the end

Ok, so I've been home a little bit over three weeks now, and I'm sorry for not updating! :(. Adjsuting to life back at home was much easier than I thought it would be (except for the fact that the weight of all my traveling came down on me the next day!) If anything, the food was the most difficult thing to get re-adjusted to, but like all other things, my american appetite finally came back around.

I miss Italy so much, and this was definitely an experience I will remember for the rest of my life! I'm so blessed to have been able to have this kind of opportunity. It's so hard to believe it's over, though. A few months ago, I added friends to my facebook that were apart of the AFS-Italy group and finally getting to meet all of them and become friends with them was great. We had a lot of fun together! I'll never forget my host family either. In the four weeks I spent with them, they became like my own family, and I miss them so much! I'm definitely going to go back to visit them when I get a chance. I also have to start visiting the friends I've made from the AFS-Italy group in places like L.A., NY, and Boston!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to my trip, and thanks everyone who has been following my blog. For those of you going abroad, whether it be to Italy or somewhere else, I hope my blog has insipired you, and you will have as much fun as I did. Make the most of this and I hope you have a great (and safe) time. Enojoy every minute of this wonderful experience, because the time will fly.

I'm so used to saying "Until next time" at the end of my blogs, but sadly my blog and my Italy experience is finito. So...

Arriverderci :)

when in rome....

My last night in Matera was so much fun! Around mid afternoon my host sister and her friends took me to the bar for my goodbye party. Later that night we went on our usual walk of the town, passing by shops, talking, eating, etc, and then my host sister went to her boyfriend's car to get her laptop and showed me the most beautiful slideshow ever!! She and her friends put it together for me and it was pictures that I took from the beginning of my stay in Matera. I cried watching pictures of me with my host sister and her friends go across the screen. It was so beautiful! :)

My leave was very emotional so I won't put all the details here, but now I'm in Rome and back with all the other AFSers! When we got back together it was like we never left each other. We played cards almost all night and told each other everything about our host families! The AFS leaders took us on a tour of Rome and we were allowed to go shopping!!! Now, I only have today left in this wonderful country because my traveling starts at 6 a.m tomorrow. After having such a great summer, I am happy to finally be coming home.


Arriverderci :)

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winding down

Wow it's been a while since I've updated my blog! Sorry!! The last few days have been relaxing. No beach. No school. No walking around all day. We've just been relaxing and watching some movies. (I saw The Notebook in Italian! It was awesome! Lol)

At night we still head out to go to the center of town, but I have fun when we go out! Her friends know when I'm leaving now, and I think they're getting a little sad (I know I am). They keep asking me will I remember them when I get back to America (awww!!) I say"how can I forget you!?

So, a few days ago my host family and I went to Bari to do a little shopping. Well, I don't think "little" really justifies the shopping I did :/! On the bright side, though, I got a lot of cute shirts and a purse!

Now I only have a week left in Matera and I think about how time has really flown. When I left Chicago at the end of June I was nervous and a little sad about leaving, and now I'm sad about leaving Italy! How ironic, right? As time is quickly winding down I keep asking myself "Where will I get some good gelato now?!" Lol


Until next time, Arriverderci! :)

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life in matera

I've been with my host family for almost a week now, and I couldn't be having more fun! Everything is so beautiful here just like I thought it would be.
So far I've met a lot of my host sister's friends, and they are all so nice and they ask me everything about Chicago and America.

My host mom makes theeee greatest pasta!! She doesn't know english at all, so when she talks to me I need my host sister around to translate! My host dad is hilarious! I have no idea what he's talking about half of the time, but his gestures are always so funny!

In the past four days, I've been to the beach more than I've ever been in my life. It's fun though, and I'm really getting a good tan (like I need one).
Well, so far, I'm having the time of my life here in Matera, Italy. The food is good, the people are nice, and the sales in these shops are amazing!

I couldn't have asked for a better host family either. My host sis is cool and she tells me everything about Matera and takes me out everywhere. We made a deal with each other when I got here: I speak to her in english and she speaks in italian so we can learn the other language a little better. Right now our mutual language is french so if we really want to have a conversation, that's what we speak!

Until next time, Arriverderci :)

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my photos

I have taken hundreds and hundreds of pix and I'm putting them on Flickr slowly but surely. See the link to my pix on the left of my blog. Keep checking back because there are many more to come!!

Until next time, Arriverderci! :)

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sooo...this is Italy

Well, I did it! After all the months of planning, waiting, and filling out endless paper work, I am finally in Italy! It's still sinking in that I'm in one of the most beautiful countries in the world!

AFS representatives were right by the baggage claim in Laguardia Airport when I landed just like they said they'd be! After I got my bags, I began making some friends! I met kids going all over the world to places like Egypt, Turkey, France, and India! They were all just as excited as I was, and we sat there and talked for a long time waiting for other students to show up!

St. Johns University is where I met all of the other students going abroad including all of my Italy buddies! Guess how many of us it is in my Italy group? 55!! We were the biggest group there and, yes, AFS put all 55 of us on "Swiss Air" together for our 8 hour flight to Zurich, Switzerland, and we had so much fun!! I've met some great people, and everyone clicked so easily like we've known each other forever.

When we arrived in Rome, we were split up by who is going to northern and who is going to southern Italy. So now we are here together in Calabria, Italy (southern Italy) for a week. After we leave Calabria, we will be breaking off from each other to go stay with our host families!! Ahhh I'm so excited!!

At the end of the summer, everyone in the AFS Italy group (people who went north, and the people who went south like me) will meet back in Rome!

Until next time, Arriverderci! :)

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host family!!! :)

Yaaay!! After all this time, I finally got my host family! I have had so much excitement during this process, but this is probably best news yet! It is really sinking in fast that I will be in a new country in less than 3 weeks!

Well, here's a little bit about them!! I have a host mother, father, and a sister. My host sister is a year younger than me; she just turned 16!!! I was hoping this would happen so I could have someone show me around (although I'm sure my family will do that anyway),and just someone my age to kick it with!

My host mother is the same age as my mom, and the father is not that much older! They live in Matera, which is Southern Italy! I immediately looked up the city and read everything about it and IT. IS. AMAZING! It is a very historic place and, get this, The Passion of the Christ was filmed in the exact city! I can't wait to get there and see it for myself!! In less than 3 weeks I will be living like a true Italian!! (and eating some really great food) Lol!

Until next time, Arriverderci!! :)

thank you to "anonymous"

OMG! Someone I don't even know gave a generous donation to my trip! Thank you so much whoever you are! I appreciate it so much. I don't even know what to say.

the clock is ticking!

Now that I'm out of school, I can really devote all of my time and attention to this trip! It's still unbelievable that this is all happening to me...and with only about 26 days to go! Whoo hoooo!!

I have received so much information in the mail (all at once too) and right now I'm taking the time to read through it all. I'm learning more about my country, the do's and don'ts of being a host daughter (ohh that sounds soooo cool), and what and what not to pack when I go!

Thank you to everyone that has chipped in and made it all the more possible for me to go abroad! I appreciate everyone soooo much :)! And I will definitely keep blogging up until my departure and once I am in Italy!

Until next time, Arriverderci! :)

senior!!

School is finally over!! Thank you GOD!! I have compeleted my finals and now the hardest year of my life is ovvveeer! Let the summer begin...I'm a SENIOR!

thank you!

I'm getting so much support from all my friends and family and even my mom's friends at work for this trip. Thanks everybody for your help! I really appreciate it. I will be leaving Chicago on June 26th for my Gateway Orientation in New York, and then I will be leaving New York on June 27th. I'm so excited and can't hardly wait. I can't wait to meet more people when I get to New York at the orientation that will be flying to Italy with me. We won't leave New York until about 8:45 at night! and we will change planes the next day in Zurich, Switzerland and then arrive in Rome at 2:00pm. Coming back, it will be the same thing, and I will get back to New York at 3:45pm on August 2nd. It's all sinking in now that this is really about to happen. AFS has sent me SOOOO much information in the mail and email that I have to read before I go. My head is spinning with all the stuff they sent me but it's so exciting. I'll be updating again soon!

new friends

I joined this "AFS Italy Summer 09" group on facebook and it's, like, 6 of us already! All of them have sent me friend requests (I accepted them happily),and right now we are all in the same boat, waiting for our summer to begin so that we can have the best experience of our lives! These are just a few of the people that I will meet up in New York with!

It's amazing the direction my life is going right now! I have lots of friends right here at home, but now I have friends from different parts of the country too! Talk about cool!

More interesting news: Not only am I making connections with kids from different parts of the U.S, but I have already made one with a girl from Italy (can you believe it?!)who is going through the same things I am right now. She is doing an exchange here in the U.S. for a year! She let me know if I have any questions about Italy she'd be more than happy to answer some, and I let her know she can do the same with me about coming to the U.S!
Life is good!

Until next time, Arriverderci! :)

the search is on

Hey everyone, I have some exciting news! *drum roll please* My mom called to check up on how my host family process is going, and as I'm typing this, my AFS application is going around to different host families in Italy!! Now all I have to do is wait...and wait. I have been told by many AFS representatives that the majority of AFSers do not even know who their host family will be until a few days before or the the day of their departure!!

But while I wait, I have my new culture trek account to keep me busy. AFS set this account up for me, and it's my on online orientation that I have to complete before I leave for Italy. I am also brushing up on my Italian! "Ciao, come stai?" OOhhh, I can't wait to ask my host family that! They'll be so impressed! :)

Although I do not know my host family yet, I do know where my international gateway is...*another drum roll* NEW YORK CITY!!!
I've always wanted to go to New York, and can't believe I'm going for two days! While I'm there, I will have another orientation (they call it a "gateway orientation") and I will get to meet everyone that I will be on the plane with! There will also be AFS students from all over the country with me, getting ready to head for countries like Spain, France, and Iceland! I'm sure we will all have an amazing time!

Until next time, Arriverderci :)

awesome orientation

My first pre-departure orientation on Sunday was great! We got there a little late (not too late though), but we still learned so much! First, the instructors told us what and what not to pack. I'm only allowed to leave Chicago with one suitcase, and one carry on bag and a purse. The packing part of the orientation went on for about 45 minutes and then they split the students going abroad and the parents up.

In the room, there were about 50 students. Some were going to the same places, like, Japan and Argentina. I met 5 other students going to Italy for the summer like me. They were all as excited as I was! I just forgot to get their #'s. Ooops.

We were told that that there is no right or wrong way in another country...it's just different. The lady also explained how other countries are not big on flashy electronics that Americans bring. They feel offended. Bye bye iPod =(. In the middle of our session, the lady handed us packets from our country filled with quotes and advice previous AFSers have said about their experiences abroad. My Italy packet was five pages long! All the students said it was an experience of a lifetime! They told me to go with an open mind, and I'll never eat so good again in my life. Our instructor touched on a lot of other points when traveling abroad after we read our packets. Students come back more mature, more appreciative for the people and things in their lives, and they are just generally better people. I can't wait for that to be me!

We came back into the main room with our parents, and to our surprise there were so many foreign exchange students here from the countries we were traveling to! We broke off into groups to talk to them; Italy AFSers in one group, Japan AFSers in another, you get my point. There were 3 students from Italy in my group to talk to us. I had so many questions for them! What should I bring? How's the food? What do Italians do for fun? They happily answered all these questions including the ones the other people in my group had. We chatted with them for a long time, and I walked away from the orientation feeling even more excited (if possible) for my departure.
Until next time, arrividerci! :)

afs orientation today!!!

Hey everybody today I am going to my first AFS pre-departure orientation! I'm excited. All of my friends who are traveling this summer from Link will be there and all the other people in the area who are traveling will be there too. The orientation is going to be long because it's from 12:30 to 4:00, but it will be a lot of fun because we will get to talk to other students today who have traveled through AFS. Some other things have happened since the last time I wrote, AFS was still asking for more documents. I had to send them a copy of my passport and also a color copy of my family photos. That was the last of everything. Some cool things are happening in school. I started a book club at my school that I'm very excited about and I have my first college interview coming up in a couple of weeks. Well, I have to start getting ready to leave for orientation today because it's a long drive. I will let everyone know how the orientation went. BYE!

back on court

I STILL haven't heard anything from AFS about my host family or departure date. I've been trying to past the time away. I started back to playing tennis! YAY!!! I stopped for a long time because I needed to put more time into my studies at school, but I really, really missed it. So my mom enrolled me at a club by our house where I can play every Saturday against other high school kids. I am going to play some USTA tournaments before I leave for Italy and I might try out for the team again at school in August. I hope to be able to play in college, but we'll see.

the beginning

Hey everyone, My name is Victoria (Tori) and I am a junior in high school in Chicago. I'm very active in high school, I was a JV and Varsity member of the tennis team and I'm a member of several clubs at my school, including the Writing Club and Science Club. I love to read and write. I read about two books a week and I also love doing creative writing. My grades are pretty excellent right now. I work very hard in school and it always pays off at the end of the quarter.

I applied to do a Summer Homestay Program abroad this summer through AFS Intercultural Programs, where I will fly to Italy and stay for five weeks. I'll be studying Italy's history, learning the language, and also learning about the music, the food and the art. I haven't been told yet if I will be going to Northern Italy or Southern Italy. It will depend on where my host family is from and I will find that out in a few weeks. I can't wait. Italy seems so beautiful and I know I will fall in love with the food. I can't wait to share the experience with all of my friends and family and encourage other people to visit other countries.

I am so excited about this whole process (which is very long by the way). I started this blog to let all my friends and family know everything that is going on with my trip from start to finish. The most exciting part is going to be blogging after I get there. I can't wait to post pictures of the beautiful country and my host family, but for now, I want to share my experiences leading up to that day.

It all started back in November when me and my mom went to an AFS meeting in Chicago. The meeting started kind of late on a school night. I was tired and had a big stack of books in my bookbag for homework that I had to get done. I really didn't want to be there at that time, and neither did my mom but we were both so curious to hear about the program and we decided to stick it out. I was very excited after I heard all the presentations and how to get started. I had my heart set on going to Italy before the meeting ended and wanted to leave right then and there!

Before the night was over we were given a stack of paperwork and checklist with a ton of things to do. When I saw all the paperwork just one word came to my mind WHEW! I thought, is this all the stuff I have to fill out and get done by January? OMG! I didn't know how we were going to meet the deadlines but we did.

We got the pre-app in by the deadline and that was the easy part. Next was the application, I had to apply for a passport, get my transcripts from my school, go to the doctor for a physical and shots. I also had to have a TB skin test which was not fun at all. One of the strange things they wanted on the application was my blood type, my mom didn't know it, but we still had to get it!! so we had to go get a test to find that out too. I had to get another copy of my birth certificate to go with the application. I had to make a collage of family photos for my host family and write them a letter telling them all about myself and why they should let me stay in their home this summer. My mom also had to write a letter to the host family.

After the application process was over, I got an email about the interview. I had to be downtown for the interview on a Sunday!! No prob, I put my best clothes on and went for the interview. My mom was nervous but I wasn't nervous at all, I was fine. I just didn't know what to expect and what kind of questions I would be asked. When my name was called and I went in, the interviewer was actually very cool, it was more conversation than just straight questions. She did slip some questions in like "what color is your room?" I thought, okay?? why would she want to know that. When she called my mom in she asked her "what do you have in your kitchen?" by this time, I knew she was just trying to get a feel of our home life to help find a host family. The interview turned about to be pretty cool and she gave my mom her card and said to call her if she ever had any questions or concerns after I leave for the trip. When she said that, I knew I was on my way!! A few days later, I got an email confirming that I had passed the interview and made it to the next level which allows me to be able to share all this with you today.

So much is happening right now, finishing up my junior year, getting ready to take the ACT next month and planning for college. I'm really busy but this trip is so important to me. Besides this being a great learning experience for me it will also allow me to represent America in a positive way and teach my host family and new friends all about our culture.

Til next time, arrivederci!