Some people dont understand America. They dont understand that it seriously is like the world's largest melting pot. Like here, or all around the world I'm pretty sure people are aware that America is diverse, but they cant really get it in their head, or picture it. There are people from every country around the world, people of mixed races. It's a diverse country! That's what makes us America.
It's really strange and awkward for me, because in Italy, everything is Italian. I mean obviously, but very very italian, only italian. Only Italians food, people, culture, everything. I guess thats one of the biggest differences for me. Where I live in america, people of all races are accepted for the most part. But here, the culture is so strong in Italian-ness, that they view even people who are asian or african, but were born and raised in italy, who know everything only to be italian, as foreigners. they dont see them as italian.
People think America is one race, i guess it is. But Americans are made of all races mixed together. When i walk around, people look and stare at me, badly. Like as if im another one of the immigraters that Italians all seem to hate. Some people dont believe I'm American, as if its impossible. Like they dont realize that America is made of so many different cultures, that being american means you life the american life, the culture, but your roots are always something different.
No one questions other Americans, because they look normal, caucasion, what "Americans" are thought to be. But then they question me. I bet if you ask the other americans, they might not know their roots because their families came from wherever they came from a long long long time ago, or they might say that they are part norwegian, or part italian, or polish, or swedish, or french, the only reason no one asks though is because they are caucasion and look like a typical american, but Americans can be chinese, or indian, or ethiopian, algerian, taiwanese, japanese, columbian, mexican, and canadian too. you name it. We seriously are from all over the world, and we are still American.
I dont understand why people dont understand this. I know I'm repeating a lot, but does this make sense? or am i just rambling on.. I'm really cranky. Main point: People dont believe I am american, they think being chinese american(What i am) is somehow different from any other american. But really, all Americans are mixtures, i dont see how its any different. Some people are really close minded. It's just really difficult for me to be here, because no one believes me, or if they do, they think its still somehow different, like my life isnt really an american culture. Idk, in my opinion i think they see me as like a foreigner in my own country. Maybe they think like i belong in china. Like, i dont know why I'm just noticing all this now. I guess it's because i thought people didnt talk to me in the beginning because i didnt speak italian. ok fair enough. but now i speak it, and people still dont talk to me. Yes a few people started to talk to me more, but the rest, nope. I guess i thought that after i would be able to speak italian, life would magically get better, and id be considered more normal here. But i guess i will always be looked at as a foreigner here, but not just any other foreigner like an exchange student(italians for the most part love exchange students and are always really curious) but a chinese one. and Italians really dont like chinese or africans.
p.s. some people think all asians are only chinese......
oh and one time i was just out and about, and someone came up to me and said ni hao, and pulled their eyes back at me like making fun of asians, and then my friend(italian) established that im american. and THEN he apologized.. that's just not right. It's really awkward being a chinese american in a country that hates chinese but loves americans. Especially when i LOOK chinese. so for all the people that dont know me, for all they know i am chinese, so i feel like they hate me a lot more.
Life is great.. Italy has made me a lot more independent, but a lot more self conscious and in a difficult position with who I am, conflicted. I've Never been uncomfortable in my own skin before. I guess obstacles like this make you stronger! However. I am Chinese American. Deal with it. Even though obviously not everyone in italy is like this, it's just a lot more of this behavior than in America. obviously.. Anyways, I hate prejudices, and I hate racism. Now i kind of miss America.
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!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
6 mesi. Sardegna. Carnevale
Heyyy so It's six months today. in italy. wowwww!!! only 4 more months left :(
So today i just got back from Sardegna. I went for my exchange week. and I was also there during carnival. Today has been a really busy day, and i actually have to go. But I will update and write lots more sometime within the next 3 days. I'll put up pics and write about sardegna and stuff. :)
thanks readers! check back here sunday!
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Ok. Life. Life in Italy, i guess everyday is the same, or school days at least. days go by, I've established a normal routine. Actually it ws sort of established right away with the new family. WOO!! two months with them :) sono contenta
Tonight I went out to dinner with a girl who will go on exchange next year, to argentina. She's from Novara province. I met with her because my host mom is an afs volunteer, and she wanted to meet with me. It was really cool that someone wanted to meet me, i dont know why but it just was. anyways i explained to her things that i never really thought to write here before. or maybe i did write(seeing as i write a lot) and forgot and its somewhere wayyyy down low in my old posts idk. buttt here it is:
>going on exchange, Is the most difficult challenge ever. Things you once thought were once so simple, everyday things have become some of the biggest challenges. like i used to think going to school was normal. Yeah i know in america i had life good, walking across the street. but even if i didnt have that, normally youd drive ten minutes at maximum to go to school. Thats just how the school system is in america, they are all the same and theres one in like every town. But in italy, since there are diffiernet kinds of schools, you have to travel to go to the kind of school you want to go to, and in italy everything is like small villages. (like my first family, was in a forest in a village of 3,900 people give or take. and this new family in GHEMME famous for wine, has about the same number of people) anyways here in italy every morning i have to take the bus at 6:55 in the morning just so that i can get to school on time. But get this, even though school starts at 8, i get there at 7:20 or sometimes 7:16 and i have to wait outside until it opens at 7:30. then i wait inside where its warm. I have to do this because its the only bus that goes to the town of my school in the morning, the next bus that goes there is like 1 in the afternoon and thats when i finish school.. But the point is, life is just different here. The culture. like i wrote before in my 5months post, there are things that are normal, the same, yeah theres cars, schools etc. but the culture. the way its done or gone about. its so weird for me to have to do this in the morning every day.. but whatever, its become routine.
