Package

The first 30 minutes of class today was history and I read my book.  Then we had to go to a two and a half hour assembly thing where some police officers, fireman, and a couple of other people talked about the dangers of drinking and driving.  I was so tired it wasn't even funny! I kept nodding off and my legs kept twitching.  It actually was kind of funny.  I had to try so hard not to fall asleep because that would have just been embarrassing!  Then we had an informatics test for the next two hours, but I didn't have to take it, so I finished my book.  It was super good and I'm glad I was actually able to understand most of it.  The last hour of class was math and I stared cluelessly at my math packet again and thought about how totally hopeless I am in that class.

During the middle of lunch, the doorbell rang and it was the postman! I was so excited!  I finally got my package from home that I have been waiting for! After I finished my lunch, I ran to my room and opened everything up.  I am sooo happy now.  I have a ton of movies to watch and brownies to make.  I probably won't go to sleep tonight.  When my internet quits, I just have to put in a movie. It's great!  Not for sleep purposes though.  I'm already tired enough as it is.  After my package excitement, I showered, skyped with my sister, and then left for lessons.  It was really windy today.

After lessons, Janie and I went to the pub and met up with some friends.  We hung out with them for the evening and talked.  Then I went home for dinner.  I just finished my Rotary Reflection because I had to get that done as fast as I could in case my internet went out.  That would've been bad.  But obviously, I'm posting my blog, so my internet is still functioning!

Now for some movies....

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Lazy

We had biology and chemistry for the first two hours of class today.  For biology, I actually tried to pay attention and I understood a little bit of it because the teacher was writing on the board and I didn't have to rely on what he was saying to understand.  During the chemistry hour, the teacher actually gave me an assignment to do and I worked on that.  The we had religion and I did sudoku.  During physics, I wrote everything down for future reference.  The last hour of class was english and I thought that since we have a new teacher for the month that actually speaks English, the class would pay more attention, but I was mistaken.  The class was extremely loud and the teacher was yelling the whole time.  She kept teaching nonetheless and we are having a test next week, so the students are just going to have to study or not get a good grade I guess.

It was my host dads birthday today so we had a little birthday lunch and then Lorena and Roberto both had to go back to work.  I was going to go out with Janie today, but she wasn't feeling well so I lounged around the house all day.  I did get to skype with Emma for her birthday! And I skyped with my dad.  The rest of the day was just me being lazy.  

Now I'm going to be lazy for the rest of the night until I decide to sleep.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Crazy Weather

The first hour of class was informatics and I read my language C tutorial.  I'm basically just reading it to fill up my time in class because I don't understand a word of it.  Then we had art and I did my sudoku and listened to my ipod for the hour.  After break, we had physics and I took the notes, but again, I didn't understand anything.  The last two hours were Italian and now I only have about 10 pages left in my book!

After lunch, I relaxed around the house and then walked in the rain to the school for lessons.  It was really windy and my umbrella ended up turning inside out... how embarrassing.  Lessons actually went by pretty fast today, but I was bummed because we haven't started learning future tense yet.  Hopefully on Friday.  Then I went to the gym and came home for dinner.  I chatted with my sister and Emma for a little bit on facebook and now I'm planning on listening to my 30 or so new songs that I got last night! Woo!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Laughing

The first two hours of class were philosophy and history.  I read my book and I felt like I was about to fall asleep the whole time.  Then he passed back out history tests and I got a 7 1/2 which is really good. There were a ton of corrections on my Italian grammar, but I was still pretty proud of myself.  Then we had two hours of math and I doodled and stared at my math packet without understanding anything.  She also handed back our tests at the end and I got a 6 1/2, which is also considered good in math class.  I don't think I deserved that grade though because I barely answered any of the questions I was given.  I think she just gave me that grade to be nice.  The last class of the day was chemistry and I worked on my Rotary reflection.

I watched tv on my computer after lunch until Janie got here at 4:30.  We skyped with Emma and then we sat around and talked for a while.  Around 6, we went out and walked to the pub.  Nobody was there, but I brought cards so we played a game.  It was a super fun night even though it was just the two of us.  We were laughing so hard the whole time.  Janie thinks we both needed that last weekend to relax us a little bit more.  I definitely started to feel better.

I just ate dinner and now I'm downloading new music as I type.  Then I will probably go to bed as soon as my internet quits.  Last night it was 10.

Ciao!
~Devon

Assembly

Today I woke up and got ready slowly because there was an assembly at school and I didn't have to be there until around 8:15.  When I got there, none of my friends were there yet, so I stood around awkwardly waiting until someone finally showed up.  Then we went inside and sat down.  About 30 minutes later, they started playing the movie V for Vendetta, in Italian of course, so I didn't understand anything.  I also didn't have my glasses so I could barely see the screen as it was.  Then some people talked about the meaning of the movie afterwards for about and hour and I just sat there.  The assembly ended at 12:30 and I walked home.  

We had lunch and I relaxed in my room for the rest of the day.  I also skyped with my mom for a little bit.  I got ready and then went to the gym at 6:20 for an hour, like always.  I came home, ate dinner, and got ready for bed.

