I'm going to keep this entry short, as I really want to get to bed before 11 tonight! This cold has sucked all of the energy right out of me, but that's besides the point.
Something happened in school today that's been bothering me all day. I was in Geography, only we didn't do Geography today. The Prof started the class by explaining that the students would recieve their pagelle, or report cards, today, but was immediately sidetracked by me. She asked what grades were like in the United States, which led her to ask what the classes are like, which led her to tell me to stand in front of the class and explain the Prince William County school system. Ack, I'm going off on a tangent again!
Towards the end of the class, when I was finished describing my school, Prof began handing out the report cards. She called each student up to the front of the class, read their report card out loud, gave it to them, and they returned to their seat. She also commented on their grades, sometimes giving her [most likely unwanted] opinion that they could do better. The class clapped when the girl with the best report card went back to her desk. A little while later, Prof called up a different girl, the girl with the classe's worst report card. She read each subject, followed by the grade the girl got in that particular subject, and always emphasized when the girl received an "insufficient." When Prof was finished reading the report card, she started scolding the girl in front of the whole class. She actually told the girl she should be ashamed of herself. When the girl got back to her seat, she burst into tears.
Now, in Italy, grades aren't private. Evidently, it's normal for the teacher to read the report cards in front of the whole class. But isn't humiliating a girl like that going a bit too far? High school is hard enough, without cruel teachers. Granted, schools in Italy are completely different from the U.S., with different methods, different subjects, different everything, but shouldn't students, no matter what country they're in, be able to look up to teachers as role models? Prof seemed to get pleasure out of reading the girl's bad grades, and I can't understand why. Teachers are supposed to want their students to do well, to learn, to understand, and clearly that's not Prof's goal.
The way that Prof acted today really bothers me. I'll probably re make my schedule tomorrow, and I think I'll change most of the classes that I have with her. I don't want to be around someone who get's pleasure out of hurting others.
On a happier note, the sun came out today! The temperature wasn't warm, but it wasn't bitterly cold, either. By the time I got out of school, most of the puddles had dried up, too! Yay!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
It won't stop Raining!
Stepping out the door this morning, I was shocked to feel a drop of rain hit my forehead. It's been raining for the past 3 days straight, now. It rained a lot last week, too. I figured that we've gotten enough rain, and it should have stopped by now, bu it just keeps falling.
In school today, I did nothing. Really. I hung out in the library for a few hours, since I have yet to change my schedule to fill up the hours where I used to have tutoring. It wasn't bad, though, hanging out in the library. The library is really small, but warm and cozy, and the librarian is my favorite person in the school. We talk about our lives, and she alwasy seems genuinely interested in what I do, and how I'm feeling, which is nice.
This morning I didn't have time to make myself lunch, so after school, I bought a panino. The school's paninos are really good, and only 80 cents, so I get them every once in a while. I began my walk to the gym, in the rain, eating my panino. As I walked down the street, I noticed a car parked on the sidewalk (they do that a lot here) and a girl with an umbrella running towards me. It was Sara, a girl from the first-year class. She lives in the same town as I do, and offered me a ride home, so I didn't have to walk in the rain. I wasn't going home, so I thanked her and refused, but I thought it was really nice of her to offer.
I have to say that the first year students are by far the nicest of all the classes. Sure, the other classes are friendly, but there's something about the first year kids that's really open. They haven't become too socially conscious yet, and that makes me like them. In one class, a boy was nervous during an interrogation, and he started to cry. The other students comforted him, and we got on with the interrogation. Would that happen in the older classes? Sadly, I don't think so.
Anyway, halfway to the gym, I decided to take a detour to the post office. My mom sent me packages a week ago, and I looked online, and FedEx says it takes about a week for stuff to ship from the US to Italy. Last time my mom sent me something, I didn't pick it up in time, and it got sent back to the US, which I really don't want to happen again. I got into the post office, took my number, and waited 5 or 10 minutes. When it was my turn, I went up to the desk, just to ask if the man could check for me. He was confused, because I didn't have the little paper the post man leaves to tell you you have a package. Somehow, the man, who was actually very helpful, realized I live in Cassano, and he told me there was another post office in Cassano that I have to go to. Oops. I thanked him, and as I turned away from the desk, a woman came up and said, in English "Do you need some help?" I smiled and said "No, grazie!" and went on my way. Italians are helpful people, in general. My host parents often give me directions that include "when you see the.. ask someone, and they'll tell you."
I left the post office, and started the journey back to the gym. The streets in Gallarate are old. There are lots of pot holes, thus, when it rains, there are lots of puddles. I had forgotten the phenomenon of trucks creating walls of water when they pass through puddles, and I was reminded of it today. When I got to the gym, I, my backpack, purse, and gym bag, were all completely, totally soaked. I was a mess. I changed into my work out clothes, which were slightly drier than the bag they were in, and worked out a little. After I was finished, my pants were still wet, so I hung them on the hooks on the wall, and started drying them with the hair dryer. Usually, I have the gym all to myself, but a woman walked in, and looked a little shocked to see what I was doing. Oh well, they were wet, and I didn't want to wear wet pants all day.
After the pants were dry, I put them on, and walked outside to wait for Nonna, who was coming to pick me up. We returned to her house, where I dried out a little more by the fire, and we had a nice conversation. Well, not exactly nice, as it was about death. We talked about her mother, who died a few years back. She told me that it was her mother's time to go, and that death is a part of life, but I could tell she was holding back tears. I felt a little sad, so I changed the subject, and we talked for another hour about ragù.
