Carlos Ojeda

2011-12 Outbound to Italy

Hometown: Palm Harbor, Florida

School: Palm Harbor University High School

Sponsor: Clearwater East Rotary Club, District 6950, Florida

Host: Rotary Club of Trieste Nord, District 2060, Italy  

Carlos's Bio

Last year, I, among six freshmen, made my high school’s varsity soccer team. At the end of our soccer season, we got to the State Final game, and ended as runners up. This year I have once again made the team as a sophomore and have been able to participate in many more games than last year.

There are few things that I truly dislike; however, some stand out. For example, I find racist mindsets or close-mindedness intolerable. Other things that I dislike include war and violent or thoughtless behaviors. I believe all people should be open-minded, accepting and considerate of other people and other ways of life.
I am very grateful to Rotary Youth Exchange Florida for giving me the opportunity to participate in another one of my passions: To travel to get to know new cultures and languages. The past two summers, I lived in Costa Rica and enrolled in Spanish language lessons, and soccer academies. One of my favorite experiences in Costa Rica was exploring and discovering cities and towns while traveling by bus or walking. I have also been fortunate enough to visit and explore Japan, Ireland, and Mexico with my family, and Canada with my friends.
The thought of living in Italy has increased my desire to explore that new world and immerse myself in the rich culture there. I intend to fully engage in daily life and the customs of the families with whom I will live, and cities I will visit.

To the Rotary Youth Exchange Organization: Grazie mille! I will strive to be a worthy and responsible ambassador who will be indebted to you and who will find a way to pay you back for this generous and life-changing experience. Finally, I also extend my gratitude to my parents, my grandmother, and particularly my sister, Adriana (outbound student to Taiwan 2009-2010) for inspiring me to take this important step in my life. Buona giornata, Carlos.
 

It has only been three weeks since my flight landed in Trieste and I met my family for the first time, but after all of the experiences I've already had, and all of the people I've met, and how at-home I feel living with my family here, it may as well have been much longer. Before any of this had happened though, I first had to say goodbye to my family in Florida. I felt anxious in the car ride to the airport, not just because I have never flown by myself before, but because within hours I would be in a new world, living with new people.

En route to the airport, I received a phone call. It was my sister, Adriana, calling from Taiwan to say goodbye. It was unexpected, but very nice to say goodbye to her before I departed. When we arrived in the airport we checked in my luggage, had breakfast, and waited for my time to go. When it was finally time, saying goodbye was difficult. I suddenly felt very alone. The first flight was quick and easy, but I had seven hours of layover time in Washington. In this time I had lunch, said goodbye to my friends via texts and calls, and talked a bit with my parents and grandmother back home. I was excited during the flight to Munich, because soon thereafter I would find my new home. I had no layover in Munich, and I was soon on the airplane to Trieste.

When I stepped off the plane in Italy for the first time, I was very anxious but at the same time overjoyed. After I went through customs I walked through a small room then all of a sudden I saw my new family. I was happily greeted with hugs, smiles, and slow, carefully spoken Italian so I would understand better. We then departed for home. The car ride was wonderful. I took pictures of the scenery and practiced some of my rusty Italian with my new family. We arrived home and I began to get settled in. It was a lot to take in: new family, new language, new life, it was almost mind-blowing! My first meal in Italy was a delicious home cooked lasagna (How cliché!).

The first few days went very smoothly; I met some of my host sister's friends, and got to know some of the city. My family here is absolutely wonderful. They are loving, happy, and cook great food! When it comes to meal time, I help set the table and I sometimes cook the pasta while my mother makes the sauce for it. Afterwards I help clear the table and clean up a bit. We occasionally play the Wii together, which is a lot of fun! I truly enjoy my family life here, as of now I haven't felt any strong homesickness.

When it was finally my first day of school, I was a bit nervous. Some people back home told me that the students might try to bash me with difficult questions about politics or other such topics, so I tried to mentally prepare myself. Before entering the classroom for the first time, I met another exchange student who would also be in Trieste for a year and was in my class: Jenny, from Finland. Contrary to my prior belief, both of us were immediately accepted into the class without interrogation. The students in my high school are truly great. They are fun to talk to and be around. They are also very helpful when it comes to school, and the ones who speak the best English also help Jenny and I when we have trouble understanding something well. During class I try my best to understand everything, but it is still sometimes difficult. However, I believe that within a few weeks the language barrier will be almost nonexistent. On Fridays we all go out into the city as a class and have dinner, chat, take pictures, and just enjoy the nighttime city life.
After school I typically go to my host-sister's grandparents' house to have lunch, as my mother works in the afternoon. Afterwards we have a coffee at a café, then I return home. I greatly appreciate their generosity in inviting me to eat every day, it is truly amazing.