I'm already in my bed and I'm just going to find new music and then go to sleep...maybe.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Gubbio By Day

11-25-12

I woke up at around 10:30 this morning and got dressed.  I went to the kitchen and had breakfast with Janie and we talked with the woman for a while.   Then we went upstairs with the man and collected fresh eggs from the chicken pin.  We went grocery shopping a little bit later a to get ingredients for lunch and when we got home, we watched some tv until it was ready.

We had carbonara (I think that’s how it’s spelled) for lunch.  It’s pasta with eggs and bacon and it is super good!  Then we got ready to go out with the man and the dogs.  We walked around Gubbio for a couple of hours and it tops everything I’ve seen in Italy so far.  The city is sooo beautiful! I took a little over 200 pictures.  We walked on this path that led to the top of the city and we went into a small museum.  Then we went to the center and got another delicious hot chocolate.  The man was like our tour guide.  He was explaining all of the history of the city as we walked along.

We headed home and the whole family sat in the living room watching tv with the fire place on.  The cat was also sleeping on me.  I was so relaxed and it was just an amazing day.  Janie and I kept talking about how wonderful our weekend was.  We had so much fun and we were both just extremely happy the whole time.  I ended up falling asleep for a while.  I was so comfortable.

At around 8, my host parents showed up and we all went out for pizza.  Everybody ate and talked until around 10:30 and then we said our goodbyes and drove home.  Janie and I are hopefully going to go back to Gubbio in the beginning of December for a Rotary dinner and to spend the night again. 

It probably wasn’t very good for our Italian skills, but this weekend was a very relaxing, happy, English speaking weekend.  I can’t wait to go back. 

It is now 1 in the morning and I have school tomorrow… oh boy.  Here’s to the next week!

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Gubbio

11-24-12

Even though I wasn’t going to school today, I still had to get up at the same time because Janie and I were being dropped off at a grocery store to volunteer with two of my friends from my class.  The reason why we weren’t going to school was because there was a strike this morning and a bunch of students and even some teachers were participating.  They were protesting because I think the government isn’t giving the school enough money.  From 8 to 10:30, we were at the grocery store handing out a flyer and a bag to the people who came in so that they could buy the food products listed to donate to the poor if they wanted to.  Janie and I were the bag people because we didn’t know how to say the stuff in Italian.  There ended up being a lot of food donated.

After our “shift” was up, Janie, Emily (a friend in my class), and I walked to the center.  The strike was over, but there were still a ton of students in the center.  During Saturday mornings, there’s also a street market in Fabriano, and since we have school on Saturday, we never get to go.  So today we walked around and looked at everything.  We met up with a couple more friends and then we went to a small restaurant place called Kebob.  It was really good.

By the time we were finished eating, Janie and I had to walk back to my house because Janie’s host mom was picking her up there at 12.  When we got there, nobody was home so I called my host parents and they said they were in their country house.  We sat outside until Janie’s host mom got there and then I went over to her house for a while until my host parents got back. 

We ate lunch and then I got ready to go to Gubbio (a medieval city about 35 minutes from Fabriano).  Around 3, Janie and her parents came to our house and we all drove together.  A family there had invited Janie and I to stay the weekend at their house.  The woman is American and the man is Italian.  They also have a son.  We knew that the woman would speak English, but it turned out that everybody spoke it really good.  I guess they usually speak English around the house.  Our host parents stayed and talked with the family for a while and Michael (the son) showed us around the house.  It was beautiful.  He showed us to our rooms and we put our stuff down.  Then we went upstairs and got to see their chickens.  They also had two dogs and four cats. 

We went downstairs and one of Michael’s friends came over and we played two games of pool.  Janie and I were on a team and we lost both times.  I also met one of their cats and it is the coolest cat ever.  It was just super chill and when you picked him up, no matter how you held him, he would just purr and fall asleep. 

Our host parents left and we went upstairs and watched tv for a little bit.  Then we ended up going out before dinner and meeting up with another of Michael’s friends.  Janie and I got our first hot chocolates in Italy.  It is so different!  It is way thicker and way more delicious.  Janie and I were really full by the time we got home and it was almost dinnertime.  We talked with the woman in the kitchen for a while and then we went outside and talked with the man while he was cooking meat on the grill.  I guess the family lived in Italy for a while, moved to the United States for 10 years, and then moved back to Italy.  They have three sons, but two of them are staying in the States right now.

We all had dinner and then we went to the center with Michael and his friends.  We all talked and walked up and down the streets.  We went to a pub around 12 and then home to sleep! I was exhausted!

~Devon

Birthday

11-23-12

It was a good birthday in Italy!  I woke up and walked to school like any other day.  When I got there, one of my friends said that we had to go to the office to get some papers or something so we did.  When I got back and went into the classroom, everybody started shouting and singing happy birthday in English.  There was a sign in the front that said “Buon Compleanno” and there were balloons everywhere.  It was so nice! Then some people lined up in front of the room and started singing again and my other friends came in with a cake that had a candle in it .  I blew out my candle and then everybody had cake.  It was a great start to the day!  That class was supposed to be religion but the teacher let everybody study for their math test.  Then we had art class and I did Sudoku while most everyone continued to study for math.  Then we had Italian and I read.  After break, we had English with the new teacher.  She actually spoke English the whole time and she had people reading paragraphs from the textbook.  Then she asked me to explain what was read in the passage in Italian!  I was really nervous.  I think she wanted to know how good I was at Italian.  Well I showed her!  I could barely say one word and my friend was helping me say stuff the whole time.  After about two minutes and a grand total of about two choppy sentences, the teacher stopped me and then proceeded to have me explain to the class in English what the passage was talking about.  I was pretty embarrassed by the time all that was over with.  Then we had biology and I read my book and the last class was math and we had a test.  The teacher gave me a test in English and she said I could use my notes.  I still think I only got one out of seven problems right though.  Oops.