> another big thing was making friends. I guess i used to take having friends for granted. but now i really miss my friends, and here its so hard to make friends. Only because the school system is a little bit different, or just, everything in general. like becuase everyone lives in small little towns, generally theyve lived there their whole lives. soooo they have their own little group of their own village friends. then at school since in high school you stay in the same class with the same group for all 5 years of high school, they already have their groups established. its so hard to break into it. its hard to make friends :\
Overall I just told this girl that When you go on exchange, its the most difficult experience of your life. But you will grow so much. You will always be tired, because everything is always new, there is something new everyday. And you will be tired from having to focus on trying to understand and listen to the language. (like me, i fall asleep everytime we watch a movie in all italian with no subtitles or anything) Things that were once simple, might not be anymore. A culture shock will hit you, maybe not right away, but it will. You will miss things you never thought you would. Stupid little things might point out to you. And you will have to try your hardest, so hard to do everything. To understand, speak, make friends, everything, because you have to start and establish your own life
(yeah a lot of that is actually repeated.. my bad.. and some of that stuff i listed i didnt tell the girl.. i guess i forgot but i hope shes reading this :) )
in conclusion of 6 months: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO only 4 months left :'(
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La settimana di scambio(the exchange week) in SARDEGNA!! (sardenia)
I left for Sardegna Wednesday morning, March 2nd. Arrived in Cagliari, the main city of Sardegna. I was the only one for the exchange week, but it was all good because i got to hangout with all the other exchange students of Sardegna.
At first I didnt want to go, like i really wanted to participate in the exchange week, but there weren't many other posts left. A lot of people were like omg sardegna! you get to go there! yeah it was really pretty, i was excited for a week of a whole new culture(p.s. in sardegna they consider themselves sardo, not italian, and they speak another language, which i learned some words of the language. called "Sardo" obviously haha) I had originally looked into doing exchange week in puglia, or a place near napoli, becuase then id be able to see pompei. Im a really big history freak.
I dont know, Sardegna turned out to be a lot better than I thought it would be. I honestly don't really enjoy beaches much, or the sun for that fact, like ill only stand being in the sun if its like worth it, like for example if i go to Egypt and its burning hot, but its ok cuz im seeing something awesome.
Anyways, I didn't think Sardegna would suck, i thought itd be pretty, and interesting because there was lots of stuff to do on the program(but initially didnt like the idea of sardegna at all because what its mostly famous for is beaches..)
I get there and EVERYONE is so nice! We did see some beaches, which were really pretty, and they took me to see some historical things, and Carnival was amazing. It was FESTA FESTA FESTA always! carnival was a big famous thing in the city i stayed at. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
The first few days I went to school with my host sister in Oristano. and we went to see the Nuraghi, ancient buildings, like villages:
Throughout the week we were also taken to see the beach and other archaeological sites, the beaches were beautiful!!! the weather, sometimes it was REALLY hot because the sun was almost always out, only except for that one day we went to see the nuraghi (pic above) but we couldn't swim because sometimes there was wind, and when theres wind, its freezing. It was really annoying because you would be wearing a jacket when theres wind, then when it goes away it was really hot, then wind would come back. So the whole day youd be taking your jacket on and off.
Archaeological site: Tharros :) took pics but it wont let me put it here right now.. dont know why maybe later. but you can google it!
Then CARNIVAL! Sardegna was the only regione that did a camp for carnival, i guess because its such a big deal there. So there was a camp in Terrabla (I stayed in the city of Oristano about 20 minutres away by car) where all the ragazzi of sardegna stayed.Iit was one week long, the same week I was there. So Saturday night, there was a festa of intercultura, we all decided to go (took a lot of effort, because the two girls of Oristano should have gone to the camp, but they stayed with me, but Oristano Intercultura was stupid and made it difficult for us to go. but we managed!)
There I got to see all the other ragazzi of intercultura of Sardegna! it was awesome! I never get to see other exchange students! because in my local chapter its only me and the australian girl Brittany. (which by the way, since i changed families, AND she changed families, we now live 10 minutes away bar car. its friggin awesome! ) But it was so fun to see everyone else! and since its been past 5 months, it was cool because we were speaking to each other in italian, not english this time :) haha I actually had one friend from Russia who lost her english really bad because in Sardegna no one speaks english. only Italian and Sardo. (paragraph on language later) Anyways, Its just always really fun when you are with other exchange students, always! like i mentioned before, you just have a bond, and you all get along so well, i love it! oh, and I got to see my other american friends, and one of my friends who is also from seattle :) from all of United States, there are 60 of us in Italy now, for the year program. Im not sure about 6 months.. more came. and just from Seattle, we are 6.
Carneval sunday, we saw the parade of the SARTIGLIA:
It was really cool! and really pretty! I dont know but im really into like everything "typical" and historical. Like i feel the need to take a picture of every single thing typical, and when i chose my exchange week, i saw this and immediatly wanted it because it had "The Sartiglia". Anyways, there are like 120 horses and horse riders all masked, and women and children dressed up.
So this is what happens during the day. and all day long there are people running around in their costumes, normally more children during the day. Then at night there in the center was a band that played traditional sardenian music, and everyone gathered around in the center piazza to dance! I took a video but i cant put it here. Then in sardegna, particularly oristano, There is a typical wine called Vernacia. People everywhere at night drinking it, there were actually a lot of drunk people, but it was ok. We tried some of it, for the "culture", it was good. But at night just the vernacia, costumes, and dancing! It doesn't sound like much, but the city was so alive! I dont know how to explain how fun it was!
It was like this for three days, and no school. :)
I dont know, Maybe it doesnt sound like much, maybe it sounds like a lot, but it was so fun! and i found that people in sardegna(or at least in my opinion) are so much friendlier! in the one week i was in sardegna, i went out with italians more than i had in m entire 5 months here.. thats so sad. but maybe not because of the culture, but because of my first family, where i couldnt really go out.. but the point is they were really friendly.
(i stayed 8 days, not one week, because from sardegna, there werent any planes flying out until the next day)
Sardegna Culture: Its so different. They speak Sardo. Everyone seems to be more open, so much more friendly. Their accent is stronger, much like the italian i imagined all italians would speak like.They are more laid back. And they smoke, A LOT! The culture in sardegna is considered south, yet sardegna is completly different from the rest of italy.
But the culture there, it's a lot more like how i imaged typical italy, its strange. The weather, the people, the behavior of people, everything!
