Ice Skating

I woke up at around 1 again this morning and had lunch right away.  Then I got ready to go to Emily's house in Matelica for the afternoon.  When I got there, we talked for a while and then we went out.  We were going to go ice skating, but there were too many people so we went to get hot chocolates first. They were delicious.  We went back to the ice rink a little later, but they told us we needed gloves so we had to walk back home to get them.

We finally got on the ice at about 6:30 and I realized that I haven't been ice skating for a very long time.  I sucked, but I didn't fall, so that was good.  When we got home, we had dinner and then I skyped with my family at Emily's house for a couple of minutes. Emily got to meet everybody through the computer and it was really cool!

I was dropped off at home at 9:30 and I got to skype with my cousins for a little bit until we lost the connection.  Now I am going to watch tv.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Exercise

12-29-12

Giovanna messaged me at around 2 last night asking me if I wanted to go to the pool in the morning to swim.  I have wanted to get out and exercise for a week now so I decided to sacrifice my sleep to get up “early “ and go to the pool.  I woke up at 9:30 and asked Lorena if I could go and then I got ready.  Giovanna came and picked me up around 11 and we went to the pool place.  We swam laps for about an hour pausing every once in a while to talk. 

I got home around 1 and had lunch.  Then I relaxed in bed for a couple of hours until I went to go on a walk with Giovanna.  I walked to her house and then we walked around town for a couple of hours.  Around 6, we got gelato and then came to my house.  We talked with Lorena and Roberto for a while and then Giovanna had to go home and I had to get ready to go to a birthday party.

At 7:30, Giulia picked me up and we went back to her house to get Janie.  We drove to the party and had dinner while talking with everybody.  Most of the time, Janie and I talked amongst each other.  Towards the end, Janie had a pretty bad headache because she has a cold, so we called her host dad to pick us up early.  We returned at home around 12:45 and my internet is out so I might as well go to bed right away.  It’s been a tiring day anyway and I feel like I’m going to fall asleep right now.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Back and Forth

I was up until around 5 this morning so I slept until 1.  I woke up when my host mom told me that lunch was ready.  After lunch, I showered and then watched tv for a while.  At 4:30, I walked to the library because Janie was with Giulia, who was studying.  When I got there, we left and walked to the center.  Janie decided she was hungry and wanted to get pizza specifically from the place under my house so we walked back home.  Once she got it, we went to the center again.  I decided I needed to get something for New Years today so I walked into a store, picked something out and bought it!  I immediately had buyer's remorse, but that happens every time I buy something.

It was only 5:45 when I was done shopping and the pub wasn't open yet so we decided to walk back to my house again to drop my stuff off.  Nobody was home, so again we walked back to the center, and by that point, the pub was open, so we went inside.  We played with Janie's new iPad for a little bit and then went outside to sit with Giulia and her friends.  I was dropped off at home at 7:30, but then Emily called me and told me to go and meet with someone to get the tickets for the New Years party.

Once again, I walked back to the center, bought the tickets, and I was home at 8 for dinner.  After dinner, I got ready to go out and Giulia picked me up around 10 to go to the pub.  We hung out there until 12:30.  There weren't any tables inside so we sat outside the whole time and by the time we left, my feet were so frozen that it felt like needles were poking them.

Now it's time for my movie.  I still have to pick one out.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Attempt at Shopping

I woke up around 12 this morning because I was up until 4 watching tv last night/this morning.  My sleeping schedule is going to be messed up when school starts again.  I didn't even bother getting breakfast, I just waited a little while until lunch was ready.

After lunch, I tried to get Janie to come over, but she didn't want to until 6, so I just hung around the house until then.  When she got here, we walked to the center and then we sat in the park and talked for a while.  A little later, we went back to the center to go shopping because I need something for New Years, but we went into one store and I lost interest.  Sometimes, I wish I was a shopper. Then we met up with some friends and went to the pub to hang out.

I returned home for dinner and then I got ready to go out again around 10.  Giulia and Janie picked me up and we went to the pub again.  We hung out and talked and then I went home around 11:30.

I'm never tired at night so I guess it's time for a movie!

Ciao!
~Devon

Movie Day

I woke up at 11 this morning and had breakfast.  Then I watched part of movie until it was time for lunch.  After lunch, I got ready and then I was dropped off at Janie's around 4.  We started to watch a movie but after about ten minutes, we decided to go for a walk instead.  We went to explore her "backyard."  There's a big field behind her house so we went there and trekked our way through the mud to a big bridge that went over this little river.  It was really pretty.  Then we found a street that eventually ended so we headed back.

