Saturday, December 24, 2016

Italians Try American Candy! - video

Ciao a tutti! 
Here's the video you've been waiting for! "Italians Try American Candy!"
This was such a fun video to film and I want to thank my close friends Carla and Mavi for filming it with me - not that they didn't enjoy it ;)
MERRY CHRISTMAS! 



Wednesday, December 21, 2016

For My Friends...

I know no better way to express to you all how much I love you. Forever in my heart and in my memories.
Love, 
Nicole 


Sunday, December 18, 2016

Italy Tour | Pisa (video)


The leaning tower of Pisa! Wow, just wow to everything. This is the last of my video diaries for the Italy tour. Our goodbye scene included :( 
Hope you enjoyed the series!

-Nicole Solomon xoxo

Italy Tour | Siena & Florence (video)

Ciao a tutti! Here's video number four! Everything about Italy was beautiful but the sights we saw in Florence take the cake <3 
Enjoy :)

-Nicole Solomon xoxo 


Italy Tour | Orvieto (video)

Here's my third video blog (vlog) from Italy Tour! We were supposed to be headed to Florence but it was raining there so we took a detour to Orvieto! Definitely my favorite place we visited! 

~Nicole Solomon xoxo


Saturday, December 17, 2016

Italy Tour | Pompeii (video)

Check out this vlog from our day in Pompeii!

~Nicole Solomon xoxo 


Italy Tour | Rome (video)

Thank you so much to Rotary for giving me the opportunity to tour Italy! Here's my vlog from our first two days in Rome! 

~Nicole Solomon xoxo


Thursday, November 17, 2016

My First Care Package!

     Ciao a tutti! Sono molto felice! 
     Yesterday my first care-package arrived! I went through a lot with the post office to get that little sucker but I got it! 

My care-package!
     About a month ago, I asked my mom to send me a box filled with American candy. Why? Well, while I do love my beautiful Italian island, it has one flaw - they only sell Haribo gummies. Unacceptable. I feel it is my civil duty as an American to introduce the food that I live on to my new friends and family. So yesterday I picked up my delivery!
     Along with a few letters from my loved ones, I received a mass load of candy, a polaroid, a beautiful drawing from my sister, and a jar of peanut butter. My friend Regina helped me open everything up. We're both so excited about the polaroid camera! She took the first picture on it - me surrounded by 15 pounds of candy. We're going on a tour of Italy in three days so the camera came just in time! 
     Today I brought one of the bags of skittles to school (Tip for future American exchange students- skittles are the key to popularity). This may sound strange, but bringing in those skittles was the answer to breaking down the remaining walls between my classmates and myself. Since I've been here, I've gotten really close with some of them, but until today when I had the chance to walk around and - for the first time - actually talk to each and every one of them, did I feel a little unsure of how to interact with them. I wanted to feel fully comfortable with them like they do with each other. I wanted to be friends with all of them and laugh and tease them. And the Skittles helped me do that! I got to tease them when they made faces after they tried one and laugh with them and even engage in a Skittles war. And they were really excited to try American candy! A few of them were familiar with Skittles from having traveled to England and trying them there. So they were thrilled to see what I brought. It was surprisingly a really amazing bonding experience. It's probably been my favorite class day since I've moved here. Maybe even my favorite day overall since I've broken down the walls between my new friends and I. 
     I can't even express to you how much I love them all, and I already never want to go home!
     Grazie e buona giornata! 

     -Nicole Solomon xoxo

Friday, November 11, 2016

The Mannequin Challenge! (Quicksilver Edition)



Filmed the Mannequin Challenge with my school friends! Edited it so that it looks like Quicksilver payed a visit to our class XD

Enjoy...

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Everything about Italian Schools and More