Language: Like i was saying before, It was really cool that when i was with all the other exchange students, we spoke with eachother in italian. In sardegna, i was always really tired, even more than i am with this new family(with this family i speak only italian, and im always tired) because nooo one in sardegna speaks english! I as more tiredf than normal becuase normally at school or something, i have at least a little of english in my everyday life! i know its not good, but thats just how it is. and so in sardegna, nothing.. everyday, all the time, italian. and sardo.. Soooooo During this week, My vocabulary might not have grown, but i learned to understand better, i understood before, but now i understand even when people talk faster, and with accents(other exchange students speaking italian) and i can speak more fluidly, i dont have to think so much now when i speak, it just comes. but my vocabulary still isnt very good. I want to know everyword in the dictionary! i know its not realistic but its a noble goal xD my friend alice in class(also my table partner) and i are making lists at school of all the random words we can think of. it helps a lot! a lot more than youd think.
so overall, my italian has gotten a lot better, in only one week! lesson learned, being absolutly surrounded with the language, 24/7 seriously helps.
Oh and i learned sardo. Aio=andiamo/dai=let's go/c'mon. eia=si=yeahh
and other words, but they arent very appropriate hahah le parolace!
ok so sardegna was awesome, Though at the same time i was a little bummed for two reasons. I missed out on the big costume party at the discoteca for carnival with my host sisters, they dressed up in really cute funny costumes and everyone else did too! it's like halloween i guess, but the cotumes are crazier! Second reason im bummed, i couldnt be with the other ragazzi of my own regione piemonte for carnival. I dont know, im at a crossing with this one, because im happy i got to be with everyone in sardegna, im happy i went to sardegna, it was beautful! and i learned so much, but i still miss my friends from my own regione(live to far from me but still my own regione) and i wish i could have gone to the carnival in ivrea also. I guess we cant have everything! xD
Everyone from my regione, or almost everyone went to Ivrea for carnival. something typical here, Its the battle of oranges! La Battaglia delle Arance!! so yeah these pictures below are of The carnival in ivrea, the thing everyone from my regione was invited to, and i should have gone to, but instead i went to sardegna! ma vabbé sono conteta che ho scelto per andare in sardegna! :) it was so fun!!
So today i just got back from Sardegna. I went for my exchange week. and I was also there during carnival. Today has been a really busy day, and i actually have to go. But I will update and write lots more sometime within the next 3 days. I'll put up pics and write about sardegna and stuff. :)
thanks readers! check back here sunday!
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Ok. Life. Life in Italy, i guess everyday is the same, or school days at least. days go by, I've established a normal routine. Actually it ws sort of established right away with the new family. WOO!! two months with them :) sono contenta
Tonight I went out to dinner with a girl who will go on exchange next year, to argentina. She's from Novara province. I met with her because my host mom is an afs volunteer, and she wanted to meet with me. It was really cool that someone wanted to meet me, i dont know why but it just was. anyways i explained to her things that i never really thought to write here before. or maybe i did write(seeing as i write a lot) and forgot and its somewhere wayyyy down low in my old posts idk. buttt here it is:
>going on exchange, Is the most difficult challenge ever. Things you once thought were once so simple, everyday things have become some of the biggest challenges. like i used to think going to school was normal. Yeah i know in america i had life good, walking across the street. but even if i didnt have that, normally youd drive ten minutes at maximum to go to school. Thats just how the school system is in america, they are all the same and theres one in like every town. But in italy, since there are diffiernet kinds of schools, you have to travel to go to the kind of school you want to go to, and in italy everything is like small villages. (like my first family, was in a forest in a village of 3,900 people give or take. and this new family in GHEMME famous for wine, has about the same number of people) anyways here in italy every morning i have to take the bus at 6:55 in the morning just so that i can get to school on time. But get this, even though school starts at 8, i get there at 7:20 or sometimes 7:16 and i have to wait outside until it opens at 7:30. then i wait inside where its warm. I have to do this because its the only bus that goes to the town of my school in the morning, the next bus that goes there is like 1 in the afternoon and thats when i finish school.. But the point is, life is just different here. The culture. like i wrote before in my 5months post, there are things that are normal, the same, yeah theres cars, schools etc. but the culture. the way its done or gone about. its so weird for me to have to do this in the morning every day.. but whatever, its become routine.
> another big thing was making friends. I guess i used to take having friends for granted. but now i really miss my friends, and here its so hard to make friends. Only because the school system is a little bit different, or just, everything in general. like becuase everyone lives in small little towns, generally theyve lived there their whole lives. soooo they have their own little group of their own village friends. then at school since in high school you stay in the same class with the same group for all 5 years of high school, they already have their groups established. its so hard to break into it. its hard to make friends :\
Overall I just told this girl that When you go on exchange, its the most difficult experience of your life. But you will grow so much. You will always be tired, because everything is always new, there is something new everyday. And you will be tired from having to focus on trying to understand and listen to the language. (like me, i fall asleep everytime we watch a movie in all italian with no subtitles or anything) Things that were once simple, might not be anymore. A culture shock will hit you, maybe not right away, but it will. You will miss things you never thought you would. Stupid little things might point out to you. And you will have to try your hardest, so hard to do everything. To understand, speak, make friends, everything, because you have to start and establish your own life
(yeah a lot of that is actually repeated.. my bad.. and some of that stuff i listed i didnt tell the girl.. i guess i forgot but i hope shes reading this :) )
in conclusion of 6 months: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO only 4 months left :'(
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La settimana di scambio(the exchange week) in SARDEGNA!! (sardenia)
I left for Sardegna Wednesday morning, March 2nd. Arrived in Cagliari, the main city of Sardegna. I was the only one for the exchange week, but it was all good because i got to hangout with all the other exchange students of Sardegna.
At first I didnt want to go, like i really wanted to participate in the exchange week, but there weren't many other posts left. A lot of people were like omg sardegna! you get to go there! yeah it was really pretty, i was excited for a week of a whole new culture(p.s. in sardegna they consider themselves sardo, not italian, and they speak another language, which i learned some words of the language. called "Sardo" obviously haha) I had originally looked into doing exchange week in puglia, or a place near napoli, becuase then id be able to see pompei. Im a really big history freak.
I dont know, Sardegna turned out to be a lot better than I thought it would be. I honestly don't really enjoy beaches much, or the sun for that fact, like ill only stand being in the sun if its like worth it, like for example if i go to Egypt and its burning hot, but its ok cuz im seeing something awesome.
Anyways, I didn't think Sardegna would suck, i thought itd be pretty, and interesting because there was lots of stuff to do on the program(but initially didnt like the idea of sardegna at all because what its mostly famous for is beaches..)