When I got home, we had lunch and Lorena brought out a surprise cake at the end!  Then Janie came over about thirty minutes later.  We went out and walked around in the small streets again and it was super fun.  Then we went back home at around 4 to do something real fast, but I can’t remember what.  We went out about 20 minutes later and on the way, Penelope passed us in a car because she was going to the church for a group thing so we ran to catch up and say hi.  She went inside and Janie said that she wanted us to wait for her.  Then she came out with a small cake and Janie had a sign that she made at school that said “Buon Compleanno Devon”.  I definitely wasn’t expecting it.  It was another great surprise!

Janie and I walked around a little bit longer and then we went to the gardens and discovered a playground.  We played on a couple of the playground stuff for a while because they were spinny and fun.  Then we just danced around and talked and laughed.  We headed to the pub around 6:30 and we met up with our friends there.  Janie’s host sister, Giulia, was also there with her friends so we hung out with everybody until around 7 when we went to Janie’s house.  I had dinner over there with them because it’s also Janie’s host mom’s birthday today!

After dinner, we went to the pub again and hung out and talked with Giulia and her friends until 11:30 when Roberto picked us up and we went home. 

It was an exhausting, spectacular day and I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday! I’m now seventeen!

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Thanksgiving

I woke up this morning and it was like any other day. It was kind of sad knowing that I wouldn't get to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends.  Janie and I did exchange Happy Thanksgiving texts though.  The first two hours of school were chemistry and biology and I read my book for the first hour and played sudoku for the second hour.  After break, we had religion and I did sudoku once again.  For the last two hours of class, we went to another room and had this math test thing that wouldn't count towards our grade.  I think it was just a competition or something.  I answered one question out of twenty of the multiple choice questions and then I turned it in because it was in Italian and I just didn't understand anything.  The only reason I answered one question is because everybody was yelling out answers and I decided to put one down.  Then I did sudoku and read my book for the rest of the time.  I also got a chance to meet our new substitute English teacher who will be with us for a little over a month.  She seems like she'll be a way better teacher and she actually knew how to speak English!

After lunch, I asked Janie if she wanted to do anything but she just wanted to stay at home, so I was stuck at home as well because my other friends had to stay home to study.  I ended up watching some tv.  To my surprise, Janie texted me around 6 asking if I wanted to go out.  I was ready in five minutes and I met her outside.  We explored a part of Fabriano that we have never been to before.  We were just taking random streets.  We ended up back in the center and ran into a couple of our friends.  We talked for a little bit and then Janie's host mom picked us up and I was dropped off at home.

After dinner, my mom skyped me and she was at some family's house and I got to say hi and talk with everybody.  It was really nice!  After I skyped with her, I skyped with my dad and my sister who were at some friend's house.  I also got to talk with all of them as well.  I really miss everybody, but I'm so glad that I at least got to skype with them.

It was a sad, happy, strange, normal day.  If that makes any sense at all.  I think I'll go to bed now... or when my internet eventually quits like it always does around 11.

Buonanotte and Happy Thanksgiving!
~Devon

Tired

I woke up at 7:40 this morning.   Ten minutes before I was supposed to leave.  Let's just say I was a little frantic, but I was able to get ready on time!  The first hour of class was informatics and I was super tired (more than usual).  I don't know why though because I probably got more sleep last night than I have for the past couple of nights.  Maybe it's because it's finally catching up to me or maybe I had so little time to wake up before I had to leave the house this morning.  I was trying to concentrate on the tutorial on the computer, but I wasn't processing anything.  The next class was art and we went to another room where I did sudoku.  We had physics after break and it was as confusing as ever.  She also hasn't graded our tests yet.  I was looking forward to finding out what I got.  The last two hours were Italian and I read my book.  It's very interesting now and I don't get bored when I'm reading it like I used to.

After lunch, I was on the computer until I walked to lessons.  It was a nice long two hours of Italian and when it ended, I was planning on going to the gym, but I got a text saying that the class was cancelled today and I didn't really feel like doing anything else at the gym.  I went to Janie's instead and we watched tv on her computer.  Lorena picked me up and we came home to have dinner.

It's going to be a sad day tomorrow because it's Thanksgiving, but here, it's just another day.  Janie and I wanted to cook a meal, but we can't because Lorena has to work late.  Oh well, maybe we'll figure out something else to do.

Ciao!
~Devon

Test

I was planning on looking over my notes for my test before class started this morning, but right when I got into the classroom, the teacher was already passing them out so I didn't get a chance to do anything.  I took out my dictionary and he didn't say that I couldn't use it so that was good.  Otherwise, I would have really failed! I think I used it for about every other word I was writing.  Overall, I think the content of my test was accurate, but it all comes down to whether or not the teacher can understand my bad Italian grammar.  The test took me about 2 hours to write and by that time, we had break and then math.  Math was just as confusing as ever and I started at my packet again.

