Settimana 3

Rain. For the person who loves the sunshine, it is ironic that I was placed in the rainiest city in Italy. Coming from  Penticton where it rains on very rare occasions, I have always wanted to have use for a cool umbrella so, at least,  there is a silver lining. Believe me, after the first day of rain, where I can home literally drenched (bagna, as my host mom said, which translates to bathe), I picked one up the next day. Sadly, this week has been fairly uneventful. School is fairly boring to  be honest, I spend much of my time doing my own work on Italian, or inconspicuously napping. At the end of the week, Saturday, in my case, during the German and English lessons, I went into a different class in the school, so I was able to meet some people my own age, and just more people, in general. My English teacher is helping me find a way to make school less boring, and learn more Italian. Also, I met the only other exchange student in my school; Milla is from Finland, and although not a Rotary student, she is here for the entire school year.
On Saturday night, I attended a Rotaract evening. Rotaract is like Rotary only for a younger generation, so everyone was in their 20's. Although I understood about a quarter of the conversation (part of that quarter is when they spoke to me in English), it was worth going because the food was unbelievable. Red wine, fresh bruschetta, a typical Tuscan pasta called Strongili (something like that..), perfectly prepared beef with balsamic and basil, and the best dessert I have ever had (some sort of sweet cream, layered with crushed almond biscottis). Simply amazing. Cultural observation: Starting dinner at 8:30 and finishing at 12am is normal.
Today, I woke up early with the intention of going in an Italian running race, but the downpour swayed my decision slightly. After grocery shopping, we ate lunch at my host grandparents, and I had a half hour conversation with "nonni". By the way, he speaks no English. My Italian is definitely improving, verbally and in comprehension, but it is safe to say that Italian is not an easy language, although my "French" (The quotations are necessary thanks to good ol' Miko and Dunnett) helps slightly.
The best part of the week was trading in the mountain bike I have been using for a old bicycle, and I don't mean old style like the one I have at home that is old fashioned but really new. This one is legitimately old, with one broken brake, chipped neon yellow paint, and a rickety basket. For anyone who knows me at all, it is safe to say that I am in love with it.
Italy is an amazing country, with great food and nice people and I am sincerely optimistic about my (almost) year here. I never though that homesickness would be an issue, but being here makes me completely realize how sheltered my life at home regarding comfort level and friendship. I guess I didn't realize how great my friends really are, until it came time to leave them. If I can make friends in Italy, even half as good as the ones I have now, then I will have an awesome time.
Ciao Mein Noodles ( you're welcome Emily).

The second week

Observation of the week: everything in Italy is Italian. I know what you are thinking: “Duh, obviously”, but I mean, all the products, from food to towels are all “Made in Italy”. It is a change from Canada, where basically nothing (besides Maple syrup) is truly made in Canada.  This week has been a fun, and still nerve-racking week. I am becoming accustomed to the feeling of being consecutively sad and happy, all the time. The first day of school was extremely confusing, as when I arrived with my host dad, it turns out I wasn’t actually registered, so we dealt with confusion number 1 of what felt like a million all in one day. By the time we finished the paperwork, I was about 20 minutes late. My so-called “exchange counsellor”, who speaks no English and I haven’t seen since, took me to the class and introduced me. For the first time in my entire life, I was the new student who everyone stared at, and got excited about because “oh wow, there’s a foreigner in our class”. In addition to everything, the only seat left was the very front, which makes it hard to nap in class (not that I do, he he he). School in Italy in very different from Canadian high school, as the students stay in one classroom the entire day, and the teachers are the ones who move from class to class. Also, the students stay in the same class, so everyone in my class has been together for at least the past couple of years. The students in the class are mostly a year younger than me, other than a few exceptions, and although sometimes I can feel the age difference, they are all extremely welcoming, kind and helpful. After a week, I feel comfortable enough to go and join a group of them in a conversation, and when I walk into class every morning they all give me “ciao”.  They are really great.  The courses are a different story.  I am taking English (conversation and grammar; two different courses), French (conversation and grammar), German (conversation and grammar), Italian, Latin, History (I think I am at least) and Math. The two English courses, and the two French ones are the only ones I understand, as of now. During German lessons, the teachers speak only German, so I can’t even try to follow along. During the courses in Italian, I am slowly, day by day, being able to pick up more but still if someone asked me what we learned in school, I honestly couldn’t tell them. Capitan Mutanda saved my life during the first week. Some of my classmates brought me easy Italian books to read during class so I spend the classes where I can’t even begin to follow along reading “Capitan Mutanda” (Captain Underpants) and looking up pretty much every other word in the dictionary. We also have P.E. once a week, as well, which I enjoy because I can follow along for once! I think school will get better, once I can understand more of the lessons. For the meantime, I bought an Italian grammar book so I will spend my time learning the one language.

