My last days have finally arrived. Even as I pack my bags, (I'm multi-tasking right now by the way) the fact that I'm leaving for good hasn't settled in. Maybe it will become real when I say bye to my family for the last time. Or maybe when I'm in the airport in Rome. Maybe not until Im in the plane over the Atlantic. Who knows?
All I know is that, although I am ridiculously sad that I have to leave this life behind, I've come to realize that it isnt the end of the world. My time here has taught me so much. I've had to struggle on my own, adjust, readjust, and adjust some more. I've messed up during my stay here, I have regrets for things I have done and for things I haven't done. In the end, this experience has only helped me grow, mature, and realize that I still have a lot more time in my life to make changes and mistakes, to have struggles, to have fun, to be happy, and to live life in general. My mind has been opened up to the world around me. I have learned so much about other countries and their cultures, but I have also learned that there is still so much more to be curious about and explore. I have found a new sense of independence, I've learned new things about my character, I've changed how I think about some things but stayed the exact same in other aspects. I will continue to find things that have changed or things that I would like to change about me, even after I have returned home. Even after my life returns to it's "normal routine" in America.
In the end, I have gained so much out of this experience. Another family. Another home. Another group of friends. A sense of pride for "my" country. A chance to be independent. And a huge chance to learn more than I ever have.
Although I will miss my Italian life every day, my return has been inevitable from day one, and I've made myself content with that fact now.
Now I better go finish packing all these clothes and all these memories or I will be staying up all night tomorrow!
L'ultimo salute e blog in Italia! See y'all soon.
Baci!
Emma xoxo
Ps: Happy 4th!!!
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Do I Really Have to Leave?
Ciao tutti!
My time here is more than just "dwindling down", it is absolutely flying by. No matter how often I think of it, I just can't get used to the fact that I'll be leaving. In 24 short days. Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday I was counting down my last month in Morganton... as if only two seconds ago it was the end of February and I was counting down the days I had left in Italy, wondering if I could handle the homesickness. In the end I handled it just fine, in fact, I managed to delete all homesickness about a month later. Now I call Aosta, Italy my home just as much as Morganton, NC. I could go on and on, but instead I found this part of a blog that another exchange student I met in New York, in France at the moment, wrote. It basically sums up everything I want to say (and probably with less babbling). So here it is:
Sometimes I look around and still can't believe that this is all real. I know when I decided to come on exchange I was beyond excited, but looking back now I see how naive I really was, thinking exchange would be one big party. I never would have imagined the obstacles I would face or the people I would be so lucky to meet. Sure I have only been in France [Italy] for 4 short months, but this has become my life. When I log on Facebook now I don't see the faces of Bend [Morganton] anymore but rather the faces of the world. I see some of the most courageous, incredible people from all around the globe, I see the people who are really going to make a difference in this world, even if they don't know it yet. Before coming to France [Italy] I considered myself independent, and sure I was but nowhere near to the way I am now. I think on exchange you are really forced to find what you like and who you are. There's nobody else there to make your choices for you and you must find what you stand for. Even with others' opinions you learn to ignore those and really find what you want and get a better idea of who you are. You take opinions from all over the world and somewhere in between find your own.
There are people in my life now that I couldn't live without and lessons I've learned that I will keep with me for the rest of my life.
This is sort of a mini summary of an exchange and it's impossible to explain all the other aspects, but this paragraph does a great job describing it in general!
Anyways! Now I'll talk a little about what I've been up to and what I will be up to in my final days.
A little over a week ago I had a camp with my "AFS Zone". Although they might have been a few of the most fun days I have experienced here, they also made leaving that much harder. There were about 50 other exchange students and they were 50 of the greatest people I've met in my life. We spent 4 days laughing, crying, eating, singing, talking and hanging out with each other every minute of every day. After four days apart some of us met up again and we are planning to spend another day together in Torino tomorrow. The worst part is that, more than likely, after tomorrow (for year students) or our last night in Rome (for semester students) I won't ever see a lot of these people again in my life. This, in my opinion, is more sad than leaving my family and Italian friends. The great thing about host families and native friends is that they will always be in your host country for you to see when you go revisit the place you made your own home. But all the other other exchangers, the people that went threw all the ups and downs beside you, the only people who really understand you, won't be there. We'll all go back to being spread across the world in our respective countries. Meeting these people, hearing just the smallest things about their countries, talking about differences and similarities; it has only sparked my curiosity even more. Now I want to go to all these places, experience even more cultures, some similar to American and Italian, some absolutely 100% different!
Anyways, again! What else am I doing? On the 16th I head to Tuscany!! Two weeks under the Tuscan sun...I can't wait. Then, the day after I return, a big group of my friends and I are going to Gardaland. It's a huge amusement park near Milan, so I'll get to ride some roller coasters in Italia.
And lastly: my final 5 days in Italy. They will definitely be filled with tears, tons of goodbyes, but hopefully some good laughs mixed in as well. This has become not only my home, but my life. The only thing that makes everything harder is that it is a life that I will not be able to get back. Sure, I can come back and visit as many times as I want, but I will never get another 6 months to have my life in this amazing place. The other day my friend told me this "The best things in life come to an end. If they don't, they don't seem as great." It is so true. If I lived in Aosta my whole life, more than likely I would hate it! Saying goodbye and returning to my old life will be one of the hardest things I've had to do in my lifetime thus far and, to put it in a different light, I realize for this I am extremely lucky.
I would love to write more, but it's getting late here and I have to wake up early tomorrow!
Hope everything is going well for everyone who is reading this, and for those of you in Morganton, I will be seeing y'all soon!
Much love and un bacio,
Emma Miller
PS: sorry this post is so horribly written, I wrote it very fast and too late at night...who knows if it even makes sense!
My time here is more than just "dwindling down", it is absolutely flying by. No matter how often I think of it, I just can't get used to the fact that I'll be leaving. In 24 short days. Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday I was counting down my last month in Morganton... as if only two seconds ago it was the end of February and I was counting down the days I had left in Italy, wondering if I could handle the homesickness. In the end I handled it just fine, in fact, I managed to delete all homesickness about a month later. Now I call Aosta, Italy my home just as much as Morganton, NC. I could go on and on, but instead I found this part of a blog that another exchange student I met in New York, in France at the moment, wrote. It basically sums up everything I want to say (and probably with less babbling). So here it is:
Sometimes I look around and still can't believe that this is all real. I know when I decided to come on exchange I was beyond excited, but looking back now I see how naive I really was, thinking exchange would be one big party. I never would have imagined the obstacles I would face or the people I would be so lucky to meet. Sure I have only been in France [Italy] for 4 short months, but this has become my life. When I log on Facebook now I don't see the faces of Bend [Morganton] anymore but rather the faces of the world. I see some of the most courageous, incredible people from all around the globe, I see the people who are really going to make a difference in this world, even if they don't know it yet. Before coming to France [Italy] I considered myself independent, and sure I was but nowhere near to the way I am now. I think on exchange you are really forced to find what you like and who you are. There's nobody else there to make your choices for you and you must find what you stand for. Even with others' opinions you learn to ignore those and really find what you want and get a better idea of who you are. You take opinions from all over the world and somewhere in between find your own.
