Hey guys!
So since i wrote last its been about a month and quite a few things have happened since then. Not in the sense that events ahve happened, but a lot of changes have occured and a lot of my opinions have changed. Or maybe my ideas have been changing all these past months, but im just noticing them now. When i got back from Paris, it was really hard to get back into my life here. Id been with americans for a little over a week, and just being around my own culture kind of took me out of this one. It made it really hard for me to want to come back to Italy and continue with this last stretch. I'm not really sure what my feelings are on these last months though to be honest. I'm having a lot of fun now, yet at the same time I miss my family and friends at home too. I only have about seven and a half weeks left, which seems so soon, yet so far. These past two months, I've made really good friends and now the fun is just beginning. At the beginning it was hard because I didn't speak a word of the language, and I didnt know the social customs, therefore making friends was really hard. After a while though it got better, and I branched out more. Now I'm having much more fun, especially since the weather is getting much better. I'm so lucky to have been placed in Sicily because the weather here is amazing and I live almost 10 minutes from the beach by bus. Once school lets out, my friends and I can go to the beach all the time. Although now school is getting much tougher. At the start, I wasnt required to do much because I had no idea what they were saying, but now because I do understand I take part in the lessons. Which I actually prefer becuase sitting in a classroom for 5 hours a day with nothing to do can get a little boring. So now Im participating in classes, which gives me something to do, yet now it gives me something to stress about too. We have to do interrogations, and I have a few coming up. I'm also participating in an event Palermo apre le porte (Palermo opens the doors), which is where students go to different historical sites and give tours of the sites. So i've been preparing for that as well. These last three and a half weeks of school are going to go by pretty slow though because of all of the work that has to be done, and how close we are to the end of school. Thats how it always is though, whenever you look forward to something it always takes forever to get to that point. But to make it go by I've planned something for every weekend to get me through it.So I hope these next three weeks go by at a decent pace. The sad thing about wanting time to go by is that it will. By the time school is out I will only have four more weeks left, which is a sad though. I have gotten so accustomed to life here, it's going to be wierd going back. So in some ways I want to be at the end of school but in other ways I dont. Well Im gonna go its late and I have school tomarrow morning bright and early!
a dopo,
olivia

Hey guys,
So its been a while since I last wrote so I have a lot to fill you in on. Well its been three months since January and a lot has happened. January and February were pretty average months. Im feeling so at home here that now it just seems like everyday life, I dont even notice the lanugage difference any more. So January and February ended up being very relaxed. Then March was probobly the most fun I have had. About half way through March, Palermo hosted exchange week with AFS. Thats when people here in Italy with AFS, from all over different parts of Italy, choose a city to go and live in for a week. We hosted ours in the third week of March. So we were able to see a lot of our friends we havent seen since the orientation camp when we arrived here in Italy. We also did a lot of touring and visiting nearby cities, for example Agrigento. Agrigento is a town in southern Sicily that has all of the old Greek temples still standing. So we were able to see all kinds of things like that. It was a really fun week. Then the next week I went to Milan for my own exchange week. So I was given a host family there and I went to a school there to experience what the schools are like in Milan. We also did a lot of tourin there and we were also able to make a day trip to Venice, which was wonderful. Venice was much more different than I expected it to be, it was so quiet, due to the fact that there are no cars there, just boats.Then the next week I went to Paris with a friend of mine here and her family. We spent the week living there and it was wonderful. We were able to see all sorts of amazing things and eat a different tpe of food than weve been eating lately. So in all the past month has been packed. Its about a week into April now, which means that its getting close to the end of my stay here. Its so strange though because I have gotten so comfortable here and I have the most amazing family here. Its strange to think that Ill be here for less than three months now. Time has gone by so fast, and I dont want these last few months to go by too fast. Its also funny because at the same time Im a bit excited to be able to see my family and friends again, especially since weve all changed during the year. Well I have to go its lunch time!

