The Month of May!

I now have one more month left of my exchange, and as school is ending in a little over a week, everything has been pretty routine.  I go to the school in the morning until lunch time and I read books and do small assignments that the teachers give me.  I eat lunch with my family and I hang out with them at the table and we talk.  Later in the afternoon, my host sisters usually go to the library to study so I go with them.  I go out a little later when my other friends go out and then I usually meet my host sisters again because we all have the same group of friends.  There is a caffe in the center and that's where most people go during the afternoons to hang out so I get to talk with everyone.  One day after school, my host mom, my host sisters, and I went to a city about an hour away to go shopping.  We all had lunch together and walked around to the shops in the center. It was really nice to have that afternoon with my host family to talk and shop together.  I had a lot of fun. I also went over to the other exchange students house for dinner one night and she had bought peanut butter and jelly.  We made sandwiches for dinner and it was the first peanut butter and jelly sandwich I have had since I've been in Italy.  It was nice to have that little taste of home even though I will be going back shortly.  We also sat in her living room and watched a movie in Italian before I had to go back home.  It was a perfect, relaxed evening. There was also a huge market in the center recently and I went with my host sisters and our friends.  We walked around all day and shopped at the little stands.  The other exchange student was with us too and she is leaving in less than a week to go buuuack to her city.  She was buying stuff for all of her friends back home and it kept making me think about how little time I have left in Italy.  I feel like my life is here now and it is going to be so hard to leave.  I try not to think about, but it helps me make the most out of this time and spend as much time with my family and friends as I can because I don't know when the soonest I will be able to come back to Italy is.  I have been very happy this past month and I believe I have another great month ahead of me.  The last of my exchange. The year has flown by so quickly!

Ciao! 

~Devon

The Month of April

Well oops... I haven't been on my blog for a month.  I've been very busy and just too tired at night to even think about typing.  So here's the month of April.  It just happens to be my rotary reflection because I am too lazy to write something new.  It covers pretty much everything though!

The month started off great having just had the easter holiday and spending time with my extended host family and getting to know more people.  I had a week or so of school before I went to meet my mom and sister in Rome.  That was a really great experience because not only did I get to see them for the first time in 8 months, but I was able to travel around Italy with them.   We spent the first couple of days in Rome.  I've been there once before and I had a feel for where I was going so it was fun to show my family around and speak in Italian with the locals.  We were also there on a Wednesday so we went to the Vatican and were able to see and hear the new Pope speak.  Then we headed to Fabriano so that they could see my home.  That was my favorite part of the trip because I was able to show them my city.  We walked around and shopped a little for the whole day and they met a lot of my friends.  We also had lunch at my host families house and even though they don't speak Italian, we had me and my host sister to help translate and it was nice for everybody to get to know each other.  My host mom is also an amazing cook so my mom and sister were really impressed with the food.  Before dinner, we went to my first host family's house and spent about an hour talking with them which was also really great.  From Fabriano, we went to Florence and spent a couple of days there.  I have never been to Florence so it was amazing to walk around and see the city.  One of my favorites so far.  It's great to see the differences of all the cities I have traveled to.  Venice came next and we were there for another couple of days.  Venice isn't a super big city and I had been there once before so I was also able to show my family the places I had been.  At the end of the trip, I was off on a train back to Fabriano and them to the airport.  It was so nice being back home and seeing all of my friends again.  They said that they had missed me, which made me feel good.   I wasn't able to stay long because then my dad and grandma came.  My grandma was a surprise because I thought only my dad was coming and it was really great to see both of them.  We spent the day in Fabriano but it was raining, unfortunately, so we spent most of the time in the hotel playing games and some of my friends came over as well, which was nice.  For dinner we went to my host family's house and it was just as great having my dad and grandma get to know my host family and vice versa.  Then they went off to Venice for a couple of days while I stayed in Fabriano so that I could go to school and see my friends a little more.  Then I met them in Florence and we traveled from there to the Amalfi coast.  I was able to see Positano, Amalfi, Salerno, Sorrento, Pisa, Pompei, Capri, and Naples.  It was an amazing trip.  We stayed in Sorrento and drove to new cities some of the days.  Most of our time was spent in Sorrento though, and it is now one of my favorite cities in Italy.  It is a small but bustling city and we spent a lot of time exploring and shopping in the the small streets and the center.  The days we spent relaxing on the beach or staying in town were really nice because I had the time to catch up with my family.  They noticed how I have grown as a person as well.  I wasn't able to spend much time in Fabriano this month but it was a month of traveling around Italy and I learned a lot from that.  It was also obviously very nice to see my family!

Easter Break

I haven't been on the internet for the past couple of days, but I will catch up with everything now.  For Easter, my host family and I went to my host mom's mom's house for a big lunch.  There was so much food, but I just had a little bit of everything.  I didn't feel like stuffing myself even though everything was delicious.  Then we got to open our chocolate eggs which are huge hollow eggs made of different kinds of chocolate which are typical to give as gifts for easter.  Then Chiara, Guilia, and I went and drove around the city for a while and talked.  When we returned, we changed and then went out again with one of Giulia's friends who lives in the same city as her grandma.  We went to this really delicious gelato shop and had ice cream for dinner because we were still somewhat full from lunch.

We stayed with Giulia's friends for the rest of the night and then we returned back to her grandma's house to sleep.  I was able to sleep in until around 12 in the morning and then we had a somewhat light lunch.  All I ate was the soup because I wasn't very hungry. Then the three of us laid in bed for an hour or so, resting, listening to music, and talking.  Around 4, we went for an hour long walk around the the town.  It's a really small, but very pretty place.  A little after 5, we drove back to Fabriano, got ready, and then the three of us went out again for dinner and stayed at the pub with our friends for the rest of the night.

That night I got really sick and wasn't able to sleep very well.  At lunch just looking at food made me feel nauseous, so I skipped eating and went back to bed.  I stayed in bed for the rest of the afternoon, still felt nauseous during dinner, so I went back to sleep at 9.  It wasn't the best of days.

Today I woke up and felt almost normal again aside from a little weakness, but it's probably because I hadn't eaten.  I made my way through school and I mostly read.  I did a little writing as well and I talked with all of my friends about their spring breaks.  After lunch, I laid in bed because I was still tired and then I had to leave at 3 for italian lessons but it was the first time I was able to see Janie in more than 2 weeks because she had been in Germany, so I was excited.

After lessons, Janie and I walked around the gardens and talked for about 2 hours straight.  Then we met up with some friends at a pizzeria and we all walked to the pub together and stayed there until 7:30.    It was still really light out when I was picked up which is going to take some getting used to because we just changed the hour here.  I like it when it's light out later though.

After dinner, I got some of my travel plans figured out for when my mom and sister come to Italy and then I went to my room to go to bed because I've been pretty tired today.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Big Dinner

I woke up at 1:30 this morning/afternoon for lunch.  After lunch, I relaxed and talked with Giulia and Chiara for a while.  At 4, Giulia and I went to the grocery store to pick up some stuff for easter, we dropped it off at home, and then we went out.  We walked around and stayed at the central caffe and then the pub for most of the time with Giulia's friends.  At 9:30 we went to dinner at a restaurant with about 20 other friends and it we stayed there until 11:30 talking, laughing, eating, and having a good time.

When everybody was done with dinner, we went to the pub and then walked around the center for a while.  At 12:30, I had to return back home and all of Chiara's friends were there because they just found out today that she is back in Italy.  They had to leave shortly after though and then I got ready for bed.