We got out of school two hours early today and Lorena met me at home to let me inside and then she left.  I watched Modern Family on my computer until it was lunch time.  After lunch, I did stuff on my computer until Janie came over at 3.  I skyped with my mom and Emma for a little bit and then Janie and I walked to the grocery store, which took about 20 minutes.  We looked around to make sure they had all of the ingredients for us to make a Thanksgiving dinner.  We still don't know when we're going to cook it though because we can't do it on the actual Thanksgiving day.

Then Janie went shopping for clothes and I just followed her around.  We headed to the center of Fabriano, which was another 20 to 30 minutes of walking and once we got there, we wondered around the streets for some more time.  We found some really cool places that we had never been to before.  We headed to the pub around 6:45 and met our friends.  We talked and helped them with their English homework.  Janie had to leave early and then I walked home a little later and had dinner.

I am very anxious to find out what I got on my history test.  I hope that I at least got a passing grade.  Well, I'm going to watch a little more Modern Family and then go to bed!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Procrastination

The first hour of class was Italian and I read my book.  Then we had two hours of physics and there was a test.  We went to another room to take it and when she passed them out, she didn't give one to me so I thought I wouldn't have to take it, which was a good thing because I don't understand anything in that class.  Then she told me she was going to write me one real fast.  About ten minutes later, she gave it to me and it was Italian, but there was only four questions.  I did the best I could, but I still think I did really bad.  The next hour of class was math and I pretended to read my math packet while people were doing crazy math on the board.  The last class was informatics and we went to the computer lab and did what we always do... talk.  

After lunch, I sat around the house and did nothing.  I was mostly just on the computer.  Around 6, I went to the gym and then came home and got ready for church group after dinner.  Tonight, Janie and I made sure we remembered to go because we've missed the past three weeks.  During the group, we watched a couple of videos and then made Christmas decoration things.  Actually, Janie and I watched while other people made Christmas decorations.  Like I said before, I'm not one for artsy stuff.

Tomorrow, I have a history test on the American Revolution.  Easy topic, but the teacher said that I had to write about it in Italian.  I wrote the summary in English first and I've only gotten through translating about a quarter of it in Italian.  After translating it, I have to memorize it or something because there's no way I will be able to just write about the American Revolution straight from my mind in Italian.  If I can't possibly memorize it, my test is going to be WAY dumbed down because I'll have to use the words I know in Italian.  I should've probably been studying for the last week, but that's just not the way I work.  I like to leave things to the last minute and study under pressure. So here's to late night studying! This is so familiar...

Ciao!

~Devon

Regular Sunday

I woke up at around 10 this morning and had breakfast. Then I caught up on all of the recent Glee episodes on my computer.  I was pretty much on my computer all day talking with people on facebook, finding new music, and watching tv.  Then I got to skype with my mom and my sister again for a little bit.

Like every Sunday, I was supposed to go out with Janie today, but she decided she wanted to sleep.  I ended up going out around 7 and I met up with some of my friends at the pub.  We all talked for an hour or so and then I got a ride home.

I had dinner and now I'm going to bed!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Addio Capelli

The first hour of class was Italian and I read my book, as well as in chemistry for the second hour.  Then we got on the bus and went to the gym.  The first half of class, we did this weird circuit thing where we had to jump over this bar thing and jump in and out of hoops.  I thought it was a little dangerous because somebody could’ve easily fallen on their head jumping over the bar because it was kind of high.  One person actually fell on there back.  I also probably looked like an idiot when I did it.   Then we had to play basketball with teams of five and I was on a team with four guys who were really good.  I felt bad that they had to have me on their team.  I pretty much walked around the court the whole time and everybody avoided passing the ball to me.  It worked out just fine, but again, I probably looked like an idiot.  I wish I was good at sports.  When we got back to the school, we went to the computer lab for art class and it looked like people were designing houses or something on this computer program.  A lot of people just talked, like me.

After lunch, I went over to Janie’s house and hung out a little bit with her and Elizabeth, our friend.  Then we were dropped off at a hair salon, which is owned by Elizabeth’s uncle.  We were there from around 3:30/4ish to 7:45.  First, Janie got her hair dyed.  That’s mainly the reason it took so long.  She got the tips dyed red and it looks super good.  She looks like a rock star.  Then it was my turn.   I decided that I want to donate my hair to Locks of Love again so the minimum to cut off is 10 inches.  We measured it out and put my hair in a ponytail. I was super nervous and then “snip”! In about 10 seconds, I was holding about a foot of my hair in my hand.  We put it in a bag so that I can mail it in to donate.  I got tears in my eyes when my hair was cut off, but they went away quickly.  I thought my hair was short when it was first cut off.  Then he took off another inch or so to level everything out and layer my hair.  I was freaking out a little bit. 

In the end, I am super satisfied with my haircut.  I think it’s the best hairdresser I’ve ever been to.  I didn’t even show him a picture of what I wanted and he ended up layering my hair exactly the way I wanted.  I feel like a new person!  I kept swinging my hair around. It’s so short! (To me anyway.)  Then Janie got her hair curled and her host dad picked us up.  We went to her house and her host parents were shocked when they saw Janie’s hair in the light because she never told them she was dying it.  They liked it though.  They also liked my hair.  We had pizza and hung out in her room for about an hour.  I skyped with my dad and my sister and showed them my new hair!