Hey Everyone,
Its been such a long time since my last post, sorry its been so long! A lot has happened since november. My birthday was really fun, my classmates and my english teacher threw me a surprise party in class, which was so kind of them! It was also one of my classmates birthday so it was a sort of double party. There was cake and pandoro and panetone, and it was all delicious. Pandoro and Panetone are special types of cake eaten here in Italy for the holiday season. I was also thrown a surprise party by my family and friends here, which was wonderful. I got very nice things from my family for my birthday, which was extremely generous of them. Then christmas came along, which was extremely different. Here there isnt as much emphasis on the pre christmas festivities, or on christmas itself. Its a big holiday, but here Epiphany is more appreciated. On January 6th, they celebrate La Befana, who is a witch that comes around to people homes and puts candy and gifts in good childrens stockings and coal in bad childrens stockings. It was also my host mothers birthday so we went out to lunch with most of the family. Then on the 7th I went back to school and got back on track with my school work and going to the gym and my Italian courses. So things have gotten back to normal now and im back to my regular routine. Also in the beginning of December, my host sisters host sister from Australia came to do an exchange program here for a few months. Shes been going to school and living here with our family. Shes a lot of fun and very kind. Shes leaving this weekend though, which is hard to believe, since that means that two whole months have passed since then. These past couple of months have gone by so fast, and its hard to believe that its already almost February. In March im going to Milan for a week to do exchange week with AFS m which im really looking forward to. Ive also been hanging out lately with my friends cloe, ana, caitlin, and lena, who are also here on exchange programs. They are so much fun, and we have a lot of fun together. Ive also seen a few more movies recently (all in Italian). I saw the Sherlock Holmes movie a while back, which was fantastic, and Avatar as well a few days ago, which was also fantastic. Its really interesting seeing these movies in Italian, becuase Im finding that now its easier for me to understand what they are speaking about. Its so wierd to think though that already, my experience here is almost half way through. Its sad because I really like it here, and Im having such a wonderful experience. Im becoming friends with so many people here and Im becoming more and more at home here as each day passes. Well, its time for me to go, I have to go eat dinner! Ill update soon!
Olivia

Hey guys,
So its been a little crazy here lately, now that im settling in and all. Its been really fun and ive been really busy with going to school, going to the gym with my host sister and her friends, learning italian, and going out on saturday nights. Its been really tiring lately, especially because always speaking in another language makes you really exhausted. Its all working out though. Life is becoming pretty routined now, I go to school, come home and eat lunch, do my homework, then relax until i have to go to my italian courses that i have with afs, or the gym. THen i come home and eat dinner, and thats pretty much how my day goes. I was surprised at how much Italian teenagers study though. They go to school, come home, eat lunch, and then study for the rest of the afternoon. This is a lot more different from the type of work I normally do for school. They also arent really assigned calss projects or essays, its mainly studying for interrogaziones, which are tests given in class, but instead of written tests, you sit in front of the teacher, and he or she interrogates you. Its almost the christmas season here and Im really excited. I love christmas and I cant wait to see what christmas is like in another country. Im sure it will be different, but im excited nonetheless. My birthday is in a week and Im sure that will be fun too. Right now not much is going on, but Im in that period of time where, in about a week, everything is going to start happening, and its all just going to keep going. Life isnt very eventful right now, just very routined, but i know it will be. I also saw New Moon two weeks ago. It was wierd seeing it in Italian because they spoke too fast for me to understand. But I got to see it two days before my friends at home did because it came out here tow days earlier! But it was really fun and I went with some people from one of my classes who are really nice. Im having a really good time so far, and Im loving every minute here. Well until next time, ciao!

Hey Everybody!

