Walking

I didn't have to go to school today so I slept in until 1.  It was so great! Then I was called to lunch and I talked with my host family for a while afterwards.  When I got back to my room, I talked with my dad on skype for about 10 minutes and then Nadia and I left the house at 3:30 to walk to a friend's house.  Nadia's friend came with us so I listened to music for a lot of the time.  It was about a 30 minute walk.

Then we arrived at Nadia's friend's house and there was a girl who is my age there.  We all talked at the table for around an hour and then I got a tour of their house.  It was absolutely amazing! It was super modern and it had an amazing layout. I want a house like that one day!  Around 6, I went with the girl and her boyfriend and they dropped me off in the center and I met up with my friends.  We stayed in the center for a while and then we went to the pub.  We stayed there and talked until 7:40 and then I walked back to the center where Filippo picked me up.

After dinner, I stayed and talked with Nadia for a little bit and it turns out that I will probably be able to extend my visa! I just have to go to the police department and ask.  The expiration of my visa is the 26th of June, but I want to stay until the middle of July.

I'm getting my blog done early tonight so... more time to listen to music!! School doesn't start until 9 tomorrow so I get an extra hour of sleep, or an extra hour to stay up...

Ciao!
~Devon

Beautiful Weather

I went to bed at 12:20 last night. New record! Then this morning, my alarm went off at 6:30 and I couldn't sworn that I pressed the snooze button, but at 7:37, Nadia knocked on my door to see if I was awake and I wasn't, so I jumped out of bed and I was actually still ready on time!

The first hour of class was informatics and we went to the computer lab.  I got on the internet there and read Memoirs.  Then we had math and I read more, as well as through break and physics.  For the last two hours of class, which was Italian,  I did my Rotary reflection and then read again for the last 30 minutes of class.  The Italian teacher hasn't brought up anything about my homework assignment yet and I am definitely not going to remind him.  I sat there for the last 10 minutes of class avoiding all possible eye contact so that he wouldn't remember anything!

After lunch, I showered and then got ready to go to lessons.  Today, Nadia said that we could walk if I wanted to so I was ready by 3:30 and we left the house.  The sun was shining and it wasn't cold at all.  A little cool, yes, but not cold.  The wind was also blowing, but it was really nice because when we started walking it was blowing against us and it was just nice.  We talked all the way there and it took us exactly 30 minutes.  When I got up to the classroom, I took off my jackets and I stayed in my short sleeve shirt for about an hour of lessons because I was super warm! Now I know that when I get cold, all I have to do is walk fast for about 10 minutes and I will be set!

Lessons were boring like usual, but we did learn a new verb tense.  Then we went to the pub afterwards to meet up with Mehdi and his friend and we talked with them for about an hour.  Janie had to leave at 7 and I wasn't being picked up until 7:45, so I stayed and walked around the center with them for the rest of the time.

We had dinner and I hung out in the kitchen until I started to get tired.  Then I went to my room.  I skyped with  Emma and my sister for a while and then I started writing my blog.  It's pretty late now, but I don't have to go to school tomorrow because there's an assembly for the whole day and none of my friends are going so my host parents are letting me stay home! Yay!!! I get to sleep!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

One Lazy Day Too Many

Got to bed a little after one last night.  I call that a success!

The first two hours of class were history and philosophy and I had to read about the French Revolution.  He told me that if I couldn't understand it in Italian, I could read it in English, so that's exactly what I did because there's something about reading history in Italian that just doesn't click in my mind...  I couldn't even concentrate on it in English.  I'm going to be in trouble for the test when I have to write about it in Italian. Oh boy.  Then we had two hours of math after break and for the first hour, I read Memoirs, while during the second hour, I did my art assignment.  During chemistry, I read my book again.

I forgot to write yesterday that we only have about 10 people in my class for this week because half of them went to the north of Italy for a week of skiing that was organized by the school.

After lunch, I hung around in the kitchen for a while and then I went to my room to try to get into contact with some of my friends who said they were going out today.  While I was waiting, I watched tv and played on my computer.  I also tried to take a nap, but I never fell asleep.  My friends never got back to me so I was stuck at home all day again today and it was a real pity because the sun was shining and the sky was blue!  Cold, but still nice.  I guess I could've gone out for a walk by myself or something, but I didn't know where to go and I was being lazy.

Then we had dinner and I didn't stay in the kitchen very long today because I'm planning on getting my writing done early and going to bed!  But now I'm skyping with Emma, which always slows me down. It's early right now though, so I think I'll be fine.

Ciao!
~Devon

Sleeeep

I was up until 2 last night/morning skyping with my sister and mom.  I actually woke up normally this morning though and I wasn't very tired at school.  Probably because I slept for almost 12 hours Saturday night.

The first hour of class was Italian and the teacher started to talk to Emily so that she could translate for me, but then he realized that I could understand everything he was saying.  He told me that we would read my Italian thing tomorrow and that he was going to start bringing books to me in Italian so that I could read them and then he will interrogate me on them.  Dang it... I'm so nervous now. I don't want to embarrass myself in front of my whole class!  During Italian, I read Memoirs of a Geisha.  Then we had physics and it was in the lab today.  I just watched the experiment they were doing. It wasn't very interesting.  After break, we had English and I read, as well as during half of math, but for the last 30 minutes of math, we had to go to another classroom because the other class didn't have a teacher.  I read my Italian book at that point.  The last class was informatics and we went to the lab.  I got on the computer there and read.

After lunch, I talked with my host family and then showered.  I went to my room and watched some tv and then my internet got slow so I turned off my computer with the intention of restarting in, but then I decided to shut my eyes.  It turned into a 2 hour nap.  Nadia woke me up at 8 when it was time for dinner.  My host parents wrapped me in a blanket so that I would stay warm (because I'm always cold in our house) and we ate!  They played cards for a little while after dinner (I was observing how to play) and we all talked, and then I went to my room to start writing!

