Un giorno nella mia vita Italiana

 

Ciao a tutti! It's been a while, isn’t it? Also these past weeks have flown by in the blink of an eye. It's almost surreal to think that my journey here is nearing its end. Lately, people have been asking me how I feel about returning to Belgium, and honestly, it's a complex question. I'll miss the friends who have become like family, the inspiring individuals I've met, those who supported me throughout my exchange, the crazy teachers, the slightly chaotic yet charming lifestyle, and of course, my host family... the list goes on and on. Despite the bittersweet farewell to this place, I'm also excited for the reunion with my friends and family back home, especially our beloved dog, Jamie. I miss them very much, more than I would’ve thought before I left.

 This time, I wanted to give you a glimpse into a day in my life here, so you can truly visualize the experience. Today is Wednesday, 8/11, which means it's a school day, but fortunately, I have some enjoyable activities planned to balance it out!

 My day starts at 7:20 AM by waking up, then we need to leave the house by 7:45 AM to get to school. Today, waking up was a bit challenging due to Martina's (my host sister) 18th birthday party last night. She's officially becoming an "old lady" 😉! We drive to school by car because it's located on a different mountain than our home. School officially starts at 8:00 AM, though we arrive too late almost every day, and today was no exception—we made it by 8:15 AM (whoopsie). Luckily, the teachers are usually running behind schedule too, I have to say school in Italy is a little bit more chaotic and less strict than in Belgium, that’s for sure.

 

Today turned out to be a chill day. While my schedule usually includes classes like religione (religion), francese (French), italiano e storia (Italian literature and history), inglese (English), tedesco (German), and matematica (math), most of the teachers were absent today so I ended up having just 2 hours of class and 3 hours of study (which often involves more talking than actual studying 😊). I got to leave school an hour earlier than usual. Since Martina still had class, I took a stroll in the area while waiting for her.

 

By 13:40 I was really hungry and happy we were going to eat, because school ends at 13:40 and we don’t eat in school I’m always sooo hungry. We have vending machines and a little white van that sells food like pizza and paninis during the break (I call it the pizza bus) so everyone still can eat something during school. I think the white little van is very funny, during every break the white van is surrounded by so many students who want to eat something (as you can see in the picture).

 

Typically, we would head back home by car for pranzo (lunch), but today we decided to go to the beach with some friends from my host mom. As you can see in the picture it’s a little cloudy up here, even tough it was still 25 degrees, I was colddd! I’m getting too used to the 30 degree temperature here in Modica, I think I will have trouble adapting to the Belgium weather again. We enjoyed a delightful pasta lunch in a nice beach bar, took a walk at the beach, and then headed back home.

 

In Italy, they also hold a kind of siesta; during and after lunch, all the shops close, and everyone takes a break. I loved it this time, especially since the past few days have been a bit sleep-deprived. After the siesta I either go to the pool or to the gym that’s a 100m walk away from our home. I love that gym with my whole heart, it’s so little and always packed with people but they’re the nicest people ever. Because of them being in the gym is a 100 times nicer than it was before. Today it’s different, because it's Wednesday, I usually prepare for my Italian class, but today I had to skip it because we had another celebration planned back home. The entire family gathered to celebrate Martina's birthday once more—it's the final one, I promise! 😄 When the bisnonna, nonni, zia, zio, cugino, and fratello were all present, we were ready to enjoy some delicious food and each other's company for one last celebration. This is were the day came to an end, it was time to go to bed to be well rested for school and do it all over again.

I'm happy to have such a busy schedule here, and boredom is nowhere in sight. I've discovered my little hobbies, and I’m enjoying every second of it. It's mind-blowing that I only have two more weeks of this routine before heading back to Belgium! The next time you hear from me, my suitcases will likely be packed, and I'll have said farewell to many people, unsure if our paths will cross again... It's surreal to me! So, in these upcoming two weeks, I'm determined to make the most of each day while I still have the chance!

Ci sentiamo dopo… tanti baci, Noor xx