November 29 2016

The past few days have been very chill. My life always seems to have very fast paced periods and then very slow periods.

Yesterday was my three month anniversary of arriving in Sicily. I have been having a great experience, but of course there are low points. At times it is hard to be constantly surrounded by newness and I just want to feel familiar with something, whether it's a person or what we are eating for dinner.

One of the things I have been struggling with is making friends with my classmates. Everyone is sweet and nice, but I haven't felt like I've made very strong connections. It's hard to infiltrate a group that has been bonded together for the past four years.  Everyone is busy studying after school, and some of the people I feel closest to live in a different town. There aren't any exchange students to hang out with, and none of my host siblings live at home. Thankfully I have Matilde and her family, but I don't see her as often as I would like because we go to different schools.

In all the orientations they say not to spend too much time alone or at home. It's a little frustrating because I don't feel like I have many options. Joining after school activities has been hard because there are not many, and I am constantly out of town. I go on walks when it is nice out, and I do yoga in my room and draw a lot and I've been looking into different gyms.

 For the most part and the majority of the day I am happy. I know I'm doing my best.

November 26 2016

I just came back from a great weekend in Siracusa!

Thursday after school, Andrea (my friend from Canada who lives in the city over) and I took the bus to Siracusa. Each of the people from out of town was hosted by a Rotarian, or by the host family of one of the twelve exchange students that live in Siracusa. After dropping off our things and getting ready we met the other exchange students (27 in total) and Rotarians at a hotel for Thanksgiving dinner. Before eating we had a gathering where we talked to a reporter from the best selling newspaper in Siracusa, and the article was published the next day! Once the turkey was ready the eight Americans were each given a knife so that we could each make a cut into the turkey.

The article!

Cutting one of the Turkeys. It's a little hard to see, but next too me, Hutch is about to stab the turkey.

The dinner wasn't exactly right but it was still good. 

Me, Courtney and the Brazilians; Sabrina, Ana, Pedro, Carolina, Tori .

The Americans.

The next morning we all met up at the Greek Amphitheater and an ancient cave, carved by hand, called the Orrechio Di Dionisio (The Ear of Dionisio). There was a specific point in the cave where the echo was amazing. Our tour guide simply breathed loudly and we could hear the echo.

The Amphitheater.

Flag picture!

Orrechio Di Dionisio

After exploring we went to a little market and and had some lunch.

The market

Sampling some ricotta cheese with spices.

We were then given some free time to explore. We spent a lot of time at the port and by the water, but also spent some time looking at shops and in the city center.

The boats.

The port

The five boys.

Sitting at the waters edge.

Group Photo, We're missing some people, but I'm hoping to get sent more group photos soon.

The main church in the center of the city. The Rotarian hosting and organizing the weekend, Pucci, lives in an apartment directly across the street.

To end the night we met up at Pucci's house and talked to some of the future outbounds. We were treated to Tori playing some of her music which is truly beautiful. We then went out for pizza!

It was really nice to spend time with the other exchange students. It's defiantly a very different experience for the exchange students that live near each other. Andrea, Carolina, and I are the only exchange students placed in cities by ourselves. It was nice to spend time with people who are experiences the same ups and downs. I am hoping I will be able to spend more time with them as the year goes on. 

November 23 2016

Yesterday I took a walk down to Ragusa Ibla and treated myself to a little bit of cinnamon and chocolate gelato.

This view is about a five minute walk from my house.

Eating gelato in Piazza di Duomo.

The same view at night

Today I had my first two hours of class in 5F. They were much more relaxed than 4A and more similar to my class 5G. Like my first day in 5G a few girls took me under their wings, a few people introduced themselves and talked to me a bit, and a few people I never met. Overall it was a good experience.

November 22 2016

This week I am starting a few lessons in other classes. Yesterday I had religion class with 3B. The class was taught by the same religion teacher I have in 5G. She was really sweet and took the whole class period to help me get to know the other students and to let them ask me questions. We talked about how being "foreign" in Ragusa means you were born in a different city an hour away.

This morning I had an Italian grammar class with 1A, meaning that this morning I walked into a class of fourteen year olds. At first I think they may have been a little intimidated of me, but I just tried to smile and look approachable and everyone introduced themselves. The class was really helpful I learned about adjectives and the teacher was really good about making sure I understood.

This afternoon I had an art class with 4B which was a completely new experience. As I was walking down the hallway looking for the right class the art teacher found me and we walked into the class together. As soon as I walked in a boy I had met in the hallway the other day, Jordan, saw me and rushed to pull out the chair next to him and usher me to my seat. The art teacher interrogated (not as scary as it sounds, just an oral test) three students at his desk leaving the rest of the class room free. Before I knew it I was completely surrounded by people pulling up chairs, sitting on tables and standing behind me. Everyone had a million different questions.

