Day Eighty Five.

I WENT TO SCHOOL TODAY GUYS! It was so good too. I talked with a bunch of people, and there are a lot of people who want to hang out with me and make plans! I am really starting to get out there, and I love it. I can communicate really well, and I fell I can start to know these people on a more personal level now! SO PUMPED. In one class some of our friends needed help with their english homework (I love helping them with english!) so it was a blast trying to figure out the meanings of some phrases and words from one language to another. Some of the girls said they want us to come to Seven Apples (a discoteca) with them sometime! I love meeting new people and broadening my horizons (wow that sounded so mature, hehe.... ah that just blew it). After school I went home and talked with Fabiola while she made lunch! She was preparing a pumpkin for something and I got so excited because she knows I love pumpkin! She told me we were going to eat it for dinner! YAY! Then we talked about how we are doing a cake baking class together on the 16 of december, and so I had to go confirm with the lady that we are coming! So I went and did that on facebook, and then we ate lunch! I love our lunches together. When it is just me and her we eat in the kitchen and watch "Beautiful" (this super cheesy and old American soap opera) and it is actually somewhat interesting. At first I hated it because it was SUPER cheesy and I couldn't understand a word, and now I can understand them speaking so the cheesiness doesn't bug me as much. We also talk about our day and what's going on in our lives. She is just so amazing. I really couldn't be more lucky (with all three of my host families in general). After lunch I watched The Vampire Diaries, and then I went to go hang out with Mie! We went shopping at some stores and saw all the Christmas lights! We went in one store that is like an italian Victoria's secret. It has some really cute stuff, and then some really strange stuff haha. We were having fun looking at some of the things that just did not make much sense to us (we are 5 if you hadn't noticed already). Then we were hungry so we went to a bar. We got hot chocolate and 2 different pastries to split! This hot chocolate was amazing. We were watching her as she made it, and wow. She first poured the hot chocolate in the mugs, then she added 2 inches of whipped cream on top (I love whipped cream here, it is so different), then she dripped more of the hot chocolate on top, and finally sprinkled cocoa! IT WAS HEAVEN. We didn't talk at all when we drank it. Then we had a chocolate filled pastry and a vanilla filled pastry. Both of them were delicious. After this we met up with her host sister, Beatrice, and went around to more of the shops! We saw all the pretty lights, and just enjoyed the nice evening. Then they had to go to a gym class, so I went home! When I got back I skyped with my aunt again. Cullan (my cousin) is also sick, so we are in the same boat right now (sorry that you're sick Cullan!). I am getting better though (grazie signore)! We just ate dinner, and I cannot taste anything. This is the first day (while having my cold) that I couldn't taste anything, and I ate so many things that would have tasted delicious! It was torture. I couldn't taste my chocolate, my sandwich for breakfast, my potatoes and meat for lunch, and then a hot sandwich roll, pumpkin salted cake, pumpkin soup, or meat for dinner! HOW TERRIBLE IS THAT?! Then we had panna (like whipped cream) and cocoa for dessert. I didn't even torture myself by eating it. They had a fun time with it though haha. They were saying "OHHHH CHE BUONAAA" haha I WAS SO MAD (but in a joking manner, of course!)! Now I am just chilling at home because everyone else has school tomorrow, which means my Friday nights are always super relaxing. I like it sometimes! Tomorrow I have a big day though! CIAO CIAO CIAO!

Day Eighty to Day Eighty Four.

This sucks, but I was basically stuck in a bed for these days. I WAS SICK AS A DOG. I felt terrible, and I pretty sure I just wanted to cry all the time... pathetic. MY throat hurt, I had a bad cough, I was congested like crazy, I had a headache, and sometimes a little stomache ache came about. Yeah, fun. It came out of no where too! NOT COOL. Oh well, at least I got to catch up on some of my favorite shows, eat a lot of food, and sleep the pain away. Tuesday night I went out with Fabiola to the grocery store because it was around the corner and I thought I could handle it, but I really couldn't. After we ran some errands we went home and I changed right back into my pajamas. Ugh. I didn't go to school Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday. I pray I can go tomorrow because I am bored out of my mind! I want to see people! I skyped with my mom yesterday and she told me if I am not better soon I need to go to a doctor (I hope I get better before that is necessary)! I don't like going to the doctor, but I know I will have to if it gets worse ): Wahhhh, poor me. I also skyped with my Aunt Sonya because they just got a new laptop with a webcam and she wanted to try it out! It was really fun, and I am glad I got to talk to her! She cracks me up. I miss my family a lot sometimes. That is definitely a part of this though. You can't just pretend like you don't miss the people you love. I would rather admit it and talk to my host mom or my family than hold it in and have it eat me up from the inside out. You have to get your problems and difficulties out there in the open, man! Haha. Okay, now I am going to go to bed because I am actually going to try and go to school tomorrow, I think. Night world! Sleep tight (:

Day Seventy Nine.

YAY it is Saturday! This means I can sleep in a little! I had my italian class at 9:30 am with Mie, and it went wonderful as always. It is always fun for me, and I learn a lot of new things. So I guess you could say it is a win-win situation! After the class I walked back home. Today there is this huge market going on that is all the way down this road, and it has tons of different things. It is huge also! There were chocolates, sweets, salamis, meats, cheeses, wines, and breads! I wanted to buy everything. It was so pretty too! Everything looks so Christmasy (yeah that's not a word, I made it up) and I am always in a good mood when it has to do with Christmas! Once I got home we all ate lunch together, and then I skyped with my family! We told each other how our Thanksgiving had been, and for everyone it was really good! We were all happy we got to skype on this holiday. Then I went to Piazza Verdi to meet Mie and some friends to walk around La Spezia! We went to a bar and got some appetizers and drinks, and it was so much fun! I love hanging out with my italian friends. They are so amazing. I am surrounded by so many amazing people, it truly is a gift. After this Mie and I had to go because we were going to Sarzana to have dinner with Meghan (love her) and then walk around! When we got there Meghan had to stay home a little longer and couldn't come to dinner anymore (to say it nicely, her host mom is crazy), so Mie and I went to La Pia (an AMAZING pizza and farinata restaurant) for dinner! The line was so long, and there was a table of like 30 little boys (I am not even joking), so our patience was tested. When we got a table though we were so happy! I got pizza and farinata (like always) and Mie got farinata and stracchino (a type of delicious cheese they eat with farinata). After our bellies were full with deliciousness, we went to meet Meghan in Piazza Romana. We called her and she told us that we were going to the right stop, but when we got there it was actually Piazza San Giorgio and she had to come all the way to us because we know nothing about Sarzana haha. Once we FINALLY met up we walked around and met some of her friends! Then we were all craving chocolate so badly. We went to this amazing chocolate shop. OH MY GOODNESS. I got hot chocolate (the italian kind, aka the thick and delicious chocolate) and I was so happy. We sat there in a pure state of satisfaction. I have a problem with chocolate. It's okay though because I am aware of it (right?). We also shared what we got since we each ordered something different. It was such a good night. After we finished we went to this little secluded area because Fabiola was supposed to come pick us up soon. The place we were meeting them was super crowded because there was a bar there and a club, so we decided to sit somewhere else and be loners. It was actually really fun! We saw this cat roaming around, and we were trying to call it over but it wouldn't come (even a cat didn't want to be around us). We hung out there for about an hour (she came later than we thought haha) and had a blast. We just talked about random things, and then we wanted gelato but the best store was closed ): So we just went back to where the bar was to wait for them. Once they got there we got in the car and everyone went home! It was a wonderful day. Except now my throat hurts a little bit, but I hope it just goes away in the morning! NIGHT EVERYONE!

