Aly in Italia: May 2011

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Just an update

So not all that much has been going on here. This past weekend was my host sisters birthday so as a surprise me and Augusta made her a SUPERAWESOMELYAMAZING OREO CAKE! =) I think for the first "real" (as in more that one layer, and we made the icing and the filling) cake i've ever made it turned out pretty great!

You may now feel free to bask in it's awesomeness ;)

So uhm? other than that not much has happened, just school (thank god it's almost done!! I've only got 2 interrogations and a math test left and i'll be done! woot!) I somehow managed to get a 9 (out of 10) for my "history of art" interrogation? Yesterday i had my final italian test and i think i did pretty good =) hmm? oh today we got to skip school and go to a theater and watch students present EVERY SINGLE ACTIVITY that the school did this year, like all the after school courses and trips and stuff...most boring 2 hours of my life -.- and then my afs contact at the school told me after i got there that i had to go up on stage and say something because i'm one of the school's "activities" ...well then haha so yeah i didn't really know what to say, but everyone clapped to i think i'm good haha.

The nice weather finally came back today, it must have been at least like 28-29 earlier! hopefully it stays for good this time cause VOGLIO ANDARE AL MARE!!!!!!! (I wanna go to the sea!!!!!) yup that's about it...oh yesterday i did a backhandspring on beam...with a "makeshift" beampad (ie a really thin mat) and i stuck 2 so HA. I'm not a complete failure at gym lol.

Okay i'm done for realz this time =)

CIAO! ....ONLY 45 DAYS!!!!!!!!!! =D YAY!

Friday, May 13, 2011

I'm gonna feel like a nerd for saying this but...

Happy Blogoversary Blog!!

Today my blog turned 1!

hahaha

Oh so I remembered that other thing i was gonna write about the other day (thanks to good old mom who kind of brought up the same thing she asked me if i would recommend doing an exchange...)

Anyways so Jenn had originally asked me if i regretted coming here/this whole experience kinda thing (I think she was kinda hoping i would say yes =P) and the answer is a 100% NO. I guess lots of people get the idea that we, the exchange students, regret it because most of the stuff they here from us is complaining haha. We have a tendency to leave out all the little things that make this whole experience worth while. I'm not saying it's easy, I bet you $1,000,000,000,000 you can't find someone (who's experienced it) who says it is. It tests you, it pushes you to your limits, and as a result you become stronger. It sounds really cheesy but it's all true. You grow as a person, you become more open minded, more independent, you learn to overcome your fears, and always make the best of it. I can assure you that the days spent abroad will be some of the best of your life but also some of the worst. Those days when all you can think about it home and how there is so much you could be doing. You feel like it's all a huge waste of time, like you're never going to catch onto the language and like you'll always feel like an outsider. But then there are the days that change al that. The little accomplishments that make you feel so much better. Like the first time you dream in the language, or the first time you understand an entire lesson at school, the first time a friend (not host family member) asks you to hang out, the first time you participate in class, the first book you finish, you're first "inside" joke, the list is endless. It seems kind of lame but all these little accomplishments are what keep you going. Just when you feel like you can't take it anymore something happens and you're like "Wow, maybe I can do this." So aside from this cheesy little part =P Another great thing about exchange is the people, and no i'm not talking about the friends from you're host country, i'm talking about the other exchange students. We all have this strange connection which gives us the ability to become best friends in under 10 minutes. We all understand what each one of us is going through and were able to relate so easily, weather it be school, host family problems, missing home, and most importantly...how fat we've all gotten hahahaha okay not the most important but we can definitely all relate. I don't know what is it but all exchange students seem to have this quality which makes them automatically awesome! Being where i am i haven't really been able to get together with really any other exchangers apart from the camps and the exchange week I did. But those 2 things were honestly the highlights of my exchange (yeah rome was cool and all but it was awesome in a different way). It so cool to know i have friends from all over to world, and that is not an exaggeration I can officially say I have friends on EVERY (inhabitable) continent, who all speak different mother languages, but it's so cool because we're now able to communicate with each other in Italian. On the exchange week we would switch back and forth from english to italian without even noticing. I can't wait until the end of stay camp in June and when we get to see everyone in Rome. I know for a fact no one is going to sleep, it's probably going to be one of the best and worst nights of our lives. Because we'll all be together and having a blast, laughing about stupid things and telling stories, but in the back of our minds we'll all know that we only have a few short hours together...we'll have to say goodbye not knowing if we'll EVER see each other again. When i left home saying goodbye wasn't very hard cause i knew everyone would still be there when i got back...but this is going to be different...it's not like we can all just come back. It will be the final page of the Italian chapter of our lives. It's going to be hard, but thank god for the internet and skype...without that i don't know what we would do. I think that given the opportunity I would do it again (obviously somewhere else =P) =)

Monday, May 9, 2011

La Città Eterna

Cioè, ROMA!!!!!!!!

