8/2/2019 Report 1 Febbraio

1/7

Firstmonth,February,2012

Primomese,Febbraio,2012

RotaryYouthExchangeAustralia/Italy

District9680

MONTHLYREPORT

EvaDiPaolo

SponsorClub:Glenhaven,AustraliaHostClub:Trieste,Italy12thFebruary2012

CurrentHostFamily:Giorgio&ManuelaGregorio

Afterspendingabout15minutesdecidinghowonearthtobeginthefirst

sentenceofmyfirstreport,Ivedecidedtojustsaythis:MAMMAMIA!ItsalmostbeenonemonthsinceIsteppedpastthethresholdofSydneyAirport,

andIhonestlydonotknowwhereorhowtobegindescribingit.Itsbeen

confusing,scary,tiring(tothepointwhereIthoughtIneededtotapemyeyelidsopen),exciting,breathtaking,amazingandEXTREMELYdelicious!

MynewhomelieswithinthebeautifulnorthofItaly,inacitycalledTrieste.ItslikenoplaceIveeverbeen,andassoonasIarrivedIfellinlovewiththisplace.

Thecitycentreisextremelybeautifulandold,soinstantlyIfeltasthoughthiswastheplaceforme(anyonewhosdrivenpastthoseadorableterracehousesin

SydneywhilstbeingnexttomeunderstandshowmuchIlovethestyleofthemas

theyveexperiencedmyscreamsofOHMYGODILOVETHEM).

ButitwasntjustthearchitectureofTriestethatIfellfor.Thefactthatthecityis

literallysandwichedbetweenabrightblueoceanandtall,mysteriousmountains

createsthemostamazingatmosphere.TherearebeautifulfountainseverywhereanddontevengetmeSTARTEDonthecoffeehere.WhenIcomebackto

8/2/2019 Report 1 Febbraio

2/7

Firstmonth,February,2012

Primomese,Febbraio,2012

Australia,Imnevergoingtobeabletosaythiscoffeeisgoodeveragain.

AustraliancoffeedoesnotevencomeclosetoItaliancoffee.AndwhatIloveaboutTriesteisitsCapounBiwhichismyfavouritecoffeesofarthatyouwill

onlyfindinTrieste.CountlessamountsofpeopleherehaveboastedtomesayingWell,ofcoursetheCapounBiisamazing!ItstypicalofTrieste!Ifyouwentto

RomaorVeneziaandaskedforone,theywouldntknowwhatyouweresaying!(IalsolovehowproudthepeopleofTriesteareoftheircity,asallItaliansare).

[AboveisistheamazingCapounBi]

SinceIvebeenhere,Ivemanagedtolearnlotsofwords,welltheimportantones

anyway,howeverIcantspeakfluentlyyet(obviously).IfeellikeImimproving

everydaythough.Inmyclassesatschoolwhiletheteachersspeakandspeakandspeak,IambeginningtorealizethatIcanunderstandthecontextofwhattheyre

speakingabout.IvealsostartedattendinganItaliancourseafterschoolevery

MondayandThursday,whichhasalreadymadeadifferenceinmyItalian(IdecidedwhenIgotheretostartreadingHarryPotterinItalianandafteronly3

oftheseItalianlessonsIvefoundthebookaloteasiertoread).Thehardest

thingaboutItaliangrammaristheverbs.Theverbskillme.AllinallIamhappywithhowIamprogressingwiththelanguage,evenifitisslowly.

Sofar,IhavebeentotwoRotarymeetingshereinTrieste.MyfirsttimeIwasso

shockedathowDIFFERENTtheirmeetingsare!Mycounselorpickedmeupfrom

school(theirmeetingsareheldatlunch,notdinner)Andwestoppedoutsidethisgianthotel/yachtclub/restaurant.IwasthinkingtomyselfThiscantbeitwere

probablyjustparkingherebutwasIwrong.Theyliterallyhave(EVERYWEEK)a4andahalfstarseafoodbuffetinthishotelonthetopfloorthathasaviewof

theentireharbour/city!Thesizeofthemeetingsareabout3-4timesthesizeof

theGlenhavenmeetingsandIcounted3otherwomenintheroom.IfeltSOguiltybecauseIbroughtmywholebagofAustralianapresents(littlekeyrings

8/2/2019 Report 1 Febbraio

3/7

Firstmonth,February,2012

Primomese,Febbraio,2012

andbadges)thinkingIhadbroughttoomuchbutIonlyhadenoughforabout

halfofthepeoplethere.However,duetothesizeofthemeetingsmyintroductionatthemeetingwasextremelyquickandthesubjectchangedalmost

straightaway.TheItalianRotarymeetingsaredefinitelynotasinvolvedastheAustralianonesandtheyareveryVERYformal.Theydonthavelittlejokesand

gamesandeverybodyisdressedinsuits.Despitethis,Istillfeltwelcomed(manyoftheRotariansspoke,ortriedtospeak,withme)andIcertainlydidntleavewithanemptystomach(howcanIpossiblybeata4starseafoodbuffetandnot

overflowmyplatewithfood?).Thepresidentoftheclubandmycounselorare

bothverynicepeopleandIamhappythattheyareapartofmyexchange.