I get there and EVERYONE is so nice! We did see some beaches, which were really pretty, and they took me to see some historical things, and Carnival was amazing. It was FESTA FESTA FESTA always! carnival was a big famous thing in the city i stayed at. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
The first few days I went to school with my host sister in Oristano. and we went to see the Nuraghi, ancient buildings, like villages:
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| one of them, they are all over sardegna, theyre famous in sardegna. oh, and sheep and cacti are everywhere too |
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| Inside a nuraghi |
Archaeological site: Tharros :) took pics but it wont let me put it here right now.. dont know why maybe later. but you can google it!
Then CARNIVAL! Sardegna was the only regione that did a camp for carnival, i guess because its such a big deal there. So there was a camp in Terrabla (I stayed in the city of Oristano about 20 minutres away by car) where all the ragazzi of sardegna stayed.Iit was one week long, the same week I was there. So Saturday night, there was a festa of intercultura, we all decided to go (took a lot of effort, because the two girls of Oristano should have gone to the camp, but they stayed with me, but Oristano Intercultura was stupid and made it difficult for us to go. but we managed!)
There I got to see all the other ragazzi of intercultura of Sardegna! it was awesome! I never get to see other exchange students! because in my local chapter its only me and the australian girl Brittany. (which by the way, since i changed families, AND she changed families, we now live 10 minutes away bar car. its friggin awesome! ) But it was so fun to see everyone else! and since its been past 5 months, it was cool because we were speaking to each other in italian, not english this time :) haha I actually had one friend from Russia who lost her english really bad because in Sardegna no one speaks english. only Italian and Sardo. (paragraph on language later) Anyways, Its just always really fun when you are with other exchange students, always! like i mentioned before, you just have a bond, and you all get along so well, i love it! oh, and I got to see my other american friends, and one of my friends who is also from seattle :) from all of United States, there are 60 of us in Italy now, for the year program. Im not sure about 6 months.. more came. and just from Seattle, we are 6.
Carneval sunday, we saw the parade of the SARTIGLIA:
It was really cool! and really pretty! I dont know but im really into like everything "typical" and historical. Like i feel the need to take a picture of every single thing typical, and when i chose my exchange week, i saw this and immediatly wanted it because it had "The Sartiglia". Anyways, there are like 120 horses and horse riders all masked, and women and children dressed up.
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| One of the many different groups of masked men. They decorate the horses too. |
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| The traditional clothing and costumes |
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| This design on these horses are of the flag of Sardenia (Bandierra di Sardegna) |
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| I didnt really understand the significance of this dude, but hee's the main dude and waves the green flower stick in the shape of a cross. |
So what do these people do? there is like a whole street covered in dirt, and hay (sort of a problem for me because im allergic to hay and horses.. i died a little bit, but i didnt touch anything :) ) and in the middle between two trees a string with a silver star hangs. the star has a hole, and the masked men on the horses have to run through the course with a sword like stick. I forgot the name. like lancing.. lancing stick? lancing sword? So they have to run through on the horse through the whole street and charge at the star, and get the sword through the hole in the star. its a game! they do this over and over again for many many of the masked men. I don't think all of them go.. i didnt count. I couldnt get good pictures of it because i sat all the way at the top of the bleachers, but you can google "sartiglia". Then later in the evening they do acrobatics on the horses! that event was too crowded i couldn't go to see it, but i watched it on the screen, it looks like this:
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| Yeah they do this while the horses are running.. thats right |
It was like this for three days, and no school. :)
I dont know, Maybe it doesnt sound like much, maybe it sounds like a lot, but it was so fun! and i found that people in sardegna(or at least in my opinion) are so much friendlier! in the one week i was in sardegna, i went out with italians more than i had in m entire 5 months here.. thats so sad. but maybe not because of the culture, but because of my first family, where i couldnt really go out.. but the point is they were really friendly.
(i stayed 8 days, not one week, because from sardegna, there werent any planes flying out until the next day)
Sardegna Culture: Its so different. They speak Sardo. Everyone seems to be more open, so much more friendly. Their accent is stronger, much like the italian i imagined all italians would speak like.They are more laid back. And they smoke, A LOT! The culture in sardegna is considered south, yet sardegna is completly different from the rest of italy.
But the culture there, it's a lot more like how i imaged typical italy, its strange. The weather, the people, the behavior of people, everything!
Language: Like i was saying before, It was really cool that when i was with all the other exchange students, we spoke with eachother in italian. In sardegna, i was always really tired, even more than i am with this new family(with this family i speak only italian, and im always tired) because nooo one in sardegna speaks english! I as more tiredf than normal becuase normally at school or something, i have at least a little of english in my everyday life! i know its not good, but thats just how it is. and so in sardegna, nothing.. everyday, all the time, italian. and sardo.. Soooooo During this week, My vocabulary might not have grown, but i learned to understand better, i understood before, but now i understand even when people talk faster, and with accents(other exchange students speaking italian) and i can speak more fluidly, i dont have to think so much now when i speak, it just comes. but my vocabulary still isnt very good. I want to know everyword in the dictionary! i know its not realistic but its a noble goal xD my friend alice in class(also my table partner) and i are making lists at school of all the random words we can think of. it helps a lot! a lot more than youd think.
so overall, my italian has gotten a lot better, in only one week! lesson learned, being absolutly surrounded with the language, 24/7 seriously helps.
Oh and i learned sardo. Aio=andiamo/dai=let's go/c'mon. eia=si=yeahh
and other words, but they arent very appropriate hahah le parolace!
ok so sardegna was awesome, Though at the same time i was a little bummed for two reasons. I missed out on the big costume party at the discoteca for carnival with my host sisters, they dressed up in really cute funny costumes and everyone else did too! it's like halloween i guess, but the cotumes are crazier! Second reason im bummed, i couldnt be with the other ragazzi of my own regione piemonte for carnival. I dont know, im at a crossing with this one, because im happy i got to be with everyone in sardegna, im happy i went to sardegna, it was beautful! and i learned so much, but i still miss my friends from my own regione(live to far from me but still my own regione) and i wish i could have gone to the carnival in ivrea also. I guess we cant have everything! xD
Everyone from my regione, or almost everyone went to Ivrea for carnival. something typical here, Its the battle of oranges! La Battaglia delle Arance!! so yeah these pictures below are of The carnival in ivrea, the thing everyone from my regione was invited to, and i should have gone to, but instead i went to sardegna! ma vabbé sono conteta che ho scelto per andare in sardegna! :) it was so fun!!
but yeah if im missing anything, ill add more later. peace
p.s. scrivero qualcosa piu in italiano piu tardi quando ho piu tempo
Monday, February 28, 2011
It Ain't a Leap Year. Darn, wanted to have another day in Italy.
