Italian soil. 11 days until I finally meet my Italian host family!
I am going to complete Rosetta Stone level one today! Tomorrow I will begin level two.
Arrivederci!
Well, my VISA came. It was really quick, we got it back 3 days after the appointment! This week has been kind of crazy with a bunch of appointments! On Monday I got my braces off, yesterday I had my 2 year post op appointment (had scoliosis surgery two years ago, now I am pain free!) and that went well, today I had a dentist appointment, tomorrow I have something else, and Friday I will get my haircut! Goodness me (or should I say "Mamma mia!" haha)! On Saturday evening I will go to a picnic near me to meet the local AFS host students. I hear there is a guy from Italy so I hope he knows enough English to understand me and I can figure out where he is from :)
Today is exactly one week until the orientation in NYC! AFS students going to Egypt, Spain, France and Italy from the USA will all be at the orientation. I think it will be a lot of fun! 9 days until my feet step onto Italian soil. 11 days until I finally meet my Italian host family!
I am going to complete Rosetta Stone level one today! Tomorrow I will begin level two.
Arrivederci!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The Italian Consulate
Just thought I would share some pictures from my visit to the Italian Consulate in Philadelphia on Monday. It was a very long wait for some reason but the actual appointment was only like 15 minutes. The preparation was very stressful for my mom, but the actual handing over the papers was not difficult at all. They kept my passport, so I hope that it arrives on time! Only 2 weeks left! The lady says she assumes it will be sent out on Monday (27th) so I hope everything falls into place. Much of this process is all about faith, and just believing everything will turn out okay.
Suite 1026 :)
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
More Host Family Info!
I just received more information on my host family. It was a PDF that contained a few pictures of my family, more school information, and basically most all of the things I think they had to complete for being a host family. The school mentioned on there though is LICEO SCIENTIFICO CARLO CATTANEO MONSELICE. Although on my AFS account, it says my school is "Instituto Scolastico Cattaneo". So who knows! It's probably not a big deal, maybe it's like saying I will be attending St. Mary's County Public Schools and Leonardtown High School or like saying a Xaverian Brothers School but called St. Mary's Ryken. I was also quite relieved that neither of my host parents smokes. Apparently Nico and Enrico are into Rugby. I think it will be fun to watch their games but I am certainly not trying to play because that was the one sport other than football that my spine doctor said I could not play. The document also says that school is 800 meters from my house. Not exactly sure how far that is, but it says I can either ride a bike or walk to school so it must be really close! :)
Oh, and this is a picture of my host family.
The other thing that is exciting is that there are only 22 days until my adventure begins! :D
Orientation in NY on September 5th-6th
Fly to Switzerland and Rome on the 7th
Orientation in Rome September 7th-8th
Meet up with my host family on September 9th (not totally sure, but I think that's true)
My friend Anni is already packed :O I have not even started. We are still shopping around for some things that I don't already have. (Like well made shoes (that are cute...hard to find!), a black backpack, new jeans). I am thinking I will buy shampoo, toothpaste, etc. and school supplies when I get there.
A lot of other AFS Italy participants have received an email from their local AFS/Intercultura chapter in Italy. I have not. So I will be interested to see who my liaison is and who else is in my province. :)
Well that is all for now. Arrivederci!
Oh, and this is a picture of my host family.
The other thing that is exciting is that there are only 22 days until my adventure begins! :D
Orientation in NY on September 5th-6th
Fly to Switzerland and Rome on the 7th
Orientation in Rome September 7th-8th
Meet up with my host family on September 9th (not totally sure, but I think that's true)
My friend Anni is already packed :O I have not even started. We are still shopping around for some things that I don't already have. (Like well made shoes (that are cute...hard to find!), a black backpack, new jeans). I am thinking I will buy shampoo, toothpaste, etc. and school supplies when I get there.
A lot of other AFS Italy participants have received an email from their local AFS/Intercultura chapter in Italy. I have not. So I will be interested to see who my liaison is and who else is in my province. :)
Well that is all for now. Arrivederci!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Skype with Mia Famiglia!