Iamproudtosay,onmysecondweekendhereIwenttoRome!ILOVEhowcloseeverythingisinEurope!Iwenttherewith6otherRotarystudents(whoI

instantlyfellinlovewith)andeventhoughwewereonlythereforashort

amountoftime,itwasamazing.OneoftheseexchangestudentsisinTrieste,howeverhesnotpartofthesameclub.HisnameisCarlosOjedaandheisfrom

America.Oftheotherfive,fourofthemarealsofromAmericaandoneofthemis

fromIndia.ThesixofuscaughtthetraintoRomewithtwoRotarians.Wearrivedatabout11pmonFridaynightandleftatabout3pmonSundaysoweonlyhad

aboutadayandahalfofsightseeing.WesawtheFountainofTrevi,theColloseum,wewenttotheVaticanandwealsoatetheequivalentofwhata

familyofelephantswouldeatinthreeweeks.InRomawealsometupwiththe3

RotaryexchangestudentsfromtheRomedistrict,whichwere2moreAmericansandaSwedishgirl.

[The8Americans,1Indian,1Swedeand1Australian(woo!)infrontofthe

Colloseum]

8/2/2019 Report 1 Febbraio

4/7

Firstmonth,February,2012

Primomese,Febbraio,2012

Now,ifIcouldwriteawholeseparatemonthlyreportonItalianfoodIwould,but

unfortunatelyifthiswasthecase,eachmonthIwouldbewritinganovelthatnoonewouldread.So,Ihavetosomehow,impossiblydescribetoyouallina

paragraphtheamazing,yummiest,mostincrediblefoodIwillevereateachmonth(narrowingitdown,Ihopeyouknow,hasgottobeoneofthemost

difficultthingsIveeverdone.Theresjusttoomuchtosay!)ButIwillstartwithmyMamascooking.ManuelaGregoriohastobeoneofthebestcooksontheplanet.Everysinglenightsofarshehascookedsomethingdifferentandnot

ONCEhaveIeverthoughtIdontlikethis.NotONCEhaveIevereventhought

Thisfoodisalright.EVERYtimeIeatamealcookedbyhermymouthexplodeswithgoodness.BeforeIleftAustralia,theRotarysaidtome(andtheother

exchangestudents)Whenyouareoneexchangedontthinkofthingsbeingbetterorworsejustdifferent.WellRotary,thisisonerulethatIhavetobreak.

ThefoodhereisBETTER.ImsorrytoyoutooMum,Iknowyoumustbevery

offendedrightnow,butIcanthelpit.ThereisnosuchthinghereasslicedbreadALLthebreadisfresh,allthecheesesarebetter,thepastaisbetter,thepizza,

thecoffee,thegelato,thechocolateEVERYTHINGIabsolutelylove.Theonly

thingIhateaboutthefoodisthatImgoingtocomebackweighing20kilosmore.

[SimplenecessitiesofanItalianmeal]

8/2/2019 Report 1 Febbraio

5/7

Firstmonth,February,2012

Primomese,Febbraio,2012

[PizzainRoma!]

Myfirstdayofschoolwasterrifying.Itwaslikethefirstdayofkindergartenall

overagain.ExceptthistimeIdidntunderstandawordofwhatanyonewassaying.IrememberbeforeIleftforItalyIreceivedaFacebookmessagefrommy

brother(atthetimehewasbackpackinginChileandhewasntgettinghome

untilafterIhadleft,sohewassendingaGoodLuckmessage).InthismessageIrememberhesaidDontbenervousaboutyourfirstdayofschoolinItaly,

everyonewillbealloveryou,theyllloveyou.Hewasright.AssoonasIsatdowninthefirstclassofthedayeverybodyhoveredaroundmydesk,fighting

overmyItalian/Englishdictionarysotheycouldaskmequestions.Threeweeks

laterandIhaveagreatgroupofclassmatesthatcontinuouslyhelpmewithmyItalian,rightoutgrammarrulesandtakemetobarsandshopsinTrieste(There

isnosuchthingasthenameCafinItalyallcafsarecalledBars).Aswellas

this,asyouall(hopefully)knowIamextremelypassionateaboutFashionDesign.MytwofavouriteclassesatschoolareModaeCostume(Fashionand

Costume),whichisthepracticalfashiondesignclass,andDesign,whichisthe

Fashiondrawingclass.IfeelcompletelyathomeintheseclassesandthedaysIhavetheseclassesIdontwantschooltoend.Atfirstboththeteachers(who

dontspeakawordofEnglish)doubtedmyskillsandexperience,BUTaftertheysawthedrawingsanddesignsIhadmade,theirattitudestowardsmechanged

(atfirstitwasobviousthatIseemedtothemtobeawasteofspace).However

nowtheyappreciatemyworkandIamdoingthesamethingsthatmyotherclassmatesaredoing.

8/2/2019 Report 1 Febbraio

6/7

Firstmonth,February,2012

Primomese,Febbraio,2012

[Drawings/Garmentsofstudentsfrompreviousyears]

AttendingthisartschoolinTriestehasmademeevenmoreeagertobecomea

FashiondesignerandIfeelsoincrediblyinspiredandexcitedtocreateanddesignclothinghereinItaly!

EverysingledayIthinkaboutmyhomebackinAustraliaandcomingherehasmademerealiseandappreciatehowmuchIlovemyAustralianhome.However,

mynewhomeinItalyisthemostincredibleplaceintheworldandIamsohappythatImhere.Ihavetoadmit,theveryfirstnightIarrived,whenIwasgetting

8/2/2019 Report 1 Febbraio

7/7

Firstmonth,February,2012

Primomese,Febbraio,2012

intomynewbedIwasthinkingWhatonearthhaveIdone?Icantdothis,but

itsamonthinandImlovingeverysecondofit.ImalreadyhappytosaythatIhaveasecondhomeintheworld,andImreadyfortheyearaheadofme!

Ciaofornow!Untilnextmonth!

LoveEvaP.S.Sorryaboutthe7pagereport,IpromisenextmonthIlltryandmakeitabit

shorter