We had to turn our clocks forward at midnight so I lost an hour which means I lost an hour of sleep.  I'm going to bed now.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Exercise

This morning Giulia came into my room at 11:45 and started jumping on my bed to wake me up.  She had told me last night that she was going to wake me up early so that we could go running but she was joking.  This morning when she woke me up, I immediately asked if we were going to run.  She hesitated a little bit, but then I convinced her to go.  We got ready and went to an area around the house to run for a little bit.  I am so out of shape so we only ran for about 30 minutes and then went back home.   I was dead and I took a shower right away.

A little before 2, we had lunch and then Nadia went to her mom's house for the afternoon and Giulia and I stayed home.  We talked for a little bit and then walked to the center because we didn't have the car this afternoon.  It was nice to walk again.  We hung out with Giulia's friends for the rest of the evening walking around and at the pub and then one of her friends dropped us off at home.

Nadia arrived shortly after we did and we ate dinner.  After dinner I went to Giulia's room and we talked and listened to music like always.  When she left around 9 to got out, Chiara and I talked for a little over an hour in Giulia's room and then I went to my room to watch some tv and then go to bed.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Catching Up On Sleep

I finally got to sleep for more than 9 hours today! I woke up at 1:30 for lunch and then Giulia and I went to her room, listened to music and talked.  I got ready at 4 and Giulia took me to the center at 4:30 to meet up with my friends.  We walked around for a little bit and then went to the pub. I stayed with them until some of them had to go and then I stayed with Giulia until 8 at the pub because she got there a little later.

When we went home, we had dinner and then went back to her room again.  We left the house to go out earlier tonight and I stayed with her and her friends at the pub until midnight and then she dropped me off at home and went back out.

I've been on my computer for a couple of hours finding new music and I'm probably going to go to bed soon even though I'm not as tired tonight as I was yesterday.

Ciao!
~Devon

Spring Break

I can't really remember what we had for the first two hours of class today, but I know that I read.  I also read for the last three hours after break as well.  I'm re-reading The Host so that I'm ready when the movie comes out! 

Giulia's aunt picked me up from school today and I went over to her house for lunch because Nadia was out.  Her house is right next to ours, so when we were finished eating, I walked home, showered, and then Giulia arrived shortly before I had to leave for Italian lessons.  She took me to school and it went by pretty fast.  Then I went out with some of my friends and I met someone who speaks really good english.  We talked mostly in Italian, but we had a couple of conversations in english as well. 

Giulia picked me up at 8 and we went back to the house.  When I walked through the door, I thought Nadia was standing there so I said hi and then I did a double take because it was actually Chiara, my host family's daughter who was doing her exchange in Canada!  She came home early because she was having some troubles with Rotary.  It was my first time meeting her, but I've skyped her before.  It was so weird because I couldn't believe what I was seeing and I didn't think she was really there in the beginning.  After my shock passed a little bit, we talked and had dinner.  Then we all went to the living room and watched some tv.  

I'm not really sure how things are going to change here but I guess we'll figure that out tomorrow.  I'm staying in her room right now and she's staying in her mom's.  I went to my room around 10 to write and relax.  I don't have to go to school tomorrow because it's the start of easter break so I don't have to go to bed early!

Ciao!

~Devon

Snow in the Spring

For the first two hours of class, philosophy and history, I had to do the absolute final draft of the paper he asked me to write and then I read for the rest of the time.  After break, we had two hours of math and the internet went out right after class started so I tried to understand the lesson and when I wasn't able to do that, I wrote in my notebook for a while.  During chemistry, the internet started working again so I got to read.

After lunch, I finally got to relax in my room.  It's felt like I haven't done that in forever.  I'm always at lessons or going out with friends.  Not that I didn't go out today, but I did get to lounge around for a good 3 hours and I even fell asleep from 4 to 4:45.  I was surprised that I woke up on time because I never set an alarm and I was supposed to meet friends at 5.  I was also surprised that I was able to fall asleep so easily.  My computer was open and I kind of just slumped down on my bed and I was out like a light.

Nadia took me to the center at 5 and it was raining, but I walked around with my friends all the same and then we went to the pub when it opened and stayed there until it was time for me to go home.  On the way back to the center, it started snowing really heavily, but luckily it only lasted about 20 minutes because I don't want snow in the spring when it was just nice and sunny last week!

After dinner, I sat by the heater and talked with Nadia and then went to my room to skype with Emma. We talked for an hour and a half and then she went to bed so I'm going to go to bed pretty soon now.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Assembly

I think I could've slept in until 8 today, but I wasn't positive what time school was starting with the assembly so I got to school at the normal time.  There were only a couple people in the classroom and school didn't really start until 8:30.  I talked and played on my ipod.  Then there were different "work stations" set up in different rooms.  I roamed around with some of my classmates until we found the room we were supposed to be in.  It was physics.  There was also cooking, basketball, theater, cinema, mechanics, chemistry, and some other stuff.  We did a couple of different types of experiments in physics and one was the mentos and coke thing.  That was cool.  Then we had break and for the last couple of hours of school, we didn't do anything.  I guess there was supposed to be a scavenger hunt or something but somebody stole one of our class's clues so everybody gave up and walked around the hallways and sat around.  I played on my ipod a little bit and talked with my friends.  Then somebody plugged in there ipod into a big speaker in the computer room and turned off the lights and they were calling it their mini club.  We sat in there listening to music for a while.  Right before school got out, everybody did the harlem shake as well.  I'd say it was a productive day...

After lunch, I got ready and went to lessons at 3.  I was really tired during that hour and it kind of stinks without Janie there.  Then I went and met up with some friends at 4 and we walked around the center and the gardens.  I went with another group of friends a little later and we went to the pizzeria for a snack and then walked around the center more.  A lot of places are closed on Mondays, like the pub.

When I got home at 8, we had dinner and I was exhausted.  I went straight to my room to write so that I can go to sleep early tonight, unlike yesterday..

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Birthday Party

Saturday:

During the first two hours of class, I read.  Then for the two hours that we were supposed to have gym, we went to the hotel near our school instead because there was a presentation on tumors.  I sat in the very back row with my friends and tried to understand for two hours, but it was hard.  After the two hours, there was a little break and there were also people from other schools at the presentation so I was able to talk to some friends that I haven't seen in a while.  Then we had one more hour of school left and it was art in the computer lab.  I talked with my classmates.

After lunch I showered really fast and then Guilia and I left at 3 to go get a coffee with one of her friends and then we went to Angela's house for a little while.  We walked around the center until 7 and then Giulia and I went home because she had a skype date with her sister in Canada.  I stayed with Giulia in her room until dinner was ready and then I ate because Giulia was going to a friend's for dinner.

I got on the internet for a little bit after dinner and then Filippo took me to a birthday party of one of my classmates at 10.  There weren't a lot of people there yet when I got there, but then people started showing up shortly after.  I stayed with some of my classmates and talked for a while.  In Italy, when someone has a birthday, their friends get to play jokes on them so we watched that and then music was played for the rest of the night and everybody danced.

I got home at 3:30 and barely stayed awake until 4.

Sunday:

I woke up 1:30 today for lunch.  I finally got to sleep more than 6 hours! After lunch, I stayed in Giulia's room until she had to leave to go back to Perugia at 3.  Then I was on the computer until I went out around 5.  I met with some of my friends in the center and then we met with more people at a pizza place.  After some of them ate, we walked around the center and then to the pub.  We only stayed there for a little bit and then Filippo picked me up at 7:45.

We went to go pick up some pizza, but Filippo had his slippers on so he gave me money to go in and get it.  I talked with the lady who works there for a little bit and then we went home and ate.  When I went back to my room after dinner, I wrote and I'm going to get to bed before midnight tonight.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Spring

For the hour of history and hour of philosophy this morning, I rewrote my philosophy thing and then I just wrote a bunch of random other stuff.  During art, I read.  After break we had english and the teacher gave me back my test because I had done it in pencil and he wanted it in pen.  I had to rewrite the whole thing.  Then since nobody else in class was paying attention to him, he turned to me and started asking me questions.  I answered everything and I ended up getting a perfect score, but I think it was mostly because he was just happy I was answering him after going through most of the class and getting no responses.  The next to hours I read.

