buongiorno, principessa! <3

Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 9:36 AM

ITALIAN SCHOOL/HOST FAMILY

Ok, so let me explain the next few posts that are all conveniently written on the same exact day. School is the most boring experience of my life, which I will explain later, so basically I wrote up a ton of blogger posts during class. Enjoy!

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The Barolo family consists of 5 people:

Pierangelo: "The Dad." He is HILARIOUS! The actor of the family. Everything he does is very dramatic (in a good way), with hand gestures and such. He is really, ridiculously tall too, a common characteristic within the Barolo household, minus one person, meaning me. He barely speaks english, and its humorous to see him try, because he is convinced that he says it right, and then Irene corrects him and he gets annoyed. He is such a great person, and I am glad to call him my host father!

Matilde: "The mom." Ahh, I LOVE Matilde! She is like a little Mary Poppins, always cooking, cleaning, asking me if I am hungry, talking on the phone, or rushing to work. She is so friendly and always focuses her attention on her children and me, and always asks how I am feeling and if I need anything. She is also a great listener when I need someone to talk to! Her english is excellent, so I talk to her as often as I can, which is definitely a negative on my part because I still need to learn some Italiano.

Irene: "The Sister." Irene is the perfect sister figure for me. I don't have a sister, but if I did, she is exactly how I would want her to be! She is so sweet, and constantly introducing me to people as to make me feel welcome and comfortable in my new Italian home. We talk a lot in chopped english, and are conveniently in the same exact class in school. Oh, and she has an array of amazing friends, too. GORGEOUS, btw. Damn, I want an Italian boyfriend...

Francesco: "The Grande Brother." Francesco is sooo sweet. He speaks barely any english, but he uses crazy hand gestures like I do to get the message across. He is funny and always singing or playing soccer. I think I connect with him the most because he is the easiest to talk to, even when there is a huge language barrier that makes it a problem sometimes.

Daniele: "The Piccolo Brother." Oh my goodness, Daniele is a little ball of energy! He is constantly moving around, I can't keep up! He speaks literally no english, which is a total advantage to me because it helps me to learn the language. Little kids = definite help. And ahh he is suuch a cutiepieee.

Anyway, the first week with this crazy, amazing family was so fantastic. They are PERFECT for me! And their apartment is gorgeous! It's this two story flat that is very modern and chic, and I even have my own room! My room is so cosy, I feel like I fit right in! I literally feel apart of the family already with no regrets or worries about being in Italy. However, I definitely think I am at the 'honeymoon' stage of my AFS journey. It means that I am at that place where I haven't yet realized I am here to stay for a year; kiinda feeling like a vacation. Oh, but there is one negative that I currently have: there are mosquitoes all over my room. I don't know where they are, but they are there because when I wake up, I have tons of freaky italian mosquito bites. It's pissing me offffff! Anyone know a good, homemade mosquito reppellent (spelling?), please post it in the comments!

Hmm, so on to school. Irene and I (THANK GOD!) go to the same school in a town called 'Moncallieri,' about 15 minutes away from our casa. It is a scientifica with classico, American-style classes. Except, I have this class called design, which is like an architecture course and confuses me to death. I have PE though, which definitely will help me in the exercise department since I KNOW I am going to get fat here with all this amazing food (I will explain food later, I promise!). So, anyway, school! My first day was great! Difficult and confusing, but definitely great. Once I arrived in class with Irene, I noticed marker written on the wall that said 'Giulia di amo!' and everyone ran up to say hello to me. I felt so welcomed and everyone is so genuine and sweet. The only difficulty I have is the understanding part. At this point in time, I can say simple sentences, such as basic introduction and describing things I like, which would take me months had I not been immersed in this fantastic Italian culture!

Ok, so in my school, everyone is very casual and we, unlike most italian schools, do not have to stand up when a teacher enters a class. And, depending on the teacher, the whole class talks SO much. There is no respect in class, which is fine by me because class is so boring and I can't understand anyway, but it still does not make sense to me. In America, sure, we talk during class, but at least we whisper! In Italy, they are like...yelling across the room to eachother! It's hilariously different. Oh! And though I don't have lunch in school, there is this little room in school that is similar to a cafeteria, but holy cow. Cafeteria food does not exist in Italy. They sell paninis and handmade pastas for ridiculously cheap prices. I have not had anything from the menu yet, but ahh, it baffles my mind in the best way. And the 'international barista,' as he calls himself, is named Claudio, who Irene introduced me to the other day. He is hilarious, and now remembers me as 'the American with the Italian name.' Haha. Hmm. More about school... Well, it's basically structured like your typical American public school, minus lockers and any fancy schmancy equipment. The classrooms are pretty dull, with one desk for the teacher and then a few desks for the students, a blackboard, and windows. Literally nothing else. And in Italian school, you stay in the same classroom all day, and the teachers come to you. But the greatest thing ever is that school is only five hours a day, unlike my crazy eight hour schedule at BASIS. Ugh.

However, the teachers are intimidating to the max here, except for the english teacher. She is kind, but her english is pretty bad. And then she firmly believes that because I speak english fluently, I can analyze english literature without even reading the book she is asking me to interperate. And I tell her I don't know, the class laughs, and now I am the foreign idiot. FML. Or as they say here, MAMA MIA. Haha, one more thing about schools: do NOT go to the bathroom! They are freaky holes in the ground, that scared me to death the first time I walked into a stall, haha. No mirrors in the bathrooms, either.

We had our first math test today. Let's just say that Italian schools teach math so differently that I have no idea in hellll how to figure out the problems. It is the same type of work that I did in math last year, however, my teacher doesn't accept the fact that I find the answer differently than the rest of the class! Hmfh. Oh, well. During the rest of my classes besides english and math, I pretty much brush up on my italian using the 'Italian for Dummies' book Laura gave me (grazie, laura!) and doodle, or talk to the person sitting next to me.

Hmm, that's all I can say for now regarding school. Until next time, ciaoo!

xoxo Julia

Oh! One more thing, I promise. Unlike BASIS (my old school), public displays of affection are VERY common. I'm talking, the second we have a break from class, a boy is on top of a girl, making out. I can't believe how different Europe is, and I don't know whether it is a good or bad thing! Haha, ok ciao for real.

3 comments

Julia,

Loved reading you blog. Sounds as if you are having a blast. Keep up your Italian practice.

I will be in Paris, October 10 to the 19. I would like to call you, what do you think is the best time? Mom gave me the family's phone number, are Paris and Turino in the same time zone.

Love, Grandma

By evelyn chugerman, at September 24, 2009 at 5:56 AM

Hey Girl!
Im having the same problems with the mosquitos, i keep waking up with all these bites! I freaked out when i went to the school bathroom too, who stole all the toilets and mirrors?? english is wicked easy and math makes no sense = p

By Liz, at October 5, 2009 at 5:56 AM

Hi , I'm Vittoria an italian girl . I live in a city about one hour from Turin :)
Anyway ,I read your blog and I found it soooo nice!
I hope you're having a good time here in Italy.

By Anonymous, at October 11, 2010 at 4:42 AM