Emma ended up skyping me so that slowed me down a lot, but we had a ton of laughs!  It is now 12, but it looks like I'll still be getting to bed before 2 tonight, fortunately!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Fantastic Ending to a Great Week

Saturday:

I got more sleep on Friday night so I woke up easier and less achy than previous mornings.  The first class was Italian and I read my Italian book.  I gave him my homework assignment at the end of class and he said we would read it together on Monday.  I'm really nervous and I am going to ask him to read it quietly so that the rest of the class can't hear.  Then we had biology and I read my book again.  The computer wasn't in class today.  During break, one of the girls in class told me that she wasn't doing gym today, so I decided I wasn't going to either because she was the only other girl in class.  The other 3 were absent.  So for the two hours of gym, I sat with about 7 other people who weren't doing gym either and we talked and watched the others.  The teacher didn't even do anything for the lesson so the boys just played soccer the whole time.  The last hour of class was art and we were in the lab.  I read my book.

After lunch, Giulia and I sat on the couch and started learning the words to a rap song.  It was hilarious!  In the end, we weren't very successful.  We need to practice more.  Then I got ready and we went out around 5 to pick up Angela and then Janie and Elizabeth.  We drove to the center and went to the central bar to get a coffee (I didn't get anything).  We met up with more friends there and talked with them for a while.

Around 6, Janie, Elizabeth, and I walked to Janie's and hung out in her room for a while.  We had dinner early and we were laughing the whole time.  I don't even know why, just a lot of stupid jokes, one after the other.  Then Roberto dropped us off at the movie theater and we met up with Mehdi, Suzanna, Marta, and Federica.

Movie Theater Differences:
-assigned seating (stupid, but we ended up sitting wherever we wanted to)
-more comfortable seats!
-nicer
-intermission (it was very strange and I was confused at first. I thought the movie had ended haha)
-the exit goes straight outside, you can't go back the way you came in after the movie ends

I understood a little bit of the movie, but it was hard because there weren't Italian subtitles (obviously).  It was a comedy though, so I was able to understand what was going on and I laughed a lot.  At the end, Janie ended up going home straight from the movie theater because she had a headache and Elizabeth's dad picked her up.  I went with my other friends and we went to the pub.  We talked for a while and then almost everybody had to go home at 11.  Mehdi and I ended up finding a seat inside the pub surprisingly, because it was extremely busy, and then we walked around the center for awhile.

Giulia and I went home at 12:30 and watched a tv show for about an hour.  Then we went straight to bed. I didn't even have energy to write in my blog.  I went to bed earlier on my Saturday night then I did the whole week!

Sunday:

I woke up at 1 this morning/afternoon.  It was heavenly being able to sleep in today.  Then we had lunch and Giulia and I watched tv on the couch wrapped in blankets for an hour or so.  I got off the couch around 4, went to my room, skyped with Emma for about 5 minutes and then got ready to leave. At 4:30, all of us left the house to go to Perugia.  We didn't end up getting there until around 6 because one of the streets was closed off so we had to take a longer way.  When we arrived at Giulia's apartment, Giulia unpacked and Nadia cleaned and then we walked around the center for an hour.  I finally bought a new pair of shoes.  Not the cheapest, but not too expensive either, and I was in desperate need of them.  Perugia is so beautiful!

At 7:30, we ate at a small pizza place and then Nadia, Filippo, and I drove home.  I almost fell asleep on the way home.  We arrived at 9:30 and now it's 11:46.  If I'm lucky, I can probably get to sleep by 1.  I still need to do more stuff tonight.

Ciao!
~Devon

Shiver

A little bit of chaos this morning.  My alarm rang at 6:30, the normal time and I pressed snooze... or at least I thought I did.  Filippo came and knocked on my door and I looked at my phone thinking 'this is strange' and it was 7:53! I guess I accidentally pressed the off botton.  I didn't actually look at it when I pressed the botton, I just felt for the button and pressed it.  I got ready as fast as I could and then Nadia ended up taking me to school because Filippo had to leave to go to his school because he's a gym teacher.  When we got there, we went to the secretaries office and got my tardy all taken care of and then I went to class.  I was only 20 minutes late.

For the first 30 minutes of class, I read Memoirs of a Geisha, but then the history/philosophy teacher told me to read about the French Revolution in Italian.  I tried to focus for the first couple of paragraphs but my eyes weren't having it, and my mind definitely wasn't either.  I ended up slightly covering my eyes so that the teacher couldn't see me and I closed them for a while until I could feel myself starting to nod off and I didn't want anybody to notice so I would have to force my eyes open again.  Sometimes I would blink and my eyes would stay closed until I realized that I was falling asleep again!  It was terrible, the time was going by so slow.  I tried to read but I couldn't make any sense of what I was reading.  I think it would have been the same if it was english as well. I was way too tired.  The third hour of class was art and I read Memoirs until the end when the teacher told me that I have to write something on italian and english garden layouts or something so I'm planning on doing that tomorrow.  We had our break and then went to another room for English because the American was teaching today.  She started off the class by saying that she didn't realize there was an American in our class so she asked who it was and then I talked with her about where I live and why I'm here and what not. The rest of the time, I just helped the people around me with their assignments.  During chemistry, my online book wasn't loading so I started to read about the art stuff because I didn't have anything else to do.  The last class of the day was math and she gave me a website to search for on the computer to teach me about what the class is learning.  It was very helpful and I did that for the whole class.

I have been extremely cold all day today, but then again, I always am.  During lunch my whole body was shivering like crazy.  After lunch, I sat with Giulia by the heater for a little while and we talked.   Then her friends showed up because they all had to go to a funeral today.  A short while later, they left and I went to my room to take a nap.  I didn't end up getting to sleep and then Nadia dropped me off at the school at 4.

During lessons, the teacher helped me with my Italian homework a little bit and then we ended up talking for the rest of the hour about our lives and what not.  Didn't learn anything new, but I got a lot of practice which is better anyway.  Janie had to go to the grocery store afterwards and then we headed to the pub.

