AFS Exchange

Venice

2010-06-26T02:04:00.000-07:00

Last week I returned to Venice to visit my friend from Germany. We spent the week either relaxing or going to see things in the area. One day we met with the students who are going on exchange next year. The next day we went to Venice and I got to see Saint Mark's Square in more detail. We toured the Palazzo Ducale (and the Bridge of Sighs), the Basilica, and we went to the top of the bell tower. Unfortunately, it was raining so the view wasn't optimal, but it was still beautiful! When the weather got nice we went to Jesolo, where there's the beach and a water park. For most of the day we were at the water park (which was luckily not crowded at all) and after that we caught the end of the USA world cup game.
On my last day we went to see Venice for the last time but it was raining really hard so we didn't get to see much. However, my American friend that I haven't seen since the day we arrived in Italy came with us so we got to catch up. Since then, I've been relaxing at home and every so often going out with friends. It's been abnormally cold up until yesterday so I haven't been able to go to the beach or in the pool, but this week hopefully the weather will be nice enough and I'll have a good last two weeks.
See you all soon!

Parma and AFS Camp

2010-06-26T01:59:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago I got to go to Parma to visit one of my friends from AFS. She's from Uruguay. It was so pretty in the north! It was the typical Italy that you imagine, with the green hills and cute little houses.
While I was there I didn't actually see a ton of Parma, but at least the important parts. My friend had an Intercultural dinner with AFS one night so my friend and I made empanadas (a typical food in Uruguay). On my last day however we went to San Marino, which is a whole another country, that is surrounded completely by Italy. It's very small and is basically just one town on this big hill. At the top though you can see all around, even to the sea. We also brought along one of my American friends who lives nearby. At the very top of the hill there is a castle and a beautiful view!
A few days after there was our last camp with AFS. It was really fun and great to be with the other AFS students but quite sad at the end. They talked to us about the troubles we will have with readjusting at home and they helped to prepare us for it. At the end we all signed eachother's t-shirts and had a chance to say goodbye.

Florence!

2010-05-19T02:30:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

I just got back from my school trip to Tuscany late last night and it was such a great time! On the ride up we had to be at the school at 7 AM and it took us 12 hours to get there (but also when we reached the rest stop in Rome some girl fainted so we were waiting there for an hour) but it was so worth the ride! We stayed in the Hotel Le Fonti, which was about an hour outside of Florence, but the town was so cute and very peaceful, with lots of green hills around (actually all of Tuscany looked like that, it was so beautiful). Then that night we took a nice walk around with all of us. The next day we spent the day in Florence, with most of the day spent with the tour guide, and we walked around to see all the famous sites of Florence (Dante's house, all the famous squares, the Duomo, etc). However, we couldn't enter into the Churches because there were masses going on. That afternoon we went to this garden, which was really beautiful. At the highest part (altitude-wise) there you could see all the hills and the city and there was lots of lovely flowers too. On Monday however we went to see several museum type things and in the afternoon I climbed to the top of the Duomo's bell tower with two of my friends. At the top it was AMAZING! You could see all around the city with a nice view of the Cupola and the landscape around it. There were 414 steps each way! After that we got to do some shopping and it was just fun in general to spend time with all my school friends and see the city. And we did some bargaining with the vendors. After that we took the bus back to the hotel and that night we went out in that town. It was lots of fun, we went to this bar that was outside and and there was singer and we all danced together and I really enjoyed myself. Our last day (yesterday) we went to Siena for the first half of the day. Siena was a lot smaller and more tranquil than Florence, but it was a really nice city. Unfortunately we didn't have time to really get to see it in detail but the tour guide took us into one of the churches and we walked around to all the famous points in the city (the piazza, the cathedral, etc). We ate lunch at this really cute very italian restaurant and at around 3 we left to go home. After a very long trip we arrived in Maglie at around 1:15. It was funny to see how on the ride up everyone was singing and being loud, and then on the ride back everyone was sleeping. It was really a trip I will never forget and it really strengthens my feelings of having my heart in two places! I know it will be really sad to leave here but at the same time happy to return. At this point I only have a few more weeks left of school and I can't believe how fast the time has gone. See you all soon!

Emily

PS Congratulations to Nina who graduated this weekend and happy birthday to Mary Clare!