I recently attended my first Rotary meeting here in Trieste, which was held at one of the most expensive hotels in the city, overlooking the water. I met my counselor and many other Rotarians who all greeted me with smiles and conversation. I exchanged my sponsor club's banner, and I was asked to say a few words in Italian. I told them how wonderful everything here in Trieste is, and how thankful I was for this opportunity of a lifetime. I have already sorted out all of my residence documents with help from a Rotarian from my Club who works in the Police Station, and the Secretary at the Rotary Club who is very kind and helpful. Hopefully soon I can find a soccer team to play on to stay in shape, improve my soccer skills, build new friendships, and improve my language skills as well.

As of now I am fairly well acquainted with the city's bus system, and can easily get around town. More importantly though, I feel as if my Italian has improved ten-fold from when I first arrived. I can follow most conversations and can usually respond correctly. These first three weeks have been an amazing start to what I know will be the best year of my life so far.

Overlooking the Adriatic Sea	My Host Family	First day of School	Piazza Unità at night
In Trieste with Friends

Thursday, December 01, 2011
11:03 AM

When I really think about it all, it tends to amaze me. Three months have already passed since I began my adventure. Having greatly enjoyed my stay here as of now, is seems like only a short time has passed, but remembering what I've done in these few months and all the experiences I've had, it might as well have been much longer.

One of the great spectacles I've seen here in Italy was the Barcolana, an annual event held in early October. Over 1200 sailboats from all around the world filled the water near Trieste to compete in a race around the bay. I was awed, not having ever seen anything like this. I visited my host father that day, because his house has an incredible view overlooking the entire bay; I took a lot of photos that day! It was very serene to see hundreds of sailboats racing across the ocean but to hear almost nothing, it seemed almost surreal.

As I get to know my family better and better, I realize how fortunate I have been to be living with such kind, generous and loving people. We all joke, talk and laugh together like any other family. My host grandparents still invite me to a delicious lunch at their home after school, followed by a coffee. I am extremely thankful for their generosity. Of course no family will ever replace my real family, but my Italian host family is the best substitute I could've asked for.

On October 30th my family prepared a special birthday dinner for me, and gave me gifts. After dinner, we called back home with Skype and had a nice chat with my real family. It was a very happy time, and the first birthday I have ever celebrated away from my friends and family from Florida.

As with my family relations, my school friendships are also improving and growing very strong. We still go out for dinner in the city on Friday evenings, and we also occasionally go spend time in the city on Saturday as well. I feel like I have been truly accepted by all of my classmates, and I greatly enjoy their company. School is also going well - I understand almost everything and am starting to fully comprehend the work we do, within a month I think I will be fine. My language skills are very good - I would go so far as to say I am now functionally fluent in Italian.

One of the great places I've seen here is Italy is Venice. It is truly unique, unlike anything I've ever seen. I have now been there twice, and would gladly go again. There are no cars in Venice, simply people walking and boats in the canals. It's a magnificent marvel of history, art and culture.

I have also now met the other RYE students in my district. They are very fun and adventurous, and it's great to spend time with them. We recently partook in a Rotary trip to Cremona, where we got to know other RYE students from other districts. It was very exciting and enjoyable to get to know almost 50 others partaking in similar adventures, but it seemed strange to be speaking English again to everyone - I almost felt like a tourist. It was great fun anyway, as there was the annual Torrone festival. Torrone is a dessert typical to Spain, and I made sure to buy some before I returned to Trieste.

Shortly before Thanksgiving, I decided to prepare a dish for my host family. I ended up making North Carolina bar-b-q sauce for pork, following a recipe sent to me by my mother in Florida. It turned out well, and my host family enjoyed having an American dish for an American holiday. Not too many people here even know what Thanksgiving is, so it was nice to include a little bit of history into making the meal.
I have now found a soccer team to play with, and I practice with them on Tuesdays and Thursdays. After I complete a bit of paperwork, I can also play in the matches with them. They are very nice guys, and I really enjoy the practices. Being here in Italy, I have felt truly accepted into this new life. The people here have become true friends, and I am really having an amazing time here. November has come and gone very quickly, and Christmas is right around the corner. More than one fourth of my adventure is already over, but I know it's only just begun.

Sunrise from the train	Friends in the city	Family	Fire-spitter
Eating cannolis in Venice	Moon over Venice

January 30, 2012

When you're having fun and just living your life at home, time seems to go by quickly. That is actually how I feel now; at home. I almost feel as if I've always been there in Trieste, it all seems very familiar and very normal. Nearly five months have passed since I have been here and yet it feels like only a short time ago that I arrived in Trieste. Every day my experiences and friendships grow, and in my opinion I'm having the best exchange I could've wished for.
Us exchange students have been told that we will likely have ups and downs in our exchange, that at some points we may feel very out of place or uncomfortable. We have been told that particularly during the holiday season we may feel sad or miss our family. Instead my exchange has and still continues to flow very smoothly, without any downs. In fact in my opinion the holiday season was one of the highlights of my exchange so far.