In the center, we met up with my friends from yesterday and walked to the pub together.  We got a table and talked for about an hour.  Towards the end, Janie and I were trying to translate english jokes into italian.  That was funny enough as it is.  At 7:30, Filippo picked me up in the center and we went home for dinner.

I was freezing cold throughout dinner so when I was finished eating, I stood by the heater for the rest of the time.  I talked with Nadia and Giulia for about an hour and then I started to fall asleep standing up so I figured it was time to start getting ready for bed.  When I got to my room, I sat on the floor and re-wrote my Italian thing on a nicer piece of paper, which ended up taking an hour.

I will probably stay up as long as physically possible tonight because that's just what I do, but I don't think it will be too long from now before I pass out from exhaustion.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

New Friends

I don't know why now, but things are just getting better and better for me.  I am making new friends, having fun, talking in Italian (pretty badly).... and losing sleep, but that's not important.  

Getting up this morning was a nightmare.  I went to bed at 2:30 last night and I woke up with a slight headache.  I always set my alarm on my phone for 6:30 so that I can press snooze ten times until 7:30 because each snooze is five minutes.  My phone buzzes constantly until I press the snooze button and the weirdest thing has been happening to me for the past couple of days.  My phone buzzes the first time and I press the button and hold my phone in my hand while I fall back asleep.  Then it will buzz again and I'm usually half conscious if even that much and while it's buzzing, I start dreaming that people are texting me and I can see what the messages say and then I will actually wake up and check my inbox and there's obviously no new messages.  It's so confusing!  I finally realize that I'm dreaming and I press the snooze button again.  This happens almost every time I have to re-press snooze. Very annoying.

The first hour of class was chemistry and we had a test.  He gave me the piece of paper and told me to write anything I wanted that has to relate to chemistry.  He had told me in the beginning of the week to write something on methanol so I already had that prepared today.  I asked him if I could just give him that and he said I could copy it down on the paper and I could be done, so it was simple.  Then we had biology and I started working on my Italian homework, which was given to me by the actual Italian teacher of my class, and I have to write about a page and a half about the negative aspects of Italians.  What kind of assignment is that?! Why not positive aspects? I don't want to have an Italian read everything I think is bad about them. Ugh, I wrote it the best I could and it took me the rest of the day because I wrote it in English and was almost finished writing it in Italian when school ended.  I ended up writing about how the driving is crazy, everybody smokes, drinking, and so on, but a lot of the things I wrote are true for everybody around the world so I made sure to state that too.  I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings.  The last time I wrote something for him, he read it out loud to the whole class so I REALLY hope he doesn't do the same this time.  I 'm going to specifically ask him not to.

Nadia and Giulia picked me up from school today and we went to the commercial center and got pizza for lunch.  Then we shopped around for a while and went home so that Giulia could get her book back.  Then Giulia and I went to the library around 4 so that she could study and I was waiting for my friend to go out so that I could meet up with him.  I finished my Italian translation and read my Italian book until my friend showed up around 5.  

We walked to the center and then to the place where the city buses stop.  We waited there for a while and then we took the bus to a gym to watch a volleyball game.  A couple of his friends showed up and we talked for a while and then his brother picked us up and we went to the pub.  I met another one of his friends there and we all talked, them in English, me in Italian.  Then Giulia and her friends got there a little later.  Around 8, Giulia and I went home for dinner, I looked through a magazine with Giulia, and then I went to my room to start my normal routine of writing, listening to music and doing things on the computer.  

I think I will probably get to bed before 2 tonight... I hope!

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Janie Finally Goes Out!

The first hour of class was informatics and I read my book.  Then we had art and we went to the lab.  I brought my Italian book but I didn't end up reading any of it.  I'm not really sure what I did.  I think I just started at the wall.  During informatics, I was able to stay awake pretty well (I went to bed at 1:45 last night) and I woke even more when we had to walk to the computer lab.  I read during break and then we had a physics test.  The teacher wrote me a special test and I used the internet for all of it.  The last two hours were Italian and I finished The Diary of Anne Frank and started re-reading The Memoirs of a Geisha.

After lunch, I showered right away because Giulia told me that we might walk to my school from the house, which is around 45 minutes, but once I was ready, it started to rain so I got on my computer for a while.  Giulia dropped me off at the school at 4 and Janie and I had our two hour lesson.  It went by pretty fast today because we talked most of the time.

Afterwards, we went to the grocery store so that I could get some floss and then we went to the pub.  When we got there it wasn't open, but we found some friends and we talked with them while we were waiting.  A couple of minutes later, we went and sat down outside and we met up with more friends.  We ended up going inside to sit with them and we talked for the rest of the time.  Giulia and one of our other friends came and joined us a little after we arrived as well.  It was a good night.

Giulia and I left the pub around 8 and picked up one of her friends to go to a fast food place called American Burger for dinner.  How ironic.  And it just opened in Fabriano.  The whole place was painted like the American flag and the food was okay. It's like a Mcdonald's.  I probably put on a couple extra pounds tonight. Dang...

When I got home, we all talked in the living room for a while until Giulia and her friend went out again and then I went into my room to start writing, but that didn't happen as soon as I wanted it too.  Emma skyped me and we ended up talking for about 2 hours and 15 minutes.  It was like we were hanging out together!  Then I started to write my blog around 1 and it is now 1:15. I keep getting distracted.  One of these days, I think I might collapse from exhaustion...

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Very Good Day

Well... I didn't keep my promise.  Stayed up until 1:15 again last night (or this morning).  It's safe to say I was extremely tired yet again today.  First two hours of class were philosophy and history and I read The Diary of Anne Frank as long as I could before I started to nod off, so I started to write stupid things in my notebook to keep myself awake.  During break, I talked with my friends and that woke me up a little bit.  Then I actually participated in most of the math lesson, which was 2 hours, because it was a concept that I could understand.  Towards the end though, I was lost, like usual.  The last hour was chemistry and I read.

