Thanksgiving Dinner and Weekend with Sicilian Exchange Students

Ciao a tutti!

It's been a while since I wrote on my blog so here I am.

This past Thursday, I celebrated Thanksgiving with my fellow Sicilian exchange students in the city I am residing in, Siracusa. My hosting Rotary Club planned this evening to celebrate the clashing of many cultures and helping us keep out Thanksgiving traditions alive.

At the dinner there was turkey, mashed potatoes, beans, a few other dishes that I have no clue what they were, and a variation of apple pie. While I was disappointed there was no pumpkin pie and turkey stuffing, it was a tasty meal and a night spent with some of the coolest and nicest people I have ever met.

At the dinner, each exchange student said what they were thankful for and what they missed most from home. After the dinner concluded, I returned to my hosting house and went to sleep around 12:30 AM, only to wake up at 2:30 AM to Skype my my father's side of the family for they were all together celebrating Thanksgiving. It was great getting to talk with them and see there faces once again, even if it was through a computer screen. Needless to say it was a short night, but a well spent night.

The next day I woke up around 8:00 AM and met the other exchange students and we went to the Archaeological Park in Siracusa. I hadn't been there until this past weekend so that was a very interesting thing to finally see. In the park there are many Greek ruins, but the two main highlights are a cave named Ear of Dionysius and an ancient 3000 year old Greek theater. To see a picture of these two highlights of the park, click the colored words. After the Archaeological Park, we headed to a few other museums and highlights of the city. During the evening we went to Ortigia where we ate pizza and spent the night as a group. On Saturday (yesterday), we spent the morning together before all the students went back to their host cities. It was sad to say goodbye but I know I will see them once again.

I thank Rotary for organizing this great weekend.

Until next time, ciao!

AF

Living the Italian Life

Ciao a tutti,

Before I start writing anything too juicy (NOT), I'll apologize for not writing posts as often as I have in the past. I'm been on a pretty basic day-to-day schedule, and nothing has popped into my head about what to write about.

Okay, so I'm still on a regular school schedule which is Monday - Saturday from 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM. After school I usually come home, eat lunch, relax for a few hours, and then go to either basketball or Italian lessons (depending on the day).

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I just thought of something to talk about: my first bike ride in Siracusa.

Mats Hanson (the other American boy who is also in Siracusa) and I decided on last Saturday that we wanted to do something fun after school on Saturday, so we chose to ride bikes to Ortigia. Before I continue with this story, let me say that Italian drivers are (really) crazy and they don't wait for anyone or anything. Back to the story. On the way to Ortigia, we were taking the busy streets because it's more fun. Mats and I were really pushing the limits of the bike riding craziness; burning through stop lights and swerving through traffic. It was a lot of fun! Anyway, we safely arrived in Ortigia to our favorite place to relax: an area which is seaside with many rocks. We had full intentions to swim (yes, on November 10), but it was about 5 PM and the sun had lowered below the buildings making it a bit too cold (about 60 degrees) to swim. So we relaxed there for about 30 minutes, rode around in Ortigia, stopped in a few shops, and then made our way to a basketball gym.

Which leads me to my next point: my first watching an Italian basketball game

From watching warm ups, I could tell that most people's strength was outside shooting. When the game started, that wasn't necessarily the case. It's like the people aren't on teams, just individuals. Some people were decent at long-range shooting, while as most others were good at either 1) playing 1 on 5 and hoping for the best or 2) turning the ball over. The gym had a really neat atmosphere. The fans went insane on every 2-point basket that was scored; and obviously the same for every 3-point basket. Siracusa was playing Ragusa (another city on the island) and lost by 15. After the game, Mats and I rode back to his house and then headed out for the night.

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I'm really rambling on and on, for which I apologize , but I have nothing too interested to write about. I think I'm going to start picking a "hot topic" and giving me input on the subject, whether it has anything to do with my exchange. It will give me something to do and it will give you proof that I am in fact alive and all is well!

So I suppose this is where I'll call it a night.

Have a great week everyone!

Until next time, ciao!

AF

Taormina with the Sicilian Exchange Students

Ciao a tutti!

This past weekend, 11 exchange students (including myself), had a 4-day get-away. We stayed in a small resort in Taormina, Sicily. We took videos and pictures and jammed a lot of them into one video.

It was a great weekend.

Enjoy the video, we sure enjoyed making it!

Don't forget to vote! Romney 2012!

AF