So yeah, got back last night from an AMAZING trip to Rome...

I left wednesday after school and we took a small train

(il trenino ...little train)

(inside little train..this i found on the internet)

to Paola (about 30 mins) then from there we took a big (and extremely nice) train, an Eurostar, all the way to Rome!
I have to say, thus train was x100 nicer than the one i took back from the camp October.

(train i took in october)

(Train i took to and from Rome..also stolen from internet)

Yeah so we arrived in Rome and got to the hotel which was pretty fancy, our balcony was almost bigger than our room haha.

It was already about 8:30 when we got there so we changed and went out for supper at Dai Toscani, with some of my host mom's colleagues, which was really good but I ate to much cause they served appetizers then pasta and then meat and dessert but I only made it to the pasta haha.

Thursday morning we ate at the hotel (Cake, fruit, yogurt...tried the scrambled eggs but they were gross ecc it was good =) Then we (Me and Sofi, as my host mom was at the Congress...which is the reason we went cause she had a medical congress) met up with Sofi's cousin Giampiero (who's in is 4th year of university in Rome) and he took us to the vatican even though he didn't want to take us but we convinced him since he'd never been before haha.

(Me and Sofi in front of St. Peter's)

(Taken while waiting in line for "La Cupola"...the dome)

(Inside the basilica from la cupola)

(Me in the cupola)

(we thought that was it...but no there were more stairs...sofi was dying haha)

(I think the view was worth the 320...{not 151 lol} steps...we didn't want to pay 7 euro for the elevator)

(Meee =)

(inside the basilica)

(one of the ceilings)

(the swiss guard)

(Castello St. Angelo...from the car as we were leaving)

By the time we left it was already about 2 so Giampiero dropped us off at Piazza Del Popolo where we met up with Sofi's friend Marta (who came to visit in January) and her friends; dafne, Francesco, and Massimiliano. We were all starving and normal food is expensive in Rome so we went to BK lounge...for those who don't know Dane Cook...that's Burger King haha. I got a Chicken wrap and fries.

(Piazza Del Popolo)

Then we went and walked around for a bit and saw a few things

(Via del Corso, main street)

(La Barcaccia at Piazza Di Spagna)

(La Colonna di Traiano)

(Palazzo Montecitorio)

(Il Panteon)

(Street Performer)

(Fontana dei 4 fiumi)

(again-fountian of the rivers)

Then we went back to the hotel and showered and got ready to go out. We went to a seafood place for supper, with my host mom and her colleagues, and once again ate to much...but it was soooooooo good!

Friday morning was the same, up, get ready, eat

We spent the morning and early afternoon around Rome with Marta and Massimilliano.

(Me at the Trevi fountain)

(La fontana di Trevi)

(Via del Corso)

(a church)

(L'altare della Patria)

(Police man directing traffic and the Mussolini's window)

(Pretty churches)

(Me at l'altare della patria)

(I Fori Romani)

(Me and Il COLOSSEO!!!)

(Me and l'arco di Costantino)

(Me and the colosseum...again)

(Sofi getting some proof for her bucket list...First McDonald's in Italy...it was HUGE.)

(back to front left to right; Me, Marta, Massimiliano, Sofia...just hanging out after lunch at MacDon's)

So after lunch we tried to take the subway cause we were going to Ostia/Casalalocco...which is where they all live...but turns out there was a strike and the subway wasn't running so we hopped on the city bus (The most crowded one i've ever been on...i was literally squished between the wall and 2 other people =S) to try the other subway line which turns out also wasn't running -.- So we had to wait until i think 3:30 so we just chilled for a bit

(Sofia and Marta)

(The second subway was at the colosseum so we ended back up there from the other end of rome =P )

We eventually got to Ostia and Marta's mom picked up. We went to her house for a bit and played foosball =) Then we met up with the other and hung out in a field haha. It was fun. Then we went out for pizza with a bunch of people...and i ordered pepperoni pizza and when it arrived i was like oh haha right in italian that's peppers lol.