Chicca came to pick me up from Nonna's house, and we went to pick up Matteo, then we came home. I've discovered that my room is the coldest room in the house. I went into my room, put on another sweather (right now I'm wearing a polo, a long sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt, and a fleece), curled up in the blankets on my bed, and red. Chicca called me for dinner, which was tortellini in broth, perfect for this cold, rainy weather. I skipped the meat course, and went straight to salad, of which I ate a copious amount. In Italy, we eat our salad with olive oil, vinegar, and salt. Try it sometime, it's actually really good.
Tomorrow, I have some classes that should be interesting, which I'm looking foreward to. I'm also waiting with baited breath for my mom's packages! Please pray that they get here safely, quickly, and that they don't get sent back home!
In school today, I did nothing. Really. I hung out in the library for a few hours, since I have yet to change my schedule to fill up the hours where I used to have tutoring. It wasn't bad, though, hanging out in the library. The library is really small, but warm and cozy, and the librarian is my favorite person in the school. We talk about our lives, and she alwasy seems genuinely interested in what I do, and how I'm feeling, which is nice.
This morning I didn't have time to make myself lunch, so after school, I bought a panino. The school's paninos are really good, and only 80 cents, so I get them every once in a while. I began my walk to the gym, in the rain, eating my panino. As I walked down the street, I noticed a car parked on the sidewalk (they do that a lot here) and a girl with an umbrella running towards me. It was Sara, a girl from the first-year class. She lives in the same town as I do, and offered me a ride home, so I didn't have to walk in the rain. I wasn't going home, so I thanked her and refused, but I thought it was really nice of her to offer.
I have to say that the first year students are by far the nicest of all the classes. Sure, the other classes are friendly, but there's something about the first year kids that's really open. They haven't become too socially conscious yet, and that makes me like them. In one class, a boy was nervous during an interrogation, and he started to cry. The other students comforted him, and we got on with the interrogation. Would that happen in the older classes? Sadly, I don't think so.
Anyway, halfway to the gym, I decided to take a detour to the post office. My mom sent me packages a week ago, and I looked online, and FedEx says it takes about a week for stuff to ship from the US to Italy. Last time my mom sent me something, I didn't pick it up in time, and it got sent back to the US, which I really don't want to happen again. I got into the post office, took my number, and waited 5 or 10 minutes. When it was my turn, I went up to the desk, just to ask if the man could check for me. He was confused, because I didn't have the little paper the post man leaves to tell you you have a package. Somehow, the man, who was actually very helpful, realized I live in Cassano, and he told me there was another post office in Cassano that I have to go to. Oops. I thanked him, and as I turned away from the desk, a woman came up and said, in English "Do you need some help?" I smiled and said "No, grazie!" and went on my way. Italians are helpful people, in general. My host parents often give me directions that include "when you see the.. ask someone, and they'll tell you."
I left the post office, and started the journey back to the gym. The streets in Gallarate are old. There are lots of pot holes, thus, when it rains, there are lots of puddles. I had forgotten the phenomenon of trucks creating walls of water when they pass through puddles, and I was reminded of it today. When I got to the gym, I, my backpack, purse, and gym bag, were all completely, totally soaked. I was a mess. I changed into my work out clothes, which were slightly drier than the bag they were in, and worked out a little. After I was finished, my pants were still wet, so I hung them on the hooks on the wall, and started drying them with the hair dryer. Usually, I have the gym all to myself, but a woman walked in, and looked a little shocked to see what I was doing. Oh well, they were wet, and I didn't want to wear wet pants all day.
After the pants were dry, I put them on, and walked outside to wait for Nonna, who was coming to pick me up. We returned to her house, where I dried out a little more by the fire, and we had a nice conversation. Well, not exactly nice, as it was about death. We talked about her mother, who died a few years back. She told me that it was her mother's time to go, and that death is a part of life, but I could tell she was holding back tears. I felt a little sad, so I changed the subject, and we talked for another hour about ragù.
Chicca came to pick me up from Nonna's house, and we went to pick up Matteo, then we came home. I've discovered that my room is the coldest room in the house. I went into my room, put on another sweather (right now I'm wearing a polo, a long sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt, and a fleece), curled up in the blankets on my bed, and red. Chicca called me for dinner, which was tortellini in broth, perfect for this cold, rainy weather. I skipped the meat course, and went straight to salad, of which I ate a copious amount. In Italy, we eat our salad with olive oil, vinegar, and salt. Try it sometime, it's actually really good.
Tomorrow, I have some classes that should be interesting, which I'm looking foreward to. I'm also waiting with baited breath for my mom's packages! Please pray that they get here safely, quickly, and that they don't get sent back home!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
A Panoramic tour..
This morning, I woke up on time, but without the cheery feeling I felt yesterday. I was tired, and just wanted to go back to sleep.. But, the show must go on, so after a half an hour of hitting the snooze button, I threw off the covers, and rushed about, doing my things.
Marco took Matteo and Luca and I to school today, and I don't really remember the ride there. Actually, I don't think I was actually awake until intervallo today. The first hour, I decided to go with the English teacher to the second-year class. They were reading an article about a girl who had to leave Bosnia, because the Serbian forces invaded. She ended up in Great Britain, and the article described some of the problems and hardships she faced. One of the excercises in the book was to interview your partner, asking qustions as if the partner was a student in the same situation as the girl. Instead of doing the excercises with a partner, the teacher decided to have the class ask me questions. It wasn't terribly difficult to answer the questions, but my throat felt a little tight, when they asked me if I missed my family and friends. That class ended abruptly, and I went to help teach English in the fourth-year class. Nothing interesting happened there.