We went to the pub around 10:15 and none of our friends were there so we took a little stroll around town.  We were walking through the small streets and we made our way to the church.  I was really cold so I put my bag down and took a couple of laps around the church steps.  (Nobody was there, so I wasn’t embarrassing myself.) Janie left me, so I didn’t get to run as much as I wanted, but I had to run to catch up with her and by that point, I was all warmed up.  I ended up staying warm for the rest of the night. It was great!  When we went back to the pub, our friends still weren’t there so we stood and talked with each other for a while.  Some people ended up coming up and talking with us and I also found some kids from my class and we talked with them as well.  I feel like I’m starting to speak Italian better, and therefore, I’m making more friends!  I talked with a lot of people tonight that I’ve never talked with before. 

We were picked up at 12 and it was raining and I was pretty tired.  The internet never works at night so I will upload this blog tomorrow morning… or tomorrow afternoon (because that’s probably when I’ll get up). 

I love my hair!!

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Same

The first two hours of class were history and philosophy.  I stared at the computer the whole time and tried to memorize what I had written about the American Revolution for my test.  It's in English though.  I still have to translate it to Italian but the internet wasn't working at school.  Then I made a package list of all of the things that I want my parents to send me from home.  We had art next and I started a Christmas gift list so that I can figure out what I want to get everybody back home and then send it all at once.  We had a surprise Italian class after lunch.  It was a surprise because everybody thought we were going to have biology.  I read my book during that class and I guess the teacher is going to start working with me more after November.  Then we had chemistry and I did sudoku.  The last class of the day was math and the teacher gave me a packet to read in English.

After lunch, I watched Glee on my computer and then I walked to the school for lessons.  I feel like they move so slow.   Then I went to the gym and came home for dinner.  Now I'm going to watch more Glee and go to bed!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Internet!

The first two hours of class today were biology and chemistry with the same teacher.  During the biology hour, I did my history homework because the internet wasn't working and then I did sudoku for the chemistry hour.  After break, we had religion and I did sudoku again.  For physics, I tried to follow along with the lesson, but I am getting more and more lost everyday.  The last class was supposed to be English, but the teacher didn't show up until the last 30 minutes so the students just messed around until then.  Actually, they messed around after he showed up as well.  He didn't even try to teach anything.

Right after lunch, I went to Janie's house because Lorena had to go to work and that was the only time she could take me.  I brought my computer so that I could get on the internet and that's what I did the whole time I was over there.  I think I uploaded about 5 new blogs from the past week.  I also skyped with my sister and my mom.  Then I got a lot of new music and I found a new band that I really like!

We were dropped off at the center around 6 and we went to 3 paper shops so that Janie could find some gel pens and paper.  She ended up buying three different colored pens that were super expensive.  She never found the exact paper she was looking for though.  Then we went to the pub and played the story game again until Janie's host dad picked us up.  Now that's what I call an exciting night!

After dinner, Roberto told me that we have internet now!! Goodbye sleep! Ahhh, what shall I do first.  I think I'm going to find more music.

Ciao!
~Devon

Better Day 11-14-12

The first hour of class today was informatics and I read the language C tutorial like always.  Then we had art and we had to go to another room.  I brought my Sudoku book and did that the whole time.  After break we had physics and we went to a lab room.  I didn’t really know what was going on the whole time.  The teacher was talking and writing on the board and another teacher was doing an air pressure experiment or something.  The last two hours of class were Italian and I read my book. I’m finally getting into it.  Not so much so that I want to read it in Italian for 2 hours, but I did anyway. 

After lunch, I watched tv until it was time for lessons.  Janie met me at my house today and we walked together.  We ended up getting there five minutes late because we were walking slow and talking.  After about an hour of lessons, another teacher came into the room and started talking with our teacher and so Janie and I started planning our Thanksgiving dinner that we’re going to make.  We ended up talking for around 25 minutes until our lessons started up again.  Janie and I now have a complete list of all of the dishes we want to make for Thanksgiving.  

When lessons ended, I was dropped off at the gym for step class and then I went home and had dinner.  I also got  the good news that we may have internet in the house again in the next couple of days!  I better get good sleep now.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Glee 11-13-12

The first two hours of class were history and philosophy and during philosophy, there was a class test.  The teacher wanted me to do the history test about the American Revolution, but there was no way I could’ve done it in Italian because I haven’t studied it yet.  I was also told that it would be next Tuesday, not today, so he just had me study more.  Then there was two hours of math and I did Sudoku and took notes for the last 30 minutes.  I actually understood some of it.  During chemistry, I stared blankly at the board and did Sudoku.  Even if I could understand what the teacher was saying, I don’t think I would be able to understand the content.

After lunch, I sat on the couch and watched tv.  Janie and I were going to get together, but she decided she would rather stay in bed and sleep all day.  I got in contact with some other friends and around 7, I met them in the center.  We all walked to the pub and hung out for a little while.  I got home at 8:15 and had dinner. 

 The weather today was super overcast.  Around the time I went out, it started raining a little bit.  It was more of a mist though. It was super weird and cool at the same time!