We walked to the commercial center, but nothing was open so we walked back to the house around 6.  We watched a movie and then I went home for dinner.  I wanted to go out, but none of my friends were so I watched another movie.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Christmas

I stayed up until around 4 last night/this morning skyping with my family and then my internet eventually quit for some unknown reason so I went to sleep.  Then my host dad woke me up around 12 to get ready to go to his mom’s house for lunch.  

When we got there, we went straight downstairs again to eat.  We ate a ton of food as usual and then we played bingo.  It was really fun and I ended up winning five euros!

Around 4:30 we went home and I got straight on skype because I was hoping that my sister hadn’t opened her Christmas presents yet because it was only 7:30 in the morning there.  While I was waiting for her to answer my message, I skyped with my dad for a little bit.  Then my sister skyped me.  They were just beginning to open presents so I got to watch them and talk with them the whole time. It was really cool.

I had dinner between all this skyping and I gave my host parents their present.  They really loved it and it made me happy.

Then I skyped with Emma for a while and after that, with my aunt, uncle, grandparents, and cousin.  It was so nice to see all of them!  I talked with them for a long time and then the power in my house went out.  I want to watch a movie, but I don’t know how long my computer is going to last without being plugged in. We’ll see.

Ciao!

~Devon

Christmas Eve

I woke up somewhat early this morning because of texts from Janie.  I actually got out of bed around 11 and had breakfast.  Janie wanted me to come over after lunch so I talked to Roberto and he took me to do my last minute Christmas shopping.  We had a small lunch because we were going over to Roberto's mom's house for a big dinner that night.  Then I wrapped all of my gifts and went over to Janie's to exchange them and hang out.  We watched a movie and a half and then I was dropped off at home around 7.

We left to go to Roberto's mom's house right away and the whole family was there.  We all sat down at a big table and ate a HUGE dinner.  I guess for Christmas eve they only eat fish for the meat because they have the other meat for Christmas day.  We had fish pasta that was delicious and a bunch of other types of fish.  I also learned that 13 is an unlucky number here and when there are 13 people at the table it brings bad luck to the youngest person so they always set a 14th place.  That's what they did tonight because there were 13 of us.

I don't know if it's only for my host family or for every family in Italy, but right after dinner, all of the kids opened up their Christmas presents and then went up stairs to play with everything.  Veronica was also online so the whole family skyped with her for a while.  The rest of the evening was pretty mellow and then we went home at 11:30.

I was a little homesick tonight because it just doesn't feel like Christmas here.  I associate the feeling of Christmas with being with all of my family, listening to Christmas music, seeing all of the lights and decorations in the house and around town.  It's just not as extravagant here, but it's all part of a new culture and it was good to experience it.  I also enjoyed talking with the whole family tonight.  Everyone is so nice!

When I got home, I skyped with my mom and sister and then when they had to leave to go to church, I skyped with my dad until he had to leave.  I might try to skype with them again if I'm still up by the time they get home.  I'm sure I will be.  It's already 1:40 here, but I'm not tired yet.

Merry Christmas/Buon Natale!
~Devon

Great Beginning to Winter Break

Saturday and Sunday

On Saturday, nothing happened for the first hour of class.  The Italian teacher talked a little bit and then the whole class walked to the church theater that happened to be right across from my house for an assembly/diploma thing.  Some guest speakers spoke for a while, while I tried not to fall asleep, and then diplomas were handed out to last year’s graduates.  School ended at 11:45 and I walked across the street to go home but my host parents were in the country house so I was locked out.  I ended up walking to the market in the center with my friends for about 45 minutes. 

After I got home and had lunch, I got ready to go to Emily’s house.  I got to her house in Matelica around 4 and we walked around town for a while.  Then we returned at home and picked out the clothes we were going to wear to the disco.  Dinner got there at 7:30 and we ate pizza, of course!  Both of us were really tired so we took a 30 minute nap after dinner and then got ready to go. 

We left the house around 11:15 and went to meet up with Janie, her host sister, and her friends at the bar.  We all talked for a little bit and then we made our way to the disco a little after midnight.  We ended up staying until around 4:30 in the morning and then we walked home and went straight to bed.

At 9 this morning, Emily’s mom came into her room and told her that her cat had just fallen of the terrace into the garden below so she jumped out of bed and put her shoes on and I followed.  We ran downstairs and Emily jumped a fence to go and get her cat.  He had blood running out of his nose and one of his eyes, but fortunately, he didn’t break anything.  We ran back upstairs and Emily got a hold of a vet because the cat was having trouble breathing with the blood.  It was a very frantic and scary morning.