Lame title. But its end of February and that's all i could think of.
Life is soooooooooo good.
February Summary:
AUTOGESTIONE
there was autogestione. i dont think i mentioned it before. but there was like 2 days the second week of february as i recall, where only students teach lessons. it kind of reminded me of school back in america, not that students teach the lessons. but because it was like a fun activity, everyone got to pick what subjects and classes they wanted to go to. just like in america.
Being the only exchange student at my school, i guess thats the reason i dont know. i was asked to teach a lesson on "Slang"
i didnt really feel like i could say no, i figured itd be kind of fun. But for like two weeks i flipped out, really nervous. im kind of a shy person when it comes to having to do soemthing in front of a group of people.
My friends and classmates were really supportive. They helped me, and they were all like excited to sign up for my lesson. I honestly hoped they were the only ones who would choose to sign up for my lesson, because im comfortable around them, and if there is like no one to talk i front of, im not scared.
I had friends come oveR(italian friends) to help me prepare. that sounds seriously retarded, but I had a list of slang words, then they helped me translate it. and make handouts for my lessons
We later found out that like 100 people igned up for it, and that it was full. 100 people is a lot. like, i got really scared. Anyways, we prepared the lesson. And two of my friends fabio and alice(who both speak english really well, and were the ones who helped me transalte) They were SOOOO nice. they made sure one of them was with me for my lesson the first day, and the other with me the second day. so i wouldnt have to be alone. they were both so helpful. so if you guys are reading this, GRAZIE MILLE!!! non potevo farlo senza voi!
The Slang lessons went fairly well, well the first one kind of sucked. There were WAY too many people in the first one, and they were a younger group so i think they were more shy to speak english since maybe they didnt know it as well. im not sure. but the second lesson with alice went much much better :)
and it did help to see some of my friends in my class
Autogestione was fun, well not like really fun actually, for me mostly stressful. but fun considering italian school standards. i hate school. i always have. but italy made me hate it more. just saying.. so basically when we all signed up for what classes we wanted to do, you have everyones name on the list of each class and you write down what clas syou want to do. im a special person.. and my name doesnt exist on the paper. you can look at it as a bad thing, and feel excluded, but i look at it like a magical thing. because since i change classes, i can kind of leave whenever i want, and no one knows where im supposed to be (which class) and like, heck, im not even sure if some teachers know my name. since its never written anywhere. no attendance for me :)
so yeah i got to go to whatever lesson i wanted during autogestione. even if it was "full" because i could just slip in and no one would know. id like to think im invisible and i can do whatever xD lol not really im not that retarded , but i really like that my name isnt on the attendance :)
I ended up following my friends from my main class around, going to lessons that they chose. and we did design and photography, then my lesson the first day. then the second day we did chinese(yeah, thats right, i already knew everything the dude was teaching) and mafia or something, wasnt really sure. then my lesson.
________________________________________________________________________________
hmmm what else?
in these past rough ten days or so snice i last updated, Things have gotten better. not that it was bad before, but like, things have gotten GOOOOOOODDD!!! :)
My friend Alice had her 18th BDAY PARTY two weekends ago. MASSIVE party! in italy, 18 is THE age to be. like, its when you can drive, drink, and youre a legal adult. like everything at once. but in america its sort of split, driving at age 16, then the adulthoodness at age 18, then drinking at age 21. i think thats kind of stupid,but ok. so yeah, anyways for us in america, its like, yeah big parties for each of those 3 massive years. but in italy, since its everything at once, its friggin massive!
btw. this was my first 18th birthday party in italy. i had been to birthday parties but not 18th birthday parties.
so for her birthday, there was a massive group of people, we all went to dinner together, and had pizza, and after we ALL went to the disco. discos are really common, normal and popular in italy. but the thing about italy, is that events start really late. and its normal to go home at like 4 i think. in america, as far as im concerned, or as far as i know, midnight or 1 is pretty late....
but yeah, we danced the night awayy
during dinner i talked a lot more(all my classmates were there too, and others) like, people didnt know i could speak italian, but seriously guys, i can! I hadnt really seen most of my classmates outside of school(my main 4c class) and it was really kind of weird. thigns are different. but i think im making more friends now. Some of them told me they wanted to tal to me from the beginning, but didnt know how to. but now, they know i can speak italian, and we talk :) everything has gotten so magically better with this family. even though i didnt leave novara when i changed families, i didn t change schools, i kind of feel as if i did. Like, everything is so different now. and ive learned so much italian in just one month. in the household now we speak practically only italian all the time. and since ive been able to speak italian, i think im making more friends. and because of my new location, i live closer to my italian friends, so i can actually go out with them. and this family, they dont mind driving me. lately, everything is getting so much better,i know i keep saing that, but really.. Im always invited out now, and i can actually go! te family doesnt mind to drive me. idk its jut reallllyyy gooood. haha my family jokes about how i am too social and i have to choose because i cant do both things xD
anyways, alices birthday party was saturday night about two weeks ago
the following day, sunday. was my host sister VALE'S BDAY. 22.