Because I had been watching tv during the afternoon, I saw the commercials that said the new Glee was on tonight! Right after dinner, I got ready for bed and then searched for the channel.  At 9, I watched it in English with Italian subtitles because the tv allows you to choose what language you want it in.  Oh, how I love Glee.

For the first time in about a week, I will probably get to bed a little late tonight!  Maybe only 7 hours of sleep for me…

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Civic Duties 11-12-12

We had Italian for the first hour of class and I read my book. No surprise.  Then we had physics and I tried to follow along with the lesson.  Some of it was easy and some of it was hard.  After break, we had English and we continued with the “Elizabeth” movie.  It’s actually pretty good, but I don’t think anybody in the class can understand it, except for me and maybe two others.  Then we had math and informatics in the computer lab.  Some of my friends were taking a test so I sat there and watched them.  During the informatics hour, I did the same. 

When I got home, lunch was ready soon after and I had to eat really fast because Janie and I had this foreigner thing we had to go to at my school.  Right when I was finished eating I met Janie and her host dad downstairs and we were dropped off at the school. 

The meeting was for our residents permit because when we received it, it said that we had to attend this session or else we would lose 15 out of 16 of our points.  I don’t really know what the points do, but I sure didn’t want to lose 15 of them.  We got to the room with all of the other foreigners and we sat down in the back of the room.  Then we were separated into different rooms based on our language I think.  Janie and I went to the computer room and we were each given an English CD and headphones.  This was the start of the most boring 5 hours of my life!  We had to watch 5, hour long videos about the rules to living in Italy and the way of life with the same two people talking in monotone voices.  None of it (or at least what I was listening to) had anything to do with me or information that I needed to know.  It was all about how to rent or buy an apartment, getting a job, putting your kids in school, etc.  There was even a part that caught my attention about how you can’t slaughter animals in your apartments in Italy because it is against the rules and the blood might leak into the hallway.  Okay, I’ll make a mental note.

Janie and I would periodically skip ahead about 5 minutes throughout each video because we weren’t listening anyway.  The first hour or two, Janie and I passed notes and played hangman.  Then Janie drew for the rest of the time and I did Sudoku, because luckily, Janie had brought it with her.  During the last video, we skipped the last 10 minutes and turned in the CDs.  Janie’s host dad picked us up and I was dropped off at home at 7:30.   Then we had dinner. 

Now I’m going to re-watch the movie that I’ve been watching for the last week because I have nothing better to do, except sleep.  But I’m not tired just yet.  It’s only 8:40.

Ciao!

~Devon

Relax 11-11-12

Today was a day for me to relax and do nothing else.  I woke up around 10:30 and had breakfast.  Nobody was home so I watched tv.  When my host parents got home, we had lunch and then I sat on the couch and watched more tv.  I think I went through about 3 movies today and Lorena watched some of them with me.  None of my friends were going out, so I had nothing to do.  It was also really stormy outside so I guess today was meant to be a day to relax and do nothing. 

Now I’m going to bed early.  I will (hopefully) wake up refreshed and ready for school tomorrow.  Likely not though because I’m just always tired in the morning no matter what I do.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Understanding 11-10-12

The first hour of class today was Italian so I just read my book.  I actually understood quite a bit of it.  Then we had biology and I read about Mendel’s laws again, which was easy.   We got on the bus and went to the gym for the next two hours.  We did some floor and bleacher exercises and then some kids went off to play soccer and some played volleyball.  Then there were a couple of students (including me) who sat on the bleachers and watched people play volleyball.  We also talked a little bit.  When we got back to the school, we had art and I didn’t do anything.  Most of the other students didn’t do anything either.  We all just talked about what we were going to do this weekend.

After lunch I went to Janie’s and I finally got to use the internet.  Around 5:15, Janie and I were dropped off in the center and we walked around for a while until we met up with some friends and went to the pub where we stayed for another hour.  Then we walked back to the center and Janie’s host mom picked us up.  We had pizza for dinner and I ate far too much.  Before we went out again at 10, I was able to skype with my sister and my dad for a while. 

When Janie and I got to the pub, none of the people that we usually hang out with were there.  We walked around looking for a couple of minutes and then we found some friends that we don’t talk to very often.  We ended up hanging out with them for the whole night and we only talked in Italian!  I felt very accomplished tonight because I understood everything that they were saying and I spoke back in Italian, no matter how terrible the grammar may have been.  They seemed to understand what I was saying, and that’s all that matters.  Then we met up with more of their friends that I have seen around Fabriano, some of which go to my school. 

It was nice to be able to hang out with different friends because I felt like I am starting to connect more.  It also boosted my confidence with Italian.  I feel like a lot of people don’t talk to me because they don’t think that I understand Italian and they don’t know how to speak English.  I think tonight, a lot of people realized that I can actually understand what they are saying and I was able to have conversations with a lot more people and make new friends. 

At 12:15, Janie and I were picked up and I was dropped off at home.  Now to catch up on my sleep for the week.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Progress

11/9/12

The first two hours of class were history and philosophy and I had the computer so the teacher told me to research the beginning of the American Revolution (which I am very familiar with) because I am going to have to write about it in Italian on the test day.  Writing about it is easy; it’s the Italian part that will be hard.  I’m probably going to write it ahead of time so that I can have my friends help me translate it and then I can memorize the Italian version so that I don’t make a ton of mistakes on the test.  The next hour of class was art and the teacher was talking about the renaissance the whole time so I worked on my Italian homework.  During break I checked my email and then we had English.  We went to another room and we watched part of a movie.  I think it was called Queen Elizabeth and it was in English so I could actually understand something! 

