#day14 (first week of school done)

Hi everyone,

the first week of school is done and I think it went pretty good.

The fourteenth day was a Saturday... I have been here for two weeks! It still seems that I have been here for more than that, because I have started to get used to being here and to my daily routine.

That day I went swimming at 8 a.m. and as every morning practise when we were done we ate waffles. In addition, there were cookies and peaches. Everything was delicious!

Then I went to the store with my host dad to buy some stuff for the swimming practise.

In the afternoon, I didn't really do many things: I was exhausted!

At 4 p.m. we went to the church, so we wouldn't have to wake up early on Sunday and we would have time to prepare everything for my birthday party (yes, tomorrow is my birthday)!!! After that, we had dinner and we played a card game.

I am super excited for my birthday party tomorrow!!🎉

#day13 (Biagi's ristorante italiano)

Hi everyone,
the thirteenth day was Friday, the last day of the week before the weekend!!
I am so happy that in America people don't go to school on Saturday and they have the whole weekend to relax. I think that I won't definetely miss going to school on Saturdays.

That day was also the anniversary of the wedding of my host parents so as the tradition says we went to Biaggi's, an Italian restaurant. When they first told me that we would eat Italian food, I was a little bit scared because I wasn't sure that it would really be Italian food. However, I was curious to try it and see how it tasted. First I had 'spaghetti alla carbonara' that they call 'spaghetti carbonara' and I was really surprised: they were good!

Even though, after all those I was full, I had a chocolate cake with cappuccino ice cream. It was delicious! 

I really ejoyed going out for dinner with my host parents and my host sister!😊

#day12 (homemade pizza)

Hi everyone,

my daily routine keeps going.

At school, I had my first pretest in the English class: it wasn't easy, but I did my best. The pretest is basically a test that let the teacher know what you already know about his/her class. Mine had three texts and some questions (grammar and comprehension) for each text.

At lunch, I talked with a boy who is in my English class that found the pretest difficul too and he is American. Now we just have to waut and we will see how it went.

After swimming practise, I went to the store with my host dad to buy some stuff for swimming and then we finally went home. I was super exhausted those days!

For dinner, my host mum and I made homemade pizza. She made a pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage and mozzarella cheese, while I was making another one with mozzarella cheese and sausage. I was really starving and they were really good!🍕

#day11 (Reese's spread)

Hi everyone,

on the eleventh day I followed my routine: Kyla picked me up, I went to school and then to swimming practise. (This will be my routine for all the fall season.)

I think I'm gonna change my maths class because the students in that class already know stuff that I don't know. For this reason, I asked for an appointment with my cousellor.

After dinner, I roasted some marshmallows on the firepit and Iate them between two biscuits where I had spread the Resee's spread, which is basically milk chocolate and peanut butter. I like them, but I prefer them with Nutella as we ate the last time.

#day10 (second 'first day' of school)

Hi everyone,

the tenth day was my second day at the high school and my first day at the high school with everyone.

I have to admit that that day I was more scared and nervous than the day before, because the school would be crowded and I would meet all my classmates.

Luckily, Kyla picked me up at 7 a.m., so I didn't have to take the bus: the bus is not the best thing ever because there are only freshman and sophomore, that are the guys of the first and second year of high school (junior and senior have already the driving license), and u have to wait for it if it's late. I really love her for driving me to school!

The morning went quite well, besides that I went to my 7th hour classroom, but it was the 6th hour. For this reason, when I noticed it, I started running to reach my 6th hour classrooms because the bell had already rung. Luckily, the first days the teachers put up with it, so I was 'safe'.

At lunch, I sat at the table with Kyla and her friends because they changed my schedule and now I have B lunch. I really enjoyed staying with them. They are all really nice and funny!

Then, I went to the swimming practise at 2:30 p.m. as always. There, the coach changed me level with a more difficult one and I was so happy! It was very hard, but I liked it (also because I was with my friends). At 5:30 p.m. I came back home and I didn't really do many things, besides taking shower and eating. I was exhausted!

#day9 (first day of high school)

Dear everyone,

the ninth day was Monday 20th August and it was my first day at the Bloomington High School.

That day only the freshmen, the exchange students and the transfer students went to school to see how it works, where the classes are and who are the teachers. It was very fun! We didn't do many things, but we had the possibility to get used to all the new stuff before the lessons really start.

