Ciao a tutti, sono Taylor. OH DIO 5 months already, where has the time gone? I know this blog entry is very overdue but you know as they say, better late than never! Time is just whizzing by here in Italy, I'm just a week over my halfway point and cant believe everything I have already eaten, seen, done, so much in such a short about of time. So much has happened  to me since my last blog entry in september ill try to catch all you guys up as fast as I can.

The best night ever. Which is what I would describe the night I got to see Macklemore in concert for his last night of his european tour. My AMAZING host brother and sister had given me a ticket for a early birthday present, my first real concert! The stadium that the concert was at was huge and the total number of people that fit in there is 13,000. The concert was sold out, and I was, to say the least, beyond surprised! I guess you could say I had a pretty good first month on my exchange. 

Speaking of surprised, making pasta... not that hard. I cant believe I had never done it before in Alaska! My host dad, being an amazing cook taught me the recipe using only eggs, water, and flour! I definitely felt very italian that night! Though, the hard part was waiting for the pasta to dry out and using this pasta grinder...not sure what its called but my host dad has this very old pasta press that he got from his grandmother, and what it does is basically flatten the pasta and cuts it into strips at the same time... pretty nifty if I do say so myself. Definitely writing that recipe down. One thing I have learned here about Italians is NO WE DONT EAT PASTA EVERY DAY, at least not in my family, I was told that it was a little strange I wasn't eating pasta 2 times a day..and I've only eaten pizza 3 times since Ive been here. (and Pappa I promise the next recipe I will learn is how to make Pizza.)

One thing that is not very italian is Halloween. This halloween I spent it with Dani, Guido, and Nene in Austria. My host mom and dad have a house in the town of Igles which is about 5 minutes outside of Innsbruck. I definitely felt that the hills were alive with the sound of music! It was so peaceful and relaxing to get out of the hustle and bustle of Milan for a couple days. Austria is so green and there are so many hiking trails near the house! My italian family took me for a major hike up to the no snow ski trails, and we walked up and up in and out of the forest, and as you know me I only grew my relationship with my butt and the ground. But needless to say I didn't break my tradition of carving pumpkins. My host mom brought a pumpkin along for the trip and on Halloween we carved and we showed our halloween spirit by putting it outside all lit up. My sister, going to an art school designed the face and the carving was left to me. Needless to say I got a little crazy with the carving but in the end it was a success, and yes the seeds were delicious! 

I don't know if any of you guys watched the new Great Gatsby movie, but the 18th birthday parties here are definitely close to that in the movie, but modernized. Here the 18th birthday is like the 21st in the states but with more umph. My sister and I attended a 18th birthday of a friend she knows and it left my jaw in aww. There was music, dancing, photographers, good whine and champaign, d.j, good food, and very elegant attire, and about 300 people. I definitely felt like I was in a Gossip Girl party.

So as christmas creaked around the corner, intercultural *afs, had a really nice idea of getting together everyone on exchange living in Lombardia and going to Bresia, a semi small town about 1 hour outside of Milan. There we got to explore the city and go Christmas Caroling dressed as nothing better than...elves, santas, and reindeer. It was a Hoot! Defiantly never sang in front of that many strangers before in my life. Its still an adjustment for me that everything is so  close together here in Europe, it only takes 1 hour to go to other countries, and lots of towns.                                                                                            a day trip you can go to Rome and back, or Switzerland, or Austria.

  Christmas break was very different than usual. 2 days before Christmas Eve Danis whole family meet at the family house by Lake Como and we ate till we couldnt stand up, drank until we couldnt sit down and of course watched soccer until our throats were dry. In Milan there are two teams: Milan and Inter Milan, my new faviorte official team is Milan... or else my family would kill me ;) The day of christmas my family went to Guidos parents houst and we ate until 11 am until 6 at night i didnt get up from the table unless to go lay on the couch!... as you can tell christmas is a very big part of the Italian culture, and food is a major part of that. For New Years my Italian family took me to Austria again, but this time for 10 days, and 9 of those were spent snowboarding, or skiing. There are so many different places to ski and so close together, and yes I did ski on olympic hills! New Year's Eve was also spent there as well, I have never eaten so much in my life, between Christmas and New Years, thankfully I was snowboarding almost every day in Austria! New Years Eve I have never seen so many fireworks in my life! 

