Orientation, Rome, Pizza, Host Family and New Experiences

So I'm writing this safely in Italy! I love it here, it's a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Along the journey I kept a diary on my phone so I'll just publish the most important parts of that for this post :)

Kiwi students headed for Europe on the same day at Auckland Airport

On Thursday we left New Zealand bound for Rome. When we arrived at Auckland airport there were a group of Spanish students who were going home, as well as some of the students going with me to Italy, Spain, France and Germany. It was so nice to see them all because we met earlier in the year at the orientation camp!

When it came time to go through security we all said goodbye to our families and had a talk from the AFS volunteer about safe travelling etc. A couple of people were a bit teary eyed but not as much as I thought. I went through security with Holly (Sardinia) because we were the only ones without kiwi passports. The lady in the x-ray machine seemed to be worried that Holly had had a pen in her bag which was strange haha...

We met the others at our gate (about 20 of us in total) and waited for the first leg of our journey to Melbourne. I sat next to Gregory and Hannah and Lilly was on the other side of Gregory in the 4 seats in the middle of the plane. In front of us was everyone else going to Italy - Dali, Tilly, Holly and Te Arahi. On this flight I watched Monsters University in Italian and slept a bit. The flight was quite nice and it's fun having people to talk to. The kids going to the other European countries were on the same flight but sat in different areas. 

Lilly, Holly and I in Melbourne

When we arrived in Melbourne we were all quite relieved to be off the plane I think! I got some Pringles which were $7 something!! The others bought some food too and it was funny us all trying to pay in different currencies and the man trying to work it all out hahahaha.

The next flight was about 15 hours - from Melbourne to Dubai, on Emirates again. This flight actually went really fast I thought which was strange because I normally absolutely HATE long flights! I watched some movies and tv shows that I had loaded on my phone. We all also slept a lot because this flight was in the evening and they had the lights dimmed which made it quite cosy, or as cosy as a plane can be. I was so relieved when we landed in Dubai! That long flight was over and we only had the 6 hour one to Rome to go! I also couldn't wait to get washed in Dubai and get a proper drink and food hallelujah!

Dubai

Dubai airport was absolutely massive! We had to catch a train to our gate plus elevators and walking heaps, it was like its own city. Holly, Hannah, Lilly and I stuck together and went and got smoothies. We then went on a looooooong walkabout trying to find McDonald's. When we got to the gate all of the other Italian kiwi students were there so we sat down with them and also a group of Italian afsers on their way home from Australia! One of the girls is from Cesena and she knows my host family which was so cool.

We all boarded the plane to Rome and this time the two rows had reversed the seats so Lilly, Hannah, Gregory and I were sitting in front of the others. This flight went in a blur, I think the tiredness and need for showers was quite overwhelming and we all just wanted to get to Rome finally. I honestly can't even remember what I did on this flight, we all talked quite a bit about different aspects of the exchange and I think I watched some more tv shows on the plane screen. There were these awesome cameras which you could view from your screen - one looking down from beneath the plane, one looking across from the tail and another one. When we caught out first glimpse of Italy from them it was amazing!! We also flew over the Colosseum which was so cool. 

Kiwis on the plane minus Gregory and Holly

We landed in Rome in the afternoon and after going through the airport check, went to get our luggage. An AFS lady was waiting for us and she said we had to wait for a couple more groups of students to arrive before we could leave. She then took us out into the entrance where other AFS people were waiting. I felt so gross because of not showering and the heat was so overwhelming! We were super thirsty as well which didn't help, but so happy to finally be IN Italy. 

After meeting some other students and talking a bit they lead us outside where it was 10X hotter. We then walked to the busses and were so grateful to find they had air conditioning yayayayayay!!! The drive to the place where the orientation was held was about 20 minutes and I sat next to Holly. We went past so many flower stalls it was crazy! Italians must really like their flowers. The scenery was so beautiful and it was interesting to see them driving on the other side of the road to NZ. Something I noticed was how flat and dry the land that we drove through was, although where we actually stayed was more hilly. There also a lot of stick kind of trees rather than bush like in New Zealand. We also saw a shirtless old man driving which seemed like a typical Italian image, but I can't blame him - it was so, so hot! 