After lunch, Giulia stayed in the living room and I went to my room to bask in the sunlight that was coming through my window.  It was warmer outside than it was inside so I kept my window open.  Then we had to get ready fast because we went to meet one of Giulia's friends to get coffee.  She dropped me off at lessons at 4 and I did a practice test thing for the majority of the time.  At 6, I met with a friend and then we went to the pub to meet with more friends.  We stayed there until around 7:30 and then Giulia and I went to one of our friend's houses for dinner.  After eating, we went to a basketball game and Giulia dropped me off at home afterwards at 11.

It is now 1 and I am going to bed.  I think I might even fall asleep right away. I'm already falling asleep now..

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Warmth

The first hours of class were biology and chemistry and I spent one hour reading and the next hour in the lab watching a powerpoint presentation.  Then we had religion and I read.  There was a physics test the next hour and she wrote me a special one.  I was able to use the internet to complete it and there was only 3 short-answer questions.  English was the last class of the day and I read while the other students caused chaos and nothing was accomplished.

After lunch I opened my blinds and layed on my floor because the sun was shining and it was making the floor warm.  I almost fell asleep, but I made myself get up and take a shower and then Giulia returned home from Perugia around 3:30.  She got ready quickly because she had to go to the library to study and we left the house at 4:30.  I stayed with her for the majority of the afternoon.  We were at the library for a little bit and then we went to the pub with her friends a little later on.

After dinner, I stayed in her room and we talked a lot before she went out with her friends again.  My internet just started working so I got distracted and I am getting to bed late..

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Exhaustion

3-20-13

The first hour of class was informatics and I read and then we went to the computer lab for art and I observed what the others were doing.  After break we had an hour of physics and two hours of Italian in which I read.   I was extremely tired today.  It was the first time it was hard for me to keep my eyes open while I was reading a book that I was actually interested in.  I just haven’t gotten enough sleep the past couple of nights.

After lunch, I got ready and left for lessons at 3.  Lessons went by quickly and I went out with my friends afterwards.  We walked around town for a couple of hours and then I met up with another group of friends at the pub around 6:30 and we stayed there until 7:30 when I walked back to the center and Nadia picked me up. 

Filippo was in Ancona for the afternoon part of tonight so Nadia and I went to the commercial center to pick up some pizza to take home.  We ate before Filippo got home and then Filippo got home and I talked with him while he ate dinner.

The internet isn’t working tonight, but I’ve decided it’s a good thing because now I will probably go to bed early..

Buonanotte!
~Devon

English

The first two hours of class were history and philosophy and my classmates had to take a test.  The teacher told me to write something about what I had been reading about previously and I told him I had already written something in English that I needed to translate so he told me to just do that and turn it in next Tuesday.  I finished translating before the two hours were up.  Then we had two hours of math and there was a test in that class as well.  She gave me a special test and let me use the internet to help me.  I answered about 3/4 of the questions because I had never learned how to do the others. The last hour was chemistry and I read.

After lunch, I showered and got ready to go out.  I met my friends at 4 in the center as well as some other people I had never met before because one of the kids is taking an important english test soon and he wanted to speak in english today.  I spoke with him in english all afternoon and taught him new words. We all went to the park and stayed there for a while because the sun was out and it was a nice day, except for the wind.  Some people had to go at around 6 and we walked a friend to the hospital where her friend was meeting her to take her home.  Then Susanna and I walked to the pub and stayed there until 7:30.  She had to leave a little before I did so I stayed with another group of friends and then I met Filippo at 7:45.  We had dinner and then I went to my room because I wasn't even able to keep my eyes open at the table. I'm going to bed early tonight.

It was father's day in Italy today and I didn't even realize it until my host mom brought out little sweets for lunch.  It's strange how it's not the same day.

Ciao!
~Devon

Wind and Rain

I forgot to open my blinds from when I slept in on Sunday morning so I woke up startled this morning when my alarm went off and it was still dark.  When I realized my blinds were closed, I thought that I had slept in too late because the light usually helps me wake up, but I checked the time and I was fine.  The first hour of class was italian and I read.  The next hour was informatics and when we went to the computer lab, I read there as well.  We had the american teacher for english and we prepared a debate in groups.  It was very interesting to try to debate an issue when many of the people in my group don't know english very well.  Everything worked out okay though.  During math, I read and during the last hour of informatics again, I talked with my friends and watched what they were working on.

After lunch, I talked with some friends on facebook until I had to go to lessons. One hour went by extremely fast and then I went out with my friends.  It was raining on and off for a while and the wind was extremely strong! I don't like it very much when the weather's like this because you can't really use an umbrella unless you want to embarrass yourself with the wind and so you just have to get wet and rain ends up pelting you in the face.  It was fun though. Then Filippo picked me up and we went home for dinner.

I went to my room early but I got distracted by talking with friends on facebook again.  It's already late..

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Senigallia

Saturday:

The first two hours of class were Italian and then biology.  I read during italian, but we had to go to the lab for biology to look at a powerpoint.  Then we went to the gym for p.e. and we played dodgeball today.  I like that game because I don't really have to do anything.  I can just stand in the corner and try not to get hit.  When I do get hit, I get to sit out and watch everybody else play.  Towards the end, the guys just started playing soccer so I watched that for the rest of the time.  The last hour of class when we returned back to school was art in the computer lab and I played on my ipod.

After lunch, Giulia and I picked out our outfits for the party and got ready.  I also skyped with my mom to get the final permission to go to Senigallia tonight.  Giulia and I left the house around 6 and met up with some of her other friends to buy a birthday gift for Angela, one of Giulia's good friends.  I ended up meeting with some other people for a little bit and then I met back up with Giulia around 7 and we went to Angela's house for a small birthday gathering.  We all ate appetizers for dinner there and talked.  It was really nice.  Then Giulia, Angela, another of their friends, and I went to catch a bus that was organized to go to the party in Senigallia.

We were on the bus for an hour and a half and then we arrived at the club.  It was super cool because there were about 5 different rooms with different types of music.  My friends and I stayed in the rock section for the majority of the time and it was awesome because I knew most of the music and I was singing along.  We left when the club closed around 5:30 and I was extremely tired so I fell asleep on the bus ride home, which wasn't too comfortable.

As soon as I got home, I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and went straight to bed.

Sunday:

I had to get up at 1 this morning for lunch and once I was up, I wasn't tired enough to go back to bed.  I did go back to my room and lounge around for a while though.  Giulia left at 2:30 to go to Perugia.  At 6:30, some of my friends went out so Filippo took me to the pub and I stayed there until 7:45.  I went straight to my room after dinner so that I can get to bed somewhat early tonight.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Relatives

I had to get up early this morning and I definitely haven't missed it.  I wanted to stay in my warm bed and sleep.  When I did get out of bed, it was snowing, and it did so throughout the morning, but then it stopped before I got out of school.  The first two hours of class were philosophy and history and I had to read about philosophy and what not.  Then we had art and I helped one of my classmates with English and then read online. After break we had english and there was a written test.  He gave two starter sentences and we had to pick one of them and create a story.  I finished mine pretty quickly.  The last two hours were chemistry and then math.  I read during chemistry and did a mixture of reading my book and reading my math packet during the last hour.

