on monday night november 8th. i had a dream in italian. well, where i was speaking in italian. but not all of it was in italian haha just thought id share. Its weird, becuase this is while i was in mexico.. surrounded by spanish. not italian... xD
this is a HUGE deal! it's so cool! It's like, italian is finally sinking into my brain, so that im dreaming in italian! where its a big enough, or an important enough aspect in my life, that im speaking it in my dreams. I'm like proud of myself for dreaming in italian after only 1.5 months!
Hey, my name is Rachael, im in italy for exchange my Junior year of high school 2010-2011. I hope to keep up with this, I think I'm going to try update about once a week.. But for sure when ever something really eventful happens! Have fun reading!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
scouts
forgot to say, before i left for mexico I had scouts. my first meeting of it! so far its going well, people are nice and It's another really good way to meet new people and make friends :)
Culture Differences
>Saturday night, for MOST is the ONLY night you can go out. (unlike me i dont have school on saturday, i'm one of the very few fortunate italians. i was told its like only 10% of all of italy that doesnt have school on saturday..) So the goal here on saturday nights is to go out, and party as hard as you can, as far as ive observed.
> In Italy there is not much diversity. All the food i have seen around is italian. you want to go out to dinner? you're pretty much gonna get pasta or pizza, just the same as the food you would get in your household, except, you dont have to cook it.
> Americans relate Italy to Ferraris and snazzy cars. Yes they are made here and stuff, but I honestly havent seen that many around. You see them in shops, but hardly out being driven. Italy has like 1/6(i think, i could be way off but i remember it has a lot of people for the countrys size) of americas population but the actual physical body of land of italy, is the size of california. This is why everyone in italy drives small cars. And partically why they are known for bad driving. Because there are too many people out there driving! and such small roads! Imagine driving in rush hour like all the time..
> It is very normal in italy to go out for a smoke break everytime you are given like a 5 minute break in school. or the moment you exit the school building, I see classmates lite up.
>Kids in ITaly arent very "independent" because the lifestyle is that they go to a universtiy near home and live at home. they dont have their own cars and they dont normally get jobs until after university.
>ok im not sure if this is just italy that does this. or Just america that doesnt do this. but in school, i notice that when someone has to blow their nose. they whip out a tissue(or handkerchief.. yes people still use them and thats something new to me) and blow their nose REALLY loud. in america you dont do that.. you get a tissue provided by the classroom, and you go in the corner and quietly blow your nose. or some people go to the bathroom..
>italian schools dont have extra curriculars. this is weird for me since in the states i was always busy with sports year round. just a different lifestyle i guess :P
>"homework" is optional. like they dont check it. They just do it to help you study and prepare for tests. i think in america for the most part, if something was optional, that means you dont do it. but people here like, actually do it..
>I dont know my teachers names, or most of them, because everyone calsl them "prof". Not like Mr/Mrs/Ms something..
>people whip out their umbrellas when its only sprinkling. It's really funny to me.
>People in italy walk around the house with slippers on, or shoes. some teens wear just socks. But almost everyone mostly wears slippers. I havent seen anyone walk around bare foot.. I used to do that all the time, but nope, not here
FOOD:
Yes i know food is part of the culture in general, but it deserves its own category, because Italy is famous for its food and its REALLY important!
> when they eat bread they leave it on the table. which is weird to me, but just part of the culture. possibly an all european thing? i dont know..
> ive been told food from the south and north of italy is VERY different. Well im not sure about the south,but i was told its lots of thick pastas and bread and stuff like that, and dinner is the main meal of the day there. But here in the north, the main meal of the day is lunch. so some people go home from work to eat lunch with their kids(one reason school gets out earlier i think..? schools get out from 1-2 for the most part) and then they go back to eat. Generally they eat a course of pasta, a course of meat, and a course of salad. and then there's fruit on the table after or something. and there is also always bread on the table.
> Nutella is really big in Italy. They sort of use it as a replacement for paenut butter i think. Italians dont really like peanut butter, so it isnt really sold here, nor is candy with peanut butter sold. like you cant find recess peanut butter candy.
If you are coming from america to Italy, you will not find:
-a large variation of gum(they mostly have only mint)
-peanut butter products
-bagels
-donuts
-pancakes
-salad dressings(they use salt on lots of things as a replacement. on salads and meat etc. the replacement for dressing is salt and oil/vinegar)
-waffles
-oreos
-maple syrup(i think, i havent seen it)
-hamburgers
-krispie treats
-smores
-mashed potatoes
Point is, Nutella is big here, and you will probably eat it like practically everyday.
oh, since lunch is the main meal here, people go home to eat lunch together as a family. This means all the restaurants close. It's really weird. like in the states the restaurants are like open all the time. It doesnt matter if its "family time" they are open for business. They just care about making money.
