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
Friday, April 20, 2012
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
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