Emily and her mom took the cat to the vet and I went back to sleep until 11:45.  Emily had gone back to sleep as well when she got back from the vet.  We had breakfast and then got ready to go to her sister’s house in Esanatoglia for lunch.  Her sister is an amazing cook and we had delicious food but I wasn’t able to finish it all because I got full really fast.  Probably because we had breakfast shortly before then. 

After lunch, we went to Emily’s country house to get her dog.  We also fed her other dog and her 15 or so cats that roam around there.  It was really beautiful up there.  Then we went to a motocross track.  It was really cool!  I met a couple of Emily’s friends and then we went to another beautiful park.  We drove back to the city and walked around there for a while before returning home.  We relaxed around her sister’s house until Roberto came to pick me up at 7.

I almost fell asleep on the car ride home I was so tired.  Good thing its winter break and I don’t have to get up early anymore!  These next to weeks are going to be so nice…

Buonanotte!

~Devon  

End of the World

We had a school assembly today and it didn't start until 8:30, so I got to sleep an extra half an hour!  When I got to the stadium place for the assembly, I went and sat down with my friends.  We didn't do anything the whole day.  We sat and talked while some people did some type of karaoke in the center of the stadium.  It was more like yelling into the microphone and most of the songs were in English as well. It was interesting.  Then we played bingo and every class had their own bingo paper that was extra large so that people could stand on the numbers when they were called.  Our class just put miscellaneous objects on the spaces that were called, including a lit candle.  At one point, somebody threw something that hit the candle, knocked it over, and it almost lit a stuffed animal, which was on one of the spaces, on fire.  That could've been bad, but somebody was quick to pick it up.  

When the assembly ended around 12, my friends and I went to the grocery store/mall across the street so I could buy bags to put the sweets we made yesterday in.  After lunch, I went to Janie's so that we could do the little Christmas bags for our friends.  Then we were dropped off at Italian lessons and we did all Christmas related exercises today. 

Giulia picked us up afterwards and we went shopping.  I didn't get anything, but Janie bought some cute heels.  Speaking of Janie, she was making me laugh so hard today.  She started to speak in an English accent and she wouldn't stop.  She even renamed herself Ann (her middle name) and Janie was gone for the rest of the night.  There were times when she would start laughing and say something in a normal voice and I would say "Janie's back!" but then she would get really serious and say, "Janie's gone!"  

I ate dinner at home and then Lorena left to do some shopping or something and Roberto hasn't come home yet tonight so I have the house to myself.  I am just going to watch tv on my computer until I go to bed. 

And... I'm still alive.  The world is obviously not ending today.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Baking

School was interesting and very fun today.  During the first two hours of class, we had biology and chemistry and I sat and listened during the biology hour even though I didn't really understand anything.  During the chemistry hour, during break, and during religion, Emily and I found a cartoon character for every teacher and student in our class.  It all started when I said that the history teacher looks exactly the same as the old man from "Up".  Then we decided to do it for all of the teachers.  When we finished that, we did it for all of our classmates and I felt very accomplished when we finished.  It was a great way to occupy my time.  Then we had physics and there was a test.  She gave me a different test that just had four questions on it and all I had to do was answer the questions with sentences.  She said I could use the computer so I googled everything and copied it down in Italian. It ended up taking an hour though.  The last class of the day was supposed to be English, but I guess the teacher wasn't at school today and they don't have subs here so another person just came to our class to watch over us while we sat around and talked.  It was pretty cool, and we told everyone their cartoon characters. It was a good laugh.

Right after lunch, I went over to Janie's house with some brownie mix in tow.  When I got there, we started making a batch of cupcakes that Janie's parents sent her and then we made my brownies.  When all of those were done, we made Oreo truffles and since the refrigerator was full, we just put them outside under some foil to cool because it's freezing outside.  All of this took about four hours because we had to do three batches in the oven, frost the cupcakes, cut the brownies with cookie cutters, roll the oreo truffles, let them harden, melt white chocolate, cover the oreo truffles with white chocolate, let them harden again.  It was a lot of work!  One batch of brownies didn't turn out very good and we cooked them a little too long, but it's all okay.  We made it work.  We are going to put them all into little individual bags tomorrow so that we can give them to our friends for Christmas!  I even have a small battle scar from today because I burned myself on one of the pans. Oops.

Roberto picked me up at 8 and we got pizza for dinner because Lorena wasn't home tonight.  Then I took a shower and braided my hair into four braids to see what it will look like curly in the morning.  This is the first time I've done this, so if it doesn't look good, I can just put it up into a pony tail! Problem solved.

Here's to tomorrow! The "end of the world"!... Or just another day at school.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Pandoro

The first hour of class today was informatics and I didn't have to take the test so I read my Italian book. Then we had art and I did sudoku.  After break, we had physics and she handed out our lab reports and then we didn't end up doing anything for the rest of the class so I did more sudoku.  The last two hours of class were Italian and I read my book again.