Me: Oh hi everyone.
Student: Where are you from?
Me: Minnesota.
Student: What music do you like?
Me: A lot of different things.
Students: (List every band they can think of and see if I like them)
Student: Do you play a sport?
Me: I played Rugby for four years in the U.S.
Student: OMG that is so cool! (A lot of high fives)
Student: Do you have siblings?
Me: A twin sister.
Students: Let us see a picture! (I show a picture) You guys look so much a like!
Student: Are you catholic?
Me: No I'm actually jewish.
Student: Holy S**t! Guys did you hear that?!? We have A JEW in the class? Has anyone ever actually met a jew?????????
Student: Do you know swear word in Italian or sicilian?
Everyone tries to teach me all the words they can think of, writes them on the desk, and asks me to say them back to them. At some point I was also taught some sort of hand signal or dance (?).
Student: At what age.....(I didn't understand the rest of the question).
Whole class explodes.
Teacher: What happened?
Student: ______ is trying to flirt with Sienna!
Student: No I'm not. I have a girlfriend.
Me: What did he ask??
Students: It's better you don't know.

This is just an example of a few of the things that happend during my time in 4B. They are a super fun class and I can't wait to see them all next week.

November 20 2016

Yesterday I got to spend some time with other exchange students. I am the only Rotary exchange student in Ragusa, but there are 12 in Syracuse. Nicolas from Germany, Claire from Michigan, Sabrina from Brazil, and Nina from Taiwan, came down from Syracuse to be apart of the presentations we gave to the scientific high school (my school!) and the language high school about applying to be a Rotary exchange student. Puci, one of the rotarians did most of the talking, and we introduced our selves and talked a bit about where we were from and our experiences. While I was talking I mentioned that next week I would be starting a few new lessons with different classes. After the presentation a group of kids found me and told me they were one of the classes I was going to be joining next week!

Later that night Matilde and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them". It was really good! There were a few parts that Matilde had to explain to me at the end since we watched it in Italian but for the most part I knew what was going on.

This morning I got to sleep in, which was an especially good thing since I was feeling a little sick. I woke up to a beautiful day and decided to take a little walk in the neighborhood. Every other Sunday there is a little market on my street which is fun to look at.

Everyday when I walk to school I say hello to Maurizio who owns the bakery below our apartment. Today I had some time, so I walked in to say hello and catch up. He gave me a cappuccino with cinnamon on the house!

After finishing my delicious drink I continued down the street and met an adorable St Brenard named Beethoven. I then decided to go to one of my favorite places in Ragusa, the park and river basin. I really miss the nature of Minneapolis and the park and river basin are full of trees. The sad thing is that when it comes to the environment so nobody seems to be taking care of the river basin so it is eroding and full of litter.  But there was a nice man named Salvatore and his dog Puma. Usually when I see dogs in Ragusa I get a little sad because I know there isn't much green space for them to play in. But seeing Puma play in the green space made me happy.

November 18 2016

After over a week of planning and organizing, I host my early thanksgiving dinner. I've never really cooked before but I wanted to do something special for my classmates, so I went all in. I prepared turkey, corn bread, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin cake for over 20 people. It was especially nerve racking cooking the turkey but it turned out perfect!

I was so happy I asked my best friend Matilde to help she was so sweet and kept me calm the whole night and knew exactly what to do with out asking.

Everybody loved the food. When everything was on the table and everyone was settled down they all applauded me numerous times. The energy was so happy and festive, making the effort completely worth it. My classmates surprised me with a cake with an American flag on it, and even shoved a piece in my face! The cake to the face is pretty typical during birthday parties, but I wasn't expecting it for thanksgiving. It really made me feel like they were celebrating me and the effort I put in, in addition to thanksgiving. One of my classmates even told me it was "a form of initiation, so welcome".
I have more pictures but they are having trouble uploading, so this is what I have for now.

In the kitchen cooking.

The class!

Making the gravy. Photo credits to Matilde.

The food. Minus the gravy.

The guys.

The cakes.

Cake in the face.

November 13 2016

On Friday the two of the best mothers in the world worked together to make my day. My amazing mom sent me a package from the United States. It arrived the day that Giovanella was leaving for Dubai and I was going back to the Francone's house for another awesome week. Wonderful Mom Number 2 (Giovanella), surprised me at school with the package before going to the airport, and also put 20 euro in my diary just in case I went out with friends this weekend and needed a little extra money.

Trying to wait for English class to finish before opening my package.

My favorite items from the package. A Minnesota loon that makes the bird call, A super soft shirt that says "The Wilderness is Calling", and a bit of my favorite Halloween candy!

Saturday morning I woke up to Wonderful Mom Number 3, Concetta, asking me if I wanted to go to school or stay home to help her and Nonna make Arancine. I chose cooking school.

After preparing all the arancine to be fried later that night, we met up with Concetta's sister to go to a market in Vittoria. We walked around and looked at shoes and clothes. Concetta being one of the sweetest people ever bought me a warm onesie! 

Later a few of Matilde's friends came over to eat the arancine, and then we went out. 

This morning I shared an american recipe (but much much simpler) and we made pancakes. Their defiantly not the same with out blueberries or maple syrup, two items very hard to find in Ragusa. We then had lunch with some relatives that finished with some cannoli with homemade filling. 

