Early Morning Thoughts

I'm sitting on my balcony right now. It's 3:30 in the morning and I cannot sleep. Inspiration always comes to people in the middle of the night, at least that's what I think, so I decided to write a blog post. I don't have a certain topic in mind, I'm just in the mood to write. So here it is.
I've been in Italy for almost four months. Wow has the time passed by. I feel like I've been gone from home forever, but I feel like I've been living here in Galatina for no time whatsoever. It's strange, the way time passes like that. I am almost half way through my exchange, I have learned so much, but I know I have so much more to learn in these next six months. And now here comes my random thoughts. It's strange. This whole thing. I decided to go live in a completely different country without any knowledge of the language, culture, or people. My parents agreed without much hesitation and sent me off on an airplane to figure it out. A random family agreed to let me stay in their home. They had no idea what kind of person I was, if we would get along, or if I would be happy with them. All they knew about me was what I wrote in a pretty generic profile of myself. So we met at the train station, they took me home with them, and we tried to figure each other out while trying to avoid the awkwardness that was inevitable. Now I've been living with this "random" family for nearly four months and they are starting to feel like my real family. We have inside jokes, they know what foods I do and do not like, we communicate in Engliano and they are accepting of my past and mistakes. After spending six more months with them, I can't even imagine how difficult it will be to leave. But that's the beauty of an exchange year. I get to experience a whole life in only one year. So far, I've definitely made a lot of new memories, friends and stories. But once again, it's bizarre to think about. These kids who have known each other for probably their whole lives meet this random American girl, decide they want to hang out with her even though she doesn't speak the same language as them and they get along great! Once again, the beauty of an exchange.
Another thing I love- I have met people from all over the world and learned so much about the world and many different cultures. The most interesting fact about that is the amount of studying I have done. Back home, I studied a lot. I got decently good grades and made the honor rolls. And yet, I knew absolutely nothing about the world. I couldn't have told you where Portugal was located, how the Italians eat their pizza, or which form of you (plural) the Australians use. In four months of living in Italy, I've barely studied because I'm not nearly advanced enough in Italian, yet I've learned so much more than I could ever have learned in school. I honestly believe that every teenager should experience an exchange, whether it be for six weeks, three months, or a year. A person learns so much more about the world when actually experiencing it rather than just reading about it from a textbook.
That's all that I've got for tonight. Have a great New Year's everybody, I know I will :)
Alison

Christmastime in Lecce

I went to Lecce Saturday with my local AFS chapter: Ian, Omar, Kenneth, Felix, Pily and myself. We walked around the city, enjoyed the Christmas spirit and ate at McDonald's. :)

Merry Christmas everybody! Buon Natale a tutti! Auguri :*
-Alison

No English Please

I think I've mentioned a few times how horrendous most people's English is here. It's no lie. At this point in my year, my Italian is better than a lot of my friends' English. Most of the people I talk to try to speak to me in English and I oftentimes don't understand what they are trying to say. So I ask them to repeat, but in Italian. They then say the same thing in Italian and I understand them better. It's kind of backwards, realizing that I'm understanding Italian better than English, but it's a great feeling to realize how much progress I have made in only a little over three months. Speaking is still very difficult for me because of how many different conjugations and verb tenses there are. It's pretty easy to understand somebody, but when it comes time to reply I can't remember all the words nor can I think fast enough. However, I'm very happy with how far I've come and as of right now, I'm really looking forward to these next seven months and everything they have to offer.
-Alison :)

Piano Piano...

