Every day is a day to shine

It's finally summer in Naples. The sun is shining brightly, not a cloud in the sky, not a worry on my mind. I've been spending a lot of time outside sitting in the coffee bars, eating gelato, or walking around window shopping. Most of my time is spent with Alessandra. I cannot even express how grateful I am for her total acceptance of me. We are like two halves of a whole, except one half is English and one half is Italian. She knows what I'm thinking without me even having to say anything. She is so thoughtful and compassionate and I haven't been this close with someone in such a short amount of time. As I only have 7 weeks left in my program I am at a loss at how on earth I'm ever going to live without her. She is the one person I can turn to no matter. I'm really going to miss her and I can only hope that we will stay in touch and I can continue to come back to Naples and visit her whenever possible. We have already made plans so she can return to Canada with me this summer.

On Sunday we visited Rome for the first time! Pino, Elisa, Matilde and I, along with the other exchange student Avery, all piled in the car early in the morning and drove the two and a half hours to Rome. The first thing we visited was the Vatican. It is incredible, truly. Saint Peter's Basilica is one of the most outstanding pieces of artwork in the world. We all walked around the square, taking pictures and literally just gawking at the church. The details all come together so perfectly as one and give it a real presence. The line to get inside is longer than the ones at Disneyland, something I didn't think possible, but it went fairly quickly and before we knew it we were standing in one of the most holy places on the face of the earth. Avery, Matilde and I bought tickets and took the elevator to the top of the church. After walking up spiral staircases and mazing your way through the crooked walls of the dome you are able to overlook the entire city and let me tell you, it's indescribable. What a sight.

We then walked through the streets of Rome looking for the Trevi Fountain. Rome is the most complicated and confusing cities ever built. I was lost in an instant. We ended up coming across more than one tourist attraction including the Piazza Navona where two architects are at war with each other and the Pantheon where Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino's tomb is. My host mother makes an excellent tour guide. Being both an architect and an art history teacher, she knows every detail about anything you can set your eyes on. She gave us a good background on everything we saw.

Finally we found the Trevi and it is without a doubt one of the highlights of my trip. It gives off an essence of pure magic and making a wish in it fills you with such triumph. I felt like a piece of history myself, making a wish as hundreds of thousands of people had done before me hoping the fountain would be true to its word. The tradition of the Trevi is to throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain and if it hits the very bottom without touching any other coins your wish will come true. Here's hoping mine made it to the bottom!

Continuing onward we finished the day at the Colluseum. It's just as beautiful and grand as I had always imagined it would be. We didn't go inside it but I was just content to sit and stare. There's a certain unexplainable feeling about seeing all the spectacles you've read about your whole life, dremaing about someday being able to see them for yourself. It fills you with a sense of self accomplishment and happiness that bubbles out of every pore. There's nothing like it.

Saint Peter's Basilica

The Colluseum

The beautiful city of Roma

The Trevi Fountain

This is what dreams are made of

I was recently lucky enough to take a trip with my host sister and her class to Budapest, Hungary for a week. It was such a great opportunity to spend time with my friends here and make new ones at the same time. The thing about San Sebastiano is everyone knows everyone. So if you're friends with a few people, being in this group situation will ensure you learn everyone's name.
For many people it was their first time being on a plane, in Europe everything is so close together that they end up driving a lot or taking the train, and although everyone was a little sleepy from our early morning rise, you could feel the excitement in the air. Everyone whooped and cheered when the plane peeled off the pavement, ready to enjoy the freedom of being away from school and our parents and just have a good time.
In the mornings we would go down for breakfast, chatting and laughing and then grab our things and get onto one of the two buses that would take us sightseeing that day. They really made sure we saw all that we could while we were there. From Heroe's Sqaure, to many of the beautiful castles, they even planned out time so we could visit the geothermal springs. I admit, the tour guide was a little dry and she only spoke in Italian (of course) so I only caught bits and pieces of what she was saying, but with this group it was never a dull moment. From posing for silly photos to joining the street performers, they always kept things interesting. I give credit to the chaperones, we must have been a hard bunch, someone was always finding a new way to get into trouble.
We also did a lot of shopping. The Hard Rock Cafe and Starbucks were very popular because they don't have them in Italy. The Hard Rock Cafe had so many people they had a line forty people long just to get in. And yes, I waited in it, for my friends if not for me. However, we also got to see some of the Hungarian markets, getting lost between the stalls. I ended up buying two small boxes which are traditional to the Hungarian culture. You have to move different pieces of the box to find the key which unlocks the top; very neat.
During the evenings we hung out with other people in their hotel rooms, if we could get past the chaperones. It was funny to listen to people bolting down the hallways from room to room trying their best not to get sent to bed. On one particular night the school rented a boat on the shore of the Budapest river so all of the students could see Budapest by night. Budapest is one of the most unique places I have ever been to, made up of two smalls towns Buda and Pest. It has a very gothic theme throughout the entire city and I was stunned by it's beauty when I saw it on the bus during the day. At night? It's unforgettable.
The last night we stayed there we all went out to the disco with another Italian school that was there at the time. I'm a terrible dancer but I did it anyways, the atmosphere was too good to be left behind. By the time we got back to the hotel my feet were killing me and my ears were ringing. A few of our friends came to our room to "say goodnight" and we ended up joking aorund for so long that by the time they really left we had just enough time to finish packing our suitcase and go down for breakfast.
The flight home was a lot quieter, everyone was tired from the trip, but still people were making jokes. Some of the boys even began throwing spitballs down the isles. Not pleasant to recieve but so funny to watch. We landed and as we waited outside for everyone to finish getting their luggage I sat down and took everything in: Naples splayed across the horizon, my friends smoking and laughing beside me, my body ready to collapse from partying a little too hard, and I could only think of one thing. This is what dreams are made of.