So this afternoon I skyped with my host family (and my host...uncle?...I guess). They were all so nice. Alessia (my host mom) seems to know some English, and my host uncle knows a good amount of English. Skype was really choppy the connection always seems to act funny. But I really can't wait to get there on September 7th! Nicola and Enrico seem very nice and funny :) They say they like to watch cartoons, so I wonder what type of cartoons Italians watch...hmmm. Enrico and Nicola showed me one of their bunnies and their bird. The bunny looked very adorable, but it also looked kind of panicked like "ah! Whats going on! Why is this boy picking me up? What is this screen?!" hahaha! I think they said that my host school is near by, and so is the train station so they wont have to walk very far to get me. I can't wait to talk to them again. It's slowly getting more real that I will be staying with these people and going to stay in Italy for a year. It's so hard to imagine, it's such a dream!
It's late. I am going to bed. Till my next post...
Arrivederci! :)
It's late. I am going to bed. Till my next post...
Arrivederci! :)
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Mia famiglia!!!! (my family!)
Well, I guess this post is kind of past due, but I was trying to figure out what exactly I should say, because I kept waiting for ALL of the information to come through.
Janelle called Wednesday afternoon, and then later that night I received an email that...I got a that I have a host family!!!! I am extremely excited! I was placed in a family that has two little boys. One who is 9 and the other is 5. I will be living in Monselice, a town that is 40 minutes from Venice. The family is very close, they visit their grandparents a lot, they say they like to go site seeing, and they just seem like a cool family from what Janelle said. When I got to the files AFS gave me (which was on my AFS account page), what I was able to see was: Everyone in the family's name, their birth dates (so that's how I figured out how old the kids were), the address and contact information, and then I got the address of the school. I will be going to Instituto Scolastico Cattaneo...I think I spelled that right.
I emailed my family the night I got their info (Wednesday) and my host dad responded this morning. He said (in italian) that they could not wait to meet me in person, and the kids are already talking about me. :) I think thats a good thing...haha!
Here are their names:
Host Madre- Alessia
Host Padre- Daniele
Host fratelli (brothers)- Enrico e Nicola
Ciao for now!
Janelle called Wednesday afternoon, and then later that night I received an email that...I got a that I have a host family!!!! I am extremely excited! I was placed in a family that has two little boys. One who is 9 and the other is 5. I will be living in Monselice, a town that is 40 minutes from Venice. The family is very close, they visit their grandparents a lot, they say they like to go site seeing, and they just seem like a cool family from what Janelle said. When I got to the files AFS gave me (which was on my AFS account page), what I was able to see was: Everyone in the family's name, their birth dates (so that's how I figured out how old the kids were), the address and contact information, and then I got the address of the school. I will be going to Instituto Scolastico Cattaneo...I think I spelled that right.
I emailed my family the night I got their info (Wednesday) and my host dad responded this morning. He said (in italian) that they could not wait to meet me in person, and the kids are already talking about me. :) I think thats a good thing...haha!
Here are their names:
Host Madre- Alessia
Host Padre- Daniele
Host fratelli (brothers)- Enrico e Nicola
Ciao for now!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Time. Thoughts. Dreams. And Things to Get Done.
Last night it took an extremely long time for me to get to sleep. During that time, I thought. A LOT! And, I was thinking, "Okay, so we have a while till Italy. I don't need to stress about a family or packing quite yet. I go see my cousins next week, then I come home, then its to the beach with my family. In that week at the beach my online classes end...WAIT WHAT? Whoa! That's only 3 weeks!..." and continued.
That was a very confusing entry paragraph. Sorry about that. What you can pick from it is:
1. I STILL don't have a host family. I am one of the 40 people who are still waiting.
2. I am taking online computer apps and PE (more like health) this summer. (This is so I have space in my schedule to double up on classes if that is necessary when I get back.) They seem like they would be pretty easy. Well, computer is going well, pretty easy for me. PE on the other hand, I think we are assigned WAY more than if I took in in the school year. You have to get 35+ mins of exercise a day, 2-3 hour long quizzes a week, and then the activities in the book. I cannot wait till its over!