Day Seventy Eight.

I got to sleep in an extra hour today! THANK YOU FABIOLA! At school a lot of people asked me how my Thanksgiving went, and I told them it was awesome. It was really fun for me to get to tell them so much about something I celebrate in America. After school I didn't really do much (well nothing that I can remember since I am writing this a week later). If I think of anything I guess I will update this post. I swore I did something today! This is going to kill me. Wow, this is an incredibly lame post. Sorry peeps. Tomorrow I get to see Meghan so I am super excited for that! I haven't seen her in like, a week. Yeah that isn't a super long time, but it is long enough! Also Mie will get to meet her so I am also pumped for that! I have been trying to get them to meet each other for such a long time, and now the day has come! YES. I have to go eat dinner now, but you will hear from me soon (tomorrow). Buhbyeee.

OH MY GOODNESS I CANNOT BELIEVE I FORGOT THIS.
I had my first dream it italian today! It was amazing. I fell asleep on the couch, and then the dream began. It had all my exchange friends in it and also some italian friends, and we were just talking italian! Fabiola woke me up to tell me she was going to go buy some cigarettes and then come back home, and I was still somewhat asleep (because I was exhausted) so it didn't register that I had actually dreamed in italian. Right before she walked out the door it hit me and I yelled "FABIOLA VIENI QUA ADESSO!" (Fabiola come here now!) haha. I told her I had a dream in italian and she was so happy for me! It was so awesome! Also then again that night when I went to bed I had another dream in italian! I would not mind at all if this was a regular thing! I will not forget this day... the day I had my first italian dream!

Thanksgiving Day.

HHHAAAPPPPPPYYY TTTHHHAAANNNKKKSSSGGGIIIVVVIIINNNGGG! LITERALLY SO PUMPED RIGHT NOW. When I got up I ran and told Fabiola BUON RINGRAZIAMENTO! Haha and she said the same to me (; I then got dressed and decided to wear some festive colors. I wore an orange shirt, brown boots, a brown shirt over my orange one, and an orange scarf. When I got to school I started saying "buon ringraziamento" whenever I remembered! I also said it to all of the english teachers because they knew about today! And then it came, my first class wanted to hear about the story of Thanksgiving. PHEW, "you can do this Karrin" haha (that is what was going through my head). Then I just told it! They said "BRAVA BRAVA" when I was done so that boosted my confidence a bit :) They understood everything I said too! YAY ME. I then told the story two more times to two other classes, and one of my good friends (Sara) even took a video of me explaining it! I had english today, and so one of my teachers wanted me to explain it in english so I did. I got a break for one class and that was pretty fun! Then after school and lunch, the baking began. Fabiola and I went full out. We were blasting Christmas music and trying the foods as we finished them. I was worried about how some things would turn out because we had to use substitutes for items we couldn't find here, but everything tasted the same! The only thing that was weird were the sweet potatoes. She had to go to a special market to retrieve them and they had told her these are the EXACT pototoes americans eat for Thanksgiving, except that was not valid. These sweet potatoes were white?! When she opened them I was like "uhhh, these are normal potatoes" haha. The even weirder thing though was that they were actually really sweet, so we made them. They turned out really yummy, so that was good enough for me haha. Then I skyped my family for a while to tell them how my day had been so far and that I wanted to know how their Thanksgiving is once they finish dinner! We talked and laughed, and even Fabiola talked with us! I then had to go because we still had a lot to do, so I made sure to tell them we would skype later that night. Fabiola and I then finished cooking everything. Then people started arriving. I wasn't dressed yet because we had been cooking, and I had also been making the song playlist and the dinner menu. So I scrambled to my room and put on my orange dress, brown boots, and jean jacket. It was festive enough haha. Everyone had dressed so nice! It made it more fun like this though! They all told me to put the american flag on the TV, so I went and grabbed it to set it up. We also took a ton of pictures with it too! We were all enjoying each other's company and eating the appetizers, and then it was time to bring out the turkey! We all gathered around the table and started to clap as Fabiola brought out the beautiful bird. Then I had the honor of cutting the first slice! I had no idea what I was doing, but I was somewhat successful! Then we ate until we couldn't eat anymore. In the middle of eating Fabiola told me to call my family, so I did! We showed them all the friends and family, the food, and of course the american flag. They were so happy that I was happy. It was truly a great moment to see how such a small thing can bond so many people. It was a great time for me! Anyway, back to eating. Yeah, we ate a ton for dinner. This also included dessert, wine, and coffee. I tried a dessert wine and it was actually really yummy. Fabiola, Patrizia (my second host mom), and I all took pictures together too with our wine! I love them so much. I am so grateful for having such amazing host families to do such incredible things for me. Then we got to skype with Francesca to see how her Thanksgiving was going! She was just about to start dinner! It looked like she was truly having a good day, and I hope she did! At this point in the night, it was super late (going on midnight) so it was time for people to go home. We all said goodbye and I said a million thank you's to everyone! They all said thank you also for an amazing new experience for them. They all enjoyed it, and I am so content with this. Before I went to bed, Fabiola asked me if it was everything I had hoped and if they did a good job. I just started crying saying "SI SI SI GRAZIE MILLE FABIOLA!" haha. I was so happy. I missed spending the day with my family, but I got to spend it with another family here (which was just as amazing). Thanks to all! Now I must go to bed for school tomorrow (bleh). Yeah, I didn't get the luxury of having 3 days of school off, but I shall live. Goodnight!

OH! I forgot, Fabiola said to me also before I went to sleep: "Karrin school starts at 8 tomorrow, but you can go at 9 (:" haha LOVE HER. Okay that's it. CIAO!

Day Seventy Six.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow! Today we are preparing for it by buying all of the groceries and what not. I wrote down all the recipes and I made a grocery list, and then after school and lunch we headed to the store! We are making all of the traditional Thanksgiving foods my family makes. That would be turkey (duh), cranberry salad, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cheese ball, pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, banana bread (and pumpkin bread!), and then some italian foods that other people are going to bring! After we had cooked some things (the easy things) we headed to the store. I actually like grocery shopping here, as odd as it sounds, because the store is so much fun! There is this little device that you check all your groceries with, and then there are also two floors to the grocery store so you get to ride this cool little runway belt to the second floor! The littlest things entertain me (those of you who know me well are quite aware of this). My grandma had sent some ingredients for the cranberry salad because my family knows it is my favorite! She sent the jello and the red hots because they don't really have anything similar to that here in Italy. When we had finished the cranberry salad Fabiola put it outside on the ledge OUT of the window to cool off haha. I, for some weird reason, thought it was hilarious. I then took a picture of it and put it on facebook. Yeah. Anyway, they loved it! I told them next year I would send them the ingredients so they can eat it again! That was basically the extent of my day. I am just so excited for tomorrow though! I get to have an italian Thanksgiving and I get to share it with such amazing people. Fabiola also had me practice saying the Thanksgiving story in italian because she knows a lot of people will be asking about it tomorrow. That makes me nervous, but I know I can do it! Thanksgiving, here we come!

