Buon Natale

Cara amici,
I hope everyone is having a great time preparing for the holidays. The biggets news for me is after a long and stressful process with afs I have decided to stay in Italy. Right now I am staying with a temporary family because my real family is in Trentino(the mountains) for vacation and it was too late for me to go with them. I have met the new family and they seem really sweet. The mom is an english teacher, I have a 15 year old sister, a brother who is away at university in milano, and a father who works in Rome. I will have my own room :) I am hoping this new situation will be much better than the last one. Christmas for me this year is going to be very odd since I am away from my real family and not in my new one here yet. I am just thankful though that everything worked out.
And now for some lighter news...
One of my good friends Renee from our first orientation is coming down to Bari to visit her relatives for christmas. We should have fun going out shopping and to the bars. Its so funny whenever I go out with friends they all ask about the drinking age in America and when I tell them to legally be able to drink you have to be 21 they just get a look of shock on their face. Another cultural difference is on thursday we had a party in school and the kids are allowed to bring champagne to toast and celebrate for a school party I just laughed because it's so different than in America. Its going to be awkward because I am still going to be going to school with my ex host sister but I change classes every hour so it should be ok. I have finally reached a point with my italian where I can basically understand everything when people are speaking at a normal speed and I am getting way better at expresiing myself. The other day I was speaking and I used a verb I didn't even know i knew how to conjugate and after i used it i was surprised haha. About 2 weeks ago it snowed in Bari for the first time in years and everyone was going crazy. The kids at my school are so cute and they were like Tess did you see the snow did you see the snow!!! Right now 6 more months here feels like forever but i know it will all be worth it in the end I really belive I will be fluent in Italian by the end because right now my italian is so much better than my spanish was. I miss everyone and lots of love to everyone in the states.
pace e amore
-Tess

Ciao a tutti,
Things in Italy have basically settled into a daily routine school,studying,friends,etc...This past week was hard because a really good friend of mine Zac who was staying in a temporary family in Bari moved to Sicily on saturday it makes me feel a lot more alone here. There are still adjustements to the italian lifestyle that are hard to make for instance I am still 100% american in my attitude towards hygiene. The language is still very difficult but I notice how far I have come. Last weekend I went with my sister over to a friend Sergio's house we ate some of the best food i've eaten while here in Italy and that says something :) On a heavier note things with my family have reached an almost unmanagable state and i am talking to my rep about switching later this week if I can't switch i think i may come home at semster because I honestly can't stay with them for the year. i'm trying to keep positive but it's hard.
baci
-Tess

Bari photos
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.editAlbumPhotos&albumID=1414064&MyToken=0ac08653-d3db-4103-86d5-a27859db714a

Ciao,
I hope all is well back in the states. Last week was a break from school wednesday,thursday,friday,saturday it was really fun. I went to the mall and just hung out in the center of Bari a lot. Some of the most exciting news here in bari is a new 5 story H&M just opened I went in on opening day and it was packed! I'm slowly forgetting some english not speaking but spelling and grammar. The italian language is still so frustrating because I feel like I can understand so much when people are talking to me but speaking is still very difficult. Halloween here was so strange now I understand why everyone says you get more homesick on holidays. My friend Zac and I went on a picture taking excursion. I'll try uploading photos later

Ciao Ragazzi,
Another good day here in Bari. It's cold though...I thought southern Italy was supposed to be hot. I have been blogging an awful lot lately its kinda embarassing. It's so nice everyone at my school has been telling me do you know there are fires in California are they close to where you live? It's really sweet. Yesterday I had to buy a new ipod but I got the cool touch screen one and because I'm an American citizen I get 30 dollars back when I go to the port because of taxes. Today I'm going shopping for clothes I think if I don't have too much homework. Everyone dresses so nicely here but I love it. I've taken to just hanging out with my Australian friend Zac in the afternoons and we basically just wander the streets shopping...so far we haven't gotten lost. Next week I don't have school Thurs.,Fri.,Sat. I think some of my friends from other places in Puglia are all coming up to Bari and we will hang out (not get tattoos mom and dad). Yesterday I went into the bookstore and I was happy to find they had books in english. I've been feeling a little homesick lately I miss my parents and my dog and Ashlee!!! Hopefully it will pass though. Next week is a huge 18th birthday party of one of my host sister's swimming friends I'm excited...
baci e amore
-Tess

Ciao
I hope everyone is doing well. I'm having fun in Bari. One of my good friends from regional orientation moved to Bari last week so we have been going out a lot. My local chapter is planning a 3 day trip to Sicily after Christmas and I'm so excited Sicily looks beautiful. I got my ear pierced again on the inside and I really like it.

