It's been a week or two since my last post so I figured it was due time for another.
So I've been going to school, hanging out with friends, eating, sleeping, learning. The usual exchange student experience. And so far it's pretty sweet. If anyone has ever been on the fence, or has children/siblings/nieces/nephews/access to children, I highly recommend looking into an exchange program, there's nothing else that can possibly compare.
Halloween was a while ago, and it was really quite strange for me to not see Jack-o-lanterns, candy sales, and costumes everywhere, but I saw a few festivities that gave me that nice little taste of home. (Now I just want that taste of pumpkin pie...) I went to a fun party with tons of my Exchanger Friends and we've been all hanging out fairly consistently, which is really nice. I like having that group of people who are automatically going to be great friend material and just as willing to do things as I am. But then I also have all my Italian friends, a group which is slowly but surely growing. Add in a little chatting in the nether-hours with friends and family back home, and I'd say I'm doing okay socially.
But as any person who wants to retain a bit of sanity, I've got some time to myself to relax (a concept highly revered in Italy). So I've taken to self-education through YouTube. And it's actually proving to be incredibly effective AND interesting. I've taken a 40 week course of World History, I'm half-way through a similar Biology one, and I'm reinforcing my Mathematics with the Khan Academy, which is almost certainly the image of future education methods (look into it if you're interested in epic-ness as it relates to education and innovation: http://www.khanacademy.org/ watch the video about half-way down for the real deal). I figure that as I'm sort of missing a year of school back home, and the Italian school isn't filling all the gaps, I need some supplements. And it's working. I've also taken up drawing, which started when I was doodling a picture of Einstein on the back of my math homework and my desk-mate liked it and suggested I draw Obama. So kind of jokingly, I went home and drew a fairly awesome picture of our re-elected president (YAY!!)(This was before the election though) which everyone thought was just amazing, and soon I got all sorts of requests for me to draw my classmates, which I'm trying to do. Here's one that I really like of my dancer-friend Cristina:
Yeah, I'm pretty proud of that...
Oh! I've found a piano, which has just been one of the greatest things ever for me. As it turns out, there's one in my school directly underneath my classroom (I only realized the location AFTER the first time I went down there to play and my class applauded me upon my return.) I'm allowed to go and play whenever I'm in a class where it would be really unreasonable for me to try working on their level i.e. Year 3 Latin. I've been playing much quieter after that first time...
And that's what I've been up to. Lots of fun. Contact me through e-mail (which is now completely fixed) or Facebook and let me know what you've been up to.
Don't forget to be awesome,
Caleb.
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