Giulia picked me up from school and we went home.  Giulia's grandma, great aunt, and great uncle were there so I was able to meet all of them for the first time.  They had already eaten lunch so I sat at the table to eat my lunch while all of them talked.  They had to leave pretty early so when I finished up, Giulia and I went to her room and listened to music.

We left the house at 3:30 and went to a shop so that I could put money on my phone and then Giulia dropped me off at lessons.  It was two hours by myself and I thought it would suck, but it actually wasn't too bad. It went by rather fast.  After lessons, I met up with Giulia and a couple of her friends and we went to the pub for a while.

At 7:30, we had to drop off the car in a parking lot because Filippo is getting home from his ski trip today.  Giulia's aunt met us there and dropped us off at home afterwards.  We ate dinner and then I came to my room to get ready for bed early.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Feeling Better

I stayed home from school today and slept until noon.  Then I got up, took a shower, and had lunch with Nadia.  I went back to my room a little while later and watched some tv while Nadia went to pick Giulia up from the station because she came back from Perugia today.  We talked for a little bit when she got home and then we got ready and went out at 5.  I stayed with Giulia and her friends for a little bit and then I went to meet up with Janie around 6:30.  Janie is leaving for Germany tomorrow morning for two weeks so we walked around the center and to some shops so that Janie could buy her friend a gift and then we went to the pub.  We didn't stay there for long.  We ended up exploring a new place that we hadn't seen before.  It was really pretty.

Giulia picked me up at 8 and we went home for dinner.  I found out tonight that I might be able to go to Senigallia (a city an hour  away) for Saturday night, but I have to get permission from my parents so I was skyping my dad and messaging my mom for a while tonight.

Since I slept a lot the last couple of days I'm not tired at all right now, but I am going to try to go to bed as soon as possible because I have to get up early tomorrow for the first time in 2 days.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Stayed Home Sick

I woke up this morning with a bad headache so Nadia let me stay in bed after checking if I had a fever and giving me something similar to advil.  I fell back asleep a little while later until around 11:30.  I got up and had something to eat.  My headache was almost completely gone.  I stayed in the kitchen and talked with Nadia until lunch at 1:30.  We just had soup because I had eaten breakfast late.

After a while, I went back to my room and watched tv on my computer in bed.  Around 6, I went to have a snack and I talked with Nadia and her friend who was there.  I went and watched more tv after that and then I had dinner at 8.

While we were eating, we watched the new pope walk out onto the terrace in Rome and give his little speech.  It was on every news channel.  It took a really long time for him to come out after he was elected though. Almost 2 hours because the white smoke came out a little after 6.  After dinner, I took a bunch of different natural medications and then I went to my room.  Nadia said that I don't have to go to school tomorrow if I don't want to.  I might not because I want this dang sickness to go away and I can read at home. I don't have to be at school for that haha

Ciao!
~Devon

Tv

The first two hours of class were history and philosophy and I continued reading my philosophy thing again.  When I wasn't able to concentrate any longer, I would work on my italian homework.  We were supposed to have two hours of math after break, but there was a meeting that nobody knew about with all of the fourth year classes.  It was about an hour and the speaker talked about summer internships.  Then we went back to math class and the teacher gave me a big packet in english that I read through a little bit.  The last class was chemistry and I read online.

I had already decided that I wasn't going to go out this afternoon so after lunch, I showered and then went to my room to take a nap and relax.  I slept for a couple of hours and then I watched tv on my laptop until dinner was ready.

I went to bed fairly early last night and my goal is to do it again tonight.  I'm still just as sick as I was yesterday and it sucks.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Sunshine

The first hour of class was Italian and I read. For the second hour, we were supposed to have physics but the kids that were absent last class went to the lab and the rest of us went to the computer room for informatics.  I got on the Internet there and read.  After break, we had the American teacher for English and then an hour of math and an hour of informatics.  I read.  I have moved onto a new book now. Fortunately all of the books I want to read are on the Internet for free.

Nadia and I ate lunch together and talked for a little while and then I went back to my room to get ready for lessons.  Lessons went by really fast and then I went out with a friend right after for a couple of hours and we walked around the center.  The weather was pretty nice today and it there was actually sun, until around 6:30.  That's when it started raining again, like I had expected it to.    At 6 I walked to Janie's house and we hung out until Nadia picked me up at 7:30.

Nadia and I talked for a long time after dinner and then I came to write in my blog so that I can go to bed early tonight!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Congestion

I slept like a rock until 1 this morning and I would have slept longer but lunch was ready.  After lunch, Giulia's aunt came over and I stayed in the kitchen and talked with her and Nadia for a little bit and then I went to Giulia's room to talk before she had to leave for Perugia.  She left the house at 3.

I relaxed in my room and talked with friends on facebook until around 6 o'clock.  I don't know how the time went by so fast this afternoon, but it did.  Nadia took me to the center and I met up with some of Giulia's friends because I couldn't get a hold of my other friends.  It was nice all the same, but it rained nonstop.

Nadia picked me up at 7:30 and we had dinner.  Filippo is on a trip with his school this week and Giulia is in Perugia for university so it's just me and Nadia this week.  After dinner, I went back to my room and skyped with my mom for about an hour because she was telling me all of the plans for when she comes to Italy to see me.

Tonight I feel really sick.  My cough has come back and it sounds terrible.  I can't breathe through my nose and my ears feel plugged.  When I cough, I can feel the blood pulsing through my head, it's really weird.  I hope I get better soon..

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Sick

Italian and then biology were the first two hours of class and I read.  Then we took the bus to the gym and I sat out because I am sick.  I was coughing really bad and I couldn't breath out of my nose.  I played on my ipod and listened to music for those two hours.  I also played on my ipod in the computer lab when we got back to the school and had art.

After lunch, I laid in bed and read my book because I was cold.  Then I showered and Giulia and I went out around 7 and picked up some of her friends.  Then we went and sat at the pub for a while.  We went back to Giulia's friend's house for dinner around 9 and I had pizza like usual on Saturday nights.  Then I started feeling really sick.  I was going to go out with a couple of my friends to the pub, but I decided to go straight home when Giulia and her friends went out to the disco (which I wasn't allowed to go this time).

I might read or watch some tv before I go to bed, but I get to sleep in tomorrow.  I hope sleeping for a long time will make me feel better!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Women's Day

We had philosophy and history for the first two hours of class today and instead of reading about history, I have to read about philosophy now.  My mind was shut off for most of that time because I was tired this morning and I am really sick.  During art, we went into the computer lab and I played on my ipod with my friend.  The hour after break was english and we went into another room so that we could watch videos on the projector.  I guess our class is learning about Romeo and Juliet so the teacher was playing youtube videos from the different movies and some of them didn't even have words.  I don't know how that helps people learn english.  My friends and I were playing on our ipods again. For the last two hours of class, which were biology and math, I read.

After lunch, we had a small little cake for dessert because it's made specially for international women's day.  In Italy, women are gifted with flowers called mimosa, which are small and yellow because they bloom around this time.  The cake we had was made to look like the little yellow flowers.

Until I left for lessons, I stayed in Giulia's room and we listened to music.  Lessons were long and boring but we got cake so it was all good.  One of the office ladies had made it for women's day I guess and there were left overs.  After lessons, Janie and I walked around for 30 minutes and then went to the pub.  We sat at our own booth and talked.  Then some of our friends came over and sat with us for a while.  Around out, we went outside and I met with some of my other friends before Giulia came to pick us up.  We went to the commercial center for dinner, dropped Janie off at home, and then went to see a basketball game.

I was dropped off at home around 11 and Giulia went out again.  I am going to try to skype with my sister tonight and then I'm going to bed.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Giulia's Back

I went to bed at 11 last night so I wasn't as tired as usual this morning, but it still took a lot of effort for me to get out of bed.  The first two hours of class were biology and chemistry and we went up to the lab for both of the hours.  The teacher let me bring the laptop so that I could read. After break, we had religion, physics, and then english and I read through all of them.  I finished a book today.

