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

Carnival!.. and the day after

Tuesday:

There was an assembly today for carnival, which is a european holiday, and it started at 8:30, so I was able to sleep in an extra 30 minutes.  For the assembly, every class had to make a video or do a skit/slash dance.  So until 12:30, I watched every class present what they had.  Some of them were pretty good and others weren't.  It was kind of boring.  

Then Nadia and Giulia picked me up from the stadium where the assembly was held and we went home for lunch.  After lunch, Giulia and I got ready and we went to the library at 3.  Giulia studied and I listened to music and tried to read an Italian book.  I got through 2 pages before quitting...  At 5, I met Janie in the center and we went shopping.  

Around 7, we walked back to Janie's and I feel asleep for 20 minutes while she was on the computer.  Then I had to walk back to the center at 7:30 because Giulia was picking me up.  We went to a store right before it closed so that she could get a little purse and then we went home for dinner.  After dinner, Giulia showered, I showered, Giulia's friends showed up, and then we all get ready to go to the club for carnival.  We left the house 30 minutes later than we were planning and I was taken to my friend's house at 12 so that I could drop off my overnight bag.  

We walked to the bar and met up with Giulia and her friends again and then we all walked to the club around 1.  There were so many people there because of carnival and it was hard to get around.  Carnival is kind of like halloween.  Everybody dresses up, so there were a lot of cool costumes and face paintings there.  I didn't dress up.  We all danced until 4 and then Emily and I walked home and went straight to bed. I passed out the moment I hit the bed!

Wednesday:

My friend, Emily, woke up around 11 this morning and told me she was going to have breakfast and I could join her whenever.  I ended up falling asleep and she woke me up again at 12:30 to tell me that lunch was almost ready.  I went and talked with her in the kitchen and when her dad came home, we ate.  A movie was playing while we were eating lunch so when we were done, we went back to Emily's room to watch the rest of it.  I fell asleep within 10 minutes of laying in bed and I woke up when it was over.  Then Emily said we could take a nap so I slept until 3:45 when I had to get ready because Filippo was picking me up at 4.

When I got home, I purchased my round-trip plane ticket to go to Belgium!!! I am so excited that my trip is official now!  Then I met Giulia at the library at 6 and we went to the pub around 6:30.  At 7:30, Filippo picked me up and we went to my Rotary counselor's house so that I could pick up my passport. Then we went to the police station to figure out when I can come in to extend my visa.  We have to go in tomorrow morning, so I will miss my first couple of classes.  Hopefully I will be able to extend it or I will be coming home early.

We came home for dinner and then I skyped with Emma to tell her about my trip news.  I've stopped caring about how late I go to bed now. It's 1 now and I'll probably be up another hour.

Ciao!

~Devon 

Refreshing

I went to bed really late last night, but it wasn't too hard to get up this morning.  Right after I got to school, it started snowing really hard outside and it continued until around 1 in the afternoon.  The first hour of class was Italian and I did some emailing and then I read some of a book online.  The next class was physics and I continued to read.  After break, we had English.  The teacher tried to teach, but nobody listened to anything he was saying.  I tried to listen for a little bit, but I couldn't understand one word he said in English so I read.  The next class was math and there was a test. She gave me mine first to start on and it seemed easy enough.  When I started, I realized it wasn't so.  I don't think I did very well.  Out of six questions, I'm pretty sure I got at least 2 right.  I think I did all of the others in the wrong way.  Everybody else seemed to think that they did really bad on the test too. The last class was informatics and I talked with my friends.

After lunch, I got ready and Giulia and I left to walk to lessons.  We left the house at 2:45 when we were supposed to leave at 2:30 but I was only about 7 minutes late for lessons because we were speed walking like crazy!  It was better to walk fast as well because it made me a lot warmer.  Lessons went by extremely slow today, but afterwards, Janie and I went to the grocery store to get some stuff and then we walked around the center and window shopped for a little bit.  It was beautiful outside and it was cold but refreshing.  Usually I don't enjoy the cold, but it was nice today.

