Credit to Mary Beth's blog: http://marybeth-afs.blogspot.com/, I found the image there. Her blog is pretty inspiring, check it out to see how her experience in Spain was!
That pretty much sums up how I will live my life in Italy. I'm going to make the best of each day there, whether they turn out good or bad.
Haha I haven't updated in a while. Ever since I received my Host Family. XD I've written to them since then--I even drew cute little cartoons of the whole family, and I am proud to say they enjoyed my little gifts. My older host sister will not be there when I go to live with the family in Silea. She is already on her AFS year exchange in Costa Rica. And the boy, Alejandro, my family was hosting went back to his home country, Chile. So now they are a family of four. My host father, mother, younger brother and sister. I think it will be a great experience! I've never had younger siblings. I've been the baby in my family for so many years.
There hasn't been much to write about. I've been focusing more on other things because Italy has been so far away for the time being.
But now the clock is ticking and I have a little over a month to go! Leaving on Wednesday, September 7th to go to New York! I'll meet other exchange students from around America there and we'll fly off with a small interference in Germany-- then land in Rome, Italy. Where I am sure we will have another AFS Orientation, meeting kids from around the world!
I'll start packing in the middle of August...yeah. And I have a scheduled party coming up. Better prepare for that, too. I think the month of August is going to fly by so fast since I'm already really busy planning.
I can only imagine the excitement of other kids preparing to go on this journey. I am excited myself! I cannot wait to see what it is like to live in a different country. All I've known is America. I'll definitely learn as much as I possibly can. :) Especially from the other students I meet along the way. <3
I'm also off to Columbus on Tuesday, completing my journey to get an Italian Visa. Haaaaa the AFS process is so wonderful. I have to do it over of course due to my other trip being canceled, but it's all good. After the Italian Visa is taken care of, it's on to the Health papers!
All this talk of preparing. I've heard and read so many exchange student stories, I know for a fact that no journey is going to be exactly the same. But that's not stopping me from doing all I can lessen the blow of reality that I'm actually leaving or absorb culture shock.
Particularly, with the language. So many Italian books, dictionaries, and online language programs. I'm doing awesome! I still have a feeling I will be corrected by many younger kids on how bad my grammar is though. X)
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I've recently finished my summer job. I was working with a company called Artworks, and I painted a mural in the hot summer heat for seven weeks! And my groups mural was the longest; 170 feet long and 15ft tall. It was cool.
I'll try to get a picture of the mural when my dedication comes around. :)
At first I was a little wary of getting a job. I wanted to just sit around and draw on the computer and do what I did every summer. Then I realized this wouldn't be my ordinary summer at the end of school year.
Since I was preparing to go to Italy this September, it dawned on me I didn't have to do summer reading assignments...and I had a huge gap of time for my drawings already! Then there was the common sense voice telling me not to shut myself in the house all summer, making no friends. That would be lame and boring-- even if I was reveling in my passion for drawing.
So I took the chance, and told myself, if I was going to be working on a mural for the next five weeks with people I don't know, I'm going to make the very best of it.
And I had the most fun on my first job ever. I was even chosen as one the spokes people and detail painters (hence the two extra weeks) for my mural group! Everyone in my group was so cool, entertaining, and just plain fun to be around. It was the total opposite of what I expected it to be. Everyone got along so well, everyday was a fun adventure just painting on a wall because everyone made it that way. The teaching staff was head on and I learned so much. At the end of the job, I didn't want to leave! If I could re-live this summer all over again, I would.
Shoot, if I had that much fun in seven weeks I can only imagine what 11 months in Italy will do to me.
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I had fun yesterday with a few friends at a Zombie Party at a library. I love Zombies. They are awesome. Well only if you count the rotting living dead that want to eat your brains awesome. Even the unusual zombies that dance to Michael Jackson's Thriller on Wii.
A friend who returned from her exchange trip to Germany tagged along for the fun, too. I'm glad she's back! :)
Zombies Rock.
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I had my hair cut in the middle of summer. XP It looks pretty cool. Just the shortest I've ever had it in my life. And it's already growing back...
This has been an eventful summer. So much has happened already--- and time has flown by so fast! Italy, here I come soon! :D I need to figure out how to compile videos now...another chore to add on to the month of August...
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Happy Birthday Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling!! :3
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Ciao! ~ <3
