First Week

Hey everyone! It's been a little more than a week since I last posted something, and I figured it was time to tell you what's been going on so far.

My first week here has been absolutely crazy and I'm pretty sure I've met over 30 people my age that could reasonably be considered my friends. Then there's dozens more that fall in the acquaintance level and all my family. School actually started quite a bit before I thought it was supposed to, and I've been going for three days now. I like it well enough, but my first day of school was my 8th day here. Which is nowhere near enough time to get adjusted to the language or the culture. My classmates are all very kind and helpful, and infinitely curious. We all ask each other questions, and I'm sure Rotary would be very proud of all the cultural education that's been going on, on both sides. I've gone into town on several occasions with several different groups of people and I'm really going to like it here I think. The city center is right out of a movie and it's about as old as anything I've ever encountered. The castle in the very middle is over 1000 years old, and some of the auxiliary structures are even older. It's all been modernized, but it's still quite thought provoking to walk into a coffee shop built into a 1000 year old wall.

And that's another thing. Everyone drinks coffee. All the time. For breakfast and lunch, and maybe a snack. I've started getting used to it I think, but I still don't consume half as much as what the normal person here will drink. Alcohol is a lot less common, but I have sampled with my parents some of the local wines and beers, all very impressive. It also seems that everyone and their mother drives a Fiat, but I guess that's just cause I'm unused to seeing them at home. Saturday night, I went out after school with my fellow exchange students and got to know all them fairly well. A fun group, I think that there's twelve of us, plus a few more outside of rotary. Last night (Sunday) we had a big party on the beach and played volleyball with my exchange student friends and some of Ludovica's band friends I met when I went to a their concert. That was a ton of fun, and I'll probably getting together with some of them later to jam out in their studio. My Italian is really taking off, but it doesn't hold up in a formal setting like school. The teachers talk far to fast and I can't ask them to rephrase like I can when having a one on one conversation with a friend. My math and science teachers are really helpful though and will help me with translation issues. My other teachers don't slow down though, and I'm really starting to doubt if I'll be able to keep up. I think I arrived waaay to late. School started on my 8th day, and I feel that if I'd had more time, I'd be better off. The exchange student here from Argentina -Juan has been here for a little over a month now and still hasn't started school. His Italian is amazing, and he studied about the same as I did before coming over. I'm jealous.

But aside from that, life is going great! My parents are nice and helpful, as well as understanding which is a great help, and I've got a solid group of friends forming. The food is just amazing, but the few times my mom has tried to cook something off her traditional menu for me, it hasn't turned out quite the same. So I'll have to start stepping in and helping out in the kitchen to learn some Italian secrets and show her some American methods. I've been going to the beach a lot and I just can't believe how amazing it is. I'm fairly sure that in the  winter the water will be warmer than anything in Idaho during the summer.

And that's my life in Italy so far!
Questions or comments: leave 'em below. Concerns: not wanted :)

Ciao!
   -Caleb

Finally there!

Okay, I'm alive. Just in case anyone was worried.
It is currently 9:00 PM in Sardinia and I'm about as tired as I've ever been. It's been about 31 hours since I've had any real sleep, so I'll be eating dinner soon with my amazing host parents Luciano and Marie and then going to bed. The flight stuff over was no problem, I met Kenneth in Seattle, and we had the same flights from there all the way to Cagliari. No major problems with the travel, but it was very very tiring. My big fancy Rotary jacket proved its purpose several times today. Kenneth instantly recognized me by it, and I was stopped by one other Outbound Rotary student and three adult Rotarians who wanted to say hi and wish me well. Once we finally got to Sardinia, Kenneth and I started freaking out over how epic the island was. It's pretty sweet, there's a 10k beach just a kilometer or so from our house, and my school is even closer. My Italian is as rough as I expected it to be, but communication so far hasn't been a problem. I've gotten by with a really messed up amalgam of Spanish, English and Italian.
Sardinia itself is just breathtaking. The beach is incredible, and the people are so warm. Everything is smaller, in Italy, the streets, the cars, the houses, the people, everything is smaller compared to America. It'll take some getting used to, but should be a lot of fun. My first few hours here my parents drove me around Cagliari showing me the sights and trying to get me familiar with the city. Tomorrow we'll be going around to meet some of Ludo's friends and hopefully get me into the social life of Italy. I think there will be things i'm going to miss here in Italy.
When I went to the supermarket with Marie, I asked for milk, and she got a type of milk designed to stay at room temperature for a  couple weeks without going bad. She looked at me funny when I requested the kind that would go bad in less than one. (I don't think I'll be having my fill like I did in America.) Gotta find something else then. I also came into Italy with the expectation of having no piano for me to play on and no guitar either, as I left both of mine at home. Ludo however left her guitar here and has a small electric keyboard that I can utilize, that should help a bunch with homesickness and things. And that is the sum of my first day in Italy. It's tough. But I'm sure my Italian will really start to improve and things will get easier from here on out.

Ciao!!

Just about ready

   Hey everyone, this is Caleb once more and before I get into the blog I just want to point out that at the very bottom left is a box where you can now type in your email and get notifications when there's a new post. If you'd like that, go ahead.
Anyway it's currently Tuesday evening, on the day before I leave. My countdown timer reads 11hrs and 2 min till I go. I'm starting to feel quite scared and nervous, but that's normal. I've spent the last few days saying good-byes and packing up. I went into my school on Friday to say my last farewells and make sure that my friends remember who I am for when I get back. It's been crazy these last few days trying to pack everything and finalize all my details. My room is absolutely empty at this point, as Ethan will likely be moving in. It's quite depressing in reality. everything is bare and it no longer feels like mine. I suppose that's the truth, my room is now in Cagliari. I've had a lot of "last things" here in America, and I think that I'm finally ready to go. My Italian is still rough and incredibly slow, but it'll improve, of that I'm sure.
I'll be travelling with another exchange student on my trip, his name is Kenneth, from Washington. He'll be staying in Cagliari same as me, and it's certainly a possibility that we might end up living with one of each others' host families. He seems nice enough, and I'm excited to meet one of my first friends I'll have in Italy.
The goodbyes have been brutal so far, especially on Mom and Aamon, but it's all good and everyone will be okay. My luggage is currently completely full to the limit, even though I have been told several times by the Rotary guys that I need to pack less than what I think I need. I have to suitcases with 50 pounds each and my carry-on is bordering right on the limit of 26 pounds.
My flight for Seattle leaves at 9:25, and from there it's on to Paris - Rome - and Cagliari!! Ludovica (my host family's daughter) has given me a heads up that they've got an awesome house and that her mom is the best cook ever. I have to say, I'm looking forward to meeting my new family! I'll finally meet them at 2:30 PM the day after I leave, meaning just under 24 hours of travel for the entire trip. I'll post once more when I get settled in with my first impressions of Italy. Ciao!!