I am frequently in the first year classes at my high school because of my lacking knowledge of the Italian language, which makes understanding anything that happens during school very difficult. In the case of the fifth year classes, the students are either able to have a conversation with me in English, or else they don't understand anything. Absolutely nothing. Because I am in the first year classes the most, the students in there really don't speak English. Therefore, for the past 3 months, I have been transformed into a slight introvert while attending these classes. However, in the last week I have made incredible progress. Just the other day, I was sitting next to a girl who can say about three words in English. She spoke to me in Italian, I understood and replied in Italian. WOW. Can I just say how amazing that felt to not have somebody translating for me? My brain just figured out what she said and immediately came up with a response. So for the rest of the hour, I continued speaking with her in Italian with little difficulty doing so. Now, I'm not saying I can actually understand the language when people are speaking with their friends or in class. But I've gotten to the point where if somebody tries to talk to me and they speak slowly enough, I can fully understand them. Answering them in Italian is quite a bit more difficult to do, but I somehow manage fairly well. Another instance where my understanding took me by surprise was last night at a birthday party that I attended. A guy who speaks absolutely no English was trying to tell me how my Italian has improved since I first met him. He said to the people around us, "Come si dice in inglese, stai imparando parlare l'italiano molto bene?!" I answered him, "You are learning to speak Italian very well. Grazie :)" Most of the people stared at me in surprise because of the fact that I replied to him and some of my friends who speak English just started to laugh. Translating what he said was such an automatic response for me that I did not have to stop and think about the words, they just came out.

YAY. I finally feel like I'm making progress. Up until now, I was so frustrated and thought I wouldn't ever be able to understand Italian, let alone speak it. Now, I can understand my teachers when they speak to me and I can understand a little bit of my friends' conversations. The greatest thing is, my friends are also noticing my improvement in Italian. Hearing their reassuring words that I really am getting better is so comforting and quite simply a lovely thing to hear. :)

Until next time, p&l

Ali

Random Thoughts In My Head

• I'm cold. It may be warmer here than in MN, but it's still cold.
• Domino's pizza sounds good right now...I'm in the land of pizza and I want Domino's. WHAT.
• I can't wait for my package to arrive...MOM have you sent it yet? I love youuuu, but I also really want my Indiana sweatshirt...<3
• I wanna wish you a merry Christmas, I wanna wish you a merry Christmas, I wanna wish you a merry Christmas from the bottom of my heeeeaaarrt!
• Oh Christmas, Christmas, I love Christmas. I'm so excited to see how the Italians celebrate it. I realized today that November is almost over which means it's totally acceptable to start singing Christmas songs, right?
• Where should I go for my walk today? It's quite nice out today so I think I will go farther than usual. :)
• My biggest pet peeve... So many people in Italy smoke that I've gotten quite used to it. It drives me crazy when they leave the ash on the end of their cigarette instead of tapping it off. Seriously, it makes me insane.
• I went out for pizza with friends and during our conversation one of my friends told me that he hates when the pens that click are left with the click thing open...he said he literally goes crazy if it's open and nobody closes it. Talk about OCD.
• I went on a motor bike for the first time. It was fun! Not nearly as big of a deal as I thought. :)
• I realized I cannot go to bed without a way of telling the time within reaching distance. I woke up so many times last night and couldn't fall back asleep because all I wanted to know was what time it was. But I wasn't going to stand up because my bed is quite creaky.
• I've been in Italy for 2 1/2 months and I still can't speak Italian. I feel like that awkward late-bloomer.
• Italians are not a fan of Justin Bieber. I really hope he doesn't ever try to make it big here.
• People in America use red plastic cups for parties, people in Italy use small clear plastic cups. I haven't seen a single red solo cup here.
• Italian parents are way more chill than American parents. No offense against you guys, but it's nice that they're so accepting and forgiving of everything.<3
• Basketball games get canceled because of leaks that let a ton of water into the gym.
• Italian schools- where everything that's supposed to happen doesn't happen.
• I found out I've been accepted to St. Kate's with a scholarship of at least $19,000 :)
• Italian ketchup has a funny taste about it. I miss good ol' Heinz.
• Italians cheat for everything, and when a teacher comes to watch the class while your teacher goes to the bathroom, he also helps you cheat and warns you when your teacher is coming back.
• Everybody appears to be friends, but nobody hesitates to talk about each other behind the back. It happens with everyone. That's the biggest thing I cannot get used to.
• Parties are actually quite exclusive here. I used to think that anybody could go, but that's not true. Luckily, people like the American. ;)
• Euros still feel like play money to me. I can't get over the fact that stores actually accept my money!
• I read a book called Il Profeta...it was really good! It made me question quite a few outlooks I have on life.
• Italians don't always yell, but when they do it doesn't mean their fighting. When I first arrived I thought my family was fighting all the time because I couldn't understand anything they were saying. I'm starting to be able to understand normal conversations now and I've realized that everybody here just really likes to yell.
• Watching t.v. for five hours a day is totally normal here. I absolutely hate it, so I go for walks a lot. Who knew such a small town could be so interesting! I could literally spend hours walking around the old part of Galatina because there are so many random little alleys and streets.
• While I love Galatina, everybody here hates it. They are astonished at the fact that I find it lovely here. My friends always ask me why I chose to come here, of all the places in Italy. I quickly reassure them that I simply chose Italy and from there it wasn't my decision anymore.
• Even though it may be 65 degrees here, everybody still wears a winter jacket and scarf. I walked outside in jeans and a button up shirt once and I don't think I've ever received more strange looks in my life.
• TODAY IS SATURDAY. Except I'm not feeling very well, so who knows if I'll do anything tonight...
• English songs are played everywhere- the radio, the supermarket, in the center of town...literally everywhere. And the majority of people don't even understand them! It's a little odd.

