Anna Chiappori

2008-09 Inbound from Italy

Hometown: Capoterra, Cagliari, Italy

Sponsor: Cagliari Est Rotary Club, District 2080, Italy

Host: Lucaya Rotary Club, District 6990, Grand Bahama Island

School: Sunland Baptist Academy, Freeport, GBI

Bio

Anna's Bio

Hello I am Anna, I come from Italy. I am 16 years old. In Italy, I live on a island called Sardinia, famous for its beaches. Now, I am spending my exchange year in a beautiful island, the Grand Bahamas.

I haven't seen much yet because the weather has been really bad, but I can say that in the Bahamas people are very special. My host family is fabulous, I feel very lucky to live with Peter, Sonia, and Nathalie. I like them very much. We come from two very different cultures, but I feel we are very close.

I attend Academy Baptist, a small private school. I was very confused in the beginning, but now everyone knows me and helps me to solve any problems. Actually, I had only a few days of school because of the hurricanes. I did not really know about the hurricanes before coming here. I only have seen about it on the TV. So it is very strange for me to see the local people so calm about the current events.

I want to thank Rotary and my host family for everything.

October 5 Journal

I’m enjoying my stay here very much. The experience I have had so far is much better than I thought before I left Italy. I felt ready for this program but I was worried for my English, for the school and for living with a society different from ours, but now I can say that the best moments I spend here are with my Bahamian family. They are very supportive of me and I already know that I will miss them when I return to Italy.

 My new family recently took me to another island of the Bahamas called Great Exuma. The Exumas are an archipelago of 360 cays and islands, most of them uninhabited, beginning just southeast of Nassau. There are deserted beaches of white sand, crystal waters and lush tropical greenery . It was very beautiful and I enjoyed it very much.