Then we walked back to Janie's house and hung out in her room.  Around 7, I walked back to the center to meet up with Giulia and her friend and then Filippo picked us up at 7:30 to go home for dinner.  We ate and then I went back to my room because I had to skype with my mom and Emma.  We made a conference call and I got all of the paperwork filled out for me to go to Belgium to visit Emma.  I am going the 26th of February to the 5th of March!  I am super excited that this all worked out so easy and fast, and the best part is that the round-trip plane ticket only costs 37 euros!  I was supposed to watch a movie with Giulia tonight but I was extremely busy getting everything figured out.    Then I skyped with Emma again until she went to skype with her dad.

Time to get to bed. I'm going to the club for the carnival party tomorrow night and I can't be tired!!

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Venezia!

Saturday:

I went to bed at 1:30 on Friday night and woke up at 5 with the intention of sleeping on the train on the way to Venice.  It was snowing when we left the house and went to the train station.  Janie and I sat in our own little spot on the train, but we never slept. We listened to music and talked for the whole time.  I think we were too excited.  About 10 minutes before arriving, I sent a message to one of the exchange student girls that I had talked to on facebook to see where they were.  One of Janie’s friends messaged her as well and said that some of the exchange students were meeting on one of the bridges at 12:15 so when we arrived we navigated our way there and waited. 

There were so many people it was crazy!  When we first came out of the train station, there were a bunch of people dressed up and there were a bunch of places where people could get their faces painted.  The bridge we were supposed to meet at wasn’t too hard to find.  All the craziness began when the other exchange students arrived.  There were about 15 of them in this group and we all introduced ourselves.  After that, we stayed on the bridge for about 30 minutes just talking about everything. There was so much to say!  Janie and my host parent’s let us stay with the exchange students and they left.

We finally got the group moving so that we could see more of Venice.  After walking a little bit, we all stopped again to wait for some of the others to eat.  While we were waiting, some people went shopping and others were exploring the place where we were standing.  I went with two other guys and while we were waiting, we talked about how are exchanges are going.   We got the group moving again, minus about 4 people who went somewhere else to shop, and we started walking in the direction of San Marco.  On the way, I lost Janie and another group of people.  There were so many people there that it was impossible to stay together.  There were also a bunch of people in costumes and masks.  About 20 minutes later, Janie’s group found us again and we made it to San Marco.  Everything was absolutely beautiful, but there were so many people we could barely move!  There, we met up with another group of about 10 exchange students and walked near the sea where all the others were.  

About 5 minutes after standing in this one spot, a bunch of different groups of exchange students arrived and we spent about 30 minutes greeting each other and asking questions.  More groups would show up and I wouldn’t know if they were exchange students or just tourists in Venice until the other exchange students who knew them started talking with them. It was all very confusing and exciting at the same time.  We stayed in the same spot talking with everybody for about an hour and then some of the groups were starting to leave with their Rotary chaperones, so Janie and I decided to say goodbye to everyone and go off on our own.  We had to meet up with our host parents at 6 so we had about an hour of free time to wonder around on our own. 

During this time, we took smaller streets and explored a little.  I also bought my carnival mask!  Then we figured out where we were supposed to meet with everybody and we headed back to San Marco.  We took some pictures and then we walked back to the train station.  It took about an hour to get there and Janie and I got gelato on the way.  Everybody thought we were crazy because it was really cold outside, but for me, only my hands were cold.  Half way back to the train station, I got really tired and irritable.  There were a bunch of people and everybody was bumping into everybody.  The party was just getting started for others and there were a lot of people who were drunk and we probably walked by about 15 people who had their own bottle of wine.  It was entertaining as well. 

