Mattia Scolari

2006-07 Inbound from Italy

Hometown: Robecco d'Oglio, Italy

Sponsor: Cremona Po Rotary Club, District 2050, Italy

Host: Orange Park Sunrise Rotary Club, District 6970, USA

School: Fleming Island High School

Bio

Mattia's Bio

My family is a typical northern Italian family: we live on a farm where my father works, and we breed cows to produce milk, which is used to produce a cheese called "Grana Padano", the one that Italian people use to put on Pasta. My mom is a math teacher and my younger sister is 12, and she studies at "Scuola Media", which is like 8th grade here.

I have just arrived, which means I arrived about 9 days ago, and, trust me, America is soo different from Italy: first of all, everything, and I mean everything is bigger, and then, another important thing, people are more relaxed, and that's good! I don't know why but I discovered that every single American has been during the summer to Rome, Florence or Venice... I mean, I didn't think Italy was so popular!!

Actually I am living with a Swedish family, and it's interesting spending two words about the language spoken in this house, which is kinda a mix of Swedish, English, and English talked with Swedish accent... no, it's not that bad, and also I have to appreciate that they are nice, and when I can hear they always talk English. My younger host-brother is called Gustav, but everyone call him Goose, and we both go to Fleming Island High School. He is two years younger than me, he is nice, and in the first days he introduced me to many friends. Now I am plenty enjoying the American life, and I don't want to stop. That's all for today.

Bye everybody!!

September 16 Journal & Pictures

I've been here for more than one month and a half, even if it is like yesterday that I left my country, and my first thought was to take this experience like a challenge: new life, new friends, new family... I've passed days trying to think the less possible about home and keeping busy in my new American life... guys, I'm sure most of you exchange student will understand me... there's no such thing... it's been really tough!

But anyways, I was taken by my kinda homesickness, then soon came the Inbound Student weekend!! No better thing could happen! imagine to meet 27 people from a bunch of different countries... just gorgeous! We enjoyed the weekend and we passed most of the time together, talking about our experience here in the US, our home country, how America is strange, and our future plans so far... It has been really fun. The thing I liked the most of that weekend was our way to talk: everyone spoke (or was trying to speak..!!) the same language, but nobody's was perfect, and everyone had a different accent, which I think is the best thing... I've learned one thing since I've been here: when you talk to other people, play your accent as strong as you can... it's the thing that makes you cool, never lose it!!

But once again, no time to chill here, time to keep busy with school! So in the first days I tried to meet as many people as I could, and I have to acknowledge that American people are very nice. I made a lot of friends, and everyone was friendly with me, someone says that's because I'm Italian, and my country is really respected here... well, good for me, time to show my Italian pride!!

Maybe you know, I've been swimming for several years back in Italy, and some friends suggested me to tryout for the swim team of the school... and I made it!! Now I am a swimmer for Fleming Island Golden Eagles, and it sounds sooo cool!! I even have all my swim stuff with my name on it! Awesome! But that's not all... after the first weeks, I've started to become popular in the school, and then, when we had to do the nominations for the captain of the team, my swim teammates decided to vote me... so now I am the captain of the swim team... big responsibility!!! Unbelievable!

Actually I'm pretty much enjoying my American life (school-practice-mall-beach-movies-bowling-fast food-and-stuff...) and it's really fun - I even already have about 10 friends who want to come to Italy next summer to visit me!! Cool! Oh yes, that's Italy...!!

I don't know what the other exchange students think, but I miss sooo much all of them, and I would like to keep in touch a little bit more with them, but we're all spread out in the district, and nobody can drive, so it's kinda tough to keep in touch and hang out together... However thanks to the Rotary for providing the opportunity for us to meet in all the trips planned, such as Daytona or Disneyland... I'm really looking forward to doing those trips!! Miss ya!! haha!

Ok... I think it's enough... no, one more thing... as someone said... let's rock this exchange program!!!! Let's make it big guys!! Alla prossima. Ciao a tutti!

October 12 Journal & Pictures

Hello... once again... so many things to say!!!