Another update, is that there is more paperwork that is having to be filled out. Papers to give to the school, the health form for my check up to give to the doctor, and then the dreaded Visa. My appointment with the Italian Embassy is on August 13th. Oddly, only 2 counties in Maryland can go to the embassy in DC. The rest of the counties (like St. Mary's...where I live) have to go to Philadelphia...Awesome! :P
**50 days till NY Orientation! 52 Days till Italy!**
Hope you all are enjoying your summer!!
Arrividerci!
P.S. Thank you all, this blog has had 263 page views so far. In June it was under 100. You are awesome!
That was a very confusing entry paragraph. Sorry about that. What you can pick from it is:
1. I STILL don't have a host family. I am one of the 40 people who are still waiting.
2. I am taking online computer apps and PE (more like health) this summer. (This is so I have space in my schedule to double up on classes if that is necessary when I get back.) They seem like they would be pretty easy. Well, computer is going well, pretty easy for me. PE on the other hand, I think we are assigned WAY more than if I took in in the school year. You have to get 35+ mins of exercise a day, 2-3 hour long quizzes a week, and then the activities in the book. I cannot wait till its over!
Another update, is that there is more paperwork that is having to be filled out. Papers to give to the school, the health form for my check up to give to the doctor, and then the dreaded Visa. My appointment with the Italian Embassy is on August 13th. Oddly, only 2 counties in Maryland can go to the embassy in DC. The rest of the counties (like St. Mary's...where I live) have to go to Philadelphia...Awesome! :P
**50 days till NY Orientation! 52 Days till Italy!**
Hope you all are enjoying your summer!!
Arrividerci!
P.S. Thank you all, this blog has had 263 page views so far. In June it was under 100. You are awesome!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Pre Departure Orientation
This weekend has been a fun AFS weekend. I had my Pre Departure Orientation yesterday from 12:30-5:30, and I got my Travel Info on Friday! I will talk about yesterday first, because there is more to tell :-)
There were 35 girls and 5 guys (according to the list we received). All of the people (Returnees, Volunteers, and other Students) seemed really nice. The main places people were going were Argentina, China (all for the summer), Costa Rica (for the summer), France, Germany, and Turkey. There were a couple miscellaneous places people were going. One of the girls I hung out with a lot yesterday was Katherine, she is a Junior (I think?) and she is going to India for the summer. There is a guy who is going to Italy for the year like me, his name is Sergio. It was interesting because as other people have mentioned on their blogs, and I found too, is that all the AFSers seem to get along really well. We all talked to each other, seemed to have similar concerns, and of course, we were all VERY excited!
We watched a few short videos, talked about what AFS is and is not, cultural adjustment, safety, the AFS rules, about culture and how you see more of the culture when immersed rather than when you are just a tourist, stereotypes, and then we broke into groups and talked about different scenarios "what would you do?" type things. Wow sorry for the run on sentence there haha! Oh! You may be wondering how many of them received their host families. From who I talked to, it seemed like about half of them have. Sergio (the guy who is going to Italy, like me) has been placed in northern Italy, close to France.
As I said, on Friday I received my travel info. When other people talked about it, I was confused as to what it was exactly. Its not the information about your host family, its just the information as to when and where your flight will depart and arrive, if you will switch places, etc. So FOR ME, the orientation will be in New York in the afternoon on September 5th. This means that I will leave at oh dark thirty, and drive to New York. My parents will drop me off, and I will being my adventure! We will stay overnight for the orientation, and then my plane will leave the airport the night of the 6th. We will arrive in Switzerland around 11:30 on the 7th, and will switch planes, and arrive in Rome later that afternoon.
Hopefully, I will be able to focus enough this week to do well on my finals. I think in a way, it is a good thing I do not know my host family, that way I am not wasting my time finding details out about the area which I will be living. I cannot wait till summer! ONE more week! :)
Arrivederci!