The next hour of class was supposed to be biology, but I guess there was a class meeting because the class presidents (two of them) went to the front of the room and the class talked for the hour.  I think most of the conversation was about the English teacher.  Then we had math and I practiced writing sentences with my left hand and then I searched for stuff on the computer. 

After lunch, I watched another movie because that’s all I can really do.  Then I walked to lessons and for the two hours, we did exercises on the computers.  After that I tried to update my blog but pretty much all of the websites except for google were blocked.  Or at least the email and blog websites I was trying to get to. 

I was supposed to go to the gym today and I had all of my stuff with me, but I just wasn’t feeling up to it so I called Lorena and told her that she didn’t have to pick me up at the gym because I was just going to go out with friends instead.   We met up with Janie’s host sister and then we walked to the pub.  We stayed there until around 7:30 and talked with friends.  After being dropped off at home, I ate dinner and I still have to finish the movie I have been watching for the past two nights.  I’ve only been watching a little bit every night so that it can last me a while.  I only have to movies on my computer and I have a month without internet.

The bright side of being internet-less is that I get to bed A LOT earlier now.  I think I’m actually getting my 8 hours every night.  Possibly more.  I also get to listen to more music, but I can’t get new music until I have internet! 

Ciao!

~Devon

Stories

11/8/12

The first hour of class today was biology and I read about Mendel’s laws on the computer for an hour.  I have already learned about this, but the teacher told me to read it, so I guess I was just refreshing my memory.  The second hour was chemistry with the same teacher and he didn’t tell me to do anything different so I worked on some of my Italian homework.  I have been writing with my left hand a lot so that I can become ambidextrous! The practice is paying off, but Janie is way better than me.  Then one of my friends gave me a Sudoku puzzle on a little piece of paper for me to try and it was impossible! He had the same puzzle written down on his paper and when we compared the two of ours, we had written all of the same numbers and we couldn’t figure out how to continue.  Maybe I’ll try again tomorrow.  I tried to update my blog during break because I had used another format to put on my flash drive.  The word document opened on the computer, but the internet page I needed wasn’t working. Just my luck. 

After break, we had religion and I just did some Sudoku and worked on more Italian homework.  Then we had physics and I tried to follow along with what was happening, but it’s getting more difficult.  The last hour was English and the teacher handed back our tests.  I got a 9+, which is pretty good, out of 10.  The bubbling format was really weird for some of the questions and I had made a stupid mistake on that and then I missed a true or false question.   I guess there was a lot of mistakes on the grading of the papers so getting all of that settled took about half the class.  Then students were just leaving and coming back and I didn’t really know what was going on.  We didn’t end up learning anything.  I did Sudoku.

After lunch, I watched another part of a movie and then I walked to lessons 20 minutes early with my laptop in tow.   When I got there I finally got to use the internet because it isn’t password protected at the school.  I updated my last two blogs and I checked my email and stuff.  Then lessons started so I had to put it away.  After lessons, Janie and I walked to my house to drop of our stuff and then we went out.

We went shopping again today, but Janie didn’t ended up buying any cloths.  She’s practicing her self-control.  Then we decided to go to the pub and she wanted to practice writing with her left hand.  I didn’t have a pen, so we went to the paper shop and Janie bought a new notebook and she also bought me a cheap pen.  When we got to the pub, we sat outside and ended up writing two different stories.  We did the thing where we each wrote for about 25 seconds and then we would switch papers and carry on with the other person’s story for another 25 seconds.  We switched off until some of our friends showed up and our stories were about over.  The stories were hilarious and crazy.  Then we moved inside and talked with everybody.  Janie had to leave early and then about an hour later, I walked home and had dinner.

Last night I ended up watching part of a movie on my computer, so I’m going to continue with that tonight.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Simple Day

11/7/12

The first hour of class today was informatics and I had the computer so I read through the tutorial thing that the teacher had put on the computer a while ago.  During the second hour of class, we went to the art room and I did Sudoku.   During break, I tried to update my blog, but the format of the document I had on my flash drive didn’t work with the computer so I’m going to have to try something different.  I did Sudoku for the first couple of minutes of physics and then I copied down the stuff on the board and it was similar to something we did in chemistry last year, so I followed along with the examples.  The last two hours of class were Italian so I read my book and daydreamed. 

After lunch, I finished my Sudoku puzzle that I was working on in class and then I watched part of a movie with Lorena.  I walked to Italian lessons at 4 and today was two hours.  I feel like we accomplish just as much in two hours as we do in one.  Then I walked home really fast to get ready for the gym and I was surprised when I didn’t get there late.  I did my step class and then came home for dinner. 

Last night I ended up looking through a lot of my songs on itunes and now I have to find something to occupy my time tonight.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Exactly 2 Months

This blog is a couple of days late because this is the first time I have gotten internet. This is from 11/6/12.

I can’t believe it’s already been two months.  It seems like time is going by way too fast.  It feels like I just got here yesterday.  I hope my whole year doesn’t go by this fast.

