Hi everybody! How are you?
I’m doing good! I’m having a great time
here. I’m enjoying myself so much!
Anyway, I’m Luca and I come from Italy.
I live in Cremona, which is a city in the north, near Milan. I live with my
parents and my brother Giorgio who is 14. I have a dog, a cat and some fish.
I really like animals! When I am in Italy, I spend my time studying my
homework. After that I go out with my friends and I play a lot of soccer -
my really favorite sport.
I’m here as an exchange student
because…because I love traveling! My mother is a member of Rotary and we
started hosting Exchange Students 5 years ago! I was able to visit the homes
of students we hosted from Iceland and Sweden. I have also traveled to
Spain, France, Denmark and England, but not because of Rotary. So I like
traveling, meeting new people, learning new languages, and especially
learning about new cultures; and that is what I hope to gain from this
wonderful year!
About this Exchange …I’m still
excited…everyday I get to know new people. I have a nice family and
fortunately I have a brother and sisters. School is the only difficult
thing. I can’t understand all of the teachers and I have to pay close of
attention all the time! Some of them talk so fast. I come home so tired!!!!
I’m really looking forward to seeing all
of you!!!
Sincerely
Luca |
 Hi
Friends!
I want to talk about those few days because I really enjoyed myself a lot!
I started to get excited a few days before Friday and I was
still excited when I was speaking in front of you. I was happy when I met
all of you, when I talked to you and when we were playing games, climbing or
swimming! I was happy to teach you the Italian handshake and kiss you three
times on the cheek. I was happy when we were all together, hanging out and
dancing. I was happy to be your friend in just 2 days. I wasn’t happy to
leave the camp and all of you! I was happy to come back to my family and
talk with them.
I was happy until this morning when I went to school,
motivated to meet new friends and I understood that not all the friends are
like you think! You think that they are gonna be your friends because they
talk to you for a few days and than you realize that they are not the
friends that you were expecting!
My Mom told me that this thing is called: “mountain top
experience” that means that after you are arrived on the more beautiful part
of the mountain, the top, you have to come back and you have to go back down
which means that is the worst part of the day.
I said to my Mom that I, or better all of us, are going to
climb the mountain and not go down because this experience has just started
and we must be prepared and strong and continue to “climb” even if there is
a big rock in front of us that is difficult to go beyond.
Now I don’t know if I am more motivated to meet more knew
friends or not…but I think so!I want to build new friendship like we have
done in the camp!
I already miss you, I’d like to be with you again…but I am
a strong Italian Boy so I’m sure I will enjoy my self until we will meet
again!I’m looking forward to seeing all of you again!
Three Italian kisses to the girls
And an Italian handshake to the boys,
The Guy that can’t control his feelings…
Luca |
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Dear friends,
I was reading my last journal and I saw that now I need to
say a lot of different and beautiful things because the time has changed and
I’m gonna do that after saying something about why I came here. First of all
my mother is a member of the Rotary of my city and because of her we have
hosted exchange students from a lot of countries over the last four or five
years. So when I was young I wanted to be an exchange student and last year
when I had to give the application to my chairman and friend Giuseppe
Bertoglio I was scared to leave my parents, my family, my friends, and my
girlfriend. December was the time and I was still undecided, in my mind I
was torn between staying in Italy or coming here but I couldn’t decide. One
day in February or later I spoke with Giuseppe’s wife, Mara, about my
thoughts, worries and insecurities; at night I received a call, it was
Giuseppe, we talked for more than half an hour and he helped me a lot. At
the end he told me that I had only one day to decide. The day after, after
much thought, I called him and I said yes. I was still insecure but I was
happy. Now I have to thank Beppe for making me come here but also my parents
that allowed me to stay one year without them, thanks a lot to all of you!!!
After all the practices and the documents to be signed I
was ready to come here and finally the twenty-eighth of July I left all
behind me and I flew here. The flight was horrible, I missed the plane from
Washington to Jacksonville and the next plane was five hours later, after
four hours they said that the plane was over 3 hours late!!! At the and,
after 28 hours I arrived at one a.m. at the airport where all my family was
waiting for me with the big signs: Welcome Luca! I was so happy about that
because they made me feel like part of my new family from the first moment.