I had, yet again, another great conversation with my host parents at lunch.  I really love talking with them.  Then I went to my room to do stuff on the computer for a while, and Giulia arrived home from her university a little later so I went and sat in the living room with her and we talked about what's been happening in our busy lives.  She showered while I watched a show on obesity in Italian... I really need to start exercising.

We went to the pub around 6:30 and I talked with a friend for a while before going inside and sitting with Giulia and her friends.  When I did go inside, I was actually involved in the conversation with Giulia and her friends and it was really nice.  Things are getting better!  Giulia and I got home around 8:30 and had dinner.  It is nice for Giulia to be home.   Everybody talked a lot during dinner and then we looked at photos of Chiara (Nadia's daughter who is exchanging in Canada) and of my family.

Giulia went out again tonight and I now I'm in my room.  I'm not going to even try to go to bed early anymore.  If it happens, it happens... but most likely not.

Ciao!
~Devon

Sleep

I didn't get to bed until 1:30 last night so I was extremely tired this morning.  The first class was Italian and I read my Italian book.  Throughout the class, I kept thinking about sleep and being in a warm bed and it was torture.  I could barely keep my eyes open.  Then we had physics and we went to the lab for an experiment thing with the temperature of water.  Talking with people and moving around woke me up a little bit, but I still just wanted to go to bed.  After break, we had English and I read The Diary of Anne Frank online.  I also read it through math and I almost fell asleep a couple of times.  I kept nodding off so I started to doodle in my notebook to try to keep myself awake.  The last class was informatics and we went to the computer lab.  I sat with Emily and we talked and played on her phone for most of the time.

After lunch, I went to my room and tried to sleep, but of course I wasn't tired then!  I showered and then did stuff on my computer for a while.  A little later, I watched a movie until dinner and then I talked with my host parents for about an hour afterwards. I love talking with them. They always put me in a good mood!

Tonight, I have PROMISED myself that I am going to go to sleep before 11! It was originally 10:30, but I'm not sure I could swing that one. Who knows, maybe I'll surprise myself.

Ciao!
~Devon

Birthday Party

Saturday

The first hour of class was Italian but the teacher ended up being 30 minutes late so I read my book.  Then when he arrived, I worked on my Italian homework and then started to read again.  I read during biology as well.  Then we went to the gym, but I had woken up with a headache and I still had it so I didn't participate in gym.  I just talked with my other classmates who weren't doing gym as well.  The last class of the day was art and we went to the computer lab and I read my italian book.

After lunch, I went to my room to take a nap because I was extremely tired.  At four, I had a meeting with my Rotary counselor to make sure that everything was going okay with my new host family and then when I got home, I got ready for Emily's birthday party.  I went over to Janie's at 6:30 and then Roberto took us to Esanatoglia at 7.  We met up with Emily's sister who then took us to their country home where the party was.

We had dinner and then everybody hung out and talked until around 1.  Most of us went to the disco afterwards and Janie and I stayed there until 3:30 when we were picked up by Filippo.  I almost fell asleep in the car on the way home and when I got into bed, I was out like a light.

Sunday

I woke up around 8 this morning because I had forgotten to close my blinds, so I did that and went right back to bed until Nadia woke me up at 1:15 for lunch.  We talked after lunch for a while and then I went back to my room to relax and watch some tv.  I slept some more and didn't do much of anything for the rest of the day because I was in a bad mood and not feeling very well.

I started to feel better and get in a better mood during dinner and I still am.  I talked with my host parents for a long time after dinner and it was nice.  Now I am going to bed late yet again. Great way to start my week of school...

Buonanotte!
~Devon

English

We had philosophy and history for the first two hours of class and I worked on my chemistry homework for pretty much the whole time.  The next hour was art and I spent that hour searching for a book to read that was free on the internet.  I finally settled on the Diary of Anne Frank.  I read through break and then we had english.  We were taken to another classroom and there was another teacher there.  I guess she's going to be our new teacher every Friday and she's from the United States.  When she introduced herself I was really surprised and she talked english for the whole class.  We actually did something for once.  We were put into pairs and did a lot of talking exercises.  I just helped out my partners.  The next hour was biology and I read and continued to do so through the last hour of class, which was math.

It was snowing for the first few hours of class today and it was super pretty! It was snowing fairly hard too, but unfortunately, nothing stuck.

After lunch, I lounged around and listened to some new music that I got last night, which is awesome by the way!  Then I got ready to go to lessons and Filippo took me to the school.  Lessons felt extremely long and boring today.  Janie was also really tired and wasn't in the best of moods. Afterwards, we went to the center to shop for a little bit and then we walked to the pub.  There weren't many people there when we got there and Janie took out her ipad and started reading her book.  I finally engaged her in a conversation.  Then some of our friends showed up and sat with us so we talked with them for the rest of the time we were there.

When I got home, we had dinner and talked for about an hour after eating.  Last night I went to bed at 1:30 so I am going to try to get to sleep by 12 tonight!  I've extended the time from 11 to 12 because I've discovered that 11 is pretty much impossible for me.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

The Lovely Bones

The first two hours of class were biology and chemistry and I read The Lovely Bones.  I couldn't even stop reading when break came around because it was so good!  For the third hour of class, the religion teacher wasn't there so another teacher came to watch over the class and she took us to another classroom to watch a movie.  We all sat down and when she played the movie, students were making squeaking noises with their chairs, talking, playing with there phones, and making fun of the movie.  The last straw was when everybody started singing happy birthday to Emily (it was her birthday) really loudly.  She went and got the principal and the principal didn't really say much.  The teacher was really mad and she brought us back to our classroom.  The class continued to be rude and when the bell rang, she stormed.  I don't think I said one word that whole hour.  When we got back to class, I started to read my book again, continuing through physics and english as well.  During the english hour, while I was reading, the teacher sat on his desk and talked with the students in Italian until the last 10 minutes of class when he started to read out of the textbook.  I couldn't even understand what he was saying when he was speaking in English.  It seems to me like he's given up on trying to get the class to pay attention.