> In Italy there is not much diversity. All the food i have seen around is italian. you want to go out to dinner? you're pretty much gonna get pasta or pizza, just the same as the food you would get in your household, except, you dont have to cook it.
> Americans relate Italy to Ferraris and snazzy cars. Yes they are made here and stuff, but I honestly havent seen that many around. You see them in shops, but hardly out being driven. Italy has like 1/6(i think, i could be way off but i remember it has a lot of people for the countrys size) of americas population but the actual physical body of land of italy, is the size of california. This is why everyone in italy drives small cars. And partically why they are known for bad driving. Because there are too many people out there driving! and such small roads! Imagine driving in rush hour like all the time..
> It is very normal in italy to go out for a smoke break everytime you are given like a 5 minute break in school. or the moment you exit the school building, I see classmates lite up.
>Kids in ITaly arent very "independent" because the lifestyle is that they go to a universtiy near home and live at home. they dont have their own cars and they dont normally get jobs until after university.
>ok im not sure if this is just italy that does this. or Just america that doesnt do this. but in school, i notice that when someone has to blow their nose. they whip out a tissue(or handkerchief.. yes people still use them and thats something new to me) and blow their nose REALLY loud. in america you dont do that.. you get a tissue provided by the classroom, and you go in the corner and quietly blow your nose. or some people go to the bathroom..
>italian schools dont have extra curriculars. this is weird for me since in the states i was always busy with sports year round. just a different lifestyle i guess :P
>"homework" is optional. like they dont check it. They just do it to help you study and prepare for tests. i think in america for the most part, if something was optional, that means you dont do it. but people here like, actually do it..
>I dont know my teachers names, or most of them, because everyone calsl them "prof". Not like Mr/Mrs/Ms something..
>people whip out their umbrellas when its only sprinkling. It's really funny to me.
>People in italy walk around the house with slippers on, or shoes. some teens wear just socks. But almost everyone mostly wears slippers. I havent seen anyone walk around bare foot.. I used to do that all the time, but nope, not here
FOOD:
Yes i know food is part of the culture in general, but it deserves its own category, because Italy is famous for its food and its REALLY important!
> when they eat bread they leave it on the table. which is weird to me, but just part of the culture. possibly an all european thing? i dont know..
> ive been told food from the south and north of italy is VERY different. Well im not sure about the south,but i was told its lots of thick pastas and bread and stuff like that, and dinner is the main meal of the day there. But here in the north, the main meal of the day is lunch. so some people go home from work to eat lunch with their kids(one reason school gets out earlier i think..? schools get out from 1-2 for the most part) and then they go back to eat. Generally they eat a course of pasta, a course of meat, and a course of salad. and then there's fruit on the table after or something. and there is also always bread on the table.
> Nutella is really big in Italy. They sort of use it as a replacement for paenut butter i think. Italians dont really like peanut butter, so it isnt really sold here, nor is candy with peanut butter sold. like you cant find recess peanut butter candy.
If you are coming from america to Italy, you will not find:
-a large variation of gum(they mostly have only mint)
-peanut butter products
-bagels
-donuts
-pancakes
-salad dressings(they use salt on lots of things as a replacement. on salads and meat etc. the replacement for dressing is salt and oil/vinegar)
-waffles
-oreos
-maple syrup(i think, i havent seen it)
-hamburgers
-krispie treats
-smores
-mashed potatoes
Point is, Nutella is big here, and you will probably eat it like practically everyday.
oh, since lunch is the main meal here, people go home to eat lunch together as a family. This means all the restaurants close. It's really weird. like in the states the restaurants are like open all the time. It doesnt matter if its "family time" they are open for business. They just care about making money.
Monday, November 15, 2010
In need of a Post
Update: I am currently away in mexico with my host family, as we are attending a wedding here. Its sort of ruining/confusing me with my italian, but i think ill get back on track when i return to Italy.
Still not really in culture shock(haha doesnt help that i am in mexico). Not sure if thats a good or bad thing. I kind of want to expereince it, but other exchange students i know who have gone on exchange in the past told me it made them depressed. I dont know. But for me its all gooooood
Still not really in culture shock(haha doesnt help that i am in mexico). Not sure if thats a good or bad thing. I kind of want to expereince it, but other exchange students i know who have gone on exchange in the past told me it made them depressed. I dont know. But for me its all gooooood
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