was kick ass!
So basically, it was KICK ASS, because............... i understood most of the lessons!
My favorite class, SPAGNOLO, was great, because I have studied it before, and I understood it!
And I love my teacher.
I was cracking up laughing , because I am learning Spain spanish, Castillino, and they have lisps! It is hilarious listening to all my classmates pronounce their s's with lisp!
Also the day before, my english teacher, which is English from the UK, HAD AN ENGLISH ACCENT, WHICH I LOVE! It is hilarious listening to his accent in English, and then changing it to Italian!
Then in Chemistry I understood some of it, which was good enough for me!
I LOVE TUESDAYS, AND THURSDAYS!
BECAUSE............ I HAVE VOLLEYBALL!
Basically, I had no idea that I would be able to be able to play volleyball, but it turns out that they have volleyball team in FONNI, WHICH MAKES this experience ever more AMAZING!
Yesterday, since I was born in '93 I play with the older girls! I loved it , because they have talent! It gives me some competition to get ready, and hopefully ready for varsity! Ahh, and Torre, the coach, is AMAZING! Even though I can't really understand what he is saying most of the time, he knows what he is doing!
I also practiced with the younger girls, which is nice, because they are all sweethearts!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
My first day of school! 9-21-09
I LOVE MY SCHOOL! Soo......... I attend Liceo Scientifico Instituto in Nuoro! A bigger city , about 30 minutes from Fonni! So this all that happened!
It was weird , because at first I wasnt nervous at all about school!
So yesterday I got up super early at around 6:00, because it was the weirdest thing, I was anxious about school, and I wanted to go!
So i dressed myself up, did my makeup, hair, etc.!
It is so cute , because my host mama wanted to make sure everything would go alright at school!
So, for my first day she drove me to school along with my zia Chiara, mia sorella Irene, and mi our friends, Salvatora, and Sara, whom i adore so much!
Then I started to get nervous in the car because I realized that not only would I be the new student, but I wouldnt know the language!
To keep my mind away from my nervousness I sung along with everyone to American music! Ahh thank Gesu that italianos LOVE AMERICAN MUSIC!
Then we arrived at my school, and me and mamma waited for an AFS volunteer to show me where my class was!
The bell rang, and me and mamma were still waiting for my tutor! I met my english teacher, who I love! She finally came, and it was cute because mamma and the tutor went with me to my class!
Then when I entered the classroom everyone stood up to say , BUONGIORNO!
AHHH, THEY ARE ALL SO SWEET! There are only 16 people in my class.
!
I said Ciao, and they all laughed, and I think it was my accent! :p Then I sat next to a boy by the name of Mario, and it was very cute , because everyone was asking me tons of questions!
To get to know everyone, I had to say my name, and where I was from! And for me to get to know everyone , they all said what their name was, and what they like to do in there spare time!
We also did another exercise where each of my classmates told me an italian word that they thought was important for me, and I told them an important word that I wan ted them to know!
Then there was a break, and everyone helped me tons! they even had me join them to go eat! They even showed me some bonno ragazzi!
AFter school, it was adorable, because they wanted to make sure that my volunteer, Adrianna, picked me up! So they all waited until she arrived! Ahh they are so INCREDIBILE!
It was weird , because at first I wasnt nervous at all about school!
So yesterday I got up super early at around 6:00, because it was the weirdest thing, I was anxious about school, and I wanted to go!
So i dressed myself up, did my makeup, hair, etc.!
It is so cute , because my host mama wanted to make sure everything would go alright at school!
So, for my first day she drove me to school along with my zia Chiara, mia sorella Irene, and mi our friends, Salvatora, and Sara, whom i adore so much!
Then I started to get nervous in the car because I realized that not only would I be the new student, but I wouldnt know the language!
To keep my mind away from my nervousness I sung along with everyone to American music! Ahh thank Gesu that italianos LOVE AMERICAN MUSIC!
Then we arrived at my school, and me and mamma waited for an AFS volunteer to show me where my class was!
The bell rang, and me and mamma were still waiting for my tutor! I met my english teacher, who I love! She finally came, and it was cute because mamma and the tutor went with me to my class!
Then when I entered the classroom everyone stood up to say , BUONGIORNO!
AHHH, THEY ARE ALL SO SWEET! There are only 16 people in my class.