There are people in my life now that I couldn't live without and lessons I've learned that I will keep with me for the rest of my life.
This is sort of a mini summary of an exchange and it's impossible to explain all the other aspects, but this paragraph does a great job describing it in general!
Anyways! Now I'll talk a little about what I've been up to and what I will be up to in my final days.
A little over a week ago I had a camp with my "AFS Zone". Although they might have been a few of the most fun days I have experienced here, they also made leaving that much harder. There were about 50 other exchange students and they were 50 of the greatest people I've met in my life. We spent 4 days laughing, crying, eating, singing, talking and hanging out with each other every minute of every day. After four days apart some of us met up again and we are planning to spend another day together in Torino tomorrow. The worst part is that, more than likely, after tomorrow (for year students) or our last night in Rome (for semester students) I won't ever see a lot of these people again in my life. This, in my opinion, is more sad than leaving my family and Italian friends. The great thing about host families and native friends is that they will always be in your host country for you to see when you go revisit the place you made your own home. But all the other other exchangers, the people that went threw all the ups and downs beside you, the only people who really understand you, won't be there. We'll all go back to being spread across the world in our respective countries. Meeting these people, hearing just the smallest things about their countries, talking about differences and similarities; it has only sparked my curiosity even more. Now I want to go to all these places, experience even more cultures, some similar to American and Italian, some absolutely 100% different!
Anyways, again! What else am I doing? On the 16th I head to Tuscany!! Two weeks under the Tuscan sun...I can't wait. Then, the day after I return, a big group of my friends and I are going to Gardaland. It's a huge amusement park near Milan, so I'll get to ride some roller coasters in Italia.
And lastly: my final 5 days in Italy. They will definitely be filled with tears, tons of goodbyes, but hopefully some good laughs mixed in as well. This has become not only my home, but my life. The only thing that makes everything harder is that it is a life that I will not be able to get back. Sure, I can come back and visit as many times as I want, but I will never get another 6 months to have my life in this amazing place. The other day my friend told me this "The best things in life come to an end. If they don't, they don't seem as great." It is so true. If I lived in Aosta my whole life, more than likely I would hate it! Saying goodbye and returning to my old life will be one of the hardest things I've had to do in my lifetime thus far and, to put it in a different light, I realize for this I am extremely lucky.
I would love to write more, but it's getting late here and I have to wake up early tomorrow!
Hope everything is going well for everyone who is reading this, and for those of you in Morganton, I will be seeing y'all soon!
Much love and un bacio,
Emma Miller
PS: sorry this post is so horribly written, I wrote it very fast and too late at night...who knows if it even makes sense!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Don't Make Me Leave: The Countdown Begins
Ciao!
Sorry I haven't posted in about a month, I've been so busy! The easier the language becomes here, the less I find myself communicating with everyone at home. And plus I'm on a time limit here, I can spend tons of time with y'all when I come home but I don't have that much time left here! Time limit. Those are the worst two words. Ever. Sure, I still have almost 2 months left, but it's hard to explain how fast that time will go by. Every day I think about how little time I have left, every time I'm with my AFS friends we talk about how in such a short time we will go back to being spread out across the world, every day my friends at school say that next year it will be weird not having me in class with them, and my family and I are now having to arrange sending boxes home/travel plans. I can't get away from the fact that I'm leaving and, worse, the fact that I am not even close to being ready to leave my life here. The worst thing about being here for the semester program is that just when I can start speaking, just when I realize how close I have become to so many people, just when I start realizing how amazing this life is, the time starts coming to an end and soon enough I'll be on the plane back to the States.
Enough of the sad thoughts! Now I'll update y'all some on the past month and future plans. Well, I spent my 17th birthday here and...it might have been one of the best/busiest birthdays I've had so far (actually the celebrating is still going on)! My actual bday, the 3rd, was a Thursday so obviously I had school. My friends brought in a cake and during break they sang, in English and Italian, to me and gave me an awesome hand made photo album that basically sums up my whole experience from orientation in Rome to now in pictures! I went out to lunch with a group of friends and then skipped afternoon hours (rebellious) to spend some more time with Nadja(Serbia), Madeleine(Norway), and Tugce(Turkey). After that I took a train to Torino and met up with my sister. We went back to her apartment, got ready, and headed out for the night. Another one of her friends had just had a birthday so we went out to dinner to celebrate and after a discoteca. This is what I would consider my first real discoteca experience considering the size of this place and the number of people inside was about 25 times larger than those of little Aosta. We headed home around 5 in the morning after a full night (and technically morning) of dancing and that was how my actual birthday was spent! The next day I went to a university class with Irene and it was pretty interesting to see how they differ from our colleges. Later that day we headed home. Saturday night I had some friends over for dinner to celebrate with, obviously, a ton of ridiculously delicious homemade focaccia, pizza, and cake! And lastly (for that weekend) on Sunday I spent the day walking around and shopping in Milano with some friends. Another city checked off my list! To finish up the celebrating, this weekend my friends are throwing a party for both mine and another friend's birthday! Italians love to celebrate. Okay, enough about birthday happenings.
The past couple of weeks I have really started to notice how at home I feel here. I realized the other day that I now have more than just one family, I have about three.
-real fam
-host fam
-Intercultura fam
I also realized just how lucky I have been. I always think "I should've done a year program, should've done a year program" and can't stop regretting that I didn't, but then I think, I probably wouldn't have been placed here if I had chosen a year, which means I wouldn't know all these people and probably never would have even heard of Aosta, Italy. Now that I've been here long enough, I'll admit, when I first got my placement (and immediately Google Map'd the city), I was a bit let down. It's just, when you think of Italy you don't think of -20 degrees Celsius, mountains all around you, only one main town and a bunch of cows. Then I got to the AFS camp and heard all these students being placed in Milan, Rome, or even down south where you can at least go outside during the winter without looking like a snowman...I was pretty jealous. And worried. Even when I actually arrived here, I'd say about up until the 1st month had passed, I was dubious. Could I learn to love, or even just like, the way they live here? Quasi solitary in the middle of the mountains, not conveniently close to any big city? Now I look back on how I felt in the beginning and just laugh. I have come to love this place more than anywhere else. I love the language. I love the landscape with the constantly snow-capped Alps. I love the "city". I love my school (not that I study or anything). I love the gelato shop where the lady behind the counter tells me my Italian is getting better every time I order. I love my Italian friends. I love my AFS friends. I love my Italian family. I have finally settled 100% into my life here and I couldn't be happier. The language is not so much of a hassle now. It is never a problem to understand (unless I'm just way too tired and my brain blocks everything out) and speaking only gets easier and more natural by the day.