Landscape of Budapest. Buda is on the left, Pest is on the right.

Luca and Mauro "living life less serious"

Gigi and I

Group photo in front of the Parliament building

Sometimes opportunity comes knocking

Over the past month I have found myself engulfed in the Italian way. At the beginning of Febuary it was Carnevale which was created so people could go crazy before the restrictions of Lent and the holy time of Easter. There were a lot of parties, a lot of masks, and a lot of tricks. One afternoon while my friend and I were walking to my house a car stopped to ask us for directions. She politely indicated to them when to turn left, which way to follow the traffic circle, etc. Once they had drove off she burst out laughing saying she had no idea where she sent them! Lasagna is the typical food of Carnevale and I think I had enough to last me a life time over the week. My host mother is such a good cook. Too good!
My host family took me to see the Reggia Palace last Sunday which was brilliant. We took a tour through the palace and then walked out in the huge garden behind it. The weather has gotten so warm and it was beautiful to walk around outside.
I've been spending a lot of time with my new friends, going out for coffee or hanging out at the local park Belvedere. My best friend Rossella invited me to her house for lunch last week so I could meet her family. They are the sweetest, funniest people I've ever met! I wish I could have lunch there everyday. After lunch she took me for a walk around the little shops and we talked. She is the person I feel closest to next to my host sister and I am so grateful for her friendship to me.
This exchange has been full of surprises for me, most of them personal. My favorite part of being here is that no one knows me. The most treasured thing about travelling is that you are what you are right then and there. No one has your past to hold against you. If I want to wear a leather jacket and hemp bracelets or dress head to toe in Prada or every color of the rainbow no one will know the difference. You have the opportunity to try new styles and listen to new music and hang out with new people and become the person you always wanted to be but never had the chance to. There is no drama here, no schoolwork to worry about, no parents to please, just you. It's incredible and exhilerating and I highly recommend it. It's like rehab for the soul.

The Reggia Palace

A fountain set in the garden of the Palace

My sister Alessandra and I

My sister Matilde and I

An unexpected piece of home

I'm finally beginning to feel like a true Italian. I know the perfect time to get up for school while allowing maximum sleep time, the best place to stop for coffee, how to cross the street safely, and that only skinny jeans are allowed out of the house. I even crave Napolian margherita pizza in the middle of the night.

 Last weekend was San Sebastiano day so I went with Avery and a friend from school to see a play. It was in Italian, obviously, so I didnt pick up a lot of it but it was funny anyways and the actors were fantastic. As we drove home you could see rows and rows of little stalls down the streets of the town all lit up by lightbulbs hanging down from the awnings. It was beautiful. Yesterday Alessandra took me out for my first Italian coffee. The cups are so small they look like they belong to a child's tea set and I felt like a giant holding it but it's no wonder the cups are that small, the coffee is so strong! It's delicious, everything here is, but it's very distinct. Last week I was sick so I didn't get back to school until today and Mr.Guarnaccia's asked me to put together a spelling bee for his students. I was also introduced to an English teacher from England who will be teaching a couple days a week for the next little while. She's really nice and I've agreed to help out with one of her lessons about education and the difference between European and Canadian school systems.

