Inbound Orientation Weekend in Pictures

Inbound Orientation Weekend- Ponte Di Legno

This past weekend I went to Ponte Di Legno with the all the other exchange students from district 2050 for our inbound orientation weekend. We left Saturday morning at 7:15 am. I rode in the car with Ashley and Sam. When we arrived in Brescia we met up with all the other exchange students. I had mistaken the age of one of the students, Angelo, I thought he was 27 and a supervisor but he is actually 18 and high school graduate! Once everyone arrived at the station, we boarded the train, which was really only exciting for the first hour and then I became bored! The train ride was really long almost 3 hours! On the train I sat with Kayleigh, Kurt and Corinna, who are all people I go to school with in Cremona. Once I got off the train I was feeling a little sick, which only got worse when I got on the bus. We also met up with 2 other exchange students from the district, Alex and Dani, they are both very outgoing and fun to talk to! After a very windy and long bus ride up the Alps we made it to Ponte Di Legno, a small ski village in the mountains.  

After we dropped our bags off in the hotel we drove even higher up the mountains until we got to a cute little restaurant in the middle of nowhere. We ate gnocchi, pasta and beef, and I had a piece of fruit pie for desert! After lunch we went for a 5 & 1/2 hour hike through the Alps to a small village near the top called Case Di Viso. The village was beautiful but also sad like it was slowly being forgotten. As we were leaving, I was followed by this beautiful young colt. Laura went up to it and was able to keep it still while everyone went up to pet it! On the way down I walked with Kayleigh at first. We talked about horses, as it turns out we both ride, we both love singing and we have so much in common. We became friends instantly. Than we started to talk to Angelo about quantum mechanics and the idea of relativity! It was nice to a real intellectual conversation with people who are your own age and could actually hold up there end of the conversation.

When we got back to the hotel we had free time for an hour, and since we were all already soaked from the rain we decided to go swimming in the pool. I really missed being in the water even if it was just a pool. At dinner all the exchange students sat together at one large table so we decided to play a massive game of telephone. It was so much fun, I hadn't laughed that hard since I got here! After dinner we went downstairs where they had a disco, I tried to get everyone dancing but no one was really into it. I think it was around a 11:00pm when we started playing cards. We played for at least an hour before people started to drift up to bed. By 12:30am it was just Matt, Austin, Kelly, Kayla, Ashley and I left down stairs, so we decided to play a couple games of pool, Austin and Matt against Kelly and I. Kelly had never played before so along with teaching her I also had to carry our team. She did pretty well though getting a couple of balls in . The game was really bad though and it took for ever, eventually we won. The guys wanted a rematch because apparently they had some "mad" skills that just weren't obvious in the last game. They did win the second game but it was not played any better taking almost an hour to finish. By the end it was really late almost 2:00am so we decided to call it a night. Ashley and I went up to our room to put our PJ's on before going to Kayleigh, Kelly and Kayla's room to hang out with them and Kurt. I was really tired so I went to bed a little before them, about 3:00am. 

The next morning Ashley and I woke up at about 8:30am, we grabbed Kayleigh and headed down for breakfast about 9:00am. At 10 o'clock we had our inbound orientation meeting with the Rotarians. It was really long and boring but we did do our pin swap and now my blazer is so full, mostly with american pins! We had some free time before lunch so Francesco, one of the Rotarians, took a group of us into town to see the village, even though it was still raining pretty hard! Ponte Di Legno is a really pretty town, like something you would see in a European ski add! 

After Lunch we all went up to our rooms to pack then we boarded the bus. Halfway down the mountain I was feeling pretty motion sick. I had cold sweats, I was shaking, and for some reason I had lost feeling in my fingers. I have never felt like that from motion sickness ever. It felt like a lifetime had passed before we finally made it to the train station. When I got on the train I felt really low, I was tired and sick and all I wanted to do was crawl under my duvet cover back home in Collingwood and cry! It had finally hit me how far away from home I actually was. I cried for a while on the train before my friend Kelly came over to sit with me and comfort me. 

When we arrived in Brescia I said goodbye to all my new friends and headed back to Cremona. It is truly amazing how a group of strangers can get so close after only two days. The people I meet here will stay with me forever. I know now that there really is no suck thing as good bye, only see you later!

My First Week In Italy

So my first week of school was not really what I was expecting... Italian school is much harder than it is in Canada. First of all my schedule is all over the place it is so confusing. Monday I have Science, P. E, Religion, and Math. Just so you know each class is 50 minutes long with only one 15 minute break between 3 & 4 period. On Tuesday I have Latin, History/Philosophy, Latin, and Math., and if you are thinking "wow she has Latin twice in one day! How weird is that?" then you are so right! On Wednesday I have Latin (again), French, Art, and Math. On Thursday I have French, Physics, Math, and Science. On Friday I have Latin, Science, English, and History. This week in English my teacher has asked me to make a presentation about myself and Canada and present it to the class. It is a good thing Rotary has kicked the fear of public speaking right out of me! Finally on Saturday I have 2 hours of Latin, P. E., and History/Philosophy.  With Math you are not allowed to use a calculator so today all I did was brush up on my long division skills, they are pretty rusty! Their French is also way better than mine, even though I have been taking French since grade 4. Most of the kids in my class speak 3 languages plus they know Latin. The Italian school system definitely puts the Canadian one to shame!