We arrived at the camp and got lead to a place to drop off our big cases ready for departure on Sunday. They then gave us some important papers, an Italian Inturcultura top and our room keys. I was sharing with Lilly which was so great. Arriving here was quite overwhelming and everything was new and out of the ordinary to me so it was nice to have someone from home to share it with and make things seem more normal. That's another thing about the camp, although I met so many people from other countries it was so nice to have the kiwis to talk to when I wanted to.

After taking much needed showers and unpacking the essentials we went to the dining hall for dinner. Dinner was bread, pasta, salad, pork and peaches but they were all served as different courses. After this we had free time but I think all of the kiwis went to bed because we were exhausted from the 30+ hours travelling. I woke up a few times in the night and thought it was morning but I think that was just because the walls are paper thin and you can hear everyone, rather than jetlag so much. I'm not sure if this was a dream or not... But I may have woken up feeling really sick but the butterflies kind like I was really scared about everything. I thought it was a dream because I don't really feel scared but then thinking about it I feel like it was so real so I don't know hahaha, it's honestly all a blur.

Me at the orientation in Rome

After breakfast the next morning we all met in a huge room with seats and listened to a lady talk to us about what was happening that day. She explained that we would be separated into small language groups and spoken to about rules and that sort of thing. My group was E5, with Te Arahi another kiwi. In this group I also met a girl called Ida from Denmark who's going to be living in Cesena. We played name games and they talked to us about rules and then had a much needed water and peach break. The water tastes really different here, I don't quite know what it is about it but it has an after taste and almost tastes musky. I thought it was just the tap water at the hotel but we got given bottled water today and it tasted the same. I'm sure we'll get used to the taste really soon but at the moment it's super different. The peaches were soooo good, really juicy and I'm hoping that's an Italian thing and not just the particular ones they bought because I could really get used to those mmmmmm. We then played a huge game of bang on the field and met some more people from different countries. There's 40 something students here from America, and then smaller numbers from all of the other countries like Russia, Thailand, Bolivia, Croatia, Australia, Japan, Germany, Chile...

The hotel

The place we're staying at is so beautiful! It's a 'hotel' (later we found out it was a nunnery place) but so totally different to an average hotel. There's lots of houses and then rooms inside the houses with 2 beds and a bathroom which is where we all sleep. These houses are spread out a whole load and in between there's lots of other buildings and grassy areas. It's so cool and the architecture is so Italian. It almost seems like a boarding school kind of thing. Holly, Lilly and I walked around earlier to take photos of the buildings etc. 

Lunch was pretty much the same as dinner last night - pasta, pork, salad, bread, chips and watermelon. One huge difference I found to NZ food-wise is how many carbs there are in one meal. I knew that Italians ate a lot of carbs but I thought I wouldn't notice it much because I'm used to eating pasta, rice, potato or bread with dinner every night at home but here it's not one or the other it's just all of them. We had 3 with lunch today! I don't know if that's normal yet but I guess I'll find out once I get to my host family. 

Holly and Lilly outside our 'house' in Rome

After lunch we got separated into groups again but this time for place that were going. I was in 3 - centro east. This part was really cool because we met the people in our local chapters and the ones travelling with us tomorrow. In my chapter there's 4 students from New Zealand (me), Chile, Denmark and Germany. They all seem really nice so that's great. Dinner was then followed by a welcome ceremony, where the head of AFS Intercultura (the Italian AFS) spoke to us about our year ahead. He went through all the countries there and we had to stand up when we were called. He made a special mention for NZ because we travelled the furthest out of everyone there! 