Life is good.
And now I have to go. I have to head into town to find a plaid shirt because the theme of our birthday party (which is all supposed to be a big surprise for us) is "country" so we all have to wear plaid shirts and I don't have one...how ironic. I'll try to post a little more often in the next 2 months!
Much love to you all,
Emma
Sorry I haven't posted in about a month, I've been so busy! The easier the language becomes here, the less I find myself communicating with everyone at home. And plus I'm on a time limit here, I can spend tons of time with y'all when I come home but I don't have that much time left here! Time limit. Those are the worst two words. Ever. Sure, I still have almost 2 months left, but it's hard to explain how fast that time will go by. Every day I think about how little time I have left, every time I'm with my AFS friends we talk about how in such a short time we will go back to being spread out across the world, every day my friends at school say that next year it will be weird not having me in class with them, and my family and I are now having to arrange sending boxes home/travel plans. I can't get away from the fact that I'm leaving and, worse, the fact that I am not even close to being ready to leave my life here. The worst thing about being here for the semester program is that just when I can start speaking, just when I realize how close I have become to so many people, just when I start realizing how amazing this life is, the time starts coming to an end and soon enough I'll be on the plane back to the States.
Enough of the sad thoughts! Now I'll update y'all some on the past month and future plans. Well, I spent my 17th birthday here and...it might have been one of the best/busiest birthdays I've had so far (actually the celebrating is still going on)! My actual bday, the 3rd, was a Thursday so obviously I had school. My friends brought in a cake and during break they sang, in English and Italian, to me and gave me an awesome hand made photo album that basically sums up my whole experience from orientation in Rome to now in pictures! I went out to lunch with a group of friends and then skipped afternoon hours (rebellious) to spend some more time with Nadja(Serbia), Madeleine(Norway), and Tugce(Turkey). After that I took a train to Torino and met up with my sister. We went back to her apartment, got ready, and headed out for the night. Another one of her friends had just had a birthday so we went out to dinner to celebrate and after a discoteca. This is what I would consider my first real discoteca experience considering the size of this place and the number of people inside was about 25 times larger than those of little Aosta. We headed home around 5 in the morning after a full night (and technically morning) of dancing and that was how my actual birthday was spent! The next day I went to a university class with Irene and it was pretty interesting to see how they differ from our colleges. Later that day we headed home. Saturday night I had some friends over for dinner to celebrate with, obviously, a ton of ridiculously delicious homemade focaccia, pizza, and cake! And lastly (for that weekend) on Sunday I spent the day walking around and shopping in Milano with some friends. Another city checked off my list! To finish up the celebrating, this weekend my friends are throwing a party for both mine and another friend's birthday! Italians love to celebrate. Okay, enough about birthday happenings.
The past couple of weeks I have really started to notice how at home I feel here. I realized the other day that I now have more than just one family, I have about three.
-real fam
-host fam
-Intercultura fam
I also realized just how lucky I have been. I always think "I should've done a year program, should've done a year program" and can't stop regretting that I didn't, but then I think, I probably wouldn't have been placed here if I had chosen a year, which means I wouldn't know all these people and probably never would have even heard of Aosta, Italy. Now that I've been here long enough, I'll admit, when I first got my placement (and immediately Google Map'd the city), I was a bit let down. It's just, when you think of Italy you don't think of -20 degrees Celsius, mountains all around you, only one main town and a bunch of cows. Then I got to the AFS camp and heard all these students being placed in Milan, Rome, or even down south where you can at least go outside during the winter without looking like a snowman...I was pretty jealous. And worried. Even when I actually arrived here, I'd say about up until the 1st month had passed, I was dubious. Could I learn to love, or even just like, the way they live here? Quasi solitary in the middle of the mountains, not conveniently close to any big city? Now I look back on how I felt in the beginning and just laugh. I have come to love this place more than anywhere else. I love the language. I love the landscape with the constantly snow-capped Alps. I love the "city". I love my school (not that I study or anything). I love the gelato shop where the lady behind the counter tells me my Italian is getting better every time I order. I love my Italian friends. I love my AFS friends. I love my Italian family. I have finally settled 100% into my life here and I couldn't be happier. The language is not so much of a hassle now. It is never a problem to understand (unless I'm just way too tired and my brain blocks everything out) and speaking only gets easier and more natural by the day.
Life is good.
And now I have to go. I have to head into town to find a plaid shirt because the theme of our birthday party (which is all supposed to be a big surprise for us) is "country" so we all have to wear plaid shirts and I don't have one...how ironic. I'll try to post a little more often in the next 2 months!
Much love to you all,
Emma
Friday, April 20, 2012
Journal Entry
Ciao everyone!
So, the past few days I have gone back and forth between never wanting to leave this amazing place and missing America like crazy. I have been writing in my journal a lot lately and yesterday I wrote something that, in my opinion, sums up exchange pretty well so I figured I'd share it with you all too!
"One thing I don't think you realize when you decide to do exchange is that you're pretty much alone. It's YOU that leaves your comfortable little niche in life at home; your family and friends may miss you, but their lives aren't the ones being flipped upside down. It's YOU that is dropped smack dab in the middle of a completely different group of people's lives; they may be eager to get to know you, but they aren't the ones who have completely changed cultures, languages, and ways of life. I realize this might be a bit of a pessimistic way to look at the situation, but you have to look at the negatives to see the positives. Yes, in a sense I am in this by myself, all alone, but while I am alone I am meeting amazing people, making amazing memories, finding an amazing new life and new home, and so much more that all the people I left behind are missing out on. I will have this experience with me for the rest of my life and I wouldn't change a single aspect about it."
And that's all I really wanted to write today. I'll post again soon with my recent activities!
Un bacio per tutti,
Emma
So, the past few days I have gone back and forth between never wanting to leave this amazing place and missing America like crazy. I have been writing in my journal a lot lately and yesterday I wrote something that, in my opinion, sums up exchange pretty well so I figured I'd share it with you all too!
"One thing I don't think you realize when you decide to do exchange is that you're pretty much alone. It's YOU that leaves your comfortable little niche in life at home; your family and friends may miss you, but their lives aren't the ones being flipped upside down. It's YOU that is dropped smack dab in the middle of a completely different group of people's lives; they may be eager to get to know you, but they aren't the ones who have completely changed cultures, languages, and ways of life. I realize this might be a bit of a pessimistic way to look at the situation, but you have to look at the negatives to see the positives. Yes, in a sense I am in this by myself, all alone, but while I am alone I am meeting amazing people, making amazing memories, finding an amazing new life and new home, and so much more that all the people I left behind are missing out on. I will have this experience with me for the rest of my life and I wouldn't change a single aspect about it."