Fortunately I don't have to go to school this Saturday because I, along with all the other Rotary Exchange Students in Cremona, are going to the Lake for the Inbound Orientation meeting! We are taking a bus to Porta Venezia, then we are taking a train the rest of the way! I'm so excited I've never been on a train before!! I can't wait to meet all the other exchange students, it is unfortunate that they are all mostly from the states it would have been nice if they could be from everywhere! But at least that means we don't have to worry about the language barrier, since everyone speaks English.


Yesterday, I went with my host mom Lauretta, to the music school in Cremona. We found out how much classical singing lessons would cost and they are pretty much the same as in Canada. 82 euros for 30 minutes a week, for one month. I still have to ask my dad but I'm pretty sure I'm going to do them because I need something to get me out of the house in the afternoon. And if I'm able to join a choir and play volleyball and soccer that will take up some more time! I just need to keep busy, that way I wont be thinking of home so much. 


In my next post I will let you know how the Inbound Orientation Meeting went!


Ciao for now,


Amanda ♥

My First Day's in Italia

On the 7th of September I left home for the first time by myself!!

It was sad but I survived and I am a stronger person because of it!

When I had to say good bye to my parents I only cried a little. When I got to the gate I cried a lot. When I was over the the Atlantic Ocean I cried for an hour, but now I do not cry. I do not miss my family yet, but I am sure I will soon. When I arrived in London, the plane was an hour early, so I had 3 hours to wait, instead of 2. The London airport is huge, there are stores everywhere, it is like a giant mall, all extremely expensive! My flight to italia was only 2 hours and I saw a lot of France. C'est magnifique!! When I arrived in Milano, it was very hot, it is still very hot in the afternoon. Lauretta picked me up and brought me to Cremona, which is a beautiful city along the River Po. Around 5PM I had a nap and then Lauretta and I went for a tour of the city, molto bellissimo!!! Today Roberto took me on his moped to show me the town and the club they belong to. The club is huge with tennis courts and pool and park! Tonight we are going to the pizzeria for dinner :) Surprisingly I haven't had pizza or pasta yet! We are also going to a concert tonight!

Tomorrow I am going to Giorgio's house for Aperitivo, it is like an appetizer party, with all the other exchange students! 

Ciao for now,

Amanda 

My Week With Lally! Day 3-5

Day 3!!
My step-momma Kim, took Lally and I to New Market to stay at my grandparents house before going down Toronto the next morning. That night we ordered Chinese food from the Mandarin, sooo good!!! About 10PM we decided to hit the hay since we had to be up at 6:30AM for Tuesday Morning.


Day 4!!
The next day was good and bad, but before I get to the good lets start with the bad. We left the house at 7:30AM and we hit rush hour traffic on the 404 almost right away :( Thankfully the Italian Consulate is always late so even though I was late I was still on time! When we got there the women working called me up to organize my package. She took like 30 mins to come back to us and started to go through it. Apparently Lally and I didn't put in the right order because she re-did it anyway.


After we got that all sorted out she told us that we were missing my moms signature on the affidavit!! Which FYI the lady from the last time told us we since it was only my dad supporting me on exchange that I didn't need her signature! so frustrating >:( So since we didn't have a computer at my grand parents house we had to go to the UPS store email a copy of the affidavit to my mom. She had to sign it and have it notarized and then sent back to the UPS store where we picked it up after shopping.


While we waited for my mom to get the affidavit back to us Lally, Kim and I went shopping at Upper Canada Mall. I got a new messenger bag to take with me to Italy as my carry-on as well as my back pack for when I start school. It is a really nice bag, it is roots leather, so awesome!!!


Day 5!!
The next morning we set back down to Toronto to give the women at the consulate the photo copy of the signed affidavit, while Karen at my dad's office had the original sent to the visa office. Once we got there we had to wait over an hour, before she would see us. But is was all worth it because we finally got my visa!!!
After the visa office we went to the Hard Rock Cafe, the original one on Young and Dundas, so that Lally could get a T-Shirt.  After that Kim and I went to the Pickle Barrel to have lunch while Lally did a little under ground shopping :)


After we left the Pickle Barrel, we drove through a lot of traffic to get back to my grandparents house where we picked up my puppy dog Jake, and headed back home to Collingwood! That night my mom made tacos for dinner which were really good. Than Lally and I watched Greys Anatomy for the rest of the night!


Next post will be about the adventures of Thursday night where we go to Wasaga Beach!


Ciao,
Amanda