After lunch, I stayed and talked with Nadia for a while and then she had to go to pick up Giulia from Gualdo which is about 30 minutes away because Giulia took a bus from Perugia to there.  I was home alone for about an hour and I took a shower and when I got out, Giulia was home so I joined her in the kitchen and we talked for a little bit.  I relaxed for about an hour and then Giulia and I went out.  We met up with some of her friends in the center and we walked around until the pub opened at 6:30.  We stayed in there until Filippo picked us up at 7:45.

After dinner, I stayed in Giulia's room until she went out at 10.  I love it when she's home!  We listened to music and sang.  Too bad she leaves again on Sunday.

Ciao!
~Devon

6 Months

I went to bed really late last night and this morning was the first time that I've had to get up early in a week.  It was hard.  My throat didn't feel very good either.  The first class was informatics and I started my reading routine on the computer again.  Second hour was art and we went to the computer room.  I did a mixture of reading and playing on my ipod.  During break I talked with some of my friends about my Belgium trip.  The last three hours of class were physics and two hours of Italian.  I read through all of them.  I got my test back in physics and I got an 8+.  I was really tired at school today.  I didn't fall asleep, I just felt drained.

During lunch, I was really tired as well, which usually doesn't happen even if I'm tired during the morning.  I stayed in the kitchen talking to Nadia until about 30 minutes before we had to leave so that I had time to get ready.  I got to the school for lessons at 3 and we all talked for the first 45 minutes.  Afterwards, Janie and I walked back to her house and stayed there for about 30 minutes before going out again.  It started to rain while we were out, but we didn't care about getting a little wet.  It wasn't very cold.

We walked around town again today for about 2 hours and then we went to the pub when it opened.  We sat inside and talked.  Some of my friends showed up and we talked with them as well.  We had to leave at 7:45 and then I went home for dinner.

I am still extremely exhausted and not in the best mood at the moment.  It's definitely time to go to sleep right now.

It has been exactly 6 months today in Italy.  Just thinking about it makes me sad because I feel like I've only been here for week. Time is going by faster than I imagined and it means I only have 4 more months left...

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Home Sweet Home

I had to wake up rather early this morning to get packed and then leave the house.  We were out the door by nine and we drove to the airport, which was an hour away.  When we got there, they came inside with me to say goodbye and then they had to leave because Emma's host dad had to go back to work.  I was a little nervous to navigate the airport by myself because it was bigger than the one I left from in Italy.  It was really organized though, so I found my way through security and sat to wait for an hour.  I did my blog because I hadn't caught up with the last couple of days.  I was extremely tired on the plane so I listened to music and tried to sleep.

When I landed, I found Nadia and we drove home, which took an hour.  I hadn't realized how much I missed Fabriano.  Emma and I are living two totally different exchanges.  She has the part with all of the other exchange students and I have the part with more of the natives.  I was glad to experience what exchange is like in Belgium.  I missed all of my friends here though, so even though I was sad to leave, I was happy to be back.  Nadia and I went to get lunch at the commercial center because I hadn't eaten all day and then I went home to unpack and shower.

At 6, I went to Janie's and we walked around Fabriano for a couple of hours.  We didn't spend much time in the center.  We were in the gardens in the beginning and then we started walking around all of the small streets.  Filippo picked me up at 8 and we went home for dinner.  I had the intention of going to bed early because I can feel like I am getting sick and I'm tired, but what was I thinking, that never happens...

Ciao!
~Devon

Last Days in Belgium

Sunday 3-3-13

Emma and I didn’t have anything specific planned today so we were able to sleep in until around 11:30.  We got up and got ready a little bit and then sat around the house for a while.  We didn’t know what we were going to do because it was Sunday and all of the shops were closed.  We decided that we should go try to see a movie because Emma knew of a couple that played movies in their original form, meaning English!  We looked up some times and realized that one was playing at 3:15 in Liege.  We didn’t have enough time to take the bus because it was already 2:30 and the bus took an hour to get to the city.  We asked her host dad and he dropped us off. 

When we got to the theater, we found out that it was a different theater that played it so we got directions and it would’ve taken us too long to take a bus or walk so we decided to see the later showing of the movie at 7:45.  As I said before, nothing was open except for a fast food restaurant that is everywhere around Belgium.  We ended up sitting in there, talking and playing on our ipods for 3 hours and then left to go find the right bus to take us to the theater. 

We walked around for about an hour trying to find the right bus because we kept going the wrong way.  Emma asked the information center and that’s when we finally found it 6 minutes before it arrived.  We still didn’t know the stop to get off at so Emma asked the bus driver where to get off and we made it to the theater. It was a really sketchy neighborhood though. 

We had to wait in the theater for another 45 minutes or so and then the movie started.  The theater was surprisingly nice.  There were French and Flemish subtitles but the voices were in English so that’s all that matters. 

When the movie finished, Regine and her husband, the parents of the girl who is on exchange in my city and being hosted by my dad, picked us up and we went to a little Belgian diner.  They didn’t know English very well so Emma was the translator.  We were at the restaurant until 12 and then they drove us home.  

We were up for about an hour later and then we went to bed.

Monday 3-4-13

Emma had to go to school today and I wasn’t allowed to go so I slept until 11:30.  Even then, it was hard to get up.  I got ready, and then Emma’s host dad took me out to lunch with him.  It was nice because we got to talk in Italian.  I got back home at 1:30 and he had to go back to work.  I started working on my Rotary reflection and I skyped with Janie because she just got back to Italy from America. 

Emma got home at 4 and she had a meeting at 5 so we couldn’t go and do anything.  I skyped with Rachel, who is on her exchange in Sicily and then Emma left for an hour and I finished up my reflection.  When she got back home, we invited Greg over (another exchange student) and our plan was to watch movies but it got late really fast because we were watching youtube videos and talking.  Greg was showing us all of his favorite French songs.  Greg had to go to school the next day so he went downstairs to sleep around 1.  Emma and I went to bed shortly after because I decided I was going to pack in the morning.  

Get Together

3-2-13

I was woken up around 9:30 this morning because some of the girls had to go home.  Then I went back to sleep until around 11.  That’s when Emma came back upstairs to tell me that we had to clean up her room.  We did that and then I showered and had breakfast and what not.  Emma and I hung out in her room for a couple of hours until a couple of exchange students and their host families showed up at 3 for a little get together.  By that point, I had gotten a pretty bad headache.  The teenagers hung out in the kitchen and ate while the adults were in the living room.  Some of us went upstairs for a while and I laid down to try to get my headache to go away.  It didn’t work and we went back downstairs for some homemade pizza that was delicious.  I also finally asked for an advil.  It took a while for it to kick in, but it eventually did and I feel better now.  My neck is still a little sore though.  I think I will be going to bed pretty early tonight and hopefully we don’t have to wake up early tomorrow… I need more sleep.  It looks like I have bruises under my eyes.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Liege

3-1-13

We got to sleep in a little bit in the morning.  Around 9:45, we got up because a lady was coming to take Emma to a shop where her potential third host mom works so that she could meet her.  She showed up early, so Emma and I rushed to get ready, but then the lady said that she was going to take Emma another time so she ended up dropping us off at the bus stop.  We took an hour and half ride to the city and met up with some other exchange students at a little caffe.  We stayed there for a little bit and then all went to get lunch.  After buying it, we went to another place and met with more exchange students.  We stayed there for a couple of hours and then some of us left and walked around town for a little while. 