Day Seventy Five.

I love Caterina Santilli! We walk to and from school together (when we remember or when we wake up on time haha) and she is amazing. We always have THE BEST talks and she can makes me laugh so hard. This night we decided to get together! I love going out at night because there are some Christmas lights up, people play music at night, and I can smell roasted chestnuts at the stores. It truly feels like the holiday season to me! They are still setting up a ton of the lights, and I cannot wait to see them when they are all finished! We walked around La Spezia, as usual, and kind of did our own thing! We window shopped, and mostly just wandered about! It was fun though! We ate some little pizzas and focacce, and then we sat down on a park bench for a while. We were sitting by this carousel and it was playing some children's song, and she was singing along to it. I just started cracking up asking her what it was! She then taught it to me haha. It is actually somewhat catchy. Then she joked with me and said "hey Karrin want to go ride on the carousel?" haha I said YESSS. Except we didn't... so we just took a photo next to it. That's good enough, right? Then we went grocery shopping because her mom needed her to pick up some things. We were waiting in line in the meat section, and the lady in front of us started freaking out and it was because the butcher lady person (haha yeah I don't know) had taken off her gloves after she cut the meat to weigh it ON paper. She didn't even touch the product at all, just the paper to put it in a bag. I mean I can understand her saying POLITELY that she would like another pack of meat, but she just flipped out saying she didn't want it anymore and walked away. Caterina and I were just standing there silent with our eyes wide open. I felt bad for the lady ): Anyway, after that we just explored the store looking for all the stuff she needed, and then we went to pay! The stupid cart was so annoying because you drag it behind you and it ALWAYS hits your feet! I got so fed up with it! After we left we walked back to our homes, and then I ate dinner! Now I am going to go to hit the sack. It was a pretty dang good day for me. Also, I am so excited for Thanskgiving on Thursday! YAY! Okay, night!

Day Seventy Four.

YAY MONDAY! Actually today was a pretty good Monday. Not going to lie. After school I did the usual "thang" (a.k.a eat, watch tv, eat, do homework) and then at around 6:00 pm I walked to Daniela's home because we were going to go see Breaking Dawn (yes, again) together with her sister and Giorgia! I like this movie a lot, and I am not ashamed of it at all. We ate dinner together, piadine, and then we were on our way! Marta drove us (Daniela's sister, my second host family) and when we got there we got popcorn and drinks! I actually got coke and I have no idea why because I don't even like it (although it was pretty good). It was so funny because during the movie Daniela and Marta were making THE FUNNIEST expressions! Especially at the end haha. Marta was freaking out and grabbing on to me saying "NOOOO" haha. Their minds were blown when it was over (like when Giorgia and I saw it for the first time!). Giorgia and I were cracking up because we had already seen it, so we knew the ending. After this they took me home, and then I went to bed because it was 11:00 pm and I have to get up for school the next day! It was so worth it though. This week I actually stayed up super later every night, which surprises me because normally I am daed by 10:00 pm. I guess that's pretty cool! Now I am going to go because I have nothing else left to say. Okay, BYE!

Day Seventy Three.

I went to Cremona today and saw my best exchange student friends ever (: GOD I LOVE YOU ALL. Seriously though. I am so happy to know each and every one of you. I wish we all lived closer so we could see each other more often, but when I do see you I am always so HAPPY. When I arrived at Cremona with my host parents, we went to meet everyone at this piazza. When I saw Tessa, Kari, Kayleigh, Meghan, Dewayne, Anna, Esther, Regan, Ilsa, and Lenny I gave them all a huge hug! YOU ALL ROCK. Then we all updated each other on our lives and what's been happening! We took lots of photos, waited for other groups to come, and then we were on our way to enjoy the day! It was the Festa del Torrone (a type of sweet typical of Cremona) so there was food EVERYWHERE. Us exchange students were starving, as always, so the first thing we ate was a canolo. AHHHH. Why is italian food so delicious?! I could literally eat all the time and still have room for more food. I am never full. I don't know why. It is a serious issue. The other exchange students said it is the same way with them though, so maybe it is some weird disease you acquire when becoming an exchange student (a.k.a "I will eat everything and not care about my weight" disease)? Who knows. Then some people got these HUGE donuts, and then we got chocolate bars. Haha, yeah it's bad (also I had already eaten breakfast and then I ate a chocolate croissant on our way there). Then we walked around and enjoyed the day! It was full of so many people. Then Tessa and Esther were telling me how there was a SUPER hot guy that worked at a store called Playlife, so we obviously had to go to confirm this. I was slighty disappointed though because I didn't find him as attractive as how I had pictured! They thought I was insane since I didn't think he was super sexy. I might be insane, but I thought I had good taste in men! Oh well. Everyone has their own opinion when it comes to something like if someone is attractive or not (: Anyway, after this we walked around more, and then had to go to lunch! It was so good. I didn't expect it to be such a fancy lunch either. It was in this really pretty building, and we ate like kings and queens hehe. There were appetizers (pizza, salads, salmon, sauces, breads, etc), the main course (a rice dish with meat and bacon, and lasagna) and then dessert (chocolate mousse, cookies, fruit, cakes, meringues, etc)! It was fabulous. After lunch we had more free time! I had told Fabiola and Francesco I would meet them at the center at 5:00 pm to go home, and then we went our own ways. Me and my friends went to this big church and saw the inside. We also saw the tallest bell tower in europe (I thought that was pretty cool)! With time, Cremona was becoming more and more full of people. Soon we had to hold onto each other while walking through the crowd as to not lose another person! I got lost for a split second though ): I was freaking out because my phone had died, and then the place where we were supposed to meet my host parents and their Rotary directors had no service! Sooooo we were screwed. We could not get a hold of anyone, and this center was PACKED with people because there was a show going on in the middle. For luck, Fabiola had seen me and my friends because we are taller than most people so she YELLED out my name. Thank the Lord above, I heard her! We were all so happy because we were not sure how in the world we would find them! So this is when I had to say goodbye to everyone ): I was really sad, but we are trying to get together for Christmas! I hope we are able to. Jamie road back home with us (my friend from Genova) and it made for a really fun car ride! We talked for a while, and then we were listening to italian songs! I love this girl because she is just always so happy. I swear she cannot be sad! Once we arrived at the train station in La Spezia, I said goodbye to Jamie (she took the train from Spezia to Genova) :( Then we went home and ate dinner, and now I am going to go to bed because I have to go to school tomorrow! Thanks for an amazing day everyone! I hope to see you all super soon! CIAO CIAO CIAO!

Day Seventy Two.