After lunch, I watched some tv and then I walked to lessons.  Janie was in Perugia today so it was just me and the teacher.  The lesson actually went by faster than I thought it would.  We ended up talking for most of it.  Then I walked home at 6.

I wanted to go out, but none of my friends were so I just stayed at home.  We had dinner and I finally got to try Pandoro, which is a traditional Italian cake made during Christmas time.  It was really good!

For some reason, I am very ahead of schedule tonight so I might get to bed early! Or just have time to do more stuff.

Ciao!
~Devon

Theater

The first two hours of class were history and philosophy and I read my Italian book.  After the break, we had a math test and the teacher gave me an easier one that was in English.  This was the first test that I actually think I did well on, so I’m hoping I get a good grade.  After I finished, the religion teacher came to talk with me about everything that was going on tonight so that I was better prepared and then I went back to class where I sat and stared at my finished test for an hour waiting for everyone else to finish.  When I turned it in, I did Sudoku and I continued Sudoku throughout chemistry. 

After lunch, I watched some tv and then I went over to Janie’s around 4.  We were going to watch a movie, but we got distracted with the computer and talking with her host family.  I was picked up a little after 7 so that I could come home and eat and then get ready to go to the theater.  I had to be there an hour early so that I could practice with the other presenter. 

When I got there, we went through what we were going to say a couple of times and then I got to talk with some of the people in the school bands that were playing.  When it came time to present, I wasn’t that nervous.  I went out, said my part, and then I was done.  I went into the audience to watch a couple of the performances and then we left during intermission because it was already 10.

When we got home, I chatted with some people on fb and then got ready for bed.  It’s already 11:30 and I need to go to sleep, but I’m not even tired.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Presentation

The first hour of school today was a class meeting.  The teacher came into the class in the beginning and then he just left.  The class presidents talked for a little bit and then most people sat around while a group of other people made this bingo game for the assembly on Friday. The next hour was physics and she passed out our tests.  I got an 8 which is super surprising, but she did allow me to use the internet and I looked up most of the questions.  Then we took some confusing notes.  During break, a couple of students came to talk to me about the speaking thing I have to do tomorrow night at the theatre.  They just told me what I needed to say and then they left me with a piece of paper in Italian that I needed to translate.  During the English hour, while the other students were being called up to the board to correct some of the test, Emily helped me translate the Italian into English and we got my mini speech written.  I really don't want to do it.  We never got our tests back in English, but she did say that there were some exercises that nobody got right.  Oops.  I guess I did second guess myself too much.  I don't think I did too well on that test.  My classmates are probably going to tease me for it. Oh well.  I did my best!  The next two hours of class were spent in the computer lab and I did sudoku.  I actually finished my whole sudoku book of 200 puzzles today! Which reminds me that I need to find some more on the internet to do tomorrow.

After lunch, I lounged around and then I got ready to go to the gym.   My gym membership ends tomorrow so today was probably the last time going until after Christmas if I do decide to renew my membership. It's just so expensive.  I might try to start running instead, but it's always hard to motivate myself and it's getting rainy, snowy, icy, and cold.  I will still try to start though!

Now I'm going to practice my little speech and find some more sudoku puzzles!

Ciao!
~Devon

Skype

12-16-12

I woke up periodically this morning, but I kept falling back asleep because we had a Rotary lunch at 1 and I wanted to get as much sleep as I possibly could.  I ended up getting out of bed around 12 and getting ready to go.  We got to the place that was hosting the lunch a little before it started and I met a girl who is hoping to go on exchange next year.  Then we talked with some other Rotarians before the lunch started.  It was more like a huge dinner.

There was a buffet first with meats, cheeses, fruit, salad, vegetables, eggs, and a bunch of other stuff.  I didn’t eat much because I knew the lunch would be big.  Then we were seated and I sat with the Rotaract group of kids around my age.  I didn’t talk much though.  There were four courses.  The first one was tortellini, the second one was a ton of different types of meat, the third was more meat and potatoes, and the fourth was a cake thing.  Then they brought out fruit at the end!  Italians really know how to eat! 