After English with the fourth-year class, I went to the first-year class for literature. I honestly don't remember anything that happened in that class. At intervallo, I walked around, ate a snack, and tried to wake up a bit. It didn't work. Finally, about 15 minutes into the fourth hour, I got a bit of energy. The students were talking about "To Kill a Mockingbird" which impressed me a little. The last hour of the day was English again, still with the first year. Did you know English is a really hard language to learn? I've realized that I can speak English just as well as anyone, but I've got no idea how to explain when to use the infinitive and when to use the gerund form of verbs. School ended, and I walked to the gym for my daily trot on the treadmill.
After I went to the gym, I walked to my little sister's school to help teach English, like I do on every Tuesday. I crept in the back door of the classroom, trying to keep a low profile, but when Bea saw me, she ran across the classroom and jumped on me. She asked how long I'd been gone, and when I told her I've only been away a week, she said "Oh, but it feels like a month.." It's good to be missed.
I spent most of the 2 hours there trying to teach the alphabet to a new girl. She got pretty much everything down, except "R" and "W". How in the world do you explain "R"? I tried "ruff! ruff!" and "Grrr, I'm angry" and "Arrr, like a pirate!", but all the little girl could say was "awww." She tried her best, though, which was satisfying enough. She left early, and I spent the rest of the class correcting test papers. These kids come up with some interesting ways to tell time in English.. for example "It's the eleven for six" (half past eleven.) I'm proud to say, though, Bea didn't get one single question wrong.
While I was living with the Cuccirelli family, I walked everywhere. Now that I live outside Gallarate, I have to ask for rides. Enza, Bea's teacher, told me she could drive me home, if I needed a ride. I took her up on that offer today, only.. I don't know where I live. Enza called her sister, who know's Cassano Magnago (the name of my new town) fairly well, and she gave Enza directions. Enza missed the road a couple of times, but we ended up getting here fairly well. However, before beginning the search for my street, Enza gave me "a panoramic tour" of Gallarate. I did see some parts that I've never seen before, but Gallarate is a pretty small city, so the tour was a little redundant. School let out at 4:20, and by the time I got home, it was 5:45. We didn't leave school right away, but I felt bad that Enza stayed out so late, after having a long day teaching a class of rambunctious 9-year-olds.
When I got home, I did some laundry, tidied up, checked my email (nothing from Mom, curses!) and puttered around. My host family got home at about 7:30, and we ate dinner at 8:15. I must say that dinner tonight was especially delicious. After the usual spaghetti al pomodoro, we had veal with pomodoro and oreagano. It was delicious.
Hey, this is my third post in a day! That must be a record!
Marco took Matteo and Luca and I to school today, and I don't really remember the ride there. Actually, I don't think I was actually awake until intervallo today. The first hour, I decided to go with the English teacher to the second-year class. They were reading an article about a girl who had to leave Bosnia, because the Serbian forces invaded. She ended up in Great Britain, and the article described some of the problems and hardships she faced. One of the excercises in the book was to interview your partner, asking qustions as if the partner was a student in the same situation as the girl. Instead of doing the excercises with a partner, the teacher decided to have the class ask me questions. It wasn't terribly difficult to answer the questions, but my throat felt a little tight, when they asked me if I missed my family and friends. That class ended abruptly, and I went to help teach English in the fourth-year class. Nothing interesting happened there.
After English with the fourth-year class, I went to the first-year class for literature. I honestly don't remember anything that happened in that class. At intervallo, I walked around, ate a snack, and tried to wake up a bit. It didn't work. Finally, about 15 minutes into the fourth hour, I got a bit of energy. The students were talking about "To Kill a Mockingbird" which impressed me a little. The last hour of the day was English again, still with the first year. Did you know English is a really hard language to learn? I've realized that I can speak English just as well as anyone, but I've got no idea how to explain when to use the infinitive and when to use the gerund form of verbs. School ended, and I walked to the gym for my daily trot on the treadmill.
After I went to the gym, I walked to my little sister's school to help teach English, like I do on every Tuesday. I crept in the back door of the classroom, trying to keep a low profile, but when Bea saw me, she ran across the classroom and jumped on me. She asked how long I'd been gone, and when I told her I've only been away a week, she said "Oh, but it feels like a month.." It's good to be missed.
I spent most of the 2 hours there trying to teach the alphabet to a new girl. She got pretty much everything down, except "R" and "W". How in the world do you explain "R"? I tried "ruff! ruff!" and "Grrr, I'm angry" and "Arrr, like a pirate!", but all the little girl could say was "awww." She tried her best, though, which was satisfying enough. She left early, and I spent the rest of the class correcting test papers. These kids come up with some interesting ways to tell time in English.. for example "It's the eleven for six" (half past eleven.) I'm proud to say, though, Bea didn't get one single question wrong.
While I was living with the Cuccirelli family, I walked everywhere. Now that I live outside Gallarate, I have to ask for rides. Enza, Bea's teacher, told me she could drive me home, if I needed a ride. I took her up on that offer today, only.. I don't know where I live. Enza called her sister, who know's Cassano Magnago (the name of my new town) fairly well, and she gave Enza directions. Enza missed the road a couple of times, but we ended up getting here fairly well. However, before beginning the search for my street, Enza gave me "a panoramic tour" of Gallarate. I did see some parts that I've never seen before, but Gallarate is a pretty small city, so the tour was a little redundant. School let out at 4:20, and by the time I got home, it was 5:45. We didn't leave school right away, but I felt bad that Enza stayed out so late, after having a long day teaching a class of rambunctious 9-year-olds.