I woke up "early" like at 10 or 11 to ATTEMPT to make pancakes for her. we had a brunch, an americanized meal! (aw its so cute im always cooking and stuff with this family)
anyways, my pancakes kind of, well acutally, really failled. but my family for some reason liked them. i told them no no, americans would not eat these they are so crappy. and they said since they had never had them before, they dont know how they are really supposed to be, so like this, they were good to them. its funny because they ate all of them.. wow O.0
Monday i went to milan and met with my host sister Vale, and we went to ALL TIME LOW concert together, which was really fun! i love them! but i felt bad because when we returned home she had to continue her project for school. :(
throughout the week, i talked more with my classmates( i think) like, my class is special.. theyre really divided. theyre really groupy.. so i kind of talk to only some of them. and others we dont really even say ciao. and others only ciao. but now i talk with them much more, i think theyre happy they are now able to talk with me, and im really happy im finally learning the language already. jeez, after 5 months, c'mon!!
then this last weekend friday night i went to the movie theater with one of my host sisters and my host mom. we watched some new movie with ann hathaway in it. this is the first full movie ive seen in theaters with this family (as i recall, idk i forget a lot of things) and i actually understood almost all of it! in all italian baby! wooooooo!
ROAD TRIP! AL MARE(Liguria):
Last saturday we went to liguria for the day. We got up early and drove down south. Only about an hour or two car ride. Its like going to canada! but it was crazy because liguria has mountains everywhere. you could be standing at one part and be at the beach, and look over and across the mountains and see the snow. Its crazy!
It was a really nice day, and my family took me
around a bunch of places. it was sooo pretty!
last saturday night there was another birthday party, a classmate had an 18th birthday party, the class threw her a surprise dinner which was really sweet. :)
sunday was carnivale of ghemme. it was mostly for little kids, running around throwing confetti everywhere, and dressed up in costumes(non c'e carnevale in america) it was really cute. my family said though that this year there really werent as many people like other years. oh well. btu yeah, in ghemme(which is where i now live) for carnival they have giant pots and cook a mixture of lots of beans and other stuff that im not really quite sure what, but everyone lines up to get some. i tried it, it was really gooood.
NOW. its monday. monday night. last day of february. its been short over a month with this new family. i think one week over a month. i speak and understand italian so much better now. Im really satisfied with everything. oh, except for the fact that im now fat.
i dont know, i look back and think about the times i wanted to go home, despite how much i hated the idea of returning back to stupid high school and everything. but now, im so abnormally happy, it isnt enough time. (hence the title of this post) i wish it was leap year, then id have at least one more day here in this beautiful country.
Italy really is the best country. im so in love. cobblestones, the history, the beautiful language. the way of life, people are laid back and just chill out. i love italy.
XOXO
Rachael
P.S. Mercoledi 2 di marzo, parto per sardegna. c'e una settimana di scambio, tutti i ragazzi di intercultura che fanno un anno in italia, vanno. ci sono tante settimane che possiamo scegliere, per esempio c'e un posto in udine, rieti, latina, parma, arezzo, livorno, bari, napoli, calabria, taranto, trani, siracusa, marsala, enne, cagliari, oristano etc. ci sono tanti!!
normalmente i ragazzi del sud vengono al nord, e noi del nord andiamo al sud. io ero in ritardo a scegliere la mia settimana di scambio, quindi c'era solo pochi posti. ma quasi tutti nel nord. non volevo andare in qualche parte nel nord, perche, vivo nel nord xD c'era solo un posto nel sud, oristano, sardegna. quindi ho scelto oristano, sardegna. mi piace questo programma tanto, un bel programma, ma non mi piace questa settimana(se non vado per questa settimana, non faccio la settimana di scambio. perche non voglio pagare o andare in un altro posto dove sono gia stata come roma o venezia o milano xD
cmq, non mi piace questa settimana perche, e la settimana di carnevale. volevo stare qui per carnevale, cosi potevo andare ad Ivrea con gli altri ragazzi di intercultura(non ho visto loro per 5 mesi...). ma nooo invece vado in sardegna. si belllooo, pero, ivrea ha un grande carnevale. sono un po triste perche non posso andare ad ivrea, anche a incontrare gli altri ragazzi, i miei amici. anche le mie sorelle vanno in una discoteca, una grande festa solo per carnevale! loro mi hanno invitato, anche abbiamo preparato i vestiti.. :\ ma vabbe. sardegna.bel posto, bel programma, ma non mi piace questa settimana. (le settimane dipende dove vai, la mia è la prima settimana.) il prossimo post metto le foto qui. di ivrea(che cosa avrei visto) e anche di oristano sardegna carnevale(che cosa vedrò). sto scrivendo questo adesso perche parto fra 2 giorni, anche in sardegna forse non ho internet. quindi, il prossimo post è quando torno.
Life is soooooooooo good.
February Summary:
AUTOGESTIONE
there was autogestione. i dont think i mentioned it before. but there was like 2 days the second week of february as i recall, where only students teach lessons. it kind of reminded me of school back in america, not that students teach the lessons. but because it was like a fun activity, everyone got to pick what subjects and classes they wanted to go to. just like in america.
Being the only exchange student at my school, i guess thats the reason i dont know. i was asked to teach a lesson on "Slang"
i didnt really feel like i could say no, i figured itd be kind of fun. But for like two weeks i flipped out, really nervous. im kind of a shy person when it comes to having to do soemthing in front of a group of people.
My friends and classmates were really supportive. They helped me, and they were all like excited to sign up for my lesson. I honestly hoped they were the only ones who would choose to sign up for my lesson, because im comfortable around them, and if there is like no one to talk i front of, im not scared.
I had friends come oveR(italian friends) to help me prepare. that sounds seriously retarded, but I had a list of slang words, then they helped me translate it. and make handouts for my lessons
We later found out that like 100 people igned up for it, and that it was full. 100 people is a lot. like, i got really scared. Anyways, we prepared the lesson. And two of my friends fabio and alice(who both speak english really well, and were the ones who helped me transalte) They were SOOOO nice. they made sure one of them was with me for my lesson the first day, and the other with me the second day. so i wouldnt have to be alone. they were both so helpful. so if you guys are reading this, GRAZIE MILLE!!! non potevo farlo senza voi!