There was a bingo game where some people won prizes and then we were finally able to go home.  We were there for 4 hours!  When I got home, I watched tv for a while and then I got to skype with my mom and my sister.  I think we ended up talking for a couple of hours, until my internet quit right in the middle of our conversation.   I was going to have to go soon anyway though because it’s already midnight and I’m going to be tired tomorrow morning.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Friends

12-15-12

The first hour of class was Italian and I read my book.  During half of chemistry, I read my book and then I did Sudoku.  We took the bus to the gym for the next two hours of class.  We started out by running a little bit and then we started to play volleyball.  The rule was that we had to pass it 10 times amongst the same team before hitting it over the net.  It didn’t work out very well.  Then the rules were changed to only having to hit it 5 times.  It was working out pretty well and then the teacher said we had to do the same thing except we could only use our feet.  It didn’t work at all and I was surprised that we had to play that way for so long.  My friend and I sat out for half of the class and talked.  The last class of the day was art and we went to the computer lab.  Before going to the lab, an English teacher came to talk to me about speaking at the concert thing.  She told me that there was going to be another presenter from the school and that she wanted me to translate what he says in English.  I have no idea what the point of that is, but I don’t think I can get out of it.  I still don’t really understand anything I’m supposed to do or when it’s going to be.  Another English teacher came to talk to me about how she didn’t want me to get the wrong idea about the teachers wanting me to switch classes.  She didn’t want the physics teacher to give me the note in case I didn’t understand it, but she did anyway.  She just explained to me that it was just an idea and I had a choice.  I told her I wanted to stay in the same class.  During the art hour, I did Sudoku.

After lunch, I watched tv and listened to music.  A little later, I went with Roberto to buy a new phone since mine was broken.  I got the cheapest one I could find.  Then I went back home and watched part of a movie.  At 7:30, Roberto and Lorena said that they were going to dinner.  I knew that they were going out, but I thought that I would be able to stay home.  Then they asked me where they needed to take me and I was really confused.  They said that they had to lock up the house, so I couldn’t stay home.  I made frantic plans with one of my friends and then I ended up waiting outside for 20 minutes until my friend called me and told me to walk to her house.  It was about a 15 minute walk, but it was nice… once it stopped raining (I didn’t bring an umbrella with me).

I had dinner at her house and another of our friends showed up.  After dinner, we all skyped with Veronica (my host parent’s daughter who is in Nevada) and Chiara (Janie’s host parent’s daughter who is in Canada).  At around 11, we were dropped off at the pub and we talked for a little bit.  I ended up having to be picked up at 11:30 because my host parents were tired. 

I have no internet right now and I’m wide awake. I have no idea what to do.

Ciao

~Devon

Speaking

The first two hours of class today were history and philosophy and I read my Italian book.  The next class was art and everybody sat around and talked.  I finished my art homework and then I sat around and talked too.  After break, we had English and she handed out our tests to finish.  I kept second guessing myself again and I changed a couple of my answers.  They were probably right the first time around, but oh well.  Then we had biology and I did sudoku.  I did sudoku in math as well.  During biology, Emily went to talk with the teacher about me switching classes and he said he didn't know much about it. I guess it was just the physics teacher's idea.  Then the teacher told Emily, who told me, that there is a concert thing next Tuesday at the school or something and the principal wants me to talk in front of everybody about something in English. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say yet, but I don't even want to do it.  I hate talking in front of people and if it's in English, nobody would understand me anyway.

After lunch, I watched the new Christmas Glee episode, and it made me a little homesick because it still feels nothing like Christmas season here.  I don't feel the same Christmas excitement that I usually do at home.  Then I got ready and walked to school for lessons.  After lessons, I went to the gym because none of my friends were going out tonight.

I came home and ate dinner and now I'm going to continue downloading new music because I found some really awesome new artists last night when I should've been sleeping.

Ciao!
~Devon

English Test

The first two hours of class were biology and chemistry.  I read my Italian book for the first 10 minutes until somebody brought the computer to class. Then I read Into The Wild online.  I ended up finishing it. It's a really great book.  Then we had religion and I studied for the English test and did some sudoku.  The next class was physics and I wrote down all of the notes.  The teacher also brought me a note written in English that said that all of my teachers think it would be a good idea if I switch classes after winter break so that I can have different subjects and make more friends.  I am currently in 4C and the they want to switch me to 4A.  The only difference between the two is that 4C had informatics while 4A has Latin.  I knew right away that I didn't want to switch.  I would totally have to start over from the beginning trying to make new friends when I've already gotten to know a lot of the kids in my class and I'm good friends with many of them.  I guess I understand why my teachers would want me to experience something different, but I just don't feel like it would be very good for me, so I'm going to tell them that I want to stay in the class I'm in now. 

The last class of the day was English and she handed out a test right away.  I never thought an English test could be so difficult.  It's something about taking an easy test in your own language that makes you question all of your answers.  I still don't think I got all of the questions right, even though it seemed super easy.  It's going to be embarrassing when I get my test back and it's like a 7 or something.  It was just super confusing! I think I was over-thinking everything.