I'm still the crazy silly Italian of the day that I arrived here, and I even feel like I just left my country, my friends and my family I know that now I am "The American Boy"... ended up in such a messed up, crazy (but fun! lol) country called "United States"... Two months and a half... sure time flies... but if it does so it means you are having fun, right?? Of course!! Ooooh what a beautiful time I've been having here...!! sooo much fun!

Ooooh yes, I have been having such a good time... guarantee, American people are so nice and easy to become friends with, and it is even funny to think about it, because it reminds me when I walk through the corridor of my school, and I am constantly greeting people, and I usually end up being late for the next period class, since I stop to talk to somebody!! Oh no, just kidding Al, don't be worried... I am not that bad student!! It's fun though, just mess around with people who are treating you as if you have been friends for years, but meanwhile you know that in the reality you just have been friends maybe for one month.

Last week was dedicated to an event called "Homecoming", and now, If you (reader) are a future exchange student, well, then you probably don't know at all what I am talking about... never mind... no big deal... but if you are an exchange student, then I bet as you read that name, a big smile appears on your face, and then you will probably think something like "awww... those crazy Americans...!!! =)" Homecoming week is officially known as "the most fun week of American school", and, of course, it has been the most fun week of my American experience!!!!

I have seen any kind of crazy stuff, such as people going to school dressed up as pirates, famous people, people from the 70's, The Godfather (aww that was me... lol!!) and it was so cool!! We also had a parade on Wednesday, in which I participated, since I am in the swim team. We built our float, about the theme of "Pirates Of The Caribbean", and it took long time and effort, but at the end our effort has been awarded because we won the parade!!! Oh yes, our float was the best. But there is more... on Thursday there was a football game, and thanks to some crazy friends I had the opportunity to behave as crazy Americans do... I painted my body with the colors of the school and I dressed up as a Voodoo-tribe person... now try to picture me cheering the team and walking on the side of the field being silly in front of 800 people with those goofy clothes... that's just wonderful, isn't it?? (and also a good way to become popular!!) But here, people, comes the very main part of the Homecoming week... the dance!! Everyone had been talking about it for the two weeks before, but I wasn't still sure about going until a couple of days before, then on the spot I made up my mind and I decided to go. I did everything in a rush, getting clothes, getting ready, everything al the last second, but promise, good riddance I went... it's so much fun!! You can't even imagine what a good time you can have...

Good times I said... heck yes... I have been having a good time here. I have been having a good time when, last Saturday, I went down to Gainesville to the Gators game with my Rotarian "buddies". It was awesome to find out how Americans can get to the game two or three hours earlier just to sit on the back of their car and eat, eat and eat again until the game starts!! Once I got in the stadium, I was really amazed by the dimension of it and the multitude of people that was in it. The band show was really fantastic, the game even more, Gators won and 91,000 people went crazy for them... what should I ask more??!?

I decided to write this journal before we go to Daytona because, I am sure, after that I will have soooo many things to say that, after that weekend, I would either forget some things or write way too much. I am lazy, I don't wanna write too much, and my memory isn't good enough to remind all of those things... so this journal is just a simple way to unload my brain before I forget all of those beautiful things...

Now I feel better, I feel like I'm done. I hope you have been enough patient to get to this point...

Special greetings to all other exchange students... miss ya guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One more week!!!! Italy rocks. Mattia

November 21 Journal

Every morning, I am at school, sitting at my desk... I write the date on my sheet of paper: October.... NO!! WRONG! it's not October anymore! it's November... already... weird how it is, nobody can still believe it.

Bada bing bada boom... a third of my experience is already gone... but what a beautiful experience... days made of fun, friends, and days that fly away and you don't even figure it out. Florida starts to be familiar now, Florida is home, I start to recognize my American school as MY school, my American friends as MY friends, family, beach, mall, town... everything part of my American... I mean... part of MY life.