The Slang lessons went fairly well, well the first one kind of sucked. There were WAY too many people in the first one, and they were a younger group so i think they were more shy to speak english since maybe they didnt know it as well. im not sure. but the second lesson with alice went much much better :)
and it did help to see some of my friends in my class
Autogestione was fun, well not like really fun actually, for me mostly stressful. but fun considering italian school standards. i hate school. i always have. but italy made me hate it more. just saying.. so basically when we all signed up for what classes we wanted to do, you have everyones name on the list of each class and you write down what clas syou want to do. im a special person.. and my name doesnt exist on the paper. you can look at it as a bad thing, and feel excluded, but i look at it like a magical thing. because since i change classes, i can kind of leave whenever i want, and no one knows where im supposed to be (which class) and like, heck, im not even sure if some teachers know my name. since its never written anywhere. no attendance for me :)
so yeah i got to go to whatever lesson i wanted during autogestione. even if it was "full" because i could just slip in and no one would know. id like to think im invisible and i can do whatever xD lol not really im not that retarded , but i really like that my name isnt on the attendance :)
I ended up following my friends from my main class around, going to lessons that they chose. and we did design and photography, then my lesson the first day. then the second day we did chinese(yeah, thats right, i already knew everything the dude was teaching) and mafia or something, wasnt really sure. then my lesson.
________________________________________________________________________________
hmmm what else?
in these past rough ten days or so snice i last updated, Things have gotten better. not that it was bad before, but like, things have gotten GOOOOOOODDD!!! :)
My friend Alice had her 18th BDAY PARTY two weekends ago. MASSIVE party! in italy, 18 is THE age to be. like, its when you can drive, drink, and youre a legal adult. like everything at once. but in america its sort of split, driving at age 16, then the adulthoodness at age 18, then drinking at age 21. i think thats kind of stupid,but ok. so yeah, anyways for us in america, its like, yeah big parties for each of those 3 massive years. but in italy, since its everything at once, its friggin massive!
btw. this was my first 18th birthday party in italy. i had been to birthday parties but not 18th birthday parties.
so for her birthday, there was a massive group of people, we all went to dinner together, and had pizza, and after we ALL went to the disco. discos are really common, normal and popular in italy. but the thing about italy, is that events start really late. and its normal to go home at like 4 i think. in america, as far as im concerned, or as far as i know, midnight or 1 is pretty late....
 |
| Ok so this is part of my class at dinner.(Alice's Bday)Not everyone is here, and this is only one of the tables at dinner. Im the only one with black hair on the right, turned around obviously because im retarded. But yeah. |
during dinner i talked a lot more(all my classmates were there too, and others) like, people didnt know i could speak italian, but seriously guys, i can! I hadnt really seen most of my classmates outside of school(my main 4c class) and it was really kind of weird. thigns are different. but i think im making more friends now. Some of them told me they wanted to tal to me from the beginning, but didnt know how to. but now, they know i can speak italian, and we talk :) everything has gotten so magically better with this family. even though i didnt leave novara when i changed families, i didn t change schools, i kind of feel as if i did. Like, everything is so different now. and ive learned so much italian in just one month. in the household now we speak practically only italian all the time. and since ive been able to speak italian, i think im making more friends. and because of my new location, i live closer to my italian friends, so i can actually go out with them. and this family, they dont mind driving me. lately, everything is getting so much better,i know i keep saing that, but really.. Im always invited out now, and i can actually go! te family doesnt mind to drive me. idk its jut reallllyyy gooood. haha my family jokes about how i am too social and i have to choose because i cant do both things xD
anyways, alices birthday party was saturday night about two weeks ago
the following day, sunday. was my host sister VALE'S BDAY. 22.
I woke up "early" like at 10 or 11 to ATTEMPT to make pancakes for her. we had a brunch, an americanized meal! (aw its so cute im always cooking and stuff with this family)
anyways, my pancakes kind of, well acutally, really failled. but my family for some reason liked them. i told them no no, americans would not eat these they are so crappy. and they said since they had never had them before, they dont know how they are really supposed to be, so like this, they were good to them. its funny because they ate all of them.. wow O.0
Monday i went to milan and met with my host sister Vale, and we went to ALL TIME LOW concert together, which was really fun! i love them! but i felt bad because when we returned home she had to continue her project for school. :(
 | ||||
| Alex Gaskarth lead vocalist |
 |
| Me and Vale at the concert |
then this last weekend friday night i went to the movie theater with one of my host sisters and my host mom. we watched some new movie with ann hathaway in it. this is the first full movie ive seen in theaters with this family (as i recall, idk i forget a lot of things) and i actually understood almost all of it! in all italian baby! wooooooo!
ROAD TRIP! AL MARE(Liguria):
Last saturday we went to liguria for the day. We got up early and drove down south. Only about an hour or two car ride. Its like going to canada! but it was crazy because liguria has mountains everywhere. you could be standing at one part and be at the beach, and look over and across the mountains and see the snow. Its crazy!
It was a really nice day, and my family took me
around a bunch of places. it was sooo pretty!
 |
| My host sisters, my host mom and I at the beach |
 |
| So pretty and colorful! |
sunday was carnivale of ghemme. it was mostly for little kids, running around throwing confetti everywhere, and dressed up in costumes(non c'e carnevale in america) it was really cute. my family said though that this year there really werent as many people like other years. oh well. btu yeah, in ghemme(which is where i now live) for carnival they have giant pots and cook a mixture of lots of beans and other stuff that im not really quite sure what, but everyone lines up to get some. i tried it, it was really gooood.
NOW. its monday. monday night. last day of february. its been short over a month with this new family. i think one week over a month. i speak and understand italian so much better now. Im really satisfied with everything. oh, except for the fact that im now fat.
i dont know, i look back and think about the times i wanted to go home, despite how much i hated the idea of returning back to stupid high school and everything. but now, im so abnormally happy, it isnt enough time. (hence the title of this post) i wish it was leap year, then id have at least one more day here in this beautiful country.
Italy really is the best country. im so in love. cobblestones, the history, the beautiful language. the way of life, people are laid back and just chill out. i love italy.
