This week has been so much fun, I can’t even explain how happy I am to be here in Italy! Wednesday night was exciting, I got to meet all of Camilla’s and Martino’s friends. We all went to the local bar in Angera called “Flamingo,” and they were all asking me questions about my life in America. It was amusing :) On Friday they took me shopping in the town across the lake from Angera, and I also got to see the high school I will be attending. The school is called “Istituto Scolastico Cobianchi.” It is two stories, pink, and looks kind of historic from the inside. We talked with the principle of the school and decided that I will be placed in year 4 (Italian schools have 5 years in high school) in the linguistic school. That means I will be studying languages like english, french, and german, along with core classes like math, science, and history. I will tell you all about my first impressions of my classes when I start school on September 21.

Yesterday, Camilla’s friends and I went to a country festival in Angera. We dressed up in country wear like plaid shirts, jeans, and boots, and Carlotta and Laura wore cowboy hats. The festival had food, drinks, music, and dancing. It was very entertaining! There was even a live band that played country music, and it was in english! Then I accidentally made the mistake of telling people that I knew how to country dance, so they made me show them the steps. In the end I’m glad I told people that I could dance because it was actually really fun teaching them! I taught them some of the steps to the line dance “Cotton Eye Joe.” I would dance, and they would follow! They festival lasted until about 11pm, so we went back after dinner to dance some more.

Until next time. Arrivederci amici!

Hello everyone! I can’t believe it’s already been a week since I’ve been out of Phoenix. Time has gone by so quickly! Good news, today I found out that my school here doesn’t start until September 21 due to construction purposes. That means I get another whole week of summer with my host family!

Last night was a blast, my family took me to see the EXPO (“Exposition, large-scale public exhibition”) in Milan. We had to ride a one hour train ride there, but it was definitely worth it! EXPO is basically an event where a whole bunch of different countries all around the world come to exhibit their country to the public. Each country sets up a display of whatever they want (food, dance, music, info on the country, etc.) to share their culture with the public. My family and I went to see the exhibits of Malaysia, Indonesia, The United States, and Nepal. It was incredible! And then we ate at McDonalds because they were on display as well (McDonalds doesn’t exist in Italy).

Today I got to walk around the small town of Angera (where I live). The buildings are so cute and the streets are really narrow! I went to an open market where people in tents were selling clothes and jewelry. Then I went to the grocery store and the bank. After getting back home and eating lunch, Camilla and I went to an old church where we volunteered to repaint the walls blue. I got to meet Camilla’s friends there too because they were helping out as well.

Overall my time here has been really exiting, and I can’t wait to tell you more in the next couple of days! See you later!

Buona sera tutti! (Good evening everyone!) Good news, I am still alive and safe in Italy! This is my third whole day with my host family and I am having a blast! Yesterday I met Camilla’s and Martino’s grandma, and I saw her again today along with many aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was like a huge family reunion, except no one planned it and everyone just happened to be in the same place at the same time! I guess those are the perks of living in a small town; everyone knows everyone and you’re always running into other people you know without planning it.

We went to the post office yesterday and signed all the papers to get my residence permit for Italy. We also went to the dock of Lake Maggiore and I got a pass for taking boat rides to Arona. Apparently I will be taking the boat to school every day, as well as a long bus ride. It will be very different from Phoenix where I drove 5 minutes to get to school.

Now you’re probably wondering why I named this blog “Eggplant??”! This is the new word I taught my host family today. My host mom made us fried eggplant for lunch and called it “melanzana.” I asked her what it meant in english and she didn’t know. I asked Camilla and Martino too but they didn’t know either. Finally my host mom brought out the purple eggplant and I cried out “eggplant!” Anyway, that story probably wasn’t as entertaining to you thought it would be..but it was funny in the moment! :)

Ciao everyone! After 5 long flights to Denver, New York, Zurich, Rome, and then Milan, I am FINALLY in my small town called Angera, which is in the north west part of Italy next to Lake Maggiore. The past few days have been exhausting but also fun because I got to meet the other exchange students going to Italy. There are about 450 of us total, 35 being from the United States.

My host family met me at the Milan airport today. It was very exiting for all of us to meet in person! I have two host parents, a host sister who is 17, and a host brother who is 23. I haven’t met my host brother yet because apparently he is at a football camp, but I get to meet him tomorrow. Anyway, after picking me up at the airport, my host family took me to their house and I dropped off my stuff. Then we went out to eat at a traditional Italian restaurant because they wanted me to experience Italian food. I had pasta, obviously :)

Well that’s all I can write tonight because I’m so tired. I’ll blog again as soon as I get the chance. Buona notte!

Benvenuto! Today was the first day of my AFS adventure. I packed my things last night and flew off this morning to New York! Now I’m sitting on my bed in a hotel thinking over my day. It’s so extraordinary how quickly one can change emotions – The beginning of my day was full of tears and sadness with saying goodbye to my family. Then on the plane my emotions changed from sorrow to a mixture of hopefulness and fear for my upcoming adventure. And now, after meeting the other exchange students from America and going through orientation after orientation, I am both exited and terrified for my upcoming adventure in Italy. It will be such a wonderful, eye-opening experience for me; I am truly grateful to have this opportunity. And even though it will be very exhausting at times, I am up for the challenge!