When I got home, I did some laundry, tidied up, checked my email (nothing from Mom, curses!) and puttered around. My host family got home at about 7:30, and we ate dinner at 8:15. I must say that dinner tonight was especially delicious. After the usual spaghetti al pomodoro, we had veal with pomodoro and oreagano. It was delicious.
Hey, this is my third post in a day! That must be a record!
Monday, January 14, 2008
They're Crazy, I tell you!
Today I walked into one of my classrooms, and the windows were open! It's like 2 degrees outside! What are these people thinking??
I'm blaming them for the cold I've come down with.
I've seen this car around, and today I decided to take a picture of it. I think it's blog-worthy, don't you?
Today was actually a pretty good day, even though it's a Monday! I woke up on time, and felt cheerful right away. Surprising, since morning-person is not a phrase that describes me in any regard.
School started off well, too, considering I had 2 free hours first thing. Usually, I have tutoring, but lessons stopped. I'm changing my schedule soon, though, so this won't happen anymore. Third hour, I went to geography. Geography isn't really geography, it's more economy, and the teacher's [very liberal] opinions. Today, she looked at me suddenly and said "Dori! Go get me a coffee!" She gave me the money, and off I went to the coffee machine. It felt strange, fetching the teacher her caffiene, but I've seen other students bring her coffee, so it's a normal thing. Geopgraphy flew by, and then we had intervallo. I walked to my next class, and scolded my classmates for leaving the windows open. They did math, and I fiddled around with my year planner. I don't do math with them because it's trigonometry, or calculous, or one of those maths that I never plan to do. After math came English, followed by gym. We played badminton in gym, which none of the Italians had ever played before. After gym, I ate lunch with a couple of girls, then walked to the gym. As I was walking into the gym, I heard a woman asking questions about getting a membership. She had a strange accent, and so I asked where she was from. Turned out she was English, here to teach at the middle school! She asked where I was from, and when I told her I'm American, she said "What are you doing in Gallarate?" Like it's the last place an American would come. It's interesting to me that we held an entire conversation in Italian, both of us knowing that the other spoke English. That was my high point of the day.
While I walk on the treadmill, I listen to my iPod, which is set on shuffle. Today, Donny Osmond's "Close Every Door" came on, and for some reason, it made me cry. After that, "Don't Stop Believin'" came on, and I was back to my chipper old self, just like that. This just shows what an emotional ping-pong ball I am.
For dinner, we had pasta al salmone, (salmon pasta) followed by arrosto (roast something) followed by salad, and finally fruit. We talked about sports all dinner, but not statistics. I tried to explain lacrosse, but I didn't do a very good job. Chicca told me she'll never understand the point of American Baseball, which I thought was kind of funny.
Well, considering I'm coming down with a cold, I think it's best I head off to bed! I hope everyone's having a good Monday!
I'm blaming them for the cold I've come down with.
I've seen this car around, and today I decided to take a picture of it. I think it's blog-worthy, don't you?
Today was actually a pretty good day, even though it's a Monday! I woke up on time, and felt cheerful right away. Surprising, since morning-person is not a phrase that describes me in any regard.
School started off well, too, considering I had 2 free hours first thing. Usually, I have tutoring, but lessons stopped. I'm changing my schedule soon, though, so this won't happen anymore. Third hour, I went to geography. Geography isn't really geography, it's more economy, and the teacher's [very liberal] opinions. Today, she looked at me suddenly and said "Dori! Go get me a coffee!" She gave me the money, and off I went to the coffee machine. It felt strange, fetching the teacher her caffiene, but I've seen other students bring her coffee, so it's a normal thing. Geopgraphy flew by, and then we had intervallo. I walked to my next class, and scolded my classmates for leaving the windows open. They did math, and I fiddled around with my year planner. I don't do math with them because it's trigonometry, or calculous, or one of those maths that I never plan to do. After math came English, followed by gym. We played badminton in gym, which none of the Italians had ever played before. After gym, I ate lunch with a couple of girls, then walked to the gym. As I was walking into the gym, I heard a woman asking questions about getting a membership. She had a strange accent, and so I asked where she was from. Turned out she was English, here to teach at the middle school! She asked where I was from, and when I told her I'm American, she said "What are you doing in Gallarate?" Like it's the last place an American would come. It's interesting to me that we held an entire conversation in Italian, both of us knowing that the other spoke English. That was my high point of the day.
While I walk on the treadmill, I listen to my iPod, which is set on shuffle. Today, Donny Osmond's "Close Every Door" came on, and for some reason, it made me cry. After that, "Don't Stop Believin'" came on, and I was back to my chipper old self, just like that. This just shows what an emotional ping-pong ball I am.
For dinner, we had pasta al salmone, (salmon pasta) followed by arrosto (roast something) followed by salad, and finally fruit. We talked about sports all dinner, but not statistics. I tried to explain lacrosse, but I didn't do a very good job. Chicca told me she'll never understand the point of American Baseball, which I thought was kind of funny.
Well, considering I'm coming down with a cold, I think it's best I head off to bed! I hope everyone's having a good Monday!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Here they are, Finally!
Ta-daaa! I finally got around to uploading all of my pictures! It took me a good two hours to do (seriously, two whole hours!) but now they're finally up.