Other than that not much has happened with me since December. The class I was taking with Afs for italian ended, so I recently started a new course with a school just for foreign students, at the beginning of February. Im feeling pretty strong and more confident in my italian than I did 2 months ago. School is going a lot easier and better for me now that I understand more. Ive met and made so many new friends and people from all over the world! Still waiting for snow in Milan but everything else is pretty perfect! Cant believe its allready been 5 months since ive left Il villagio piccolo viccino al mare and started my adventure, seems like a lifetime ago. Cant wait to come back and tell you all about my adventures! but until then CCCCIIIIIIIIAAAAAAOOOOOO! 

 

Piano Piano. Due parole simplice. But proabably gli due molto imporante parole io have learned in my tre settimana living in Milano. Eccomi, io have finalmente made it to Milano e io sono all settled into my nuovo viva. This esperienza tutto has finalmente hit mi after settimane, e thankfully io mi sento molto a casa. Io sono getting used to gli swing of things and PIANO PIANO getting used to a tutto nuova culture e style di vita. This past ano has been such a hard, dificile journey that now Italy has actually happened and my dream has become a reality it has made adjusting to everything molto better e easier. Io have experienced alot in these past tre settimane io never thought io would ever do. Milano is absolutly amazing. Gli people are incredibly nice, gli comedia is molto buono, e even though gli hustle e bustle of gli città viva is all around me viva feels so relaxed. Io hope that feeling of just going with gli flow stays with me in gli months to come. Io feel incredibly lucky to have so much support from my wounderful host famiglia, they have been so caring, welcoming, and loving. INTECULTURAL couldn't have matched me with a better host famiglia. PIANO PIANO they are leaning off of inglese, and have started speaking more italiano with me. One of my biggest fears coming here was that my host familigia would only speak inglish with me and I would never learn italian, but thankfully thats not the case at all. The first cinque giorni they spoke mostly inglish just to explain things to me and to help me start to adjust to everything which was perfect, and last week they were very understanding when they realized they needed to speak mostly italian to me and then piano piano no inglish at all after the first month and a half. They have been slipping in little italian lessons here in there, any way to get me to learn more and more. Just last night the whole family sat around and watched Greys Anatomy in italian with inglish subtitles (not bad for an italian lesson eh?). Dani told me that when io copisco more lei wants to take Nene and io (look pappa I said nene and I instead of me and nene!!!) to the cinema. Oggi dani suprised me with a wounderful C.D by this popular italian artist named Jiovanni. Learning italian in song will be the most fun in my opinon, and Nene offered to help me translte the lyrics of some italian songs she likes. 

On weekends my family likes to get away from the città and enjoy casual relaxing days on lakes. Due weekends ago they took me to the wounderful Lago Dò Orta and we stayed there for a day and swam and enjoyed the peacefulness of Orta. Guidos parents have a casa just by the lake and a little peice of land right on the lake so we took full advantage of the caldo water, and the nice weather. 

Sei giorni a settimana. (Six days a week). This is what I will be enduring for the rest of the year at Insituto Virigilio Linguistico. Attending school six days a week from otto e cinque from tredici e diece (8:05-1:10). Thankfully the peers in my class are very nice, and I have started to make friends. The first day of school was very nerve racking but I built up all my courage and put myself out there and thankfully everything turned out fine. My teachers are very nice and understanding of the fact that I speak molto po italiano. Most of the teachers speak no inglish but my religion, italian, and of course inglese teacher speaks inglish. The classes I am taking are: Scienze 4 which is chemisry, Italiano, storia, religion, p.e, matematics... kill me now haha, inglese, and philosophy. I havent had any tests yet but my classmates tell me most of the tests will be oral test.. so this should be very interstante. I really like my religion class, the teacher is very nice and has a nice way of teaching the different view that people believe in. I also really like the italian teacher who teachers the level 4 students, I had her the first week before I got my semi final schedule and she was very nice. 