We took another bus to get to the mall because we had the intention of going ice skating, but we never found the rink and people got distracted by shopping.  By the time we were going to get more serious about finding the rink, it was too late and some of the people we were with had to go.  We took the bus back to Emma’s house with one of her friends. 

We relaxed at home for a while, ate dinner, and then started getting ready for the party we were going to.  Another one of Emma’s friends showed up too.  We left the house around eleven and when we got there, we danced the night away… or a least for a couple of hours because we had a taxi pick us up at 3:15 so that Emma’s host parents didn’t have to come and get us. 

There were 6 girls staying in Emma’s room, including me.  I slept surprisingly well though..

The Silver Balls (Atomium)

Emma and I had to wake up at 9:30 this morning.  It's getting earlier! We caught the bus to the train station and met with some of the other exchange students again.  Then it was an hour train to Brussels.  When we arrived in Brussels, we all took a tram to where we thought he atomium would be.  We were right!  There were 7 of us.

We walked there, took some pictures and walked around for a little bit until we found a place that some other exchange students were hanging out at.  I think we stayed there for about an hour and then found our way to the train station.  All of the architecture is so beautiful, and some of the coolest buildings are the train stations.

It was another hour long train ride home and then an hour bus ride to Emma's house.  When we got home, Emma and I relaxed on the couch while on our computers until dinner.  After dinner, we stayed and talked with her host family for a while and then went upstairs to her room to go to bed.  We didn't eat dinner until around 9 so it was late when we got to her room.  Then we skyped with my mom and now I am going to bed soon.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

The Belgian Experience

Emma's alarm went off at 9:30 this morning and she turned the lights on, so of course I woke up.  We were supposed to get up then, but she decided we would change our plans so that we could sleep for an extra hour.  I don't know why, but I wasn't able to fall back asleep.  I listened to music while she slept.  When we finally got up, we had to get ready really fast and leave the house to catch the bus.  I got to walk through her neighborhood a little bit and it was pretty nice.  Definitely way different than anything in Italy.  The architecture is totally different.  The bus ride to the train station was probably about 45 minutes and then we met up with Emma's exchange student friends there.  We caught the train and it was an hour to Liege (the main town).  I've never taken so much public transportation in my life.

When we got there, we walked to a place where there were a bunch of other exchange students hanging out.  We talked with all of them for about 2 hours and then left to go to another place where I guess exchange students hang out as well. There weren't many people there, so we just went and ate at a fast food restaurant and then took an hour long bus ride home.

I was exhausted, so we got ready for bed and went up to Emma's room to go to sleep, even though it's not as early as I would have liked to get to bed right now.

It was a good first (full) day in Belgium.  I feel like I'm experiencing a whole new aspect of exchange when I get to spend time with other exchange students from around the world.  Even though everything was in English and I can understand how it could be a set back to learning the language.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Reunited!

Since I didn't have to go to school today, I set my alarm for 9 because we had to leave the house at noon.  Naturally, I got up around 9:30.  Then I took a shower and did my last minute packing stuff, which included taking everything out, reorganizing, eliminating, adding.  It was a disaster. Then we had to wait for Filippo to get home so that we could weigh it.  It ended up being 12.5 kilos and it needed to be 10, so I stuffed some stuff in my pockets and called it good.  The airport was an hour away, in Ancona.  When we got there, we figured out where to go and checked the dimensions of my bag in one of those basket things.  It fit!  When we weighed it, it was 11.5 kilos, so I took out my other heavy jacket and my journal.  It weighed 10.1 after that, so we were good!  I was going to try to wear one heavy jacket over the one I already had on, but I decided to just let Nadia take it home. We had to wait a little bit until the security was opened and then I said goodbye to Nadia.  The airport was really small so the security was fast and I sat down to wait for my plane on the other side.

I was there for about 30 minutes before the plane arrived.  It was all a little confusing by myself, but I managed to get seated on the right plane! It was two hours and I listened to my ipod and slept.  When I arrived, I navigated myself to the exit and found EMMA!!!  We got to the car and the drive was about an hour.  We talked the whole time because we haven't skyped in about a week.  When we got to her house, we talked some more before dinner, talked through dinner, and then talked until going to bed.  Her host family is Italian so I talked with them in Italian during dinner while Emma talked with them in French obviously.  It was extremely interesting for 3 languages to be circling around the dinner table.  I could understand a little bit of the French because it is similar to Italian.

After dinner, I skyped with Janie for a little bit because she's in America right now and then she had to go.

Emma has told me all of our plans for this week and I know it's going to be a great one!!

Bonne Nuit!
~Devon

Day Before Belgium!

I went to bed at 3 last night because I was hanging out in Giulia's room when she got home.  It's safe to say I was extremely tired this morning, but I was fine at school, which was surprising for me.  Probably because I was reading a book that I was interested in.  The first hour was italian and I read.  For the second hour, which was physics, we had to go to the lab upstairs and we did an experiment with snow and water.  Actually, they did it while I watched and talked with my friends.  For break, one of my classmates brought in a bunch of left over food from his birthday party, and the class ate a lot of that.  It's a great way to get rid of unwanted food! Then we had english, math, and informatics, and I read through those classes.

After lunch, I went to Giulia's room and talked with her for a little bit before I had to get ready to go to lessons.  The snow that was plowed off the streets is now covering the sidewalks so Nadia and I couldn't walk today. We took the car and I was dropped off at 3.  Like always, about 3/4 of the class was filled with talking.  When lessons ended at 4, I met up with some of my friends and since almost everything is closed on Mondays, we just walked around town for a couple of hours and talked.  Around 6, I met up with Giulia and her friends and we hung out until around 8.  We had homemade pizza and apple pie for dinner and dessert.  It was delicious! Nadia is an excellent chef!

After dinner, Giulia went out with a friend for a little bit, so I prepared my bag for Belgium and talked with friends on facebook for a while.  I think I talked with people for too long because now it's really late and I still have to finish writing and packing my bag...

I'm super tired tonight...

Ciao!
~Devon

Sunday Filled With Great Friends

I started reading my book last night, and that wasn't a very good idea because I didn't get to sleep until around 5.  I slept until 1 when lunch was ready and I know that sounds like a lot, but in realty, it was only 7 hours of sleep! I was tired when I had to get up.  After lunch, Giulia and I went back to her room and hung out there until around 5.  She studied and I read and we talked.  It was a nice lazy afternoon.

We left the house around 6 and picked up two of her friends.  Then they went to vote and I went in with Angela and she explained how the voting worked in Italy.  It's similar to the States.  The voting is set up in different schools and Fabriano is divided into different sections that have to go to a specific school to vote.  Then they go into the room and mark an X with a pencil on a piece of paper next to the person they are voting for.

After they finished voting, we went to the pub and met up with more friends.  It was really cold outside because it was windy, but at least it wasn't snowing or raining! In fact, most of the snow has melted today.  The pub was really full, so when we finally found a table, we all piled into one booth.  We talked and laughed and I was so very happy to be surrounded by so many great people!

After dinner, I stayed in Giulia's room again until she went out at 10 and we talked and listened to music.  I meant to write in my blog while I was in there, but I was too distracted so I'm doing it later than I wanted.

I feel like I am bursting with happiness today and I keep smiling for no reason!  It was a perfect day! è una bella vita..

Buonanotte a tutti!
~Devon

Never Ending Snow

The first two hours of class were italian and then chemistry and I read through both of them.  Then we had two hours of gym so while people were getting on the bus, I went with Emily to the secretary's office because she had to get something signed for leaving school early.  We ended up holding up the bus for about 20 minutes.  When we finally got to the gym, we changed and then the teacher talked with our class about behavior or something like that for 30 minutes or more.  Everybody was really cold, so some of the guys started playing soccer and I just shivered on a bench until the teacher started having the rest of us do these flip things off of a spring board onto a big cushion mat thing.  It was rather dangerous if you ask me.  I was also hit in the head with a volleyball today...  The last class of the day was art and while we were in the computer lab, I read my book.