The day didn't really start very well:

1.  My alarm clock didn't work, hopefully my host parents noticed that I wasn't awake and they woke me up.
2. It was raining a lot, for this reason I had to bring with me an umbrella in addition to my backpack for school and my backpack for swimming.
3. The bus was late, so I waited outside under my umbrella with my host family.
4. When we arrived to school at about 7:30, we had to get our printed schedule in the gym, so I went to the gym. There were many tables where teachers gave the schedule to the students. To know where u should go u had to follow the signal with the first letter of your last name. So that, I followed the C signal, I asked for my schedule and they didn't have it. Hopefully, I had alreasy known my schedule and my host dad printed me the 'not official' one.

...No, it didn't really started in the best way u can imagine, but I did it.

After all these 'bad' things I had to go to the auditorium where the headteacher would welcome everyone and tell us some information about the school. It was so fun! During the speech, he made jokes about him, the school and also about the other teachers. Moreover, some students challenged some teachers singing, dancing or playing sports. It was so different from Italy where the headteacher usually is very serious, talks, presents the school and tells us the rules.

Then, we were divided in two groups: purple and gold (the colors of the school) and I was in the gold one. First we went to the cafeteria, the place where u have breakfast (if u want) and lunch, and some people from the staff told us how it works. After that, we went around to see where our classes where and finally at 8:30 we went to our first class.

Given that I don't take classes that freshmen take, in some of my classes I was the only one that was present and in other ones there were other exchange students or transfer students. Thanks to this, I met 3 exchanges students: one from Spain, one from Thailand and one from Denmark. They are all very nice girl!

Then, we had lunch all together in the cafeteria. I ate a hot dog, an apple, pop corn and a delicious cooke. After that, we went to the gym to play some games and the freshman took a photo all together.

At 2:15 p.m. everything was done, the bell rang and I went to the swimming pool for my first afternoon swimming practise that lasted until 5 p.m.

Finally, I went home. I was super tired, but proud of myself for finding all of my classrooms at school. That school is so big: it has three floors and almost 300 classrooms!

#day8 (soccer game + first party)

Hi everyone,

on this second Sunday in Bloomington I slept until it was possible because Sundays are the only days when I don't have to get up early to go swimming. At breakfast I ate my first bacon and two pancakes with blueberry it them. They were delicious! I love Sundays morning because my host mom always makes a wonderful breakfast. At 11 a.m. we went to the mass and at 1 p.m. we went to watch a soccer match of Illinois State University. It was fun, even though it was so hot!🌞

After that, we went to the store and we went home. I tried the Pop Tarts s'mores which have chocolate and marshmallows in them, but I didn't really loved them because I think there were too much stuff in there.

At 6 p.m. I went to the Rollingbrook park in Bloomington for Kyla's birthday party. I ate a lot, I met new extremely nice people, I played with the frisbee and I tried two other games (I don't know their names), we took some pictures and we basically talked. I had a lot of fun with all of them!😍

(I know that I always say that I am having a lot of fun, but it's true. I really enjoy staying here and all the things that we have done so far.)

After it, I went home and I prepared the last things for my first day of high school.

#day7 (waffle + lake Bloomington)

Hi everyone,

on the seventh day I had my last morning swimming practise because on Monday school starts, so that the practise will only be in the afternoon.

Oh... and I have been here for one week! I feel I have been here for more than that, but I don't really figure out why: maybe because I'm really happy here and I don't miss home yet. I'm still super excited!

Anyway, when we finished practise, our coach made huge pancakes for us. They had blueberry and chocolate chips in them and you could add cream, a sort of Nutella, butter, syrup and many other sweet things😍. They were delicious! After that, I was completely full, but if I think about them... I'm hungry!😅

Oh and the good thing was that, given that I'm a senior, I had them before the freshmen😇. This is the power that seniors have!😂

After lunch, I went to lake Bloomington with Sydney and her mum. I had a lot of fun with them! There they have a ranch with the view of the lake. We did kayak, we went on a trampoline and on a slide, we tan and we talked. She is really funny and her mum, too! I'm happy to have meet her!

Then, Sydney drove me home with her mum (she has to practise before getting her driving license).

After dinner, my host family and I played a board game called 'SORRY!' and we watched a movie. It was fun staying all together!

#day6 (a bowl of ice cream + football game)

Hi everyone,
on the sixth day I went to the swimming practise as the other mornings, I died and also had fun at the same time as always. After it, my swimming team and I went eating an ice cream and a girl who is as old as me drove me.😅 I know, I have to get used to this, but it's so weird! I feel so weird!
When we arrived we didn't eat a normal ice cream in a cone or in a cup, we bought a huge bowl with ice cream and we ate it all together in only 10 minutes.