!
I said Ciao, and they all laughed, and I think it was my accent! :p Then I sat next to a boy by the name of Mario, and it was very cute , because everyone was asking me tons of questions!
To get to know everyone, I had to say my name, and where I was from! And for me to get to know everyone , they all said what their name was, and what they like to do in there spare time!
We also did another exercise where each of my classmates told me an italian word that they thought was important for me, and I told them an important word that I wan ted them to know!
Then there was a break, and everyone helped me tons! they even had me join them to go eat! They even showed me some bonno ragazzi!
AFter school, it was adorable, because they wanted to make sure that my volunteer, Adrianna, picked me up! So they all waited until she arrived! Ahh they are so INCREDIBILE!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
i have arrived, and so much has happened
ahh what a journey it has been. let me give a recap of all that i have done.
it was really hard saying goodbye to my family, and i was very emotional. Then I headed for the airport in Arizona, and left all that i knew. The night before my departure to italy i was in a state of mind of What in the hell did i get myself into.
Thankfully I wasnt alone in the airplane to New York, I was with another AFSER Julia. Ahh thank God for that, I dont know if I could have gone all by myself.
Then we landed in New York, oh too bad I wasnt able to explore the città. hahha each and everyday I am adding italian words in my vocabulary.
Anywho, Julias lovely grandmother was there to meet us and to show us where to go.
Then we met up with AFS volunteers and all of the other AFSERs who were going to italia as well. amazing people
We headed to the hotel, and we were able to meet all the americans going to italia.
Dopo, we had an orientation, and it was quite boring, but I loved being able to meet all the Americans going to italia.
The next day was basically a day to relax at the hotel, and were able to mingle, then we were off to the airport to go to switzerland. ahhh what a lonnnnnnnnnnnnggggg journey it was, but i must say air switzerland is kick ass. We were frequently served meals, and the flight attendants were so hospitable. People are not lying when they swiss chocolate is amazing. ahh and the amazing views i saw of the beautiful mountains over switzerland. then we landed in switzerland and we had a 4 hour layover, ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, dopo we were off to Roma.
We landed and headed off to our orientation in roma. The americans were second to last to arrive, which was very sad because we didnt have time to talk to others, and i was deprived of so much sleep all I wanted to do was sleep. That night we had dinner, and I sat at a table with Thai people. oh how generous they are. There wasnt much communication because of the language barrier, but i loved there presence. The next morning I got up early to say goodbye to the companions i had met, because everyone departed at different times depending on where they were going. i unfortunately was one of the last ones to depart, in which i departed at 330 in the afternoon. anxiety, excitement, nervousness over took me, because in about 2 hours from my departure i was going to meet my famiglia. ahh and having so much time to spare made the situation even worse. finally, all the afsers who are in my local chapter, oristano, went off on bus to the airport, and then all 10 of us anxiously went on the plane to olbia.
it was nice to not be alone, and have 9 other people there with me on the plane feeling the same feeling as me.
Then we landed in olbia, molto bello, which is a village nudo in sardegna. .....................
we all went to the bathroom, because we were so nervous..
we claimed our baggage..
then we went through the doors, and all our famiglie were there.
And I cried. I still dont know what over took me at that moment. I replay that moment everyday, and I still cant come to a reason why I cried. I suppose I was overwhelmed with basically no sleep, or seeing them made me think of my family that I left for 10 months. I still dont know but that moment was special. A feeling I cant describe. I saw mamma, babbo, father in sardo dialect, Irene mia sorella, Chiara mia zia, Sara and another gal , who are friends of my famiglia. They gave me flowers, and a tweety stuffed animal, ahh I felt so welcomed. And of course molti baci, it was like I had known them all my life.
