Saturday, January 26, 2013

Turkey & Italy

Hey everyone! So this past week I think has been the busiest week ever! My school's doing a one week exchange trip with a school in Istanbul, Turkey. Last Friday the Turkish students arrived! Then in the end of April, we're going to Istanbul! I didn't host a Turkish student because my host family said that there wasn't room at our house since I was already here but I still get to do all the activities with the Turkish students and I'm going to Istanbul in April! Anyway, Friday night we all went out to a pub together for some drinks. It was nice being able to speak English with them! I was pretty much the translater for the entire week they were here because no offense to my Italian friends but they're not very good at English at all... It was really fun though! So Friday night I got home kind of late then the next day we had school.. it sucked but thankfully I got to skip gym class and go to the Castello di Rivoli with the Turkish students instead. It's a contemporary art museum and we were there for about 2 hours, honestly I didn't really understand how half of the objects were considered art but whatever it was fun and better than gym class! Then on Saturday night I met up with my Italian friends Sara, Sarah and their Turkish exchange students Cansu and Bengu at our friends Martina and Ilaria's volleyball game. They won the game then we all went to Torino together and met up with all the other Turkish girls and our friends. Also my exchange student friends Sanni, Paula and Efe met up with us. It was insane there was people from like every country, America, Turkey, Germany, Finland and Italy hahaha but we all went to a pizzeria for dinner. Then we took the metro back and then we were going to take the bus back to Rivoli but we were waiting for like 20 minutes and it didn't show up so my friend Martina's mom drove us all home.. all 11 of us in her 5 person car. It was hilarious, Sarah, Sara and Martina were sitting like in the trunk, Ilaria and all the Turkish girls, Pinar, Cansu and Bengu were in the middle seats then I was in the front seat sitting on Ilaria's mom's lap who I just met that night! hahahaha I had to sit on her lap since I was the smallest. It was just a little bit crowded.. anyway then on Sunday night Martina had a party at here house and almost everyone in my class and the Turkish girls went. It was really fun we ate a bunch of pizza then blasted music and were dancing, I think Martina's neighbors wanted to kill us. Then on Monday we didn't have to go to school instead we went with the Turkish students to Torino and visited the Fiat factory and Palazzo Barolo! It was a really fun but long day, we were taking buses and the metro all over Torino and walking everywhere all day. My friends taught me a sentence in a dialect of Southern Italy: "Uima saricé ca cazzo ha cumminatu". It's so weird that there's all different dialects in every part of Italy and they are completely different languages! Anyway that sentence means like "Oh my god what the fuck have you done!?" I think.. I'm not positive but when I say it with my American accent my friends like die of laughing every time.


FIAT!

We learned how to make some artwork at Palazzo Barolo 

Palazzo Barolo

Pinar, Marta, Defne, Benny, Casnu, Sara, Defne and Silvia!

Sitting on my friends mom's lap in the front seat.. hahahhaa
10 girls in 1 car..

So I got home Monday night at like 7 from Torino and I was exhausted! Then my host sister Federica reminded me that her boyfriend was having his birthday party that night. She had told me a couple days before but I totally forgot. So we had like an hour to get ready and then Angie (Federica's boyfriend) picked us up and off we went to his birthday party. It was at a pub/restaurant and they rented a huge room for everyone. There was like 35 people and the food was really good! We got home at like 1 am and then yeah you'll never guess I went to school the next day! Whoooo. After 4 nights in a row of going out I was about to die at school.

the birthday boy! 


On Wednesday after school I took a nice looong nap! Then on Thursday after school I went to my Italian lesson like usual, we finished at 6:30 then I went to Porta Nuova and met up with my Italian friends and the Turkish girls and we went out for dinner at this really good place called Obellix. Everyone was there, all the Turkish kids, our teachers and the Turkish teachers. It was a buffet so we ate a bunch. Also there was 2 birthday's so the teachers surprised them with a cake. After dinner without the teachers of course we all went to a bar for some drinks. Then we took the subway and bus back to Rivoli. Once again another late night with school in the morning :/ Friday after school I went over my friend Kaylin's house for her birthday and we made puppy chow and hung out. Then Friday night my host mom and I decided to try making gnocchi for the first time. It turned out really yummy! It was actually super easy to make too, you just need potatoes, flour and mix that together then make the shapes of the gnocchi stick in boiling water, mix with some cheese and butter and you're done! I'm definitely gonna make it for my family when I get back to Ohio. 






Yesterday the Turkish students went home and it was kind of sad, I'm going to miss being with them and constantly going out! :( But I can't wait to go to Istanbul in April! Today (Saturday) I went to school, came home and slept for a while then went over my Italian friends house and I just got home. I'm so happy, I've been hanging out with my Italian friends so much more in this past week and we're starting to get so much closer. My friend Sara today was like "Jacqueline I'm sad that the Turkish kids left, I can't even imagine how sad I'm going to be when you leave, I don't even want to think about July." It was so sweet but it made me sad! I don't want to think about going home either :( Oh but another thing I forgot to mention is that my Christmas package FINALLY came in the mail after over a month!! THANK GOD <3333 There was Christmas cookies that my mom & grandma made for me and like 7 packs of Reese's. My friends in my class went insane when they tried Reese's! Everyones begging me for me and asking if they can pay me to have my mom send more from the U.S! 


Skype with my mom getting ready to rip open the package finally

I have some more random pictures that I'm gonna upload now too!

The closest thing to Starbucks in Italy 
My school <3 
The bar/cafe at our school
my class 3F (the best class in the school)
TORINO! (:
Okay well that's all for now! The next couple of weeks are going to be so much fun, next weekend I'm going to Venice with AFS and all my exchange student friends and then the week after we finish school on Thursday then there's a huge discoteca and we have like 5 days off school for Carnevale! I think my Italian friends and I are going to go shopping in Milano for a day too! Okay well ciao ciao! (:

3 comments:

  1. gnocchi, prova al pesto :=)
    http://blog.giallozafferano.it/cucinarcantando/gnocchi-di-patate-al-pesto-genovese/

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  2. Hi, I'm applying with AFS to go to France next school year. I literally just finished the letter to the host family and my parents and I were wondering how much we should edit. Should it sound completely impersonal or should it have a lot of voice? Or something in between? Thanks.

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    Replies
    1. I don't think it should be impersonal! I mean this letter's being sent to your host family and they're going to be the people you're living with for next year! I think it should have a lot of voice but that's just my opinion!

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