These pictures go from oldest to newest. I'm going to refrain from writing too much about them, because this post is long enough already.
Trip To Milan, Early December
I had to lay on the floor of the Galleria to take this picture, but I think it's pretty cool.
Another view of the dome of the Galleria.
I'm sure you've all heard of Pannetone by now! But if you haven't; pannetone is one of the two traditional Italian Christmas sweets. It's essentailly rasin bread, with candied fruits inside, too. Pandoro, the other Christmas sweet, is a denser, slightly sweeter version of Pannetone, without the rasins or candied fruit.
Delicious.Rotary Christmas Luncheon, Early December
The luncheon was held in an ancient villa. Did I already write about this, just not upload pictures? Well, anyways, the luncheon was for all of the exchange students. It was actually a lot of fun, we went to Mass, ate, then sang Christmas carols. Following the meal and singing, the owner of the villa gave us a tour. We got to hold documents from the 1200s, which was kind of cool.
Oh dear. No, not really, by now I've learned fine dining table manners!
Two other exchangees, Austin and Kristen.Christmas Break in Courmayeur
The main street of Courmayeur. It's deserted, which happens only at dinner time. From 10 until past midnight, however, it's as packed as NYC. 
It snowed our last 4 days there, without stopping! Everything was so beautifully white, but the roads were a mess!
Itailan Alps.
More Italian Alps.
Because skiing in the Alps isn't thrilling enough, these people decided to do it at night, while holding torches.Christmas Eve, Torino
We went to Torino's film museum, and this was one of the exhibits. It was supposed to be the laboratory of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (or is it Hide?) Nonna decided the picture should be a scary one, so she's screaming.
From left to right: Older host sister Camilla, Younger host sister Bea, host cousin Allegra, and Host cousin Bennedetta. I'm the slightly chubby blonde one on the end.
My host father, Paolo, ordered for me. It was octopus. Disgusting as it looks, it tasted amazing!
My next course, Angelotti, a typical kind of pasta from Torino. Meat filled ravioli in meaty sauce. Also really good. (But heck, this is Italy, what isn't really good?)Christmas Day, On the Slopes and in a Restaurant
The girls! I love them all!And now, the restaurant. I want you to look at this picture very carefully. Try to guess what it might be.
It's a mountain goat's leg. There was still fur on it, and it wasn't cooked! Evidently, it's a traditional Valle d'Aostana thing to eat raw mountain goat.
There it is, the mountain goat meat. I tried it, and gave the rest to my host mother. Ok, some Italian foods aren't to my liking.
It's a mountain goat's leg. There was still fur on it, and it wasn't cooked! Evidently, it's a traditional Valle d'Aostana thing to eat raw mountain goat.
There it is, the mountain goat meat. I tried it, and gave the rest to my host mother. Ok, some Italian foods aren't to my liking.
More raw meats, and some lard, too! Yes, I ate straight lard. Hmm, maybe that's why I've gained a little weight..
Crepes alla Valle d'Aostana: crepes filled with prosciutto cotto and cheese. These we're in a rich cheese sauce, and were mind blowing, they were so good! I remember that when my oldest brother, Ben, liked a food, he would mmm the whole time he was eating it. Well, Christmast Night, I took after my brother. It was just so delicious!Chamonix, France, a few days after Christmas
My host family took me on a day trip to France, to a little ski town called Chamonix. It looked just like northern Italy, only everything was written in French. It was a bit bizzare, being in France, speaking Italian, even though I'm American. We walked around the town a bit, then stopped into a traditional French Valle d'Aoste restaurant. With my host family, every restaurant we go into must be authentic. I'm not sure if they do it for my benefit, but I sure do appreciate it!
Typical French cheese, with prosciutto, salame, and bologna. The prosciutto was probably the best I had ever eaten. In the bowl near my plate were three boiled potatoes. I put a potato on my plate, mashed it, then cut up some of the meat and put it on the potato while the cheese was melting:
After the cheese had all melted, I tipped the metal melting thing, and all the cheese goo slid on to the potatoes and meat. French food is just as tasty as Italian food is. Well, at least this dish was, but I'm not so sure about what my host mom got!
Those are giant prawn! With the eyes still attached! I started to make disgusted faces at my host mom, and she said "Hey! I like them!"
Beatrice and I in the French restaurant. Please ignore how round my face is. (Actually, I've lost some weight since then)January
Moving Day: Packing
I had a little problem with packing..
Clothes..
More clothes..
Whoops, left some clothes on the floor, too
Only one suitcase. I did manage to get it all in, though!
I've changed host families since then. This new family lives in a town outside the city of Gallarate, called Cassano Magnago. I haven't had a chance to see any of Cassano, because the weather has been so nasty, and we spend most of our time at the grandmother's house. She lives in Cardano, which is right next to the highway. Not a whole lot to see there, but the grandmother's house is warm and inviting, and she's travelled the whole world, so she has a lot of interesting stories to tell. Plus, she makes the world's best ragù. My host father is a tall, quiet man, called Marco. His wife, Chicca, is shorter than I am, and is fun to talk to. They both work in the clothing industry, and I think they own a few companies. They have two sons, Matteo, aged 17, and Luca, aged 15. Both are nice, but, well, they're teenaged boys.
This weekend, Marco, Chicca and I went to their house in Courmayeur. Saturday night, we went to Shamonix. Only, I forgot to bring my Passport.. I was terrified the whole time that when we went back to cross the border, they wouldn't let me back into Italy, and I'd be stranded in France! Stranded in France, what a nightmare!