I know I have written so much, but I must speak about the Italian culture. I absolutely adore, respect, and admire this incredible cultura. They are so loving , affectionate, caring, hospitable etc. Ahh since the first day here oh how much love I have gotten. Its a culture that you must see for yourself. They care so much about famiglia, amici, new people like myself. It makes me triste that Americans are more distant, and not so affectionate like these people. oh yes, i get a kiss on the right, and a kiss on the left countless time, tutti giorni. how i love italian people.
where was i.......... oh yes................we of course had to take tons and tons of pictures. molti molti baci. they were calling me giggia, tesoro, bella, all these names of endearment , and I had only known them in person for a few minutes. Saying they are wonderful is an understatement, they are... beyond it. They were all so affectionate, and host mamma holding my hand in hers. I thought the car ride would be awkward, but it was amazing even though i couldnt speak a word of italian. Chiara, mia zia parla un po di inglese e spagnolo. I am not sure if that is correct , but hey i tried. So she was the translator. It was nice to for her to be able to translate so that through her I could communicate with the others. I dont recall everything that was said, but I did feel at home when they played American music. they love american music. The first question that host mamma asked me was if I wanted to call her and host babbo by there names, or mamma e babbo. I said mamma e babbo. Something about that in a way made us closer. Then she grabbed my hand, and said something in italian.
Dopo I arrived home, I had no expectations, and it was good that I didnt because then some expectations would be made, and it would upset me if things didnt meet my expectations. I love my house, it is so modern and big, and I have my own room which is great. It gives me some alone time. Once I take more pictures, which I hope to download them soon. I love my house, and yes it is true, basically all italian houses have tutti suo famiglie living with them. ahh I love it. The house is a maze to get to the connecting house where my zia Chiara, and nonna e nonno di mi babbo live. nonna e nonno sardo dialect. Downstairs of my house live my lovely zie. Ahh they make me laugh.
So I got settled down, and was ready to sleep, but mia famiglia asked me if I wanted to go to a wedding reception. I wass sooo tired it was unbelievable, but I thought to myself, you have to do everything you can, sleepy or not. So I obliged. It was adorable, host mamma wanted ever to meet. molti baci, and it was nice meeting the people. Then there was dinner, which I dont recall, but it was buono. Dopo. I thought we would go home, but Italians love staying up, and there was a dance hall. ohhh I was so tired, if I would have been wide awake i would have been way more enthusiastic. So of course Mamma e irene took me to the dancefloor. They got me to dance, but at first I didnt get into it. I was to preoccupied that people would think that I couldnt dance, or if I did something wrong, and I was also tired, but I thought to myself stop complaining and have fun. So from there I danced the night away. Then I slept.
a quick funny story. So I arrived sabatto, and I went to sleep very late. On Sunday I woke up at 100 pm. Oh i felt so bad, but I was sound asleep and that it had only been 10 in la mattina. Then Chiara told me that my zie told them to check up on me , because they thought I was dead. I was laughing hysterically, ahhh how cute they are! I knew them less than a day, and they were worried that I had died.
Well it is September 17, 23 59 , 11 59 our time. I am very stanca. tired. Oh how i would love to write to you all that has happened, but that must wait because I have much to do tomorrow! i hope to talk to tutti soon! buonanotte. I miss you all, and hope all is well.
Arrivederci,
love always,
giselle
it was really hard saying goodbye to my family, and i was very emotional. Then I headed for the airport in Arizona, and left all that i knew. The night before my departure to italy i was in a state of mind of What in the hell did i get myself into.
Thankfully I wasnt alone in the airplane to New York, I was with another AFSER Julia. Ahh thank God for that, I dont know if I could have gone all by myself.
Then we landed in New York, oh too bad I wasnt able to explore the città. hahha each and everyday I am adding italian words in my vocabulary.
Anywho, Julias lovely grandmother was there to meet us and to show us where to go.
Then we met up with AFS volunteers and all of the other AFSERs who were going to italia as well. amazing people
We headed to the hotel, and we were able to meet all the americans going to italia.
Dopo, we had an orientation, and it was quite boring, but I loved being able to meet all the Americans going to italia.
The next day was basically a day to relax at the hotel, and were able to mingle, then we were off to the airport to go to switzerland. ahhh what a lonnnnnnnnnnnnggggg journey it was, but i must say air switzerland is kick ass. We were frequently served meals, and the flight attendants were so hospitable. People are not lying when they swiss chocolate is amazing. ahh and the amazing views i saw of the beautiful mountains over switzerland. then we landed in switzerland and we had a 4 hour layover, ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, dopo we were off to Roma.