Today I went to my italian class again with Mie! I really love this class. There are people in it from all over the world (so I get an even more enriched cultural experience!) and they are all so nice! There is once lady in it who is from Mexico, and she is SO FUNNY. The best part is that she doesn't even try. It is literally just how she responds to questions and how she acts in general. I love her! Then there are people from Russia, and other country near Russia that I cannot pronounce (it is like something-stan), China, Mexico, Dominican Republic, America, Denmark, and other countries too! I always have a blast, and I learn so much! The first time I was nervous because they teach all in italian, but I understand EVERYTHING so I guess that's pretty nice! After the class Mie and I went our separate ways home. Once I got back I ate lunch and skyped with my parents! I told them all about how Fabiola and Francesco are going to do Thanksgiving for me this week. I am seriously too excited. Then during the night Mie and I went out went a bunch of our italian friends to dinner and to watch Breaking Dawn! They are too funny. There was probably 13 or us! I love every single one of them though! Some I even met for the first time! We went to this restaurant and ate french fries and a piadina (kind of like a taco, but with italian food inside the tortilla). SO YUMMAY. After we ate we went to wait for the bus. I have no idea how this came up, but we started talking about rapping. So obviously I said "I can rap all of Look At Me Now" and they were like "NOOO?!" haha. Then I HAD to show them I could, so I rapped the whole thing and they were SO FASCINATED! It was hilarious. Their mouths were dropped and eyes opened so wide haha. They were freaking out wondering how I could talk so fast, so then I replied with "ohhh no, YOU guys talk so fast!" haha. Then I asked if they knew the dougie, jerk, stanky leg, etc and they didn't! So we were playing the songs on their phones and I was showing them the dances AT the bus stop haha. It was seriously so much fun. I don't think I have laughed so hard in my life. Then once we got to the theatre we were talking funny pictures with the Breaking Dawn poster (everyone has to do it!) and then posted them on facebook! We got our candy, and then Mie and I turned around and they were gone! We started freaking out wondering how in the world 11 girls could disappear in LITERALLY 30 seconds. We called them and they had gone into the bathroom, so I guess we didn't see because they thought we were with them! When they came out we all just started laughing though! We then went into the movie... YES. Mie and I were afraid we wouldn't understand anything! The first words of the movie were "Sei bellissima" and Mie and I started saying "YESSS WE UNDERSTAND!" haha. The awesome thing though was that we actually understood everything. I was so freaking happy and proud of myself haha. After the movie we all went home, and now I am going to bed because tomorrow I am going to Cremona. I had an amazing day though! Thanks to everyone who made it awesome haha. NIGHTY NIGHT!

Day Seventy and Seventy One.

Yes, I am once again combining two days. I just have a terrible memory. I'm so sorry world. These recent few posts are going to be a little dry in content. I will try to make them as interesting to read as possible (without making up stuff haha). So on these two days the weather was pretty decent, and I was super happy about this because I am sick of rainy weather. It has been so rainy lately, I just can't handle it! It is too depressing for me. These two days I went to school (fun fun fun) and I actually am starting to learn some things in some of my classes. It totally depends on the teacher, the subject, and what we are learning that day, but I can say I can follow the lesson (if I want to)! I'M HAPPY FOR THAT! These days Fabiola and I planned a lot of the stuff for Thanksgiving next week! I wrote out all the ingredients we would need and I also wrote the rest of the recipes in her cook book. We talked about how we are eating at Zio Pippi's house (which I am SO pumped for, I love that guy) and all the yummy foods we are making! For now that is all I really have to say about these two days. I am excited (soooo very excited) to celebrate Thanksgiving here! It would just feel too weird to not to ANYTHING. I am very grateful to have such an amazing family to do this for me. THANKS FABIOLA, FRANCESCO, AND ANDREA! PEACE.

Oh yeah! Also on Thursday I only had to go to school for three hours because I had to go get a card to show that I am legally allowed to stay here (or something important like that!) and then after Francesco and I went to Mira Bello. He showed me his new workspace! It was so much fun. I also got to meet some of his coworkers (even his cousins who work WITH him)! Yeah, that's it! Haha. Goodbye for real now!

Dangit, I also forgot that on Friday I went to Daniela's home for lunch and to see their new kitty! IT IS SO ADORABLE! Also it's name is Daphney (how cute)! It was funny because Daniela kept telling me she sucks at cooking and to not expect anything super yummy haha. We ate gnocchi and it was really good! She was happy for that! Then I played with the cat for a while, but it was super crazy today. She would NOT sit still! Daniela was getting slightly impatient with her because she was CRAY. After a while she started to settle down though, so we watched X-Factor (it was the first time I saw it, and it was the italian version, but I really liked it!) and then Daniela had to do homework so I went home! Okay that's it! I promise this time!

Day Sixty Nine.

Welp, today there was another protest at school. SUPER FUN Y'ALL. Not. Especially if you still have to go to school! There is literally no one there (not even some teachers). We just sit at school and talk, which is something I could easily do outside of school after sleeping in until noon and THEN choosing to see people! Ugh, what a pointless day. Mie and I just hung out in the library until our italian tutor (buffa!) came to save the day. Although she forgot to bring us pizzas (she brings them every week) because of the protest. IT RUINS EVERYTHING PEOPLE. We just bought a pizza at school though. Everything was much better after that (annndd I bought a chocolate bar haha). We then had her for two hours and then still had ANOTHER hour of school. I wanted to die. To pass the time Mie and I just had a super juicy conversation, so that hour went by super fast (for once in my life). After school I went home and ate lunch, and just hung out! Today is another day that I do not remember what I did because I haven't blogged in a life time. I am such a disappointment ): WAH. I need to keep up on this thing! I told myself I would write a little something everyday, and I will not stop! I want to remember every day I had here. Each one is special, even if nothing super significant happened. I am just happy to be here in general. I cannot thank enough all the people who made this possible for me, but I will try. THANK YOU SO MUCH OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE YOU BECAUSE THIS IS THE BEST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE! That's a pretty good "thanks" I guess! I am departing for now, but I will update more of my days super soon (like right after I post this day)! CIAOOO!

Day Sixty Eight.

I have been so busy (and maybe a little lazy) to even write in my blog, so right now I am a week behind. SHAME ON ME. I honestly do not remember last Tuesday AT ALL. It was just too long ago. I don't remember anything significant happening, so I guess that's good I am not forgetting anything, right? HA. Oh wait! I cut off the head of a fish for dinner! It was so gross though. I could feel it when I cut its neck because I had to cut through the bone. DISGUST (as me and my Kansas buddies would say). Other than that I did some homework (actually I listened to music while my homework sat on my bed, pretttyyyy productive) and I ate! That is something I always do, if you haven't noticed the trend in my entries. It might be unhealthy, but I honestly don't care here (also all my clothing still fits the same, so that's a good sign I guess). Yeah, this is a super short post and I am sorry to disappoint. I promise to make my days more exciting so I will have more to dish to you all! For now, I am going to bed. Good night to me, and to the rest of you... enjoy your day!

Day Sixty Seven.

I was so exhausted this morning. I woke up so freaking cold, I did not even want to leave me bed. I actually overslept because of this. So I got ready quickly and wore comfy clothes today (it was one of those days). I walked to school and actually ran into one of my teachers so he talked to me the entire way to school! He teaches Latin and Greek and is so nice. He also said I am so much better in italian! YAY ME! Mie wasn't here today because she went to Genova with la buffa for the day. I could have gone, but I couldn't ): School went really well though! After school I went to la nonna's home to eat lunch, duh. Andrea was still here from college, so we ate GOOD (I thought I would through in some bad english slang)! We ate tomato pasta, and then fried foods! I don't know what they were, but they were so delicious. I ate a ton. Then I ate an apple and then we had dessert! These yummy beignets with chocolate and panna. I was so satisfied after. Then I did some homework, watched a movie with Fabiola, and skyped with my family! We talked about random stuff, but I hadn't talked with them in a week so it was nice to see their glowing faces (: Although I didn't get to talk to my sister (JULIE BRANSON SKYPE ME), so I hope I can see her soon too! They started putting up Christmas decorations here which is making me SUPER DUPER HAPPY. When I walk to school there is a huge arch that covers the entire walk way of this giant outdoor supermarket, and I am in love with it. I am so ready for the holidays! Now we are going to eat dinner and then I plan on going to sleep because I am exhausted from the weekend. I shall write again tomorrow everyone! Nighty night.