Until next time, P&L.

Ali :*

San Martino

Ciao ragazzi!

On Monday, there was a special celebration called San Martino. This celebration consists of new wines for the coming year and the Italians basically just use it as an excuse to get drunk. There seems to be a lot of different 'wine' celebrations throughout the year, so I've learned.

So on Monday at scuola we had an assembly which the Italians define as doing nothing for the entire day. The first two hours of school I was supposed to be in class and the second two hours of school I was supposed to have different assemblies in the auditorium and gym. So I go to class in the morning and the first thing I notice is that nobody has brought their backpacks with them. A little strange, considering we were at school. I decided to let it slide, sat at my desk, and proceeded to become surrounded by 14 year old children who were eager to know of my plans for San Martino. Let me tell you this, 12 hours earlier, my friends and I had no idea what we were doing. I'll get to that later. So these children are crowded around me and I'm just sitting there thinking to myself, shouldn't we be learning italiano? What the h*** is going on? Then the one kid in the class who speaks English walked in and informed me that when it is the day of an assembly, nobody wants to do anything beforehand, so they don't. They just sit in class for two hours and talk to friends until it is time to go to the auditorium. Interessante. I eventually went to the auditorium and happened to know the guy with the mic, who so kindly called me out in front of the school and asked how I was. Perks of being friends with the popular fifth year guys. Not. The assembly was completely pointless for me to attend because of the fact that I still don't understand Italian, so I just talked to my friends for the whole thing and made faces at my friends who were up in front. It was incredibly fun. Note the sarcasm, please.

I returned home after four hours of school, ate some lunch, napped, then met up with my friends because we needed to finish planning what we were going to do that night. As I previously mentioned, we planned the night in a bit of a rush. I guess my group of friends doesn't like to plan things, because it was the night before San Martino, we had a guest list of about 60 friends, but no place to party with no food or wine. We spent Sunday night walking around the center, asking if anybody knew of a place that we could rent for the night. So it comes to Monday afternoon, we have a place and we have a guest list, but we have no food and wine and no idea of the plans for the night. My friend called me at about four and told me to meet him at the park with seven euros. Casual. So I go to this park where I find about 15 of my friends hanging out with a ridiculous amount of money, a piece of printer paper and many intense conversations happening. They were going around collecting seven euros from everybody on the guest list, which they had printed out on a spreadsheet. Things were getting serious. Three guys left with about 200 euros to go buy a ridiculous amount of alcohol and wine, some others left to find chairs and tables, and yet another guy left to find speakers. The party was happening in approximately four hours. Awesome.