My friends Carolina (left) and Vanessa (right) from my school :)

My tre settimane here I have done alot of new interesting things that I could never do in Homer. For example last venerdi my host sister took me out to the town with two of her close friends. We got all dressed up and went to the center where there was large roman colums surrounding an area by a small church, and there, there were lots of people just casually hanging around and most were just sitting on the ground in their different groups. We walked to a bar nerby and ordered a drink and then went back to where the colums were and picked a spot and sat around and just talked for hours. It was very nice and laid back. I am so grateful I have come to a country where everyone is so nice. I have met so many nice people from all around milano, and all around italy. My host sister Nene took me to a party for her friend last weekend and I met some of her best friends shes known since she was little. They were all so fun to be around, I had a really great time getting to know everyone. 

           Girls Night Out

My family also loves to go by lake Como. Last Domenica my host mom took Nene and I to a small fair by Lake Como. The fair was very eco friendly, I felt like I was back in Homer all over again.

We once again returned by Lake Como yesterday when Dani, Nene, Lele, and I all celebrated Dani's brothers brirthday. It was a beautiful house right on the side of the Lecco Lake. Once I arrived I wanted to stay there for days. It was so beautiufl, peacful, and once again BEAUTIFUL! I really advice if anyone is to come to Italy in the future to go to Lecco for a day or two! 

The house that we stayed at. 

The part of the house that Michele (Dani's brother) lives at.

The view from the house. 

A small part of the family garden. So big and beautiful!

So to summarize life is very good here in italy! I havent felt so much homesickness but Nene told me that for her, last year in Gerorgia the first month was the easiest becasue there was so much to do and your always keeping yourself occupied, adjusting to a whole new culture but that the hardest time for her was the second and third month. I do really miss myrna though. My mamma told me that my dad has her on an insaine diet so it will be very interesting to see if she is still that scrawny, little fat bug when I get back. Having a dog here in Italy makes it easier though. Palu is one of the most smartest dogs I have ever met. He understnads italian perfectly, better than me. 

I have learned some very interesting sayings, but the most interesting once I have learned is In bocca lupo, as my host parents usually say. Which means good luck, but litterly translates to the wolves mouth. I have also started swiming again. As most of you know I havent swam for a couple years, but it feel very nice to get back into the habit. The pool I have started going to is called Milano Sporto Bacone. It is usually very crowded when I go so my host mom offered to show me the pool that is 50 meters wide! 

Domani Nene is taking me to a concert with her cousin. I don't know if you would call it a concert per say but its a very fameous dj in italy and he is playing his songs. So many new things I am going to experience, I cant even wrap my brain around everything.   

Another new experience I have opended myself up to if Caffe! I use to absolutly HATE it! but now I have found a special place in my heart for the black medicine :) My faviorte is a cappacino, but my host parents usually make espressos twice a day. Its a nice pick me up when my brain is fried from trying to learn the language all day. 

I hope all your lives are going smoothy! If any of you ever want to write me heres my address for mail: 

Via Martiri Oscuri, 10, Milano Italy 20125. 

I will be getting a WHATSAPP for texting soon. So if ou would like to get a hold of me from a phone just send an email my way and I will tell you my WhatsAPP number. 

Also if you want to skype just remeber about the 10 hour time dfference from Alaska to Italy. 

Until next time,

Ciao Bellas 

I leave for two minutes and my host sisters allready kidding around about the 907 ;) Silly Goyal! 

Ciao ciao ciao! 

Lots to update you all on!!! So the major event is I have finnaly made it to Milano and am all moved in with my host family:) My host familigia is amazing! They are so wonderful, amazing people! I feel so at home here! When I first came home I saw the sign that will be posted below:) 

