One might think, why go on exchange? Everywhere else in the world is the same, we all have food, we all have cars, we all have buildings. the world is modernized and its all the same(yes i did have a friend who said this to me once) i guess if you look at it that way it is true. But once you do come here, though it took me some time, you really do experience the culture shock. for me, it didnt really hit like a lightning bolt. But it hit me, though most countries in the world may have similarities like that, i came here and noticed all the small little habits and things about italy, and that italians do, thats what makes them italian. I cant even describe it. I guess if you came here as a tourist(like i did 2 years ago, thats when i fell in love with the country) you think its so pretty and blah blah blah, and you see that there are modern buildings and shops and cars etc. everything normal. But when you actually come and live here, you see it. trust me, it hits you.
Ive finally settled in, despite the fact I just changed famlies about a month ago. I feel really at home :)
But its not the same as home home, of course. But being away from home all this time really makes you miss stupid little things that used to be so normal, or things you might have even found a little annoying or hated. It's a lot like that saying you never realize what you had until you lose it. But i know i havent lost it, When i return home im excited to see all my family and friends, but itll be really weird. I cant really imagine how itll be at all. I just know i really do miss them. But the overall feeling, of going back home is sort of a blurr, because my experience here is so great i really dont want to leave!
ok, I'm not gonna lie. When i said im blown away at the fact ive survived these past 5 months. It sounds stupid, oh yeah yeah, im going abroad for a year, and yeah its kinda like a vacation. or thats what it may seem. yeah i guess i sort of am taking a year off, but i still do some school work. but thats not the hard part! aside from that.. sorry.. What i mean to say, is that going on exchange really is so much harder than you may think. Many people might think its just a year off, a year to travel. But it's SUCH A CHALLENGE! The emotional roller coaster you go through, is like something youve never experienced before. Ive had some really hard times where all i wanted to do, was be anywhere but here, but realized i finally did just miss home. I was so against missing home because i didnt want to be sad. But I think it was just because I had a lot of problems with my last family. But exchange in general, aside from the family, its the whole idea, of when you are here, nothing is familiar to you. You have to establish youre own life, do everything on your own, and figure it all out on your own. yes you do have a host family, but it really does feel that way. But even though its only been 5 months, i can honstly say i feel like ive grown up a lot. and theres still 5 more months to come!
I dont know, the whole experience is actually really hard to explain, unless youve done the experience. This is why all exchange students, even if youve talked maybe one time, you keep in touch. At camps we have the best time together, even if weve never hung out or talked before, we all can relate and we understand eachother, and the problems were all going through. Its the weirdest strong bond you can imagine(i thinkk..)
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hmmm, ok so whatsup been up with me....?
My birthday just passed about 2 weeks ago, My family was realllyyy nice and took me to milan for my birthday, i got to go shopping. Then we went to an indian restaurant, because they remembered that i once said i love and missed international food(not so common in italy, almost all food in italy is italian. i know people who've NEVER had chinese food in their life here in italy. that shocked me...). And it was REALLY GOOD! They got me other presents too, but they gave me headphones during dinner. that sounds little, but i thought it was SOOO cute of them, because they remembered like the first day i was with them, and i pulled out my laptop with my ripped headphones(only one, because my host sister from the last family the 4 year old ripped it off, and the wire hanged off and sometimes shocked me. but i was too low on money to buy another pair xD ). I thought it was so cute they actually remember things i say, and small little things like that! i feel like they actually care about me and listen :) so yeah they got me new headphones :)
This was probably the best way a birthday in italy could have gone with the family. They are the nicest! I had also wanted to do something with my closest friends here, but afs was sort of stupid and forbid us from seeing eachother(because they dont like us speaking english together, so stupid)
Not much else has happened. Normal life goes on, normal days pass on. Italian school really is hell. The buildings are crappy, there are no school sports or clubs(for this reason ive gotten fat, if you ever go on exchange and gain a heck load of weight, dont be sad or surprised. its so normal) you dont change classrooms so you dont get to know anyone more than just your own class, and the teachers dont know how to teach. They only lecture! for this reason i think the marks standards are sort of different. i stated this before, but like good and passing is a 6 out of 10. in america, some people like throw fits if they get lower than 8.... as in a B. but yeah american teachers like do slideshows, and pictures, and sometimes activities to help explain. here the teachers just sit or stand and lecture. like, its really hard to focus when the lesson is just taught that way... its so boring!