Actually going to Chamonix with them was really fun. We went with 2 other couples, one couple was French, the other was a French wife and Italian Husband. Everyone, except me, spoke French the whole night. I felt like I did 4 months ago, not being able to understand a word. Every once in a while Chicca would explain what they were talking about, but I still felt out of it. One of the French women asked me something in French, and I was at a complete loss how to respond. I haven't felt that way in so long, and I wasn't used to it! Turned out, though, that she spoke a bit of English, so everything was fine.
Before arriving in Courmayeur, we went to the meat shop to get some fresh meat for the week. that thing in the middle, the black and pink long icky looking thing, is the tounge of a bull. Europeans actually it that, can you believe it?
Here's the picture of the French couple's house. Every single article in the house was either wood, red, or some shade of white. It was a gorgeous little cottage, and looked like it belonged in a story book. The couple decorated it themselves, and now that they're finished, they're planning on selling the house. They're already building a new house to decorate. I guess building houses and decorating them is their hobby.
Here's a picture of some drink that I can't remember the name of. It's a lot of alcohol, with a little bit of coffee, and some oranges. The Italian Husband explained to me that it was a friendship drink, and you can only find it in the Valle D'Aosta. I tried it, and the French Wife laughed at the expression on my face, then told me she was waiting to see how I reacted.
At the French Restaurant, we had real fondue, and real French creme brulee. Both were, you guessed it, amazing. Actually, my Uncle Brud made Creme Brulee once, and I think his was better. Anyway, the evening was fun, the family is nice, but I just realized it's almost 10 o'clock, and I have school tomorrow.
Enjoy the [finally posted] pictures!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Christmas Morning
Christmas morning wasn't what I was expecting it to be.
I woke suddenly, to Bea's face three inches from mine. "E' arrivato!" she said, meaning that Babbo Natale (Santa) had come. She dragged me out of bed, as I struggled to regain conciousness. We went to the living room, where Babbo Natale had left all of the presents on the table.
Usually, Christmas morning, my [real] family has one member of the family pass out gifts. My mom buys corresponding gifts, so that my brothers and I get the same amount of things. For example, we all open gifts that turn out to be DVDs at the same time, we all get books, calendars, etc. My host family stood around the table, found all the presents with their name on them, sat down on the couch, and started opening. I tried to do things slowly, savor the moments, but my host family seemed to be in a rush to open presents. I received a fleece, a sweater, a necklace, a pair of gloves, a bracelet, some chocolate, and peanut butter! Alberto Protasoni also got me a really nice purse, which I love, and Luca Capodiferro got me a fantastic book on my region. It's written in both English and Italian, so that my family can see pictures and read about where I live.
After we were finshed opening the presents, my host family went skiing. I went up to the slopes with them, although I didn't ski. I walked around a bit, took some pictures, watched little kids learn to ski, and then went into a bar. I had forgotten to eat breakfast, so I bought an apple pastry and hot chocolate. After a while, my host family came and found me. We took more pictures, and I took the funivia back down to the town.
Christmas evening, we went out to a restaurant. I was at one end of the table, enjoying myself talking to my host sisters, when my host father asked me if I wanted a piece of meat. I looked at the other end of a table, and to my surprise, there was a leg of mountain goat on the table. A whole leg. Hoof still attached. Fur still attached. There was a waiter cutting off pieces of the uncooked meat, which you were supposed to eat on bread and butter. Well, I took one bite, and gave the rest to my host mom. It didn't taste bad, exactly, more it was the fact that I knew I was eating raw goat meat. After that, I had a traditional dish from the Valle d'Aosta; crepes with prosciutto and cheese inside, with cheese sauce. It was warm, rich, and delicioius, but couldn't compare to my family's traditioal Christmas meal: chicken cordon bleu. We went back to the house, and all went right to bed.
For the rest of the vacation, I slept in, walked in the town, did a lot of reading, and watched plenty of movies in both English and Italian. Most evenings, my host parents would go out to dinner with their friends, so I would stay home with my host sister, and make dinner. I haven't learned a lot about cooking Italian cuisine, but I can cook pasta to perfection!
One day, my host family and I took a little trip to France. We went to Chamonix, a skiing town like Coermayeur. We went out to lunch, and my host father ordered a typical southern French meal for me: potatoes with cheese and prosciutto. I was a little surprised when they brought a metal contraption to my place at the table, and lit a fire under it. When they brought my plate, my host mother showed me that you put the cheese on the metal, it melts, then you tip the metal contraption and all the melted cheese falls on to the potatoes, which you've cut up on your plate. It was really good, but sooo filling! After eating, we went and did a little bit of shopping. My host mother wanted to find some little gifts for her friends, we went and got some French Cheese in a traditional French Cheese Shop (it smelled awful!), then went to the French supermarket to do our grocery shopping. It was a fun little trip, and now I can say I've been to 5 countries in the world! (The U.S., Canada, Holland, Italy, and France.)
On New Years, my host sister went to her friend's house to play Tombola, a game like bingo, and my host parent's went out with their friends. I went to church, walked around, ate a crepe, and waited for midnight. At midnight, all of Courmayeur let off fireworks, which was pretty. I went to bed shortly after midnight. I know, I'm such a partygirl.
I thought I would be heading back to Gallarate on the 2nd, but plans changed at the last minute. Nobody told me, though, so I packed up all of my things, and was ready to go. When I found out that we would be staying in Courmayeur for 5 more days, I suddenly got really homesick. Homesick for the United States, but also a little for Gallarate. I wanted to come home, to have time in the place I've stayed at for the past 4 months, because I knew I had to move shortly after we got home! For about 3 days, I was really down and out, but I called my mom, and of course she made me feel better.
