up to speed

So...

its been a while :]

As Im sure most of you already know, I have officially changed families. I am currently out of my original home and with a temporary family. I cant even explain how much I adore my temporary family! I have a mom (Ana) and a sister (Erica, 18) and theyre both SUPER nice and amazing and I soooo wish they were my permanent family!! But, the odds of that happening are very slim :[

Im also sure that everyone wants to know why exactly I changed families, to which I do not have a...well, lets just say there was not some BIG REASON, theres no big thing that happened. More that all these little things just made everything implode. But isnt it all the little things that really matter? I dont know, I cant help but feel like everyone thinks Im totally at fault for this. I mean, I know there were definitely things I could have done differently and Im not saying that the Atzori's are a bad family or anything like that, I just dont feel like anyone here is really looking at what the family didnt do right. Is it wrong to think that? I dont know, but thats how it is for me.

And thank you to everyone that sent me emails with their support, much appreciated!

But, now that that sloppy messy business is finally over with, Im really enjoying the family Im staying with :]] Already Im a billllllllion times better than I was.

Plus, my italian has gotten pretty good! I can understand about 85/90% of what people are saying, and I can usually respond in all italian!! Sooo im super stoked about that :]

For now, Im still going to the same school as before and I still do kickboxing at the same gym, so right now, everything is great :]]

Adesso (now), I dont really know too much about where Im going, but i should be finding out fairly soon. A little bit of me is still holding hope that I can stay here (not that is likely) :]] As soon as I know, you all will know!

Oh and i just saw new moon tonight with my sister and her friends and Im probably going again on saturday with my school friends. In italian!!!! looove it :]] (sorry all you haters, but i just had to put that in there ;] )

always with love,

s

first class (finally!)

So after one failed attempt yesterday, I finally got to go to my first class of kickboxing! Im so happy! I practically ran from italian lessons to get home, but that was so worth it.

Im totally sweaty (or I was, but I just showered) and really hot and I need to buy myself (emphasis on BUY IT FOR MYSELF!!) a sports bra, but I feel really...I dont know how to explain. I feel awake and happy and healthy for the first time since lacrosse. My muscles ache in a good way.

So the first hour and a half was really intense, lots of running and crunches and jab/kick combos. Especially lots of ab workouts. But Im totally cool with that, because my tummy will be completely fit. As will the rest of my body, because honestly if this doesn't whip me into shape, nothing else will (except maybe Coach Steph. Maybe).

After that first workout, the instructor for that invited me and Nico to a half hour of more technical things, like how to jab and hook and some wierd punch and a front kick and side kick. The instructors (there were two different ones, the intense one and the technical one) were both really nice and helped me out. But what I really like about the class is that I really dont have to understand italian. I mean, Ive gotten better, but at the gym I dont really have to think about it, I can just watch the instructor.

And honestly, I think this will be an awesome bonding thing for me and Nico. So Im totally stoked.

I think were going around three times a week, so Ill be fit in no time!!!!! :]]]]]]

Yay!!

-s

I DO NOT NEED ANY MORE PEANUT BUTTER!!!

I appreciate everyone sending me care packages, but my family and I can only handle so much peanut butter! So please, no more!!! Plus, it costs so much, just for some peanut butter! Thanks again, but please! We are dying under a tower of pb. Thank you!

-s

22/10/09

I cant keep trying to think up titles, so Im going for dates right now. Its been 10 days from my last post, but not really anything has happened.

Oh! Shopero on friday! (I dunno if thats really how its spelled. Probably not, but thats not important). Basically a shopero is a strike and when there is a strike, for whatever reason, if its big enough, you dont go to school. And its awesome! So theres one tomorrow, so tomorrow is a day off from school! Which, if I was at home, would be a godsend (three day weekend!!!!), but since Im here and there is school on saturdays here, its just kind of an awkward event. Everyone's like, yessss!!!! Extra day off!!!!! and Im just like, get a three day weekend and Ill be happy. Crazy people.

Whoever thought of school on saturday is a sadist, because not only is it simply a wrong thing, its also very hard on the body. So you wake up on saturday (and for me its worse because god knows I do not get up at 7 on a saturday in America) at say, 7 for school. You go to school until around 1:50 or so. But at the end, when you go home, its not lunch and a nap and lazing around the house.

NO.

You have to get ready for that night because saturday is virtually the ONLY day of the week that anyone can go out and have fun. So there is no break. I get tired. But, Ill deal because its the only night for fun!