San Nicola

2010-05-10T02:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to everyone and Happy San Nicola!
This weekend, in the town where I go to school, Maglie, they had their Patron Saint's festival (San Nicola). Last night I was at the festival with my friends from school and I was expecting to see something typical Italian, but it turned out that it was almost exactly like the Marshfield Fair.... with rides and everything! There was the thing that spins really fast and all those types of fair rides. I went on the Tagada (the spinning one) and the Frisbee, which was like a thing that swings back and forth and spins at the same time (like the Freak Out at the Marshfield Fair). It was lots of fun! Then if you walk down to the Square where the school is, it was all lit up with all kinds of lights and there are little markets selling whatever it is you could possibly want. Then as we were leaving they set off fireworks... basically, a pleasant night and it reminded me a lot of times at the Marshfield Fair.... it was actually quite strange too because it was almost the same thing, except I was with all Italians instead of Americans.

Matera

2010-05-10T02:08:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone! Just thought I'd share with you about the city of Matera, where I went last week. So basically, it's a very different kind of city. There are two parts, the old historical part (where the Passion of the Christ was filmed) and the more contemporary part. In the historical part basically theres a kind of valley and one the two sides where the earth goes up, there are all kinds of houses built into the side... and a million stairs! There's actually another student from AFS who lives in one of these houses... and he said everyday to go to school he has to climb up 150 stairs, can you imagine? I'll add some photos to the blog so you can see exactly how it was like... nevertheless, it was beautiful! Also, at the top there was a cathedral, where you could see all around... incredible!

Easter in Italy

2010-04-30T06:27:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the month we celebrated Easter here in Italy. It wasn't very exciting though... On Sunday we went to mass in the morning and ate lunch at the grandmother's house. The tradition here on Easter is to eat lamb and then for dessert a chocolate egg...and after Easter we had 4 chocolate eggs at our house (and they're huge too!)! The day after Easter is much more exciting, the Italians usually go with their friends in the countryside or to the beach and have a picnic. I went to the sea with my assistant from AFS and my chinese friends. We stopped at thies place by the sea and we were quite high up and there was a tower, at this point you can see the eastern-most point of Italy, so beautiful!
Now we're back at school and life's pretty normal, tomorrow is Labor day so it'll be a "long" weekend of two days... wow! :) Then on Sunday I'm going to see Matera, a city in the region of Basilicata a little further north (this is the city where some scenes from the Passion of the Christ were filmed). Happy May... which me luck because it's starting to get quite hot here.

Exchange Week in Venice

2010-04-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

For my own exchange week I got to go to Venice! It was so beautfil and again lots of fun with the other AFS students. We went to see all the famous spots in Venice like Saint Mark's Square, the Rialto Bridge, Bridge of Sighs, a million churchs, and lots more. The sunday and Monday of that week it rained but the rest of the week the weather was really spectacular! I was so thankful. One evening we took a gondola ride, which was really cool. The gondalier was pretty funny, though he wouldn't sing. However, instead the finnish guy sang in Finnish!
Another day, we went to two of the islands of the Ventian lagoon, Murano and Burano. Murano is famous for their glass-making and while we were there we got to see them blowing the glass. In Burano, it was much quieter but there was a street (more like a canal) where all the houses were in bright colors and every one was in a different color.
Another day we spent half the day in Venice and the other half in Padova. In Venice we alkwed to this huge church that was across the water from Saint Mark's Square. It was so beautiful! The church from the outside was really spectacular. In Padova we took a walk around the city, went to this nice park, and saw St Anthony's Church. The church was quite huge and beautiful!
The next day we went to Verona (the city of Romeo and Juliet). In Verona there was this Castle/museum (also connected to a Bridge). At a certain point in the castle you could see the area around Verona including this pleasant river. After that we saw the Arena (which is something similar to the Colesseum) and Juliet's house. Also, during that day we encountered some Americans. However, they were quite airheaded.....hopefully from the long trip, hah!
On the last night we had another dinner party with everyone which was lots of fun. The guy from Finland and another American played the guitar and we sang and of course ate (we're always eating in Italy).
I also forgot to mention the host family in Venice. There was a brother my age and a younger sister and two dogs. There were all so nice and the dogs were really amazing. One was even named Emily...she is trained in agility and knows how to do jumping, racing, and even a bit of basketball. The other dog, Nana awould ring a bell to go outside and knew how to press the button to open the gate. The host brother has decided to go to Brazil next year with AFS and last year they hosted a student from Chile.
The week in Venice was quite great and I learned a lot about Italy as a country. The North was a lot different from Southern Italy: how they talk, the houses, the surroundings, and the way the people interact with one another. In the North the people are more closed, still nice, but just more closed and more similar to the rest of Europe. It was a really great time in Venice and an unforgettable experience.