After lunch, I finished the last 6 pages of my book and then got ready to go to Janie's house.  I went over there around 3:30 and she took a shower while I started watching The Lovely Bones movie.  She's already seen it before and she doesn't like those types of movies.  The movie was really long so while I watched the movie, she found new music and did stuff on her computer. I basically went over there so that we could be in each other's company.  When my movie was over, Janie and I talked for a little bit and then I was picked up.  The Lovely Bones movie was actually pretty good.  It was missing a lot of things from the book and some things were changed around, but overall, it was made well.

After dinner, I talked with Nadia for about an hour about school and about her daughter who is in Canada for her exchange year and then I went to my room to get ready for bed.  I've given up on trying to get to bed early.  It never happens.  Last night, I went to bed after 11 yet again and I can already tell that it will be the same, if not later tonight.  I guess it's a good thing I can function on little sleep.

Ciao!
~Devon

Exchange

The first hour of class was informatics and I commenced reading The Lovely Bones.  The next class was art and we went to the computer lab so I brought my Italian book, but I didn't end up reading any of it because I was talking with my friends.  After break, we had physics and I started to read online again.  I was going to read through the two hours of Italian as well but the computer was overheating or something and making a loud noise so I turned it off and read my Italian book for the first hour.  I was going to turn the computer back on to read The Lovely Bones again but I remembered that the computer makes a loud noise when it turns on and I didn't want the teacher asking me any questions or thinking it was a phone so I just read my Italian book the rest of the time.

After lunch, I got ready for lessons and then relaxed for about 30 minutes.  At 4, Filippo took me to the school. Janie, the teacher, and I ended up talking about random things for the first hour of lessons and then probably got about 2 worksheets done the next hour.  I feel like I learn a lot more when we talk though because it helps me practice.

Then Janie and I were supposed to meet two people who applied to do an exchange in the U.S. next year.  The girl told Janie to meet her at this one caffe and Janie told her she knew where it was so we walked to the center and Janie told me she "thought" she knew where it was.  We ended up standing in one place for a while trying to figure out what to do because Janie didn't have the girl's number and we didn't know who to ask.  We started to walk the opposite way and we luckily ran into some other friends who pointed us in the right direction after laughing at us for going the wrong direction.

We arrived at the caffe and nobody was there so we started to get confused and we hoped that we weren't so late that they left.  The girl ended up showing up a couple minutes later and then the other guy right after.  We talked with them (in Italian!) for about an hour and it was really nice!  We are hopefully going to get together again soon.

They had to leave around 7:10, so Janie and I walked around the gardens once and then walked to her house because I was being picked up at 7:45.  We hung out there for a couple of minutes and then I went home for dinner.  During dinner, I found out that one of the kids we met with today lives right behind me! I also watched some snowboarding on tv with my host parents and then went to my room to get ready for bed.

I know I said I was going to get to bed before 11 last night.... but I didn't.  It never works out... maybe, MAYBE tonight I will.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Soaked

We had philosophy and history for the first 2 hours of class and I finished A Walk To Remember and started on The Lovely Bones.  I actually stopped reading for break to talk with some classmates and I took notes and did example problems for the first hour of math because I was able to understand it.  The second hour was review on other concepts that I didn't understand so I started to read again and I did that through the chemistry hour as well.  It was pouring when school got out and I didn't have an umbrella so I shared with Emily for as long as could but then she had to get on her bus and I walked the rest of the way to meet with Filippo and the bottom of my pants and jacket were totally wet.  I almost got splashed by a car when I was waiting to cross the street, but luckily I anticipated it and took a couple of steps back!

We had lunch when we got home and talked for a little while after.  Then I went to my room and took another nap.  Janie was working on scholarship stuff today so she didn't want to go out and none of my other friends were going out either so I watched the movie "A Walk To Remember".  Yet again, the book was better than the movie, but that's usually the case.  I can't wait to finish The Lovely Bones.  I have been wanting to see that movie for a while now and the book is very good.

I skyped with Emma for about an hour after that until dinner was ready because we were catching up on everything that has been going on in our exchanges.  Dinner was ready at 8 and my host parents and I talked for about an hour after and I learned that there is another American exchange student about an hour away in Perugia, so we are hopefully going to meet him soon.

I skyped with Janie for about 10 minutes and I am getting to bed before 11 tonight!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Tired

I got up five minutes earlier than I usually do this morning because it was the first day I would actually be driven to school.  I was planning on 10 minutes earlier but it was hard to get out of bed.  I was dropped off ten minutes earlier than I usually get there.  The first hour of class was Italian and I read Grapes of Wrath on sparknotes for part of it and my Italian book for the other half.  Then there was physics and I started A Walk To Remember because I found the full book online.  I read that through break, English, and math.  For the last hour of class, we went to the computer lab and I ended up getting on the internet and finding the book again. 

I walked a little bit to meet with Filippo and then we drove home and had lunch.  After lunch, I laid in bed, listened to music, read some of A Walk To Remember, and finally finished the Kite Runner movie.  The book is definitely way better.  I fell asleep for a little bit after that because my internet doesn’t work when someone is talking on the house phone and Nadia was talking on the phone for a while.  I needed the rest anyway.

I woke up a little before dinner and went to the kitchen.  We talked a little bit about the differences between universities in America and Italy.  Italian universities are a lot cheaper.  Then Nadia and I went to the living room and watched the movie “Billie Elliot” in Italian.  We couldn’t get English subtitles so we did Italian subtitles instead and I understood almost all of it.  It was a really great movie, but now it’s 11:30 and I am going straight to bed!