9 o'clock rolls around, my friend arrives with her dad to pick me up, we pick up two other friends, then arrive at our destination. Boy do Italians know how to throw a party together in no time. The location was prime, the music too loud, the wine disgusting (oh well, teenage boys can't be expected to make good wine, can they?), a large amount of hard liquor (however, teenage boys can be expected to buy too much vodka), and an overabundance of pizza, calzoni and other typical Italian fast foods (about 200 euros worth). And so the party began. Tons of people came, many new friends were made, drinks were spilled, dance moves were displayed, and another successful party came to an end early Tuesday morning.

Yes, I said early Tuesday morning. Meaning, school. That was the most difficult thing of my life, having to wake up after a mere four and a half hours of sleep and go to school. The lack of sleep made things difficult, but also the fact that I had partied for many hours, using too much energy and not having any left to go to school the next morning. During my first two hours of Italian, I slept. Yes. I put my head down on my desk, said buonanotte and went to sleep. Third hour I had English, but luck of the Irish, my teacher wasn't there! So my class went to the auditorium and a few of us got cozy together and continued to nap. The story didn't change much for my fourth hour of Italian. I went to the class, sat in my chair, put my head in my hands and I could not tell you anything that happened in that class afterwards.

I sometimes wonder why I am even required to go to school for the first few months of my exchange. Granted, parties don't happen every single school night. However, my day at school was pretty normal. I didn't do anything in class, the teachers ignored me, what else is new. I've learned absolutely nothing while at school and I've understood even less. I think the only reason AFS has us go to school is so that we can make friends. That literally is the only benefit I have gained from school. Oh well. More time to think, more time to write, more time to talk to friends.

As for now, I have to study for an English test. My teacher so kindly informed me about it today, even though I'm not even supposed to go their class tomorrow. Looks like I'll be skipping an hour of Spanish to fail a test. Lucky me.

Ciao tutti.

Until next time,

Ali

PHOTOS

Ciao! I thought I'd post a few photos, since that aspect of my blog has been nonexistent...so here you are, enjoy :)

Friends and I in Galatina

Lily and I in Rome, with Intercultura

 Friends and I in Rome, with Intercultura

The sea!

Galatina :)

Galatina :)

Friends and I waiting for the train to Lecce

AFSers from Puglia and Basilicata!

Friends and I at camp for Intercultura, at the sea

We went to the sea while at camp!

Friends and I at the sea

Friends and I in the hotel, having a party :)

My favorite Australian <3

Jess and I!

Gianfranco and I :)

Friends and I eating at a Mexican restaurant

Veronica and I before a party <3

Friends and I at a party

Waiting for the flight to leave from NYC to Zurich

People Like Us, We Don't Need That Much

Ciao tutti!

I am on a high right now. Life has been so good lately..I'm HAPPY. Genuinely happy. There are a few different reasons for my sudden shift in moods, and I am grateful for all of them. It was becoming a bit depressing, what with the constant homesickness, so this period of my exchange has been greatly needed.

To sum up the last week in one word, it would be 'family'. I attended a camp for Intercultura on October 22-25, with all the other AFSers from Puglia and Basilicata. I met most of the people on Tuesday, and when it came time to leave on Friday, I kind of felt like my heart was being ripped out. It's amazing how close I became with some of those people in only 72 hours. We stayed up all night, ate too much food, laughed until our stomachs ached, and made friends for life. It was the most perfect time ever, and I cannot wait until I see all of them again. So while at this camp, I was very surprised by the limited amount of group activities that they had for us. I was expecting to be bored all day, sitting in a conference room, wanting to go home. Instead, they only had about 2 hours of activities each day, and the rest was free time. That was easily the best thing they could have done for us. While sitting in the conference room for 2 hours each day, I was extremely bored. I did nothing, and I learned nothing. The most memorable parts of the camp were when a group of us would be sitting out on the balcony, trading jokes and talking about literally everything. Some things I wish would have gone unsaid and others made me realize that we are all in the exact same situation, dealing with the exact same problems and missing the exact same things. I now have this great family that I can talk to whenever I need something. They understand everything and always give the best advice out of anyone.