We got home two days ago, school started yesterday, and today I'm moving families.
Moving families. Something all of the exchange students know is going to happen, but nobody realizes it until it is upon you. I don't really know how I feel about changing families. I'm looking foreward to the new adventure, but I'm a little annoyed that I have to change, just as I was getting really comfortable with my routine! I'm sad to leave Bea, even though I know I'll see her again. What really gets me, though, is I'm going to live farther away from the school.. I'll have to wake up a whole hour earlier to be here on time! I'm sure things will work out, though, I'll make a new routine to get used to, and I'll certainly try to keep my blog properly updated! Saying that, I'll post those pictures as soon as I get the chance, I promise!
The next time you hear from me, I'll be in a completely different enviornment.. wish me luck!
I woke suddenly, to Bea's face three inches from mine. "E' arrivato!" she said, meaning that Babbo Natale (Santa) had come. She dragged me out of bed, as I struggled to regain conciousness. We went to the living room, where Babbo Natale had left all of the presents on the table.
Usually, Christmas morning, my [real] family has one member of the family pass out gifts. My mom buys corresponding gifts, so that my brothers and I get the same amount of things. For example, we all open gifts that turn out to be DVDs at the same time, we all get books, calendars, etc. My host family stood around the table, found all the presents with their name on them, sat down on the couch, and started opening. I tried to do things slowly, savor the moments, but my host family seemed to be in a rush to open presents. I received a fleece, a sweater, a necklace, a pair of gloves, a bracelet, some chocolate, and peanut butter! Alberto Protasoni also got me a really nice purse, which I love, and Luca Capodiferro got me a fantastic book on my region. It's written in both English and Italian, so that my family can see pictures and read about where I live.
After we were finshed opening the presents, my host family went skiing. I went up to the slopes with them, although I didn't ski. I walked around a bit, took some pictures, watched little kids learn to ski, and then went into a bar. I had forgotten to eat breakfast, so I bought an apple pastry and hot chocolate. After a while, my host family came and found me. We took more pictures, and I took the funivia back down to the town.
Christmas evening, we went out to a restaurant. I was at one end of the table, enjoying myself talking to my host sisters, when my host father asked me if I wanted a piece of meat. I looked at the other end of a table, and to my surprise, there was a leg of mountain goat on the table. A whole leg. Hoof still attached. Fur still attached. There was a waiter cutting off pieces of the uncooked meat, which you were supposed to eat on bread and butter. Well, I took one bite, and gave the rest to my host mom. It didn't taste bad, exactly, more it was the fact that I knew I was eating raw goat meat. After that, I had a traditional dish from the Valle d'Aosta; crepes with prosciutto and cheese inside, with cheese sauce. It was warm, rich, and delicioius, but couldn't compare to my family's traditioal Christmas meal: chicken cordon bleu. We went back to the house, and all went right to bed.
For the rest of the vacation, I slept in, walked in the town, did a lot of reading, and watched plenty of movies in both English and Italian. Most evenings, my host parents would go out to dinner with their friends, so I would stay home with my host sister, and make dinner. I haven't learned a lot about cooking Italian cuisine, but I can cook pasta to perfection!
One day, my host family and I took a little trip to France. We went to Chamonix, a skiing town like Coermayeur. We went out to lunch, and my host father ordered a typical southern French meal for me: potatoes with cheese and prosciutto. I was a little surprised when they brought a metal contraption to my place at the table, and lit a fire under it. When they brought my plate, my host mother showed me that you put the cheese on the metal, it melts, then you tip the metal contraption and all the melted cheese falls on to the potatoes, which you've cut up on your plate. It was really good, but sooo filling! After eating, we went and did a little bit of shopping. My host mother wanted to find some little gifts for her friends, we went and got some French Cheese in a traditional French Cheese Shop (it smelled awful!), then went to the French supermarket to do our grocery shopping. It was a fun little trip, and now I can say I've been to 5 countries in the world! (The U.S., Canada, Holland, Italy, and France.)
On New Years, my host sister went to her friend's house to play Tombola, a game like bingo, and my host parent's went out with their friends. I went to church, walked around, ate a crepe, and waited for midnight. At midnight, all of Courmayeur let off fireworks, which was pretty. I went to bed shortly after midnight. I know, I'm such a partygirl.
I thought I would be heading back to Gallarate on the 2nd, but plans changed at the last minute. Nobody told me, though, so I packed up all of my things, and was ready to go. When I found out that we would be staying in Courmayeur for 5 more days, I suddenly got really homesick. Homesick for the United States, but also a little for Gallarate. I wanted to come home, to have time in the place I've stayed at for the past 4 months, because I knew I had to move shortly after we got home! For about 3 days, I was really down and out, but I called my mom, and of course she made me feel better.
We got home two days ago, school started yesterday, and today I'm moving families.
Moving families. Something all of the exchange students know is going to happen, but nobody realizes it until it is upon you. I don't really know how I feel about changing families. I'm looking foreward to the new adventure, but I'm a little annoyed that I have to change, just as I was getting really comfortable with my routine! I'm sad to leave Bea, even though I know I'll see her again. What really gets me, though, is I'm going to live farther away from the school.. I'll have to wake up a whole hour earlier to be here on time! I'm sure things will work out, though, I'll make a new routine to get used to, and I'll certainly try to keep my blog properly updated! Saying that, I'll post those pictures as soon as I get the chance, I promise!
