Un sogno dentro un sogno: Amsterdam

Ciao cool people! I just returned Saturday from Amsterdam where I went with my sister and eight of her classmates in a sort of gita (high school trip). I kept thinking about the theme from that movie Inception with Leonardo di Caprio (DiCaprio) and directed by Christopher Nolan: "a dream within a dream" or "un sogno dentro un sogno". This trip in Italy sometimes feels surreal and dreamlike, and then going to Amsterdam brought me to another surreality. Amsterdam was a lovely city and my host sister's classmates were fun company. I like how much simpler it is to become closer to people my age here. They seem more open to new friends and like saying hi to each other. The girls even link arms when they're walking together, and it makes you feel like you belong there with them.

The city was narrow house filled, a bicyclist's dream (I have a bicycle obsession), and full of English speakers. So many vices are legal in Amsterdam, and although I didn't delve into any I still found the city super thrilling, chilly, and relaxing (I don't think those adjectives work very well together! :). It reminded me of Berkeley (UC Berkeley), a city near where I live. Liberal. The trip itself was una bella pausa (a nice break) from school everyday. I think it even helped my italiano improve more than going to school everyday. I was constantly speaking with the other students, rather than listening to a professor talk for two hours about something awesome that happened 300 years ago.

Mi piacciono le foto (I like photos!) do you? Here are some from the trip:

C'è freddo! (It's cold!)

The clog or Klomp from the Netherlands! Here's more about it: Click for Klomp!

La città delle biciclette!

The group! My host sister (Marcella) is taking the photo! (I'm wearing an overly bright red jacket!)

Elisa, Marcella (my host sister), and me

Siamo ritornati! All'aeroporto ad Alghero

Otherwise frigid weather is slowly infiltrating Sardegna, and my follow exchange students and I have been forming a better relationship with italiano.

In other news...I might change schools in a little bit. Right now I'm at the Magistrali, but maybe I'll change to the liceo scientifico of the city...  It's difficult to decide whether I want or need to change my school. Sometimes I like my current school and other times not so much. Especially after three months you build a sort of comfort zone around your current situation. We'll see how things proceed over the next few months... That's another thing this exchange program has been making less complicated for me and many others... Our problematic and stressful days (bad days) don't seem so terrible. We can go with the flow of our lives this year. After all the embarrassing moments (at least once a day one will occur), we can finally say "fregatene, non importa" (forget about, it doesn't matter). I don't find myself being humiliated or self-conscious very much anymore. I can take the imperfections of the day with a smile.