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!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
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!
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!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
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!
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!
Monday, May 11, 2009
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!
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!
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