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Rain

I kept waking up this morning, but luckily for me, I can fall back asleep fairly easy.  Nadia (my new host mom) knocked on my door and said lunch would be ready at 1, so I stayed in bed until around 12:50 and then went to the kitchen.  I talked with Filippo (my new host dad) and Nadia for a little bit and then lunch was ready.  Nadia is an amazing cook.  The food was delicious.  I talked with everybody for about an hour after lunch and then I went and started watching "The Kite Runner" movie in my room.

At 4:30, I went over to Janie's house and we went out around 5.  It was raining pretty hard, so we had to use umbrellas even though we don't like using them.  The pub wasn't open when we first got there so we walked around for a little bit longer and then went back when it was open. We only stayed for about 30 minutes because none of our friends were there and we were both pretty tired.

We went back to her house and Filippo picked me up at 7:15 to go home.  I watched more of my movie and then we had dinner.  I skyped with my mom for a couple of minutes and now I'm going to try to finish my movie before I go to sleep.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

The Switch

The first hour of class was Italian today and I read my Italian book.  I'm about 2/3 of the way through with it now.  During the biology hour, I wrote a thank you letter to Roberto and Lorena in English to translate and give to them when I switch houses.  Then I read for the rest of the time.  The next two hours were gym and we did a couple of weird exercises in the beginning and then started playing a game like basketball except you didn't have to dribble the ball and you had to throw it into a soccer net instead of the basketball hoop.  I was just standing with a couple of my friends because I didn't want to do anything and the guys were all playing aggressive.  Eventually the teacher let us sit out. We sat on a mat and talked for the rest of the time.  The last hour of the day was art and we went to the computer lab.  Emily helped me translate my letter into Italian.

After lunch, I finished all of my packing and re-wrote my letter on nicer paper.  Janie and her host dad (now my host dad) came over around 3:30 with all of Janie's stuff and Lorena and Roberto were crying when I was leaving.  I had one suitcase and 3 small bags, while Janie had one big suitcase, one small suitcase, and probably 7 other bags of stuff.  She has done a lot of shopping!  When I got to my new house, I unpacked everything and talked with my host parents for a little bit about small house things.  Then I went over to Janie's at 5:30.  It was so strange being the guest at a house I have lived in for 4 months.  Janie and I hung out and then got ready to go out.  We left the house at 7 and met up with Giulia and her friends.  We all went to the central bar and talked until around 8.

We went to Giulia's friend's house for dinner and stayed there until 10:30.  Then we went to the pub and sat outside for the rest of the night because there weren't any places inside.  It wasn't as cold as I expected it to be.  Janie and I talked most of the time and we were laughing so hard!  My stomach hurt after a while from laughing so much.  It was a fun night.  Around 12, I got really tired and we were picked up at 12:30.

Now I get to sleep in this house for the first time. And I get to sleep in! Hallelujah!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

The Wonders of Coffee

The first two hours of class were history and philosophy and I finished The Kite Runner.  AMAZING BOOK.  Then I had to find something to do for the rest of the day.  English was the next class and right when the teacher came in, all of the students went out into the hallways and pretty much disappeared for 15 minutes.  The teacher had to go and get the principal to get the class to listen to him and right after she left, the class started talking amongst each other again like nothing had happened.  I just read the sparknotes of different books and continued doing that through chemistry and until we had to go to another room to join another class who was having religion because our math teacher wasn't there today.  We just watched a short movie in that class and then went home 10 minutes early from school.

After lunch, I packed some more and now all I have left is what I'm wearing now, some bathroom stuff, and some papers.  Then Janie came over at 3:40 and we talked for a little bit and left for lessons.  We were already running late, but I had to put more money on my phone on the way so we ended up being 10 minutes late to class.  The teacher didn't really mind.  After lessons, we went to the grocery store so that Janie could buy shampoo and conditioner for switching houses and then we went to the pub.  Janie had had 4 coffees today so she was pretty energetic.  She couldn't keep still so I made her keep her hands on the table in the same place for five minutes. She actually did it.  After that she was wild again.  It was hilarious. I love when she's that hyper because her energy ends up rubbing off on me!

Some of our friends showed up and they sat and talked with us until we had to leave at 7:35.  We ended up seeing Giulia on the way to meet with Janie's host dad so she took us home instead.  For dinner, Lorena cooked my favorite meal (frittata!) and then we had gelato! I'm kind of sad to be switching houses.

It's already late and I am actually tired tonight.  Straight to bed!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Shopping

The first hour of class was biology and I read The Kite Runner again.  The site that I used yesterday wasn't working so I had to find another one.  I planned on reading it through the chemistry hour too, but we had to go up to the lab and I ended up standing there for an hour doing nothing.  I did get to witness a chemical reaction.  It was pretty cool.  Then we had break and religion and I read through both of those, as well as physics and english.  I took out my notes for physics just in case I had to right something down but I never did and I didn't understand what she was saying.  During English, I was just hoping the teacher wouldn't call on me to say anything.  The Kite Runner is an extremely good book! I keep wanting to read it when I get home, but I don't because I need stuff to do during school.  I think I will probably finish it tomorrow.  Then I'll move onto a new book.

After lunch, I began my packing process because I am switching host families on Saturday.  I took out clothes for the next two days and then I put the rest of my clothes in my suitcase.  My suitcase pretty much full after that.  I have a bunch of papers and some books on my desk and miscellaneous stuff that needs to be packed too, but I will probably just bring those in separate bags because there's no limit to how many bags I can bring like at the airport!

Janie came over around 5 and we talked for about an hour and went out at 6.  We walked through the park and then to the center.  We were going to go to the pub, but all of the stores are having really good sales for after the holidays so we went shopping instead.  I surprised myself by buying 3 shirts, a skirt, and a pair of jeans, but it was only 37 euros so I don't feel buyer's remorse like usual!  Janie said that she wasn't going to buy anything when she walked into the store, but she ended up getting 2 scarfs and a shirt.

