AFS Camp!

I just got back from the AFS Camp, for the Piemonte region.

It was all the students from all over the world, meeting together for one

long and crazy weekend. I had a lot of fun.

We played a lot of team building games. A lot of them involved kissing people on the cheek. Then we also met in small groups and discussed home life and everything.

Like problems we might be

having and such. We wrote them down and stuck them onto a large piece of paper then we talked about them. As you can see, exchange students take life extremely seriously. ---->

It was nice seeing everyone again. I missed speaking really fast english!

We went on a walk the second day and we went looking for chestnuts. It was really nice and pretty! When we all got back they roasted chestnuts for us and as we ate them we all talked and some people played football.

Two nights in a row, I stayed up until 4AM, and I had to wake up at 7:30. I do not regret it one bit though!

Now I am back in Ivrea. My life has now fallen into a normal pattern. School, Italian lessons, hanging out with friends. But this doesn't mean it's boring! Every day I do think "wow, I am living in Italy." I love life here.

Here is a clip from yesterday that I recorded after Italian lessons!

Rafting/Rock Climbing/Bars/Discos

Well, a lot has happened!

These past few weeks have been filled with rafting and climbing cliffs!

Haha, sounds pretty cool, but it wasn't that extreme. I love my local chapter, here

in Ivrea. It's REALLY good.

Rafting was very fun. It wasn't like white water rafting, it was more like all paddling together,

and trying not to get banked on a sand bar. But the view was AMAZING. We were right in the mountains, and when we ended, we were back in

Ivrea!

In this picture, you can't really see the amazing view... But these are all the spectacular exchange students.. and then some (:

Then this last week, I went rock climbing! I thought, up until we got there, that we were going to climb a rock wall, with all the fun colored rocks glued to a wall.. Haha not the case. It was actually

a cliff. I was like, alright, cool! We were up in the

mountains (again, BEAUTIFUL! I love the mountains!) and it was very windy. But I had a lot of fun. There were a few difficult parts, but it was pretty easy, anyone could do it!

I'm not sure if I have mentioned this on here. My host sister, Michela, went on exchange to the USA last year through AFS. While she was there, she got a boyfriend, Dallas, who has been living with us since September 20th until November 1st, but he might be staying longer. So I have a unofficial, american, host brother. This is kind of an unusual case, but I like having another person who is going through a lot of the same stuff I am, and in the same house!

So we all hang out a lot. On the weekends, we usually go to a bar, like Jamaica. Jamaica is a bar

that everyone goes completely gaga over.

I have to admit it is a pretty chill place. There's

like little tree house like things inside that people all sit on the ground in.. It's kind of hard to explain, but it is very cool, and the decorations

are outrageous!

The picture above pretty much describes the relationship between me, Miki, and Dallas. It was taken at Jamaica, good times!

Any who, after going to the bar, we would probably hit up Sugho. Sugho is a disco that everyone tweaks out about. Honestly, the first few weeks I was here, all I heard was "ARE YOU GOING TO SUGHO!?" haha. The funny thing is, I've been there twice and I haven't once been inside. Lot's of people here just hang outside of the disco's. Which is nice because I sometimes rather just talk than pay 5 euros to shout over the music. I'll update you as soon as I know what the disco's are like on the inside!

As for the language goes. Ah everyone talks to me in English. And especially because my host sister went to USA and Dallas is here, it's hard to speak Italian at home. But I am starting to pick up bits of what's going on in conversations. One baby step at a time. (:

That's all for now, ciao!

Italian School

Italian school is not as painful as I thought it would be! (:

Here, let me explain a typical school day:

I wake up at 7:00am, and get ready for school.

After I'm ready I wait for my host sister, and then

we both leave.

I walk to school, and it's about ten minutes away. Usually,

we always seem to be a tad late, so we're usually walking pretty fast.

Once I get close to my school, I have to look out for the scooters

whizzing by half a foot away from me.

Right outside entrance of the building, there's a crowd of people smoking.

When I get to class, I'm usually now greeted with "CIAO!!"

and I chime it right back.

I'm in the technological course for school. Which means it's pretty much all boys

except for me and five other chicks. And it's all like math and science. I have

like 5 different types of science classes no joke.

For right now, I usually sit there and stare at random spots on walls.

Once in a while I'll read along so I can comprehend more what they're talking

about. Yes the language barrier sucks.

The teachers change classes, not the students. We just sit back and relax and

let the learning come to us.

To the left is the cafe at school. nice eh?

During breaks I follow my friend Serena, or somehow (this has happened to me a lot)

random people find me and start talking to me in english. I mean people I haven't met

before. It's nice though.

School goes from 8:05 - 1:20, and yes, I have school on saturday. Just til 11:30 though.

I love my classmates though! So school is great because of that. I can't complain! (:

In Ivrea!

Wow. I’m in Italy. Scratch that, I’m living in

Italy. Here’s what has happened up until now:

NYC Orientation:

Ah Dio, this was incredibly boring. I thought that it would be fun, but really it was just a repitition of the pre departure orientation. And that one sucked in the first place.

We talked about homesickness and how we should all breakup with our boyfriends / girlfriends. Fun stuff, right?

