Monday, January 7, 2013
4 Months.
Well, today marks four months here in Italy and I have a little over 5 to go. I cannot believe it is almost half way over! It seems just a few weeks ago that I got here. So much has happened in these past four months than has probably happened in all my life. Every experience has been amazing, and I still have to pinch myself every now and then and saw "KARRIN YOU ARE IN FREAKING ITALY!" haha. I am in love with Italy, period. I finished packing up my room today because tomorrow I am switching. There have definitely been some emotions, but I am ready! I love my host family right now, and they told me that I can come over whenever I want (which makes me feel pretty good because I will miss them a little)! My next home family is really nice too though. Every change in life is hard. I know that. So off to a fresh start tomorrow! Today was also the first day back to school since break started. Talk about ROUGH. It was probably the longest school day I have had yet. That is always true though after a long break! It is always a pain to get back into routine. Now I am going to eat dinner with my family, and then hang out with them a little bit! BYE BYE!
Le Vacanze di Natale.
SO MUCH FUN.
The day after Christmas here they celebrate as like a second Christmas day, which I LOVE. We went to Zio Pippi's home all day and ate until our stomaches were bulging. IT WAS DELICIOUS AND COMPLETELY WORTH EVERY KILO I GAINED (yeah, I am using the metric system...no big deal). At night I went out with a girl and some of her friends who were also at the dinner so that was fun! Then I went to Cerreto (skiing mountain) for the rest of the break. I haven't tried skiing yet, but I plan on very soon (a.k.a. next weekend). New Years was a blast also! They had these people ski down the mountains carrying torches with the colors of the italian flag and it was so pretty. Then there were fireworks over the lake! They were pretty awesome (but 4th of July in America is a little bigger ;D)! Then we walked around and went to a bar and then danced for a little bit! I got home at 4:30 am. I was exhausted! We are slept the next day, except I won the award for sleeping in the latest (3:45 pm OH YEAH)! Then on the 6th of January there is another holiday here called "La Befana." I like it a lot! It drags out the Christmas holiday even longer! Befana is a friend of Santa Claus (Babbo Natale is him name here) and she comes down the Chimney on January 5th. We put the stockings out and then she puts either candies and chocolates or coal and onions in your stocking! The sweets are for good children, and the cruddy gifts are for bad children (duh)! We do the same thing (the naughty and nice thing and the stocking thing), but it is just that Santa does it all and we put other stuff in our stockings! It was really fun! I got a ton of chocolate and candy, and then two pieces of coal hehe (: I thought it was really funny! Then that day we returned back to La Spezia. I also love everyone at Cerreto that I met. It is so small and everyone has been there for so long that they are all so close! They treated me just like a family member. I cannot wait to go back! Tomorrow school starts up again though, and then I change host families on Tuesday. I am definitely having mixed feelings because I am SO content with my family right now (they are literally amazing, I am so blessed), but I know my next family is also really nice. I am really nervous though to switch. Oh well, it has to be done! I will write again tomorrow while I am packing up my room! CIAO CIAO CIAO!
The day after Christmas here they celebrate as like a second Christmas day, which I LOVE. We went to Zio Pippi's home all day and ate until our stomaches were bulging. IT WAS DELICIOUS AND COMPLETELY WORTH EVERY KILO I GAINED (yeah, I am using the metric system...no big deal). At night I went out with a girl and some of her friends who were also at the dinner so that was fun! Then I went to Cerreto (skiing mountain) for the rest of the break. I haven't tried skiing yet, but I plan on very soon (a.k.a. next weekend). New Years was a blast also! They had these people ski down the mountains carrying torches with the colors of the italian flag and it was so pretty. Then there were fireworks over the lake! They were pretty awesome (but 4th of July in America is a little bigger ;D)! Then we walked around and went to a bar and then danced for a little bit! I got home at 4:30 am. I was exhausted! We are slept the next day, except I won the award for sleeping in the latest (3:45 pm OH YEAH)! Then on the 6th of January there is another holiday here called "La Befana." I like it a lot! It drags out the Christmas holiday even longer! Befana is a friend of Santa Claus (Babbo Natale is him name here) and she comes down the Chimney on January 5th. We put the stockings out and then she puts either candies and chocolates or coal and onions in your stocking! The sweets are for good children, and the cruddy gifts are for bad children (duh)! We do the same thing (the naughty and nice thing and the stocking thing), but it is just that Santa does it all and we put other stuff in our stockings! It was really fun! I got a ton of chocolate and candy, and then two pieces of coal hehe (: I thought it was really funny! Then that day we returned back to La Spezia. I also love everyone at Cerreto that I met. It is so small and everyone has been there for so long that they are all so close! They treated me just like a family member. I cannot wait to go back! Tomorrow school starts up again though, and then I change host families on Tuesday. I am definitely having mixed feelings because I am SO content with my family right now (they are literally amazing, I am so blessed), but I know my next family is also really nice. I am really nervous though to switch. Oh well, it has to be done! I will write again tomorrow while I am packing up my room! CIAO CIAO CIAO!