Last time I updated you all was when I was still traveling around with my mother on our way to New York. Now that is not the case, I parted ways with my mother sadly after spending 2 lovely days in New York City:) We stayed at the Jane Hotel and later that day met up with my cousin John who showed us around the city and took us along the sea side. After that we parted ways and the next day drove to the Hilton Airport Hotel where the afs volunteers were happily greeting my mamma and I. My mamma and I parted ways and then I was put in a room with the rest of the Afs'ers. There I met some very nice girls going to italy and we all bonded very easily. We all then went on a 8 hour plane ride from New York to Zurich Swizerland and then a 5 hour layover from Swizerland to Roma. In Roma all the Afs'ers from 47 counties waited 3 days in Rome on the countryside. We split into region groups and everyone met who they will be seeing for the whole year. After that everyone going to the Milano region went on a 9 hour bus ride to Milano and we all got off at a auditorium where everyone's host families were waiting! There we had to say ciao! Mi Chiamo.... Vengo da (where your from) VaDo ah(where your Going) della famiglia (last name of your family). After I got done saying that I hurried over to my family and we all greated each other:)!!! I then arrived to my new casa dolce casa:) My host mom and sister took me on a lovely walk to the park near by with their dog Palu:) then we went out for a pizza!!! My first italian pizza and it was AMAZING! It was very different because here everyone gets their own pizza! I couldn't finish it! That concluded my amazing first day in italia! The next day my sorella a Mia madrea went sightseeing to a old church, and a very huge gothic dome! It was absolutely incredible!!!! 

I start my first day of school on Friday and I still don't know what classes I will be taking. My host mom did tell me that my teacher is very very nice and that the school I will be going to is use to having exchange students so I am not so nervous anymore:) my italian is coming along slowly but surely! My family is being very patient with the language barrier and teaching me. They all speak very good English so it was been very easy to start learning the language. Another thing I did learn is that not all family's eat a huge 7 course dinner like how everyone was telling me. My family has a light breakfast usually whatever you want containing the options of cereal, fruit, milk, yogurt, bread, juice. Then a light lunch containing fruit, Greek salad, meat, cheese, tomatoes, bread. Then dinner which is a salad, bread, main dish witch has vegetables sometimes either noodles or rice. They are a very healthy family:) organic and everything so it's a lot like home:) 

I tasted my first gelato oggi and it was delicious!!

Until next time, 

So the time had come. As the taxi driver, my mom and I had called drove us to my orientation site at the Hilton at the JFK airport we got out and we said our goodbyes. I checked in and learned that I fly out at 1:15 or I leave for the airport at that time for Zurich Switzerland, and then have a layover then fly to Roma. When I got to the orientation site I put my luggage in a room where everyone else's luggage was (all it seems like 180 of us). There are students here going to africa, holland, france, italy and I think thats it. When I first got there everyone was in a huge room and I walked in not knowing where to sit standing there awkwardly, thankfully the afs italy group of teenagers called my name cause they recognized me from the Facebook group. So after that the afs volunteers  made everyone leave the room so they could re organize the tables and me the room into a bigger room... Move the big wall separating the two rooms. After we got back into the room most of the italy group found a table right up front. The tables are a medium sized and round and in that big room there were about 15 tables where everyone going on a afs adventure picked a seat. After we all sat down they told us who our group leaders were and then everyone watched a really dated movie about some girl who went to France, I mean this movie was older than I was! After that we all moved out luggage to our rooms and I thankfully got a room key. After that we separated into out separate groups. Our name tag had a sickly note that said a number so that's how we knew. After that we did some normal routine excersising explaining like who we thought we were....and what characteristics inhabit an ambassador... Routine stuff like that. Then we had dinner, and separated into  our groups again. My group leader is AWESOME!! She went to the south of italy 11 years ago. She told everyone going to Italy about her experience and answered questions we all had. Some things I learned from what she said is..... Lunch where she went is the biggest meal of the day (7courses), in school you have one classroom and you don't move from one classroom to the next the teacher moves to you, sometimes there are strikes in school and all the student  in your classroom call each other up and decide not to go to school and Its normal to do that there, the north and south of italy have a rivalry, they sometimes put french fries and hotdogs on pizza, DON'T WEAR SHORTS apparently no one wears shorts only skirts dresses and jeans, tampons are hard to find, every home bathroom has a badea or whatever you call that butt cleaner, always carry tissues with you because the local bathrooms don't have paper anywhere, they don't shower every day, the boys wear really tight pants and so do the girls, and there is no homework only oral tests 4 times a year that you take on Saturday. My roommate is a really cool girl also going to Milan, italy! 

