This is the end

Ciao Everyone!
I haven't writen in far to long and I apologize. I've been so buisy trying to soak up every last moment I have with my friends and family here.

So I went to the beach! My first host family brought me! We went to Liguria to an area near Genova called Portofino. It was so beautiful! I got to go swiming and diving. Unfortunatly I cut my foot but thats ok! It was really just amazing! I even made you guys a video while we were at Camogli!

Other fun news, tomorrow I'll be in a 'play'. It's not really a play its like a trailer for a play that will actually be in december. Anyway its called 'Alice a testa in giu' and I cant wait!

So I'll be seeing you all again in the next couple of weeks! I miss you all and thank you all so much for the support you have given me this year!

Ciao!

Ciao Everyone!
I know I wanted to keep you all updated on my parents vist here on a daily basis. Unfortunately, as always, I had computer troubles on a daily basis. So I'll try and fill you all in now.

DAY ONE
Oh so fun! Mom and Dad got here and after putting away their bags we got going. We went to see a typical Italian market, tour my town, and meet all my family and friends. They were probably really tired and maybe understood only about 20% of what was happening, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

DAY TWO
School! I brought my parents with me to school! Yeay show and tell. So they got to meet my best friends and my classmates! The really fun part about all of that though was trying to talk to my English teacher. Now normal I asumed she didnt answere my questions in school because she doesnt like me. Turns out she just doesnt undertsand. Mua hahaha. Enough with that though
Aftewards we went to a near by town were we got to tour a really old caslte and have lunch by the lake. (The picture of them is from said castle)

DAY THREE
Venice! So fun at this poing Venice is still my favorite city and it was the 4th time going there. So I showed Mom and Dad the amazing hand made mask shop, Piazza San Marco, and the usualy venice sites. I also took a wrong turn, (not a good idea in Venice) and got us lost. Yeay!

DAY FOUR
Florence! WOW! That was amazing! SOOOO much art! It was so beautiful! We went with my first host family and they gave us a really nice tour and poined out typical foods from that city. Including really spicey foods with unsalted bread, and cow intestins and raw meat. They couldn't really get past cow intestins.
We also went to the top of the curch's dome where its possible to see all of florence! It had to be one of the most exhausting yet beautiful things of my life!

DAY FIVE
ROME! Now, I always said that Venice was my favorite city. That has changed! Rome is so beautiful! Its just crazy old with so much to see and do! I would like to explain everything I learned and saw and tated and smelt and all that, but i'd have to write a novel which I'm far to lazy to do.
In the end we saw...
Fontana di Trevi
The Spanish Steps
Coloseo
Forum
Piazze dei fiore

yea tons of stuff!
Oh and by this time Moms starting to ask how do Italians eat so much.

DAY SIX
Still in Rome for one more day. We decided to play it a bit calmer and went to see another plaza (name has been lost form my mind)Where there were a ton of artits! We also went to see the Panthium and da da da da drum roll please the Vadican Museum!
That was AMAZING! The capela sistina was so beautiful and so where le stanze di rafielo. dont think i spelt that right. But they were amazing! Its all we really stopped to see thought because (as our quide for the coloseo said) to look at every piece of art in that meuseum for one minute would take 15 years! HOLY CRAP!
So bye the end of the day it was time to hop on the train and get back to Carnate!

DAY SEVEN
Was our "day off" We hadnt planed anything for this day so it became an interesting mix of crazy thigs to do. First, soccer game. Go Inter! Chico brought us to see his favorite team play. They won 3 to nothing! Yeay! After that touring Milan!
Duomo, Spanish Castle, and various shops. Calm and unfrotunatly rainy that day. But it was fun!

DAY EIGHT
EASTER! We went out with my entire fisrt host family and my entire second (including grandparents)to this really pretty restuante to have a huge easter lunch! So much food! didn't have to eat the whole next day after that!
Then ahh we went to meet the third host family (I'll be moving in with them in about a week...eeekkk!) So that everyone could meet each other. It was interesting I was pretty nervous the whole time. But everyone got along well and they seem really really nice

DAY NINE
Mom and Dad got on a plane and headed home. Mom wont have to eat for the next year and Dad... to those who know my father it should be no surprise that he still wasnt full.

So that was a very quick rap up of the week with my rents!

Next on the list is the up coming change of families and most importantly my birthday/trip to rome! I'm soo excited because my rotary trip to Rome just happens to be on my birthday! So that will be fun!

Ok Ciao for now!

Ciao Everyone!

Once again I have not updated my Blog in a while. Please forgive me.

So not too much is going on lately thats really breath taking. For me yes because I'm really starting to make friends and I guess become part of Italy. Or at least thats what it feels like to me.

It feels great!

So Id like you all to meet my best friends here in Italy. Starting with the girl with really dark hair and going clockwise we have Michelle, (also known as Mushu) Alessia, Yours truely, and Sveva. I have other friends sure, but these guys are just well like I said my best friends along with my current brother whos awesome!

And speaking of host families. I'll be moving in with my third the first week of April. Wish me luck. I'm really nervous but my family now keeps saying listen you were nervous to come live with us and now look at you, maybe you'll get along even better with your next family.

We'll see.

