A day trip to Venice, and changing schools soon..

Well, tomorrow marks a big change for me in my daily life here in Italy! For the past two months I have been attending a scientific school, but tomorrow I will be switching to a linguistic school. As nervous as I am about changing schools, I know it’s the right choice for me. At the new school, I will get to take Spanish, German, Italian, and English, instead of heavy loads of math and science classes. The only problem is that changing schools at this point in the year means missing the senior trip L Each class of students in their last year of high school gets to take a trip together, to a city of their choice in Europe. My new class at the language school has already taken their trip (they went to Barcelona!) and my classmates at the scientific school were planning to go to Berlin in March! Now that I’m changing schools, I won’t be able to go with my old class to Berlin, and I’ve missed the trip to Barcelona with my new classmates. Pretty disappointing. However, I’ve had plenty of travel opportunities with Rotary and my host family, so I can’t complain too much. Yesterday I got to Venice for the first time, and it was unbelievable! We really lucked out- it was a sunny, crisp fall day, not a cloud in the sky, and a family friend who works in Venice gave us a great tour of the city! He told us lots about the unique history and architecture, which was very interesting to me. It still blows my mind that Venice is a thousand years old, and that it was built on the water. One thing that really stuck out to me about Venice is that it is impossible to have cars in the city (the streets are either canals of water or narrow sidewalks), which means that to get around you must either walk or take a boat. I think it was the first time I’ve been in a city completely without cars- there is something beautiful and particular about it. Venice is extremely crowded, of course, but with people, not vehicles. Looking at ancient buildings that have existed for centuries, and being unable to take buses, trains, or cars… it all made Venice feel less frantic than other cities. The atmosphere was more relaxed- maybe the word to describe it is timeless. Anyhow, I loved it, and I plan on going back for a day of wandering as soon as I can! The other day I remembered the quote “Not all who wander are lost”. That’s becoming my motto in Italy.

One note about Italian culture- Italians and Americans have very different ideas about which things are healthy and which things are unhealthy. For example, the other evening I had taken a shower and was just lounging around with my hair still wet. My host mom asked me if I was going to blow dry my hair, and I said no, I was going to bed in a few hours anyway so there really wasn’t any point in blow drying it before I went to sleep. She looked concerned and responded that I would get a cold if I didn’t blow dry it! Apparently it is common knowledge here in Italy that if you leave your hair wet and just let it dry you’ll get sick. They also do not eat ice or drink water if it’s too cold, because they think it’s bad for your stomach. I’ve never been taught those things, so I guess some of my habits are considered unhealthy here. To me that’s ridiculous though, because Italians smoke all the time and eat cake for breakfast! Smoking is way worse than eating ice! Ah well.  

Another new thing is that I’ve started studying at the conservatory of music here in Vicenza! I sing in the choir and will soon have an audition for voice lessons. Apparently the voice teachers here each specialize in a certain type of music (there is one who just does Baroque singing) so you have to sing for the teachers and then they’ll help you decide which type of singing you want to do, or which type is best for your voice. I’ll be interested to see where I end up. The other day I went to a history of music class with my friend from school as well. I like the environment of the conservatory: it’s much more like a university campus, and everyone is so friendly.

Allora, adesso devo dormire perche sono stanca.. but I will write a new post once I’ve experienced a few days of my new schoolJ

Ciao a tutti!

The city center of Asiago, a little city in the mountains. Ellen and I took a day trip here on weekend!

Getting friendly with the local cows in Asiago :)

A specialty cheese shop- look at how big those cheese wheels are!

The courtyard of the conservatory of music in my city

On a bridge in Venice

Beautiful Venetian glass windows

The water spills onto the sidewalks in Venice

Houses on the sea in Venice