So anyways, shopero (Im positive thats wrong, but Im to lazy to fix it) tomorrow, completely excited, and then me, Lisa and Emily are trying to go to a disco this saturday called Charlies. Its different than the one I've been to, and from what I've heard, its way better. So Im pretty stoked.

Recently, Ive been having some slight issues regarding my cleanliness around the house, but that has been resolved and I am completely turning OCD in my time over here. Im not even kidding. It kind of drives me crazy, but the chapter president, Andrea, said that all italian families are like that and that I basically need to deal with it.

So I am :]]

Its bedtime now, so Ill post more another time.

Always with love,

-s

i could kill

my brother.

its like hes 10.

at some point, im going to explode.

-s

1 month, 1 day and counting

And so, because I am a horrible daughter/person, I have made everyone wait for two WHOLE weeks without word from my undoubtedly thrilling blog, for which I apologize. (And mom and dad, sorry bout the whole skype mixup, lets get one in this week.)

So, the week before last week.

I cant really remember too much (while in Italy, I've noticed that my memory has slowly been disappearing. Possibly because I'm learning oh SO much italian that everything else cant fit into my brain ;] )

What I do remember very well is that I had a camp with Intercultura (which is why I didnt post that week). Basically, they had this bus that drove up to the top of Sardegna, picking up various groups of students from their cities. Of course, Cagliari is at the OPPOSITE end of where we were headed, so my group had a fun 6-7 hour bus ride. God loved me that day.

But, anyways, the camp was okay. Well, it actually sucked for a bit but there was this salsa group that was staying at the same hotel with us and they were having salsa parties in the dance room, which totally made everything SO much better!!

The camp was mainly for talking to various Intercultura volunteers about our family life and how things were and such. I got to talk to Andrea, whose the president of the Cagliari chapter, and that was actually a lot more fun (and a ton less awkward) than I thought it would be.

So, that was the first Intercultura camp of this year. I think theres around four. But i dunno.

Not much else has happened. I havent gone anywhere or done anything special.

My italian is still sucky. [Mom, please dont send me an email saying that it will stay sucky until I sit down and learn it, because I know you want to.] Everyone has been telling me that, so you don't have to worry about it. Its actually really starting to piss me off. I know its awful, and Im sorry, but right now theres really not much I can do about it. So suck it.

And excuse me, their english is HORRIBLE. [Once again, mom, I know exactly what you are going to say. So dont say it. That goes for the rest of you.]

School is still school. I still dont know whats going on--except for math. Im rocking math class. I still am tired in the mornings. Which, reminds me. Apparently, one of my teachers told Ignazio [my father] that I was asleep in class and that I dont pay attention.

EXCUSE ME.

That was one time, by accident, for all of two seconds. And please. The people that speak italian dont pay attention. Sorry if my mind wanders while I automatically tune out words I dont understand. [Thats started to happen more and more often. I cant really help it. Its like a buzz that is constantly there, so eventually it just goes away.] I know Ill have to work on that.

But I was annoyed that Ignazio and all were on my back so much about it. I mean, its only the second month, right?

Its hard for me to handle. Right now, I dont seem to be doing much right, but I guess I can only try to improve.

....So Im starting kickboxing, which Im excited about. The only problem is that it starts in December. Not cool.

I really have no idea why it starts so late. I just know that I want to start now.

And thats about it. Let me know how everything is over there.
Love always
-s

its been a while...

and lots of things have happened.

First off, my first day of school was on thursday, and I know my mom is about ready to strangle me :P.

Its different, lets just start with that. Theres not glaring, obvious differences but theyre there. First of all, the school Im at, ITIS Guia (dont ask me to pronounce it or anything because obviously its impossible), is ugly. :/

But thats not important.

Anyways, its close enough to the apartment that I can walk to school with Niccolo. So...we got there on thursday morning and Niccolo starts talking with all his friends which is cool. He introduced me to them and that was nice, but after they knew my name they just kinda went back to talking in Italian. Which I totally understand, I mean who wants to try to talk to some girl whos got no idea whats happening? But anyways eventually we got to our class and it was chaos. Everyone is so loud and running around and stuff. But it was a fun atmosphere.

