3 Month Update

Happy 3 months! Okay. I'm still alive. I promise. I know I haven't updated my blog in two months, but nothing too exciting has happened. I have gotten into a routine, so I haven't found anything interesting to write about. Here are some updates that I can remember:

• I have gone on a few trips with the exchange students that are also staying in Sicily; they are a really awesome group of kids. 
• Still haven't gotten homesick.
•  I haven't weighed myself since being here, but I am pretty sure I have put on some pasta weight. 
• Still can't roll my R's which sucks and I get made fun of for it a lot.
•  I switched classes so I now take Latin and Greek instead of Spanish and French. Don't ask how that happened. I still have no idea what's going on in class, but I like my classmates ten times better in this class, and the teachers are nicer.
• I can understand and read Italian pretty well, but speaking it is still really difficult.
• Went to the police station last week to apply for my residence permit. The cop in the front was smoking, drinking, and watching TV while working. Sounds like my brother's dream job.
• They have talked about maybe making me switch families. That better not happen though, or I might get depressed.
• Got my report card yesterday. Not terrible.
• My straightener still doesn't work so my hair still looks like crap.
• My English teacher and I fight on a classly (making up words now) basis on pronunciation of words. His fake British accent is slightly more than I can handle.
• Eaten a lot of 5 course meals. They are really tasty, but sometimes the meal doesn't end until after midnight, and at that point, I'm too tired for dessert.
• It got cold here even though it wasn't supposed to.
• I miss Ranch Dressing and Dorito's a heck of a lot.
• Started the "Game of Thrones" series in mid-November. Wanted to be done by Christmas, but as of today I'm only at location 34000 of 64258 on my kindle (Locations are different than page numbers but I'm not going to try to explain those to you readers), so that's probs not going to happen.
• I go to Zumba three times a week. I'm one of the least coordinated out of my class, so that's "fun"
• It doesn't really feel like Xmas because the sun is still shining. (I will do a post later on Christmas in Italy once I actually experience it).

That's all I can remember for right now. Hope everything is good stateside; I'll see you sooner than I'd like. Merry Christmas (or Chanukkah or Kwanzaa) ; Happy New Year. God Bless.

50 Things I Have Learned

I have been in Italy one month, and these are 50 things I have learned:

    1. It's more tasty than you could ever imagine.
    2. Pizza still comes in a box here (I don't know why that surprises me, but it did)
    3. Hot dogs still exist here (gross), and people put them on their pizza to eat (gag). They also put french fries on pizza (That is delicious).
    4. They eat cheese by itself here. It tastes okay, but I have never been a big eater of cheese, so it is hard to get used to.
    5. They eat ice cream with bread and fruit here. Like they actually put ice cream inside a brioche. It's like "ice cream sandwich" was taken WAY too literally.
       It's weird but it tastes pretty good.
    6. The Pistachio flavor is my new obsession.
    7. The water is delicious here.
    8. Not so shocking, but I haven't seen a single pick-up truck since I left the States.
    9. Seat belts are optional, unless you are in the front seat of a car that makes an awful beeping sound if you aren't wearing it.
    10. Whatever rules motorcycle riders have are not followed. If there is a four inch gap between two cars, you can bet a motorbike will try to squeeze inbetween
       them to get by. If there is a small tot on the motorcycle, just have them stand up inbetween your legs while you drive (There is nothing dangerous about that.
       (NOT).
    11. At a stop sign, rolling stops are perfectly acceptable. I'm pretty sure the cops are happy if you even tap your breaks at one.
    12. If you are stopped at an intersection, and the cars just keep on coming and you are too impatient to wait, just keep edging forward until one side of traffic
       has to stop for you.
    13. It's totally cool to cut someone off, just as long as you honk your horn while you go by to give them a warning.
    14. Italians are fabulous parallel parkers; I am so impressed by it. I think people in Illinois need lessons from these people.
    15. Jaywalking is totally fine, and is most likely the only way you will get across the street.
    16. When crossing a four lane highway on foot on your way home from school, make sure that once you get halfway across to lean half your body out into the road, so
       that this side of traffic can see you and stop to let you cross.
    17. School on Saturday sucks.
    18. When you obtain books for the classes you are taking, make sure you know which volume to get (somehow, I managed to get the wrong volume in almost every subject)
    19. The kids here know British English, so when they keep referring to "Rubbers," they are referring to erasers. NOT Condoms.
    20. You have to stand up everytime a teacher enters or leaves the room.
    21. If you are trying to translate what the teacher is saying, your brain needs more oxygen so you will yawn. Then, the teacher will yell at you for yawning.
    22. They use commas where decimals should be, so numbers are even more confusing.
    23. They don't use factor trees here. They use some other method that is really long and confusing.
    24. All toilets flush differently. You just have to figure it out.
    25. Graffitti is everywhere!
    26. Mosquitoes are abundant
    27. Zumba is extra hard when you can't understand what the instructor is saying.
    28. You must always have shoes or slippers on. Even at home.
    29. Euros are really confusing
    30. The temperature in Celsius is even more confusing.
    31. The grapes have seeds in them here.
    32. When you have pizza for dinner, everybody gets their own pizza (It's giant and hard to finish).
    33. Granita is the tastiest thing ever.
    34. Watch where you are walking because there is usually dog poop in the middle of the sidewalks.
    35. Perfectly normal for a 14 year old to be in a relationship with a twenty year old (Weirdest thing ever).
    36. Cell phones are all pre paid here.
    37. Scrunchies are perfectly acceptable to wear(somebody call the 1990's back).
    38. The rules of Handball are completely different here.
    39. They don't have central heating/air conditioning.
    40. No Clothes dryer.
    41. Don't wear sweatpants to a restaurant (guilty!)
    42. Catholic mass here is exactly the same, just in a different language.
    43. Nuns are in full nun-outfit here.
    44. People hate rain here.
    45. When writing down your assignments, write it on the page for the day it is due, not the day it is assigned.
    46. Water with gas has to be one of the weirdest tasting things ever when you drink it unknowingly.
    47. Everybody knows "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepson.
    48. Everybody looks at you like you are an idiot if you can't speak Italian well.
    49. It is so hilly here!
    50. The Meditteranean Sea is prettiest thing ever!

