Big Dinner

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Exercise

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Catching Up On Sleep

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

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

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

Ciao!
~Devon

Spring Break

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

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

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

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

Ciao!

~Devon

Snow in the Spring

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

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Assembly

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Birthday Party

Saturday:

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

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

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

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

Sunday:

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Spring

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Warmth

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Exhaustion

3-20-13

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

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

English

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

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

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

Ciao!
~Devon

Wind and Rain

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Senigallia

Saturday:

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

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

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

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

Sunday:

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Relatives

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

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Feeling Better

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Stayed Home Sick

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

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

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

Ciao!
~Devon

Tv

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Sunshine

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Congestion

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

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Sick

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Women's Day

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

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Giulia's Back

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

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

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

Ciao!
~Devon

6 Months

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

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

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

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

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Home Sweet Home

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

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

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

Ciao!
~Devon

Last Days in Belgium

Sunday 3-3-13

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monday 3-4-13

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

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

Get Together

3-2-13

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

Buonanotte!
~Devon

Liege

3-1-13

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

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

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

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