Right yesterday I was surfing with my best friend Zach, working hard paddling, trying to catch the waves and stand on the board... well, that day I had my very first full ride, after months trying, finally I got it. And it was the coolest sensation in the world. While I was having that ride, standing and feeling the ocean underneath my board, I felt like any problem couldn't ever touch me. Zach noticed that thing, he noticed that I was really excited, and he told me that that sensation, the feeling that I had in that moment, was called "soaked", and it is the sensation that you have in every extreme sport, when you do an important step in getting better. "well - I thought - that it is not just an important step in a sport, that is a special turning point in my life. This is my year, THE year, and I am rocking it, I am simply having the time of my life..."

My friends exchange students are, of course, the other important side of my experience. It's incredible how united we are, it was unbelievable when, in Daytona, we had all that confidence among us, after have seen each other basically only one time before. I remember that weekend, I stayed with Joran, Gorkem and Andre in the house of Tom "Uncle Tom" McDermott, extremely cool person, who, by the way, has hosted in his life (and he is currently doing it) an infinite number of exchange students. We had a really good time, basically chilling in the pool until late night (or early morning, it depends...). And then the next day, Kennedy Space Center, Daytona USA, Biketoberfest, booom!! too good to be real... but it is, and that's why it's cool. I love all my friends from around the world, and it's nice, because in the beginning it was hard for everybody to move around Florida (not allowed to drive), but now every one of us has figured out his own way to get a ride and be pretty much anywhere. We hang out together no problem, and you can imagine how cool it is.

A few days ago I changed families for the first time. My new family has two little daughters, called Kate and Emily, who now have become my two little sisters. They had an Italian exchange student last year, and they liked him so much that for this year they decided for another Italian: me. Needless to say, the Italian folks are always crowd's favorite!! They are nice, they have made me feel at home since the very first day, and they love me as much as I do them.

As you see, folks, my life in the US is pretty much AMAZING.

Every time more, looking forward to seeing you.

Can't wait until Disney!

Love, your favorite Italian

December 27 Journal & Pictures

Before I start with all my stuff, MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR to everybody.

I gotta tell you, sometimes I feel lonely, miss my country, miss home, wanna go back.... people are mean to me and make fun of me all the time..... JUST KIDDING UAHAHAHAH!!!! UAHAHAHAHAH... AHAHAHAHAH.!!!!!!!! Florida is my home, and I couldn't love it more cuz Florida is THE place, I love America and Americans with all their weird stuff they have in their lives. Messy, busy, lovely life in Florida... ooh yeah!

Let's talk about DECEMBER, now, if you live in a normal place, what do you think about December..??? cold..??? NOT IN FLORIDA! One day, not long time ago, I called my friends back in Italy to see what they were up to... and after the surprise for the call they told me that they just came out of school and they were freezing with ice all around, heavy sweaters and jackets and temperature below 32F... lol... it made me laugh... and badly... because I was chilling on the beach, in my bathing suit, tanning in the sun and ready to surf... yes, surf. one more time.

Nothing to regret about it, much to remember instead, even if it feels like very long time ago, this month started in the best way it could start... I remember clearly that I was in a place defined by many as "The Happiest Place on Earth", or rather "Where the Dreams Come True", etc etc... the normal people just call it DISNEY WORLD. I won't forget how thankful I should be to the Rotary for providing me such a great, fun, amusing and FREE trip to a beautiful place, and giving me the opportunity, one more time, to know so many new people, lifelong friends, from the most random places on this planet. To get there I traveled in a big van with many other exchange students from the Jacksonville area... I got there and I thought WOW, only this trip is worth the whole weekend... you all know how much I love being with my friends from all around the world, I don't even know why I'm writing it, since it's more than understood. Anyways, I was BADLY wrong about the Jax-Disney travel, because, even if it was FANTASTIC, it was nothing compared to the wonderfulness of the whole weekend itself.

