...Home

Yes, that's right, I'm finally home. Well actually, I've been home exactly 99 days today. It took me almost 100 days to finally accept the fact that I'm not going to wake up to the sound of voices speaking in Italian or the smell or freshly brewed coffee anymore. I don't get to go to school everyday and see my best friends and laugh with them as we wait for the teacher. And although it hurts when I think about these things, it also makes me so happy to know they happened, to know that I have people all around the world who love me and who I love so much. Being home isn't bad by any means, but I miss the adventure. I feel stuck here. And not in the sense that I can't leave, but in the sense that I can't be the person I became this last year. Nobody fully understands me anymore and they never will no matter how hard they try. Maybe that's because they didn't know the me I was in Italy. Or maybe because they still only see me as the 16 year old girl I was before I left. Because to the normal eye, my view on the world is completely unrealistic. I want to go and do things and experience and learn as much as I can not matter the cost. I would rather be an old lady with nothing to my name who chased every dream I had than to be a rich old lady with lots of nice things who let life pass by. I want an extraordinary life and I don't think that is to much to ask. When I used to think of my future I imagined I would graduate high school then go to college, get a good job, get married, have kids and live happily ever after. I guess that's just all I knew. Now I've seen there are different options out there and I don't know what I want. I could do what I always thought I should do, or I could be free and go travel and enjoy every second of life. Life is truly just one decision after another, each increasing in difficulty as it comes. My year abroad opened my mind  to so many more things, that my already too big imagination is about ready to burst with different options. I'm drowning in my daydreams trying to decide what's next for me. Who do I want to be and what do I want to do? And the problem lies with the fact that I have to just choose one thing and that's it. My problem is I want a bit of it all.

...Overcome?

Happy Wednesday everyone! Unfortunately, today wasn't that happy for me. Today, I had gym class and I just want to start by saying I have the rudest, most ignorant teacher in the world. I don't mean to be rude, but the man is truly just a cruel person. So at the beginning of the year, I started off gym class on a really good note. I was able to do everything without difficulty until we started the basketball unit. Now anyone that knows me pretty well could tell you about my lack of hand eye coordination. So we start doing layups and I was really excited because I actually made some! However, the teacher came up to me and told me that I was doing it wrong and needed to do it with two hands instead of one. I found this a little strange because in gym class in the states I was taught you are supposed to do it with one hand and I had seen it done this way many time while I was a cheerleader at basketball games. And considering Indiana is known as the basketball state, I think they would have taught us correctly at school. So I tried to do it his way to be nice, but I kept missing every time because the movement was completely wrong. Now this was the only shot we learned and practiced for 2 months and in that period I mentioned to him that I had learned to do it with only one hand and he told me I was wrong. I know I don't know much about basketball, but you'd think he would have of at least considered what I was saying considering basketball is an American game and I am American and it's not that popular in Italy. So he continued to mock me for pretty much the rest of the year. He would say things like you are the only American in the world that sucks at basketball because apparently all Americans play basketball perfectly. So after this, we started doing a health unit about the body. When it came  time to have a written test I talked to my host mom and she told me I didn't need to do it because first I didn't have a book and secondly the vocabulary was way to difficult for me. So the day of the test I came to school excepting not to do it. Then in class he handed my a test and told me to do it. When I just looked at him shocked he responded by telling me I needed to stop thinking I was better than everyone else and do the test. Now I found this a little rude because I tried really hard to fit in and do all my work but there was no way I could have memorized 60 pages of  health in Italian I mean I had only been in Italy for 5 months! So I decided I would try to guess what the questions were asking and draw pictures of what I thought it was because I couldn't write very well. Well he ended up giving me a 2 which is the lowest grade you can get. Then just last week there was a running test where we had to run for 30 minutes straight. I ran most of it, but I have really weak knees ad ankles from all the years of doing cheerleading and gymnastics and it's really hard for me to run for long periods of time. So I failed the test because I stopped to walk a few times and stretch out my ankles. Then he continued afterwards to ask me why all Americans are so fat. When I tried explaining to him that yes we do have many people overweight but there are also many healthy people as well and I continued to say  that I wasn't overweight and he started looking me up and down giving me a questioning look. Now sure I've gained more weight than I like here in Italy, but I am not fat and I don't need my teacher making me feel like I am. In addition him continued to tell me that the girl I exchanged with spoke perfect English and that I wasn't as good as her because I am here for 8 months and sometimes I still have trouble speaking. I mean I knew nothing when I got here and I am so proud of myself at how good Italian is and the other girl picked up English a lot faster than me with Italian. I mean she studied it for 10 years before she left so of course she got it faster. Then today when I came to class he said to me that the principal asked him for my grade to put on my a report card and that he told him that I failed because I never do anything. I proceeded to ask him how I did nothing considering I did the best I could and always participated. And he just would listen to anything I said so I took a step back and said to him that it was fine and that I didn't care. I realized there was no point in arguing because he wouldn't listen to anything I said anyways and it was better to just let it be. Anyways he continues for about 15 minutes about how horrible I am and America in general.Then he left and I had a little break down because I was already homesick and missing home and he just made it worse. Fortunately I have really good friends who made me feel better. I just can't believe just how rude some people can be. I mean he is a grown man picking on teenagers. I will say that one thing I learned this year is that no matter where you go in this world there will always be someone trying to tear you down or to make you feel bad about yourself and you just have to keep your head up and keep going. That's something I'm going to do for the rest of my life. I won't let anything get to me. I am strong, I am smart, and I am happy. And I will make it through!