One Month Update

Well, somehow I have made it through my first month without any major MALfunctions! My Italian skills still suck; I am getting better at reading it, though. I can't say

that the past month has been all Skittles and Rainbows, but it hasn't been terrible. I have yet to feel terribly homesick. I blame that on the fact that I try to at 

least shoot my mom a text everyday.I have been doing a terrible job at remembering to journal, which hopefully I will improve on soon! I only have nine more months 

left in this beautiful country. Hopefully, this exchange will only get more exciting, and I will eat more delicious food! Happy one monthaversary Italy! Thanks for

not kicking me out yet!

Italian Mcdonald's

So tonight, my host mom didn't want to cook so she decided we (her, my host brother and sister, and me) would go to Mcdonald's. I knew it would be different from the classic American Mcdonald's, not only because it's common sense that it would be, but because all of the billboards they have here have pictures of coffee and a brioche (It's like a biscuit/roll thing. Basically: bread. Last I checked, in America, they aren't that concerned about super freshness. Anyway, we got there and ordered. They don't have nearly the selection we do in America, but they have the important things: Chicken Mcnuggets and French Fries (they both taste exactly the same no matter what country you are in). People in Italy eat a whole lot more food in one trip to Mcdonald's than in America though. I would have been perfectly content with a few Mcnuggets, some fries, and a drink. Instead, we all got our own sandwich (I had McChicken), our own fries, our own drink (I had regular coke. I would have ordered Diet Coke, but I didn't order for myself), and then the 4 of us split a 20 piece Mcnugget! I was stuffed to say the least, but in Italy, it's almost illegal to finish off a meal without a dessert! They have Mcflurrys here, but they aren't in the class of flavors everyone in America thinks of: M&M, Oreo, Reese's, or Rolo. Their flavor options were: Chocolate, Nocciola (it is a type of nut), Smarties (Don't get excited. Nowhere close to an American version of Smarties. These were like hard and oval-shaped), and Pistacchio (what I had).  They weren't classic Mcflurrys, closer to ice cream and a topping just blended together really quickly. Anyway, my entire meal was tasty, but I am more full than I have ever been at a Mcdonalds. If I had to say what I missed about the American Mcdonald's, I would have to say:
1. Snack Wraps-they have been my favorite Mcdonald's food item since I tasted one a few years back)
2. There were no ice cubes in my drink. I expected that when I came to Europe, and I have never been a big fan of cold drinks, but their ice cubes are the best tasting ice cubes on the face of the planet. I'm pretty sure that that is what makes the fountain Diet Cokes so irresistible.
To end on a happy note, I had never eaten pistacchio before coming to Sicily, and I can now say it is one of my favorite flavors. I still have yet to try an actual pistacchio by itself. Ciao, Lovelies!

Italian School

I started school last Wednesday (September 19). I go to a private Catholic school, and my class has a language focus. Here are a few of the differences between my Italian school (San Giuseppe) and Meridian High School:

• At Meridian: Classes go from 8 in the morning until 2:30 in the afternoon. We eat lunch at school around noon.  At San Giuseppe: School goes from 8:30 until 12:30. Then we go home for lunch.
• At Meridian: During homeroom, we must stay in our classrooms reading or studying (Unless we have a pass), and no food or drink is allowed  At San Giuseppe: During homeroom, we must leave our classroom, and we can basically do whatever we want. If you want to eat or drink something you brought from home, you can.
• At Meridian: No air conditioning, so every teacher has three fans going to try to keep people cool.  At San Giuseppe: No air conditioning. No fans. Top floor of the building. Everyday it is 80 degrees. Add that to the dress code (Read Next Bullet) and it is a miracle I haven't died yet!
• At Meridian: The dress code is pretty relaxed. Basically if you don't look like a whore or wear something with an inappropriate slogan on it, you can wear anything. At San Giuseppe: You can't wear shorts. You can't have open-toed shoes. You must wear a cardigan if you wear a tank top (In other words, no shoulders showing). The dress code is enforced because the two principals are nuns (always in full nun clothing)
• At Meridian: You have seven class periods a day. Every day you have the same class schedule and subject (for the whole semester) You switch classrooms for each different subject.  At San Giuseppe: You sit in the same room all day, and the teachers change rooms for each period (It made my first few days easy since trying to switch classes without knowing Italian would have sucked). You have four classes a day. Each day, the class subjects are different. I would list my subjects, but half the time I don't know what's going on, so I am not really sure what I am taking. 
• At Meridian: Languages are taught through a textbook, and at the beginning of each year, we review what we have learned in the previous years.  At San Giuseppe: It's all verbal learning. On the first day, the Spanish teacher walked in speaking Spanish the whole time. I understand nothing.
• At Meridian: New classes start each year. Therefore, once finals are over, no homework is assigned. At San Giuseppe:  Because they are in the same class with the same kids as last year, they had summer homework. I was exempt from that.
• At Meridian: I was driven to and from school everyday.  At San Giuseppe: I get dropped off in the morning, but then after school I have to walk home. That walk includes crossing one of the busiest streets in town and a FOUR LANE HIGHWAY on foot (Sidenote: The rumors of the crazy Italian drivers are true. Crossing that highway on foot is like asking for death on a daily basis).
• At Meridian: Before school, everyone hangs around their first hour classroom or in the Small Gym. At San Giuseppe: Before school, everyone is outside smoking (I don't participate). I'm pretty sure I am slowly developing lung cancer from all the second hand smoke I am inhaling, and my clothes always smell disgusting.
• At Meridian: We have lockers where we keep our bags during school. At San Giuseppe: No lockers. We have our bags with us while in class. 
• At Meridian: You get screamed at for talking during class or using your cell phone. Plus you must ask to go to leave class or go to the bathroom. At San Giuseppe: Everyone texts during class. Everyone talks over each other the entire time. People just get up and leave whenever they feel like it.

All of my classmates speak really good English are very friendly. Unless they are an English teacher, the teachers can't really speak English, but they are nice to me and try to talk to me when they can. My Italian is slowly improving. That's all I have to say for now. Ciao!

In Italy Finally!

The Alps. It is a cool experience to see when the ground
is so high, the clouds run into it.

I am in Italy finally! This is Day 2 for me! I left Chicago at 5:35 pm on Saturday and arrived in Dusseldorf Germany on Sunday morning about 8:45 am (1:45 am in Illinois). I had a two hour layover and then got on a bus to take me to my plane to Catania. After a twenty minute delay due to air traffic control, I started my two hour flight to Catania. We passed over the Alps (right) on the flight. All of my flights were on Lufthansa.





When I got to Catania, I found my host family and we went to their house. Italian drivers are crazy! When we got there, they showed me my room and let me have a few hours to myself. I unpacked and took a nap because I was exhausted! Then we went to the supermarket which happened to be inside the mall. It was like Aldi where you have to put in money to get a shopping cart and then you have to buy bags at checkout. It was a very interesting first Italian experience. They have a lot of the same foods we do (Just with different names). They have Coke and Pepsi here. We didn't buy any, but I did see some Diet Coke (called "Coca-Cola light" here)! After shopping, we went back home. We unloaded the groceries and then went upstairs where my host grandma's apartment is and had dinner with her and my host cousins because it was her birthday. I would tell you what I ate if I had any idea! After dinner we went back downstairs and I took a shower (which was really difficult because I am used to very hot water and good water pressure). Then, I went to sleep. 

I woke up at 12:30 today (Jet-Lag sucks) and found Ele (my host sister) and she sat with me while I ate breakfast (Muffin and a glass of water). Then, we played Wii Sports which she kicked my butt in even though I have played that like one hundred times! Then my host brother Vincenzo came home from school (He started school today) and we ate lunch (leftovers from whatever we ate the night before). While we ate lunch, they had Jersey Shore with Italian subtitles on on the television which was weird for me since I didn't watch it in America either. Then Ele downloaded CamWow on my ipod and decided we needed to have a photoshoot (She is in awe that my eyes are so blue) so we did that for a while until I got tired and took a nap from 330-430. Then Ele had some friends over (one girl named Marcella, and 3 boys whose names I don't know) and they were over for a few hours. They all talked to each other and I sat and stared because I don't know any Italian besides the colors and how to introduce myself. Then they left, and it was time for dinner. I know we ate a block of mozzarella and some other type of formaggio (cheese) and something else that contained tomato, onion, and mozzarella. For dessert we had sliced up melon which was fruity and tasty. Then we watched some sketch comedy show that I think is called "Colorado." Then everyone went to bed so I started typing this. They don't have wifi here so it is difficult to get service all the time. I start school sometime this week, and maybe then I will have something more interesting to say! Ciao!

Day Zero

It's day zero!! I leave Chicago O'Hare at 5:35 pm (Central Time) and arrive in Düsseldorf Germany tomorrow morning at 8:45 (Germany time). After a two hour layover I will fly to Catania and begin the best year ever. I can't thank everyone enough for their outstanding support! Let's get this show on the road!