After lunch, I took a small nap.  Then I watched some tv and played around on the internet.  None of my friends were going out today, so I was stuck at home.  Nothing exciting.  We had dinner around 8:30 and now I'm going to listen to some music for a while until I go to bed.  I always try to get to bed around 10:30 for a perfect 8-9 hours of sleep, but it always ends up being around 11:30.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Orchestra

12-12-12 !

I stayed up late last night because I didn’t have to go to school today.  This morning, I woke up at 11 and had breakfast.  Then I finished watching the movie that I was watching last night.  A little while later, we had lunch and then I did my homework for Italian lessons today.

After lessons, I went to the gym and then came home for a quick dinner so that I could get ready to go to the theater to hear the orchestra play.  Janie and her host mom came to pick me up around 9.  The theater is absolutely beautiful and the orchestra was amazing.  I got really tired towards the end though.

Then we were taken home and I am going to go to sleep right away tonight. 

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Ice

It was fun/scary walking to school this morning.  The whole sidewalk and most of the street was completely covered in ice.  I had to walk funny in order to not slip and I almost fell about four times.  I should've brought my ice skates...

The first two hours of class were history and philosophy, but we ended up taking a physics test the whole time.  He passed one out to me and told me to try it, but after about ten minutes of reading it over, I pulled out my Italian book and read that for the rest of the time.  Then we had two hours of math and I read Into The Wild on the computer until the last 30 minutes of class when I took down some of the notes.  The last class was chemistry and I continued to read Into The Wild.

After lunch, I did what I always do after school... lounge around.  Around 6:30, I went out and met up with some of my friends at the pub.  We hung out for a little over an hour and then I walked home and had dinner by myself because my host mom had to go to yoga and my host dad was at work.

I'm probably going to watch a movie tonight as soon as my internet quits because I don't have to go to school tomorrow.  My class is going to another city to listen to a presentation on a computer software or something and I didn't want to go because I wouldn't understand anything... and of course, sleep is better!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Beginning to look like Christmas

The first hour of class was Italian and the lady from Gubbio had given me a new book to read, so I started that.  I'm understanding it pretty well.  Then we had physics and everybody worked as a group to complete this test thing.  I just sat there and stared at it.  After break, we had English and it was as unproductive as always.  The class is still noisy and she still expects us to write down everything she says even if we can't hear it.  The last two hours of class were informatics and I did sudoku.

After lunch, I lounged around like I always do.  I did organize my room and get some stuff done though.  Before going to the gym, we went to the grocery store to get some stuff that I needed, and then I did my step class.

We had dinner and it was really cool because we have a Christmas tree up now and there's a Christmas table cloth! I'm feeling the Christmas spirit.  I just want the snow to come back now!

I've also had the urge to bake so I think I'm going to get some ingredients at the grocery store and find some good recipes and get to work sometime this week!

Ciao!
~Devon

Sun

Well, the snow didn't last very long.  When I woke up this morning, the snow was pretty much melted and the sun was shining.  I was wide awake at 8 this morning, but good thing it's easy for me to fall back asleep because I ended up sleeping until 12.  I had a tiny breakfast and then an hour or so later, I had lunch.

I sat in bed all day today and played around on my computer.  I found some more music, I watched tv, and I skyped.  At first I skyped with Emma for a while and we tried to plan her trip to come visit me for Christmas break, but I have to hear from my Rotary club first.  Then Heather got online so we did a group chat with her for a little bit and caught up on what was going on at home.  Then we did another group chat with my sister and my dad.  Sundays are so nice because nobody has school and it's easy to skype with people without having to deal with the time difference.

Then we had dinner and I'm back in bed again.  I feel so lazy.  I'm going to go to sleep soon.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

3 Months

When we were walking to school today, there was some ice on the sidewalks and I had to be really careful because my feet kept slipping.  I guess the cold has officially arrived.

During the first 3 hours of school, I read "Into The Wild" online because I had nothing better to do.  It was in English.  One of my friends has the book in Italian, so once I'm finished with it in English, I will reread it in Italian so that I have a background knowledge on what's going on already.  Then we had physics and there was a test.  She said that she had forgotten to bring the one she made for me so she gave me the other one and told me to try it.  I just sat and stared at it until she realized that I wasn't going to write anything.  Then she wrote down other questions on another piece of paper and told me to try them.  I stared at those for another five minutes until she told me to use the internet.  I just searched the question on google and copied what it said.  It was all in Italian so I didn't even understand what I was writing down.  When she collected it, she told me I didn't write very much, and I just shrugged.  I didn't know what else to write! I didn't even understand the questions!  The last hour was English and we read out of the textbook.  The class was so loud that when the teacher was talking, I couldn't hear anything and we have a test on that stuff tomorrow.  Great...