Settimana di Scambio (Exchange Week) Lecce

2010-04-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

For a week in March other AFS students came to Lecce for their exchange week. It was really great to meet new people from so many different people from so many different places and interesting to hear about their different experiences in Northern Italy. Whenever the exchange students get together we always have a lot of fun.

During the week I stayed with my assistant from AFS because she lives in the city of Lecce. This way I wouldn't have to drive a long way every day from Cutrofiano.

With the exchange students from this area and the ones from other parts of Italy we went to see the famous spots in Puglia. One day we toured the city of Lecce, another day we went around the coast of Salento and we saw Otranto, Santa Cesarea, Leuca (the point of the heel of Italy), and Gallipoli, and another day we went to Northern Puglia and saw Ostuni and Alberobello. Ostuni is also called the White City because it is on a hill and all the houses at the top are white. It was really beautiful because at the top you could see all around and you could see all the way to the sea. Alberobello was a city in which all the houses are really particular-looking. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I'll put the photos up.

On the last night we had a dinner party with everyone. It was lots of fun and I laughed a lot with my friend from Uruguay. We danced, and we ate. It was a really great way to end the week.

Also during that week my Chinese friend had her birthday and we surprised her with a birthday party. She was so happy she was crying!

February

2010-03-06T10:52:00.000-08:00

It's been quite a good month here in Italy! Not it's starting to get warmed and it's been raining less. Not too much to report though besides going to Belgium. School and life are going well and I actually finished two books in Italian this month (and I'm now working on another one). I've now read two little chapter books (probably about 2nd grade level) and I'm really proud that my Italian's finally getting to a useful level! Even though I'm understanding most of what they're saying now, I still have a long way to go. For example, during lunch time I'm starting to get what they're discussing (depending on what they are talking about) but it's not perfect (but sometimes it's not my fault because they speak in dialect at times). Then, I've got to master understanding that dialect! Italian first though.
In a few weeks, I'm going to Venice for an exchange week with AFS and I can't wait! I'll be staying with a family who lives right outside the city and there's a brother my age and a younger sister. However, I've already embarrassed myself in front of them. O.o I received friend requests from them, one of them being from what I thought was their dog, due to the fact that a bunch of the photos they were tagged in were of a dog. So later that day, the dog instant messages me and after small chatting for a bit with the dog I ask if he's a dog and he replies "Almost. Why????" .....it turns out it was the dad of the family! Oops! I'm hoping he found it funny like me or it's going to be a long week in Venice.
Anyways, everything's going well but I still miss you all back home! I got an e-mail yesterday with my flight information back home.... I'll land in New York on July 9th at 3:45 pm!

Belgium

2010-03-06T08:57:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago for our "Carnival" vacation I went to Belgium with my host dad and brother and their family friends. We took a really cheap airline called Ryanair out of Bari to Brussels. When we arrived in Brussels I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was snowing! I've been missing the snow (though not that cold :P ) so I was quite glad to see it. Plus all the italians were in a fuss over being freezing and I was perfectly content. The hotel we stayed in was quite nice and big with a mini kitchen! And I was again pleasently surprised to find some channels on the TV in English (I even watched Arthur for a bit!). It was really cool while being there being the translator for the italians at times just because I could speak English (though confusing too). Some people were surprised after they asked why I could speak English so well when I told them I am American.
Anyways, so the next day Monday we spent most of the day in Brugge and after we walked around Ghent for a bit. However, when we were trying to get to Brugge we asked a Belgian man for directions and he led us completely wrong! I'm not sure if it was because he couldnt speak either of our languages or because he was a huge jerk.... but nonetheless, we were very confused! In Brugge we saw many churches and basically walked around a good part of the city. In the afternoon we took a ride on the canal too! There was a very big and beautiful Cathedral that we went into and lots of cute buildings to see. In Ghent we took a walk around but there didn't seem to be much to see and they were doing construction on the road so it was very muddy and gross.
On Tuesday we spent the first half of the day in Antwerp. I met up with Claire and we all took a walk from the very pretty Central Station to the biggest cathedral in Antwerp. On the way there were lots of stores and things, and Claire explained whenever there was something important to make a note of. At the Cathedral however there wasn't much to see because to go in all the wall you have to pay 5 euros. We returned back to Brussels for the afternoon where we went to see another Cathedral and we walked around the city some more.
That night after dinner we all went to a Belgian bar type place. One of the family friends' son spooted some Spanish girls that he decided he wanted to try and hit on. Only he had to do it in English! So I get dragged along to help him hit on these Spanish girls... it was quite funny! They were really nice actually and some of them talked to me too, though I think they were wondering what I was doing with a guy who was trying to hit on them. After a while I think they were reaching the too much alcohol point thought because when I got up to leave they were chanting my name and clapping.... HAH! Funnily enough, my family friend actually managed to get a few of their numbers.
On Wednesday, we stayed in Brussels again only we went a bit outside the city to go inside the giant atom. It was really cool, especially when you had to take escalators between the protons and electrons and such. Then at the top you could see all around too! After that we did some more walking around the city and we went to see the European Parliament and did some shopping.
And basically the next day we got up early and returned back to Italy! Belgium was really beautiful to see and I really enjoyed the trip.

