Trieste!

I'm here. Finally! After seven months of waiting, I was more than ready to start the next chapter of my life. And now it has officially begun.

Of course, saying goodbye to my friends and family was, as others have found out before me, bittersweet; sad because I love them all and I know I'll miss them tremendously, but happy because I know that we'll all be reunited next summer to share our respective adventures. My travel went smoothly, and I cannot even begin to describe how excited I was in Munich when I boarded that tiny airplane with little black propellors. Either I look vaguely Italian or the stewardess just assumed that I was, because she spoke to me in Italian, and it was very satisfying to be able to answer her with an eloquent "grazie" :]

Upon my arrival in Trieste, I was welcomed by a person who is possibly the best host mother in existence: Francesca Vio, whom I call Checca. She greeted me with several gifts:

1. Luca, Giada, and Linda, three friends of her son, Enrico, who is currently in Florida through Rotary. They were so friendly, it was really nice to immediately meet some young people :]
2. A brand new cell phone. Luca, Giada, and Linda all said they were sorry for buying me such a bad one, but for those of you at home who have ever seen my old cell phone, you will understand when I say that the new one is a huge step forward for me :]
3. A beautiful bracelet that is very popular in Trieste right now.
4. So much kindness! She thought of everything that I would need to be comfortable here in Italy,and everything that was in her power to do, she did. She is so welcoming, I couldn't have asked for a better family.

Luckily I was hyper enough yesterday to explore the city a little, and let me tell you: É una cittá molto bella. So beautiful! Driving back from the airport, the road hugged the coast of the Golfo di Trieste, or the gulf that opens into the Adriatic Sea. Green hills cup the coast like an amphitheater, and red-roofed houses scale the hills. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Checca, Luca, Giada, Linda, and Pietro (another of Enrico's friends) took me to Rosso Pomodoro, a wonderful restaurant across the street from the Yacht Club that is a block away from my house. Apparently, in Italy when you order a pizza, you're supposed to eat the whole thing. I ate about a quarter of mine, but it was SO DELICIOUS that I wish I could have eaten five!

Today I had a lovely breakfast of bread and nutella (invented in Italy, of course) while listening to the sounds of the city through the open window. Afterwards, Checca took me out to explore the city, and we had a wonderful time seeing ancient Roman ruins from when Trieste was a part of the Roman empire two thousand years ago. The churches, the walls, the arches, the plazas, even the place where we had lunch--everything is ancient and beautiful and historical. I met up with Linda and her friend, Seba, in the Piazza Sant Antonio, a beautiful plaza which also faces the sea. After walking around a bit, practicing my italian and just joking around, we stopped at "the best place for gelato" where I got yet another delicious dose of nutella in the form of Nutella ice cream. I don't think I need to say any more about that :]

I honestly can't believe that I get to live in this perfectly amazing city for an entire year! Rotary is amazing, that's all I have to say :] To my fellow exchange students: I hope you guys are all having amazing times, keep up your blogs! They're so interesting. And to those who still haven't left, don't worry, you'll get here soon :]

I hope everyone is enjoying their last little bit of remaining summer! Until next time, Ciao.

Great Expectations

When I was 13, I lived with my family in Spain for one year. While I was there, I was asked the following questions by my classmates:

-do you have a gun in your house?

-did your parents vote for Bush?

-is school really the way it looks in 'Mean Girls'?

-what do you mean, you don't watch the Simpsons?!?

Hmmm. Needless to say, I was a bit shocked at the impression that my friends had of me and apparently all other Americans. At the same time, I realized that before I had come to Spain, I had been just as guilty of stereotyping the Spanish culture. It's what we tend to do when we don't have the time or energy to research the complex intricacies of cultures we are partly or wholly ignorant of.

So of course, as I ready myself to head off into the great unknown that is Italy, I carry with me certain stereotypes. I must say, the clichéd images of delicious pizza and gelato, beautiful people, gorgeous landscapes, and a rich history don't sound too shabby. But the real excitement is in the unknown; the aspects of life that will be most exciting to discover are the ones that I didn't know to look for.

Based on what I've heard, Italy will be beautiful. But I know that the real part of my journey, the exhilarating part, will be to seek out the subtle shades of its beauty, to experience the realities behind the stereotypes. And I absolutely cannot wait :]

the beginning

welcome to my blog!

i'll be putting up new posts soon, but for now i just wanted to write a quick welcome post.

thanks for visiting, i hope you enjoy the story of my soon-to-come adventures :]