It had been like one week short of 5 months, and i JUST got my school books. Since i follow(or at least try to) subjects, i had to have books. With the other family, I had asked the first month, still nothing, then the second, then the third, then the fourth was like holidays time, and i was by then, reall trying to change families. I didnt feel like i had really established a life there. I felt stuck(also didnt help that i lived in a forest, couldnt really get out, and it was difficult since i am from a big city) so i sort of gave up trying to get books through this family. I hoped my tutors would help me out, or i could get used ones from someone else. But during those past 4 months i had been sharing books with my classmates, most of them are pretty nice(italians are famous for being friendly. yes its true. but since their social system and school system as in the stay in once class part, is different... i find it really hard to break into a group of friends. theyve been with the same group of people all through high school, everything is established. whereas in america you always change, and your friends change, and you make new friends every year). Anyways, in this new family, i got my books. FINALLY! thank goodness i have two older host sisters. i feel like they kind of saved me. they are 21 and 19. The 19 year old went to my school, she even had some of the same teachers i have. But yeah i got her books which was really great. finally.. omg. xD So now after 5 months, i understand the language A LOT MORE and NOW i HAVE the books, so i can legit follow the lessons. I do math, physics, astronomy, and now latin. Though for latin i dont get marks i think... But my host family knows i really want to be an archaeologist, so they are helping me out and suggested i study latin. So now i have 4 classes of Prima, which is first year of high school, equivalent to freshmen. And let me tell you, (excuse my language) Latin is a pain in the ass. I seriously thought italian grammar was difficult, try latin! but whatever. hopefully it really will help me get the job i want, and maybe itll help me with SATs! But i come home everyday(since i have like 9 hours of latin a week) and complain, my family always jokes about how i should change what i want to do as a career. its cute :) im so happy with this new family
About the new family:
The family is the mom, dad, and 2 daughters(like i said before), oh and the doggy iara :) i love dogs! (or at least i think thats how you spell her name, but its pronounced like eee-yar-a) My host sisters both attend university in milan. So i only get to see them during the weekends when they come home. During the week, I have school, my host rents work, they work together in dentistry. I come home around lunch time, and my host mom always come homes just to make lunch for me :) its so cute. before i never had lunch.. and then she goes back to work, and i study, sleep or watch tv. i dont know. when they get back We all work together to prepare dinner, its actually really cute. and we have funny conversations during dinner. i think with the other family trhe tv was always on, and we never really talked. but maybe just because the children were young and they liked the tv. But i like that here i get along with my family really well, and i can watch whatever i want on tv(before it was always hogged by the kids) and with this family, we speak in almost only in italian! (language, another paragraph after this) As for my sisters, I'm really grateful to have older sisters. I can relate to them more, they like and want to do the same things as me. we watch tv shows together, paint each others nails, cook and bake together, and we want to travel together and see the same things. They also both can drive, and of course, they have other italian friends(my host sisters are like best friends, so they go out together) and they bring me if i want. Also because honestly to make real good italian friends on our own, especially when youre the new kid, and when you live in a forest and cant go out, its pretty difficult. the first month or two here in italy i was always asked to go out, but i could never go out.. so then everyone stopped asking me to hangout..but now, i live closer to my italian friends so i can actually do something with them. and i have older host sisters who i can go out with too! I'm sooo unbelievably happy with this family.