XOXO
Rachael
P.S. Mercoledi 2 di marzo, parto per sardegna. c'e una settimana di scambio, tutti i ragazzi di intercultura che fanno un anno in italia, vanno. ci sono tante settimane che possiamo scegliere, per esempio c'e un posto in udine, rieti, latina, parma, arezzo, livorno, bari, napoli, calabria, taranto, trani, siracusa, marsala, enne, cagliari, oristano etc. ci sono tanti!!
normalmente i ragazzi del sud vengono al nord, e noi del nord andiamo al sud. io ero in ritardo a scegliere la mia settimana di scambio, quindi c'era solo pochi posti. ma quasi tutti nel nord. non volevo andare in qualche parte nel nord, perche, vivo nel nord xD c'era solo un posto nel sud, oristano, sardegna. quindi ho scelto oristano, sardegna. mi piace questo programma tanto, un bel programma, ma non mi piace questa settimana(se non vado per questa settimana, non faccio la settimana di scambio. perche non voglio pagare o andare in un altro posto dove sono gia stata come roma o venezia o milano xD
cmq, non mi piace questa settimana perche, e la settimana di carnevale. volevo stare qui per carnevale, cosi potevo andare ad Ivrea con gli altri ragazzi di intercultura(non ho visto loro per 5 mesi...). ma nooo invece vado in sardegna. si belllooo, pero, ivrea ha un grande carnevale. sono un po triste perche non posso andare ad ivrea, anche a incontrare gli altri ragazzi, i miei amici. anche le mie sorelle vanno in una discoteca, una grande festa solo per carnevale! loro mi hanno invitato, anche abbiamo preparato i vestiti.. :\ ma vabbe. sardegna.bel posto, bel programma, ma non mi piace questa settimana. (le settimane dipende dove vai, la mia è la prima settimana.) il prossimo post metto le foto qui. di ivrea(che cosa avrei visto) e anche di oristano sardegna carnevale(che cosa vedrò). sto scrivendo questo adesso perche parto fra 2 giorni, anche in sardegna forse non ho internet. quindi, il prossimo post è quando torno.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
5 months (5 mesi)
It's been 5 months in italy as of 6 days ago. Its kind of mind blowing, to think that ive actually survived this much time away from home. I dont know, my mind is at a weird place. All i can think of is just, wow. Being here, learning the new culture, it was a lot more different than i imagined it to be. I dont really know how to explain what i imagined, but it really wasnt this. Thats not meant to be a bad thing, its just different.
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..)
____________________________________________________________________________________
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.
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.
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..)
____________________________________________________________________________________
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.
 |
| Me with one of my sisters Ari, out walking around in the center |
 |
| Cooking with Vale |
 |
| 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.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
January
Ok so January first, and new years eve :)
my host family went to the mountains(Oulz, near Bardonecchia, famous for skiing) and i went to Novara with my aussie friend and we went around in the city, to a bar with friends and then later to a disco. New years day i headed over to Oulz on my own by train, and we ended up being there for about a week. I only skiied one day, the rest of the time i chilled with my columbian host sister. She cant ski, so we hung out together, some days went to the bar, some days just sat around, one day we went to torino and shopped around which is always really fun
Torino really is a beautiful city :)
Then we got back and we had school January 10th. School is awlays boring. I dont know, nothing really excited. This month I've been in the family changing process. We had an afs meeting where intercultura from my local chapter(novara) came to my house and talked to me and my family, to see how things were going. I dont know there were just a lot of little problems, and their lestyle with children was difficult for me. And they were busy with their own lives and work and the kids, I didnt really feel like i was living a full experience. I knew there were kids before coming, but i didnt think it would be so difficult for me. i dont know, i guess i just discovered im not a kid person. and there were a lot of other things, but yeah, just wasnt working sooo..
I've JUST changed families this last saturday. Saturday morning my host family helped me pack and load my stuff into the car(which by the way was like more than twice the amount of things i came here with.. but also because my uncle from germany ships me lots of presents and stuff. and of course the amazing shopping in europe xD ) my family was really nice about it. They want to keep in touch, i think they understood why i changed and they bjust want me to have a good experience.
With this new family, I dont live in a forest, I have two older host sisters studying university in milan who come home on the weekends(ages 19 and 22) and the nicest host parents :)
Here i have my own room, and my own bathroom, and the bed is friggin big too! like here in italy, even if you are 22 and go to university and live at home, you have a twin size bed. its so weird to me... I'm not sure about other cultures but to america, yeah im pretty sure all of america would find that strange
I dont know, so far things are going really really well. I just realized i hadnt updated in awhile. but like half of the month up until the 10th i was away in the mountains. then after that i was in the family changing process. But now, this week is my birthday! woooo haha
I'll keep ya updated
xoxo Rach
my host family went to the mountains(Oulz, near Bardonecchia, famous for skiing) and i went to Novara with my aussie friend and we went around in the city, to a bar with friends and then later to a disco. New years day i headed over to Oulz on my own by train, and we ended up being there for about a week. I only skiied one day, the rest of the time i chilled with my columbian host sister. She cant ski, so we hung out together, some days went to the bar, some days just sat around, one day we went to torino and shopped around which is always really fun
 |
| Out and about with Maria |
 |
| Nel Castello |
 | |
| Il Castello |
Torino really is a beautiful city :)
Then we got back and we had school January 10th. School is awlays boring. I dont know, nothing really excited. This month I've been in the family changing process. We had an afs meeting where intercultura from my local chapter(novara) came to my house and talked to me and my family, to see how things were going. I dont know there were just a lot of little problems, and their lestyle with children was difficult for me. And they were busy with their own lives and work and the kids, I didnt really feel like i was living a full experience. I knew there were kids before coming, but i didnt think it would be so difficult for me. i dont know, i guess i just discovered im not a kid person. and there were a lot of other things, but yeah, just wasnt working sooo..
I've JUST changed families this last saturday. Saturday morning my host family helped me pack and load my stuff into the car(which by the way was like more than twice the amount of things i came here with.. but also because my uncle from germany ships me lots of presents and stuff. and of course the amazing shopping in europe xD ) my family was really nice about it. They want to keep in touch, i think they understood why i changed and they bjust want me to have a good experience.
With this new family, I dont live in a forest, I have two older host sisters studying university in milan who come home on the weekends(ages 19 and 22) and the nicest host parents :)
Here i have my own room, and my own bathroom, and the bed is friggin big too! like here in italy, even if you are 22 and go to university and live at home, you have a twin size bed. its so weird to me... I'm not sure about other cultures but to america, yeah im pretty sure all of america would find that strange
I dont know, so far things are going really really well. I just realized i hadnt updated in awhile. but like half of the month up until the 10th i was away in the mountains. then after that i was in the family changing process. But now, this week is my birthday! woooo haha
I'll keep ya updated
xoxo Rach
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