Ok well now my parents are coming in two weeks so wish them luck because I'll be draging them around Italy trying to show them as much as possible in the little time they have. I'll keep you all posted on how they hold up!

So thats the adventure for now!

Love Yea all!
Ciao!

Carnivale

Ciao Everyone! Welcome back to Venice! Amazing! So heres the story. For Carnival (a festival for eating drinking and being merry before Lent) Rotary brought us all to Venice! The most famous place for Carnival. (But other places in Italy have really cool celebrations as well). We were there for an entire day! Unfortunatly it was the day before the real festivities started so it wasnt as crazy as it could have been. But still an awesome day. We first stopped at a mask shop. Where they make and paint masks by hand. Absolutely beautiful! I got the mask im wearing in the photo and wore it the rest of the day! Fantastic! I know! Now I mentioned that I had the plan to dress up for Carnival. Unfortunatly the weather was a bit ugly so we couldnt bring the costumes. I was very sad (The costumes werent ours we were borowing them) So I didnt actually get to dress up. But more happened! For lunch we went to a simple typical Venice bar/resturant and had spaghetti. Normal right? No. The spaghetti was surved with octopus and a generous amount of octopus ink... Which I didnt know you could eat... It was actually really good and we ended up having a mini contest about who could get the blackest lips. So fun. (oh I won!) After that we went to Piazo San Marco where we were set free and told to meet back at the train station at 6:45. Surprisingly we all made it on time! That was Carnivale a Venezia! STRABELLA! Oh and I made this video for you all... unfortunatly... we're all a bunch of goof balls. So please ignor the comment about dead bodies... thanks

Oups!

Ciao Everyone!

I havent writen in forever! I'm sorry! All of a sudden I've been really buisy! (horrible excuse I know)

So again still having camera difficulties so I'll only be writing today

But I do have some interesting news! All of a sudden my life here has changed dramaticaly.

Sure I was always enjoying myself here and seeing amazing things and meeting crazy cool people but I always felt like a torist...on the outside.

But now... Now I feel like I'm part of it. With my friends I'm not just that American Girl who sometimes comes along with them. Now its like im really one of the group. And the language. Its just so easy! And!!!! Oh I really dont know how to explain it but things just seem to ... click?

Any way. A fun story

This past weekend I went with my families to the montains between Lecco and Como. BEAUTIFUL! (who brought her camera and left the battery at home??? yes me)But it was so beautiful! we hiked a bit in the mountains, then ate realy really really really yummy mountain food (yummy! but soooo filling) Then went to the point where the lake of lecco and the lake of Como split.

For those who dont know there is a giant upsid down shaped lake. One arm is Lecco, the other is Como!

It was absolutely beautiful!



Thats it for now. This weekend is Carnivale in Venezia! (Carnival in Venise!) I'm going with Rotary and maybe dressing up too! I cant wait I'm bouncing off the walls with excitment!

Miss you all and hope you are all doing GREAT!

Oh! And Happy Groundhogs Day!

New Family

Ciao Tutti!

I have to apologize to all of you. Once again, I have fun into some interesting problems with my camera. So for the time being I cannot promise any photos... Sorry

But I wanted to let you all know what I'm up to.

So during Christmas break, along with all my exciting mountain adventures. I also changed Host Familys. I was really nervous at first, thought it would be ackward, weird, and that I wouldn't like them. But as it turns out. It was anything but. Sure Its still a little ackward because I have to fit into the everyday grove here but its coming along.

They're pretty awesome. The mom's name is Vanna, the dad is Lino, my host brother is Gianluca whos 17, and there is a host sister, but she lives on her own so I dont see her much, shes 28.

I like them sooo much so far!

The only flaw I can see is they're crazy cat people, but I guess thats ok. =)


Ok so thats it for now!

Love and Miss you all!

Vi voglio bene

4 Month Mark

Ciao! And Buon Natale!

Sorry I didnt write for Christmas, lots of stuff was going on. So. Its been 4 months now! I really can't believe how fast its going! As far as Italian goes. I wouldnt say im fluent, but I can talk to people just fine. More or less, and understand almost everything. So I'm thrilled about that! But now I want to tell you about some of my mini adventures. Christmas was very interesting for me. Christmas here is very similar to Christmas in America in many way. But very diffrent in others. There's Santa, (Babo Natale) and they're prestents, and family dinners. But they're also panatone and pandoro! Thats some good eating! Best deserts of my life!

My host family and I spent Christmas Eve with my host moms side of the family and Christmas day with my host dads family. So I got to meet all they're relatives.

But the much more exciting part of my Christmas was going to the Alps! After an amazing Christmas lunch with Chico's family (my host dad) We all piled into the car and headed for the mountain house!

IT.WAS.AMAZING! The mountains are sooo tall and beautiful. I got to go skiing 3 days strait! And the weather stayed nice the whole time. Sure it was cold but the sun stayed out and oh it was just amazing!

This video (if it works) is just a small part of what I saw!



And so December is over.
An up and coming adventure that I'm nervous about is changing host families. This Saturday I'll be moving in with my second host family. I a bit bummed because I really like this family. But to quote my host mother.
"Its a shame you have to change families, but its just another part in your adventure. And it wouldn't be an adventure without change."