The class Im in is so lively and 'rowdy' (that was the word in the dictionary that we found) and you cant help but be a little happy just being there... at least for me :)

So school for the past few days has been fun. Ive been taught all kinds of words that I can never remember, let alone pronounce right. But everyone has been very nice to me. I just hope this all lasts :)

So after my first day of school was my first day of italian lessons. We didnt actually learn anything, we just kind of sat around and chatted for 3 hours. Which was fun, because I got to talk to Lisa, whos liaison is also Sylvia, and Andre, a Russian guy thats only here for 3 months. Sylvia and the other liaisons were also there, so it was really fun. But then the next day, Friday, was when we had our real lessons, which werent fun. They were actually pretty boring. But oh well. I actually understood most everything that the teacher said, which made me feel good. I only wish that translated into real life.

Anyways, italian lessons have been boring and long and the best parts are during the break when I go outside with Lisa and Emily (another american) and Andre, and when it ends. Plus, during the lessons, the teacher just doesnt ask me anything, she just kind of skips over me. Which is fine, but only adds to the boringness.

I finally tried gelato (!!!!). It was so good! It was after one of the italian lessons and Andre, whos like a master finder of good restaurants, took me and Lisa to a gelateria. I had 3-scoop cup with watermelon (which was my least favorite), a vanilla with chocolate chips (my second fav) and a nutella gelato (made by God himself). It was so good! I love it I love it I love it I love it! Other than that, theres not much to say.

For some reason, my iPhone has locked me out, and so I cant even use it at all. It had some weird message in italian and when I translated it, it said that the SIM locked me out or whatever.... machines hate me.... technology hate me. Just my luck to mess up my phone in another country with no one to translate for me. Well, I guess Ill just have to figure it out.

Today, I got lost trying to go to my friends house so that we could ride the bus together. We had some miscommunication and so my friend ended up waiting in front of my apartment for like, 20 minutes while I walked down random neighborhood streets and finally asked some old italian shop lady to show me the street. It was an adventure. The sad thing is, they live like, five minutes away and its actually really simple to get to their house. I just took some wrong turn somewhere and asked a bunch of people in really crappy italian how to get to a street I didnt even know the whole name of.

I think two days ago my nonna visited us. She is the EPITOME of italian grandmothers. Shes short, pudgy, loud, and is very personable. As soon as she saw me, she started her speed-master italian and gave my kisses on my cheek and all. She brought some traditional italian sweets for all of us. I like the almond..thing. I dont know what its called. There was this thing that looked like a browning, and I was really excited (oh look! brownie!) but when I took a bite, it was actually some fruit thing. >:/

But whatever.

I also went to the discoteca (discotecha? just disco? Im not sure). I like american ones better. At least they know how to dance, and dont tape over the songs with italian. And thats all I have to say. Except that it was still fun :]]

Tonights dinner was really good. Really good. But I still miss mexican food. And Nico is eating ALL of my peanut butter, and my package has yet to arrive (so mom......lets get on that). I dont really know what else to tell you. Ill upload pictures onto facebook, so take a look.

Love always

-s

oh and...

Just finished dinner.... and discovered that Im not a big octopus fan.

Learn something new every day. Or hour :)

-s

ciao!

So, I have been in Sardegna for exactly 3 days now. I just got back from touring the town of Cagliari with Luca and Niccolo. Everything was so smushed together! I could stick my hand out and touch the cars stopped next to us. We drove through the part of Old Cagliari and through the 'Little China' of Cagliari, whatever that means.

Its not super difficult to communicate to my family (I cant say talk because that would be an overstatement) and I do usually get my point across, but sometimes they give me this look and I just want to yell 'Im not an idiot, I just dont know what you're saying!!". But maybe that makes me an idiot. Who knows, really.

As for my family, they are all very nice. Everyone is very kind, and they still treat me sort of like a guest which isnt exactly good. Actually, tonight we went over the questionnaire that Intercultura (AFS Italy) gave me. It was pretty basic stuff; what time is dinner, what are the rules and chores, what should I call you, etc. Most of it was pretty straightforward, and I am supposed to call them Ignazio and Tonella, which kind of threw me for a moment, but I recovered haha :)

Theres not much to say about the trip over here. It was long, boring and uncomfortable, as any world traveler would agree ( ;) ). I flew (as many of you already know, since the only people that read this is my family and they knew about every move I made) from Burbank to NY, NY to Zurich, Zurich to Rome, and finally Rome to Cagliari. God those days are a blur. A mess of planes, bags to carry and surprisingly good airplane food (In Europe. I dont even remember if the Burbank-->NY flight fed me). The people in AFS were all very nice. I met a girl named Amberlyn who was my perpetual roomie the entire trip until Sardegna, so she and I hit it off. Theres not much else to report...

