Chelan, Washington

Hawaii

5/10/2015

I 've been thinking quite a lot about the blog lately -I don't know why, maybe the disappointment of the idea itself- so this morning, after scanning in my mind the plan for the day, I decided it was time to pick up the laptop and write a shy report of how my time here has been since the last time I showed up in this blog. Things have been pretty crazy to be honest. At the end of March I moved into my fourth and last family, Cal and Jacinta. I have to admit I was kind of nervous about it because the seemed strict (Cal is the president of my Rotary club) and singular, in a creepy way. Plus, their house is in West Bench,  a hill in the northern part of the city and, unless you wanna walk almost one hour downhill and on the way back up hill, there isn't really a way to reach the city without a car ride. However, Cal and Jacinta turned out to be awesome, just like my other families. I'd say I actually fit better in this new one and I enjoy their company much more than the other host parents I've had. Cal and Jacinta make me feel like I'm part of the family and they include me in their activities. For instance, last night they asked me if I wanted to join them and go see a symphony concert by the Okanagan Orchestra. Saying it was breath-taking would be an understatement. The solo violin and piano was so touching I couldn't believe what he was able to do in only one instrument. My other hist families was nice but they would often assume I was not interested in what they were doing and that I had already made plans with my friends, which was understandable and most of the times true, but still I was always desperately trying to be part of the family and to be liked and invited without asking. I almost had the feeling Barb and Garry did not like me at all, and then Christmas arrived and it was just beautiful and so fun and I wish I had enjoyed the time with them more than I did. Jon and Lisa were sportive and ambitious people but , without using the word boring, they were people with no many resources and feelings to share; almost cold and very very sarcastic. I was sometimes struggling deciding whether they were kidding or they were being serious. Furthermore, the Nathan factor did not help: I tried so hard to click with my host brother and to convince my self he was just reserved and shy, but by all prospectives he is an asshole, with no experience nor curiosity, basically interested in only girls and parties and keen on building his boring future helped by his parents' push. Cal and Jacinta are strange is their own way but they are interesting and extravagant and give color to the monotonous Penticton life. They are involved in acting, musing, reading clubs, carity, cinema. Cal is an architect and he is very determined and focused on his job. Jacinta is so sensitive and genuinely nice. I love staying in her company not just because our conversations are uncommon and motivating but also because I don't feel the need to fill silent moments with words and I'm completely relaxed all the time, just like it should be with a mum. They proved to be pretty conservative and strict but I'd rather have a strict parent with a interesting and nice personality rather than a loose and boring one. Their children are very singular: vegetarian, against cars and microwaves (environmental), home schooled. Jasper (their youngest one) is a genius : he plays violin and he is currently living in Victoria attending the music school or something like that.

About my friends, everything is going alright. I've been very busy lately so I kinda got disjointed from  my Canadian friends and it was very hard for me to go back to my Penticton life after being just  one week in Hawaii. It's very difficult for me to explain but there is such a connection between me and the other exchange students, even though I see them about every two months, whereas I see my Canadian friends every day. It's not just because we're going through the same stuff and we understand what it's like to be one year abroad by yourself but also in terms of personality I get along better with them. There will always be things I can share just with Canadians but my mind goes to my rotary family whenever I think of a reason why having chosen Canada as host country was worth it. I'm almost at the end of my journey here and I'm trying hard to enjoy every single moment and not to miss any opportunity. Yet at the same time, I'm so used to my new lifestyle that I have developed a routine and I don't even plan what I'm going to do, I just live the moment as it comes.

It is very important for the future that I use what I've been learning throughout my experience for the treasure of the exchange year comes in a long-term impact rather than in what we attempt to do every day in the year itself.