For the holidays I partook in several festive events. On Christmas Eve, my host grandmother and her husband came to our home for dinner along with my host sister and her fiancée. After a delicious dinner, we handed out and opened the gifts. I really enjoyed partaking in this event, and being away from my home in Florida made it also interesting and fun. After opening gifts and chatting a bit, we played a traditional Italian Christmas game called tombola. The game is similar to bingo, and we used coins to wager; it was great fun! My host sister also gave us a call from Quebec to say hey and happy holidays. The evening was very special. The next say I was invited to a Christmas lunch al my host father's home, to which several of their family members and friends also attended. First I called my family with Skype to wish them all a merry Christmas, and they also got to know my host father. After this we began the feast. The food was very good, but in the end I a te almost too much, and felt very bloated afterwards. Nevertheless it was satisfying and fun. The lunch lasted in total from 2:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.; four hours of eating! That same evening we witnessed a marvelous sunset, one of the most dazzling ones I have ever seen. After the feast we once again played tombola, and had a great time with it. Once most of the guests had left I remained a bit longer to play the Nintendo Wii with my young host brother. It was a grand evening, and it was nice to spend it with my host family.

The next morning I woke up still feeling a bit bloated from the evening before (I hadn't even had dinner that night) and got into my warm winter clothes. My host mother and I were going into Slovenia with several of her friends to soo the snow! As we drove up the mountain roads we began seeing small patches of snow. The small patches eventually became bigger until everything was snow. When we arrived in the scenic area, we first took a long nature walk. It was cold, windy and snowing, but it was nice to see snow again. Being from Florida I don't get to enjoy it very often, so I had planty of fun. After walking I tried on some skis and attempted to ski for the forst time in my life. I ended up falling many times and eventually got tired from the heavy movements required. After tiring myself out, we enjoyed a delicious lunch of bean soup and gnocchi. After a full day in the cold and snow it was nice to return to the wornth of home.

For a few days after this I was mainly at home or with friends in the town relaxing and having fun, waiting New Years. When the 31st finally came, I went to a friend's house where we met in a group for dinner and then walked into the center of town to see th efireworks and music and crowds of people. It was a very joyous event with hundreds of people, and the feeling of a new year dawning in another country awed me. New Years was a bit different without the ball dropping on TV or mt friends from Florida, but nonetheless I had a wonderful time. At several times during the holiday season I contacted my Floridian parents who spent the holidays in North Carolina to meet up with the rest of the family. It was nice to see all of the family that I normally see during Christmas time, even being thousands of miles away. I also sent and received several Christmas cards from my family and friends; it felt good to be part of my Floridian family's holiday events as well.

Soon after New Years, my friends from the Rotary district on exchange visited me in Trieste for a weekend. I showed the around the town and took them to a higher part of the city to see the sunset. In the end we were lucky, because the sunset was truly magnificent, an absolute splendor. We took many pictures and enjoyed each other's company. Once we returned from being out in the town a bit more, we watched "The Green Mile" in Italian before going to bed. The following morning we prepared pancakes for breakfas; an American classic! My host mom also tried tham and she liked them! tIt was nice to show some others my host town, and we thouroughly enjoyed our time together.

A few weeks later, I also partook in a multicultural dinner with my friends from another exchange program, AFS. I prepared Costa Rican black beans and rice, and they ended up being very good! I became close friends with these other exchange students, and we all enjoeyd spending time together. I took them to my favorite café, and I also went to Venice with them. Recently, two of them had to go back home,; they were only on two-month exchanges. It was sad dropping them off at the train station, but I know they truly enjoyed their time here.

My school friendships still remain strong and warm, and it is another true highlight of my exchange. We chat and have fun at school, and we still go out on Friday evenings to have dinner in the city, and we all have great times together; I feel truly accepted into a place that I found not even half a year ago. I have made other friendships ads well, including my soccer team, which I still continue to practice with, the AFS students and their families, and some friends of my host sister. It may be truly one of the best feelings for an exchange student to feel so accepted, and I sincerely love it.

My adventure is nearly halfway over, so I have to cherish every moment of every day and live my life to the fullest. Times are changing and my journey will still continue for over half a year. But the memories kept, and the friends made over this time are something that won't ever end. I don't like to think about it, but I still sometimes do: What will it be like going back home? I won't truly realize the cultural differences until I am reintegrated into my previous life. One of the hardest parts of ending may well be starting again; leaving all that I have gotten to know and love here in Italy. For now I just keep in mind that there is still time to enjoy this wonderful part of my life.

Christmas Sunset	Host Family	Piazza Unità on New Years	Exchange friends
Comida Costarricense en Italia	Karaoke	Best Coffee in Trieste	Sunset from above Trieste