January

2010-02-26T09:44:00.000-08:00

January had gone by well and very fast! Living here is becoming pretty normal. School from 8 to 1 or 1:30, lunchtime with the family, and then a bit of studying. Three times a week we go to the gym for step classes so hopefully I'm burning off all that pasta! And now, on Tuesdays and Fridays I have play rehearsal after school. It's pretty small and we don't have a lot of people or materials but it's still fun. We're doing Don Quixote. The way our director has done casting in order to reduce the amount of lines we have to memorize is that every scene the casting is different. So in one scene I'm Don Quixote and in another I'm a peasent!

In January we also got our report cards and I passed all my classes! The last week of the semester was pretty crazy though. All the teachers and students were scrambling to do last minute tests in order to bring up grades. My math teacher gave us a big test during this time and I was so stressed out and scared for it!

Probably the best thing that happened in January though was spreading the joy of the Red Sox! My parents sent me a bunch of Red Sox things (hats, shirts, trinkets) and we gave each one of my host brother's friends one. And thankfully, they really liked them! We also had a Red Sox monkey that they we all fighting over.

January was a bit cold, and it even snowed for about 5 minutes! However, it quickly melted immediately after.

New Years and January

2010-01-25T08:43:00.000-08:00

It's been a good January here in Italy. I started off the year with my american AFS friend coming to visit me and her, my host sister, two friends, and I went to the disco. It was a lot of fun! Then on New Years day we had a big lunch with the grandma. Pasta asciuta.. yummmm!!
It was great to have my friend come to stay with us for a bit and have another American around. Unfortunately, she got the stomach flu on her last day here. Also, on the Epiphany there is still vacation and the "Befana" comes during the night and brings you sweets if you've been good and puts them in a stocking.
I've been back to school for about two weeks now and it's going pretty well. Things are really starting to fall into place now. I'm understanding a lot and I'm even reading a small chapter book in Italian. On the back it says "for ages 9 to 10" HAHA! I guess my language is as good as a 9 year old! I'm also making friends and yesterday I went over my own friends house. It was fun and she showed me around her town so I got to see another piece of Salento. I'm really happy with how far I've come and I'm excited for the coming months because I know it's only going to get better. Right now in Salento it's actually a bit cold (one day it hit 32°F) and we light a fire almost every day. The Italians are also really crazy about covering themselves from the cold when it really isn't that cold. Though at this point I've gotten used to it.
I've started my school's theater program and we're going to do Don Quijote. However, I'm not sure what it will be like because the first and only rehearsal I've been to about 2/3 of the kids were missing.
Other than that, next month we have a vacation for "Carnival" and my host family, their same friends from Rome, and I are going to Belgium!
Miss you all and have a great day!

Christmas in Italy

2010-01-02T08:23:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays everyone!!!
Thought you all would like to hear about what Christmas was like in Italy. To be honest, the main events of Christmas weren't very different. We put up a Christmas Tree with ornaments and tinsel, we went to Christmas Eve Mass, and had a big meal with the extended family on Christmas Day. However, there were many small details of Christmas that were different, starting with school. For the last few days of school we did this thing called "autogestione" which is where the students get to do what they want (basically, they can pick from a bunch of different stations to go to for these 2 hours of the school day. For example, Musicale, School of Rock, or Literature). I went to the Musicale "circolo" which was so much fun! It was like a school dance except in the basement of the school. Then on the last day before vacation we had a local band come to the school to perform a concert (again in the basement) and my class had a party (I ate SO much!).
Christmas Eve we had a big dinner with the family and opened presents and after we went to church (however with friends). The mass was really beautiful, though I was pretty tired seeing as it was at midnight! I gave my host brother a Boston University sweatshirt and a red sox hat and I actually see him wearing it all the time! For Christmas we ate a bunch... AGAIN! Then that evening my host sister and I went to see the Nativity Scene in our town. And what was strange is that that night we went out with friends. Even though Christmas Day had ended the "festa" still continues up until Epiphany... when the "befana" comes! Merry Christmas all!!