We arrived there pretty early, tired and everything, and they assigned us rooms and roommates for the weekend. All my friends (from the 6970 district) got rooms pretty much together, I was, instead, put with three guys from the Pennsylvania district. Immediately, I thought WOW, I thought I was lucky, 'cause somebody gave me the chance to make friends with new people... needless to say, among exchange students, making friends with each other is the easiest thing in the earth. My roommates were 3 crazy guys, nice and friendly. Everybody knows I'm not good with the names, but I will try to describe them. The youngest was from Thailand, his name sounded something like "Gone", shy and polite, he was the first one to welcome me. The other guy was from Turkey, and he was called Dodge, yes, just like the car, but it was spelled differently... I am not sure... anyways, he basically told me the story of his life while we were there, and I figured out that back in his home country his main hobby was doing the DJ, especially at school parties; he showed me tons of pictures of all his dj'ing tools and of the parties that he used to throw. cool. My third roommate was the coolest Chinese, pardon, Taiwanese ever. First thing to say, when he talks, I understand nothing. Second, he introduced himself to me by saying that his name was "Pikachu", I thought JUST LIKE THE POKEMON, but apparently he thought I didn't understand, since he started pretending really to be Picachu, by making weird noises and moves... hilarious... I spent much time in Disney messing around with him, and even if we have known each other just for a weekend, we are still in touch calling and emailing each other pretty often. Isn't it awesome??!?! YES.

Disney was too cool, by the way, I had a wonderful time in all the parks, trying as many roller coasters as I could, being amazed by the light show as much as the fireworks (romantic!), I visited all the "countries" in the Epcot park, my favorite one by the way, having a cool time in the Italian pavilion, where I got a chance to speak my native language (I broke the rules hihi!!!jk) and to surprise all my friends when we skipped the huge line to get into the restaurant, because the waiters were Italians and we made a deal to let me and my friends in... ooooh... Italians... my people..!! Epcot was cool, for sure, and it is in Epcot that I had the weirdest adventure of my life, with some random Argentina girls...uhm...never mind...who knows knows...

As you can tell, the beginning of the month passed quickly, and soon I came towards the middle of the month, when I was ready for another adventure... Sunday, early morning, me, family, group of people, a bus full of food, ready for........ THE JAGUARS GAME!!! I have tried hard, seriously, hard, to figure out the reason why people leave in the early morning to go tailgating for a game IN THE AFTERNOON... uhm...it stays a mystery, the only thing I've figured out is that I like it. Tailgating basically is this: - You load up your ride with ANY kind of food/drink that you like - you get in the place WAY before the game - you eat as much as you can / socialize - you have a few drinks (not exchange students!!!) / socialize - you get to the stadium - you watch the game / have a few drinks / socialize - no matter what, you anyways eat / have a few drinks / socialize, after the game, anyways - it takes a full day, by the way - it's fun - it's awesome - yea... sometimes you watch football too...

And that's in this pleasant way that the ones that I wrote about, together with many other adventures, brought me towards the end of the month, which in December means winter break, vacation and CHRISTMAS.

My new mom has lived in Florida for a long time, but her family is from New York, she was born there, and lived there when she was a little girl. She told me that at Christmas time, every year, she used to go to Rockefeller Center to see the big tree and the ice skating place. I could just imagine how much she missed it now, that she lived down here in Florida and could see it only on TV. By taking the opportunity to see that beautiful scenery once again, she decided to bring me with her on the most remarkable experience of my half-exchange year in the US. I will never forget the feeling I experienced as soon as I got out of the underground station in Manhattan... my mom knew exactly what words would come out of my mouth in that moment, when I saw all those gigantic buildings shining in the night... "OH-MY-GOOOOD!!" We don't have anything even close to that in my country, and I had never seen a such thing in my whole life. If you haven't figured it out yet, New York was too cool for me. I felt so lucky, and I will never feel like I'm done thanking my family for everything we did there. I got a chance to see everything I wanted, and basically everything you have to see, no regrets. New York is something magic, something that you can't reproduce, something you feel, dramatically. What's more romantic than ice skating at Rockefeller Center under the most famous (and most beautiful!) Christmas tree in the world? What takes your breath away if not looking down from the Empire State Building? Where do you find such a pretty, old and meaningful monument if not in the Statue of Liberty? Where can you eat better food other than Little Italy? How can't you stop, take a look, say a prayer looking at Ground Zero? And can you imagine New York without Times Square, Broadway, Macy's, the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park or just that unique skyline that anyone in any part of the world could recognize in less than one second...? 2000 years ago, when people traveled to Rome, once they got there, they could do little or nothing else than stay speechless and amazed by the greatness of the city. The same exact feeling was the one experienced by me in New York, I dare to say.