November 10 2016

On Tuesday I had way too much free time, as always, so I made a batch of oatmeal raison cookies. My plan was to bring them to class to share with my classmates. The hope was that they would be victory cookies for Hillary Clinton becoming president. Instead they were condolence cookies because of Donald Trump's election.

Everyone on Facebook has explained the emotions and consequences of Trumps election better than I could, so I'll just explain the differences of experiencing the election while in Italy.

Those of us living in America are surrounded by people who feel just as afraid and dumbstruck as ourselves, because together we realize the significance Trump's elections could have on our country and lives. It seems that despite the separation of the country there is a sense of unity as people comfort each other and fight to put good into the world in the midst of a tragic event ( I am making this assumption based off conversations and Facebook posts).

 Living in Italy in this moment I am mostly surrounded by people who feel very distant from the problem. Instead of a being perceived as the earth shattering moment it truly is, it's just a joke (which is truly what America has become). As the American girl people are constantly joking with me about if I voted for Trump or if I am happy about it. Thankfully because the election is over the jokes are slowing down, but there seems to be little thought given to the fact that Trump doesn't just go away after election day, he's going to be causing problems for four years.

That mostly sums up the experience, and I have had enough of politics. My big project for the moment is Thanksgiving. A few of my classmates mentioned that they would be interested in celebrating it, so I went home talked to Giovanella and am now planning on making thanksgiving dinner. I invited everyone one in my class (24 people) but am assuming around 10 or 15 will come. I am pretty nervous because I've never done big cooking like this before, but I am organized and I think I can do it. I am hoping it will be a good bonding experience with my classmates.

November 7 2016

I just got back from an amazing weekend in Malta (more specifically the Island of Gozo).

 When Giovanella first told me we were going to go, she said we were going because Pino had to work. She didn't mention that in addition we would be attending a very fancy art exhibition/Anniversary party for Abrahams's Supplies Company. One of my host parents good friends (who has stayed at the house on occasion) is the international art curator who put together the event. Everyone we met this weekend seemed to be some very fancy person who owned a prestigious restaurant, or sports medicine company or ect. I probably shouldn't have been surprised, I've slowly come to learn that my host dad, Pino, seems to have replaced a knee for every important person in Italy.

Saturday morning we were treated to one of the coolest moments of my life. We were invited to watch the two artists, Alfredo Rapetti Mongol and Austin Camilleri, collaborate to make a few pieces of art. We were able to watch right over their shoulders as they worked, I even held some extra paper out of the way for them. Both have unique styles but use similar techniques. Every piece of art was incorporated into the next one. If one piece had too much paint or water, or whatever substance they were using it was transfered on to the piece of art beside it. It was just as much performance art as visual art. There was music and the smell of paint and fancy waiters walking around with wine and Hors D'oeuvre's. As the artists were finishing up they gave me a hart attack when they started ripping up pieces of the art. Each guest was given a piece to take home! I think because I was one of the most enthralled and attentive viewers while the artists were painting they gave me an extra piece from a different piece, that was different from everyone else's!

In this picture you can see that I am literally standing right over their shoulders.

The art I was given! It was also signed by Signore Mogol who incorporates calligraphy into almost all his art. He even adressed it to me on the back!

After the performance, we were taken to see Gozo's palace. At that point I was pretty exhausted so I didn't retain much information or the history we were told but it was still beautiful!

After our castle adventure and resting for a bit in the very large house we were staying in (I think another one of my host parents friends rents tourists homes) we dressed up to go to dinner. Even before the food was served I knew it was going to be fancy just based on the number of utensils and wine glasses surrounding my plate. The five courses were some of the most delicious food of my life The chef had based each dish on a painting or aspect of the exhibition.  I have pictures of it all below! I'll try my best to explain what it was but my culinary vocabulary is seriously lacking.

Second course(Sorry this out of order but I gave up trying to fix it). Fish risotto that is black because of the ink inside the fish, the white parts are cheese. 

First course. I don' remember what everything was but the middle was a blueberry gazpacho.

Third course. Some sort of steak with a mushroom situation on top, the little round meat piece tasted like brisket, and the little red rectangle had beats.

Fourth course was a pre-dessert! It was a fancy version of cream, honey and a little donut. 

They saved the best for last! A chocolate mouse with raspberries and a raspberry macaroon, and the most delicious cheesecake of my life with mango sorbet. I almost cried when I saw the waiters clearing plates with piece still left on them.

The next day we took a walk along the water, and had lunch at a beautiful restaurant over looking the ocean (of course owned by one of my host parents friends).

Some of the cleanest and clearest water I have seen.

Rotary I promise this was nonalcoholic but 100% delicious.

Our table

More amazing food

Sometimes I take a second to wonder how I would survive all these new experiences with a closed mind. When someone puts baby Octopus on my plate I just say thank you, eat it, and enjoy it.

Overall it was a weekend full of new cultural experiences that I will always cherish!