The next morning Lilly had to leave for her host family at about 6 o'clock and it was strange saying goodbye for a whole year. I feel like I'll see her again soon but I won't. I couldn't get back to sleep after that, my mind was going wild thinking about this next year. After I'd been laying there for about an hour Holly knocked on my door because Tilly had left and she was alone in her room too. I got ready and we went to buy Internet for an hour. Hannah came and we had breakfast with 2 girls from America and then Holly and I went back to my room (with some Nutella packets as souvenirs of course) and talked. We bought some postcards which turned out to be one of the funniest experiences ever because the lady at the desk only spoke Italian and we were trying to buy stamps for New Zealand. She was trying to sell Holly 2 at 2 euros when she only wanted one, going "due... quattro" every time Holly said "uno". It was hilarious we were both in floods of laughter when we asked one of the Italian volunteers to talk to her for us. 

When the time came for me leave I felt happy but so sad at the same time. This camp has been great and I love meeting everyone from all around the world, but I also have loved having the kiwis to talk to because we're all going through the same thing and the whole group was quite close after all of the flights and camp in NZ. I'll definitely miss them a whole bunch  

I think I should be feeling more than I am. Before coming I thought that it would hit me and kept saying when I thought it would like last day of school, or when I started packing or whatever but it never really did and even now when I'm here I'm doing the same thing. I'm thinking when I get to my host family it'll hit me, or on the first day of school but to be honest I don't think it'll ever hit me. This is such a big thing and although I know the year will go so fast it's still a year which is a long time and I can't quite comprehend that - at least not just yet. I think I really need to take everyday as it comes and just see what happens next.

This next part was written after I arrived at my host family in Cesena:

One of the views out of the train

The train ride to my town was really long. We left the camp in Rome at 12pm and reached Cesena at around 7:40pm. It went really fast because I was with a large group, and 3 others in the same chapter who are all really lovely - Ida, Francisca and Jan. On the first train a Rome tour guide came and sat next to us and talked for hours, giving us tips for if we visit Rome. She was so friendly! Other than that we all discussed our exchanges and talked about our home countries. The train was packed and boiling hot, especially the 2nd one wow. 

It was so cool seeing AFS students getting off the train because we would all watch them meet their host families and it was so nice. Most of them would run to hug them and some had posters or even flowers for them. Cesena was one of the last stops and when it came time for the four of us to get off we were feeling excited and a bit nervous. Our host families all came up to us together, my host mum was holding a banner with all of our names on but I saw my host sister, Marta, first. Everyone introduced themselves and hugs were exchanged then we were asked if we wanted to go for pizza or if we were too tired. We were all so tired but how could you turn down proper Italian pizza?! Francisca had to go but we weren't sure why because our Italian is super bad but Ida, Jan and I along with our host families went in the cars to a cute little pizzeria not far from the train station. 

My first Italian pizza

The pizzeria was down some stairs and it was quite busy. They introduced Ida, Jan and I to the owner and he was saying "benvenuto!". Very, very Italian I loved it! We all sat together at a huge table and talked the whole time. Marta said that they would talk English to us tonight because we were tired but tomorrow the Italian would start so that should be interesting. When they were all talking in Italian though it was really cool because we could recognise some words and sometimes make sense of what they were saying by those words alone. 

Ida and her pizza

The owner said that they would bring out some specialties for us which were a big ball of cheese and i wish i could remember which kind but i can't haha it was really good though, very different to any cheese I've ever tried. The other plate had a bunch of different things on it. Some fried tomato rice sort of thing, fried pizza balls and some other things. I then ordered my pizza which was Margarita and it was AMAZING! The base and the cheese were especially good and trust me I am not a cheese person but that cheese was so, so, so good! Also the water was good! What a relief. 

View from the lounge

When we said goodbye to Ida, Jan and their families any doubts I had were gone. My host family is the best! When we got back my host mum gave me a tour of the apartment and it's so lovely, really modern. The upstairs is just mine and Marta's, with our bedrooms and a bathroom. My bedroom is HUGE! I'll post a photo it's like my dream bedroom haha.