By the time we were done shopping, we had to be picked up and I was dropped off at home.  Janie ended up taking my bag of stuff to her house and I took her bag home with me so that we don't have more stuff to pack when we switch houses.

Then I ate dinner and I'm probably going to watch some tv before bed tonight.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

One of Those Days

I slept pretty well last night. Finally!

The first hour of class today was informatics and I didn't have anything to do so I looked up The Kite Runner online and I read that.  Then we had art and we went to the computer lab.  I read my Italian book for that time.  The next class was supposed to be physics, but I guess the teacher wasn't at school today so another teacher just watched over the class for an hour while everybody talked.  I continued to read The Kite Runner.  The last two hours were Italian and I read more online.  I ended on chapter 12 today.  I have 13 more chapters until I finish the book.  I'm saving that for tomorrow.  It is a really great book.  It even made me a little bit emotional.  I have so much time to just sit and think when I'm at school because I don't do anything and a lot of times I think about how it's so hard to make friends and how I feel alone sometimes. Getting worked up over that along with the book I was reading just made me super agitated for the rest of the day. Everything was making me angry and annoyed.  On the walk home from school, my hair was bugging me, the cold was bugging me, my jacket, everything.  When I got home, I sat down and took deep breaths for a couple of minutes before lunch.  It just wasn't my day.

After lunch, I laid in bed watching tv and drifting in and out of sleep before I had to get up to go to lessons.  I felt better when I talked with Janie for a little bit.  We were supposed to go out afterwards, but she said she couldn't at the last minute because she forgot that she had to do scholarship stuff for when she gets back the the U.S. so I was dropped off at home afterwards. I relaxed for a couple of hours and then we had dinner.

I'm in a better mood now, but I'm going straight to bed tonight, of course while listening to music.  I don't care if it's only 9.  It usually takes me an hour or so to actually fall asleep anyway.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Lyrics

Yet again, I got terrible sleep last night.  I don't know what's up, but it needs to stop!

The first two hours of class were history and philosophy and I read my Italian book.  Then we had two hours of math after break and I had no idea what to do so after I got lost with the notes, I looked up stuff about the SATs and then I read Jane Eyre on sparknotes, so it didn't take very long.  I also did that through the chemistry hour.

After lunch, I watched a little bit of tv and then Janie came over at 4:30 and we memorized some of the lyrics to songs by Imagine Dragon because we were bored and we are hoping to go to their concert in Milan on May 4th.  At 6:45, we walked around the gardens again and then headed to the pub.  We found some friends and talked with them for about 30 minutes until we had to walk back to the center to be picked up.

We ate dinner and I'm probably going to watch a movie before going to bed because it's so early.  I just hope I can fall asleep faster tonight.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

School Again

I didn't sleep very well last night. I think it's because I now have to adjust to going to bed around 11 instead of 4 in the morning.  I felt like I was awake all night.  I wasn't even that tired when I had to get up this morning because I was barely asleep in the first place.

The first hour of class was Italian and even the teacher said that it was an ugly day.  I read my book through that class.  Then we had physics and I took the notes but didn't understand anything, like usual.  We also got our tests back and I got a 10! But it doesn't really make me too happy because I used the internet for the whole thing.  After break, we had English and our old teacher is back.  That being said, it wasn't a surprise when we didn't do anything.  Everybody talked and some of my friends planned a trip to visit me in Reno this summer!  Then we had math and they were going over the test that I didn't take so I got on the internet and read about Stanford admission stuff.  When she handed back my different test,  I had gotten a 7/8 which isn't too bad.  The last class of the day was informatics in the computer lab and I just read more of my book.

After lunch, I relaxed around the house for a while and then Janie came over and we watched a movie. Around 6:45, we went out, walked around the gardens, then to the pub (which was closed), so back to the center.  We were picked up at 7:45 and I was dropped off at home.  We had dinner and I'm going to attempt to go to bed early again tonight even though it didn't work very well last night.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Last Day of Break

I woke up when lunch was ready this morning.  It was a holiday in Italy called Befana.  It's kind of like a second Christmas.  A witch comes down the chimney and fills stockings with a bunch of sweets or coal if you're bad.  During lunch, Lorena brought me a small stocking filled with candy.  I was pretty excited.

I decided that I wanted to be lazy today.  After lunch, I got back in bed and did stuff on my computer for the majority of the day.  I found some more music, I talked with some of my friends, and I watched some tv.  Janie went ice skating around 6 and when she finished at 7, I went to meet her and we walked to the pub for about 30 minutes.  We talked and then walked back to the center and her host dad picked us up and dropped me off.

After dinner, I went back to my room to get my school stuff together and now I am going to attempt to go to bed early!

Buonanotte!

~Devon

It's been exactly 4 months today.  I want it to go by slower!

Walking

1-5-13

I was supposed to go to the pool with Giovanna this morning so I woke up and texted her around 11 to ask if she was awake yet.  She said that she was too tired to go and that we could just go walking after lunch.  Then she invited me to go over to her house for lunch at 1:30, so after we made all of our plans, I fell back asleep until around 12:30.  I woke up, got ready, and then went over to her house.

We had lunch and I talked with her parents for a little bit while Giovanna got ready.  Around 2, her dad took us to a place called San Silvestro, which is a small mountain where a lot of people go walking. It is very beautiful.  We walked for a little over two hours and then her mom came to pick us up.  When we got back to her house, we walked to Chiara’s house because she and Giovanna had to do a school project.  I laid on the couch and almost fell asleep a couple of times. 

At 7:30, Giulia and Janie picked me up near Chiara’s house and we walked around the center for a while and then went to Giulia’s friend’s house for dinner.  At 11, we went to the pub and talked with friends until 1.  Then I was dropped off at home and my internet is off again so I have another reason to go to bed early, but I don’t have to get up early tomorrow so I want to stay up late! I guess I will just listen to music for a while.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Dad's Birthday

1-4-13

I woke up a little before 2 this morning when Roberto was knocking on my door telling me that lunch was ready.  I had stayed up until 4 last night so that’s why I slept in so late.  I had lunch and then I went back to my room so that I could try to skype with my dad for his birthday.  I uploaded some pictures from Assisi and then my dad got online so I skyped with him for a while.  Then I skyped with my mom until Janie came over. 

