Spot the differences! And Host Family news!

SO GUYS I'M CHANGING FAMILIES YAY
This family was such a negative atmosphere and I was just not having a good time and it just wore me out every day. Long term this would have been HORRIBLE for me, so I couldn't be more glad that I'm getting out as soon as I am.
Also this location, I just can't live in the country.
They're now looking for a family in Milan or Florence for me! I'm so happy that things are looking up :)

But anyway, I've just had school this week but a few days ago I went to Torino and Lugano, Switzerland! Both places are WAY north. I can't believe I went to SWITZERLAND like I just casually went to another country! Aside from the 4 hour car ride filled with fighting, I just put in my headphones and listened to my songs and the hours went by pretty fast. :)


So life here in Italy. There's so many differences! vv


1. Italian blow their noses in class. VERY LOUDLY. (Update: Also at home when I'm sleeping)

2. People seem to wear the same shirt at least 3 times a week?

3. In my school we have to wear uniforms, NOT HERE! Thank god, I can finally express myself every day however I please :)

Me channeling my inner Los Angeles-ian with the ever so famous "mirror selfie" before class.

4. You stay in one room. For hours at a time. It is so boring.

5. The room is all white! There are no decorations except a world map because the teachers switch rooms

6. Everyone in class talks or is on their phones. I am guilty of the second one.

7. School is only 3-5 hours????? Today (a Saturday oh look another difference) I got out at 11.

8. During the 15 minute breaks, everyone smokes outside, it's strange. Pretty sure I'm basically a smoker with all the secondhand smoke there is.

9. Everyone looks so much younger with me! I'm not even going to lie I saw some of my classmates riding their bikes the first day and I thought they were fifth graders. I'm serious! I'm like the oldest-looking one in my class!

10.  Usually after school everyone goes out to the piazza, or town square. I do. Every day, I buy a kilo (2.2 pounds) of really yummy grapes that were from a local vineyard for only 1.50 euros!

11. PEOPLE DRINK A LOT. I only have wine with the family occasionally but it's purely out of pairing it with a meal and keeping up with Italian traditions.

12. The boys here are a little masculine and everyone is very traditional. I told a person in my class I like dancing and he looked at me weirdly and told me "that's so girly, that's not very Italian." Well that's HIS judgement and I don't care! I've never cared what people thought of me. Italians need to loosen up a little bit with that kind of thing, like not EVERY guy plays soccer and likes Italian music. Here, I'm apparently "different."

13. Contrary to what people think, Italian youth is not fashionable. Like people my age dress literally like some kids in my elementary school. but THOSE YEAR 5 KIDS THEY ALL LOOK LIKE MODELS I MEAN

14. Italians drive like mad people! ESPECIALLY MY HOST DAD. He literally almost hit like 4 children today and two car doors and I was scared to death. I don't get how 2 cars can pass each other on the rode, these rows are so narrow! Eh whatever works for them...

15. Privacy. There is none. All the doors are always open and the lights are always off? It's really strange. I'm scared that I'll be like changing and BAM someone comes in! Also when I'm sleeping it's really strange the like to leave the door open!!!
I hate that.
So I wake up to either fighting or just other people somehow being up at 9 in the morning. I am so not a morning person.

16. Everything is SO high quality here! Everything you hear about Italian food is true!!! Everything, even the water is delicious!! I'm actually drinking water here, and I usually hate water. And the fruit! It's SO cheap and it's so delicious!

17. While school is only 3-5 hours, it feels so much longer because the teachers just talk. That's it. Talk. Nothing else. I've fallen asleep multiple times and it feels even longer than school in the states.


So I haven't really had a lot of fun either. All my friends from the STS course already have their group of friends and I have NONE. I don't like school. Nothing's working here, I can't wait until I leave schools and families. I think next try is going to be so much better. But I DO have my host brother's friends! And they're taking me to a disco in an hour!

But here's some pictures of what's been happening!

I had never tried mussels but the little ones are actually really good!

Ravenna, and an AMAZING church :)

This is a daily thing. God bless this country.

A church on a hill in Torino :) 

I spied with my little eye some oil pastels so I got to work and I made the single cover for  "Applause" by Lady Gaga because it's just a cool photo in general! I don't look at it as a single cover, but as art.

Also I'm so glad I got a Samsung Galaxy S4 a week before I left. The camera is AMAZING on it! It's 13 megapixels with a ton of focuses and everything and I haven't used my actual camera yet.

Well that's what's going on! I'm going to try and update every Saturday and hopefully next time will be sooner because hopefully they'll find my new family. Ciao! :)

Host Family..

Ciao ragazzi!

So I'm with my host family! And to be quite honest, I'm going to switch.
I have nothing in common with anyone in the family except for traveling.

I asked for a city, I live in a vineyard. I asked for an artistic family, they're all obsessed with video games and sports, I have nothing in common with anyone.

I'm going to give it until November or October and if it's still the same, I'm going to switch families. The people are nice, it's just extremely boring because they work all day and we don't have anything in common.

Also the family is such a negative influence. Everyone screams and hits each other and curses and I had a COKE BOTTLE thrown at me when I was sleeping! I've woken up every day to arguing and screaming. It's horrible and it wears me out every day as if I've been arguing with everyone when I'm just there existing.
It's not normal and I can really go in detail but I prefer not to. I told STS and they themselves said it was legitimately concerning.

Also NO ONE SPEAKS ITALIAN WITH ME. We always end up speaking it for like 5 seconds and we go back to English! I'm trying my best to speak italian and I've told the family multiple times not to speak English with me, and they refuse to listen, and I'm barely learning anything.

My town is okay. I mean it's not great, but I could do much better, like my friends, so I asked to switch families.

But yeah. That's my life, for now. Hopefully it'll change soon.

Prep Course!

Don't worry guys, I'm alright in Italy!
It's much harder keeping a blog updated than I thought! So much is happening!

This prep course.
AMAZING. I met so many people from all over the world! I met people from Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, and Canada! It was only 15 people so we became a family, especially about 6 of us. We did SO much this week.

One day, me, a guy named Kayde (Sydney), a girl named Sanna (Stockholm) a girl named Astyn (Melbourne) and a guy named Ben (near Ottawa) and Tameka (Auckland) all went and got lost in Milan and we bought a ton of things and we really discovered Milan outside the touristy area and it is such a beautiful city. We found an old man dancing to Cher with his huge amp, we found a man who makes amazing animals made out of vegetables, we found breakdancers who twerked with a 4 year old boy, and we just did everything we can and honestly it was the best week of my life.

I took about 800 pictures in total and I had more than so much fun with everyone. One day we went to Lake Como, and it was honestly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to.  I will never forget any of them I can't even put it into words, but i can put it into pictures.

Astyn and I (with Sanna) at a cafe in Como

THIS IS MILAN LOOK PRETTY

I bought this for only 3 euros!

From front to back: Me, Tameka,  Meredith (Canada), Ben, Kayde, Astyn

THESE ARE VEGETABLES

I MADE IT

Well,

I’m here

In Milan

After 6 hours at the airport and 15 new friends from around the world, I’m in Milan for a week and we have language class in an hour. Yesterday I arrived actually, I was just too tired to write. Yesterday, we walked around Milan, saw the Duomo and it was so beautiful. I miss everyone already. Now, it’s 6 AM since I went to bed at 8 PM last night because I was exhausted. I’ll update this post as the day goes, see you later! :)