This weekend in Udine was an annual festival called “Fruili Doc”, which is similar to PeachFest only much bigger, with more stands, better food, more music, and way more people. On Thursday, I met up with Luca and some of his classmates and we ate “costa con polenta” which is ribs and a typical Fruilian food (Fruili is the region of Italy, by the way), and French fries, which are way better than any Mcdonald’s fry at home. Friday was a busy day and I definitely like being busy, so it was a very good day. After school, after meeting my host family for lunch, I walked around the centre for a while. Afterwards, my host brother, who lives in Hungary or Slovakia or somewhere else most of the time, took me for a walk around the town, going from bar to bar. It was very enjoyable to get to know him, and do the typical Udine activity, according to him. After, the whole family went to Fruili Doc for dinner, which was amazing. I experience the typical Fruilian food, such as “frico” (potato and cheese cake), gnocchi (with bacon. Amazing!) and of course, vino. After meeting up with some friends for a while, I headed home because Friday is a school night for me. Oh, I forgot to mention that we go to school here Monday to Saturday, but it finishes at 1pm.  On Saturday night, I met up with Luca for a while, then, after he left, met up with some friends that I met last weekend. We went to il Bire, a pub, to watch the soccer game, as it was pouring rain, then went to Friuli Doc for some entertainment and partying. The night was very enjoyable, and very wet. When I arrived home I was pretty much completely soaked, and cold. Sunday was much of the same: sleeping, going for a run, eating with the family, hitting up Friuli Doc with some classmates, getting cold and heading home. The second week of my Italian..  life, as I should start calling it, was eventful and emotionally exhausting. I am still in the stage where everything is new, which is good and bad all at once. I find myself missing home, and the people that are associated with home quite often, which I am told is normal. In the afternoons, after school, I do not have too much to do yet so I get a little bored, which results in homesickness. Today I picked up a grammar book, so I will start working on that, and this week I am going to the international school, which I know a woman from Rotary who works there and offered it as a place to spend time at studying and whatnot. As the second week comes to a close, I am still having a very up and down time here in Italy, with some moments being amazing and others being very hard causing a great feeling of sadness. Only with time will it get not only easier, but more exciting, and I am excited for when I can understand the Italian lessons, and for when I don’t find reading “Capitan Mutanda” extremely difficult, and for when I can stop seeming shy and be able to act more like myself. 

The first week

Today marks the one week anniversary of my ten and a half month long stay in Udine, Italy. In one week, it is crazy the sheer amount of experiences that have already come my way, both amazing and terrifying all at once. After 24 hours traveling, my host parents, and host sister picked me up at the Marco Polo airport in Venice, and the first thing they did was hand me a pizza. Very typical Italy, as we would think. We went to Lignano, on the way to Udine, which is basically a beach town. The family has a house there, so we stopped there, then ate pizza and drank beer at a ristorante in the town. When we got to Udine, it was surreal, as it was dark, and Mario, my host dad, was pointing out various things such as the library and the town centre but I couldn’t keep my eyes open. We arrived at the extremely fancy and modern home of Mario Raggi, Daniela Pelagati and their almost 2 year old daughter, Maria Sofia. The next day, I visited the office of my host parents, and was able to walk around in the town centre. It is so typical Italian, with small cobblestone streets, tall buildings, and extensive old bicycles and Vespas, all of which I fell in love with immediately.  My host brother, Marco, who is 22 and lives mostly in Slovakia, took me to my first Rotary meeting. I met my host counsellor, and a woman who runs an international primary school here in Udine. My host dad wants me to go to her school to hang out because he is hoping she will host me for 3 months if I get to know her well. The next few days were spent sleeping while adjusting to the time change, going to the office, and walking around in Udine: exploring, mostly. My counsellor introduced me to his son, Luca, who is eighteen and speaks English very well. I am very thankful because Luca showed me around in Udine, and introduced me to some of his friends, and basically has been inviting me to hang out with people my age in a place where I know no one and can’t really meet anyone because I cannot start a conversation. It is a tough situation, so I am very thankful to have met Luca.  For all my Penticton friends, whom I miss so much, you will like this. The kids here complain about the size of Udine and how it is boring and there is nothing to do. The bars (which are really like coffee shops, but serve alcohol) are all open until 11, 12, 1, 2am. On Friday night there was a DJ party in the Piazza, which has dancing and music and there is a ton of people in the centre almost every night. It is mind blowing the difference between “boring” here and “boring” at home. The Italian teenagers do not know the meaning of small town until they have lived in small town Canada, aka Penticton. On Saturday night, Luca invited me to his house for pizza and to watch the soccer match. A few of his friends came over, and I must seem so shy and quiet because I don’t understand the conversation, let alone contribute. It is depressingly amusing. After the game we went to a birthday party in a town about 20 minutes outside of Udine, and it is such a change to partying in Canada. The party was in a community centre-type of building, in a room with a bar, a pool table, DJ, dancing etc. It is extremely difficult not be awkward when you know 3 people in the entire room, and it isn’t a huge party, but it was fun after a while. Oh yeah, and Italian girls do not party in casual wear, like in Canada, so not only was I the only one who didn’t know anyone, I looked extremely out of place in my skirt, sandals and leather jacket, while they were all in party dresses and high heels. I hung out mostly with the boys I came with, and a few of their friends, who all speak enough English, that with my limited Italian we can carry on a conversation. My first taste of Italian partying was interesting and gives me hope for the year, as I had a lot of fun. Apparently the “discotheca” is a club with about 2000 people so I am excited for that. Today I fell in love. Venice is the most beautiful place I think I have ever been. For a person who absolutely loves the water, and ocean, Venezia e perfetto. Pictures can do it some justice, but it is definitely a place that everyone needs to visit, at least once. I hope someday I get the chance to spend a few days, weeks, or years there. So far, to sum up this week, I have experienced emotions I didn’t even know I had. One day is very good, and the next I am a little homesick and miss having friends and family that I am completely comfortable being around. To be in a place where there is not a single person who I feel comfortable enough with yet to call up and tell them to come over or meet up, it is very hard. Also being an outgoing, and usually pretty happy person, it is difficult for me, because I seem shy and tired all the time. So far, Italy has been amazing, and I am hopeful for a good year! It has also been completely terrifying and so very different from anything I have ever experienced. This exchange, so far, seems like the best and worst thing I have ever done. School starts on Tuesday, which should be interesting.  Sorry if I am boring anyone, it is nice to get this down. Ciao, a presto!