The Immaculate Conception and Other Things I Don't Understand

Well, it's Tuesday morning and I'm currently on one of the couches in the upstairs common room, surrounded by a mountain of tissues. That's right folks, I have once again succumbed to sickness here in the land of long life and red wine. I think it mostly has to do with changing houses and new living arrangements and food and stress, but chissa, maybe I'm actually turning into Marvel's new superhero, The Nose. I am taking advantage of not being at school to write this blog post (obviously) and to study for all of the tests and interrogations that are happening before break and the end of the semester at the end of January. I was trying to think of what to write about, and I really liked Chandler's blog post that included random snippets from her journal that she's keeping while abroad. I'm also keeping a journal/diary/dayplanner/scrapbook while abroad, and I'm getting pretty close to filling it up. The first time I wrote in this journal was the 30th of August, and I can hardly believe how much has changed and how far I've come in about 3 and a half months. 9.8.11 I'm sitting on the plane as I write this somewhere over the atlantic, and according to the pilot, south of newfoundland. Because we're flying Swiss Air everything is said in English and then repeated in German and French, and being able to understand the French makes me feel a little better about my lack of Italian knowledge. (....) In about six hours we'll be in Zurich! Then we have a 90 minute layover until our flight to rome, it's still surreal. 9.9.11 There are distant fireworks in the background, and i wonder if there is a holiday or celebration in Rome. There is still so much I don't know about this place. (...) A crowd of people is playing clapping and singing games outside, and I feel a little alone in my contentedness. Things to Remember: Sometimes you will cry yourself to sleep whiile trying to read an Italian book on Aristotle for your philosophy class, and sometimes you'll be flying through the countryside singing along to Frank Sinatra's Mack the Knife - everything has its ups and downs. 18.9.11 The weather changed today. the clouds moved me to the window where silence settled as my fingertips soaked up the condensation as it fell, fell. 26.9.11 It's raining here again. I can see it out the open window of four D, blurring the windows and laundry lines of the apartment building across the street. (...) I spend so much of my time taking pictures, but I feel like they can not capture the strange beauty of this place. (...) Drinks here are never served cold, and I would kill someone with my bare hands for a really good ICED americano. I've had good espressos here, but it's always a top, a five second diversion from where we've been and where we're going - i desperately miss spending hours at driade, or weaver, or opene eye, nursing a drink and reading or writing. 26.10.11 Just read three pages of my french grammar book before realizing that it was in italian, not french. ohjeez. 27.10.11 I miss you most bare-foot and blurry eyed, watching my breath curl out of my open window and wondering what impression i left on that town. i miss you most with cracking fingertips and scuffed boots - wishing for someeone to wish for. 4.11.11 Today my italian teacher spent 15 minutes explaining to me what a sonnet it. I've never been so frustrated in my life. 4.12.11 You never quite know what vicious lengths listening to The Fray will drive you to until you're stuck in a car with four small children with nothing else to listen to. 7.12.11 Today is the three month anniversary of leaving home to study abroad in Italy for my junior year of high school. Today is also the first time that I've ever eaten lungs, but that's relatively insignificant if you're not my conscience or digestive tract. Well. Those are some choice extracts from my journal, although the full effect of all the doodling and highlighting and randomness that goes on get's lost when everything is re-typed into a blog. Alas. Oh yeah, if you didn't know (by this point I just kind of figure everyone does) I changed host families last Wednesday. For a lot of complicated reasons, most of which stemmed back to a difference in cultures and lifestyles that was too large to mend, I left my first host family and am now spending the rest of my exchange with another family. They live in Isernia, and I attend the same school. The family consists of Anna-Maria (the mom), her mom and dad, Lorenza (her 9 year old daughter), and Miryam (her 14 year old daughter who goes to school with me). Things are good - they live in a large-ish house with a big yard, and they keep a lot of animals and grow a lot of their own food. Miryam and I like a lot of the same books and television shows, and I'm helping Lorenza learn how to read sheet music. Anna-Maria works a lot but the grandparents are always at home, and I'm in good spirits (except for the being sick thing). Well, I have a lot of studying to do for all of my various tests, so, until next time. Ciaociao Helen