Troppo Foto!

Well sheesh, this is getting silly! I have way too many photos to upload! If anyone can think of a better way, please let me know.. I only uploaded half of the photos, I'll upload the rest in another post, along with more detals of my weekend and the past week. But for now, I'll describe these photos:

Mustang! American cars are pretty cool.
Ferrari! Italian cars kick American cars' butts.

This was just a pretty little house in Monza, right outside the entrance to the Autodromo.
Ellen and I went on a bike ride through the Parco di Monza. It was absolutely beautiful!
A cute little boy who I couldn't resist taking a picture of.
Parco di Monza, again. Beautiful.
Not only is it really pretty, its HUGE! I'd love to spend a day there.

Watching the race at Monza's autodromo. There were 2 or 3 crashes, which were scary!
Steven, an American, with his host sister, who adores him!
Steven's host sister, Noemi, with Allie (on the left) and Rebecca (on the right)
The amazingAmericans who went to the Autodromo
Some of the race cars. I wasn't really too interested in the drag racers, if that's what they're called.

WEDNESDAY

On Wednesday, I went to my first Rotary meeting. The food was good, we had pasta with salmon, and then swordfish, and then gelato-cake, which was amazing! The guy sitting next to me kept offering me wine, which I found kind of funny, considering Rotary's no drinking rule. After we ate, one of the Rotarians gave a speech about Ancient Roman history. All of the other Rotarians acted like teenagers! They're a bunch of old men (not one woman among them, and my counselor is probably the youngest guy there, and I think hes in his early forties) and they all started pretending to sleep, complete with fake snoring. They made fun of the Rotarian speaking, and when they got tired of mocking him, they all pulled out their cell phones and started texting. I tried my hardest to be a good example for them, and I paid attention. Well, I paid attention for the first 30 minutes. For the next 45 minutes, I daydreamed. I did not, however, use my phone! My mother taught me better!

Luca Capodiferro (literally translates to "Head of Iron") My Rotarian counselor
The other people sitting at my table

TODAY

After reading all about the other foreign exchange student's trips around their towns, I decided it was time to do some exploring. I started with the center, because I know how to get there, and I know how to find it if I get lost. I found 4 Gelaterias within 3 minutes of eachother, and I intend on sampling them all. I started with the big yellow gelateria, closest to my house. So, I continued walking around Gallarate, eating my gelato (I got chocolate, which was good, and almond, which I will have to try again before I decide if I like it or not) I also found out there's an abundance of quaint cafes, and I've made it a goal to go to each one of them before I leave Italy. It was a beautiful afternoon, the perfect day to wander the streets of Gallarate.

The town's main church and the fountain in the center

A pretty house in Gallarate. I have lots of pictures of pretty houses, if anyone wants to see more. Or you could just come visit me, and see for yourself!
This made me want to cry.
When I got home from walking around Gallarate city, I came up here to the computer to sort out the pictures, and look at a map of the city to see where I had gone. I went back downstairs to ask my mom a question, and my day went downhill from there. Sometimes, my host mother isn't the world's most patient person. She doesn't like it when I don't understand something she says, and never hesitates to let me know that. I got a bit of a scolding for not studying Italian enough, and that dampened my spirits quite a bit. I got a bit homesick, mostly I just missed my mommy! I wrote her a nice long ranting email, and felt better. The day was still lovely, so I decided not to waste it, and went for another stroll through Boschina, a rural part of my community. When I came home, my little sister had a hoarde of friends over. They were running around the house, wearing my host mom's shoes, making quite a racket. I hid in my room 'till they went away, then played a card game with my little sister, ate dinner, and made S'MORES! (I love you, Mom!) They hit the spot. I was shocked, though, when my little, 9 year old sister, turned one down! She said, and I quote "Non mi piace i dolci." Which translates to "I don't like sweets." What nine-year-old says that?

Well, I'm going to cut this blog short, becuase I am exhausted, and its already 10:30 here! I'll write again tomorrow, and upload the rest of the photos. As Mr. Grohoski said: "Domani, domani!"