After lunch, Janie came over and I skyped with my mom for a little bit.  Then Janie and I decided to walk to the grocery store, which ended up being closed at 4 in the afternoon.  There was still another 45 minutes until it opened so we walked back home.  We wanted to watch the Hunger Games on the tv in the living room so we spent about 30 minutes trying to get it to work. At one point, I thought I screwed everything up, so when I finally fixed it, we just decided to watch it on my computer.

At 6:30, we went to the pub and met up with our friends.  We walked around for a little bit and then Janie had to leave because she was being picked up.  I went with the others and we ended up going to a  church service for a little bit so that I could see the inside of the church.  It was very beautiful.   Then we went back to the pub and we talked.  I had to leave to go home for dinner a little later.

I can't believe I've been here for three months already.  Time is going way too fast for my liking...

Now I'm going to relax and watch tv on my computer until my internet is turned off.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Sudoku...

The first hour of class was informatics and I put the tutorial up on the computer just in case the teacher came and looked at what I was doing.  I didn't end up reading it until the last 15 minutes of class, and it's not like I was able to understand any of it.  Then we had art and I did sudoku.  During the end of class, some of my friends came over and I taught them how to do it, but I have no easy or mediums left, so they were trying to help me with the difficult.  After break, there was a 3 hour Italian test that I didn't have to do.  I was planning on reading "Into The Wild" online, but things just weren't going my way today I guess.  Right when I found the book online, someone came into the class and said that they had to take the computer for the day.  I ended up doing sudoku puzzles for three hours straight.  I guess the time did go pretty fast though.

After lunch, the internet wasn't working so I watched the rest of my movie from yesterday, and then some tv until I had to leave.  Janie's host dad came and picked me up because it was raining and I had left my umbrella in their car.  Lessons went by pretty fast and then I went to the gym.

After dinner, the internet started working again. Finally!  I actually have homework today.  I have to do a family tree for biology and print a little essay thing I've already written for chemistry.  There's also a physics test tomorrow so I should probably try to study even though I don't understand anything that I've written down in my notes...

Better get started.

Ciao!
~Devon

No Power

The first two hours of class today were philosophy and history and I brought a new book to school.  The Diary of Anne Frank in Italian.  I was super tired, so I half read, half stared at words on the page.  I didn't really understand much.  After break we had two hours of math which were absolutely horrible.  Not really horrible, just boring.  I ended up writing a couple of emails and working on some sudoku puzzles.  During chemistry, I just practiced my new handwriting font.

After lunch, I was supposed to hang out with Janie, but I should've known better.  I ended up staying home.  I was going to do stuff on the internet but all of the power in the house went out so I decided to watch a movie on my computer.  An hour later, my computer died so I was left with my ipod and the quickly fading sunlight.  I decided to call Roberto so that I wouldn't be stuck in the dark with nothing to do and he came home for about 2 minutes to figure out what was wrong and to turn the power back on.  After that, I watched tv shows on the internet.

The weather was super horrible today.  It was really windy and there was really heavy rain.  That's probably why the power kept going on and off.

After dinner, I skyped with Emma for a while and now I'm going to get to bed.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Snow

Today was freezing cold.  When we were walking to school, the weather was fine, but then it started raining and then snowing! The first snow since I've been here, but it wasn't sticking and it only snowed for about 20 minutes.

The first hour of class was Italian and I continued to reread my book. I'm actually understanding things that I didn't understand the first time around.  The second hour was physics and we got our tests back.  I got between a 7 and a 8, which is pretty good, but I also had a way easier test than everybody else.  After break, we had English and during that class, there was a dictation test.  The teacher read this really long poem thing (in English of course) and we just had to copy it down.  It was easy for me, but there were a lot of difficult words and I could see how it would be difficult for my classmates to get the right spelling of everything.  I even got confused on the spelling of some words.  The only hard part was the teachers pronunciation.  It was really confusing because she has a really strong accent and she pronounced the words how they were spelled and it was difficult for me to recognize what words they were.  Good thing she read each sentence about 5 times.  The class was also extremely loud and after each sentence, it took about 30 seconds to calm the class down.  It was kind of stressful.  Before the next class, we took a class picture, and of course it was outside.  I didn't want to wear my big jacket in the picture, so I was freezing my butt off and I had uncontrollable shivering! It was even hard to smile without my teeth chattering.  Some people in my class decided to wear costumes for the picture.  One boy wore his swimming trunks, and about four others wore a robe and goggles.  I think somebody was also riding a broom in the picture... I'm not sure.  Then we had math and I practiced writing in a cool font.  It just happens to be the font that my math packet is written in.  I'm just trying to copy it.  It looks awesome.  The last class was informatics and everybody just played games on the computers the whole time.