We landed and headed off to our orientation in roma. The americans were second to last to arrive, which was very sad because we didnt have time to talk to others, and i was deprived of so much sleep all I wanted to do was sleep. That night we had dinner, and I sat at a table with Thai people. oh how generous they are. There wasnt much communication because of the language barrier, but i loved there presence. The next morning I got up early to say goodbye to the companions i had met, because everyone departed at different times depending on where they were going. i unfortunately was one of the last ones to depart, in which i departed at 330 in the afternoon. anxiety, excitement, nervousness over took me, because in about 2 hours from my departure i was going to meet my famiglia. ahh and having so much time to spare made the situation even worse. finally, all the afsers who are in my local chapter, oristano, went off on bus to the airport, and then all 10 of us anxiously went on the plane to olbia.
it was nice to not be alone, and have 9 other people there with me on the plane feeling the same feeling as me.
Then we landed in olbia, molto bello, which is a village nudo in sardegna. .....................
we all went to the bathroom, because we were so nervous..
we claimed our baggage..
then we went through the doors, and all our famiglie were there.
And I cried. I still dont know what over took me at that moment. I replay that moment everyday, and I still cant come to a reason why I cried. I suppose I was overwhelmed with basically no sleep, or seeing them made me think of my family that I left for 10 months. I still dont know but that moment was special. A feeling I cant describe. I saw mamma, babbo, father in sardo dialect, Irene mia sorella, Chiara mia zia, Sara and another gal , who are friends of my famiglia. They gave me flowers, and a tweety stuffed animal, ahh I felt so welcomed. And of course molti baci, it was like I had known them all my life.
I know I have written so much, but I must speak about the Italian culture. I absolutely adore, respect, and admire this incredible cultura. They are so loving , affectionate, caring, hospitable etc. Ahh since the first day here oh how much love I have gotten. Its a culture that you must see for yourself. They care so much about famiglia, amici, new people like myself. It makes me triste that Americans are more distant, and not so affectionate like these people. oh yes, i get a kiss on the right, and a kiss on the left countless time, tutti giorni. how i love italian people.
where was i.......... oh yes................we of course had to take tons and tons of pictures. molti molti baci. they were calling me giggia, tesoro, bella, all these names of endearment , and I had only known them in person for a few minutes. Saying they are wonderful is an understatement, they are... beyond it. They were all so affectionate, and host mamma holding my hand in hers. I thought the car ride would be awkward, but it was amazing even though i couldnt speak a word of italian. Chiara, mia zia parla un po di inglese e spagnolo. I am not sure if that is correct , but hey i tried. So she was the translator. It was nice to for her to be able to translate so that through her I could communicate with the others. I dont recall everything that was said, but I did feel at home when they played American music. they love american music. The first question that host mamma asked me was if I wanted to call her and host babbo by there names, or mamma e babbo. I said mamma e babbo. Something about that in a way made us closer. Then she grabbed my hand, and said something in italian.
Dopo I arrived home, I had no expectations, and it was good that I didnt because then some expectations would be made, and it would upset me if things didnt meet my expectations. I love my house, it is so modern and big, and I have my own room which is great. It gives me some alone time. Once I take more pictures, which I hope to download them soon. I love my house, and yes it is true, basically all italian houses have tutti suo famiglie living with them. ahh I love it. The house is a maze to get to the connecting house where my zia Chiara, and nonna e nonno di mi babbo live. nonna e nonno sardo dialect. Downstairs of my house live my lovely zie. Ahh they make me laugh.
So I got settled down, and was ready to sleep, but mia famiglia asked me if I wanted to go to a wedding reception. I wass sooo tired it was unbelievable, but I thought to myself, you have to do everything you can, sleepy or not. So I obliged. It was adorable, host mamma wanted ever to meet. molti baci, and it was nice meeting the people. Then there was dinner, which I dont recall, but it was buono. Dopo. I thought we would go home, but Italians love staying up, and there was a dance hall. ohhh I was so tired, if I would have been wide awake i would have been way more enthusiastic. So of course Mamma e irene took me to the dancefloor. They got me to dance, but at first I didnt get into it. I was to preoccupied that people would think that I couldnt dance, or if I did something wrong, and I was also tired, but I thought to myself stop complaining and have fun. So from there I danced the night away. Then I slept.
a quick funny story. So I arrived sabatto, and I went to sleep very late. On Sunday I woke up at 100 pm. Oh i felt so bad, but I was sound asleep and that it had only been 10 in la mattina. Then Chiara told me that my zie told them to check up on me , because they thought I was dead. I was laughing hysterically, ahhh how cute they are! I knew them less than a day, and they were worried that I had died.