Its been a while since ive updated this, so I thought Id fill you in on whats been going on. Ive started fitting in well here, so I am having a lot of fun. I started school almost three weeks ago, and its pretty interesting. Ive been trying to participate the best that I can, even though I dont speak any Italian. Most of the time its pretty confusing, but occasionally I can understand what were learning. Ive been hanging out a lot with my host sisters friends a lot so Ive been really busy. We go out shopping and to cafes most of the time, and Ive eaten soooo much gelato! My new favorite is pistachio, which I thought would be weird, but its actually the best flavor. Ive also been eating Brioche , which is the best food in the world! Its a big sweet bun that has gelato inside of it! Its sooo good! The only problem is I have difficulty eating it, and somehow, I always spill some of it in the process of eating it.I went to a disco the other night with my host sister and all of her friends, and it was so much fun! Its very different from American clubs, and I cant dance very well in America, but since the style is different here, I can dance really well! Its basically do whatever you want kind of dancing. A lot of people here are also realllly into this thing called tectonic, which is a type of dancing where you just move your arms and legs really fast in like jerky movements and twists and swirls. Its actually really cool, but it looks really hard. Im also eating really interesting foods here. For example one of the Sicilian specialties is pig intestine. They tokd me i didnt have to eat that one if i didnt want to, but im willing to try a little bit, just for the sake of saying ive tried it. They also eat rabbit here. Its one of their main white meats, along with chicken and turkey. It actually isnt that bad, it tastes pretty much like chicken, but the entire time I was eating it I was remembering my friends at home, and the bunnies that they have hopping around their house. Sooo it was a little bit weird trying to eat it. Tge pizza here though is to die for. I have never had such good pizza in my life. Well I am in Italy so that would make sense, but anyways its so good and they have so many different types of pizza. I usually get Margheritta, which is just plain pizza (cheese and tomato sauce), but they have so many different ones, like they have ones with french fries on it, and one with eggplant on it. Ive also eaten at this restaurant called Fratelli la Bufala, which means The Buffalo Brothers. Its the best pizza in Palermo, and the most popular pizza place. It actually originated in Napoli, who makes the best pizza in Italy and is famous for it, and now they have them all over Italy. So I really enjoy eating there. Ive also seen a lot of Palermo and some of Sicily and it is absolutely gorgeous. I didnt expect it to have so many mountains! But all of the landscapes here are so beautiful and when your walking through the town you can almost always see the mountains. Palermo itself is also a beautiful city. There is both modern and ancient architecture and both are wonderful. All of the old theatres and monuments and parks are so much fun to see, and wonder how people built them like thousands of years ago, and theyre still here. Im also becoming friends with the other AFSers in my town. Its really fun, because we go out and take pictures and go shopping and eat gelato and things like that when we want to, because our host siblings and friends have more studying than we do, so when we finish with ours there is still so much time left in the day. Ive also started Italian lessons with the other Afsers and its kind of helping, a little bit, but Ive been learning better by speaking with my host family. My host family speaks some english and my host sister speaks it fluently, which at first was good, but now I dont want to keep speaking English. Itll be easier and quicker for me to learn Italian if Im forced to speak it. Ill be able to pick it up so much faster. Ive been picking up little bits and bieces and since Ive already learned Spanish, its really not that different. So once I get into learn Italian mode, Im sure Ill be able to get the hang of it.Well thats about all thats been going on right now. Ill write again soon!

Hey everybody!
I finally got to Palermo after a week of traveling and orientations which were exhausting, but i made tons of new friends from all over the world! Its wonderful here and my host family is amazing. They are so nice and welcoming and fun! They make me feel right at home! They eat so much in Italy, and im used to much smaller meals, so meal times are funny. Well gotta go. Ill post soon!

Hi, my name is Olivia, and I am a sophomore in High School. I am a Varsity Cheerleader at my High School along with many of my friends. I am a good student and enjoy going to school. I enjoy doing many things from hanging out with my friends, to spending time with my family, and especially reading. I am participating in an AFS program this upcoming fall for my Junior year in High School. I am going to be spending my year in Italy with a host family there, and attending a local High School. I chose Italy as my host country because I wanted to go to a place that fit my interests. I wanted to go to a place with a rich history, and a strong background in architecture, which are the areas I'm interested in as a future career. I've also heard that the food there is amazing!

I chose to participate in an exchange program because I want to experience something out of my comfort level. I want to have an amazing experience in a place that is very different from my own little world. I expect to gain more confidence from my time in Italy, where I don't know anybody, or speak the language. I also expect to come back knowing more about myself and what my part will be in this world. In return, I hope to bring a little of my own culture to Italy, and help others understand more about the place I call home.

American Field Service, or AFS, is a nonprofit international student exchange organization. It started in 1914 and was an organization that transported injured soldiers in France. It continued into World War I and World War II transporting injured soldiers in both World Wars to hospitals. At the end of World War II, the president of AFS, Stephen Galatti, created a program that would exchange students from Germany and the U.S. so as to promote peaceful international relationships. Today AFS is located in over 50 countries.

I am raising money for my experience so as to pay for the cost of the trip. The cost of the trip for a year in Italy is around $10,900, and covers flights, and orientations throughout the program. I received a partial merit scholarship for my academics, but I still need to raise about $9,500. I have been raising money through my family members, working, and hopefully, raising money with this blog. To sponsor my AFS program now, please click the ChipIn button.

Thank You!