We got back to the train at 7:30 and Janie and I went to our seats and sat down right away even though the train wasn’t going to leave until 8:30.  Nadia had packed me two sandwiches, an apple, and a bottle of water for lunch so that I didn’t have to buy lunch in Venice, but I was so busy talking and walking, I never ate any of it.  The only think I had eaten after getting off the train was the gelato I got that night.  Maybe that was why I was tired and irritable at the end.  On the train, I ate one of my sandwiches, and around 9, we got more sandwiches for dinner.  After eating, I started listening to my ipod and I tried to get comfortable for the five hours home.  I think I fell asleep a lot, but only for a couple of minutes each time because it was extremely uncomfortable.  My eyes could barely stay open and I kept doing the head-bobbing thing. 

We finally got home around 1:30 and I got ready for bed and then went to Giulia’s room to tell her about my day and for her to tell me about hers.  We talked for an hour and then I went back to my room.  I was on facebook for another hour so that I could add all of the exchange students I had met and then I got to bed at 4.

I didn’t end up getting much sight-seeing done, but I took a lot of pictures and made a bunch of new friends!  It was a great day.

Sunday:

I woke up at 1:15 this morning when Nadia called me for lunch.  I was still extremely tired.  We had lunch and then I went to my room so that I could look at and upload my Venice pictures.  I went through all of them and there were 100 that I was trying to upload on facebook, but it wasn’t loading for me.  I tried 2 more times before I gave up and went to take a shower. 

At 5, Giulia and I left to walk to her friend’s house near the center.  It took us 30 minutes and we had carnival donut type cookies at her house.  We stayed there until 6:30 and then we started walking to the pub.  Part way there, Giulia saw her friend in his car so we got a ride with him for the rest of the way.  I stayed with Giulia and her friends for a little bit until some of my friends showed up and then I went inside with them because it was cold and I was shivering like crazy.

At 7:30, I went with Giulia and one of here friends dropped us off at home.  I put my pajamas on and then we had dinner.  After dinner, Giulia came to my room and we talked for a little bit until she had to leave to go out again around 9:15.  I’ve been trying to upload Venice pictures to facebook for the last hour and it’s not happening.  I’m about to kill my computer!!  I have no idea why it’s not working, but it is extremely annoying and I don’t want to spend another hour on it, but other than this, it was an amazing weekend.

Not getting to bed early tonight…

Ciao!

~Devon

On The Go

At 7:30 this morning, Nadia came to my room and told me that we had to leave five minutes early because it snowed during the night and it was still snowing.   I got ready as fast as possible and we left. The snow was really slushy on the roads.

We had two hours of history and philosophy this morning.  I didn't have the computer in the beginning so I did my italian homework and then I wrote random sentences in Italian in different types of handwriting.  Twenty minutes after the start of the class, someone brought me the computer, but I didn't want to read about the French Revolution and the teacher didn't say anything, so I continued with my sentences.  The time went by very slowly.  Outside the window, the snowflakes were huge for the first hour, but it slowed down and then stopped completely by the third hour.  We had art for that hour and I did a bunch of emailing to try to plan my trip to Belgium and to make sure I would be able to travel with my mom and sister when they come in April. After art, we had English with the American teacher and I talked with her for a little bit after class.  The fifth and sixth hours were biology and math and I found a book on the internet to read for biology.  Before the math hour, the biology teacher told me that I had to do a small paper about Gregor Mendel, so I cranked that out during my math hour.  

When I got home, we ate lunch and then Giulia and I talked for a little bit before I had to take a shower.   At 3:30, Nadia and I left the house to walk to my school.  I thought it was a lot colder outside than it actually was.  I think it was because we were walking fast.  When I got to lessons, I took my jacket off and sat by the open window in my short sleeve shirt.  I eventually got cold again during the second hour of lessons.  

At 6, Janie and I walked back to her house because she had forgotten her wallet and she needed to get money out of the ATM.  Then we walked back to the center and met up with some friends at the pub.  At 7, I had to leave with Giulia and we went to the commercial center so that she could buy shoes and some gloves.  We ended up leaving with neither and we went home for dinner.