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| Me with one of my sisters Ari, out walking around in the center |
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| Cooking with Vale |
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| Making chocolate chip cookies for Intercultura (Novara) dinner we had(which i mention in the last paragraph). This looks weird that im chopping up a giant block of chocolate, but here apparently they dont have chocolate chips like in america, so you gotta do it this way. The chocolate chips still tasted good though :) At the dinner brittany and i both had to make something from our countries. Her cookies failled because she forgot sugar.....................So mine were totally way better xD |
Like with this family I actually get to go out EVERY weekend. Before i would have to plan way ahead of time to do things saturday night. Pretty much the only way i could go out late at night(because the family went to bed at like 10 at night, and they wouldnt drive me) is if i took the train to the city where my other exchange student friend lived, and stayed the night at her house. Its fun with her, but because of this i spoke lots of english with her, we were together too much, and i never really intereacted that much with other italians. Because i wasnt really close enough with any italian friends to ask them to drive 30 minutes to get me, thats too much to ask. so this was how it was the first 4 months. There were a few times that i did go out with my italian friends saturday and friday nights(since my school is one of the few rare ones that doesnt have school saturday) but mostly i went to novara with my aussie friend. But yeah, here, now, if i dont have plans of my own, or if i want, i can go out with my host sisters. This way i always have something to do, and im making new friends through them :) and this family actually does a lot, lots of outings, activities, theyre kept busy! i like that! and i really feel like my life has established here since they recently singed me up for a gym :) (i really need it, in america at minimum 15 hours of sports a week, here nothing) i feel as though my life here is set. like, just because i was signed up for something, its like.. yeah im here. i live here. i have a membership for something! sounds stupid but yeah
Italian language:
So by now, my italian is ok. Like i understand pretty much all conversation. But EVERYONE thinks i cant speak it, nor understand it. But only because i never really speak it. Im so shy and scared because i sound like and idiot. which is another reason im, really happy with this family, in 1 month with this family ive learned so much, and i can now actually speak it :) before i could understand just basic basic conversation. Im behind almost everyone else, which really kind of makes me sad because everyone else can speak it like fluently by now, and my host family (current one) hosted an american dude, and they said after one month he spoke like i do now. that really kind of hurts to know that ive been here 5 months and i speak like a one monther. Like im so sad i wasted all that time in the forest. In the other family, even when i tried to speka in italian, they responded in english. it didnt help at all! and because we lived in the middle of no where, too far from everything, i could rarely go to italian class. for this reason i learned like nothing. so yes my italian is improving, but i know it should and could be much better. Now i understand almost everything i think. and i can speak much much better. I can write fairly well, but i know there is much much more to learn. The only thing i dont really know is like random words like water bottle, or grape, or rainbow, or ceilling. But i know how to talk and stuff. Everything is better with this family, Im just really sad i wasted almost half of my whole experience like it that. I had already studied italian ( a little bit) before i came! i should be ahead of everyone else! my italian friends think im the most retarded thing ever, i think. its so sad.
but anyways, things are improving :) lets cross our fingers i speak it well when i come back home:)
So thats my update!!!
Love Rachael
P.S.(post scriptum<-----Latin) i never mentioned that there is a dude named carlo in my class. or my main class anyways. my class 4C had always been talking about him the first 4 months, then he came back in mid january. He went on exchange to australia! It was really cool to meet him, and hes really nice! Its nice to know theres someone there just to talk to if i need it. It was a bit awk though because I was in what seemed like HIS class, like i took his place, then he came back and the first day he didnt have a seat. hahaha awk
oh and we had a AFS intercultura Novara dinner. Where the aussie girl and i(only ones here currently on exchange) and the people of novara province who had gone on exchange in the past, all came together for a dinner. and we all talked a bit about our experiences, and for brittany and i, how we like italy and our expereince so far. but they made us say it in italian.. :P
but it was cool, i got to meet more new people, and ex-exchange students! so they understand the changes and the shocks and the whole idea, which is nice to have those people to talk to.
ok, davvero davvero finito! xD
se volete chiedere qualcosa, chiedete! posso rispondere in inglese o italiano! c'e tantissimo piu! ma le mani fanno male xD abbanstanza per oggi, per questo post.
Brava Rachael, confido in te per continuare questa fantastica esperienza nel miglior modo possibile!
ReplyDeleteQuando hai bisogno di aiuto o qualsiasi cosa cercami pure, sempre disponibile:)
Lorenzo