It was super yummy! It had everything in it: candies, nuts, peanut butter, m&m's, almonds... everything!

At 6:30m p.m. (after dinner), Kyla picked me up and we went to the football scrimmage with some other girls. I think that a football scrimmage is basically a football game where the only players are the boys of the same school, in this case, my school. They had created two teams that played one against the other. It was my first football game, so I didn't really understand it, but it was fun! I met a lot of new people (I forgot all their name) and everyone was very welcoming!

#day5 (my team + firepit)

Hi everyone,

on the fifth day I went to the swimming practise in the morning.

The first part was so harder, we run more than the day before and my arms and my legs were still hurting from the day before. However, the second part was fun!

After that practise I was dying more than the day before, I was exhausted and literally starving.

My swimming team.

Then I walked my schedule with Kyla to know where my classes are. She had just got her driving license and she drove me home. It was so strange! She is younger than me and she can drive, I'm older and I can't.

In the afternoon I finally bought everything I needed for school and it was so exciting!

School starts on Tuesday which is August 21st, but I am going on August 20th with the freshmen to figure everything out.

Then I finally met Sydney. She is a girl who I have been texting with for more than a month and she is so nice! We had a lot of fun together!

After dinner, I went outside at our firepit with other two girls who are Grace and Lucy, and my host dad. We roasted the marshmallows and we ate them between two biscuits where we had spread Nutella on. So that, it came up like a sanwich: biscuit, nutella, marshmallow and biscuit. It was so yummy! I would eat a thousand of those fat, but amazing things.

#day4 (swimming practise)

Hi everyone,
at 8 a.m. of the fourth day I started my swimming practise.
It lasts 3 hours and it's divided in two parts: first we run and do workout (push ups, squats, sit ups and stuff like that) for an hour and a half, then we swim for the rest of the time.
The first part was really hard (also because I can only do 10 push ups and we did 100 of those) and at the end I was literally dying.
Anyway, I had a great time and I met a lot of new girls that, of course, goes at the same school as me.

At dinner I learned how to grill the chicken and I ate my first salad with a cheese sauce (I usually eat it with olive oil and salt), but it was really good! I think I have loved everything I have eaten here😁.

#day3 (school + Buffalo Wild Wings)

Hi everyone,

on the third day, my host dad, my host sister, Kyla (a really nice girl that goes to the same school as me) and I went to the Bloomington High School, the school which I'm gonna attend, to record me. They put me in the 12th grade, so... I'm a SENIOR!!! I'm so happy about it! It was one of my bucket list's point.😍

With Kyla💓

The high school is so cool!! It's really big: it has three floors, a building next to it that has the swimming pool and the gym, it has another building for art and so many fields for football, baseball, track, cross country and a lot of other sport that you can do.

I had my schedule: I have to do English, Maths, Science, American History and American Government which lasts only a semester, so 5 classes were already decided. Then I chose: Spanish because I am studying it in Italy and Journalism II where you work on the yearbook just because I think it's interesting. In addition, I also took the Psychology class that lasts only a semester and it matches with American Government.

MY SCHEDULE

Period 1 (7:30-8:20 a.m.): Junior Lit/Composition

Period 2 (8:24-9:14 a.m.): Government

Period 3 (9:18-10:08 a.m.): Anatomy and Physiology

Period 4 (10:12-11:02 a.m.): Honors Pre-Calculus

Period 5A (11:02-11:31 a.m.): LUNCH!

Period 5B (11:31-12:27 p.m.): Spanish III

Period 6 (12:31-1:21 p.m.): American History

Period 7 (1:25-2:15 p.m.): Journalism II

Then I signed up for swimming as the sport that I will practise in the afternoon after school for the first season, which is the fall season.

For lunch we went to Buffalo Wild Wings where I ate wings with medium sauce and french fries. That sauce was too spicy for me, but they were really good though.🍟

After that, we went home and we watched a movie on Netflix.
In the afternoon I picked tomatoes with my host mum in the garden. They were a lot!!

At dinner my host mum made hamburgers and they were delicious!! I really loved them!🍔😍

#day2 (pop tarts + Illinois State University)

Hi everyone,

On the second day I got my American number!!!

In addition, I walked the dogs, went to 2 stores (2 of those huge American stores with everything😍), I ate my first Pop Tarts with chocolate chip and I think they are one of the best thing in the world.

In the evening my host family and I went to the Illinois State University and I loved it! It was so amazing!!
We went to the football field.

I talked with almost all the coaches and with some of the players.