After dinner, around 9:15, Giulia and I left again to pick up her friends and then go to a basketball game.  The game ended around 11 and Giulia dropped me off at home.  I got everything prepared for Venice tomorrow.  Now it's 12:30 and I am just now finishing my writing.  I have to get up at 5 and the train leaves at 6.  It's a 5 hour ride though, so I'll be able to sleep then!

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Urbino

Filippo and I left the house at the normal time this morning but we went to the school where he teaches and there were three buses there because the whole 4th year class was going to Urbino to see the university and the city.  I got onto Janie's bus and she was really surprised when she saw me because I didn't tell her that I was coming.  The ride there was an hour and a half and I listened to my ipod.

When we got there, we went straight to the university and there were different rooms with the stuff set up to teach all the students about the university.  Janie and I went into a couple of them with our friends, but it was a little boring because we couldn't understand anything so we ended up wandering off on our own for the rest of the time there.

Around 12, we met up with the rest of our school outside and we walked through the city to a cafeteria place where we all got lunch.  We had to wait in a line for about 30 minutes.  After eating, we sat around for a while and then walked back to the center of the city.  It was very beautiful because it was on top of a hill and it was really open.  We got a tour of an art place and a church and then we walked around until 4:30.  It was extremely cold, and the wind didn't help, but the overcast weather gave the city even more beauty!

By the time the buses came, I was exhausted and ready to go home.  I closed my eyes and listened to my ipod on the way home.  We arrived a little after 6 and when I got home, Nadia said that Giulia had come home today!  I went to her room and talked with her for about an hour until dinner and then we ate.  After dinner, I went to her room agian and we talked while she was unpacking and getting ready to go out.  I went to my room when she left to go out with her friends at 9:45.

It's late and I'm tired, but I still want to look through my photos from today...

Ciao!
~Devon

Unpredictable Weather (5 Months In Italy)

I woke up with a minor headache this morning, but I was lucky and it went away within a couple minutes of getting ready.  The first hour of class was supposed to be informatics, but we had a class assembly instead.  I sort of zoned out for that hour.  It wasn't anything important.  Then we had art and went to the computer lab.  I talked with my friends. After break, the last 3 hours of school were Italian because we had a test.  He gave the other students their topic for writing and then he told me to come and sit by him.  My writing topic was the positive aspects of italian school and the differences between italian and american schools.  There are really no similarities except the fact that it's where you go to learn.  I finished it about 15 minutes early, but I didn't turn it in until the last couple of minutes because I didn't want the teacher to read it in front of me.

(I will put the italian and american school differences in one of my next blogs because I'm tired right now and don't feel like doing it)

Filippo picked me up from school and we went to the commercial center to get pizza because Nadia had gone to her mom's house today.  When we got home, I went to my room to get ready for lessons and I was planning on leaving at 2:30 to walk to the school because it was a very beautiful day and the sun was shining.  About 5 minutes before I was about to walk out the door, it was a windy and rainy mess outside.  It lasted about 10 minutes and then it was sunny again.  It was too late for me to walk so I got a ride from Filippo at 3.

Lessons were nice and short and afterwards, Janie and I walked around the gardens for about 20 minutes and then we both went separate ways to go home because she had homework to do so we couldn't hang out.  I had a really nice walk on the way home because it was nice, but cold and refreshing weather, and I got to listen to my ipod.

I got home at around 5 and hung out in my room because Filippo was in his office and Nadia wasn't home yet.  I really wanted to go out today, but none of my friends were so I was stuck at home.  I was even grateful for my Italian lessons so that I could at least get out of the house and get some exercise.  At 7, I reminded Nadia that I needed to buy a new camera because I broke my other one about a month ago :( and we're going to Venice on Saturday.  She called Filippo (because he had gone out) and he came home to pick me up.  We went to an electronics store nearby and I bought one within 15 minutes.  I had my first "buying something important" experience in another language haha.  I understood 95% of what the guy was saying about all of the cameras which is a plus, but I ended up going with the same brand as my other camera, just a less complex model.  I'm happy with my purchase even though I'm not happy with the spending money part, but it had to be done.