I just got home from orientation yesterday and it was so much fun. There were about 60 students there all who live in either my region or the next one over. Most of the intercultura volunteers are so chill and let the students do whatever they want. My group of orientation friends and I almost got kicked out about 5 times...but you know who's counting. It's not like we stole 35 euros worth of nutella or anything. It was so funny the volunteers loved our group because we were the most fun but hated us at the same time because we were always doing something wrong. By the end of the weekend they would always just say to me sempre tu Tess sempre tu. The icing on the cake was when my friends and I missed the bus back to the train station.There are just way too many funny stories and inside jokes from orientation to write about...I would have to say the best part of orientation was we visited 3 farms. Farms!!! I fyou know me and don't find this funny then I don't think you really know me at all. First of all I fucking hate the extreme wilderness when it involves animals and second of all they showed all the animals for slaughter...gross. I'm glad to be back home but I miss all my friends.
Here's the link for pictures
http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18093&l=6d5ce&id=719185951

Tomorrow I'm off to Crispiano for orientation. I am so excited I get to miss school. Today I only had one class because the teacher didn't show up to one class and I had studio autonomo for 2 hours. After school I had language class. After language class I went out to gelato with my friends from the US,Paraguay,and Brazil it was really nice because we were all just speaking italian. I love practicing my italian and even though sometimes it doesn't feel like it I have already learned so much. Afterwards I went down to Via Sparano which is the huge shopping street and it's paradise. I saw so many people I knew. It was disorienting because I kept hearing Tess,Tess and then I would see someone from school. I literally saw like 5 people I knew over the course of an hour. I love the italian way of life everyone is so friendly and welcoming. Everyone wants to help me learn the language. A girl from my physics and english class knew that I was walking home alone and so she went out of her way to accompany me home. I am starting to feel the pinch of the exchange rate I when I withdraw money 300 dollars is about 200 euros.
pace
-Tess

Ciao Amici!
Yesterday I went over to mi amica Katia's house per il pranzo because it was her birthday. It was really fun you cannot beat italian cooking everything was delicious. After lunch we just hung out and listened to music and then we watched Hairspray in Italian which was funny because the dialogue was in Italian but the singing was in English. School is going well for me it's very difficult especially latin but the teacher's are really nice to me. This week I only have to go to school lunedi e martedi perque io o orientamento di intercultura. I'm really excited it's 4 days with all the other exchange students in my area. I'm still getting used to going to school on Saturday's :( I feel like I've broken through a wall with the language I can understand when people talk to me but speaking the language is much more difficult and when I say stuff a lot of the time it's the awkward way to say it...
pace e amore
-Tess

sciopero!

The students at my school were on strike today so in the first part of the morning a bunch of kids just stayed outside and refused to go into school and during the second half the principal called an emergency assembly so we just stayed in an assembly for 2 hours. A bunch of students got up and spoke. It was much better than going to class. I am loving my schedule it is absolutely perfect for me. I don't know yet what i am going to do this weekend I might go out with my friends from the first year or the fourth year non lo so. Next week I have intercultura orientation with all the exchange students in my region. It should be really fun it's in a small town near Taranto. I can't wait to see my friends with AFS. And I'm hoping there will be some cute volunteers like at the roma orientation lol
baci baci
-Tess

more pictures

more pictures from this weekend
http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16541&l=dfb6a&id=719185951

Ciao Amici,
Sono contenta in italia. Scuola e molto dificile per mi. My schedule is all worked out and I am taking latin and italian 1st year,history and math 2nd year,physics biology and english 3rd year,and chemistry 4th year. I have about a million hours of independant study per week which is really helpful. Everyone at my school is so warm and welcoming when I say I'm from California they all ask if I've seen celebrities. My school is much smaller here than in the US but I still am meeting new people everyday. Everyone invites me to do things with them on the weekends which I really appreciate. Last weekend I went out with my friends from the first year class and they are so much fun. They are all loud and fun and the girls are just as boy crazy as me. I try to take pictures whenever I can but it's hard at school because the teachers are really strict. The language is still extremely difficult but I feel like I'm learning. All the teenagers here are always so surprised to learn that I can drive in the US because you can't drive a car here until 18. The stereotype about italians being crazy drivers is most definitaly true. Bari is a really fun city because it's small enough that when I go out on the weekends I see a bunch of people I know but it's nig enough that there is always something new to see or do. The weather here is beautiful it can be cold in the mornings but afternoons are perfect. It's funny because whenever it's a little bit cold here everyone is bundled up but because I am used to a much colder climate back in Placerville it still feels relaively warm for me.
baci e abbracci
-Tess