Day Sixty Six.

We woke up at 10:00 am today. We were tired. My back also hurts, but that is beside the point! I was so happy because we had pancakes for breakfast! Some of them with nutella and others with butter and actual Canadian syrup that Meghan brought with her from Canada (so cool)! After breakfast we stayed in our pajamas for a while and then we watched some more of the comedy videos on the laptop. Some of them were funny, and others were kind of offending. Meghan and I really didn't like him that much, but Dianna does so we just watched them! Then around 12:45 pm Meghan's host family came and picked us up for lunch. We said thank you to Andrea and then headed back to her home. We ate lasagna, broccoli, and apples for lunch! It was yummy lasagna too. After lunch we went to her room and she taught me to play a song on the guitar! I suck though, so I just played a tune and she played the really pretty part! That probably took me like an hour, and then we went on facebook and stalked a bunch of people. Yeah, I am going to admit I facebook stalk just like every other person who has a facebook. BAM. Then her friend came over and we talked for a while with him before he had to leave. After that we sort of just chilled. We were so tired so we laid down and turned the lights off, and then of course that was when we started talking and had a full on conversation. After that we weren't even tired anymore. Fabiola and Francesco came over around 6:15 pm and we ate some snacks, talked, and sat around the fire place together! It was so simple, yet so much fun! Then at 8:00 pm we had to go because Fabiola and Francesco were going to a movie that night. They dropped me off at home and then I ate dinner with Andrea! Fabiola made these two AMAZING desserts. I have no idea what they were, but they were creamy and chocolatey and had pastries and meringues in them. I ate a ton. Then I took a shower and now I am going to go to sleep. Good night!

Day Sixty Five.

Wow. I am tired. Today I woke up at 5:45 am to go to Biella. I am super excited, but I am also dead. Maybe we shouldn't have stayed up until 2:00 am last night. Hmm. Oh well! We ate breakfast (a.k.a cookies and nutella) and then we were on our way! We stopped at Genova to pick up another girl, Jamie, and then there was only two hours to go after that. We stopped at a gas station and bought some snacks, and then before we knew it we were there! Although on the ride, I found out some interesting things about Meghan. I think you all will enjoy this. I also got her approval to write this stuff, so it's all good!

Let's begin with things Meghan doesn't know about the world's geography (love you girl):
1) Isn't the dead sea in America?
2) There are kangaroos in Arizona.
3) Me: What is the name of that dessert in Arizona and California again?
Meghan: Oh! The Sahara Desert!
4) India is an island.
5) Africa is not below Europe! It is farther down!
6) Kansas is in Texas (this one her host family thought was true also).
7) Karrin no! Egypt is NOT in Africa!
8) Me: What are some states you know?
Meghan: California, Florida, New York, Boston....

And there were some more that I cannot remember at the moment. I will add them if we think of them again! It made for an interesting and very fun car ride!

Once we arrived it was cold, wet, rainy, and foggy. Even driving on our way there it was terribly foggy. You couldn't see more than maybe 75 feet in front of you. After that it was just white. We met some of the Rotary people and then went to a modern art museum! It was so cool, and had so many different types of art I had never seen before. I thought I would be bored, but I was having so much fun! Then something so awesome happened. The actual artist was there. YEAH. How cool is that?! They said that he never makes appearances for his artwork. He just happened to be there showing around a group a artists his work. We introduced ourselves, and then when one girl from India said where she was from he started flipping out saying he needed a picture with her! Apparently he has to write a column that has something to do with India and he needed a picture of  an indian girl. Guess who gets to be in a famous italian magazine? YEAH I KNOW. It is so amazing. We were so happy for her! Also a little jealous haha. We were like "do you need an american girl?!" haha. After that we went to eat pizza! I got carbonara pizza, and we ate a ton of this little bread stick things. Then we got hot chocolate! I have already raved about how much I love the hot chocolate here, but let me say it again... I LOVE IT. Then we went back to the building from before to go to a Rotary meeting. We all introduced ourselves in italian, and then after we got to talk to the people for a while. I talked to these two girls for probably an hour or so (all in italian too, I was so happy I could understand and respond!), and at the end she gave me her number and told me the next time I am in Genova to text her and we can hang out! I am so excited and so happy we went! Then it was time to go, so all 4 of us piled up in the car and headed to Genova to eat dinner at Jamie's home! It was so amazing. We ate cheese bread (a type which is famous in Genova), farinata (specific to Liguria, where I live), and then this AMAZING dessert. I was so full, yet so satisfied. After that we spent the night at Andrea's house again, except we went straight to bed because we were so tired. Actually right before we went to sleep we had a pretty deep conversation about philosphy, and also about living in the wilderness (not that that is strange at all or anything), and then we went to sleep! Now I have to go, so BYE BYE!

Day Sixty Four.

THREE DAY WEEKEND FOR KARRIN EVERYONE! I didn't go to school today because I have to go to Sarzana for Biella tomorrow. I am staying the night at my Rotary Sponsor's home with another exchange student (Meghan) because tomorrow we have to leave at 6:30 am... I am not looking forward to that. I also really wanted to go to my host dad's play tonight, but I can't because it goes really late into the night. ): We headed for Sarzana (which is only 10 or fifteen minutes away) and then Fabiola asked me if I had my Rotary jacket. Well, I forgot it. So we called Andrea and asked if I needed it, he said yes, so we turned around. Luckily we were only a minute away from the house. Once I got there Meghan's host mom picked me up and we stopped by the store to get bread on our way to get home. Once we got back we talked for a while and she prepared lunch. Meghan had to go to school that day so we were waiting for her to get home to eat. Once she got back I gave her a huge hug because we hadn't seen each other since Monterosso and we have been wanting to hang out! We then ate lunch and hung out at her house until 6:30 pm. We then went to Andrea's home for the night (Rotary Sponsor guy) while Meghan's host parents went to the play in Genova that my host dad is in. I was jealous that they got to go haha. When we got to Andrea's we drank tea and ate cookies and talked for a while, and then we ate dinner! It was delicious. We had pasta, meat, salmon, salad, bread, and then for dessert... whole baked apples with caramel sauce. I hate cooked fruit, but I LOVED these apples. They were amazing! After dinner we watched some comedian that is a favorite of Dianna (Andrea's daughter) and then we went downstairs to "sleep" haha. We actually stayed up for another two hours and THEN went to sleep! We were enjoying having an american type of night because no one here has sleepovers. I MISS THEM! We stayed up late and talked about pointless things. It sounds like a typical sleepover to me. I just wish people did them here! It is so much fun. I will spread some american culture and start having a ton of sleepovers haha. For now we go to sleep. NIGHT!

Day Sixty Three.