And that's all I really wanted to write today. I'll post again soon with my recent activities!
Un bacio per tutti,
Emma
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Adventures in Roma
Ciao ciao!
As you know, I spent the past 5 days in Rome. It was so much fun! What amazed me the most was the difference between visiting the city as a tourist with all Americans compared to visiting the city with Italians who are originally from Rome. We still visited a lot of the major attractions and walked around like everyone else, but a lot of our time was also spent visiting friends, family, etc.
The first day we arrived around 5, got settled at the house, and then went to the center of the city and walked around til midnight. Rome at night is absolutely beautiful! Funny story: we were walking back to the car and I ran into another American AFS girl that lives in Rome! She's a year student, but I know her because she came to Aosta for exchange week (a week where you choose a different city and go live with a different family to get a taste of another part of the country). Considering the city is ridiculously big, it's pretty cool that that happened.
We started off the second day by going to meet my host dad's dad. He is 97 years old, but I never in a million years would have guessed so. He acts and looks like he is about 65 or 70! And he loves to talk...about everything. His favorite topics are 1. His time in World War 2, specifically the 2 years he spent in England which leads to 2. Saying anything to me in English that he can remember (which was an amazingly good amount) and lastly, 3. The Vitamin E pill ("from the United States of America!") he takes once a night, has for the past 27 years, and that he swears is the reason he is still alive. Meeting him might have been one of my favorite parts of the trip. After that visit, we toured the Catacombs, visited churches, walked around, and of course...ate tons. Every day was spent like this except Easter day. On Easter I slept in and then we went on a walk in a beautiful park before heading to Renato's (my host dad) sister's house. There we ate an unbelievable amount of food. Ridiculous. We sat at the table from 1-3:45 and the only moment there wasn't food on the table and people eating was the last 15 minutes which we spent talking and drinking coffee. After that the whole family went on another walk in a different, but equally beautiful, park. Another funny story: we were walking back to the car and we ran into Lemmy (the American AFS girl) AGAIN! On both the first and the last days...definitely a small world.
Yesterday, Monday, we had the 7 hour car ride home plus a stop in a small Tuscan town (Arezzo) to take a walk around and buy fresh bread, cheese, and prosciutto to make sandwiches later on for lunch. And yes, they were delicious in case you were wondering.
I absolutely loved visiting Rome, especially for more than a day this time, but I am also glad to be back in Aosta! I don't go back to school until Thursday and then on Friday I have a field trip to Torino with school. Studying and school work is really a top priority here in case you didn't notice already...
Besides my trip to Rome, there's not that much else to update! Language is still slowly getting better. I have 8 weeks of school left and then it will be summertime in Aosta and a nice vacation in Tuscany!!! I've been so busy here that I keep on forgetting that my birthday is in less than a month! Im pretty excited to be spending my birthday here, even though I will definitely miss all the people I have spent the last 16 years celebrating with. The time is going by too fast!
That's about all for now. Much love!
Xoxo, Emma
As you know, I spent the past 5 days in Rome. It was so much fun! What amazed me the most was the difference between visiting the city as a tourist with all Americans compared to visiting the city with Italians who are originally from Rome. We still visited a lot of the major attractions and walked around like everyone else, but a lot of our time was also spent visiting friends, family, etc.
The first day we arrived around 5, got settled at the house, and then went to the center of the city and walked around til midnight. Rome at night is absolutely beautiful! Funny story: we were walking back to the car and I ran into another American AFS girl that lives in Rome! She's a year student, but I know her because she came to Aosta for exchange week (a week where you choose a different city and go live with a different family to get a taste of another part of the country). Considering the city is ridiculously big, it's pretty cool that that happened.
We started off the second day by going to meet my host dad's dad. He is 97 years old, but I never in a million years would have guessed so. He acts and looks like he is about 65 or 70! And he loves to talk...about everything. His favorite topics are 1. His time in World War 2, specifically the 2 years he spent in England which leads to 2. Saying anything to me in English that he can remember (which was an amazingly good amount) and lastly, 3. The Vitamin E pill ("from the United States of America!") he takes once a night, has for the past 27 years, and that he swears is the reason he is still alive. Meeting him might have been one of my favorite parts of the trip. After that visit, we toured the Catacombs, visited churches, walked around, and of course...ate tons. Every day was spent like this except Easter day. On Easter I slept in and then we went on a walk in a beautiful park before heading to Renato's (my host dad) sister's house. There we ate an unbelievable amount of food. Ridiculous. We sat at the table from 1-3:45 and the only moment there wasn't food on the table and people eating was the last 15 minutes which we spent talking and drinking coffee. After that the whole family went on another walk in a different, but equally beautiful, park. Another funny story: we were walking back to the car and we ran into Lemmy (the American AFS girl) AGAIN! On both the first and the last days...definitely a small world.
Yesterday, Monday, we had the 7 hour car ride home plus a stop in a small Tuscan town (Arezzo) to take a walk around and buy fresh bread, cheese, and prosciutto to make sandwiches later on for lunch. And yes, they were delicious in case you were wondering.
I absolutely loved visiting Rome, especially for more than a day this time, but I am also glad to be back in Aosta! I don't go back to school until Thursday and then on Friday I have a field trip to Torino with school. Studying and school work is really a top priority here in case you didn't notice already...
Besides my trip to Rome, there's not that much else to update! Language is still slowly getting better. I have 8 weeks of school left and then it will be summertime in Aosta and a nice vacation in Tuscany!!! I've been so busy here that I keep on forgetting that my birthday is in less than a month! Im pretty excited to be spending my birthday here, even though I will definitely miss all the people I have spent the last 16 years celebrating with. The time is going by too fast!
That's about all for now. Much love!
Xoxo, Emma
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Sono Contenta
Ciao a tutti!
Just a warning: this post will be all about the most amazing city ever, Firenze.
Yesterday I returned from my 5 day long school trip to Florence, Italia and it was amazing. Even though I have been to Florence before, it was 5 years ago and only for a day. I remember it being amazing last time, but this time around I truly fell in love with it. It is the perfect city! Not too big, not too small. Insanely beautiful. Just perfect. I already decided in college I am going back and studying there for at least a semester...I am sure you love that idea, don't ya Dad? :)
Now more about the actual trip. First of all, I think we covered every square inch of the place. We had 4 days full of museums, churches, etc. It was tiring to say the least. For me, the best (and most funny) part of the whole thing is how much freedom we had. If Patton ever took us on a class trip (ha!) I am sure the experience would be the exact opposite of ours. On this trip we had scheduled appointments as a group at several museums per day, but other than that we were on our own in the city. We could basically do anything we wanted which definitely made the whole experience better. After visiting the museums everyone sort of split up into their own little groups and we went to go eat, sit in a park, or just walk around enjoying the city and the fact that we were not in school while everyone else was. I was already close with several students in my class before the trip, but being with them every second for five days straight made us even closer and I realized how much I really love my friends here! It also wore me out because it was Italian 24/7. It wasn't like at home where there's not always someone to listen to or like at school where I don't have to pay attention in class. By the last day I was responding to everything with "cosa" (what?) even if it was something I really did understand. My brain was just so tired that I couldn't function. However, overall I think it helped me a ton. Even though I didn't speak a ton, just listening to what people say, how they say it, and asking what things mean really made me feel like I made some more improvement in the language department.