     Schools in Italy...where do I even start? They're so different from schools in the U.S.
     First of all, high school is divided into two sections. Upper secondary school and lower secondary school. I am in the third year of upper secondary school (Scuola Secondaria).
     The school I attend now, Canopoleno, it is about 1/3 the size of my high school in California. When I first visited the school and noticed its small size, I was so relieved. I thought, 'Great, this makes it 50% more likely that I won't get lost,' (I was wrong by the way- I always manage to do so). However, unlike schools in the States, the students don't have to rotate from class to class. There's no running across campus to make it from Geometry to History in that 5 minute window. You stay in the same class the whole day. The teachers are the one's with the 5 minute window (but they sure do take their sweet time getting from class to class). Each subject is only about 45-50 minutes, unless you have the same subject back to back. But you usually only spend about 25-30 minutes learning because the teachers- using that sweet time of theirs- spend the first 15 minutes getting themselves situated.
     I am fortunate enough to have been placed in one of the loudest, craziest, funnest classes in the whole school. We are constantly being yelled at for disturbing other classes and for totally ignoring our teachers. We talk, walk around, tell jokes- all in the midst of our lesson while the teacher continues on. That's one of the key things about school here. If you don't pay attention in class, most of the teachers don't care. They seem to have that, 'It's your time, if you want to waste it, waste it' attitude. So if you have a really mellow teacher who will be a pushover for the class, you'd better believe that it's like war in there.  You never know when you'll get hit in the head by a flying shoe or have your chair pulled out from under you. It is your own time though, so if you choose to mess around- which you can, you're pretty much stuck self teaching yourself an entire days worth of work.
     The grading scale in Italy, and much of Europe, is from 1-10. One being the worst you can do and ten being the best. However, the kids in my class consider it a crime to get anything below a 6 - they may be crazy and rambunctious but they're still good kids. Now, the thing about grading in Italy is, it's entirely based on tests. There is no classwork, there are hardly ever projects, and there is no participation grade. How you do for the year rides solely on your testing abilities. We're not just talking about sitting down with a pen and paper and filling in bubbles, a lot of these tests are oral exams. You may have to memorize 6 pages word for word of a history textbook and recite it for the teacher- I've seen it happen. I've seen someone memorize more than I could have and more, she did her interrogation, and still only got an 8/10. I would have given her an 11. These Italian kids know how to test.
     There are many different kinds of classes you can place yourself into. Like I said before, you stay with the same students in the same class the whole year- and you're most likely with that same class for all your high school years. You choose your class based on what you want your career to revolve around when you're older. A musical class, artistic class, scientific class, language studies, etc. etc. I am in a newly invented class which is a combination of Liceo Scientifico (sciences) and Liceo Classico (classic). It's a Classic European class. I take a total of 13 classes: Spanish, Philosophy, Chemistry, P.E., Religion, Latin, Greek, English, Art History, Biology, Math, Italian Literature, and Geography. Fortunately for me, nobody expected the American girl to exceed in Latin or Greek. So as cool as it would be to learn them, I can't study Latin and Greek while still being expected to become fluent in Italian- so I use those classes for independent study- it certainly has benefited my Italian.
     School for most student runs from about 8:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Yes, they go to school on Saturdays. I am in one of the very few and rare classes that only goes to school Monday through Friday- and believe me I am thankful. The only twist on that is, I go to school from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. two days a week. The remaining three days, I go to school from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. And yes, again, you read that correctly. I must submit myself to 9 hours of school three days a week. But in exchange, I get to sleep in on Saturday mornings, which is an advantage most Italian teens don't have. In fact, out of all the exchange students on the island, roughly 50 of us, I am the only one who gets Saturdays off.
     So, how do I survive those 9 hour school days you ask? Simple, the Italian school system may be intense when it comes to testing, but they know when to give kids some slack. Every two classes we get a 15-20 minute break- and you wouldn't believe how refreshing and bearable it makes the day.
Also, unlike school in the States, you aren't constantly working and writing and then going home to do 5 more hours of working and studying. We don't have homework- the time we have after school we dedicate to studying what we know we need to study. There is no homework for us to worry about. It is something I have come to realize is so much more beneficiary- without having to stress about the required work due the next day, you can focus on studying what you know you need to work on.
     However, the biggest relief  by far is lunchtime. Lunch works very differently in Italian schools. It is indeed your very own lunch - time. We are allowed one hour every day to leave campus for a lunch break. Many students, like myself, just go home for lunch. I walk to Nonna's house (my Italian grandmother) every day. A typical every day lunch is pasta, some bread, and a meat. The Italians eat bigger lunches than they do dinners. Off the record, whoever said that Italians eat smaller portions than Americans do is a LIAR. Nobody, and I mean nobody, can eat more than these people and still only weigh 130 pounds. But it happens. And I now believe that the source of all that is good and well is organic food.
     All in all, do I prefer American school or Italian school? I haven't decided yet- there's definitely a decently sized pro-con list that I can make though (I won't).
     Grazie e buona giornata!
P.S. Happy two months in Italy to me!! Mini celebration- yay!

     -Nicole Solomon xoxo

Monday, October 31, 2016

Vlog Posted!



Hey everybody! Here's a short video I filmed on our day at an animal farm. Reminded me of home (Shoutout to my sister and her horse Coyote- I miss you guys! <3)

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Vlog Posted!


Ciao a tutti!
Here's a short video following Regina and I on our afternoon in Alghero :)

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Introduction- Ciao! Mi chiamo Nicole!