The only reason it took me so long to post this was because everywhere I went, I couldnt get internet. Which was frustrating on so many levels. Anyways, I figured out how to use my converters, after trying to force things together for about 5 minutes. Yeah dad, I know. Brilliante. Hahaha.

Im liking what I see so far.

Love you all

-s

counting down...

Already Ive fallen behind on updating these, but thats okay since Im writing now. About three days ago I went to an AFS BBQ to meet incoming students and say goodbye to Eka and Natalie, who had been staying at my house for a few days before going to their permanent homes (they actually left the next day, but it was way too early for me). So while I was talking to these students that were so excited to be in america and whatnot, I started to get really hyped up for my trip. So because of all the really nice students (who spoke VERY good english), Im on this excited high to get to Italy. Until I think of the school year, my host family, and all that italian I still have to learn and get nervous again. But thats okay.

I've learned how I should act when I get to my italian home, mostly from Eka and Natalie. I love them to death and it was their first few days in America, so they have an excuse, but I've made myself a checklist of what I should and shouldn't do. (Its still short, so any suggestions just let me know.) :

• Dont stay hidden in my room all day
• Smile a lot
• Talk to the family, even if Im not really sure of what Im saying
• Hang out with them, even if I dont feel like it.

So thats it so far. I think it covers the basics. Any other things and Im on my own. Oh, and make decisions, dont just say whatever (which is something Ill have to work on).

Right now, Im writing from the San Jose airport (they have free wifi, isnt that great?!) where I hung out with my grandparents. Last night we lounged around the house, then went to see a flamenco show. We were expecting awesome dresses and people stomp-dancing on the stage, but we were instead treated to some 'traditional flamenco music'. I liked the percussionist a lot. The first set was not that great because the singers' mikes were wayy to loud, and I felt like they were yelling at me, which they kind of were. But the second part was way better. Anyways, today we drove up to San Francisco and took a tour of the bay on this awesome ship. After, we walked around and found a craft place, and I go some jewelry. I had a really great time with them :]]

3 1/2 weeks to go! Im getting sooo happy-excited-nervous-scared-excited. Im just an emotional wreck haha. So Ive still got family to see and friends to hang out with, but its getting pretty close. Very close. :]

Ill try to keep up, since so far Im not doing so well

-s

the first post

I guess I should have started one of these a while ago, probably when I was first applying for AFS and Italy and stuff. But that would have been boring. So now its August and I've been accepted to Italy, I have my family, and I think most of the paper work is sorted out. But Im not really sure. Im making this blog so I dont have to write the same things over and over again ;) Its mostly for my family and friends to know what Im up to over in good old Italia. Im not really good at these kinds of things (my diaries never last) so bear with me. But I will try very hard to keep these up.

Basically, I applied a while ago to AFS to go on an exchange program to Italy for my junior year (09-10). They accepted, even though it took forever for them to do it. So now I will be spending my year on this island of Sardinia, in the town of Cagliari (kai-ga-ree). Ive already talked to my host family a few times over e-mail, and I will have a mom, dad, and two brothers: Niccolo (17) and Luca (20). Don't think nasty things now haha. I will be going to Liceo Scientifico "L. B. Alberti", which my brother wont be going to, which sucks. So, yeah. Thats about all I know. I leave from LAX to New York on Sept. 9, stay over night there and fly to Rome Sept. 10/11.

I only have a few weeks before I leave, so Im going around to all my families houses before I leave to say goodbye and I havent had much time to hang out with my friends :(. Its really starting to hit me how long a year is. A year is a long time. 365 days! What am I supposed to do when I CANT EVEN TALK TO PEOPLE? But I guess thats why I have this blog, you know? So I can talk non-stop in english. I love english. Its awesome.

But dont get me wrong, I am so excited to go. I cant wait for it. Its hard to talk about my feelings since I cant really figure them out myself. I picked Italy because Ive always wanted to go there. I dont know why, but ever since I was a little kid, Ive wanted to go to Italy. And I even ended up in the same town as my mother when she went for a summer (also with AFS). So it all works out for me. The dates coming up fast and Im getting those butterflies in my stomach. 9/9/09. Its kind of a cool day for me to leave. Maybe its good luck?

Ill probably post again before I go.

-s