I forgot to mention yesterday that Obama won the election! Congratulations to the new president of America! I hope he does amazing things with his next four years. It is funny for me too because EVERYONE here is asking me my opinion and who I wanted to win and if I am satisfied with Obama as the president once again. It is actually really entertaining for me because they all know so much more about my president than I know about theirs. They learn about our government and everything too (I was in history one day and they were learning about our political system and how our government is ran). It is so interesting to me. Also I never realized how much I love American history until I came here. I love hearing my teachers teach it and ask me questions. I also love learning it in italian (and I understand too!). Maybe I have a passion for history, but who knows. One of my history teachers gave me a history book FREE (which is so nice since they normally have to buy them here) so I plan on reading up on some of it. It is just a little book, but I am really grateful for it! Today after school I walked home with Caterina, and on our way home she said to me "aspetta, ti faccio un regalo" (which basically means "wait, I want to give you a gift") and she bought me a bracelet! It is the type that is really popular among the people of Italy, and there are 7 stars around the bracelet. She told me that you are supposed to make a wish on each star, and then they are supposed to come true! I accidently told her one of my wishes though, so I hope it still comes true! It was so nice of her to do. Then when I got home I ate lunch with la nonna (as always) and then I did homework with Fabiola. Around 5:45 pm I then left the house to hang out with Caterina! On my way to Zara (a store like H&M) there was a huge protest going on for people from another country (I think somewhere in Africa, that is what Caterina told me) and they were chanting and had lit candles and signs. Also the police was following them from behind and were walking around them with the little shield things and batons. I was actually slightly scared, and so was Caterina which made me feel better haha. But to meet her I had to actually walk IN the protest because they blocked the entire street! Once we got passed it we then walked to the center of La Spezia. We shopped for a little bit (which means we looked at stuff and didn't buy anything) and then went to get something to eat! We ate these french fries with mozzarella balls, some sort of fried things, and then cut up salami. IT WAS SO GOOD. They are a really popular thing here too. It is like a funnel of fries and then you can add all these other things with it too if you want. I ate all of mine! After that we walked around more and we saw some friends which was fun. Then she had to go to the market to buy some vegetables for dinner. After that this guy was from another country and was speaking english, so he asked us if we knew where this restaurant was. I obviously speak english, but I have no idea where anything is here yet. Caterina can speak some english too, so she tried to tell him. After he left she started cracking up and I wanted to know why! She told me that she thought she had given him the wrong directions! We were laughing so hard. I hope he found the restaurant though! Anyway, once I got home I ate dinner and now I am going to sleep. Buona notte!

Day Sixty Two.

Today Mie was at school! Also we had buffa for two hours, so it was just a fantastic day right from the get go! After school I went home and ate lunch, I didn't really do anything once again today. The weather has just not been the best. It is cold and rainy (but that is no excuse to not go out!). I have been doing stuff with Fabiola at home like cooking and she has been helping me a lot with my homework. It is so nice of her to help me! I have actually learned a lot more having her help me comprehend many things. I think in italian, but I still haven't had a dream in italian (at least not one that I remember). When that day comes I will be such a happy person! Now I can understand when people talk probably 80% of the time. The only time I am confused is when I am in art class and sometimes philosophy. Other than that though, I understand a TON. When people talk to me I understand 95% of the time. Watching movies and TV I can understand if there are subtitles, and without subtitles I don't really understand that much. It depends on the movie or show. I can say that for the time being I am content with my italian. I think it is where it should be for being here for two months. I don't feel like I am falling behind or excelling, but I am exactly where I should be. Recently I have noticed how much better I am. I AM HAPPY! Also school is getting better, and hanging out with friends is getting better too. I just can't wait for the time when I will really connect with a group of italian people here. I am close with the other foreign exchange students around Italy, but I want to root myself in this country with people I am surrounded by everyday. I want them to remember me and our friendship (once that friendship is made haha). Overall though, I am so very happy here. I couldn't ask for a better host family (and also my other two families are amazing), school, friends, and support system back home. Thanks to everyone who is a part of my life, I love you all. CIAO!

Day Sixty One.

So I haven't written anything on my blog for about a week. I am now going to try and remember everything that has happened since last Tuesday (this will be interesting). So let's all pretend I wrote this a week ago!

Here goes nothing:
Today Mie was STILL sick ): I missed her oh so much, but I learned to branch out and talk to other people when I didn't have her to talk to! I think it was good for me to have that slight separation, but I still missed her! I talked with a lot of people from terza (the final year of school, so my age) today and it was so nice. I miss being in classes with them and I wish that we could have more classes together! Our principal told us we couldn't though because they have many tests and interrogations during the final year. The weird thing is that all my other exchange friends in different cities get to be in the final year classrooms... Our school is the only one that won't let us (awesome). We are only in one terza class (3C) and they are all really nice. I am glad I have at least ONE class with people my age! We are going to TRY and ask our italian tutor if we can talk to the president about us being in maybe a few more classes like this. Oh well, enough of me ranting. School went well today, that's about it. After school I went home and ate lunch with la nonna (: and then I did some homework and skyped with my momma. It was quite enjoyable. Oh yeah! Today is the election for the next president of the USA! How exciting (actually I am kind of happy I haven't been in America to witness all the intense debates and fighting and propoganda; I hate that stuff). I am somewhat indifferent in this particular election though (this doesn't mean I don't care about politics or voting for our next president, actually it means the complete opposite) because there are many pros and cons to each candidate for me. It is basically half and half. I would be perfectly content with having either of them as my president. I think we get so tied up in the competition and intensity between the two parties, that it can really hurt our country as a whole. I honestly don't like having two parties that represent COMPLETELY different things. There is no compromise or middle opinion to any of it. I wish it was more of people representing things that they believe in whether it crossed party lines or not. It doesn't have to be, "to be a republican you must believe all of this" and "to be a democrat everything you believe is the complete opposite of republicans," this just is not how it should be to me. George Washington had some reason when he said political parties would destroy this country. There is so much bitterness and hatred that comes with each election, it really can tear us apart. Wow, I think I definitely got a little too deep there for a blog post, but I guess I never really have explained my feelings on all of this. Well, now you know! I hope the best decision will be made for our country, and I wish I was there to vote! Good luck to both candidates! Now, back to my actual post haha. After I hung out for a little bit Fabiola had to go to a meeting, and when she returned home we ate dinner and now I am writing this. Yes it was an uneventful day, but I was surprisingly content with it! I am happy with every single day I have here. Now I am going to sleep, so goodnight world!

Day Sixty.