Allora...camp was absolutely fantastic. Then I came home, slept in Saturday instead of going to school, and then went out with some of my best friends on Saturday and Sunday. It was such a relaxing weekend, even though it was loads of fun. I've come to find that hanging out with guys is always the best option, because no matter what we do, I always have a good time. They know how to fill the awkward moments even with a language barrier, and I never feel uncomfortable or left out. So as of lately, I have been hanging out with one girl and all of her friends. We always do something different, and I don't think I could be any happier right now. At the moment, I am getting ready to go out with a friend...I mentioned that I was bored, and he offered to go out with me. My friends are great <3

That's all for now, it's time for me to go...

Ciao everybody, I love you guys <3

Ali

*Insert Deep Song Lyrics Here*

Ciao ragazzi!

What's new in my Italian life? Not much..it's been pretty uneventful recently. Besides feeling very homesick lately, everything has been great. I have started to appreciate the graffiti-filled classrooms, wine with lunch and dinner, long afternoons of laziness, and wearing shoes in the house. I have been with my family for exactly six weeks today and it has really begun to feel like home. Awkward things that just 40 days ago would have made my face turn beet red, now have me laughing and joking around. I've started to fall into a daily routine that consists of daydreaming throughout school, becoming fat off of delicious food, sleeping more than I thought possible, and enjoying my time with a wonderful family and fantastic friends.

Things that I miss:
-Milk in a jar
-East Ridge (I never would have guessed this one...)
-Driving
-My large collection of sweaters and sweatshirts
-American sirens

There are some other things that I miss, but those are the main ones. They may seem silly, but to me, they are home. I've come to realize while on this exchange that I don't miss home - America - but rather the familiarity of it all. I miss the feeling of belonging, of always knowing what I am supposed to be doing. I'll always remember the first time I heard about AFS and when I decided I wanted to go abroad. From the first conversation I had about it with my parents, all the way to the last time I saw my friends and family, I never truly understood what an exchange would be like. People always told me it would be an incredibly opportunity, but I never thought that it would be like this. It definitely has been an incredible opportunity so far, and I never will regret hitting that submit button on my application. However, this experience has been completely different from anything I ever imagined. It has been the hardest thing I have ever done, and it has also been the most fun thing I have ever done. I've been here for six weeks, I've made some really great friends, and I love my family. I know that things are going to start looking up soon and that the rest of this exchange year will be amazing. I cannot wait to see what the future holds.

It's always a pleasure.
Ciao.
Alison.

It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday...

Ciao tutti!

Guess what day it is?! Not Friday...it's Saturday. Sadly, Friday isn't a big deal here in Italy, because we go to school on Saturday. So the big night here is Saturday, and boy do the Italians go all out! It is currently 7 p.m. as I write this, and I am not meeting up with my friends for another two hours. I had a little spare time, and my mom has been on my back constantly, so I figured I would update my blog :)

DISCLAIMER: I'm just going to briefly interrupt this and tell you how sorry I am about my English, grammar, and sentence structure. As I learn Italian, my English quickly becomes, well, s**t. (Hey Mom, sorry about the bad word, but I also know how to say that in Italian ;) ) So let me apologize in advance for my random thoughts that are strewn about in this post, as well as the awkward sentences and lack of correlation in my ideas.