Well it is September 17, 23 59 , 11 59 our time. I am very stanca. tired. Oh how i would love to write to you all that has happened, but that must wait because I have much to do tomorrow! i hope to talk to tutti soon! buonanotte. I miss you all, and hope all is well.
Arrivederci,
love always,
giselle
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
.........
Leaving my family was sooo hard. I cried countless times, and the night before I realized how much I love and appreciate my family! They mean the world to me and it was hard to let go! So as of right now I am in New York, at an orientation, and tomorrow I am off to Roma :D I am definitely looking forward to meeting everyone from all over the world, and meeting my family!
Friday, September 4, 2009
one word. Visa! yippy ya yay!
I AM HAVE FINALLY RECEIVED MY VISA! after:
numerous calls to the consulate
tons of stress
filling out tons of paperwork
waiting for my paperwork to come
and meeting a sweet consulate guy : Massimo :D
IT HAS FINALLY ARRIVED! THANK JESUS!
It can now be OFFICIAL!, I AM GOING TO ITALY!
In 2 hours it will be 4 more days!
So today was quite exciting :
Visa - Check :D
ipod- Check
haircut-check
hello kitty debit card- half check
Tomorrow shopping :D
hopefully take some pictures domani :D
State of mind : relaxed :D
xoxoloves,
Giselle
Thursday, September 3, 2009
UNREAL!!!
CIAO ALL,
6 DAYS LEFT, IT FEELS SO UNREAL!
Worst nightmare+only 40 lbs. of luggage= PACKING!
packing is such a drag!!!!!!!! Deciding a whole year's wardrobe is an absolute NIGHTMARE! I barely began packing today. Procrastinating sucks :P :P. I still have some clothes shopping to do! Wanted to take a break from the stress, packing, so here is a list of what i need to do before Italia.
Oh and I am feeling.......................quite sad, I am slowly starting to realize that I will leave my family for a year! I guess it's kind of hit me that I am leaving, actually it really hasn't. All i can realize is that I have to say GOODBYE. Excitment, is still there, but sadness has overtaken me at the moment!
TO DO LIST:
FINISH PACKING
Finish shopping
BUY CONVERTER
get ipod
put songs in ipod :D
have a garage sale... I pray to Jesus I will make some money from it!
finish preparing for garage sale
try, try , try ,try to pick up my italian phrasebook and LEARN SOME ITALIAN. So that I can at least be able to talk to my famiglia the 1st day!
Get haircut
get eyebrows waxed
buy a crap load of chapsticks
Mentally prepare myself for this Kick ass adventure!
get debit card
get calling card
Get visa tomorrow or Saturday!
Buy host family gifts!
that's all i can think about at the moment, but as you can see I AM SOOO STRESSED!
Things 2 do in America before I leave! :
Watch a movie at the theater!
eat my nana's red chili and tortillas
eat at Texas Road House
Hang out with friends
Rent $1 movies
indulge on fatty foods that aren't in Italia.
fun car rides, blasting music with the sisters.
dance with my sisters:D
duck walk with gabby!
be nice to the family!
kick my dad's ass at a sand volleyball game :p :P
Watch my Antonio...yum! :D
see my grandparents.
I will add more when I have one of these random thoughts again.
Anywho , I have to CONTINUE packing :( :( :(
Domani I will put up pictures of my suitcase, and possibly a video. :D
It's absolutely Unbelievable! 6 days! it's crazy how time passes you by!
Word of advice to future afsers! - pack about a month before, it WILL SURELY HELP, I wish I did. Hang out with family and friends as much as you can.
Baci, kisses, love,
till tomorrow !
I wonder sometimes what the Heck did I get myself into! But I know I will have an experience of a lifetime, I can feel it.
Song: I got a feeling!-Black eyed peas!
Time...tick tock!
Time : 12:02 p.m
Departure: September 9th!
6 giorni!
Time, ticks, and tocks, away, ............
I ain't no wise guy but the last couple days have been a learning experience.! Value the time you have with family, friends.. because you will never be able to come back to that time, and you never know when your time is up. Cherish, every second, minute, hour , day.
God Bless & love always,
giselle xoxo
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