The first 2 hours of class today were history and philosophy and I didn’t have the computer so I worked on some of my Italian lesson homework and then I read my book.  During break, I did Sudoku and then we had two hours of math and the teacher brought a CD textbook to class so that I could read about some math concepts in English.  After I got the computer, it took me around 45 minutes for me to read what she wanted me to and then I just watched students do math problems on the board.  The last hour of class was chemistry and the teacher didn’t tell me that I had to do anything, so I did more Sudoku.  I’m surprisingly not tired of it yet.

After lunch I talked with Lorena for a little bit and then I went over to Janie’s at 2:30 because that’s when Lorena had to go to work.  I updated my blog and checked my email and stuff when I got there because I have to make the most out of the internet when I have it!  Then Janie and I watched a movie and talked.  We were going to go out, but we were being lazy so we decided to just hang out at the house until 8 when I was dropped off. 

 I just ate dinner and now I can either go to bed way early or figure out how to occupy my time until I’m actually tired.  I haven’t decided yet.

Ciao!
~Devon

No Internet

Blog from yesterday.

I didn’t get very good sleep last night, so I was more tired than usual this morning.  The first hour at school was Italian and I did some of my homework for my Italian lessons and then I read my book, or tried to read my book.  It was hard to concentrate.  The next class was physics and I continued to read my book because she was giving verbal problems.  Then she started to write on the board and she made me copy everything down.  I guess when I learn Italian better, I will be able to look back and understand it.  During break, I took out my Sudoku book and continued with that through the English hour because nobody was paying attention and I didn’t have an English book.  I copied down the small amount of notes that there were though.  For the last two hours of class, we went to the computer lab and I watched some of my classmates work on some graphs on excel and then it was the informatics hour so I did Sudoku again. 

After lunch, I learned that our internet is broken for good and it will probably take another month to order a new one.  What am I going to do!?  I might end up buying one of those internet USB connector things if it isn’t too expensive.  For now, I will just be trying to update my blog whenever I’m at Janie’s house, or at school during break when I have the computer.  The sad part is that it will be really hard to skype with my family and friends because I usually skype with them after lunch or late at night because of the time difference. 

I ended up watching the end of Mission Impossible and the beginning of Thor after lunch until I walked to my lesson.  After lessons, I went with Janie to get her ID card thing from the police station and then we went to her house where I updated my blog from Saturday and Sunday.  Then I was dropped off at the gym.

The church group is tonight and Janie and I were going to go, but then she decided that she would rather lie in bed, so we promised that we will go next week.  It just ends up going for so late and I don’t like going to bed past 11, even though I do almost every night.  Hopefully not tonight since I don’t have the internet to distract me.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Saturday and Sunday

My internet is totally broken now, so I will try to update my blog as much as possible when I can go somewhere with internet.  It will probably be a month until we have internet in the house again.

I am combining two days in one blog, Saturday and Sunday. 

On Saturday, I woke up at around 11 and then fell back asleep until 12.  After lunch, Janie and her host mom came over and we all went to the paper museum that’s near our house.  Fabriano is famous for its paper.  We walked around for a while and looked at everything and then we went into this art class.  There were a ton of really good artists there and we watched them paint for a while.  They asked if we wanted to try anything and Janie did a couple of sketches since she’s an amazing drawer, but I declined because I suck at anything having to do with art. 

After a little while, Janie and I left and we went to the center to go shopping.  Janie bought a couple of things and then we went back to my house and she was dropped off at home.  I got ready for dinner, and then my host parents and I went to a restaurant and met up with a bunch of Lorena’s family.  I have never heard my name said in so many different ways in my whole life.  Somebody came up to me and asked for my name and I told them and then I spelled it.  Usually when I spell my name, everybody pronounces it with the “o” sound when it is supposed to be said with the “I” sound.  I’ve pretty much gotten used to it because nobody pronounces my name right here, but last night, everybody was determined to pronounce it right.  It took a while, but a few people finally got it down. Everybody was still talking and eating dessert when Roberto and I left because I had a party. 

We went to pick a couple of my friends and then we were dropped off at the party at someone’s house.  Janie and some of my other friends were already there.  We danced and talked the whole time and then Janie and I were picked up at 2:30 to go home. 

Today, Sunday, I was woken up because Janie had texted me at around 10:30 and I couldn’t get back to sleep after that so I just stayed in bed for a while.  At around 12, Janie came over and I got ready for the day.  We had lunch and then Janie and I went on a walk that lasted a little more than an hour.  We didn’t know where we were going.  We were just picking streets and following them.  We ended up in a very beautiful place with a lot of fields, and then we had to turn around to go back. 

When we got home, we left again to go to some caves about 30 minutes from Fabriano in a place called Genga with my host parents.  They were the type of caves that have the mineral formations coming down from the ceiling and building up from the ground.  It was super beautiful, but unfortunately, no photos.  We were there for about two hours and then we dropped Janie off and returned home.  I was exhausted and I’m a little sick, so I just sat around all night.  Before dinner, I got to skype with my mom for a little bit and then I skyped with a couple of my friends after dinner until the internet went out when I was in mid-conversation.  I am a little homesick tonight and it definitely didn’t help that I didn’t get to finish talking with my friends.  I was also supposed to skype with my sister tonight. 

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.  Back to school…

Buonanotte!

~Devon