Today's topic is.......SATURDAY! Well, in general, going out. I have been in Italy for five weeks now, and things are definitely different here, but going out with friends doesn't change much from country to country. The first weekend here, my friends took me out for pizza. While that sounds normal, let me tell you that it was actually completely different! For one, we arrived at the restaurant at 8:30 p.m. And that was considered early. Also, when going out for pizza, one does not simply eat a few pieces of pizza. Oh no. You eat the whole pizza, and then you go out for gelato afterwards. I am pretty sure by the time my exchange is over, I will have gained 35 pounds. It's crazy how much I eat! Okay, so going to restaurants is a typical teenage activity. Also, 'la piazza' aka the place, which is the center of the town, is the place to be on a Saturday night. It's always incredibly crowded, with music, lots of people, and fun activities. While being in Italy, I have also attended a birthday party. Oh yeah. Those things are insane. So it was for my friend, and she was turning 16. There was a fancy birthday cake, a hired DJ, a bartender, and tons of people. Her house was basically like a club for the night. But oh was it fun! I met lots of people, and they are always so excited to meet 'the American'. The people I meet always try to speak in English to me, and it's quite hilarious listening to them. But I suppose that's exactly what I sound like when I speak Italian... :) Anyway, so Saturday night is the big night to go out, and it's always a blast no matter what we do. On Sunday, I oftentimes hang out with friends in the late afternoon, and sometimes it extends into the late evening. Per esempio (for example), last Sunday, I met up with a few friends at 5 p.m., and we hung out until about 12:30! We walked around town, went to a bar (restaurant), ate some 'fast food' (that was truly delicious and not at all like American fast food), and then went to a friend's house to watch a film. Teenagers are actually very similar in all countries. We like to do the same things, wear the same things, and talk about the same things. So thank goodness for that, because I can always use a little normality in the absolutely crazy life that I now call my own!

So as of right now, I must go and get ready for the night! My friends and I are heading to a Mexican restaurant, and afterwards, la piazza.. who knows if Italian Mexican food will be any good! I will try to update this blog more often, I think writing shorter posts more frequently will be a good way to go about it. I hope you all are having a lovely time in the US, or wherever you are...keep it classy ;)

CIAO :**

~Alison~

P.S. I am extremely awkward in this post. Sorry. Please just try to remember I am a teenager. And, well, there's not much more to say about that. <3

Bye Bye USA

Ciao a tutti!

I have arrived in Galatina, Italy! It is bella, and everybody is so kind to me! So much has happened in the past week and a half, so let me start from the beginning...

After a heart-wrenching goodbye to my mother and sister, I left to go through security alone. I wandered around the airport for two hours, lugging all my bags with me, until the flight to New York was called to board. My flight was maybe only half full, so I had a window seat with no one sitting next to me. Perfetto! Two hours later, and my plane landed at LGA Airport in NYC. Being that this was the first time I had ever been to New York, I was so excited. However, the most I saw of the city was the bus ride to the Hilton Hotel that us AFSers stayed in near JFK Airport. At the Hilton Hotel, there were kids going to the countries of Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, Portugal, Ghana, and a few other countries. All in all, there were about 200 kids at the hotel! And boy were we full of energy. I was so nervous when entering the hotel, because I knew no one and was not sure how many people would be there. By the time we entered our rooms for the night, I had probably met about half the kids there and become friends with a good fourth of them. I had nothing to worry about. So after completing boring orientation icebreakers, eating terrible hotel food, and playing an intense game of spoons, we set off for the airport, ready to begin our great adventure.

On our flight to Zurich, Switzerland, there were approximately 130 kids, 44 of those being Italy students and the rest consisting of Spain and France students. 8 hours after takeoff, we arrived in Zurich, where everybody crashed in the (very nice) airport, trying to fight off jet lag and failing desperately to do so. From Zurich, the three countries split up, each waiting in our terminal until it was time to go. And so all the kids headed to Italy sat around the airport for 4 incredibly boring hours, only entertained by the fact that we could legally drink alcohol. ;)