Roma!

2009-12-27T02:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry I'm so incredibly late in writing, but I've been quite busy and honestly, a bit lazy to fill you all in. Anyways, for the weekend of Immaculate Conception (we had a three day weekend) I went to Rome with my host family and some of their friends. Saturday, I left school early and we were off to Rome! It took about 5 or 6 hours to get there from my town. On the way, we stopped at a rest stop close to Naples and I got to eat a muffin (finally!!) and heard the Naples accent! For a while my host dad has been joking around about the Naples accent and when we entered the rest stop and heard a man talking he was like "Emily! Emily!! Naples accent! Listen!!!"

At the hotel we stayed in, everyone who worked there spoke English...it was so great! One night we were sitting at the hotel restaurant and I heard a group of college students all speaking English. Later, I got to talk to two of them and one was Dutch (who also had had a bit too much to drink hahah) and the other was from Oregon! Though the Dutch guy was a bit crazy, it was so great to speak some English, and with an American too! Everywhere I went I saw and heard some English and I was very pleasantly surprised. As for Rome I saw so many beautiful things.

The first night I had my first Roman pizza, we took a walk around the city, we passed by Termini Station, we saw Piazza della Rupublica, the "Wedding Cake," the Roman Forum, and the Colesseum. I was so amazed to be actually seeing these things in real life. It was all so beautiful, and definately like nothing I've ever seen before, and all these things were all lit up for the night.

The next day we first took the train straight to Vatican City and saw St Peter's Square. However, we were only able to stay for a bit because we were planning to see a lot of things that day and it was very crowded. After that we went walking to see all the sites. We went next to the Piazza del Popolo and to the Piazza di Spagna, saw the Parliament building, and the famous shopping street near there. Then, we saw the Trevi fountain, the Pantheon and after Piazza Navona. Apparently, when it rains, the rain doesn't enter through the hole of the Pantheon. I don't see how this is possible, but I'm curious to know if it's true! After all this walking we took the bus to the Colesseum and saw a bit more of that (however, we didn't go inside). We went back to the hotel to rest our feet for a while and then went out again to have some delicious Italian food. I got lasagna... yummm!!!

On Monday I got up early to go see the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel (fortunately, one of our friends offered to take me because my host family had forgotten to buy the tickets in advance). I saw so many beautiful things there. I walked around with my audio guide (in English!!!) so I could figure out what all the things I was looking at meant. The Sistine Chapel was amazing! There were just so many gorgeous things to see there. Before we went in, however, I saw the line for the people who hadn't made reservations and I felt so sorry for them: it was huge!

After that we went to St Peter's again and actually went inside the Basilica this time. Wow! There was so much fantastic artwork, it was so big, and very peaceful. I even got to help a women who only spoke hebrew and english to explain what something was. It was exciting to feel so bilingual :P We decided to climb to the top of the Cupola. The stairs were quite frightening seeing as the walls were slanted, though it was all worth it. When I reached the top, it was spectacular! I could see the piazza down below and a great deal of Rome. Truly awing. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from this day because my camera battery had died, but I hope all of you will be able to see it for yourself some day!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T06:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Yesterday I stayed home from school to make thanksgiving dinner (well, really lunch) with my host sister. It was also my host mom's birthday! I got the needed recipes offline, like how to cook turkey and apple pie. We went off to the supermarkets but I had forgotten to translate the ingredients before going! So, we were in the store trying to figure how to say cinnamon, nutmeg, and cheddar cheese in italian. We figured out how to say cinnamon and nutmeg using Silvia's cell phone, but cheddar cheese was much more difficult. So, I was looking through all the cheeses in the store and I saw one with a picture of a hamburger and a piece of cheese on it and I immediately thought that that must have been the right type of cheese! Also, turkey was so difficult to find. It's impossible to find a whole turkey here in italy so we had to settle for pieces (also it's dark meat). The first store we went to there was no turkey to be found. The second store and the turkey they had was a giant turkey wing. So we had the butcher cut it up because the wing was too big and she was really chopping that turkey wing! I was actually a bit scared and intimidated with her and that huge knife.

After a while of cooking, we had made turkey, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, gravy, and apple pie. With the turkey I really had no idea what I was doing when I was cooking it. I was also too grossed out to touch the raw meant so my sister did. :P The turkey turned out actually pretty nasty, it was very rough and chewy, though it did at least taste like normal turkey a bit. The mashed potatoes tasted pretty good thankfully and so did the gravy. However, turns out what I picked out was not actually cheddar cheese, so the scallowed potatoes were quite strange. And finally, the apple pie was a bit misshapen, but soooooo delicious!! I ate about a quarter of the pie last night, eating apple pie was so wonderful and I'm sure it will be gone by tomorrow thanks to me. :)

Hope you all had a good holiday and my thoughts are with you!