I took a photo with the mascot Reggie Redbird.

I had so much fun! Everyone was so welcoming!

#day1 (swimming pool + ice cream)

Hi everyone,

the first day was amazing, even though I woke up at 5 a.m. because of the jet lag.

My host mum cooked a really good breakfast: French bread (I think it was it's name) and sausages.

At 11 a.m. we went to the mass which is similar to the Italian mass, apart from the fact that they stay on their knees more than we do. Then we went home and we ate a frozen pizza which were like the Italian frozen pizzas: it was good but it wasn't pizza. In the afternoon we went to a sort of water park and I really had fun there! First we went to the 'lazy river' where you just take a tube and don't do anything because the flow will move you. It was so relaxing! After that we went to a pool where we played with a ball.

After the swimming pool, we went to eat the biggest ice cream I have ever eaten. It was so good!

Finally we had dinner with a girl that goes to the same school as me. We played soccer, we ate delicious potatoes and meat and we talked. At 8 p.m. I was so exhausted, but I had a really great time with her!

Where are my suitcases?

Hi everyone,
the first thing that happened when I arrived in Bloomington was that... I couldn't find my suitcases. A really good start!😂
Then I asked to the flight attendants and they told me that the suitcases would have arrived in two different places, so I hoped that I would find my suitcases in the other place.
I followed the signs and I reached my host family!  was so happy to finally meet them!
They made a poster for me which said 'Welcome to Bloomington Mary' and where they added so many beautiful stickers.😍 They bought me flowers and three baloons: one was an American flag, one said 'welcome home!' and the other one was purple and it said 'Bloomington High School, RAIDERS'. We took a lot of photos and we finally talked in person.
Then I discovered that my suitcases would come in a place next to them😀. We waited for them and they luckily arrived save and sound.

After that, we went home, they showed me the house and my room where there were other presents like chocolate, 4 t-shirts, 3 notebooks, a lipstick and other stuff.

I loved everything! I was really super very extremely extra happy!!!

August 11th

Hi everyone,

this morning I woke up at about 7 a.m. and I got ready to leave.
My parents, my sister and I went to the airport of Bologna by car and we paid for the second-baggage, we did the check in and we also had breakfast (my last favourite breakfats: croissant with jam and cappuccino).

Then, the moment arrived. We took some photos, we went until the security together, they told me the last raccomandations, they said me goodbye and I did the same. We hugged, we all had wet eyes, I passed the security and I left them.

In that moment.. my adventure really began!

First plane from Bologna to London

• The flight went good: I was near a woman that slept all the time, I read, I looked out the window (yes I had the window seat in all the flights😍)
• When I arrived in London I found my way to arrive to the next plane. It was really easy because there were a lot of signs
• I bought a sandwich and I waited to know my gate
• I took a sort of a subway to reach an other building where my gate was

Second plane from London to Chicago

• The plane was one of those huge plane with two floors, where the flight attendants give you the lunch or the dinner, where you can watch movies or listen to music or charge your phone, where you have a blanket, a pillow and a pair of earphones, where I had even got an ice cream🍦... I think I love staying here😂
• My seat was between the window and a British girl who is really nice. She really saved my life make me complete a sheet of paper that the flight attendants gave to who needed it on the plane
• I watched two movies, I ate a lot and I tried to sleep but it didn's really work

My dinner.

Above Chicago.

• When I landed, the guard checked my VISA and asked me some questions. 
• I went to the baggage claim where I found my 'life savior'. She told me where to go (she had already had her suitcase) and we said goodbye. She really saved my life because they asked me that paper twice. Thanks Megan!💓
• I took my two suitcases (thanks also to a woman that helped me) and? In that moment I didn't know where to go, so I just asked someone and they helped me.
• I left my baggages again and I followed the signs that said 'Terminal 3'
• I took a train to my terminal and I saw the sunset😍
• Then I reached my gate and I waited. I was so exhausted. I was literally dying😴

Third plane from Chicago to Bloomington

• The plane had only 40 seats. It was so small!!
• I was falling asleep, but I tried not to because the flight would last about 20 minutes, so it was useless. Moreover, when I would have waken up, I would be more tired than before

Chicago by night.

Let's start!

Hi everyone,
as you may have understand... tomorrow is the big day!

Tomorrow I will leave all of my family and friends.
Tomorrow I will leave Italy and its delicious food.
Tomorrow I will leave my house and my (and my sister's) bedroom.
Tomorrow I will leave my school, my teachers and my classmates.
Tomorrow I will leave some of my clothes in my wardrobe that my sister will be happy to use.
Tomorrow I will leave my daily routine.
Tomorrow I will leave my life for 10 moths.

