An average day
My average day (Monday - Saturday) starts like this: First, I wake up at 7:00 (10:00 PM AZ time!) and get ready for school. My host family has a lovely home; it's very new, apparently they just recently moved into it from an apartment-- houses are uncommon in Italy. Anyway, after I get ready and have eaten breakfast (Usually just a piece of fruit because the cereal here is a tad disgusting. Think: Raisin bran minus the raisins with heated, condensed and chalky milk on top. Yum.), my host father takes me and Martina to school, which begins at 8:30. The classes I take vary every day, depending on the weekly schedule. Monday, I might start with a two hour art block, followed by an hour of philosophy, two of Italian, and one of math. Other classes include theoretical chemistry, Italian history, art history, geometric art, English, theology (Catholic), and physical education. Generally, we stay in the same classroom and the teachers come to us. The exceptions are art, geometric art, PE, math, and English. At these times we go to specified classrooms (Or outside for PE), but are always with the same group of people. Tomorrow I am going to discuss all of the classes I am taking with the English teacher, and switch out of a few (Like Italian and philosophy, which I can't understand at all because of the language barrier) so that I can study Italian more.
The school itself is very cool; there are sculptures created by students everywhere, and murals on the walls. These walls are also
littered by a plethora of graffiti, which is everywhere-- in school, outside the school, on buildings new and old. This is not just in Avellino, but everywhere in Italy. I've noticed very prominent graffiti in Naples and Milan, and even when I was passing through Florence on the train down. I have decided that it is an undeniable part of Italian culture; after all, have they not found an excess of graffiti (They call it 'scratch' here) on the walls of ancient Rome and in the ruins of Pompeii? I myself have taken a particular liking to it; when it is not vulgar it adds character to the area, a new dimension of visual interest that makes Italy unique.
Back to my daily routine: After school. Martina and I walk to the piazza to hang out with her friends for a half an hour or so before her father gets off of work and take us home. He and her mother work at the city hall. When we get back to the house, we eat lunch, which is the biggest meal of the day [Usually pasta, but the type of pasta and sauce it is with changes daily. Yesterday we had spaghetti with pesto, the day before was baked ziti with eggplant (delicious), and before that was a very strange broccoli/white cheese/pasta combination I did not particularly enjoy.]. The whole family eats lunch together, and then sometimes one of the parents will go back to work, and everyone goes off to do their own thing. Martina and I are usually exhausted by this point, so we take a siesta (a.k.a. nap), which is very common here. After that we do homework, for a few hours before helping with dinner, which is served around 9PM. After dinner, Martina and I go out, usually to the piazza, to hang out with her friends. We generally wander aimlessly about the city, which is fun for me (I like all of the old buildings), and maybe go to a pizzeria if someone hasn't eaten yet. On Saturday evenings we've been going to a tea house (Called the ShaZa) that is very amazing. We sit on silk cushions in a dimply lit room while "exotic" music plays, and are served our various teas, and in a couple of cases absynth-- it's completely legal here, and Martina's friend Ivan loves it. I think it's disgusting, as it tastes like burnt black licorice. Last week it was closed, so we switched it up and went to a strange little cafe that resembled a dollhouse on the inside, as it has two tiny open floors, green and purple walls, and a crooked ceiling. We were seated in the "attic," and served chocolate tea and pastries, which was fun.
We have yet to go to the cinema as a group, mainly because they claim I would not be able to understand--true--which would make it pointless--not true!
The school itself is very cool; there are sculptures created by students everywhere, and murals on the walls. These walls are also
littered by a plethora of graffiti, which is everywhere-- in school, outside the school, on buildings new and old. This is not just in Avellino, but everywhere in Italy. I've noticed very prominent graffiti in Naples and Milan, and even when I was passing through Florence on the train down. I have decided that it is an undeniable part of Italian culture; after all, have they not found an excess of graffiti (They call it 'scratch' here) on the walls of ancient Rome and in the ruins of Pompeii? I myself have taken a particular liking to it; when it is not vulgar it adds character to the area, a new dimension of visual interest that makes Italy unique.
Back to my daily routine: After school. Martina and I walk to the piazza to hang out with her friends for a half an hour or so before her father gets off of work and take us home. He and her mother work at the city hall. When we get back to the house, we eat lunch, which is the biggest meal of the day [Usually pasta, but the type of pasta and sauce it is with changes daily. Yesterday we had spaghetti with pesto, the day before was baked ziti with eggplant (delicious), and before that was a very strange broccoli/white cheese/pasta combination I did not particularly enjoy.]. The whole family eats lunch together, and then sometimes one of the parents will go back to work, and everyone goes off to do their own thing. Martina and I are usually exhausted by this point, so we take a siesta (a.k.a. nap), which is very common here. After that we do homework, for a few hours before helping with dinner, which is served around 9PM. After dinner, Martina and I go out, usually to the piazza, to hang out with her friends. We generally wander aimlessly about the city, which is fun for me (I like all of the old buildings), and maybe go to a pizzeria if someone hasn't eaten yet. On Saturday evenings we've been going to a tea house (Called the ShaZa) that is very amazing. We sit on silk cushions in a dimply lit room while "exotic" music plays, and are served our various teas, and in a couple of cases absynth-- it's completely legal here, and Martina's friend Ivan loves it. I think it's disgusting, as it tastes like burnt black licorice. Last week it was closed, so we switched it up and went to a strange little cafe that resembled a dollhouse on the inside, as it has two tiny open floors, green and purple walls, and a crooked ceiling. We were seated in the "attic," and served chocolate tea and pastries, which was fun.
We have yet to go to the cinema as a group, mainly because they claim I would not be able to understand--true--which would make it pointless--not true!
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