It's been not less than 5 months, already, by the way. And I always miss all my friends exchange students, badly. And I miss home, sometimes, for good. And I love my life here. Sincerely.

March 6 Journal & Pictures

There is a first time for everything: first step you move when you are little, first word you say, first day of school, first kiss. Every single one of those moments is special and unforgettable, and stays in your memory forever and ever. And so was, just a few days ago, the feeling I had when I got my first real surfboard. I went with my buddy Zach, my bro, the mate of 1000 times 1000 adventures, my best American friend. He is really into surfing and he is the one to blame for transmitting to me this “sickness”, which makes me do some crazy stuff. Anyways, I don’t wanna bother you with 1000 details, he basically really wanted to make sure that I would get the board that perfectly fits me in every characteristic, so for that reason we spent two days looking in every single surf shop, in Jacksonville and St. Augustine, and finally we found it. I walked out of the shop and I screamed “YES!!” finally I could say that I OWNED a board, whose board?? MINE! I knew that there was not gonna be anymore “can I borrow your board?”, just grab mine and go, with no more worries.

Life is not only surfing, though, unfortunately (just kidding), I have been doing a lot of more exciting and fun stuff, which made my exchange year, already great, greater.

Dear journal, we left each other right before New Year's Eve, still 2006, a lot of time ago considering that now we are in March, but it really feels like just a couple of days ago. My exchange year is flying away and slipping out of my hands, and just stuff like choosing the end-of-the-year trip or booking the flight for my return makes me really sad about leaving everything I found here, people that didn’t even know me ready to welcome me with open arms, special friends capable to make every normal day a special day, exchange students which are the best people in the world and there’s no more explanation needed… I follow the thoughts of my friend Joran, and I look forward in the future. I think about what my life is gonna be like when I will be back in Italy, when I will show up at my door and my mamma will be like “who the heck are you??”, or when I will hang out with my friends and they will be like “Look at this weird American boy…” and when I will be back to school for my senior year and my school teachers will be like “Go back to America you scumbag…!” I imagine everything like an initial excitement about coming back home and meeting all my people and lifelong friends, all happy to welcome me and stuff, but then my life will return to the routine of everyday, and I will be one of 57 million Italians, no more “Ooh you are Mattia, the Italian?!?” no more “What a beautiful accent” or “How do you say […something something…] in your language??”, no more St. Augustine beach or Downtown Jax, no more special treatment at school or hanging out with all exchange students and one American, and drive the American crazy, no more “Fugghettaboudit” and no more “Are you Italian? So do you know the Pope…??” That’s just the way it is, so all I gotta say to myself is: “Be prepared”.

January has been a very cool month, starting with the crazy New Year’s eve party and ending with the beautiful adventure of Seacamp, with a lot of wonderful stuff in between, like some days spent freezing on the beach desperately trying to surf, or some random nice weekends passed with my exchange student friends, which are the cream of the crop of my American year. In Seacamp we got the opportunity to learn a great deal about the Ocean, the Ocean life and the environment, I got to stay in the Florida Keys for the very first time of my life and, more important, chill with the company of my friends foreign kids. February just didn’t give me the time to figure out that another month was going by, and now I’m here and it’s March, Spring break is coming soon, and right after it, the visit of my folks directly from Italy, which is giving me A LOT of thoughts. The weather now seems to get warmer, which allows me to spend even more time on the beach, not only go, surf, freeze and run away, but more like go, surf, chill, surf, chill, meet people. I’m changing family soon, which makes me really sad because my actual family is really extremely cool, and I will definitely miss them a lot, but I got a chance to meet my next family and they seem really nice as well, and I’m sure I will be super-fine with them J.

I seriously can’t believe that I am closer to the end of my experience than to the beginning. Sometimes time flies, and sometimes it doesn’t. Some things never change and some things do. I hope you all are doing fine, and I hope that everyone of us (exchange students) is satisfied and happy about what they have accomplished so far with their year abroad.

With love, Mattia