Warning: this is really long

Every month I have to write a report to my Rotary district back home, explaining what I've done. Below is my report for the month of April. When my parents arrived and we finished with hugs and kisses, one of the first things my dad said was, "why did you stop blogging?" Mainly because A) I got busy and B) It didn't seem like anyone was reading it and I can write in my journal to myself. I plan to post once more before I return and if you'd like to know more feel free to make lunch plans when I come home or shoot me an email: kirawillimann@gmail.com

Howdy everyone! The month of April was a busy one. It started off with my parents arriving April 2nd and spending time with them to finishing the month off with my Italian Rotary district on our main trip throughout “Southern” Italy. Easy to say, I didn't have a dull moment. I’m starting to realize now how limited my time is here. I remember clearly at the beginning how I felt like the future spread so far out in front of me, as if it reached the horizon and I couldn't see past it. Now I have to plan out my summer, the continuation of my education, and prepare myself to say some really hard good-byes. I just cannot thank everyone enough. If you are reading this letter, you have in some way impacted me to become the person I am, whether it was encouraging me or providing me with the opportunities to pursue my dream to explore this small world of ours. Without you, I would hardly be the person writing to you right now. So, thanks. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

Before going on exchange there was always that fear of being away from my family, away from the people I love and who already love me. There is a lot of uncertainty walking into a family that isn't yours, going to a school with kids who don’t speak your language. It was definitely one of my biggest fears. Therefore, from even the beginning I was looking forward to the point where my parents would come a visit me. I was excited for them to be given a glimpse of the life I’m living here in Lecco, Italy. Luckily that day came on April 2nd! We decided to spend two days in Lecco, since it was the first time my parents were given the ability to freely travel this beautiful country of mine and we wanted to explore it as much as possible.  Since I am blessed with such a sweet host family who cares for me deeply, they invited my parents over for dinner that first night and we got to treat them to a typical Italian dinner. For me it was one of my favorite moments on exchange- combining my real family with my adopted family. Although my host family doesn't speak any English, I got to show off my new skills and be the official translator for the evening (which every exchange student is secretly dying to do since the moment they can speak their host language). That next day I gave my parents the official tour- my school, my favorite eateries, the lovely Lake Como I live on, and my preferred hiking spot. Lecco is easy to love and it truly made me happy they got to see it. Our second night we (my Rotary counselor, host family, my parents, the other exchange students in my town, and I) were invited to have dinner with one of my favorite Italian families, the family I teach English to. Back in November my Rotary counselor asked me if I would be interested in tutoring an Italian family in English and of course I said yes. Since then every Wednesday I go over to their house after school for lunch with English conversation and then after I help Alessia (their 16 year old daughter) with her English homework. They were generous enough to host an amazing dinner party (that’s still being talked about) and show my parents a good time while bringing some of my favorite people together. After the festivities and early the next morning, my parents and I hopped on a train to Venice and started our journey traveling Italy. During a period of 11 days we managed to visit Lecco, Venice, Florence, Siena, Lucca and Rome. Even though Italy is much smaller than the U.S., each city is so uniquely beautiful and has its own culture. Before Italy became a country it was divided into city-states, therefore there wasn't an official language and the culture varied. Although now it’s unified and there are certain cultural customs that spread across the country, their old habits haven't changed. One town to the next will have their own dialect, a different cuisine. For example, Bologna is known for its meat sauce (ragu) on pasta while Liguria is known for its pesto and focaccia. Italy is incredibly diverse from the north to the south, but that’s one of the many reasons why I love it.

Once my parents left I was thrust back into everyday life. As the school year is coming to a close my classmates (which are in the 5th and last year of high school) are preparing for their examinations which occur June through July (although normal schooling finishes at the beginning of June). In Italy at the high school level they don’t have mid-terms or finals at the end of each semester, but instead at the end of school they take this huge exam which questions them on everything they've learned in the past 5 years. Teachers are brought in from all over Italy so that it’s not your teachers questioning you and you have to be prepared for anything. I’m still not clear on how the examinations work, but I do know if you don’t pass you have to repeat the 5th year again, which is not uncommon. Graduation, prom, and all the end-of-school activities that are normal in America are non-existent. Lucky for me, I graduated last year so while my classmates are taking practice exams I get to join the younger classes to teach English or participate in their normal classes. Before this year I've never really thought about how the school system in America is set up. How, for example, we have a lot freedom when it comes to deciding what to study. Although at my high school back home certain classes were required, we were able to choose the level of difficulty (regulars, pre-AP, AP, IB, etc.) and really cater our education to fit our needs. Here, they raise the bar very high and expect you to meet it. Learning in an Italian high school is difficult, extremely so. Nobody waits for you or holds your hand, they expect you to understand and if you don’t, study harder. It’s quite admirable to watch the students put a lot of importance on their education and it has inspired me to work hard when I go off to Oklahoma University in the fall.