Sick Last Week.

2009-11-16T07:36:00.000-08:00

So, the swine flu (possibly, we are not sure) has been going around Southern Italy... and last week, I caught it! I woke up Wednesday morning with a terrible sore throat and when I got home from school I realized I had a fever. Some things about being sick in Italy: 1) when they measure your temperature, they put the thermometer under your armpit! 2) The temperature was in celcius! So they were like "oooo!! 37.6 :O :O" and I'm like "What does that mean?!" Turns out that's about 100 degrees. 3) I got one day to be sick, one day to be half sick, and one day to be healthy :)
I'm all better now, but the sore throat is still present a small bit. They gave me some medicine for it, it was minty!
As for Italian life, things are becoming much more normal around here. Saturdays we usually go to eat some pizza, watch a movie or other things like that (last saturday we went bowling). At this point, everything is becoming very familiar to me as I adjust.

PS I added some photos of us with the swine flu masks on :P

2009-10-06T11:29:00.000-07:00

Some more Stories

2009-10-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, so, a couple weeks ago there was a fair in my town. There they were selling lots of different things, like clothes, animals, food, everything! So we're walking along and pretty much everyone in town is there, so it was very crowded. The next thing I know Silvia and her friend are like Emily!! You want to ride a horse!!?? So I was like ehhh what the heck? So Im about to get on this horse and the guy in charge of it only speaks italian! So Im trying to clammer onto this horse as the guy shouts directions at me in italian and I had no idea what was going on! Finally Im on the horse, and the next thing I know not only am I on the horse, but this random little boy is too! It was quite a laugh, and also pretty embarassing seeing as a quarter of the town probably witnessed this. :P

At this point, I've adjusted to this different place pretty well, and usually I just follow the saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" and that seems to work pretty well.

I've also been trying dance and I'm absolutely terrible, but I find it pretty funny, so it's ok... plus that'll be my way of burning off all the pasta! :P

Speaking of food, I ate the strangest thing the other day (besides this all the food is delicious):

When it was placed in front of me I thought it was some chicken parm. However, when I cut into it it was really slimy and gooey. On the top of it was what seemed like wet bread crumbs and some cheese. Then, at the bottom, it seemed like there was this thick skin (like of squash or something of that sort) and it was dark and also moist and squishy. The taste was kind of like watered down chicken. I have no clue what I ate!! :O

Italy Stories

2009-10-06T10:40:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone, I just thought I'd share the highlights of being in Italy so far.

Well, this sunday I woke up and it was absolutely gorgeous outside. I then decided to take a walk around town to explore and take some pictures. As I was walking I heard the churchbells ringing for 11 o'clock... I followed the sounds up the street and arrived at the back of the church where I could hear the chior warming up. It was totally beautiful! I walked into the church and ended up staying for the whole mass. When the chior sang I was just completely awestruck. The church was also amazing, everywear there was beautiful artwork and statues. It was amazing! However, I couldn't understand much in church even though I'm catholic myself. I figured: oh! I got this, I know when to stand up, when to sit, when to kneel, and when to go up to the front to get communion. Man, I was wrong! Sometimes, some people would stand, others kneel, and others sit. I was so confused! Then, when it came time for communion I was waiting patiently for my row's turn to go up, except the people just went up whenever they pleased and some not at all. Finally, when I thought mass had ended they started saying this prayer which was extremely long and I had no clue what was going on. It was a bit of a confusing experience, but one I'll treasure none-the-less. :)

Italy Update!