After lunch, I decided to sit in bed and relax.  My internet wasn't working so I watched two movies that my my mom and sister sent me. Then I had to get up and go to the gym.  After my step class, I came home, showered, ate dinner, and now I'm back in bed.  Time for to go to sleep, after browsing the internet...

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Gualdo

12-2-12

I had to get up early on my Sunday morning, but it was okay because we were going to Gualdo (another city) to be with another family for the day.  It is about 25 minutes or so from Fabriano.  We met up with the man and his daughter who was one year older than Janie and I.  We went with Laura (the daughter) to get breakfast at a little café and Janie and I got hot chocolate.  Then we went with Laura to the center of the city and we walked around for a while.  I took a lot photos. We went to building where there was a bunch of different displays in different rooms for people to advertise their businesses.  It was interesting.  It was a very beautiful city, but it was no Gubbio.  Then Laura drove us up to the mountains and we got to see the whole city from above. 

We went to her house for lunch and met her mom and her sister.  Lunch was super delicious and I was so full afterwards.  Everybody ended up leaving the house, except for the three of us, and we all sat by the furnace and played with Laura’s iPad.  When her parents got home, we took the car, picked up one of Laura’s friends, and went to the commercial center to for a presentation thing.  I guess one of their teachers wrote a book and she was talking about it.  There were a lot of people there. 

After about an hour, we went to another café and hung out with Laura and her friends.   We had to leave around 7:30 and we met up with Laura’s parents and sister to drive to Fabriano for dinner.   I felt like today was good for my Italian skills because Laura never spoke English with us and the family couldn’t speak English, so I was talking Italian the whole day.  I also understand most of what everybody said.  And when I didn’t, I pretended like I did and it all worked out.

We went to a pizza place and my host parents, Janie’s host dad, the family from Gualdo, and a Rotary member and his son, all had dinner together.  It was really nice, but Janie and I knew we weren’t going to be getting to bed early tonight.  We got home around 11. 

I haven’t gotten enough sleep since last Saturday night and now I’m going to have to suffer through another week of school without being able to sleep in!  I was starting to fall asleep today in the car when I was with friends.  I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like trying to stay awake at school when I’m not doing anything.  Joy.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Typical Saturday

12-1-12

The first hour of school was Italian and I reread the end of my Italian book because I forgot to bring a new book.  The next hour was biology and I tried to listen again.  I understood a little bit of it.  Then my friend and I just talked about Christmas traditions and what not.  The next two hours were P.E. so we took the bus to the gym.  We were doing basketball again today and I realized how much I hate sports.  I like to run, jump rope, swim… I just don’t like activities where you have to work with a team I guess.  First we played one on one basketball for 30 seconds each pair, two on two for a minute, three on three for one minute and 30 seconds and then everybody played together for 5 or 10 minutes.  I couldn’t tell.  The one on one was super embarrassing because I was paired with a guy who was good at basketball and I felt bad for him because I just wasn’t trying and I suck at basketball as it is.  It was awful.  The two on two was a little better.  When everybody was playing, I pretty much walked back and forth across the court following everybody and I never touched the ball once.  The last hour of school was art and I did Sudoku.

I was picked up from school and my host parents and I went to my host dad’s parent’s and sister’s house for lunch.  It was a birthday lunch for Roberto and I.  It was really fun and I stuffed myself with delicious food.  I felt like I was able understand more of the table talk this time.  We stayed until 4 and then went home.  I grabbed some movies from my package that I got from my parents and I went to Janie’s house.  We watched one movie and half of another and then we got ready to go out.

We were dropped off in the center around 8 and we went and got dinner.  We didn’t want to eat in the restaurant, so we got it to-go and we decided to go sit in the park and eat even though it was freezing cold outside.  After we ate, my feet and hands were pretty much numb.  We decided to go to the pub even though it was early. 

When we got to the pub, it was super busy inside, so we decided to sit outside.  Both Janie and I were a little homesick tonight because we miss the American way of life.   The movie made us think about it more. We talked about that for a while and then a bunch of people started coming outside of the pub so we went in and found a table in the warmth.  We didn’t know what to do so we ended up playing card games for about two hours.  I felt super lame because Janie and I were just sitting there playing cards by ourselves, but we were cracking each other up, so it ended up being a fun night.

Giulia and her friends showed up 20 minutes before we had to leave and we talked with them until it was time to go.  Janie and I both have to get up early tomorrow to go to Gualdo, another city near Fabriano.  My one day to sleep in and I have to get up early. Figures…

Buonanotte!

~Devon