SAPP FANS

I'm sorry I haven't written in the blog for a long time. Way too long. I'm not gonna lie, it's definitely not one of my priorities. Anyways, my life here is going pretty well. I'm still in my third host family, Jon and Lisa, and since I got really attached to them I believe its gonna be hard to move out next week. My next host family is supposed to be quiet and by quiet I mean REALLY quiet. All Canadians are reserved and would rather keep their buisnesses private-if you know what I mean- and let's  not forget that personal space seems to be essential, but Cal and Jacinta are extreme in this sense. Apparently, from what I've heard, they barely talk to each other and when they do conversations are limited to monosyllables. They seem very interesting people, though. Cal is an architect and Jacinta works in an art gallery, They've travelled to Italy several times and they loved it. They have two children who have grown up in a surprising conservative way: they home schooled and ended up living kinda antisocially, I'd say. I haven't met them yet so I can't really say anything about them. Their son Jasper is an amazing violinist and I'm pretty stoked to get to hear him play. However, my host family now is all that I could wish for. They are very relaxed and flexible with any of my plan changes. This is probably because they are young and there is Nathan still in the house. Having a brother makes my life definitely more fun even though I have to admit that he's not making any type of effort in getting to know me and the idea of me and him bros looks still pretty far away. We'll get there hopefully. His sarcasm is so dry that most of the times it drives me crazy and I honestly wish Courtney was at home instead and Nate at uni. Courtney is my host sister and she's 21ish so she's going to queen's university in Ontario -like 3 h flight east from Penticton. However, Nate can be nice and enjoyable to talk with and it's definitely good for me to have someone my age to interact with in the house, someone who goes to the same school, turns up at the same parties, knows slang-hahaha- etc. He's also cute so no complains. His friends are my friends-some of them. Carleigh, his best friend and prom date is one of my closest friends and she;s fucking hilarious when she's drunk. I love hanging out with them and I still can't believe she's gonna spend her exchange year in my country, HECK YA. My best friend is Lily, though. She's probably the person I'll miss the most. Our nights always turn out to be the weirdest and I love not knowing what's gonna happen and not even be able to guess. I fell blessed that I made this kinda friends here because the group of friend I see at school or hang out at parties has a lot in common with my group of friends back home. Plus, I love the type of music people listen to here. I mean, my friends listen to. My host brother in particular is down just and only for Kanye West and don't even try to ask differently. I find the humour very distant from the european one, let's say that it's not as obvious. I find myself laughing so hard and I sometimes just need these jokes to make my day. Parties are what we lack home and seriously in this sense Canadians are much more advanced and cooler, I swear. For my best friends who are reading this blog, homies, I really wished you were here to experience what it's like to turn up at these gatherings. I sometimes picture myself with my italian friends and I would't be able to stop laughing while sharing with them the weird shit that happens at these parties. I love meeting new people and I love making new friends. As McCandless points out in Into The Wild, the joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon. There aren't going to be other chances of this kind of experience, at 17 years old, by yourself, in an other country, for a whole year. So, fuck off haters, this is my challenge and it's being unforgettable so far. School is the best joke I've ever had to deal with in my life. Events and activities aren't never ending and school counsellors are always trying to give you a reason to look forward to in order to appeal you to show up every day- as if I didn't want to go to skool anyways. It's fantastic. Laker days, Anti-bullying days, Pajama day, what else. I feel bless every day to have met so many people, have opened my mind to such a mentality, to have been through this all by myself and I never ever want my exchange year to get to an end :).