Besides school I have had quite the diverse extracurricular activities. Back in October I started singing with a gospel choir that has now gone on break since concert season is over. I also picked up an Italian language course for foreigners at the location library that’s almost finished. The boxing course I took back in November and December is in my old town that’s hard to get to a night, so unfortunately I had to quit at New Years. With this new host family I now go to the gym with my host mother 2/3 times a week for a course called “Walking” (they use the English word) although it lies- it’s not walking but instead a highly intense work-out. Besides all of those things my favorite has to be Latin American dancing. When I changed host families for the first time at the beginning of January my host sister did Latin American dancing and before I knew it, I would tag along with her. Now that I’m on to my third and last family, I’m still dancing. Every Wednesday night I go for lessons with my host mom for 2 hours and then on Fridays or Sundays we go to the local disco for more of an “open dance” style where it’s only Latin American dancing.  Dancing has really created this spark in me, it makes me smile and feel good about myself. It teaches me how to rely on my partner, let him lead me instead of trudging through every dance on my own. I look forward to each time I get to go out, knowing how happy I’ll feel at the end of the night. Never did I think I would travel to Italy to learn a South American dancing style, but I’m glad I did. This is a skill I’ll take home with me and plan to pursue. Watch out, Texas.

As the month was reaching its end, the moment district 2040 was waiting for finally happened- Italy Tour 2013! Throughout the year we've had a short day trip each month (March was Verona, February was Venice, etc.) and even though all of them have been fun, the amount of time needed to travel to each place only for the day/the sheer enormity of our group usually resulted in limited time for sight-seeing. However, the Italy Tour was a week-long trip (April 25-May 1) to “southern” Italy covering Sorrento, Capri, Ercolano, Caserta, Pompeii, Naples and Rome allowing us the chance to spend time viewing these breath-taking cities. The trip was divided in half between spending three nights in Sorrento and three nights in Rome (our last day we took a night train back up to Milan). Once we arrived from Milan to Naples we immediately caught a second train to Ercolano for the afternoon. Ercolano was most likely founded around 8th century BC under the control of the Romans. It’s located at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius and after the AD 79 eruption the city was completely buried under volcanic material. Unlike neighboring Pompeii, the citizens died of thermal shock from the extremely hot pyroclastic surges, rather than buried under heavy ash. Therefore when they started uncovering the city you could still make out the facial expressions of the dead. We were able to visit the Herculaneum archaeological site where you can walk among the ancient city. Even now you can see methods of how they’d bring in clean water, cook their food and live in their homes. For me, it’s quite amazing to see things still standing after so many years. The next day we took a boat to the island of Capri from Sorrento. Unfortunately the latest boat time back was 3:15 pm, so we had only a few hours to soak in the Mediterranean. Besides the time constraint, Capri is gorgeous. There is no other way to describe it. It’s one of those islands you see in pictures and you think it can’t possibly exist (or at least I think that) until you see it for yourself. Since we would spend each night in Sorrento we’d take the afternoon/evenings to explore the city. Although more touristy than I cared for, Sorrento is adorable. A cute little city along the sea with specialty shops and lots of fruit (the area specializes in lemons and oranges. Delicious.), so of course, we had a lot of fruity gelato. The following day we left for Pompeii to climb Mt. Vesuvius. It was our only day of rain (of course) so we took a bus about half way and then trudged through the wind and rain to the top (my umbrella lasted maybe five minutes of it- not one of my favorite moments). Although it was a tough journey for sickling me (really, that day had awful timing), it was worth it. We couldn't see much of a view because of the fog but the mountain itself was rather stunning (pictures below). Finally, we packed up and left our temporary home in Sorrento heading to Naples on Sunday. On the itinerary there weren't any plans to actually visit Naples, just use it as a transportation base. However, when you’re in Rome, do as the Romans do…or when your train is canceled to Caserta you should explore Naples instead of sitting in the train station. Right? Naples is known for being somewhat of an unsafe area in Italy (nothing happened, mom! Promise.) so we attempted to run around as one group in the few hours we had. It was nice to finally see Naples, but I’m going to be honest and say I didn't get much out of it. If you ever come to Italy and check it out, let me know! I’m interested merely because I've heard so much. Around 1 pm we got on the train to Caserta, explored this large Villa near the train station and an hour (or was it two?) later we got on the train to Rome! This wasn't my first time to Rome (actually it was my third) but it doesn't change how excited I get every time. Rome is one of those cities that’s never boring. I feel like you could live there and still not see everything. Whereas our time in Sorrento we took day trips everywhere, for Rome we spent all of our three days there. We visited the typical sites- Colosseum, Roman Forum, the Vatican City, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Mouth of Truth, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, etc. My love for that city grows with each time I go. It’s truly magical. At the end of the trip, we were all exhausted. Seeing as we (as a district) may never meet again like this we all signed each other’s journals as if it was year book day in high school. It made me realize how special each and every one of these kids are to me. They have lived this year out with me, experiencing what it’s like to be immersed in a culture for a year and even though many others go through this experience, these kids went through my experience.

Now that I've finished probably the longest paragraph ever (perks of learning a new language, you kind of forget English), I want to say I love you. With only one month left in my exchange I know that the language I learned, the food I ate, the culture I took part in is all important. But the most important thing from not only this year but also in life are the people you meet. Nothing is forever (after seeing Roman ruins for a week, I’m pretty confident in that) but loving on others leaves a mark that doesn't fade. Take a chance and love on those who are special to you because you don’t know when it’ll be too late and I’m telling you now that having a deep conversation is more worthwhile than catching up on your favorite TV show. It’s hard for me to think I may never see some of the people I met this year ever again but I feel blessed to have known them for as long as I have. And a special thanks to Rotary district 5890 for allowing me to meet these people, leaving my home in Houston, Texas. See y’all June 5th!

Much love from Italy,
Kira