Hello everyone, it seems that I've had a bit of a problem with my email lately, so if you've gotten a message from me saying I was in the Philippines or asking for money, know that wasn't me. Just get rid of that. I've beefed up my security a whole bunch, but if this keeps happening, I'll delete the accounts.
Sorry for any inconvenience,
-Caleb
Friday, October 19, 2012
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
One Month!!
Ciao tutti! It's been a while since my last entry, and so I feel I owe you all an update.
It is currently Day 28, and at this point I feel like I'm settling into a pretty manageable routine. I get up everyday around 7:20 and eat breakfast and get ready for school and all that jazz. Then I go to school from 8:30 to 1:30, and have five class periods a day, six days a week. Here in Italy, we all stay in the same classroom with the same group of kids, and it's the teachers that change around, which is really different from what I'm used to, but it's got it's perks of getting to know your classmates really well. The classroom itself is much more impersonal however; as it's not devoted to any one subject, it has no decorations. The class schedule is not constant, and we're told what the next weeks classes will be every Friday. I'm taking Italian Lit., Latin Lit., History, History of Art, Philosophy, Math (right now it's on par with Algebra II, but liable to change topic), Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science, English, Religion, and Gym for a whopping total of 12 classes. The only hard thing is the translating the language, when I can cross the language barrier, I understand everything. We don't eat lunch in school, that's only for home, but we do get a 10-15 minute break around 11:30 to make things bearable. After school, if I'm not studying with a classmate or don't have any immediate plans, I'll walk back home (5 min. tops) and eat lunch with my parents. Then I'll read or play a little guitar before tackling the night's homework. About half the time, I've got plans with friends or someplace to go with my parents, and that's always fun. Recently, I've been joining my friend Enrico and some of his band-mates to jam out in their studio. That's about as awesome as it gets for me.
Now that I've hit the one-month mark and started to adjust to life here, I'm entering the next phase of the exchange. Reality.
Typically, for the first few weeks, it's all new experiences for an exchange student and you're in what they call the "Honeymoon Phase." That's done now that a routine is being established. Now I'm starting to realize just how different life is, and how much of a struggle it's going to be. It's all fatigue from the constant stress of the language and troubles with communication and things like that that make life a pain. I'm pretty sure this is when the worst of the homesickness is supposed to occur. There are certainly things I miss about Idaho, like weekends, but I've never had a desire to go home. But I'm only in the beginning still, and everyone has a different experience.
Tomorrow is Marie's birthday, and I've got a couple pretty good ideas for presents and I'm excited to experience the celebration in the Italian style. I've already gone to one birthday party for a friend so far, but we played laser tag and had a huge arcade tournament. While that was more fun than I've had in a while, I'm pretty sure that Marie is going to do something a little different. :P
I love it here. <3 And here is a picture of why.
Ciao for now!!
-Caleb
It is currently Day 28, and at this point I feel like I'm settling into a pretty manageable routine. I get up everyday around 7:20 and eat breakfast and get ready for school and all that jazz. Then I go to school from 8:30 to 1:30, and have five class periods a day, six days a week. Here in Italy, we all stay in the same classroom with the same group of kids, and it's the teachers that change around, which is really different from what I'm used to, but it's got it's perks of getting to know your classmates really well. The classroom itself is much more impersonal however; as it's not devoted to any one subject, it has no decorations. The class schedule is not constant, and we're told what the next weeks classes will be every Friday. I'm taking Italian Lit., Latin Lit., History, History of Art, Philosophy, Math (right now it's on par with Algebra II, but liable to change topic), Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science, English, Religion, and Gym for a whopping total of 12 classes. The only hard thing is the translating the language, when I can cross the language barrier, I understand everything. We don't eat lunch in school, that's only for home, but we do get a 10-15 minute break around 11:30 to make things bearable. After school, if I'm not studying with a classmate or don't have any immediate plans, I'll walk back home (5 min. tops) and eat lunch with my parents. Then I'll read or play a little guitar before tackling the night's homework. About half the time, I've got plans with friends or someplace to go with my parents, and that's always fun. Recently, I've been joining my friend Enrico and some of his band-mates to jam out in their studio. That's about as awesome as it gets for me.
Now that I've hit the one-month mark and started to adjust to life here, I'm entering the next phase of the exchange. Reality.
Typically, for the first few weeks, it's all new experiences for an exchange student and you're in what they call the "Honeymoon Phase." That's done now that a routine is being established. Now I'm starting to realize just how different life is, and how much of a struggle it's going to be. It's all fatigue from the constant stress of the language and troubles with communication and things like that that make life a pain. I'm pretty sure this is when the worst of the homesickness is supposed to occur. There are certainly things I miss about Idaho, like weekends, but I've never had a desire to go home. But I'm only in the beginning still, and everyone has a different experience.
Tomorrow is Marie's birthday, and I've got a couple pretty good ideas for presents and I'm excited to experience the celebration in the Italian style. I've already gone to one birthday party for a friend so far, but we played laser tag and had a huge arcade tournament. While that was more fun than I've had in a while, I'm pretty sure that Marie is going to do something a little different. :P
I love it here. <3 And here is a picture of why.
Ciao for now!!
-Caleb
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