This weekend for the first time since I got here I found myself truly bored. My host sisters were both out, it was too early to talk to anyone from home and Avery was busy. When you're going to go on an exchange you have to try and prepare yourself for everything both packing wise and emotionlly. I had prepared myself for the homesickness, although tough at times, I prepared myself for culture shock, I even prepared myself for the possibility that I wouldn't get along with my host family, or that I would get along too well and wouldn't want to come home. I was completely ready to come here and BECOME Italian. To participate in whatever unusual activity they asked, try whatever strange looking food they offered and laugh at myself when I can't pronounce that one word correctly. The last thing on my mind was that I might be bored at some point. And, as weird as it sounds, it was a comforting feeling. I may be thousands of miles away from home, with no family or friends, in a country famous for it's dazzling colors and awe-inspiring landmarks, but I can still get bored.

I can cross that off my bucket list

Yesterday, because everyone else was studying, Avery and I woke up early and took the train to Pompeii. Unfortunately my camera wasn't working so I didn't get any pictures. But we will be going back in the spring so if I can get my camera working I can take pictures then. As we walked into Pompeii there was a sense of awe from all of the patrons. Pompeii is even more beautiful than I ever imagined it would be. The shops still have marble countertops smoothed down flat, the houses have inticate patetrns in one by one tiles and you can see the wagon ruts in the stone roads. It's like being transported back in time. We trailed a couple of the tours that were in English but eventually we went off on our own exploing the temples and even getting all the way to their colluseum and theatres. Mr. Guarnaccia told us that Pinmk Floyd played in the theatre there one time. What I would give to see a show there! It's beautiful. After leaving Pompeii we decided to take a bus up to Mount Vesuvius. The bus is terrifying because it comes so close to the edge of the mountain, I didn't think it was going to make it up those steep hills. When it dropped us off at the landing point we continued to trek up to the mouth of the volcano. What a sight. Inside you could see the volcano steaming and even a few trees growing inside. The rocks were glistening in the sun. And if you looked out you could see the sea, and a couple of islands in the distance, and all of Naples splayed across the horizon. It was the most remarkable moment of my entire life.

Tonight I am going to San Georgio with some girls from class 4D. They're going to take me to all of their favorite stores so hopefully I will finally get to do some shopping! It's a very exciting thing to be invited out. I mean, my host family is great and I would be lost without Alessandra and Matilde, but there's nothing that compares to having some girlfriends.

Pictures from Pollena Trocchia



My host parents Elisabetta and Pino and I

The view of Naples from the roof of our apartment

Mt.Vesuvius!

A beautiful view of Pollena Trocchia and Naples in the distance

The entrance to our flat

With Love from Italia

I arrived in Italy three days ago completely exhausted after 22 hours of travel. The trip itself was pretty much smooth sailing although the airports could be made a litle easier to get around in. The German one especially! I felt like I was walking in circles. After being intriduced to the area and my new host family I went straight to bed. When I woke up I was bombarded with all kinds of food imaginable, from fresh cheese to warm milk to pastries that look like clams. Italians are just as hospitable as everyone says they are. I spent some time gettin to know my two host sister Alessandra and Matilde before I was introduced to Avery, another exchange student who has been here since September. The girls needed to finish homework so Avery, my host mother (Elisabetta) and I all went to the market to get groceries for lunch. Italians drive like maniacs! Honestly, it's like every stop sign, traffic circle, or white dotted line is simply a suggestion. Even on the freeway they will drive right in the middle of the road, cutting people off and parking wherever they can fit their car. Elisabetta is an unbelievable cook and she prepares not one dish but several for just one meal. It is magnificent. Alessandra emptied out part of her closet for all of my things so I am feeling right at home with the family. Today I had my first day of school and it is nothing like school in Canada. The students are free to get up and walk around the school and to shout and argue during the lessons. The teachers also seem to have a much deeper connection to their students, as though they're friends. As soon as you walk into the building you can hear the hum of people talking and laughing. It's a very refreshing perspective on education. The school itself is three stories and has an incredible view of the Naples coast. They go to school on Saturdays but only from 8 until 1. Mr. G, my program coordinator says I don't have to go to school on Saturdays and I am very grateful! Alessandra tells me that Saturday is the best time to go shopping. Avery came over after school because our siblings "studiano siempre" (study always) so we keep each other company while they work. I love having another natural English speaker to talk with. Italian is a very difficult language to learn but I am having many small victories!

Something weird about Italy: They do not say ciao (hello) when they answer the phone. They say prunto which translates to "I'm ready"