     Hi! I'm Nicole. This is a blog I created so I can document and share my thoughts and experiences with you during my year abroad in Italy! I'll be posting photos from my travels and writing about my new life here in Sardinia, Italy. I hope you enjoy :)

     For the past month and a half, I - a 16 year old California girl - have been living away from my friends and family in Italy. After an orientation meeting, a long talk with my parents, and a tedious application process, I made the choice to spend my junior year of high school in a foreign country. Why? I have absolutely no idea. All I know is that it happened, and now I'm 6,000 miles away from the only place I've ever called home.

     Before coming here, I had about 6 months of preparations, application work, and meetings to process that I would be leaving my life behind in California to build a new one. I didn't fully process anything until my final two minutes at the airport with my family. There were lots of tears, hugging, and a heavy Rotary blazer hanging on my shoulders. A small part of me was screaming not to let go of my mom, but after I dragged my way through security check, I waved goodbye, and I was off. 
     Despite the back and forth argument going on in my head, I walked to my gate. I had gotten through the first obstacle on my journey, letting myself go... And there I was, about to endure 20 hours of painful flying and layovers from San Jose, to L.A., to Rome, to Sardinia. 
     I packed up my life into a small suitcase (or three large ones) and flew on my own to the beautiful, Italian island.
     Here, I live with a host family. My host-dad, Giuseppe, my host-mom, Giovanna, and my host-sister, Giulia.  They've "adopted" me into their family for the duration (10 months) of my exchange. Meanwhile, their 16 year old daughter, Giorgia, is in the States living her own second life. 
     I've been blessed with a family who from the day of my arrival told me they wanted me be a part of their 'forever family'. And I can honestly say that after a month and a half of living with them, I know I am. They treat me like their own daughter, and I feel comfortable and happy with them. 
     I share a room with little Giulia, who despite my initial worries has proven that she respects my privacy and gives me space when she knows I need it. We've built a strong big-sister - little-sister relationship. She fills a hole in my heart where my little sisters are, and I think I fill the hole in her heart where Giorgia is.
     Once I felt completely settled in with my family and had gotten over my first rough patch of homesickness, the next challenge came, making friends. Now despite what my parents say whenever I try to talk to them about this, I have a small social anxiety problem. I think it has built up over the last 6 years of my life while I've moved from school to school to school. While my fears of being friendless and an overbearing amount of nerves and panic attacks have never gone away, I've learned how to cope with them. It's been a sort of practice, having to move to so many places and start over. And I viewed doing this exchange as a final step into overcoming my anxiety. Now, if moving to a new school every few years was hard enough for me, I wasn't sure how moving to a new school in a foreign country with a language barrier and without my family was going to work, but I still wanted to do it. 
     And so I did.
     The first day of school was unlike any other first day I've had. I walked into the classroom 15 minutes late with an, expected, introduction as the foreign exchange student from California. To me did that sound interesting? No. To them? It was the coolest thing ever. They wanted to know everything about my life. What does my city look like, how do people dress, what do I do in my freetime... the Californian lifestyle fascinates them. To them, the United States is a dreamland, the best place on Earth, and they all want to live there. Specifically in California, New York, or Florida - which makes sense. 
     I can honestly say I admire the way friendship is expressed through affection in Italy. The girls and guys in my class are so affectionate with each other and (unlike in the States) these gestures are considered friendly. A guy and girl hugging while they talk- friends. A girl cuddling with a guy and falling asleep on his shoulder during class- friends. Even the guys are more affectionate with each other- to an extent. Everybody expresses their love with each other without any judging or accusations of crushes flying around the room. It's just how Italians are. And it's beautiful.
     While I wish I could instantly be as close to everybody as they are to each other, they've been in the same class (literally all 26 of them in the same classroom) for years, it might take a while.  But the girls have already let me in, and a few of the guys. And even if I'm not close to all of them yet, not one of them makes me feel unwanted or alone. 
     The first day I met them they invited me to a "Classic European Class Only" party after school. So it was just the 26 of us after the first day of school, eating pasta and getting to know each other- more like them getting to know me. It was a very Italian evening. 
     I have made a few really close friends since I've been here. Two from school, Carla and Mavi, who have been the most welcoming and helpful friends ever. They make a strong effort every day to help me, teach me, and include me. I'm very thankful to call them two of my best friends.  
     Then there's Regina. She is a fellow Rotary Youth Exchanger. She's from Mexico, a few cities over from where my mom grew up, which built a connection between us (as well as the fact that we both speak Spanish). When we first met, I introduced myself to her in Spanish and since then, we've formed a strong friendship. We hang out every week whether it's dinner at Piazza d'Italia, shopping or movie night! We also go to the gym three times a week because let's be honest you've got to do something when you eat pasta and pizza every day-- the stereotype is real.
     So, here I am! All settled in and excited about the next 9 months of my journey. And I hope you're excited about them too. 
     That's all for now, Ciao!

          -Nicole Solomon xoxo