Finally, the flight to Rome was called, and we all gathered in a giant clump, trying to board at once. Luckily, the flight was only an hour long, so after just reaching cruising speed, we were already landing. My first impression of Rome was not what I thought it would be. I figured, being such a beautiful city, that the airport would be acceptable. Boy was I wrong. That airport smelled like a pet's cage that had not been cleaned in 3 years. It was disgusting. And of course our baggage took forever to arrive, so we sat around breathing the contaminated air for a solid hour and a half. Awesome. Once we all claimed our luggage, we left the airport and boarded buses that took us to where we would be staying. After about an hour long bus ride, we arrived at a beautiful ex-nun convent villa place in the country. The buildings were gorgeous, the rooms clean, and the food absolutely delicious! We stayed at this 'hotel' for two nights and departed on Sunday for our host families. While in Rome, we did typical orientation activities, and learned a little bit more about the region of Italy that we would be going to live in. Sunday morning, I had to wake up bright and early, as my bus was leaving at 6:30 a.m. for the train station. So myself, along with about 20 other AFSers, got our things together, rode the bus back into the heart of Rome, and boarded the train that we would stay on for the next 5 hours. Yeah. That was a very boring ride. I slept, listened to music, read a few magazines, and stared out the window at the beautiful Italian countryside. Finally, FINALLY, we arrived at our station, and the nerves started to hit me. I was incredibly nervous to meet my host family, but I have no idea why! I suppose a small part of me thought they might have forgotten about me and so nobody would be at the station to pick me up, but anther part of me knew that I was being stupid. So I got off the train, legs shaking uncontrollably, and wheeled my luggage down the station until I spotted my host sister, Alessia, who was furiously looking through the crowd for me. I gave her a big hug, then gave my host mom and dad a big hug and kiss on each cheek, and then we got in the car and drove away! About 15 minutes later, we arrived at our house. I am surprised to this day that I haven't died in a car accident. I could go on for probably 5 hours about how terrible the driving is in Italy. It's terrifying. So anyway, we arrived at our house, and my family was kind enough to know my needs and let me shower as soon as we arrived. Afterwards, I ate my first home-cooked Italian meal, pasta (of course), and it was delicious.

So from last Sunday until today, I have been doing typical exchange student things. I've gotten settled into my house quickly, skyped with my family and friends back home, taken a bus to Lecce and managed to get off at the right stop each time, met new people, gone out with new friends, eaten pizza and gelato, gone shopping, drunken wine with almost every meal, and been showered with love from my new family. So far, my life in Italy has been great. I couldn't have asked for a better host family, and everybody I have met has been so eager to talk with me and get to know me. I've only been gone from home for two weeks, so I can't wait to see what will happen in the next nine and a half months. So as of right now, that is all I will be writing. I have to get ready to go out for gelato with some friends I met today. I will post again soon, and I love you all <3

Ciao, Ali :**

Putting the finishing touches on my old life...

Ciao! My blog is desperate for an update, so here is the current status on my adventure...

On July 27th, my mom and I traveled to Chicago in order to obtain my student visa. After wandering around downtown for two days, we entered the consulate on the morning of the 29th and found that the wait was long and papers were missing. However, we got everything submitted, and my visa came in the mail about a week later!

Fundraising letters were written and stamped, finally mailed out, and quite successful if I do say so myself. I would like to give a big THANK YOU to everyone who donated, whether by way of check, or a lovely note that I plan on taking with me. So once again, thanks for helping to make my dreams come true!

Italian, which I must complete the first level of on Rosetta Stone, is proving to be easier than I expected. The hard part is remembering everything I have learned when it comes to actually using the language. I find myself breezing through the lessons on my computer, but struggling to remember the word for 'hungry' when attempting to sound knowledgeable.

What else, what else....OH. My host sister, Paola, left for Rome this morning with the family in tow. Orientations start tomorrow, and from there she is off to Finland! What a shame that I will not be able to meet her until January. However, Facebook has been a wonderful tool for getting to know my host family.

On another note, my journey begins in 21 days....if I were to be exact, at the moment that I am writing this, my flight leaves for New York in 20 days, 9 hours and 48 minutes. I leave the morning of September 4th, to fly to New York. September 5th is when everybody from the USA going to Italy leaves New York, with our flight departing in the evening. After a layover in Zurich early in the morning on the 6th, we will arrive in Rome about noon, only then meeting up with all of the students from the entire world who are studying in Italy for the year. Woohoo! I am so excited that it is hard to contain myself sometimes. However, the thought of leaving my friends and family is quite difficult to think about, so I do not. Rather, I dream about the possibilities and wonders of living in a foreign country, learning a new language, and becoming someone who belongs in two different worlds...