Let's see, I'm not really sure what else there is to say. At the moment I can't imagine returning home, no offense to my North Carolina people, but I love everything about my life here and I can only hope the next 3 1/2 months don't fly by too quickly. I just had an amazing 5 days and now I only have the next week-ish at home before I head to Roma! Can't wait.
That's about it for now. Xoxo
Emma
Just a warning: this post will be all about the most amazing city ever, Firenze.
Yesterday I returned from my 5 day long school trip to Florence, Italia and it was amazing. Even though I have been to Florence before, it was 5 years ago and only for a day. I remember it being amazing last time, but this time around I truly fell in love with it. It is the perfect city! Not too big, not too small. Insanely beautiful. Just perfect. I already decided in college I am going back and studying there for at least a semester...I am sure you love that idea, don't ya Dad? :)
Now more about the actual trip. First of all, I think we covered every square inch of the place. We had 4 days full of museums, churches, etc. It was tiring to say the least. For me, the best (and most funny) part of the whole thing is how much freedom we had. If Patton ever took us on a class trip (ha!) I am sure the experience would be the exact opposite of ours. On this trip we had scheduled appointments as a group at several museums per day, but other than that we were on our own in the city. We could basically do anything we wanted which definitely made the whole experience better. After visiting the museums everyone sort of split up into their own little groups and we went to go eat, sit in a park, or just walk around enjoying the city and the fact that we were not in school while everyone else was. I was already close with several students in my class before the trip, but being with them every second for five days straight made us even closer and I realized how much I really love my friends here! It also wore me out because it was Italian 24/7. It wasn't like at home where there's not always someone to listen to or like at school where I don't have to pay attention in class. By the last day I was responding to everything with "cosa" (what?) even if it was something I really did understand. My brain was just so tired that I couldn't function. However, overall I think it helped me a ton. Even though I didn't speak a ton, just listening to what people say, how they say it, and asking what things mean really made me feel like I made some more improvement in the language department.
Let's see, I'm not really sure what else there is to say. At the moment I can't imagine returning home, no offense to my North Carolina people, but I love everything about my life here and I can only hope the next 3 1/2 months don't fly by too quickly. I just had an amazing 5 days and now I only have the next week-ish at home before I head to Roma! Can't wait.
That's about it for now. Xoxo
Emma
Saturday, March 10, 2012
So Much To Do, So Little Time
Hi everyone!
I've been meaning to write again for a while now but I never got the chance. Nothing too exciting has happened in the past week! I was sick on Wednesday and Thursday so I got to find out how unpleasant it is to be sick abroad. Rosanna (my host mom) was great and made me feel a lot better, but somehow it doesn't quite compare to being in your own home, in your own bed, etc. So, I was a bit homesick for those two days, but it quickly passed as I started to feel better. Other than that, this week has been filled with the typical school days, stuffing myself with food, going to the gym...to pretend I am working out enough to work off all that food, sleeping, and spending time with my friends and family. Might not sound like much, but it has become my own special little lifestyle in Italy. It is filled with similarities and differences from life in NC, sometimes there are challenges or parts of it that annoy me (a similarity to Morganton), but nevertheless I absolutely love it.
Also, in approximately 4 months I will be heading back to the States. I can't believe it. I have to look at my time to manage when and where I can travel, etc and the fact that I am already a month and a half down really jumped out at me. I don't want to start a countdown yet, it seems way too early, but I already know the next 4 months are going to fly by!
The language. I know I mentioned in my last post that the language was really frustrating me, and it is, but I found a new way to look at it. Even though I still feel like I should be able to speak more, I realized how much I really can understand. That in itself is a major barrier to cross. As long as the person doesn't speak at top speed (which I swear is like 1,000,000 words per minute) and they are talking about normal topics, I can almost understand everything. Then I realized something pretty amazing, that makes 61 million people to add to the list of people I can understand and (somewhat) communicate with. Obviously, I will not meet all 61 million Italians, but the fact that it is possible made me feel a lot better about where I am standing with the language at this point. Also, my Italian teacher told me the other day (in Italian obviously, but I'll write in English to save you the trouble from having to open Google Translate) that he is "sure in the next 2-4 weeks I will start speaking a lot because 1. I have to be able to hear the language in my head before I can speak well, and that takes time and 2. Spring is coming and he has decided that Spring = Emma speaking". The second reason didn't reassure me too much, but the first made me realize that he is right. I think in Italian a lot more than I speak. Mainly because in my head I can think about the way an Italian would speak and make myself sound like that. Now I just have to do the same thing with the words coming from my mouth. WAY easier said than done.
This weekend should be a fairly exciting one! Today I am going to lunch at my AFS friends house and out to dinner with some other friends and AFS students that are doing their exchange week in Aosta. Tonight I know there will be a girl from Iceland and a girl from Canada. Sometime this week two Americans will be arriving...time to speak some real ENGLISH! I can't wait. I love meeting new Intercultura students because we don't have to be around each other for more than an hour and we all automatically become close friends. It is one of the strangest things, and I still don't understand exactly why, but I love it. At this point, I could travel to an insane number of countries and have one, if not multiple, contacts in each. Argentina, Honduras, Norway, Japan, Turkey, Serbia, Latvia, Austria, Australia, Germany, Chile, soon to be Iceland and about 25 different states in USA. Pretty amazing! Back to this week, then tomorrow I am visiting Torino with my family! I'm excited to see more than just the glimpse of the city that I got when I was picked up from the Torino train station in January.
New travel plans: just to keep you updated, my friends and I (from school) are planning a trip to Milano over Easter break after I return to Roma. It's mainly girls and this trip is centered around shopping. I think this Spring Break might just top the ones from my past.
Hope everyone is doing well!
Love you all xoxo
Emma
I've been meaning to write again for a while now but I never got the chance. Nothing too exciting has happened in the past week! I was sick on Wednesday and Thursday so I got to find out how unpleasant it is to be sick abroad. Rosanna (my host mom) was great and made me feel a lot better, but somehow it doesn't quite compare to being in your own home, in your own bed, etc. So, I was a bit homesick for those two days, but it quickly passed as I started to feel better. Other than that, this week has been filled with the typical school days, stuffing myself with food, going to the gym...to pretend I am working out enough to work off all that food, sleeping, and spending time with my friends and family. Might not sound like much, but it has become my own special little lifestyle in Italy. It is filled with similarities and differences from life in NC, sometimes there are challenges or parts of it that annoy me (a similarity to Morganton), but nevertheless I absolutely love it.
