jersey shore? not even.

so, blogger screwed up and my original post about exchange week was deleted and not restored ... so that is why it has taken so long to update about my exchange week on the lovely island of sardegna.

Justin and I at the beach(:

my family: i was lucky enough to be placed for the week in the Mereu family, which consists of Vittorio (dad), Stefania (mom), Silvia (sister, 17) and Davide (brother, 8). also staying with us for the week was justin, from hong kong who lives near florence in tuscany(: my family lived in decimomannu, which is about 10 minutes away from cagliari. they were without a doubt one of the best parts of this week exchange as they were accepting and extremely kind, like many people of the south. they took justin and me to different parts of the island, which was amazingly beautiful. after one week this group of wonderful people became like another family to me. there is this quote that one of my friends shared with me: "family isn't always blood. it's the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. the ones who would do anything to see you smile, and who love you no matter what." this quote definitely applies to this exchange, as being here i have gained so many sisters and brothers and mothers and fathers. family has no boundaries.

intercultura:
afs sardegna was a little unorganized, and with the cloudy, rainy weather the large part of the week was spent just going with the flow. there were about 20 other students from all over the world (and italy) that came to this week, and together we toured cagliari, ate some disgusting pizza, went to the beach and hiked in the forest. i love hanging out with afs kids because i learn so much about other cultures as well as the italian one. i learned some mandarin, thai and german during this week and made friends with people as close as mexico to as far away as thailand. i was proud of myself because i talked in italian pretty much the entire time, which is hard because it is very tempting to just speak english because everyone here knows it.

other:
the north of italy is very much like america: industrialized, clean and organized, whereas the south is the opposite. they are loud and emotional (not dramatic, but they just display all their emotions for everyone to see), and the cities aren't as nice, mostly because the south is more agricultural than the north. that said, i loved the south. give me crumbling buildings and gorgeous sunsets and i am happy. the south (especially the people) gave off this vibe of raw emotion -- i never had to guess or wonder what someone was feeling, because it was expressed in everything they did. i found the south to be (in a way) a lot more genuine than the north, and a lot more appreciate of life's simple gifts. just a week in sardegna relaxed me thorougly, because that is the way of life. when i asked my host mom after dinner if i could help clear the table, she yawned (they finish dinner at like 10 p.m.), looked over at the table and told me we'd take care of it in the morning. then we went to bed, leaving dirty dishes and uncovered food behind us. this would never happen at my home in aosta or in boise. the south was different from anything i've ever lived in and i loved it the second i stepped off the plane. the gorgeous views and genuine feel of it reminded me of my trip to peru in november or my grandparents house in portugal. it was hard to leave, but i know i'll go back.

that concludes my re-update of exchange week. enjoy the pictures(: