Mia's Life

If you’re on the fence about whether to do an exchange year, go for it without hesitation! Although I’ve only been here for a short while, I’ve experienced things most can only dream about. It’s better to miss home than miss out on the world! Even if you are scared of leaving, think about how much scarier it is to stay. Don’t rob yourself from all the memories waiting for you on the other side. Take the leap because this world was meant for you to see it!

Somehow within just a couple days, all my stress towards school has disintegrated. I may not always know what the teachers are saying, but as my Italian has improved I can establish the just of what is going on. In the classes where I felt lost and didn’t need credits for, I am no longer sulking through. Instead, I am roaming around the school assisting different classes learn English. On Saturday (yes, we have school then), I skipped Physics 3 and stepped in to help teach an English class on the other side of the building. The actual teacher sat back while I answered questions from all the students about my life, Texas, culture shocks, and all of my favorite things. The teacher let me use the TV to display a variety of photos, aiding the students’ understanding as I talked. I am a very talkative person, so when all the students became interested, I talked all the way until the bell rang for dismissal. Next class the students will have an assignment solely based on how much they know about me. Isn’t that insane? Students are being graded over my life! My English teacher has helped me so much. He is the one who even made this possible! He has talked to each of my teachers on what they should and shouldn’t do with me. I don’t have to take any test, and I barely have any homework compared to all the other students. This is DEFINITELY something I can work with. Some of my teachers have prepared assignments for me to do apart from the other students in order to keep me occupied during class. Other than waking up early, I don’t have any problems with school. So if waking up is the hardest part, I am considering myself lucky.

I joined a gym to visit after school. It is about a 10 minute bike ride from my house and is super close to the city-center. I love how common walking and biking to places is here. That is something I wish we could implement all around the world. I usually walk on the treadmill for about an hour to complete 3 miles. I FaceTime my family or other exchange students to keep me entertained. It has been my favorite activity during the day. After, I’ll ride my bike to different supermarkets. If you know me, you know my love for grocery shopping. Every time I look out the window, there’s another supermarket to explore, and I’ve found so much joy hopping from one to the next, discovering fun Italian snacks along the way. I truly believe I am my own best tour guide. Walking up and down the city streets entering whichever store I feel speaks to me has allowed me to get to know the city I’ll call home, tremendously.

As far as learning Italian goes, I am really proud of my progress. I am understanding a little bit more each day. I even bought a book in Italian 2 days ago! I was able to have a full conversation with the cashier. I even understood when she asked if I wanted a bag! It’s a romance novel by Elle Kennedy, an author whose books I’ve read and enjoyed in the past. I’m watching FRIENDS in Italian with English subtitles. Having seen each episode at least ten times, I figured it would be the perfect show to help me learn the language! The only downside is hearing someone else deliver the lines instead of the original cast. I reinstalled Duo-lingo for those moments when I’m on my phone and want to be productive. I have also been reading through my Italian journal each day to learn new words. I bought a puffer vest the other day and was able to talk to the lady checking me out in Italian. That gave my ego a real boost because I don’t think she could even tell I was American. I think hearing people talking around me all the time has helped me the most. My goal is to be mostly fluent by the end of the first semester.

After school on Saturday I went to lunch with 3 girls from my class. We got pizza portafoglio’s for lunch. Translated from Italian, it means “wallet pizza” as it’s a pizza folded into what looks like a wallet. I got one with Mortadella, pistachio, and burrata cheese. This has quickly become one of my favorite combinations. We walked around town a little then went to get gelato at the so-called best spot in town: Romana. I can confirm it lived up to its name. I ordered for myself in Italian successfully choosing both: mango stracciatella and matcha in a Coppetta piccolo. It was nice to hangout with people outside of school and get to know them more. I mean how often can you say that you went to get gelato after school in Italy? On Wednesday another girl from my class is going to show me all of her favorite places around the city-center, and a couple others have asked to have lunch with me, too. I seriously have the best class everyone has made such an effort to get to know me.

Yesterday, my family took me to the Dolomites. We started the day off at 5 a.m driving 2.5 hours. We met up with two other families. We immediately entered a cafe for cappuccinos and croissants. Both families had two kids who were enrolled in an international private school where they only spoke English in class. This made it very easy to communicate with them. After breakfast, we set forth for our hike. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered views as alluring as these were. It doesn’t matter where we were on the mountain everywhere I looked, I was bewitched. We passed a mini waterfall and stream on the way up the mountain. We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather. It was cold enough so we weren’t sweating but warm enough to really enjoy it. At the very top of the mountain, there was a restaurant. After 20,000 steps and 1,200 calories burned, it felt like finding gold. I decided on pasta Bolognese, which was as delicious as it sounded, though my stomach didn’t appreciate it climbing down. I also got a real Italian hot chocolate. If you don’t know the difference, it has a much thicker consistency and has a significantly richer chocolate taste. The hike was incredibly steep and uphill, a challenge that would typically have me complaining and wanting to quit. However, this place was too enchanting to be bothered by it. How could anyone feel upset while gazing straight into heaven? Plus, engaging conversation provided a welcome distraction. Once we got down to the foot of the mountain, we drove over to where the cross-country skiing took place in the 2023 World Cup. Opportunities like this make me realize I want to travel for the rest of my life.

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”- Oscar Wilde