Also, in approximately 4 months I will be heading back to the States. I can't believe it. I have to look at my time to manage when and where I can travel, etc and the fact that I am already a month and a half down really jumped out at me. I don't want to start a countdown yet, it seems way too early, but I already know the next 4 months are going to fly by!
The language. I know I mentioned in my last post that the language was really frustrating me, and it is, but I found a new way to look at it. Even though I still feel like I should be able to speak more, I realized how much I really can understand. That in itself is a major barrier to cross. As long as the person doesn't speak at top speed (which I swear is like 1,000,000 words per minute) and they are talking about normal topics, I can almost understand everything. Then I realized something pretty amazing, that makes 61 million people to add to the list of people I can understand and (somewhat) communicate with. Obviously, I will not meet all 61 million Italians, but the fact that it is possible made me feel a lot better about where I am standing with the language at this point. Also, my Italian teacher told me the other day (in Italian obviously, but I'll write in English to save you the trouble from having to open Google Translate) that he is "sure in the next 2-4 weeks I will start speaking a lot because 1. I have to be able to hear the language in my head before I can speak well, and that takes time and 2. Spring is coming and he has decided that Spring = Emma speaking". The second reason didn't reassure me too much, but the first made me realize that he is right. I think in Italian a lot more than I speak. Mainly because in my head I can think about the way an Italian would speak and make myself sound like that. Now I just have to do the same thing with the words coming from my mouth. WAY easier said than done.
This weekend should be a fairly exciting one! Today I am going to lunch at my AFS friends house and out to dinner with some other friends and AFS students that are doing their exchange week in Aosta. Tonight I know there will be a girl from Iceland and a girl from Canada. Sometime this week two Americans will be arriving...time to speak some real ENGLISH! I can't wait. I love meeting new Intercultura students because we don't have to be around each other for more than an hour and we all automatically become close friends. It is one of the strangest things, and I still don't understand exactly why, but I love it. At this point, I could travel to an insane number of countries and have one, if not multiple, contacts in each. Argentina, Honduras, Norway, Japan, Turkey, Serbia, Latvia, Austria, Australia, Germany, Chile, soon to be Iceland and about 25 different states in USA. Pretty amazing! Back to this week, then tomorrow I am visiting Torino with my family! I'm excited to see more than just the glimpse of the city that I got when I was picked up from the Torino train station in January.
New travel plans: just to keep you updated, my friends and I (from school) are planning a trip to Milano over Easter break after I return to Roma. It's mainly girls and this trip is centered around shopping. I think this Spring Break might just top the ones from my past.
Hope everyone is doing well!
Love you all xoxo
Emma
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Back to the Basics
Today, Saturday, has been a lazy day. My favorites. I am still in my pajamas and do not plan on changing out of them until after lunch...even then, it is doubtful. This past week was a reminder that I have a normal schedule here, just like at home. On my nine days of vacation I was getting quite used to having something new and exciting every day. Not to mention, being able to sleep in however late I wanted! But, unfortunately, I am required to go to school so this week it was back to "hitting the books"....haha funny joke Emma! I study nothing but Italian here (which, trust me, is plenty) so I actually never "hit the books". But school does take up a majority of my time during the week. Oh, and this week I took my first test...in INLGLESE (English)! It was hilarious. All the students in my class were saying "Emma come sit next to me!" "Emma, come here come here!" Priceless. I received a 10 on my test. I know you are all thinking wow, she can't speak Italian yet but apparently she forgot how to speak english too. Not true. One thing that is extremely different between Italian and American schools is their grading scales. We have a 0-100 grading scale in america, but here it is simply a 1-10 scale. So no, I have not forgotten English!
Although this week was full of school, I also spent more time in Aosta or just getting out of the house than I did in my first two weeks of school. Probably because I (as well as my host parents) am now completely comfortable taking the bus home. I know which numbers I can take, when to push the little "I need to get off here" button, and when to actually get off. If you want to hear a funny story, ask my mom about my first time attempting to take the bus home from school. Rather embarrassing. Anyhow, now that I can successfully get from one place to the other, I am starting to have a lot more freedom. Not that I didn't have a lot to begin with...I think packing up your bags and taking off transatlantic gives you a sense of freedom that, I dont know, is indescribable...Sorry, I keep getting off track. Focus. Okay, now that I have more freedom, I stay after school with friends and take walks around town, always stopping for gelato of course. (Sidenote: I am addicted to gelato and espresso. Two days this week I bought gelato twice...in a row. But my friends did as well, so don't judge!) It's nice being able to have more freedom, not because I don't absolutely adore my host family, but because the goal of this experience is for me to really fit into Italian culture and although family is extremely important in Italia, children have a lot of freedom to do as they please on most days.
What else what else what else?
Oh I will update you on my travel plans that are definite:
1. This upcoming weekend I am spending a nightin Torino with my host sister.
2. March 18-22 I have a school gita (trip) to Firenze (Florence)! I am so excited for this. The gita is with 2 classes that some of my closest friends are in.
3. I AM SPENDING EASTER IN ROMA!!! I am so so so so so so incredibly excited for this. I love Aosta, it has it's own character and charm and it is bigger than Morganton, but sometimes I feel a bit cut off from the real world. Roma will be a nice break from this. Plus, a few of my close AFS friends live in Roma so I am hoping to meet up with them and they can show me the real Roma...not just the touristy stuff.
4. After Easter break I return to school on a Thursday and that Friday another one of my classes has a field trip to Torino scheduled. So more Torino!
5. And of course, there is the week vacation in June to Tuscany with my family :) Time on the beach and experiencing a different region of Italy!
6. And lastly, sometime before I leave, in the summer, my fam is going to return to Roma!
As far as I know that is all that is definite for now. Which is pretty crazy, that checks off a lot of what I want to see! Some AFSers have talked about getting a group together and going to a Coldplay concert in Milan and spending a night or two there in May. Milano, Venezia, and possibly Gravina (a small town in South Italy where one of my good friends is staying) are the only places left that I have noted possibly wanting to see. The good thing is, after Pasqua (Easter), we are allowed to start traveling alone! Which is perfect because I can then take a weekend or sometime during summer to travel to these places!!
This week has been a bit frustrating with the language. I feel like I should be able to start speaking, even if its not complete sentences, more than I can. Understanding is definitely improving day by day, but as far as speaking goes I feel as if I've sort of hit a plateau for the time being. A lot of my classmates like to try and speak English to me, so I think not constantly hearing Italian at school is messing with my brain a little bit!