My first family is composed of 5: Lori and Steve, my
parents, Will, Kate and Emily, my brother and two sisters. Lori helped me a
lot while I’ve been here, she is a really nice person and I talk a lot with
her about different subjects, Steve is a really funny guy, he almost always
jokes all the time and we enjoy our staying together. My sisters are 13 and
10 years old and they are so nice, now I can receive one kiss of the good
morning and the goodnight for free from two pretty girls. Will is my brother
and he is 17 years old, I’ve been so lucky finding a guy of my age like him
in this family because I spend a lot of my time with him, maybe because we
both have the same subjects in common: chicks!!!
With this family I traveled a lot, we have been so many
places together, and two of them are Georgia and New York. In Georgia it was
a relaxing weekend where we have been in a natural park; in NY I was lost,
when I was on the top of the Empire State Building I was like… WOW, what is
that?!?! The smallest building that I could see was bigger than the highest
tower in my little city; everything was enormous or better girgenormus (a
word that my brother made up and now it became common).
I’ve spent other wonderful experiences here like
Homecoming Dance, Halloween, Thanksgiving and others…
Homecoming: for my first time I had to dress up for
something important…I didn’t know how to tie a tie so my dad tried to teach
me also if without results…When I arrived there I felt so goofy because I
couldn’t recognize myself with those clothes, so after I took off the
jacket, put up the sleeves and most important thing after I pimped the
collar of the shirt like an Italian full blood, I could go in the middle of
the room and dance like crazy with friends and I can say fortunately without
having a date I could dance with a lot of pretty girls too….
Halloween: In Italy we don’t celebrate this fest,
so it was so strange for me being part of the party. I dress out with a
“Sumo fat man” costume and I went around my neighborhood with my sisters and
brother, and then with some friend in other houses asking for candies; I'm
seventeen years old but that night I acted like if I was ten while I was
walking saying “trick or treat”?!
Thanksgiving: we don’t have this fest either in my
country so also that one has been a good experience for learning something
about the American culture. What to say about the Turkey day…after setting
the table my mom cooked all the morning long and I had the opportunity to
cook some Italian pasta…then some relatives that I hadn’t met yet came and
at about 2.30 p.m. we sat at the table to start the big lunch that finished
only in the late afternoon.
Soccer: fortunately I made the Varsity soccer team
in Fleming Island High school one of the best team in the state… I’m
enjoying my time so much because finally I’m getting busy, maybe too much
because everyday I have practices or games…
New Family: oh, I thought that it could be harder
and much more difficult to leave the first family where I have been for four
months, I was so close to my first family and I was really afraid to start
again from the beginning... fortunately I found another wonderful family
where after only 2 weeks I started to feel part of them. Now I live with
Greg and Sally two really nice, nice people. Now it’s Christmas time and I
feel at home with people that love me. For all this I have to thank my first
family that helped me a lot and now my second one!!! Thank you all!!!!
Walt Disney: WOW!!! As usual when we meet with each
other is a wonderful experience and every time I hope it wouldn’t ever end!
It was great from the first moment, the one when we met with everyone and
when we introduced ourselves to the exchange students from the other
districts…exciting! The parks weren’t great because in Italy we have better
rides but the thing that was great was the magic that was around everything,
especially during the night, with all the fireworks all that place was
fantastic!!! And just when we were seeing the fireworks and I talked with Al
I started to be touched and I’ll tell you why: right after the magic show
Ruth, Rikke and I were talking with Al and he was telling us that the song
that we listened during the fireworks was a song that they usually put on
the final meeting, we could see that he was emotionally touched while he was
saying that all those things, all those lights, all that magic, all that, he
meant EVERYTHING there and not was just for US, just all the guys that are
called Exchange students!!! I think that one was the first time in my life
that I felt something new, a new feeling; it was cry and being touched just
for being happy… I was happy and I could understand all the things that were
and are going on around me!!!! For all of that I have to be so, so thankful
with Al, Ken, John, Lawrene and all the youth exchange program…thank you
all!!!
Hurricanes: Scary but emotional and enterprising,
that’s how I lived those days of my life! Going to the Wal-mart’s restroom
for washing your face was really funny… maybe now I take it really easy but
guys, I started to be scared watching all the news and listening to the
radio too. It has been a good time for the family for being together and
spend some time playing cards or Monopoly… after all we didn’t have many
damages so we just cleaned up all the branches and the leaves in the
backyard….hard work….!(Saying that it was funny doesn’t mean that I wanna
try it again!)