After lunch, I stayed in Giulia's room for an hour and then took a shower and got ready for my Saturday night, which consisted of bundling up because it was cold outside!  It had been snowing since I had gym class and it continued to snow until around 6.  I'd say there was about half a foot.  It took a little effort to get the car out of the drive way because of the snow.  Filippo drove Giulia and I to Angela's house and we stayed there for a little bit.  Then we went to the center and sat at a bar for an hour of so.  We had to walk from Angela's house to the center.  It's not that far, but it had started raining after the snow stopped and the ground was a huge slushy, icy mess.  I don't have any snow shoes so I had my regular shoes on and it was impossible to keep them dry.  They were pretty much soaked through by the time we got to the bar, but luckily my feet didn't hurt.  Maybe they were so cold that I couldn't feel them at all.

I was supposed to meet up with my friends, but the snow was so bad that some of them couldn't go out and others hadn't arrived yet so I went back to Angela's with Giulia and her friends for dinner.  We stayed there and hung out until 11 and then we walked back to the center.  I had to put my soaked shoes back on my warm, dry feet, but again, they didn't get as cold as I thought they would.  We went to the pub and I saw some of my friends, but they had to leave right away because we got there so late so I stayed with Giulia and her friends until 12:30 when Filippo picked me up.

I have to say, it's nice to be in a nice warm bed right now.  After I finish my writing, I might do some reading and then go to sleep.  I love Saturday nights...

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Too Much Snow

The first two hours of class this morning were history and philosophy.  The teacher told me right away to do the thing I was supposed to do the last class.  Luckily, I already had most of it written, so I got that done within a little over an hour.  During the last part of the second hour, I checked my email and took care of some rotary stuff.  During art, we had a sub and we went to the computer lab.  A lot of people were wondering around the school and I was with Emily trying to figure out how to move my desk across the room with my computer because there is only one internet outlet and the cord is short.  We finally found a way to make it work, so now I sit on the other side of the room closer to my friends.  The fourth hour was english and we had the american teacher once again.  The next hour was chemistry and then math and I read through both of those classes.

After lunch, I stayed in Giulia's room while she studied and I read on my computer.  We also listened to music and talked when she took breaks from her work.  That's when it started to snow.  The snowflakes were gigantic!  It was really pretty.  Then Giulia dropped me off at lessons at 4 and the teacher and I talked for the first hour and barely got through one worksheet during the second hour because we continued to talk and it took up a lot of time, but I think it's the best practice.  It was snowing throughout lessons and starting to stick to the ground.  None of my friends were going out because of it, so at 6 I met Giulia in the library and we stayed there until 7 and then we went to the pub and hung out with her friends for a while.

We left the pub around 7:45 because the snow was starting to build up on the road.  We had to drive home slower.  Now I see why the snow sucks when it continues for a long time. Nobody goes out and it's hard to drive home! I wish it would just snow for a little bit so that I could look at it's beauty, and then stop so that the streets were still clear!

After dinner, I came to my room and started my blog right away because I am sort of on a roll with this whole going to bed early thing.  Last night it was around 11:15.  Maybe tonight will be earlier!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Giulia's Home!

The first two hours of class were biology and chemistry and I read for both of the hours.  After break, we had religion and I read for that as well.  For physics, the class had a test and I was going to continue to read but then the teacher gave me three questions to answer so I used the internet to get those done.  The last class was English and we had the American teacher today.  I helped the people around me.

After lunch, I showered and then a little while later, I met up with my friends at a caffe place in the center and they got hot chocolate.  We stayed in the caffe for an hour or so and then we walked outside and stayed in the center talking until 6.  Then the friends I was with had to leave so I found another group of friends and we all went to the pub for the rest of the time.

At 7:30, Nadia picked me up and then we went home for dinner.  Giulia got back from Perugia before dinner.  I’m so excited! After dinner, we went back to Giulia’s room and talked for an hour before she went out with her friends.  Then I went back to my room and I still have to work on the history thing for tomorrow.  I need to get to bed early tonight because it was 2 o’clocker last night…

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Finally Went Out

The first hour of class was informatics and I read.  Second hour was art and we went to the computer lab so I sat there playing with my phone and talking.  After break, we had physics and I read again.  Then during the last two hours of class, which were Italian, I did my Italian homework and then I worked on the history thing that I am going to have to write in class on Friday.

After lunch, I got ready fast again and we left to walk to school.  Nadia and her friend talked most of the way so I listened to my ipod.  Lessons went by surprisingly quick again, but it's going to suck when I have to do two hours on Friday by myself.  At 4, Nadia and her friend met me by the school and we went to a shop near by to look around for a little bit.  There was a big sale.  I got a couple of things.  We ended up being there for about an hour and then we walked home.

When we got home, I texted about everyone in my contacts list until I found someone who was going out today! I wasn't going to stay home for the third time this week!  I met them in the center at 6:20 and then we went to the pub and hung out there talking until 7:45.  Filippo picked me up at 8 and we went home for dinner.

We had fish for dinner, but it was the whole entire fish so I got to stare it in the eye while I ate it. Appetizing...  It was actually pretty good though.  I just wish it didn't still have it's head.  Then I went to my room so that I can try to get to bed early again tonight.  Last night it was 10:45, but then I woke up at 12 with a really bad stomach ache. I had to take an aspirin because that's all I had on hand and then I could finally fall back to sleep.

Ciao!
~Devon

Home Again

The first two hours of class were history and philosophy and the teacher came up to me in the beginning and asked if I could do a summary of everything I've read the past couple of classes.  I got really nervous and asked if I had to do it without reading off of the internet and he said yes, but I could look very minimally if I needed to.  I said okay and then he went back to his desk.  I sat there in a daze for a couple of minutes and then I tried to think of everything I had read.  I remembered barely anything and I didn't know how to say any of it in Italian.  So when he asked me if I needed a paper, I asked if I could do it the next time during class and he said that was fine, thankfully! I just read over everything again during the two hours.  Then we had physics and I read my book online.  The last two hours were spent in the chemistry lab and the teacher let me bring the laptop up so that I could do whatever I wanted.  I read.

It was really sunny today so after lunch, I opened the shutters on my window and sat in the sun for a while because I'm always freezing cold.  Then I showered and went back to my room to watch some tv on my computer.  I had full intentions to go out today, but it's kind of hard when none of your friends do, so I was stuck at home yet again.  This laziness is probably doing me good though because my throat has been bugging me for the last couple of days.

Then I went to dinner and hung out in the kitchen for a little while before going back to my room and getting into bed because my stomach was hurting.  I hope I'm not getting sick. I have to go to bed early tonight, not only for the benefits of not being tired in the morning, but so that I can fight off whatever this cold is!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

At Home

The first hour of class was Italian and I read my book online.  We went to the computer lab for the second hour and I got online to read my book there too.  After break, we were supposed to have English, but the teacher wasn’t there so we had a teacher come to watch over the class and I read.  During the math hour, I did my Italian homework and then I read until the end of the day.  I got through about 250 pages today.

After eating lunch, I went to my room to get ready and then I walked to the school for lessons with Nadia and her friend.  Lessons went by fast because it was only an hour and my teacher and I talked a lot.  Then Nadia and her friend met me at the school at 4 and we walked back home.   I decided not to go out today so I talked with some friends on facebook, helped one of my Italian friends with her English homework, and then watched some tv. 