We all went to sleep, eager for the next day.

And then when the next day came, we couldn’t wait to leave for the airport at 2:30. When we finally did it all went rather smoothly. I don’t know of one person who had to pay extra even though they had an overweight bag or an extra checked bag.

When we finally got on the plane, everyone switched seats. Let me tell you, by the end of that plane ride, you and who ever you’re sitting by will be great friends.

Somehow, I managed to stay up all night not doing anything but talking and trying to sleep in awkward positions (to no avail).

When we arrived in Zurich, I was pretty excited. But it was hard to see because of my tiredness. But a lot of things were different just in the airport because it was EUROPE.

The layover was boring as heck. We mostly sat there and waited around.

In the plane to Rome, everyone slep

t. Except me. I wanted to see the mountains. I’ll admit though I did doze for a few minutes. The plane ride seemed long even though it was the shortest yet (51 minutes).

When we arrived in Rome, everything was a little hectic. Everyone gathered their bags and waited near the exit of the airport. When we finally got on our bus, everyone slept. even me.

24 hours of sleep was just too much.

But what I saw of Roma was beautiful.

The Rome orientation was BORING. And half of

the US kids arrived late. Everyone was very tired and couldn't wait to go to sleep.

The next morning everyone was leaving at different times. I had to say goodbye to the interesting people I met and hop on the bus to get to the train station. Then we finally boarded the train.

Fast forward 7 hours, through amazing little coastal towns and tuscan fields and whatnot, and I'm in Turin, getting off the train. Everyone was really nervous. I was. Ahh but when I met my host family I was so happy. They are the best!!!!!

We walked a little around Turin while Edo (host brother) found some shoes. And after that, we headed for Ivrea!!!!

Wow, I love Ivrea. It's 10000x better than I expected.

It's beautiful, and easy to get around. I love all the other exchange students too!! :)

So the first night Michela took me to a group gathering thing where all the teens of Ivrea (or so it seemed) were all hanging out, drinking. It was really fun, and I met alot of nice people. The music was crazy, its called house music or something. Basically it's techno.

The next day I went with Michela and her friends to the mountains to go swimming. It was really too cold so we just hung out by the river.

Afterwards we went to a cute little bar. Nestled right in with these mountains (above)

So basically I'm having a great time.

And school, school is great. Everyone in class is friendly and I can talk to anyone. I don't understand a word or what the heck is going on, but it's still fun.

Til next time. :)

Last post in the USA

One quick update:

I'm leaving tomorrow. Well, technically, since it's 1AM, I'm leaving today!

All day today I hung out with a ton of people, and said my final goodbyes.

Today was really bittersweet. I'm feeling like I don't want to leave the people I love.

But I know it's going to be a great exchange year!

Well, I'm still trying to pack. I'd better get on that. I think I'm done. I haven't got a scale, so I'm just crossing my fingers that it's under 44lbs!

Otherwise, everything's set.

Traverse City - Chicago - New York City (orientation - spend the night) - Zurich - Rome (Two night orientation?? I really don't know) - Train Torino (I think?) - Ivrea. I should be arriving in Ivrea sometime next week.

Bye everyone!!! :)

Goodbyes

Okay, so here's the deal:

-I'm leaving dear ole' Traverse in five days. FIVE DAYS.

-I haven't exactly talked to my host family yet.

-My suitcase is no where near packed

-My Italian is pushed to the limits of "Ciao, mi chiamo Jocelyn"

I'm tweakin' out.

This is weird. weird. weird. weird. I CANNOT believe I'm actually leaving. After a year, yes a year, of planning an exchange.

I'm not going to ramble on about time flying by like I usually do (but it's soaring at top speed right now). I'm already starting to feel like some

sort of tourist in my own town. I'm taking in the sites, and I want the days to last longer.

These next five days will consist of:

-Lots of eating out (gotta get my american food fix.)

-Going downstate for a day.

-Cramming in time with friends.

-Cramming in time with family.

-Buying plug adapters/transformers.

-Taking pictahhhs.

-Bummin' around Traverse City.

-Packing suitcase.

-And Goodbyes (boo hooo)

And how am I feeling overall? I feel like, I can't believe I'm going to be in Italy next week.

Oh Mio Dio.

Ciao! Oh Mio Dio!

Next week is my last week here in the United States of America. Or more specifically, Traverse City, the Cherry Capital of the world.

Io non parlo bene l'italiano ancora, (I don't speak good Italian yet) but I'll learn it lentamente (slowly). Google translate? Ignite.

Anywho, I'm frantically now trying to hang out with people 24/7 and getting my last week of work (at dairy queen) in. I haven't even begun to think about packing, but I know I should probably get on that.

I still can't believe that I'm leaving in 12 days or so. After about a year of planning and waiting. It's crazy, and starting to sink in. Yes, I will admit I'm a bit giddy. But, I'm also kind of sad too. One morning I'll wake up in TC, and go to bed in New York City. It's hard to believe that Jocelyn's life in Northern Michigan will turn into Jocelyn vita a Torino, Italia.

Sorry this post is me mostly just musing. But other than that, there's nothing else to say.