Venerdì sera (Friday night) was a quiet evening. I stayed in Aosta til about 6-6:30, came home, my fam ate dinner around 8:30, and then watched a scary movie together. And although it was in Italian, it was still extremely scary. Ieri sera (last night) I had an Italian lesson/festa. I went to my teachers house and we (me along with Chika, another exchange student) had the usual lesson but then we made biscotti from scratch. They were delicious! afterwards I was supposed to go to one of my friends concerts but it ended up being in a town about 20 minutes away and our little festa lasted to late for it to worth making the trek! Today I have no plans so far, which means it can be a day of hanging around the house and maybe going into Aosta (only if I muster up enough energy to change out of my pjs)!
Love and miss you all, un grande bacio per tutti! Xoxo
Emma
Although this week was full of school, I also spent more time in Aosta or just getting out of the house than I did in my first two weeks of school. Probably because I (as well as my host parents) am now completely comfortable taking the bus home. I know which numbers I can take, when to push the little "I need to get off here" button, and when to actually get off. If you want to hear a funny story, ask my mom about my first time attempting to take the bus home from school. Rather embarrassing. Anyhow, now that I can successfully get from one place to the other, I am starting to have a lot more freedom. Not that I didn't have a lot to begin with...I think packing up your bags and taking off transatlantic gives you a sense of freedom that, I dont know, is indescribable...Sorry, I keep getting off track. Focus. Okay, now that I have more freedom, I stay after school with friends and take walks around town, always stopping for gelato of course. (Sidenote: I am addicted to gelato and espresso. Two days this week I bought gelato twice...in a row. But my friends did as well, so don't judge!) It's nice being able to have more freedom, not because I don't absolutely adore my host family, but because the goal of this experience is for me to really fit into Italian culture and although family is extremely important in Italia, children have a lot of freedom to do as they please on most days.
What else what else what else?
Oh I will update you on my travel plans that are definite:
1. This upcoming weekend I am spending a nightin Torino with my host sister.
2. March 18-22 I have a school gita (trip) to Firenze (Florence)! I am so excited for this. The gita is with 2 classes that some of my closest friends are in.
3. I AM SPENDING EASTER IN ROMA!!! I am so so so so so so incredibly excited for this. I love Aosta, it has it's own character and charm and it is bigger than Morganton, but sometimes I feel a bit cut off from the real world. Roma will be a nice break from this. Plus, a few of my close AFS friends live in Roma so I am hoping to meet up with them and they can show me the real Roma...not just the touristy stuff.
4. After Easter break I return to school on a Thursday and that Friday another one of my classes has a field trip to Torino scheduled. So more Torino!
5. And of course, there is the week vacation in June to Tuscany with my family :) Time on the beach and experiencing a different region of Italy!
6. And lastly, sometime before I leave, in the summer, my fam is going to return to Roma!
As far as I know that is all that is definite for now. Which is pretty crazy, that checks off a lot of what I want to see! Some AFSers have talked about getting a group together and going to a Coldplay concert in Milan and spending a night or two there in May. Milano, Venezia, and possibly Gravina (a small town in South Italy where one of my good friends is staying) are the only places left that I have noted possibly wanting to see. The good thing is, after Pasqua (Easter), we are allowed to start traveling alone! Which is perfect because I can then take a weekend or sometime during summer to travel to these places!!
This week has been a bit frustrating with the language. I feel like I should be able to start speaking, even if its not complete sentences, more than I can. Understanding is definitely improving day by day, but as far as speaking goes I feel as if I've sort of hit a plateau for the time being. A lot of my classmates like to try and speak English to me, so I think not constantly hearing Italian at school is messing with my brain a little bit!
Venerdì sera (Friday night) was a quiet evening. I stayed in Aosta til about 6-6:30, came home, my fam ate dinner around 8:30, and then watched a scary movie together. And although it was in Italian, it was still extremely scary. Ieri sera (last night) I had an Italian lesson/festa. I went to my teachers house and we (me along with Chika, another exchange student) had the usual lesson but then we made biscotti from scratch. They were delicious! afterwards I was supposed to go to one of my friends concerts but it ended up being in a town about 20 minutes away and our little festa lasted to late for it to worth making the trek! Today I have no plans so far, which means it can be a day of hanging around the house and maybe going into Aosta (only if I muster up enough energy to change out of my pjs)!
Love and miss you all, un grande bacio per tutti! Xoxo
Emma
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
One Month
Ciao everyone!
I figured I would update my blog today because I have officially been here for a month now! I can't believe it. The other day I decided 5 and a half months is not long enough; I should have chosen the year. I have experienced so much in the past month, but there is so much more I want to do! I feel like I will run out of time. Oh well, just an excuse to revisit this beautiful country :)
Yesterday I restarted school after a nice nine day break. School here is not my favorite place, but its not terrible, sometimes it is kind of nice. It is INCREDIBLY unorganized, which I don't mind. Normally about one class a day a teacher won't show up so we just hang out, the other kids study (I have nothing to study), or we watch a movie. Substitutes technically exist here, but they don't do anything. Also, because I am enrolled in Liceo Artistico (Artistic High School), I spend half my time at school attempting to be creative. Key word: attempting. Although they are unorganized, my school has tons of art materials that the art teachers at Patton could only dream of having access to. Oh, I have classified each of my teachers into two groups: "Ones That Care" and "Ones That Pretend I Don't Exist". To be quite honest, I think I prefer the latter. They give me the chance to sleep or listen to my iPod, aka: a nice break from the Italian that is constantly confusing and wearing out my brain.
FYI, I just took a 5 minute typing break because my host mom forced me to blow dry my hair. She thinks that I will instantly become sick if I: 1) don't blow dry my hair, 2) don't wear slippers around the house and 3) don't stuff myself with food at every meal. Just kidding about #3, but that's what it feels like most of the time!
Anyhow, I had a wonderful vacanze hanging out with friends, family, and just experiencing more of the Italian culture in general. My Italian is coming along very well, or so everyone else says. They haven't stood in my shoes and listened to the insanely fast babbling I hear a lot of the time! I have lessons twice a week and my teacher is great. She can speak very good english, which is helpful, although she speaks to me in Italian most of the time.
I found out today that I will be taking a day field trip to Torino with my school after Easter. That's 2 field trips planned already! My host brother is extremely jealous because his class never goes anywhere. Oh that reminds me! Alle (Alessandro: my host brother) found out today that he will officially be going to USA next year. Very exciting day for him!
I am definitely starting to settle in to this new life and I love it. I can't imagine not being here and I don't even want to start thinking about returning home (not that I don't miss you all!). I couldn't ask for a better opportunity, placement, and people in my Italian life!
Ciao ciao e un grande bacio per tutti! Xoxo.