Today school went well. Mie was sick, so I missed her! I have noticed some things about my teachers though. One of my teachers, when he wears this bright red sweater, looks like a skinny Santa Claus with no beard. Yeah I know that doesn't sound anything like Santa, but his hair is white and all curly and bushy, and he just looks like Santa! Although sometimes he can be kind of stingy, but I try to ignore that. It takes away from his Santa look. Then I have another teacher who is super nice to me, but always wears his glasses that are missing one of the things that go over your ear to hold up the glasses (I don't know their specific name, and it is probably really easy). I have always wondered why, but it almost gives him a very wise appearance. Who would've thought that!  Then I have an italian teacher who ALWAYS wears black, all the time. I swear I have never seen her not wearing something black! Her hair is black also, and she is super tan. This is random but she also speaks SO FAST I can barely understand what she is saying 3/4 of the time. Oh well. I know this is terrible, but for some reason one of my teachers reminds me of the murderer in The Lovely Bones. I know it is so bad, but he just looks like him! I AM A TERRIBLE PERSON. He is so nice to us also! Oh yeah, then there is this CRAZY AF teacher who is so mean. She just starts randomly yelling at THE TOP OF HER LUNGS, my ears ring after. I am not even kidding. I do not like her at all. Actually there are two teachers like that, so that's fun. My science teacher reminds me of a famous person, but I just can't think of it. When I do I will for sure write about it. There are other teachers I have, but none have left an impression on me yet. Oh wait! There is my geo-history teacher who reminds me of a fairy! Hehe. She is really tall and really skinny, has a cute and small face, and has a pixy hair cut! Also she dresses super cute, so when I see her I see Tinkerbell (I am strange). Anyways, after school I ate lunch with la nonna and then Fabiola helped me with some of my homework. I had to read a passage for la buffa, and it is just really hard for me to understand the concept of it. I can understand the literal sense of it, but to understand the significance is more difficult. Then once I was finally finished, we went for a walk before her cooking class! We ran into la nonna during this time, and so I went back with her because Fabiola had to go to her class. I then ate pizzas with Francesco and his friend while watching some super important soccer game. It was pretty intense, but I have a terrible attention span so I went to shower and now I am writing this! Okay, I guess I will go to bed now. Ciao a tutti e buona notte!

Day Fifty Nine.

I love sleeping! I slept in until 10:00 am today. I was pretty happy with that (I didn't over sleep, but I wasn't sleep deprived!). We hung out at the house, and then ate lunch, and then I attempted to make caramel apples. Let's just say it was a complete FLOP. I was so disappointed too because I was really craving a caramel apple ): We made them from scratch and I think that was the huge difference. Everything was wrong! The taste, the consistency, the thickness, and the color! I hated them, but my family loved them! I mean I am glad they liked them, but I wanted them to try American caramel apples! Fabiola told me we can try to find caramel though! So I am pretty pumped about that. She made a tiramisu to balance out my cruddy apples, and let me tell ya... IT WAS SO GOOD. I thought I hated tiramisu, wow was I wrong. I am addicted to it now. It will literally be a problem for me. After we had fun baking, Fabiola and Francesco had to go to dress rehearsal for his play this Friday! They said I could come, but they wouldn't be home until 1:00 am, and I have school tomorrow. I just couldn't do it! So she made me some dinner and set it out to eat when I was ready! It was mozzerella, meat, bread, a vegetable pie, and pumpkin pie! I love all these things so much! Then Andrea left for Genova for school again. I was home alone, but it is nice sometimes to just be able to do whatever I want. For example, I ate like a complete pig. I would not want anyone to see how I ate my dinner tonight, wow would that be embarrassing or what? Then I skyped with my family! LOVE THEM. Although my host family came home so much earlier than they thought! They came home at 10:30 pm! They felt bad because they thought it would go later, so I kind of wish I went now! It would have been fun, but I will get to see the final product this Friday! It is so cool because it is all men in the musical (they do this every year) and even men play the roles of females (like back in the day haha). Francesco is a girl named "Ashley" haha I am so ecstatic to see it! I saw his musical from last year and I was laughing the entire time! Okay, now I am going to go to bed because I actually have school tomorrow for the first time in 5 days. Night everyone!

Day Fifty Eight.

Today I went to Montecatini! It was so much fun, and such a beautiful little town! I woke up around 7:00 am and met Beatrice at the station at 8:55 am for the train at 9:20 am. When I got there she wasn't quite there yet, and I ran into this guy who I met the day before in my building. It was kind of weird to run into him two days in a row, and yet I had never seen him before that haha. Anyways, he is one of the people who sells umbrellas and stuff on the street so that he can live here. My umbrella broke, obviously, so he was trying to sell me one. When I said "no, thank you but I don't need one" (which wasn't true, but I didn't want to buy one that I wasn't sure wouldn't also break!), he helped me fix mine! He is so nice! I talk to him for a while until Beatrice showed up, and then I said bye. We then got on our train! All of a sudden all these people with these outrageous costumes started coming on the train, and I said to Bea "what's going on" and she told me there was a comics convention in Luca which was on the same route to Montecatini. I saw Pikachu and all sorts of other anime characters. It was uhm, definitely different! There was even a girl with rainbow hair (not going to lie, I kind of liked it). We started getting closer to Montecatini, but we couldn't find the stop so we called Mie and she told us to get off at Pistoia which was a 20 minute drive from Montecatini. So they came and picked us up there, but while we were waiting I got a croissant with nutella in the middle! YUMMAY. Then we headed to the mall! It was huge (it is called gigli, a type of flower)! We looked at all the shops, and then got some food at this cute little italian restaurant. I got lasagna, and it was delicious! Then we met up with some of their friends, and shopped some more! We all went into Hollister, and us girls were basically in heaven because all the guys were HOTTT. But seriously, everytime we saw another guy we were like "WHY IS HE SO HOT?!" haha. Also whenever someone walks by they would say "ciao ragazze" AHHH. It was amazing, and my favorite trip to Hollister...ever. Then we headed back towards Montecatini! We walked around and they showed us some things, and then we got some gelato! I got chocolate, nocciola, and some other chocolate one (I do not remember what it was called). We sat and talked for a while, and then it was time for us to go home ): We stopped at a pizza place on the way to the train station, and it was amazing pizza! I just love italian pizza in general. Then we missed our train, but we just took the next one that was going to Genova but stopped in La Spezia on its way there. Phew! Once I got home Andrea had some friends over for the soccer game, so I just watched some TV and now I am going to go to sleep. BUONA NOTTE!

Day Fifty Six and Fifty Seven.

Yes, I am combining these two days for two reasons. One is because I haven't updated my blog in forever and I am too lazy to write 5 entries right now, and reason number two is because I literally did NOTHING on these two days. We had a break from school, and I didn't go Wednesday, so I had a 5 day weekend (best thing ever). Since I went to the Halloween party Wednesday night, I slept basically all day Thursday. It was bad. I woke up at lunch time, and then after lunch watched movies all day with the fam. Then I went to sleep. I didn't even change out of my pajamas (yeah it was that bad). Also, everyone was out of town for the holiday, so I didn't have squat to do! It was actually really nice to relax though. We all just kind of hunkered down in the home. Then on Friday night I went out shopping with Mie and Beatrice. It was fun! We got mini pizzas to eat and walked around La Spezia. It is crazy how many people walk up to you that are selling little crappy trinkets. It is soooo annoying. I am always saying "NO, GRAZIE" haha. That's what they told me to say, and then to just keep walking. I am not even kidding you though, sometimes they just start putting their merchandise ON you while you are walking away! I get so sick of it, but whatevs. After shopping I went back home and hung out because tomorrow I am going to Montecatini with Mie and Beatrice! I am so excited! So now I am going to go to sleep to prepare for the big day. NIGHTY NIGHT!