ON THE OTHER HAND
I will have another amazing family.
I will find new friends.
I will go to a new school, a high school.
I will try many new things and food.
I will visit some places.
I will go to many basketball game.
I will have my own bedroom.
I will celebrate Thanksgiving.
I will crave a pumpkin and dress up for Halloween.
I will see guys younger than me driving.
I will discover so many things of another culture.
I will grow up.
I will realize my biggest dream: being an exchange student in the USA.
I will create my second life myself.

And.. I just cannot really wait!!

The day before

Hi everyone,
the departure day is almost arrived and I'm super excited! I haven't really realized that I will be far away from home for 10 months yet and I don't even know how many are 10 months. They may seem a lot, but they may fly away.

Today I said goodbye to some of my friends for the last time and I finally closed my 2 suitcases, I did the check in online and I ate pizza with my family.

The best pizza in the entire world.

I'm just feeling feelings that I think you will only feel if you will be an exchange student. It's just a mix that turns into a mess. I can't really explain it, but it's definitely not bad. Trust me!

In two days

Hi everyone,

in two days I am gonna be in Americaaa!!

I am super excited, even though I sometimes get a bit nervous. However, let's say that the excitement wins over the anxienty.

In these days I'm in the mountains with my family so you will read this post late: I don't have my computer here.😅

I can't wait to go back home to do the last things, even though I still have to do so many things.

Anyway, I will do them, maybe I won't sleep, but I will do them!

Some of the things that I have to do are:

• Put everything in my suitcases and close them definitely
• Check the airports out to have an idea where I will have to go when I land in London and in Chicago
• Check the classes that I think am gonna take at the High school and the ones that my Italian teachers suggested me
• Choose a sport
• Last but not least, write the posts that I'm writing on my phone here in the mountains on my blog

I won't definitely sleep.😂

My host family have already told me what we will do the first days together, but I won't tell you yet.

I hope I will be able to keep writing on this blog also in America!

I'm super excited! 

-2 days

Goodbye party

Hi everyone,

on August 2th I did my goodbye party with all of my friends and it was awesome!

We went to a bar/restaurant to have dinner together. The location was amazing: the table was set with blue, red and white napkins and tablecloth. In addition, there were an American flag that I had bought and some little American flags that I had made. We ate a lot and then we went to the square (in the centre of the city where I live). There, we talked, we laughed and we had a really great time together. I have also where the American flag as a mantle and we took some photos until the moment when I had to hug them and say goodbye to them for the last time before leaving arrived.

When I went home I read all the inscriptions that they wrote me on a small notebook and I was feeling a bit upset. A lot of them where so moving! I think that night was the night when I realized what I was gonna do on August 11th and what I was gonna leave and miss from Italy.
I really had a lot of fun with them! I will miss them!

Suitcase

Hi everyone,

the fateful moment has arrived, he moment when you have to prepare your suitcase and then leave.

Some of you may like to organize and plan everything you will put in it, but someone may not.

Anyway, even though you love it or not, today I'm going to give you some advice that other people and past exchange students gave me.

The first question is: how many suitcases should I bring with me?

Unfortunately there's not a better answer than others. In fact, different people choose to do different things:

• Someone brings only one suitcase and a credit card to buy everything she/he needs during the exchange year. These people will definitely come back with more than one suitcase
• Someone brings two suitcases: one for the summer and one for the winter. In this way, you have almost everything you need, but you have to carry two suitcases through the airport
• Someone brings only one suitcase and her/his parents will send her/his a package with the rest of the clothes that she/he needs
• Someone brings two suitcases and a big carry on baggage because theycan't leave anything at home

I think it depends on what type of person you are and how do you want to spend your money: the second suitcase? Shopping in the USA? The package from your parents?

After I had thought about it, I finally decided to bring two suitcases with me. I will put some of the winter clothes and the summer clothes in one suitcase and some of them in the other suitcase. <i hope they won't be full or very big. 

Some advice:

• Put a change of clothes in your carry on baggage, in case they will lose your suitcase
• Put two sheets of paper out your suitcase, in case one of them gets lost
• Roll up your clothes if you wanna have more space
• Don't put scissors or stuff like that in your carry on baggage
• Check on the website of you line what you can and cannot bring and the maximum weight and height of the suitcase and the baggage
• Ask your host family what they will give you so you won't bring useless things with you

Down below I will add some lists that I have found. I hope they will be useful!