For a while, studying abroad next year seemed so out of reach and like it was not going to happen. But lately it's starting to feel a lot more official. I had my first pre departure orientation which was really interesting. We went over all the rules and things to expect next year. Apparently Italy doesn't have peanut butter and no one wears sweatpants to school...ever!!! These are the things I am most worried about. I dress very casual half the week.. and I guess that's not the norm for Italian teenagers. They dress to impress 7 days out of the week. And no peanut butter?? Oh my goodness... I think I might pack like 17 jars of Skippy peanut butter to crack open when I start to feel home sick. I also got to meet the AFS students that are currently here from Italy. They were so genuinely nice and gave me some good info. I asked them what they missed the most about Italy and they said "good wine." I laughed a little at such a mature answer from people my age.
It is somewhat weird to think I'm not going to be here next year. Yesterday, everyone's class schedule for next year were posted so all my friends were trying to figure out if they had any classes together. It felt strange to keep saying "ohh.. we definitely don't have any classes together.. I'm going to Italy for 10 months." It was very ironic though because the day all the schedules were posted was the same day AFS sent me an extremely large packet stocked with information about pre departing. Basically, the two most stressful things right now are how I am going to get the rest of the money and the fact that I know zero Italian...
For those of you who don't know, I am actually currently taking Spanish in school and have been on and off since 1st grade. So clearly, my first choice of where I wanted to go was a Spanish speaking country. I originally applied for Spain but apparently I submitted my application to late and the 30 spots AFS had, had already filled up. I really wanted to be in Europe, so my second choice was Italy, which thankfully still had room. I haven't exactly started yet but my plan is to self teach the basics of Italian and hopefully pick it up fast once I'm completely immersed in the country. I'll keep you posted on how that goes...
The whole money thing is definitely the biggest stress. I promised my parents I would raise a large portion but fundraising is not my specialty. If anyone has any good fundraising ideas... let me know :) I work about half the week between baking cookies at the Buzz Cafe, "floating" (which is hosting, clearing tables, serving food etc.") and babysitting at my church. I'm getting good at saving which is a useful life trait. I have a clear goal and I plan to meet it! Also, if you do make a donation on this page I don't get a list of who donated until the end of the month, so I'm sorry if I don't get to thanking you right away but I promise it is very much appreciated and I am extremely happy to have people supporting my dream! :)
Lots of love, hope you are having a great day!!!!
xoxo, Grace
The peanut butter thing is TRUE! When I lived in Florence, my mom came to visit. I had her bring two jars of peanut butter, 2 boxes of Kraft mac n cheese (my Italian friends thought it was disgusting but I was thrilled), a can of cranberry sauce (I was there for Thanksgiving, and they don't have cranberry sauce), and anti-perspirant (you can buy deodorant; they do not have anti-perspirant, which I decided was a necessity).
ReplyDeleteAlso, the first thing I did when I got home from Italy was change into sweatpants and a sweatshirt and run errands around the neighborhood. I'd barely leave my bedroom in Italy, let alone the house!, without dressing to impress.