First Day of School

My first day of school was Monday, September 10. Because it was the first day, and students we're going for organizational purposes, school didn't start 'till 10:30. I was a little nervous, but not too worried; I already knew where my classroom was. I was on my way to the front steps of the school, when my host brother, Matteo, came up to me. He said he'd try to find someone in my class, to show me around. We didn't go far when two girls came up and said "Sei la ragazza americana?" (Are you the American girl?) They introduced themselves, and began pointing out other people in my class. About 5 minutes later, a teacher came out of the school, and began calling classes into the school, one by one. When my class was called, we all walked to our classroom together. Everyone was very nice to me, but I didn't understand much of what was said. Not much happened, we got our schedule, talked about what we did over the summer, and then went home.

Tuesday was a regular school day. School starts at 8 in the morning, sometimes a little after. We have 50 minute classes, with about 10 minutes in between each class. In Italy, the students don't change classes, the teacher does. So one teacher leaves, and all the students wait for the next one to arrive. There's a 15 to 20 minute break in between the 3rd and 4th class. School lets out at 12:50. Teachers lecture for the entire class, and the students take notes. I like school, for the most part. However, there's one major drawback. I have to attend school on Saturday, too. I don't know how much that's going to bother me, since I have the whole afternoon to myself.