...Sing in Italian?

So the first weekend of February, We had a district meeting in Marostica. Everyone had to come to Marostica to learn the national anthem of Italy that we sang at district conference last Saturday. Ellen, who lives in Vicenza, came to stay with me Saturday night before the meeting. We spent the night making American food and watching Toy Story 3. The next morning, we headed to Marostica, which is only about 5 minutes outside of Bassano, to meet everyone for lunch. This was also the first time we met our Australian newbies, Tom and Libbi. After we all ate our pizzas and met with the Rotary governor of our district, we headed to the practice room to begin the learning.

 

 

 

Surprisingly we actually sounded pretty good by the end!

...Get Ready to Say Goodbye?

Today I'm heading to a rotary event in Treviso! I think it's district conference, but I'm not exactly sure but all the exchange students from my district are going to sing the nation anthem of Italy. Usually I would be really excited to see everyone, but today is a little bittersweet. This is the last time I get to see some of them before they go home. I can't believe that this is it. Even though I'm still going to be here for a while, it still just kind of feels like the end. The people that were only strangers nine months ago are now the people that I depend on most in this world. They were the ones I called when I had a problem or when I just felt like I couldn't take one more day of this. They know me better than most people from home and they understand everything I'm going through. It's going to be hard not being able to just call one of them up to go Venice or Verona or Bologna for the day just to explore and enjoy our lives together. I still have 53 days here, but it's just not going to feel the same when half of my life is now spread around the world. Yes, I will see half of them again for Eurotour, but this is it for the other half. This is goodbye. I thought the more times I've said those words this year the easier it would get. But no matter how many goodbyes I say in my life, it's never going to get easier. And I don't know if that is entirely a bad thing either. I guess it just means that there're people in this world worth being sad about missing and I'm lucky to have gotten to meet so many of them!

And I now have seven countries and multiple states in the US waiting for me with open doors.

From the first day we met,

And everything in between

(We seriously do not take enough group photos)

  To the end.

They are the family I choose for myself and a little bit my heart will always be spread around the world with them. Thank you for an amazing year.

...Venice (Finally!)?

Okay, so if I remember correctly, I left off right before I went to Venice for the first time. I went with three other exchange students at the end of January. It was pretty cold and very foggy and extremely humid. Which I learned later on that the humidity is normal (I never do my hair when going to Venice). As soon as we walked out of the station the view was stunning. Everything I imagined Italy would be is Venice. The architecture is elegant and all the small alleyways leading to new adventures, and the sea. So far I think Venice is the only city in Italy that has met up to my expectations.

(The view from the front steps of the train station.)

 

We spent our morning making our way to The Rialto Bridge and stopping ever few feet to check out all the amazing mask, costume, and glass stores. If you didn't know, Venice is famous for it's hand blown glass but also its Carnival (Marti Gras). Carnival is different in Venice though. Everyone dresses up like Venetians from the 1700's and wears masks. It's supposed to be the biggest mascaraed party in the world (lucky for me I got to go later on in the year).

 

 



 

Rosie went too!

 

So after we saw the bridge, we head to San Marco's Square.

 

After our sightseeing I convinced everyone to go with me to the Hard Rock Café to eat (even though its really expensive).

Everyone being happy that they decided to come with me to eat.

 

Then after eating we spent the rest of our day exploring one of the most famous cities on earth and enjoying the adventure.

 

 

...Be Alive?

Yes, it has been over two months since I last posted a blog and I have been incredibly busy! The last three months have been the best of my exchange so far. Every time I look back on this year, it makes me sad I have to get on that plane and go home. These next two weeks I will try my hardest to catch up on all my trips including Israel and also talk a little bit about myself and how I've personally changed this year! However it's almost eleven here and I have school tomorrow so goodnight, or as we say in Italy, Buona Notte!

...Ice Skate in Vicenza?

The week after Padova, I went to Vicenza to go ice skating for another exchange students birthday. I was the first one there, so we went in a few stores in the center as we waiting for everyone to arrive. Then we went to eat pizza with all of Ellen's friends and the other exchange students. After lunch, we all went ice skating. The ice skating rink was out side in the center. I have no idea how it was still there, because it was fairly warm outside. I was really excited to go ice skating, however, the ice was the worst ice I have even seen. It had been there for about a month already and had never been cleaned so it was really hard to skate. We skated for a while and then we all decided to go shopping some more, well actually they shopped, and I walked around with them resisting the urge to buy everything. Later we headed to the station and everyone got on buses or trains to their host cities.

There are better picture somewhere, but of course no one ever wants to take pictures with two cameras and everyone says they will post them on Facebook so I can get them, but they never do.