Emma
I figured I would update my blog today because I have officially been here for a month now! I can't believe it. The other day I decided 5 and a half months is not long enough; I should have chosen the year. I have experienced so much in the past month, but there is so much more I want to do! I feel like I will run out of time. Oh well, just an excuse to revisit this beautiful country :)
Yesterday I restarted school after a nice nine day break. School here is not my favorite place, but its not terrible, sometimes it is kind of nice. It is INCREDIBLY unorganized, which I don't mind. Normally about one class a day a teacher won't show up so we just hang out, the other kids study (I have nothing to study), or we watch a movie. Substitutes technically exist here, but they don't do anything. Also, because I am enrolled in Liceo Artistico (Artistic High School), I spend half my time at school attempting to be creative. Key word: attempting. Although they are unorganized, my school has tons of art materials that the art teachers at Patton could only dream of having access to. Oh, I have classified each of my teachers into two groups: "Ones That Care" and "Ones That Pretend I Don't Exist". To be quite honest, I think I prefer the latter. They give me the chance to sleep or listen to my iPod, aka: a nice break from the Italian that is constantly confusing and wearing out my brain.
FYI, I just took a 5 minute typing break because my host mom forced me to blow dry my hair. She thinks that I will instantly become sick if I: 1) don't blow dry my hair, 2) don't wear slippers around the house and 3) don't stuff myself with food at every meal. Just kidding about #3, but that's what it feels like most of the time!
Anyhow, I had a wonderful vacanze hanging out with friends, family, and just experiencing more of the Italian culture in general. My Italian is coming along very well, or so everyone else says. They haven't stood in my shoes and listened to the insanely fast babbling I hear a lot of the time! I have lessons twice a week and my teacher is great. She can speak very good english, which is helpful, although she speaks to me in Italian most of the time.
I found out today that I will be taking a day field trip to Torino with my school after Easter. That's 2 field trips planned already! My host brother is extremely jealous because his class never goes anywhere. Oh that reminds me! Alle (Alessandro: my host brother) found out today that he will officially be going to USA next year. Very exciting day for him!
I am definitely starting to settle in to this new life and I love it. I can't imagine not being here and I don't even want to start thinking about returning home (not that I don't miss you all!). I couldn't ask for a better opportunity, placement, and people in my Italian life!
Ciao ciao e un grande bacio per tutti! Xoxo.
Emma
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Just a Little Behind: 3 Weeks
To anyone....if there is anyone...who reads my blog, I am sincerely sorry for not keeping you updated. At all. But, I guess I will start now...
I have now been in Aosta for 3 entire weeks. Three weeks that are incomparable to any other 21 days of my life. Never have I met so many people, had so many misunderstandings (language barriers will do that to ya), learned so much, or eaten so much food in less than a month. It has been crazy, but the best crazy I have ever experienced. That is not to say that everything is always 100% dandy. I have stumbled upon a new feeling: homesickness. I have never been the child that wishes to be at home instead of exploring other places, but apparently 6,000 miles between you and your family, friends, and hometown can pull that feeling out of ya. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed my time in Aosta Valley more than any other experience and every day continues to get better and better.
This week I have no school (a full 9 days without torture) because of CARNEVALE! Carnevale is a huge festival celebrated in not only Italy, but many other countries as well. On Tuesday I will take my first trek away from Aosta to a town called Ivrea. Here I will witness/take part in the 'orange wars'. I can't remember the name in Italian right now...Google it. Basically, I will wear old clothes and rainboots, and walk around Ivrea getting pelted and pelting oranges at the other participants. Extremely exciting. Also, some of my friends in other chapters will be there so it will be an AFS filled day and I will get to spend some time with a few of the friends I made in Roma at orientation.
I. Eat. So. Much. It is crazy, not to mention uncharacteristic, as those of you who know me well can attest. Last night some friends and I went to a pizzeria where you can order 'giro pizza'. Giro pizza is the devil in disguise. It forced me to eat ten pieces of pizza. TEN. They bring out one pizza, everyone takes one piece, and then they bring out another. Every pizza is a different kind so you feel forced to try it...not to mention the sort of competition between the group to see who can eat the most. Quite the experience.
It is getting rather late here and I have an Italian lesson bright and early (for me) at 10:30 am tomorrow. So...
Ciao and buona notte from Italia!
Bacio,
Emma
I have now been in Aosta for 3 entire weeks. Three weeks that are incomparable to any other 21 days of my life. Never have I met so many people, had so many misunderstandings (language barriers will do that to ya), learned so much, or eaten so much food in less than a month. It has been crazy, but the best crazy I have ever experienced. That is not to say that everything is always 100% dandy. I have stumbled upon a new feeling: homesickness. I have never been the child that wishes to be at home instead of exploring other places, but apparently 6,000 miles between you and your family, friends, and hometown can pull that feeling out of ya. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed my time in Aosta Valley more than any other experience and every day continues to get better and better.
This week I have no school (a full 9 days without torture) because of CARNEVALE! Carnevale is a huge festival celebrated in not only Italy, but many other countries as well. On Tuesday I will take my first trek away from Aosta to a town called Ivrea. Here I will witness/take part in the 'orange wars'. I can't remember the name in Italian right now...Google it. Basically, I will wear old clothes and rainboots, and walk around Ivrea getting pelted and pelting oranges at the other participants. Extremely exciting. Also, some of my friends in other chapters will be there so it will be an AFS filled day and I will get to spend some time with a few of the friends I made in Roma at orientation.
I. Eat. So. Much. It is crazy, not to mention uncharacteristic, as those of you who know me well can attest. Last night some friends and I went to a pizzeria where you can order 'giro pizza'. Giro pizza is the devil in disguise. It forced me to eat ten pieces of pizza. TEN. They bring out one pizza, everyone takes one piece, and then they bring out another. Every pizza is a different kind so you feel forced to try it...not to mention the sort of competition between the group to see who can eat the most. Quite the experience.
It is getting rather late here and I have an Italian lesson bright and early (for me) at 10:30 am tomorrow. So...
Ciao and buona notte from Italia!
Bacio,
Emma
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Orientation: Day One
So I'm in New York right now for my first day of orientations. I can't believe that it is already my last night in the States for the next 6 months. CRAZY! Today was full of emotions, saying bye to my friends before their first day back to Patton was hard and walking onto the plane knowing I won't see my parents for the next 6 months was even harder.
I never thought this day would actually get here! It is really nothing like I imagined. The overload of emotions is overwhelming at times, but not too awful. Everyone is so great at orientation! The leaders are all experienced and I have already made good friends with some of the people who are taking this amazing opportunity just like me.
Time to get some sleep!
Arrivederci,
Emma
I never thought this day would actually get here! It is really nothing like I imagined. The overload of emotions is overwhelming at times, but not too awful. Everyone is so great at orientation! The leaders are all experienced and I have already made good friends with some of the people who are taking this amazing opportunity just like me.
Time to get some sleep!
Arrivederci,
Emma
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