Christmas Day.
BUON NATALE A TUTTI! Merry Christmas everyone! TANTI AUGURI! Best Wishes!
Just in case you didn't know, I am obsessed with Christmas. It is my favorite holiday out of them all (even over my own birthday). It is just a whole month or more of joy and happiness, lights and candy, and so much more! When I woke up this morning I got all dressed nice and then Andrea and I went STRAIGHT for the gifts! I got a lot of nice stuff (: My parents, grandparents, and aunt and uncle also sent me a package! It was really nice of them. THANKS FAMILY! Then we ate some breakfast and started getting ready for the day! We decorated a little more and nonna, nonno, and Paola came over for lunch! We had a huge lunch. There were appetizers, champagne, pasta dish, meat dish, potatoes, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and then dessert! I WAS STUFFED. Everything was amazing though. After lunch we hung out and enjoyed the company. Then some more of their family came over, and it was so nice because they got me a gift too even though we had never met! I was so thankful! They are really nice, and their son is hilarious. Apparently he saw me at Seven Apples a few nights before, but he didn't say anything! Haha. Then at night Fabiola and Francesco went to a party, and all of us kids had a party of our own at my house. We ate AGAIN, watched some TV, listened to some Christmas music, and then we all went to bed! It was an awesome Christmas in Italy and I will never forget it. I am so thankful and grateful for all the people in my life that have helped me get this far in my exchange. Every day is a blessing, and something interesting always happens which makes me keep going even on the hard days. During this time of year, I do remember that it is about more than just gifts and friends and good food. It is also about Jesus and what he has done for us. I wouldn't be where I am in my life right now without Him. He has kept me strong (and I have had some weak moments), and I know I can talk to Him whenever I need to. I think this experience has truly strengthen my relationship with Christ, and that makes it 100 times more worthwhile (even though it is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING already!). I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH, AND MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Just in case you didn't know, I am obsessed with Christmas. It is my favorite holiday out of them all (even over my own birthday). It is just a whole month or more of joy and happiness, lights and candy, and so much more! When I woke up this morning I got all dressed nice and then Andrea and I went STRAIGHT for the gifts! I got a lot of nice stuff (: My parents, grandparents, and aunt and uncle also sent me a package! It was really nice of them. THANKS FAMILY! Then we ate some breakfast and started getting ready for the day! We decorated a little more and nonna, nonno, and Paola came over for lunch! We had a huge lunch. There were appetizers, champagne, pasta dish, meat dish, potatoes, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and then dessert! I WAS STUFFED. Everything was amazing though. After lunch we hung out and enjoyed the company. Then some more of their family came over, and it was so nice because they got me a gift too even though we had never met! I was so thankful! They are really nice, and their son is hilarious. Apparently he saw me at Seven Apples a few nights before, but he didn't say anything! Haha. Then at night Fabiola and Francesco went to a party, and all of us kids had a party of our own at my house. We ate AGAIN, watched some TV, listened to some Christmas music, and then we all went to bed! It was an awesome Christmas in Italy and I will never forget it. I am so thankful and grateful for all the people in my life that have helped me get this far in my exchange. Every day is a blessing, and something interesting always happens which makes me keep going even on the hard days. During this time of year, I do remember that it is about more than just gifts and friends and good food. It is also about Jesus and what he has done for us. I wouldn't be where I am in my life right now without Him. He has kept me strong (and I have had some weak moments), and I know I can talk to Him whenever I need to. I think this experience has truly strengthen my relationship with Christ, and that makes it 100 times more worthwhile (even though it is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING already!). I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH, AND MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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