My Italian Adventure : October 2013

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Please help me go on this tour. Per favore aiutatemi andare su questa tour.

This June there will be a tour of Europe. This tour will be with a bunch of students who are on their exchange in Italy. We will travel to France, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Monaco, Milan and Venice. I had planned on taking this tour. My church had helped me raise money to go,which helped so much. This trip cost $2,407 but after taking out expenses which I spent when I was in the US, I only have $1,356. I don't have enough to take this trip. This trip would mean everything to me. If some of the sponsors I had when I was home could contribute again or if new ones could contribute, it would literally mean the world to me. I always loved when I had people in my community reach into their hearts and give me money to go on this exchange. It makes me feel like you care about my experience and that you are as excited as I am. This exchange is amazing but seeing more of Europe would open my eyes even more. If I could have some help from all of my friends, family and acquaintances that would make me so grateful. For anything that you can do for me thank you! Grazie Mille!

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Month 2

Well, yesterday was my month 2 in Italy. And it's going way too fast. When I went out at sea with my host parents I realized just how lucky I am.

1. I am the only student from Illinois in Italy with Rotary International as an exchange student.

2. I live right under Mt. Vesuvius and any time it could BLOW! (Mom that was for you. Just to scare you a bit.)

3. I'm hosted by the Pompei Oplonti Vesuvio Est club. You know Pompei, the famous one?

4. I live literally by the Mediterranean Sea.

5. While everyone in the North is freezing their butts off I'm enjoying the sun.

It took me until month 2 to realized I'm this lucky. How many teenagers my age become exchange students anyway? Very few and that's the sad thing. When considering going on this experience I thought I'm going to miss things from home so much. Sure, I miss things but learning and experiencing this teaches me more than I could ever try to recreate at home.

Sono così fortuna! Grazie Rotary per questa esperienza!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Madonna Della Neve ~ Ottobre 22

Today is a very important day the people of Torre Annunziata. Every October 22, there is a festival celebrating the Virgin Mary. As legend has it, in the sea some sailors found a icon of Mary, who in this depiction had dark skin and was holding baby Jesus. The sailors took this image back to the town in the church. The part that makes this interesting is that odd things have happened since then. There a time when it snowed which is extremely unusual here. Vesuvius had erupted and Torre Annunziata was left unscathed while the towns around it were damaged.

Anyways, this is a huge deal for the Italians here. I didn't go to school like everyone else. No one worked today. There was a parade with a band and the procession of red,white, and blue banners and a large structure which bore the image of the Madonna. I really enjoyed this celebration and it will be something I will always remember.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Rotary Youth Exchange Inbound Conference

Last weekend I attended the Italian Youth exchange inbound conference in Fognano, Italy. I met many inbound from all over Italy. Everyone came from all over the world. A few countries who were present were USA, Canada, Australia, Thailand, India, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Taiwan and many others. I was very happy to attend this because I finally got to meet people I had talked to via Internet. I also got to see my friend from central states! #CSRYE13 Woo! It was held in a convent with was kinda creepy but interesting. I want to go back to the Italian conference soo bad! Can't wait to see everyone again!