Del pane caldo

Since the last time I've posted - well you know what to expect from me after those words - I've felt a lot.

I want to start off by saying that after a few not so lovely days, yesterday there was warm bread on the table. Genuine bread that's just been baked, less than ten minutes out of the oven. Then I ate it with nutella for colazione (breakfast). It comforted the cold morning.

PANE!

I ate half of this package.

Yes, I did feel the culture shock that I had been anticipating, but it kind of dripped into my emotional state. Feeling homesick and downcast for no reason seems to drift in and out. Sometimes I feel so extraordinarily gleeful to be here and at other times I miss driving cars, talking to my dad, holding my mom, and the rest of my family. These past three happy days have been getting progressively further and further away from sad feelings. Probably because school is finally (FINALLY) getting organized (I hope!) and italiano is chunk by chunk finding its way into by brain. 
Thank you Wikipedia authors, you can read more about this "stage" in an exchange program here:
Culture Shock

All the Sardegna AFS students had their first camp this last weekend. It was wonderfully fun. We even went to the sea and went swimming. I think that bonding is so much simpler with other exchange students. We always seem to have something to talk about. Either about our experience here or what life is like in our own country. Almost every continent is represented by an exchange student here in Sardegna. I now know at least one person from Japan, China, Norway, Iceland, Bosnia, Thailand, Mexico, nearly every country in South America, France, Iceland, Finland, and I can't remember them all. These international friendships make me so very happy.

Some other exchange students from my local chapter.
From left to right, Me-America, Karitas-Iceland, and Da-Thailand.
We're friends. :)

At school, I wasn't very content at first because of some of the classes I was put in, but now I've slowly crammed myself into a place here. I will change classes for certain subjects which not very normal in Italy as usually only the teachers move. Getting textbooks is also making me extremely happy. I had to purchase more than eight books and received another couple from the school. Too many. At least, Intercultura (AFS Italia) pays exchange students back for books if they can't find them elsewhere. New books are so thrilling, but reading the required material in italiano takes hours.

History book, completely in Italian!

I've gotten far enough into the school year to where we are having our first interrogazioni. "Interrogations" are when the professor asks you questions and you have to respond orally in front of the class. It's super frightening and they seem extremely difficult.  Especially if you aren't fluent in Italian. The students in my class don't seem nervous at all to stand in front of the class though. At least, I get to be interrogated last, but I don't think it will make much of a difference.  I already took a verifica: or questions and big spaces to elaborate, no multiple choice here. You have to know your stuff.

At my school, we also had a pubblicità (assembly to advertise) for Intercultura. It's strange being on the other side and telling people about my experience in Italy. A bunch of students took pamphlets and I hope they go with Intercultura. I think high school exchange programs are more common for students to take part in here.

So I'm inevitably trying to find an Italian inside of myself. I still am so accustomed to putting on a seat belt in the car that I put it on even when I don't have to. You only have to wear a seatbelt in the front of a car in Italia. My dad would not approve. People look at me oddly when I accidentally forget that I don't have to wear it. The same would happen in the US if someone wasn't wearing it.

Today was the birthday of my host father. I wrote him a card and we all sang "Tanti auguri!" (happy birthday!). It was a really lovely day.

After this, I'm going to go open the package my parents sent me. It's sitting in the corner, a tinsy fragment of home. I'm still here, that Sabrina that grew up in the Bay Area, I'm just trying to add another element now.

Finally! RASBERRY (lampone) GELATO! That's my fresh element: gelato.

A piece of Nuoro...