There were 35 girls and 5 guys (according to the list we received). All of the people (Returnees, Volunteers, and other Students) seemed really nice. The main places people were going were Argentina, China (all for the summer), Costa Rica (for the summer), France, Germany, and Turkey. There were a couple miscellaneous places people were going. One of the girls I hung out with a lot yesterday was Katherine, she is a Junior (I think?) and she is going to India for the summer. There is a guy who is going to Italy for the year like me, his name is Sergio. It was interesting because as other people have mentioned on their blogs, and I found too, is that all the AFSers seem to get along really well. We all talked to each other, seemed to have similar concerns, and of course, we were all VERY excited!
We watched a few short videos, talked about what AFS is and is not, cultural adjustment, safety, the AFS rules, about culture and how you see more of the culture when immersed rather than when you are just a tourist, stereotypes, and then we broke into groups and talked about different scenarios "what would you do?" type things. Wow sorry for the run on sentence there haha! Oh! You may be wondering how many of them received their host families. From who I talked to, it seemed like about half of them have. Sergio (the guy who is going to Italy, like me) has been placed in northern Italy, close to France.
As I said, on Friday I received my travel info. When other people talked about it, I was confused as to what it was exactly. Its not the information about your host family, its just the information as to when and where your flight will depart and arrive, if you will switch places, etc. So FOR ME, the orientation will be in New York in the afternoon on September 5th. This means that I will leave at oh dark thirty, and drive to New York. My parents will drop me off, and I will being my adventure! We will stay overnight for the orientation, and then my plane will leave the airport the night of the 6th. We will arrive in Switzerland around 11:30 on the 7th, and will switch planes, and arrive in Rome later that afternoon.
Hopefully, I will be able to focus enough this week to do well on my finals. I think in a way, it is a good thing I do not know my host family, that way I am not wasting my time finding details out about the area which I will be living. I cannot wait till summer! ONE more week! :)
Arrivederci!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Summer is Close, Still Don't Know
Hello everyone! Happy Memorial Day weekend!
So, I am STILL WAITING for my host family, host school, and other info. But I know of 2 AFSers going to Italy who have their host family. One is going to a small town called Volano, and the other is going to a small town called Llbono on the Island of Sardina. Both of these places look very interesting! I can't wait to find out where I am going!!! :-)
Today my mom and I went out to buy new four wheeled rolling suitcases (rather than the normal two weeled ones). I got one GIGANTIC suitcase, that if my scale is reading correctly (which it may or may not be) is 10 lbs. I am glad to have a lot of room, but I am NOT looking forward to getting that off of the baggage claim. I am soooo ready for summer! 2 more weeks of school (1 of classes and 4 days of exams).
To other exchange students, both from AFS and my korean buddies from school, on the left-hand side of the page (-->>) there is a place where you can translate this to your own language, so you can understand it! How amazing! haha :-)
Well, thats it for now. I think I will stick with about 2 posts a month.
Arrivederci!
So, I am STILL WAITING for my host family, host school, and other info. But I know of 2 AFSers going to Italy who have their host family. One is going to a small town called Volano, and the other is going to a small town called Llbono on the Island of Sardina. Both of these places look very interesting! I can't wait to find out where I am going!!! :-)
Today my mom and I went out to buy new four wheeled rolling suitcases (rather than the normal two weeled ones). I got one GIGANTIC suitcase, that if my scale is reading correctly (which it may or may not be) is 10 lbs. I am glad to have a lot of room, but I am NOT looking forward to getting that off of the baggage claim. I am soooo ready for summer! 2 more weeks of school (1 of classes and 4 days of exams).
To other exchange students, both from AFS and my korean buddies from school, on the left-hand side of the page (-->>) there is a place where you can translate this to your own language, so you can understand it! How amazing! haha :-)
Well, thats it for now. I think I will stick with about 2 posts a month.
Arrivederci!
Friday, May 4, 2012
A Few Updates
Well I am still waiting for my host family. I was not going to post, but today I received an email from AFS about Rosetta Stone and what it is, how I need to complete one lesson to be refunded, etc. I found out how to access it and that I could start lessons may 11th. So that's 1 week from now! Pretty awesome! :-) I may or may not start it right away, probably will just to see what it is, but I can focus on it better in the summer when I have more time. Also, I was looking at the AFS blog today and was like WHOA! When I saw they added 5 more links to peoples blogs. Now I have even more places to waste my time! Haha! Well that's all for now.