2009-10-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

Its now October and Ive been here for quite a while! Today it's raining a lot :(
However, generally the weather here is beautiful. I've noticed a consistent pattern of beautiful things in Italy: the food, the people, the buildings, the weather, how when the teacher is absent there's no substitute.... it's so great!
Things are very different here, but I'm enjoying myself. Here's some examples of the differences:
-In the morning, we have to take public transportation to get to school. Every day when the bus comes all the kids crowd around the door to the bus and you have to fight your way onto the bus and it's totally chaotic! One day, in the midst of this mosh pit my backpack got stuck between a group of people but I kept going... Then that caused the strap to burn my arm from all the pulling and rubbing! The bus is crazy and I was pretty overwhelmed at first, but since then I've gotten used to it and I may ever be getting stronger! :P
-There is smoking everywhere and I find it quite gross.
-They only use their doors when they are going to the bathroom or taking a shower. Meaning: sometimes if they want they change out in the open :O Everyone around me in the family seems cool with it so I just go along with it and try not to act like it shocks me.
-Bare feet is not accepted... I think they think its smelly and gross. The other day I was showing my sister pictures of my birthday party, she saw all the bare feet, and she said Che puzza! (which means something about smelling bad)
-At the movies you have to wait until the movie actually starts until you can go into the teatre, and once you are allowed to it's a bit similar to when the bus arrives in the morning. (instead of butter on popcorn, there is an option of chocolate!)
-They don't wear seatbelts in the backseat. It shocks me every time.
-They eat soooooooo much! I'm stuffed after every meal and I'm still asked once I'm finished if I want more. However, the food is great!
-Vending machines are loads cheaper. You can buy a water bottle for €0.30 (thats about $0.50) and in the states it's $1.25
-I have no clue whats going on with clothes. I not sure how to dress or what is good-looking enough to wear. If you go to school in your pajamas you will get shot

Since Ive Been in Italy...

2009-09-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

I have a lot to say about being in Italy too. The family is very friendly and they help me A LOT. Silvia speaks a little english, so if i dont understand she translates. The family has two houses, because the one in the town (Cutrofiano) gets too hot in the summer, so they go to the other house in the countryside. Both houses are beautiful! In the summer house, they have the most amazing backyard. There is a pool, and a large patio, with a bunch of olive trees growing there too. THEY ALSO HAVE PALM TREES HERE! I have plenty of pictures of the house and my trip, just give me some time to remember to bring it to this house (they only have internet in the winter house). The brother and the dad here dont speak English so its harder to communicate with them, but we make it work. The other day, the dads asked me where I lived and him and Silvia failed at saying "Massachusetts." It made me laugh :P

Today was my first day of school! I couldnt understand anything teachers said, but the students in my class are very friendly, so I hope that I will have friends soon. The problem is I have issues remembering the names. Even though school is on Saturday.. that day I have 2 hours of english! Che facile! :) When I first got to school I was standing around in the little square thing of the school with another exchange student from hong kong. Eventually, all the freshman were standing there as the teacher called them into whichever class they would be in. Then, the english teacher gets up and takes the microphone and says EMILYYY! to the ENTIRE freshman class. I think she said something to introduce me, but I was absolutely mortified. I had already felt like my stomach was going to leap out my mouth at any second and/or barf from nerves, and that moment of course didnt help. I got to go with the freshman to their english class and it was the most boring/easiest thing ever. After that I went to my real class. It started out with Spanish and the teacher speaking spanish to me confused me out of my mind.... I was just sitting in the class like WHAT LANGUAGE DO I SPEAK???? Eventually I got my head on straight and was understanding more until the Italian teacher comes in and then nothing from there.
Today is the dads birthday so I am going to give him a Red Sox shirt. :) Hopefully he will like it.
I hope everything is well at home and I love you all!

Finally in Italia!

2009-09-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!
I have a lot to share since I last wrote. Im here finally after a long journey. The american AFS students had an orientation in New York for a day and then we left for Italy on Thursday. Our flight went from NYC (JFK airport) to Zurich (a 8 hour flight), we were in Zurich for 4 hours and then from Zurich we went to Roma! I dont think any of us Americans slept on the first flight... and of course on the next one I fell asleep, hoping to wake up in time to see us fly over the alps but I slept too long! :( In Rome things went smoothly, my bags were all there, and I didnt have to wait in any long lines. It was great!
Turns out we weren't staying in a hotel in Rome at all. We took a 2 hour bus ride to our hostel, but since the hostel was on a hill you could see Rome from the top (I think it was Rome) and it was beauutiful! The americans were a day late for the supposed to be 2 day orientation because of travel problems, but I'd have to say that day that we were actually was one of the most amazing days of my life. When I walked outside of my room I could find people of every kind. I met people from Chile, Argentina, Swedan, Denmark, Finland, Alaska, India, Germany, and many more! It was so great because most of them spoke english (better than Italian). Events like this really make you realize everyone is the same... except, of course, for their customs.
The next day we took the train from Rome to Lecce, and I got to practice a little Italian with a lady sitting nearby. I sat near an American girl, and a Danish and Swedish guy who were all also going to Lecce. We talked a lot, the guys watched southpark, and it was a very interesting ride learning about all the differences and similarites between the countries. They taught me and the other american girl the "Scandanavian Pose." :P
When the train pulled into Lecce (where my host family met me), I was probably the most nervous Ive ever been in my entire life. The family is great though! :D

Tomorrow's the Day!