I also received my package from my mom today!  In it were some winter clothes and my sister’s old, cracked, but fully functional ipod touch.  I have never had one before so I’m pretty excited.  I spent a little over an hour syncing and uploading everything on that.  When I was trying to get the internet password from my computer, I accidentally turned the internet off and I obviously don’t have the password so I was stuck with it off until Filippo got home, which slowed the process of me uploading the ipod.  I tried calling Filippo to get the password sooner, but he never responded.  Then I went to have dinner.

After dinner, I talked with my family for a little while before going back to my room to see if I could skype with Janie.  She said she had to go do something so if I can’t skype with her tonight, I probably will on Wednesday.   Then I skyped with my mom for a couple of minutes and I’m finishing my writing early! I went to bed at 11:45 last night, but that’s better than nothing and it will probably be earlier tonight.

Ciao!
~Devon

Family

Nadia woke me up at 12:45 this morning because I had to get ready to go over to their family's house for lunch (they happen to be neighbors).  When I got up, Giulia told me that she wasn't leaving to go to Perugia until tomorrow (she was supposed to leave this afternoon) so I was really happy.  Then we all walked over to their family's house and talked for a while before eating.  There was so much food, but after the first plate, I was too full to continue.  I was also extremely tired and I wasn't able to concentrate. I wanted to go back to sleep.

After about two hours at the table, Giulia and I went back to the house to change and then go on a walk.  Giulia parked the car at the pub and then we walked for about 45 minutes around Fabriano.  Then we met up with her friends and went with them to a store to get something and then eventually to the pub around 6:30.  I stayed with Giulia for a while and then a group of my friends showed up and I went to hang out with them.

Giulia and I left at 7:30 and went back to her family's house for dinner.  The meal was a lot smaller, which I was very happy about.  I was still extremely tired, so when we finished, Giulia was going to her friend's house for his birthday and I decided to go home so that I could get to bed early.

Now I'm home alone for a little bit and planning on going to sleep at 11.  We'll see how well that works out.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Janie to America

The first hour of school was italian and then we had biology. I read my book online.  The next two hours were gym and we did some running exercises to warm up, and then the teacher made us do these weird kicking, spinning things across the floor.  We all looked like ballerinas.  Then we had do this somersault, handstand sequence that she was grading us on.  The last hour was art and I talked with all of my friends for the majority of class.

Giulia picked me up after school and she was with her friends so we stayed there and talked for a little bit and then we went home for lunch.  After lunch, I showered and then Giulia dropped me off at Janie's house.  She was packing because she has to go back to America tomorrow for a week or so because of some family issues.  I stayed on the computer the whole time.  We left the house around 5 and walked to the atm so that Janie could get money.  Then we had to go back to her house so that she could sign something for Rotary before leaving tomorrow.

On the way back to the center, Janie and I stopped to get a gelato, went to the grocery story, and then Janie got a sandwich thing and we went to the park for her to eat it.  On the way to the pub, we met up with some friends and ended up talking with them for a while and then walking through the center with them until we met up with more people that we talked with.  A little later, Janie and I went to the pub alone and sat inside for some time until my friends showed up.  Janie had to leave right after that because it was almost 8 and she wanted to get to bed right way because she has to leave to go to the airport in Rome tomorrow at 5:30 in the morning.

I stayed with my friends at the pub until 9 and then we went to get dinner at a type of fast food restaurant.  We walked back to the pub around 10 and I stayed there with them until 12:30.  We stayed outside for a good hour and a half of the time and I was freezing my butt off!  We finally went inside towards the end and then Giulia texted me that she was taking me home.  I found her in the parking lot with a bunch of her friends because it was one of their birthdays and I talked with them for about 10 minutes before she dropped me off at home.

I was able to skype with my sister and dad when I got home and now I think I am going to fall asleep right away because I'm so tired.  I also went to bed at midnight last night, which is almost a record for these past few weeks!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Da Sola

The first two hours of class today were history and philosophy.  The teacher gave me a section on the internet to read and it was about Napoleon Bonaparte again.  It took me the whole two hours, but it may have been because I was having a hard time staying awake.  I really had to fight it today.  My eyes wouldn't stay open for the life of me! Then we had art and that class was a little better because I was able to read a book of my choose on the internet instead of history.  We had english with the American teacher after break and then chemistry and math.  I read my book online.

Giulia picked me up from school today and we went home for lunch. We were planning on going out at 3 to walk around the center for a while before my lessons at 4, but we didn't leave the house until 3:45.  We did a mini, ten minute walk and then I went to lessons.  Janie wasn't there so I was all alone for 2 hours.  I also found it extremely hard to stay awake.  Whenever she left the room to make copies or something, I would put my head on my desk and close my eyes.  I guess lessons didn't go by too slowly though.

I didn't know what to do after lessons because I wanted to stay out, but none of my friends were going out so I decided to go on a walk by myself.  I went to the gardens and walked around listening to my ipod for an hour and a half and then Giulia came to pick me up and we got home at 8.  Nadia and Giulia skyped with Chiara (who is in Canada for her exchange) and then we had dinner.  After dinner, I went to Giulia's room and we skyped with Chiara again until Giulia went out.

Since I was utterly exhausted today (even though I'm not now), I MIGHT go to bed a little earlier...

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Valentine's Day

I had to go to the police station this morning to ask about my visa being extended and the station didn't open until 8:30 and it closed at 12:30, so I was going to have to miss school either way.  I had an english test for the last hour so I told my host parents that the morning would be better for me.  Therefore, I was able to sleep in an extra 30 minutes.  I wanted to extend my visa for two months because it expires on the 26th of May and I wanted to stay until the middle of July.  It turns out that my Rotary counselor said I had to return before July and I was really confused because I never heard him say that so we left the police station before doing anything and went to the gym where we thought Filippo would be teaching (he's a PE teacher), but he wasn't there, so we called him and he called Carlo (my Rotary counselor).  Then Carlo called me and told me that I am only allowed to stay until the end of June so there is no point in extending my visa for two months.  I was a little upset.

Then we went back to the police station and they told us that I didn't have to prolong my visa to stay longer.  I guess I have like 267 days or something in Italy, starting FROM THE TIME I ARRIVE IN ITALY, not the date my visa was issued, so I'm fine.  When we figured all of that out.  I went to school and I arrived for the last half of the second hour.  It was chemistry and I read online until the internet stopped working.  I took out my Italian book at that point, but I just stared at it and thought about other things.  After break, we were supposed to have religion and physics, but another teacher game and we all sat in a circle in the middle of the room.  I tried to understand everything she said.  I think she was there because my class is going to start working on a volunteer project or something.  During the last hour of that "class", a group of us studied for the English test.  We started the english test right away.  I had barely studied and there was a lot of questions asking about shakespeare and sonnets so I had to think really hard for those.  I did fine on the grammar portion though!

When I got home, we had lunch and then Giulia and I went and layed on the couch for a while.  I was wrapped in a big blanket because I was freezing cold and shivering.  I have no idea why I'm so cold all of the time.  And then there's times when it's freezing outside and I'm fine.  It's strange.  After about 30 minutes on the couch, I took a shower planning on staying home for a couple of hours because I was going to go out with my friends at 5:30/6ish.  Giulia told me that she was going to the library at 4 to study, so I just decided to bring my laptop to the library and go on the internet.

Around 6, Giulia's friends showed up and we walked around the center for a little bit.  Then I met up with my friends at the pub and I stayed with them until 8 when Giulia picked me up.  We went to Chinese for dinner with her friend Angela.  It was good food, but the service was pretty bad.  Angela would get her food, finish, then Giulia would get hers, finish, and mine came last twice.  I didn't mind waiting.  Then I was dropped off at home at 11.  I'm going to get to bed before 2:30 tonight!

Buonanotte!
~Devon