Bari photos

http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16541&l=dfb6a&id=719185951

I can't believe I haven't even been in Italy for 1 month yet. All of the changes have made it feel like such a long period of time. I feel like I have met so many new people. My schedule at school is almost all worked out and I am going to be taking classes in 4 different grades so I will meet even more new people. Last Sunday I experienced my first 4 hour lunch it was so fun. All of the food was amazing and I tried so many new things. On Saturday normally all the teenagers go to the piazza and eat dinner,have gelato,and go to bars. Last Saturday I went out with my host sister and some of the people from her swim team we didn't end up eating dinner until like 1 in the morning. Everyone wants to know how to say curse words in english and they all want to teach me the local barese dialect/slang. It's harder to understand the language when I go out in big groups but I'm learning...
baci baci
-Tess

Rome pictures
http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14979&l=7678d&id=719185951

I am starting to get adjusted to every day life in Bari. School is really hard and can be painfully boring in language based classes like history and religion but my tutor at school is helping me to work out a personalized schedule. I have met so many new people and everyone has been warm and welcoming. It's hard communicating with people though because most of the italian teenagers know very little english and my italian is still almost nonexistent. I am able to understand more and more of the language every day. I am still not used to going to school on saturdays. On saturday night all of the italian teenagers just go hang out in the piazza where there are lot's of restaurants and bars. Everything still seems very different than life back in California but so far I am enjoying myself.

I officially love Italian school. Depending on the week classes are either 3 hours a day or 4. Sometimes the teachers show up late and leave early so everyone just gets to hang out. The people at my school have been very welcoming. Everyone I meet wants to introduce me to more people.

here are the links to my pictures:
http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14895&l=d8cd9&id=719185951

http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14970&l=0964a&id=719185951

I'm finally in Italy! So far things have been pretty good. Before going to Bari my host family took me to see Venice,Rome,and Florence which was amazing. I took tons of pictures but I just haven't had time to upload them yet. I've only been in school for 2 days but so far it's pretty awesome. Both days I have only gone for 3 hours which feels so short compared to school in the US. I am in a class a year younger so I feel even more out of place then I do already. Bari is so typical italian. The people are awesome...and the food is even better. The beach is amazing. My host family eats so much!!! I need to learn how to keep up. The language is hard but I'm learning.

So...My flight takes off at midnight tonight. As crazy as this sounds it still doesn't feel real that I'm actually going. I am going to miss my family and friends motto. I know it is going to be so hard at first but completely worth it when I look back. My biggest goal is to get to a point where I know the language well enough that I start to think in Italian. I am so excited to meet my host family. When we first meet they are going to take me around Rome and we are staying in Rome for a couple days and possibly going to Venice(my favorite place in all of Italy).
Bacci Bacci

As you probably know if you are reading this my name is Tess and I am spending my junior year abroad as an exchange student in Bari Italy. I thought a blog would be an eay way to keep everyone updated and help me to avoid having to repeat the same stories over and over again. I am so excited to leave and while in Italy I will try keeping my blog updated as much as possible. I am going to be living in Bari Italy which is a city of about 400,000 in southern Italy. From Bari there are ferries to Dubrovnik and Greece!!!My host family seems really nice I have a mom Gabriella, a dad Marcello,and one sister a year younger than me named Paola. My host dad travels a lot for his work as an engineer and my host mom is a chemist. I have spoken with my host mom on the phone briefly but she speaks very little english. I have emailed with my host father and sister and they both have good english. My host sister is fluent so that will make things a little easier to start out. The family likes swimming,reading, painting,and movies. They have a house near the ocean that they go to sometimes. They all seem so nice and I am super excited to meet them. I love that I will be living in a big city because it will be such a change. I am going to a school of about 1600 kids and it is a math and science school.
Ciao
~Tess