For now, that is all.
Arrivederci!
~Ali

Donate please! :)

Hello! I have started an account on Smartpig.com and I would be very pleased if people contributed to the fundraising for my tuition! It is very expensive and I need all the donations I can get...! Here is my profile on Smartypig - https://www.smartypig.com/loves/ali . Please go here to donate! The website is AFS-approved, so it is secure and no scams are involved. I would very much appreciate your help in making my dreams come true:)

-Ali

Something new happened...

Hello to anybody reading this! I wanted to just briefly update my blog on all the changes since I last posted... because quite a bit has happened:)
I GOT MY HOST FAMILY! Woo yeah I found out who my host family will be when my host sister emailed me on the morning of April 23! AFS has not informed me of them yet, however I have been emailing my 16 year old host sister since then, and have become friends with my 19 year old host sister and my host mum on Facebook. I guess it's kind of funny that I have been talking to them and finding out about my future year, and yet AFS hasn't even officially told me yet! Okay, so news about my family...
I have two sisters, one who is 16 and one who is 19, nearly 20! My mum and dad seem like lovely people, and they all live in the little town of Galatina, in the heel of the boot. Funny story, actually. My host sister emailed me today with a few pictures of her and friends and family at the beach yesterday. Where I live, in Minnesota, we got snow yesterday. ON MAY 1-2, it snowed. So I am very excited to know that I will not have snow on May 1-2 next year, because it is very warm in Galatina.
As far as other news goes, tomorrow I will be scheduling my appointment in Chicago for my student visa, but that won't take place until the end of July. AFS is giving me information soon (as in tomorrow, I think) about the Rosetta Stone course that I am required to take, so I will start learning Italian in the near future.
That is about it for interesting news. I won't be posting much in these next few months because there isn't really anything of interest to post about. However, once September comes along, I PROMISE I will update often!
Bye for now!!
~ALI


P.S. I have yet to put a widget on my blog for donations, but I will do that very soon, and then you all can donate towards my tuition costs:)
GRAZIE<3

Benvenuti nel mio blog

Hello! This is my very first ever blog, and I have created it for the sole purpose of keeping you up to date on my travels!! To get anybody reading this up to speed, I will explain exactly how my life has changed drastically in the past four and a half months...
A friend of mine introduced me to the program AFS, and we decided that we would both ask our parents if we could go to France next school year, 2013-2014. That night, I went home and casually asked my parents if they would support me in this huge life-changing event. Much to my surprise, they agreed without much hesitation! Excited to tell my friend the next day, I saw her and shared the good news when she informed me that she would not be able to join me. Caught up in reading student blogs and learning everything that I could about AFS, time flew by. When the application opened up, I was completely prepared to start and finish it in one night. After a painstaking amount of time in which I had to obtain letters of recommendation and transcripts, I finally decided on going to Italy instead of France. My reasoning behind the change in countries was simply because of the fact that I want to be an architect when I am older, and Italy has such neat old buildings everywhere that one might go! So once I decided to go to Italy, I was able to finish my application, and click the submit button. That moment was a bit of an eye-opener, because I realized that my dreams were coming to life! After getting a few emails from an AFS advisor, and fixing my application a few times, it was finally sent off to be reviewed by AFS-USA. I completed my in-home interview, applied for a few scholarships, and waited for an email to be received. About two weeks later, I received the news that my application was being sent to AFS-Italy! A very short time later, I saw the email delivering the news of my acceptance to AFS-Italy!
As of right now, I am simply waiting to hear about my host family, and I am trying to fundraise as much of my tuition cost as possible. However, any and all money that one might like to donate towards my fund would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! It will be made very easy to donate in a little while, when I get a donation widget from AFS added to this blog. So bookmark this page, it is a good one that you will not want to forget about! If everything goes according to plan, I will update this blog frequently when abroad, so that all of my American acquaintances can keep up with my soon-to-be crazy life!
That concludes the writing of my first entry, I hope many people enjoy my future posts. Thanks for reading, and remember to donate:)
~Ali