When I got home, we had dinner and I walked around the house taking random pictures because the camera guy said I should run the battery out and then recharge it over night.  It took way longer than expected, but I finally exhausted it and it's charging now.

I skyped with Emma for a little bit and it's already really late so I'm going to bed right after I finish my writing.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

P.S.  It's my 5 months in Italy anniversary.  It's been a great and tough couple of months, but overall, I'm just sad the time is going by so fast.  Here's to the next 5!

Early Release

The first two hours of class were history and philosophy.  The teacher had me read about Napoleon Bonaparte.  I was actually able to concentrate a little better today.  Maybe it was because I got to bed before midnight last night again?  Then we had math and I thought there was going to be a test today, but since school got out early, we just did examples on the board.  I followed along for most of it. Then school ended at 11:15.

Nadia picked me up and we went home.  I took this early release opportunity to go on a run.  I left the house around 12 and ran/walked to the track place I went last time.  I got there within 15 minutes and then I started jogging.  I actually jogged for the majority of my time today instead of walking like I did last time. I was very proud of myself.  It even started raining about half way through, but I continued! It was kind of fun running in the rain.  I headed back to the house at 1 and by the time I got home, my sweatshirt and the front of my pants were wet.

We had lunch after I changed and then I took a shower and came to my room to sleep.  I slept for about an hour (maybe more) and then I watched some tv and did stuff on my computer until dinner was ready.

We had Nadia's homemade pizza for dinner. It was heavenly!! I told her I wanted to help make it next time and she said she came to get me this afternoon but I was sleeping.  Ugh, next time!  Then we talked and watched tv for a little bit.

My legs are already starting to hurt and I have a small headache. Dang it. I should probably get to bed early tonight.

Buonanotte!

~Devon

Gardens

The first hour of class was Italian and he didn't say anything about my homework so I read Memoirs online.  When the bell rang and he was leaving class, he told me he would come and get me for his free hour so that we could correct my homework.  The second hour was physics and we went to the lab to do an experiment with water again.  I sat there and talked.  After break, we had English and nobody did anything so I read.  Then we had math and I read and took notes.  The last class was informatics and we stayed in the classroom today so I continued to read and I ended up finishing my book.  The Italian teacher never came.  I wasn't too worried...

After lunch, I had to get ready right away because the hours of my italian lessons were changed.  Now I have lessons on Monday from 3 to 4.  At 2:30, Nadia, Nadia's friend, and I left the house and walked to my school.  It was a really nice day.  There was just a little bit of a cold wind, but when I got to the school, I was perfectly warm.

After lessons, I went over to Janie's house and we hung out and caught up.  At 7, we went out and it was too late to go to the pub because I was being picked up at 7:45, so we just walked around the gardens for a while.  We met a friend while we were there and then we walked around the center with her until I had to meet Filippo.

I got to bed at 11:30 last night, but it didn't change the difficulty of waking up this morning... Why even try?!  Eh, I guess I need to sleep for my health.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Waking Up To Snow

Giovanna told me that we were going to the pool at 11 today so I set my alarm for 10 and pressed snooze until 10:30.  I messaged her and told her to text me when she woke up because I didn't want to get out of bed unless she was ready.  I ended up going over there at 11:30 because the pool wasn't open or something today, so we just went on a walk and caught up with everything that his been going on with us because we haven't seen each other in about two weeks.

There was snow when I got up this morning but it turned out to be a nice day and most of melted by lunch time.  I hope it starts to snow more often!

We arrived back at her house at 1:20 and I ate lunch over there.  Her dad dropped me off at home a little later because Giovanna wanted to sleep and I had to do my homework.  After showering and getting on my computer for a while, I sat in bed and wrote my 45 sentences.  It took FOREVER!!! But it may have been because I was distracted by my computer.  Dinner was ready shortly after I finished.