Day Fifty Five.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! I just realized I write a lot in CAPS, sorry if that bugs you! I just have a lot of excitement for where I am and everything that I am doing here! I LOVE ITALY! Today confirmed that even more. When I woke up I got ready for the day while listening to some music on the tv in my OWN hotel room! I was dancing around and takin my own time getting ready! Then I met with Fabiola and Francesco on the main floor (the first floor is called the zero floor here, which still confuses me sometimes) for breakfast! I ate so much, and I am not ashamed at all. I ate 4 mini briosce with chocolate, a croissant, hot chocolate (american style), caramel pudding with a chocolate cookie, eggs, bacon, and bread. Yeah. I am fat, I won't even deny it. They kept giving me food though! I DON'T WANT TO BE RUDE (that is always my excuse). Also everything here is so delicious, how could you not even some thing when you get the chance (am I right?)? After breakfast we went back up to our rooms to grab our things and then met back downstairs, and then went to the car. Francesco then drove Fabiola and I to Venice, and then he had to go to work until about 4:00 pm. I WAS FASCINATED BY HOW BEAUTIFUL VENICE WAS. During the night it was gorgeous, but during the day... wow. Also the weather wasn't really even that nice and it was still amazing! When we first got there it was sunny, but as the day went on it got freezing cold and rained constantly. Anyways, the first thing we did was drink some coffee! I obviously got a cappuccino with cocoa and a beignet! SO YUMMY. Then we went SHOPPING! There is an area with all the high end fashion stores, and then there are the cute little venetian stores. That is where I shopped haha. I like seeing the fashion stores though. It is fun to look at things I would never buy! I bought some earrings, a mask for carnivale (I will take a picture with it), and some italian shoes which I am IN LOVE with! I also bought some things for my family, but they read this so I can't say what I got them (: LOVE YOU GUYS! After that we walked aroung Piazza San Marco, and it was completely flooded! The whole thing was filled with probably a foot or so of water! They had the little bridges set up though, so we walked on those! I had so much fun walking on them. It was also so interesting for me to see a town where this was completely normal. It happens a lot! They all have rain boots and just walk right through the water. All the tourists walked on the bridges haha. They even have the police out there saying in english "no stopping for photos, keep walking" haha. I took photos WHILE I was walking, so you could say I am a super good multi tasker. We then ate lunch at a little restaurant. I had pizza and hot chocolate. I love those two things, if you haven't noticed a trend yet with what I eat A TON. Then we went to the Basilica! It is absolutely beautiful. Fabiola told me there is a lot of Turkish influence in Piazza San Marco with the Basilica because they once resided there. I couldn't take any photos though out of respect for the church. They also couldn't give tour guides because it was seen as disrespectful. I wish I would have sneaked in a photo though (that is the rebel side of me talking... oh wait, I don't have a rebel side). Then we say Hotel Danieli! It is the hotel where Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie stayed in to film "The Tourist" and I can't believe I went inside it! Fabiola didn't though because you can't just "go in" to see it. You have to be getting a room, and they would know she wasn't because she is italian haha. She told me if anyone says anything to me, that I should just start speaking english ad say "Oh I am American, can I have some information pamphlets?!" HAHA I love her so much. So I didn't get any photos, but it is absolutely fantastic. I want to stay there someday (but it is ridiculously expensive). Then we just walked around Venice! I was so cold though, it was terrible. I was wearing like 3 coats, a scarf, gloves, and a hat. Everything was wet though because it was raining so hard that it would come up inside my umbrella! I wasn't going to let that ruin my time though. I was in Venice gosh darnit! Around 4:00 we met Francesco at this nice little bar, and Fabiola got me chamomile because I had a stomache ache. Yeah, I hate that stuff. She made me drink it though or else I couldn't go to the Halloween Party! Haha they were laughing the whole time. Francesco kept saying "Karrin, how come those people are drinking hot chocolate and you are drinking chamomile?" haha, I was giving him such an evil glare. Of course he was laughing so hard! I finally told them I couldn't do it though! It was way too sweet for me, I could barely get it down. So they added a ton of water to it, and then I was able to finish it. Once I was done they clapped for me! HAHA. Then we headed back to the car. It was about a 40 minute walk because we were temporarily lost (there are so many tiny streets, and since Venice is like hundreds of little islands connected by bridges, it takes longer to get from one place to another). When we made it back to the car, I changed into some warm clothing, and then fell asleep the entire way back. We stopped to eat at a rest stop though (autogrill), and I got fried chicken and mashed potatoes (typical american girl I know) and so did Francesco! After we ate we  got back in the car for La Spezia. I fell asleep again though. When they woke me up we were AT the expo center for Halloween! The only problem was that I was in my pajamas and I looked like shhhhcrap! They got out of the car though and I had to change in the parking lot, brush my hair, and then put my shoes on! That was two times in one day I changed in the car. I was pretty proud of myself because I was so sly, no one would even know that I was changing! It was raining (of course), so I took my umbrella and Francesco walked to the center with me because my phone was dead and I didn't know if Mie was inside or not! Luckily, Francesco had her number so when he called she answered! I then had to wait in the line by myself for about 40 minutes, but once I made it inside they were waiting for me there! I left my umbrella outside too because I didn't bring my wallet so I couldn't pay to have them hold it for me, but hundreds of other peoples' umbrellas were outside too, so I felt better about it! When we got inside we danced and hung out, and Mie and I stayed together the entire time! We also saw a ton of people from school! They all said hello to us which was really nice. It was fun to see familiar faces! Then we went to the middle of the dance floor. It got annoying at one point for us though because ALL THE GUYS were like pushing everyone around, and I got punched in my side.... YEAH. Not cool, drunk immature guys.  After that Mie and I were kind of done for the night haha. I went to grab my jacket at around 1:30 because Francesco was there to get me, and then I said goodbye to Mie! When I got outside to get my umbrella, of course, someone took it. I definitely saw that one coming. Oh well, I guess it is kind of cool to say someone stole something from me.... in Italy (yeah not really)? Now I am home, and I am going to crash. DEUCES.

Day Fifty Four.

I AM GOING TO VENICE TODAY Y'ALL. Yeah I know that that is terrible english, but it had to be said. I am literally so excited. School went by super slow, obviously because I was just so pumped! After school I ate lunch alone with nonna because Fabiola had a meeting or something, and then after I packed and waited for when they were ready! We left around 5:00 pm (it is funny because we were trying to leave around 4:00 pm, but we always leave later than planned haha), and then had to stop by Francesco's work so he could grab some things. We ended up not leaving until like 6:15 pm haha. It was funny. Yeah we were two hours behind, but oh well! In the car I mostly listened to some music and talked with them (it was about a 3.5 car ride with stops) and once we arrived I was bouncing in my seat! There is along bridge that you drive over from the mainland to Venice. Then you have to park your car in the garage because you cannot drive around Venice. It is strictly walking or taking a boat! We walked across another bridge and we were there! It was night time, but it was still gorgeous even when it was dark! CRAZY. I was basically a little kid in a candy store running around, smiling and laughing, and pointing at everything I loved! They laughed at me a lot, but then I laughed with them hehe (: We got some food (I got a calzone), and walked around some more. We went to Piazza San Marco (VERY FAMOUS), and then after about 2.5 hours we went to the hotel (around midnight). I have my own hotel room, which makes me so excited! I felt like I owned my own loft or something haha. It was such a nice hotel too! It was all high tech and had many cool features (now I sound like a TV commercial). When you wanted to get in the room you just held your card up to the little scanner and then it opened. Then you put your card in this little slit in the wall and it keeps all the lights on and all the eletricity running. If you take it out everything will turn off in a minute or so. That is so smart though so that they don't waste electricity if someone forgets to leave all the lights on in the room. Then you also don't lose the room key, which is even better! I just finished talking with my mom, and now I am going to go to sleep because tomorrow I have a big day in Venice, Italia! NIGHT!