Now I think that’s all. I’ll see you all at the New Year’s
Eve party!!! Merry Christmas to everyone!!!!!
With Love,
Luca
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Christmas: Christmas is one of the most difficult times of the
year. Christmas is the time when you get to stay with all of your family and
your relatives and usually my house is the one where everybody is staying. I was
a little bit homesick but fortunately my family helped me not think about home
too much. We went to church the 24th afternoon and right after that we drove to
Tallahassee to visit one of my parent’s daughters, her husband and their
children. We had a normal dinner that night and then we went to bed. The next
morning I got up because my parent’s grandchild was running up and down in the
house opening his gifts. It was fun watching this little kid that was opening a
thousand presents because he reminded me when I was younger. That day we had a
big late lunch, almost dinner and it was really close to my country where
everybody sits around the table for a long time. The 26th we watched the Jaguars
lose their chance to be in the playoff and then we drove back home. So, this
Christmas was interesting and at the same time different because in Italy we
usually have a big dinner the 24th, a big lunch the 25th and another lunch the
26th.
New Year’s Eve: You guys know what we did but let me write
it for my Italian fans. We all went together to Jacksonville for the Gator
Bowl parade where we rode on a big float and met the cheerleaders again!!! I
enjoyed myself waving our own flag at the crowd. After that we had a great
time at “The Landing” where I spent a lot of my money trying to catch a
stupid lobster that I didn’t even get…darn it!!! We also enjoyed dancing at
the little concert. After that, going to the Helow’s was a wonderful
opportunity because I always have the best time with you guys no matter what
we do or where we do it, “just do it”… I really like when you guys are
around me and I enjoyed dancing and watching our committee dance. Naturally
since I’m Italian I called shot gun for the only bed availableJJJ!!!The
next morning we had a great breakfast cooked by the Helows. For having this
really good time, I have to thank a lot of people. First the Helows for
their hospitality but also the other people, the “older” people, old in the
age but so young in the heart because of their youthful enthusiasm they made
all this possible.
Interviews: Few weeks ago I was ones of the Exchange
students that had the opportunity to go to the interviews for the new
outbound students. They are really different from the ones in my Rotary
club, they are much more strict and I can say not really relaxing for some
people. Anyway, it was another excuse to see some of the inbound, the Rotex
and new outbounds. At the end of the day I went to dinner with part of the
committee and talking with these adults was really comfortable, they don’t
bore you with their subjects, to the contrary I could be part of the
conversation so thank you guys for the dinner!
Sea Camp: I just said that no matter where or what we do,
meeting with all the others is always something special. Unfortunately we
had too many rules in the camp and accordingly with the others we were
treated like children instead of 16 and 18 year olds. Anyway I started the
trip on Wednesday night when Hanna, Stella and I went to Gok’s to spend the
night. On Thursday morning we woke up so early and I was so tired, we went
to the meeting point in Jax and we started with some students on the long
long trip. So, we traveled all the day on Thursday and during the night we
had a meeting at the camp with all the people about the rules and the
schedule. That night we just went to sleep. On Friday morning we were
divided into groups and we got our gear. We had a swim test and we practiced
with fins and snorkel. During the afternoon we went in the open sea and
snorkeled for real, it was fun and beautiful. The best thing I saw was a
little sea turtle and a couple of lobsters. The next day we went snorkeling
in another place and personally I didn’t like it that much. It was just me
and another guy that went snorkeling and since the water was cold I borrowed
an extra suit so I could be warm. During the afternoon we had to create a
poster about the topic we were assigned about the coastal development and
that night we explained our topic to the other groups. The next morning we
went to Key West where I had already visited a few years ago. Key West is a
classical city for tourists, there’s not much to do beside shopping. The
worst part of the trip was coming: the goodbye with the other district. It
was really sad because during that short period of time, we made friends
that we’ll never forget. Hopefully we’ll meet again before going back home
and maybe in some Y.E.S. party somewhere in the future. So, after that we
started our long trip home again and we arrived late that night….
Soccer: with my school team, Fleming Island High School,
we traveled and advanced a lot. Unfortunately we lost Friday night the
regional final so we ended up 2nd in the region….
I’ll see you all soon guys…enjoy yourself!!!
Luca
P.S. I have a new fotopage. Check it out and leave a
comment!!!
http://lucagarofalo.fotopages.com
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Luca Garofalo