thursday january 15th

La scuola procede tranquilla. I miei corsi per questo semestre sono Storia, Inglese, Studi delle Nazioni Indigene, Outdoor Recreation, Chitarra. Secondo semestre: Spagnolo, Chimica, Fisica, Outdoor Recreation, Chitarra. Probabilmente Chimica finirà per diventare Psicologia e Fisica, Educazione Fisica. Tuttavia, Studi delle Nazioni Indigene sembra essere un corso che dura tutto l'anno quindi dovrebbe rimanere nel programma. Se siete confusi bene perché lo sono anche io. Vedremo quando il problema si porrà. Comunque scuola e' una passeggiata. Comincio alle 8 e mezza. Anzi partiamo da prima. Mi sveglio alle 7, anche se, a questo punto, rumori molesti si sono già fatti sentire da tempo, precisamente dalle 6, quando Jon e Lisa si sono svelgiati, SENZA SVEGLIA, perché, come a me piace il sonno, a loro piace la mattina presto. Comunque Lisa, la mia host mum, mi prepara un frullato proteico, perché' "bisogna bilanciare proteine, carboidrati, grassi in ogni pasto", che mi sembra di avere letteralmente davanti mia mamma dall'Italia con il suo libro sulla dieta Azona. Mi prepara anche il pranzo: insalata con peperoni, carote, avocado, feta e ambigui ingredienti: poi mela, barretta proteica, succo all'arancia, crackers, carote e verdure. Alle 8 e 10 io e Nate siamo in macchina alla volta di Pen High. La prima cosa che passa nella mente di mio fratello e' la musica, quindi prontamente ogni giorno attacca l'iphone alle casse e Kanye West riempie di gioia i nostri cuori. Tutti i miei amici ascoltano Kanye West. Ogni party richiede Kanye West. Kanye West ti accompagna ovunque. Tutti dovrebbero avere il privilegio di amarlo. Kanye West e' Dio, proclamano i canadesi. Seriamente Nate non ascolta nient'altro. Comunque macchina. scuola. Grad's Lounge/armadietto. Ho già detto che cosa e' la Grad's Lounge. Secondo piano, angolo della scuola, grande almeno come il mio salotto. Un pochino di più. circa 5/6 grandi divani che disegnano un rettangolo e al centro un tavolo da ping pong. Due grandi tavoli agli angoli con microondi ai lati. Solo quelli dell'ultimo anno sono permessi nella Grad's Lounge. La maggiorparte degli diplomandi ci passa la pausa pranzo e le ricreazioni. La prima classe e' fino alle 9 e 47 mi pare. Ogni lunedì devo essere a scuola alle 7 e 30 per leadership, che e' onestamente a pain in the ass. Leadership e' un corso per migliorare la comunità dove viviamo e lo spirito scolastico. Organizziamo attività' come raccolta di fondi, attività di volontariato, spirit day a  scuola, gruppi di dibattito lettura, video per assemblee, iniziative antibullismo eccetera eccetera. Spesso si tratta di vendere cibo per raccogliere fondi, il che sfonda sempre visto che il cibo resta la più grande attrazione. Oggi per esempio, c'era sushi a scuola per 4 dollari. E cioccolata calda per 50 cents, 75 se vuoi la panna sopra. L'ultimo giorno prima delle vacanze di natale c'e' stata una grande assemblea. Prima un torneo di basket, che sono andata a vedere al posto di andare a lezione, e mi sembra sia una motivazione sufficientemente importante, perché la scuola ha bisogno di supporto. Poi pranzo gratis offerto dalla scuola: vitello, pure', verdure, biscotti, torta. Musica natalizia in tutta la scuola. Albero di natale. Mascotte della scuola. Tutti vestiti in giallo e viola, i colori di Pen High School. Non e' bello come sembra. E' mille volte meglio. L'assemblea una figata: un video sulle peggio cadute sullo skate (ho già detto che qui tutti vanno in skateboard), gare come chi avvolge una persona in carta natalizia nel minor tempo possibile, chi mangia senza mani nel minor tempo possibile ecc ecc. Un video organizzato da alcuni studenti i quali cono andati in giro per la scuola a baciare all'improvviso persone a caso (e notare-sono tra i fortunati lol) e filmare  le loro reazioni. il corso di danza che balla. E infine balli di gruppo, tutti messi in fila . Mi ha sorpreso il fatto che tutti sapessero i passi e poi mi e' stato detto che e' perché nella anno nono e' obbligatoria come attività. Non sempre la scuola e' un parco giochi. La giornata standard e' lezione-pausa-lezione-pausa-lezione-pausa pranzo(50 minuti)-lezione fino alle 3. Il lunedì e il mercoledì (o semplicemente quando mi gira mi fermo nella palestra a scuola o faccio qualche video cardio nella studio di danza). Tuttavia, anche se a volte può essere noiosa c'e' sempre l'opportunità' di passare molto tempo a camminare, prendere aria, chiacchierare con amici, o semplicemente coetanei, cosa che a noi manca, stando noi 5 ore seduti nella stessa classe, stessa aria, stesse 30 persone, ogni giorni, 6 giorni a settimana, 5 anni. Che  ti piacciano o no  i tuoi compagni di classe, non si tratta di questo. Adolescenti come noi hanno il diritto di imparare ad approcciare nuove persone, e di prendere respiro, oltre che cibo. Inoltre la scuola, a prescindere dall'indirizzo, ha il dovere di insegnare capacita' pratica, relativamente utili nella vita reale. Ad esempio, questi ultimi tre giorni sono andata in gita con un corso a camminare con le ciaspe, giocare hockey sul ghiaccio e fare attività' e giochi di gruppo con studenti mai conosciuti. Abbiamo dovuto cucinarci da soli e abbiamo seguito un corso di sopravvivenza, come e cosa fare nel caso di un'emergenza, tipo trovarsi a trascorrere la notte fuori nel bosco in canada. Abbiamo imparato a lavorare l'un l'altro e ad arrangiarci quando dovuto. Siamo anche andati in piscina, idro massaggio e sauna. SUPER Top xxxx