I ate and hung out with my host parents for a while and then I went to my room.  Now that I've finished writing, I'm going to study my Italian homework some more and then go to bed. Maybe.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Sabato Sera

The first hour of class was Italian and the teacher told me that we were going to correct my little essay during the third hour.  Then he assigned me 20 sentences to write in Italian during the hour.  I only finished 10 within that time so during the second hour when our class went to another classroom for religion, I finished my sentences.  When the Italian teacher arrived for the third hour, I walked up to him and told him that I didn't want him to read my essay in front of everybody.  He said that was fine, but we corrected my sentences together and he read them extremely loud.  I probably had at least one mistake in each sentence.  Then he spent the rest of the hour teaching me some new Italian grammar and giving me an assignment.  All in all, I have to write about 50 sentences using this Italian grammar tomorrow because it's due on Monday.  The last class of the day was English and the teacher barely spoke.  The class just talked amongst each other.

School got out at 12:15 today and Nadia picked me up. We walked around the center for a little bit and then we went home to have lunch.  After lunch, I tried to nap, but I just ended up listening to music and using my computer.  At 6:30, I met my friends at the pub and we stayed there until 8.  I was picked up and the rest of my friends went to their houses for dinner.

Nadia and I went to the commercial center to eat pizza and then we went home.  I changed into warmer clothes because it was raining and cold outside.  Then I skyped with my cousin for a couple of minutes.  At 9:30, I met my friends at the pub again and we stayed there for the rest of the night talking.

At 12:30, I returned home and now I am going straight to bed because I won't be able to sleep in until 1 tomorrow. I have to get up at 10 because I'm going to the pool with Giovanna.

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Exercise!

I got my extra hour of sleep this morning so I wasn't extremely tired when I had to get up.  When I got to class, there were only 4 other guys there.  I guess the others were smart enough to stay home and risk missing this very productive two hour day of school.  For the first hour, we had somebody else's teacher and she was just watching over our class, so I read.  The second hour was with the religion teacher and he embarrassed me.  He said he had a surprise for me and it was a dvd so he put it in my computer and made me close my eyes so I didn't see what it was.  It didn't end up working so he finally told me it was the presentation I did a while back for the talent show thing.  I was extremely glad that it didn't work.  What kind of surprise is that?!? Then they started trying to fix it and I was wishing more than anything that it would stay broken.  The religion teacher then had the great idea of going to the computer lab to watch it.  At that point, I spoke up and said that I didn't want to watch it.  Maybe he thought I was joking?? We went the lab and watched it and I just kept my head down the whole time.  When I looked up, he was smiling at me.  I was mortified and he seemed to think I would enjoy watching myself on tape. Ugh.

School ended at 11:15 and Nadia picked me up.  We went to the grocery store and then I decided that I was going to go running today because the weather was nice and it was the best use of my time for the hour we still had before lunch.  Nadia showed me the place that I could run and then I went home to change.  Filippo took me and I ran by myself for about an hour at the track place.  The track was really cool (as in awesome, not cold) and there was only one other person there.  I listened to my ipod and switched off between walking and running. I am so out of shape...  Then I ran/walked back to my house (about 25 minutes away) and we had lunch.

At 3:15, after showering and getting ready, I walked to my school for italian lessons with Nadia and her friend again.  We took a longer route today, so it was about 45 minutes.  Then Janie didn't go to lessons because she was in another city with her school.  The two hours passed quicker than I thought they would and I learned a new verb tense!

When I got out of lessons, I met up with Mehdi, Federica, and other friends and we stayed at the bar for a little bit and then went to the pub for the rest of the time.  I got picked up at 7:45 like always and then we went home for dinner.

It's not as early as I would have liked it to be right now, but I've gotten plenty of sleep this week so it's all good.

Buonanotte!
~Devon