The next time you hear from me, I'll be in a completely different enviornment.. wish me luck!
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Sono appena tornata!
Phew! I have so much to write!
Well, I just spent the past two weeks in Courmayeur (which is the proper spelling.)
It was a pretty little town, about 15 km south of the French border. My host family went skiing almost every day, and I stayed home to watch movies and read.
We arrived in Courmayeur the evening of December 21. December 22 and 23, Bea, my little host sister, was sick, so I stayed home with her while my host parents and older sister, Cami, went skiing.
Christmas Eve, we went to Torino (Turin in English, I think) to spend some time with my host mother's side of the family. We all went to Torino's museum of Film, which was a lot of fun. The exhibits there were like the sets of old movies, and we got to play around in them. I took a lot of pictures, which I will upload later, as I am at school right now, and don't have my camera. After the museum, we went to Zia Lodo's house to kill time before we went to the restaurant. Zia Lodo is pregnant, due any day now, so while we were at her house, they showed us some of the things they had prepared for the baby. We all went to a restaurant for Christmas Dinner, and as usual, I asked my host father to order for me.
My host father, being an Italian man, knows a lot about food and the specialties of restaurants. For the first course, he ordered me octopus and artichoke, I think. The waiter placed the bowl in front of me, and I was a little intimidated: there were purple octopus legs with the suckers still on, swimming in broth. Being brave, I gave it a little taste, and was surprised: the octopus was absolutely delicious. After the octopus, I had angelotti, meat filled ravioli in meat sauce. That, too, was fantastic. After we had all stuffed ourselves, the whole family went to Zio Toto's house to exchange presents and eat pandoro. I used this time to call my family, and wish them a Merry Christmas. Of course it was great to talk to my family, but it sounded like they were having so much fun, and I got a little homesick. After I finished my call and collected myself, I went into the living room, where Zia Chicca gave me a necklace, Nonna gave me a bracelet, and another relative (I don't really know who she was) gave me some lotion. I didn't expect any presents, and the fact that they remembered me made me feel warm and fuzzy. After all of the presents were exchanged, all of the younger cousins recited things that they had written about Christmas. At school, Bea had been learning "Silent Night", and she asked me to sing it for the family. Considering it was one in the morning, I was falling asleep, and I don't particularly like singing by myself, I declined, only to be pestered by the family. Eventually, I realized there was no way out, so I gave up and sang a verse of Silent Night for them. One of the Zios was really impressed, and told my he could tell I've studied singing, which was flattering. Finally, my host father decided it was time to go, so we piled in the car to return to our home in the Mountains.
We arrived back at Courmayeur at two in the morning, and my host father and I carried all the presents from the car up to the living room. I went to bed exhausted, hardly realizing it was Christmas.
I will continue this post later, but the bell just rang, and I've got to run off to Geography!
Well, I just spent the past two weeks in Courmayeur (which is the proper spelling.)
It was a pretty little town, about 15 km south of the French border. My host family went skiing almost every day, and I stayed home to watch movies and read.
We arrived in Courmayeur the evening of December 21. December 22 and 23, Bea, my little host sister, was sick, so I stayed home with her while my host parents and older sister, Cami, went skiing.
Christmas Eve, we went to Torino (Turin in English, I think) to spend some time with my host mother's side of the family. We all went to Torino's museum of Film, which was a lot of fun. The exhibits there were like the sets of old movies, and we got to play around in them. I took a lot of pictures, which I will upload later, as I am at school right now, and don't have my camera. After the museum, we went to Zia Lodo's house to kill time before we went to the restaurant. Zia Lodo is pregnant, due any day now, so while we were at her house, they showed us some of the things they had prepared for the baby. We all went to a restaurant for Christmas Dinner, and as usual, I asked my host father to order for me.
My host father, being an Italian man, knows a lot about food and the specialties of restaurants. For the first course, he ordered me octopus and artichoke, I think. The waiter placed the bowl in front of me, and I was a little intimidated: there were purple octopus legs with the suckers still on, swimming in broth. Being brave, I gave it a little taste, and was surprised: the octopus was absolutely delicious. After the octopus, I had angelotti, meat filled ravioli in meat sauce. That, too, was fantastic. After we had all stuffed ourselves, the whole family went to Zio Toto's house to exchange presents and eat pandoro. I used this time to call my family, and wish them a Merry Christmas. Of course it was great to talk to my family, but it sounded like they were having so much fun, and I got a little homesick. After I finished my call and collected myself, I went into the living room, where Zia Chicca gave me a necklace, Nonna gave me a bracelet, and another relative (I don't really know who she was) gave me some lotion. I didn't expect any presents, and the fact that they remembered me made me feel warm and fuzzy. After all of the presents were exchanged, all of the younger cousins recited things that they had written about Christmas. At school, Bea had been learning "Silent Night", and she asked me to sing it for the family. Considering it was one in the morning, I was falling asleep, and I don't particularly like singing by myself, I declined, only to be pestered by the family. Eventually, I realized there was no way out, so I gave up and sang a verse of Silent Night for them. One of the Zios was really impressed, and told my he could tell I've studied singing, which was flattering. Finally, my host father decided it was time to go, so we piled in the car to return to our home in the Mountains.
We arrived back at Courmayeur at two in the morning, and my host father and I carried all the presents from the car up to the living room. I went to bed exhausted, hardly realizing it was Christmas.
I will continue this post later, but the bell just rang, and I've got to run off to Geography!
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