Until next time.....

While I sit here on the Amtrak on my way to New York and finally have Internet, I realize It's been a few weeks since I have last posted about my upcoming travels across seas. Lots to update you all on! Saying farewell to my friends, brother, and dad was a hard step but I know it's for the best that I am leaving and starting this brand new chapter in my life. My mom very graciously threw an italian based goodbye party and invited close family friends so that we all could get a taste of the italian lifestyle before I left. It was a very lovely evening filled with good food, heart warming conversations, and bittersweet arrivederci' s. Seeing all the people that have supported and loved me through the years makes me feel even more confident about leaving home, knowing I am and will always be loved and supported. 

Saying goodbye to my best friend was a very hard step for both of us, but thankfully I will be in contact with her through email and Facebook.

I then headed up to the State Fair in Palmer to help my mom with her lovely booth and that's when my papa and I parted ways, it was a very bittersweet moment but in the end he is very happy and proud that I am becoming my own person and taking this step in my life. I will miss him tremendously but thankfully there is phone service in Italy! 

1 a.m my mamma and I boarded a plane heading to Seattle then to Washington D.C and when we finally got to D.C where my amazing cousin Ahnalisa picked my mom and I up and drove us up to my grandmothers house in Warrenton. It was very cheerful to see my Besta after not seeing her for a very long time!

My time at my Bestas house was very well spent. After years of wanting to go visit the halocoust  museum in D.C my mom took me up there and we spent the afternoon immersed in the sad history. 

My mother also took me to see the Luray Caverns and I was completely amazed!

Then earlier today I parted ways from my Besta and Auntie. I will sure miss this Iredale Clan ;)

My aunt then drove my mamma and I to the train station and we boarded a train and as I type this, we are on a five hour ride on our way to New York. We are staying at the Jane hotel and are going to see museums and explore the city. I have never been so this is a very exciting trip for me! 

Feel free to comment on any blog posts I have or email me! At taylor.iredale.afsitaly@gmail.com

Until next time! 

It's been a while since I have last written. I have so much to tell you all! First off while visiting the honorary consolate in Anchorage I found out that Victor Monzamenni (the italian consolate) was born a block away from where I will be staying in Milano! What a small crazy world we live in! I also received my visa 5 days ago! This whole experience now officially feels so real! I have also rasied my goal money amount which is truly so exciting! Working 3 jobs non stop this summer has really paid off in the long run:) I found out also the euro is 1 U.S dollar = .75 cense in italian currency! Which is sort of a bummer but I should have enough money to last me the whole year :) 14 days from now I will be leaving un villaggio piccolo vicino al Mare (a little sentence my italian tutor Joe Going taught me) and boarding a plane to Warrenton Virginia to visit my grandmother who I haven't seen for almost 9 years! It will be a very cheerful reunion! I also have heard from my italian brother finnaly and he informed me he is "spending a week between Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia by car!"! I am so excited to meet my host family!!! 

fino ad allora.

As of 2 Minutes ago I just received word from AFS of my Flight/Travel Itinerary! I am so excited and this whole experience is starting to feel a little more real every day! On August 25th I will officially be leaving my little small fishing village of a town Homer, Alaska and leaving with my mom to Virginia to  visit my grandmother for a week:) I also received a huge email from my host mom confirming my school, sports, travel and get this guys, she has family in Austria so thats where I will be spending Christmas in Innsbruck :)

Orientation Info: You should arrive into New York no later than 4:00 PM on September 4,2013 Orientation Name : Hilton New York JFK Hotel Carrier Name Carrier No. DEPARTURE ARRIVAL Location Date Time Location Date Time Swiss International Air Lines 17 JFK - New York - John F. Kennedy, NY 5-September-13 6:05 PM ZRH - Zürich - Kloten 6-September-13 8:05 AM Swiss International Air Lines 1736 ZRH - Zürich - Kloten 6-September-13 12:30 PM FCO - Rome - Fiumicino 6-September-13 2:05 PM