From Katherine in Italy:
Ciao! This summer I participated in Rotary's Short-Term Youth Exchange in
Italy. It had to have been one of the best experiences of my
life. I stayed approximately 5 weeks with a local host
family who had a daughter around my age that later
returned to the States with me.
I never realized how large the Atlantic Ocean was until I had to cross it!
My entire trip from the US to Italy was around 18 hours. That was
an adventure in itself! I got lost in the Rome airport
which was...educational. But eventually I reached Trieste,
Italy where I was to meet my host family. Only my host
father and sister spoke English so communication with my host mother
and brother was difficult. Maribel, my host sister, and I had plenty to
talk about on the ride from Trieste to Bertiolo where we lived. One of the
first things that I noticed when I arrived was that everything is much smaller
than they are here in the States. The cars, the roads, and even the dogs
were extremely small! However, when it comes to meals, the Italians can eat!
The meals come in courses. Usually consisting of pasta, bread, some form
of meat, and fruit at the end. My family was continually asking me why I
didn't eat. Maribel's friends were very kind to me and included me in everything.
I felt very welcome. I will miss them very much. The local dialect,
Friulano, was one of my biggest challenges. In the one area we lived
in, there were around 7 different ways to say hello! It was confusing but
very nice to listen to. Regardless of what people may think, they don't sound
like the people from the Godfather. Only Sicilians have that accent. I
learned that very quickly!
The first city I was taken to see was Venezia (Venice). It was by far my
favorite city. Everything was so old and beautiful. I was unaware
of it at the time, but churches have a dress code. You
must wear long pants or a skirt and a shirt that covers
your shoulders. I was not permitted into the Duomo there
because I wore shorts. Needless to say I never made that mistake again!
It was mind boggling. From Codroipo, where the train station was, Venice
was about an hour and a half away. It was about 120Km or 65 miles from
where we lived. In most of Europe, the train is how you get from one place
to the next.
The next week we visited Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet. They were
actually real people, but, they lived happily ever after. We had
our pictures taken on the balcony and visited several of
the churches while we were there.
Our last city was Roma (Rome). Which was so full of history it
was hard to take it all in. My host sister, father, and I
all rode the train for 9 1/2 hours to get there! There
were many cats there which was surprising, but, Rome is
actually famous for them. The city is full of beautiful people and beautiful
things. We spent 2 days there just so we could get everything in. The
Vatican and Sistine Chapel were incredible.
In the meantime we visited the beaches and the mountains. I was not aware of
this before but the Italians stay at the beaches ALL DAY. Usually
my family stays for a few hours and then leaves. I usually
don't wear sunscreen because I don't burn easily and I
want to tan. Well....about 3 hours into the visit I
realized that we weren't leaving any time soon! We stayed from about
9:00 in the morning until around 5:00 in the afternoon. I also had to get
used to the thong wearing topless women. It was quite shocking! The mountains
(the Austrian Alps) were magnificent. Everything is so incredibly beautiful
and picturesque. We visited with a family that lived there. Apparently
my host mother worked with a member of the family and welcomed us with
open arms. One of the local boys developed quite a crush on me. He was very
sweet and I recently received a postcard from him. The mountains were one
of the highlights of my trip.
Returning home was a little strange but I was very happy to see my family
and friends again. Maribel was very excited to be in the country.
We took her to many of our local springs, the mountains in
Georgia, and of course to Disney World. She has a love
affair with the Backstreet Boys which drove us all a
little crazy but it was worth it. Mari plans to attend college at the University
of Florida after she graduates in Italy. Maybe we will room together.
Her leaving was probably one of the hardest things to deal with. We
had more or less been attached at the hip for more than 2 months. There was
a lot of crying. But, we plan to stay in touch with each other.
My trip was so wonderful it's hard to summarize. If I have the chance, I
would like to do it again. Maybe to France. Experiencing another
culture is so wonderful. I thank the Rotary Club so much
for giving me this opportunity. I hope many others will
get to experience it as well. If you are considering short
term exchange or have any questions about my trip please
feel free to e-mail me at grinnz64@hotmail.com.
I love talking about my experience!
Arrivederci!
Katherine Kelley |