Ciao!
Ciao!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Italian Kindergartener
Still waiting for host family info. I have seen on other blogs that they found their host family in late May to early June so we will see. Today I labeled some things in my house with their Italian names. (Like a kindergarten room) Then I made a little hanging thing on the window that has the days of the week. Sorry if its hard to see...
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The Begining :-)
**Background Story**
This whole adventure would not have even come about if my sister had not told me about this girl she new from college who studied abroad in high school. I never thought my parents would let me go, but surprisingly they did! After much research about which program I should use (AFS, CIEE, Rotary, etc.) I decided to go with AFS because they seemed to have a lot of experience, and were much more organized than the other programs. I searched through all the countries, and it took a while to pick 3 and order them. I originally wanted to go to a Spanish speaking country, but the South American school year is different than in the US so it would be weird to try and get the credit. So I said I wanted to go to Spain, Italy or Portugal. Then I did not get into Spain, so then we went along with the process, and soon enough here I am today. (continue down to normal post)
**Today's Post**
Well yesterday was probably on my top 20 days in my life list. I was accepted by AFS Italy! I may sound a little childish, but when I saw the subject line of the email from AFS "Sara, You have been accepted by AFS Italy" I jumped out of the chair and ran around the house screaming. Yeah, maybe that was a little crazy, but that was the moment that the fact I will be going to Italy in the fall 2012, truly started to sink in. I don't think anyone truly understands how exciting this was for me, and what going abroad really means. Some people seem to think that I am just going over there to have fun and travel and whatnot. Of course it will be fun, but I also chose to do the year program because I wanted to understand another cultures point of view, get a good grasp on the language, and represent: me, my family, town, state, country, and AFS. That's a large duty to have. Yet, I know that I will be able to accomplish it. It may be difficult, but that's another reason why I want to do this. I want to challenge myself, and see what I am capable of, and learn something new.
I am already trying to practice a bit of Italian, but I know Rosetta Stone will help this summer when I have more time...I may not post every day, but I will try to post every once in a while to keep you up to date on whats happening. I cannot wait to find out who my host family is, and where in Italy I will be staying.
Ciao!
PS In case your wondering, the title of my blog is Italian for "My incredible Italian adventure"
This whole adventure would not have even come about if my sister had not told me about this girl she new from college who studied abroad in high school. I never thought my parents would let me go, but surprisingly they did! After much research about which program I should use (AFS, CIEE, Rotary, etc.) I decided to go with AFS because they seemed to have a lot of experience, and were much more organized than the other programs. I searched through all the countries, and it took a while to pick 3 and order them. I originally wanted to go to a Spanish speaking country, but the South American school year is different than in the US so it would be weird to try and get the credit. So I said I wanted to go to Spain, Italy or Portugal. Then I did not get into Spain, so then we went along with the process, and soon enough here I am today. (continue down to normal post)
**Today's Post**
Well yesterday was probably on my top 20 days in my life list. I was accepted by AFS Italy! I may sound a little childish, but when I saw the subject line of the email from AFS "Sara, You have been accepted by AFS Italy" I jumped out of the chair and ran around the house screaming. Yeah, maybe that was a little crazy, but that was the moment that the fact I will be going to Italy in the fall 2012, truly started to sink in. I don't think anyone truly understands how exciting this was for me, and what going abroad really means. Some people seem to think that I am just going over there to have fun and travel and whatnot. Of course it will be fun, but I also chose to do the year program because I wanted to understand another cultures point of view, get a good grasp on the language, and represent: me, my family, town, state, country, and AFS. That's a large duty to have. Yet, I know that I will be able to accomplish it. It may be difficult, but that's another reason why I want to do this. I want to challenge myself, and see what I am capable of, and learn something new.
I am already trying to practice a bit of Italian, but I know Rosetta Stone will help this summer when I have more time...I may not post every day, but I will try to post every once in a while to keep you up to date on whats happening. I cannot wait to find out who my host family is, and where in Italy I will be staying.
Ciao!
PS In case your wondering, the title of my blog is Italian for "My incredible Italian adventure"
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