Trip around Sardinia

As my year quickly comes to an end, I had a great week on vacation on the beaches of Sardinia. I and many other exchange students took a week long trip around the island, visiting beaches, Nuraghi, and many other great spots. The best day was definitely the last, when we took a boat along the coast and stopped at various beaches along the way that can only be reached by boat. This was arguably the most relaxing vacation I've ever had. I met new students from China, Japan, Chile, Germany and Australia, and we all had a wonderful trip together.

Update

Well, May has been flying by and next month will be my last in Sardinia. I've had quite a busy month traveling to Rome, running, going out with friends, and even sailing. On the May 26th, I'll start a short vacation with the program where we'll get to visit different sites in Sardinia and then at the end, we'll have another 3 days in Rome before coming back on the 6th and then finishing school on the 10th. I'll have the remaining time to go to the beach and hang out with friends before heading to Milan on the 22nd and flying to New York on the 23rd to meet up with my mom. Here are some photos from this month.

Roman Holiday

My host mother Alessandra told me on Sunday that she had work in Rome on Tuesday, and asked if I wanted to go. Well, of course!!! We had an early morning flight from Cagliari, and Alessandra took me to the subway when we got into the city and I spent the morning at the Vatican, which was incredible! I got to visit Pope John Paul II's tomb, the Cupola, St. Peter's Square, La Pieta by Michelangelo, the Vatican museum, and the Sistine Chapel. Then after an exhausting morning of walking, I took the subway back to meet Alessandra, who had just finished her meeting. Then we went to the Fontagna di Trevi, and made wishes with Euros. Afterward, we took the subway and then the train back to the airport and flew home that evening. I will have another trip again in June and I can hardly wait!!! The pictures are of me in front of Michelangelo's Pieta, and the other is of Alessandra making a wish at the Fontagna di Trevi.

Happy (Italian) Birthday!!!

Ah, what a wonderful birthday! I even got two parties! First, I had a small pizza dinner at my house with two classmates (Davide and Dario), an Australian friend who's also an exchange student (Abbey), her host brother (Enrico), and a friend from the cross-country team (Fabio). I got two Sardegna t-shirts, which are very cool, and a delicious birthday cake. Then the following Saturday, my classmates "surprised" me with a "surprise" party at an ice rink/pizzeria. They didn't do a very good job keeping it a secret! Anyway, unfortunately, I only got one photo on my camera before the battery died and then I'm still waiting for photos from the second party, so we'll just have to imagine! My awesome classmates got me Carrera sunglasses that I've been dropping (enormous) hints at all year, so I was a happy camper! I probably won't get very many Italian birthdays, so this was a pretty special year! Thanks Gran and Grandad for the extra "help" for getting to Rome as my gift. The trip came much sooner than expected!

Mastering the Art of (attempted) Italian Cooking

Usually my host mom Alessandra is at work when I come home for lunch but she always has lunch waiting for me in the fridge or on the stove. One day this week, I told her not to worry about it, thinking I could manage spaghetti on my own. I thought, "How exciting, my first Italian cooking experience!". The fact that the stove was out of gas when I started should have been a warning for me to STOP NOW, but I continued anyway. I called Alessandra when the stove didn't work and she told me to go to the apartment next door, where he mother, Nonna (grandma) Mira lives. So, I headed next door and finished boiling my water and then came back in the apartment to finish up with the butter and parmesan cheese. Unfortunately, I have never had a more disgusting plate of spaghetti, not even for school lunch. I guess I will never be "Mr. Italian Chef", and I will leave Italian cooking to the pros but I'm satisfied just eating it. I only regret that I won't be able to come home and cook everybody some Italian recipe because I fear another disaster.

A slight change

On Monday, I switched host families after "irreconcilable differences" I suppose. Anyway, I was placed with another host "family" and conveniently did not have to change schools or anything else. I live with a new host mother who is a physics researcher at the University of Cagliari. She speaks English as well as French but we tend to speak only in Italian at home. Anyway, I was able to live near friends so it has turned out very well and I hope the next two months will be filled with more fun experiences. The summer is quickly coming as the heat and humidity start to kick in and I've heard nothing but complaints about how hot the summer gets but we have a beach, so we can't complain too much. I got to race last Sunday on a beautiful course along the beach. I ran an 8K with my teammates Fabio and Mattia. We had a very enjoyable morning.

Easter

Easter is shockingly similar in Italy. We have a six-day break from school for the holiday. Italians also paint and hide eggs, though the Easter bunny is a little less heard-of. I went to an Easter vigil with friends at 10:30 Saturday night. Easter, my family took me to Nora, Italy, an excavation site in southern Sardinia. Excavators have discovered ruins from the both the Roman age (the city is thought to be the first Roman city) and remains from the Phoenicians, from which the name Sardegna came from. We also took a cave tour and hiked up to the top of castle on a very high hill. A very fun day, though I got a little car sick with the narrow roads and drastic curves.