2009-09-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

It's my last day here in Marshfield and I've just finished packing! I spent about 30 minutes taking stuff out of my bag/moving things between bags to fit the weight requirement. I'm allowed one checked back (up to 44 pounds) and one carry on bag (up to 22 pounds). I think I've managed to have exactly those weights for both bags :\ Hopefully I weighed correctly. Now I'm just sitting around enjoying some oreos and later some friends are coming by to say goodbye. Today was a lot more relaxing than I had thought since I finished most of the major packing last night... Now I wait... Just one more day! :D

La mia scuola (my school)

2009-08-17T18:18:00.001-07:00

Here's some information about the school I'll be going to. It's in Maglie (the neighboring city to Cutrofiano) and it has students and thats about all I know about it! =P The way they do school there is that there are "tracks" as I think they call them, so you pick a track that focuses on what one's interests are (arts, languages, math and science, etc). I have no clue yet which track I'm going to be put on, but all the tracks as I have seen offer the courses that I need to graduate here in the U.S. Here's the website for the school (if you can read Italian) and if you need you can use Google translator, enter the URL, and it translate the site for you :) http://www.liceocapece.it/

Waiting...

2009-08-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting close to getting my visa! Last week my dad and I went to the Italian consulate in Boston only to find out we've done everything right, but I couldn't get my visa yet. We had all the papers and documents needed, but my name was not on "the list." We got all the documents checked and signed and what not but we still have to wait for my name to be on this "list." Hopefully I will be able to get it soon.
I'm due to leave in just about three and a half weeks. On September 9th I have to be in New York City for my one day orientation and then on the 10th is my red-eye flight to Zurich (where I'm connecting) and then finally to Rome on the 11th (creepy and sad day to be on a plane, huh?). After that the students going to Italy and I have a two night orientation in Rome before going to Cutrofiano on that Sunday (school starts the next day on Monday! :O ) I'm extremely excited to go and the waiting is obnoxious! But, at the same time now's my time to relax before I have to start thinking and going to school in another language. It's pretty crazy to think that in about a little less than a month's time I'll be meeting my host family and I can't wait! :)
For those of you who don't know, Cutrofiano is a small town of about 10,000 people in Puglia (which is a region of Italy on the spike of Italy's boot across the Adriatic Sea from Albania and Greece). The closest well known city is Naples which is probably a day's drive to get to. The beach isn't too far away but not too close either. I have no clue yet how I'm getting to Cutrofiano from Rome... but I guess it'll keep me in suspense =P
Ciao a tutti! (Goodbye everyone)

2009-06-27T09:56:00.001-07:00

Hey!

I just found out my host family recently. They live in Cutrofiano, which is a small town in the southern part of the country. They are very friendly and I have a host brother and host sister! I'm really excited and I'm starting Rosetta Stone very soon!

Pre-Traveling Abroad

2008-11-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!
I just finished my application for my AFS exchange a few weeks ago. I am very excited to (hopefully) be participating on an AFS Italy exchange, starting in Fall 2009 and lasting until June 2010. There is a lot on my mind as I prepare to study abroad. I've had to make time in my busy life to finish the application and also making sure everything is going and getting in smoothly. Also, once my country choice of Italy is finalized I'm intending to take an Italian language class. As for right now, I have some books I got off of amazon.com that are helping to teach me a little Italian. I've also had to talk to my guidance counselor frequently to organize my credits so my exchange doesn't affect my graduation date. I'm nervous about speaking a whole new language 24/7, living with a new family, and making new friends in a new country. However, I'm also extremely excited about all those things too. It will be a whole new adventure and challenge to live abroad in a foreign country. I'm thrilled to meet new people who have a different culture from my own. I find it fascinating to learn about how people in other countries live. I am hoping that by the end of my exchange I will have learned a new language, made some new friends, matured, and to have some great memories. :-) However, in order to become I'm AFSer I have had to make some sacrifices. Since I am missing a year of school I'm probably going to have to double up on some of my classes in order to get enough credits for gradution. Also, I will have no class rank or just a really bad GPA because of the way my school does the weighted GPA. I'm also sad about leaving my family and my friends... but looking forward to making new friends in my host country! I decided to do my exchange in high school instead of college because I get the opportunity to go leave with a family and be fully immersed in the culture with lots of help from AFS. Also, I believe this experience will help me in my college life as well as to help me get into college. After much discussion my family and friends are very helpful and supportive of my decision, though they are sad to see me go. Looking forward to keeping you updated on what's going on with my AFS exchange!! :-)