We watched a movie and then got ready to go to a small birthday party.  We walked to the pub around 8 and met up with Giulia and her friends.  We all sat at a big table and tonight was the first time that I have ever eaten at the pub.  It was really good.  We talked for the rest of the night.

A little while ago, Janie and I were told that there was another American in Fabriano for basketball so we have wanted to meet him for a while.  A really tall guy walked into the pub tonight and Janie instantly thought it was the American so she asked all of Giulia’s friends and they said that it was him.  Nobody really knew him very well so Janie and I went over to him and introduced ourselves.  He has been here since November and he is staying until May to play basketball.  We met the rest of his basketball team and then talked for a couple more minutes.  It was really cool to speak English to someone other than Janie. 

Around 12, we went to talk with some other friends and then Janie’s host mom picked us up and took me home.  My internet isn’t working tonight so I guess it’s a motive to go to sleep somewhat early even though it’s already 1:15.  Maybe around 2.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Assisi

I have a new favorite Italian city now...

I had to wake up at 8:45 this morning because we were driving to Gualdo to meet the family that took us for a day last time.  I was a zombie because I spent a good part of my morning (until 3am) downloading new music, which I am very excited about.  On the drive there, I got to listen to it! When we got there, we went to get breakfast with the family's daughter, Laura, who is 18 and can drive.  Then we drove straight to Assisi with her, which was about 30 minutes away.

We parked and then we walked around for a couple of hours.  It was soooo beautiful.  I took a ton of pictures.  I think I liked it so much because it was a mixture of Gubbio and Perugia, which were my two favorite cities before I came here.  All of the buildings were amazing and the city is on top of a hill so there is a great view!  It's also a big tourist town, so there were quite a few people there.  Janie and I were listening for people who spoke English but we didn't end up finding anyone. We also went into a couple of great churches but I wasn't allowed to take pictures.

We headed to another town around 12 and we went to Mcdonald's for lunch.  It's the first one I've seen in Italy so far.  I never usually eat there because it's so bad for you, but being four months into my exchange, I was just craving a burger, and so I got one and savored every bite.  I probably consumed more calories than I should in a whole day...  Then we visited another church and walked around for a while.

We drove to a town near Perugia where there was a big mall and we shopped around a little bit.  We went into H&M, which happened to have very cute, cheap clothes. Too bad I didn't know we were going shopping and I only brought 10 euros with me.  Oh well, maybe we'll come back another time.  Then we drove back to Gualdo and it took about an hour.  I was half asleep the whole drive.

We walked around Gualdo for an hour or so with Laura's friends and then we met up with her parents and my host parents and we all went to dinner together.  We all got pizzas and it happened to be the best pizza I've had in Italy.  A lot of favorites today.  Janie and I were also making each other laugh all day long.  It was a good day.

Now for a movie!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Out of Shape

My alarm was set for 9 this morning, but I ended up pressing snooze until around 9:40.  I finally got out of bed and got my bag ready to go to the pool because Giovanna had messaged me last night asking if I wanted to go this morning.  At 10:10, I left the house and walked to Giovanna's house.  She wasn't ready yet so I watched an MTV program that was on.  It was a very stupid show and Giovanna told me that that show was how some Italians view Americans.  I don't understand why there are shows like that... Then we walked to the pool and swam laps for a while.  I got tired fast, but I kept swimming because I need to get back into shape!

I got home around 1:45 and had lunch.  Then I watched tv for a while and relaxed around the house.  At 4, Janie came over and we watched a movie.  Then we went out for about 30 minutes until her host mom came and picked us up and took me home.

After dinner, I skyped with my mom for a couple of minutes and now I am going to find new music!

Ciao!
~Devon

The First Day of 2013

Emily and I woke up at 1 this morning and reluctantly got out of bed for lunch.  After lunch, we went back to my room and Emily went back to sleep while I played around on the computer and watched some tv.  I also tried (unsuccessfully) to skype with my family, but it didn't work very well because they have really bad service where they are. At around 6, we both got out of bed and I went with Roberto to take Emily home.  We talked with Emily's mom and dad for a while when we got there and then we went back home where dinner was already ready.

After dinner, I watched a movie and now I'm going to bed.  Nothing like a lazy day to start off the year!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

New Years Eve

I woke up around 1 again.  It's becoming a normal winter break routine because I go to bed so late.  I had lunch right away and then I watched tv for awhile.  Around 4, I started to get ready to go to Emily's.  At 6:30, we left the house, picked up Janie, and drove to Matelica.  When we got to Emily's, we all talked until dinner was ready.  For New Year's Eve, people eat a big dinner.  There was appetizers, pasta, meat, lentils, and then dessert.  During dinner, I talked a lot with Emily's uncle who has been to Reno and around the west coast.

After dinner, we got ready for the New Years party we were going to.  At 11, we left the house and Emily's uncle drove us to Fabriano to the stadium where the party was being held.  We weren't allowed to enter until 10 minutes before midnight so we sat on the steps for 20 minutes.  At least we were allowed to wait inside.

When we got in, we stood around until the countdown.  Nobody had really shown up yet.  When it finally reached midnight, everybody kissed each other on the cheeks because I guess that's just what they do here.  Then we sat down for a while to wait for more people to show up.  Around 1, we all got up and danced for a really long time.  Every once in a while, we would go sit down and say hi to more friends and then get up to dance again.

Around 4:30, Emily and Janie's feet hurt because they wore heels (while I was wearing flats), so we called it a night and Roberto came to pick us up. Emily spent the "morning" at my house and we went straight to bed.  I still wasn't super tired though.