Saturday, June 12, 2010

My Host Family and Some Super Fun Visa Stuff

Woah, I swear I already wrote a post about more about my host family... I guess not. Weird. A couple of days after they emailed me the basic information about my host family I got a big AFS folder in the mail. It kind of confused me because I had no idea what they would be sending me. I felt stupid when I opened it though, because of course they would send me my host family's application! I had already written them in Italian before I got their application and they had replied the same day I got it. Here is what I know now:
My host parents are both doctors, my host dad is a dental surgeon, my host mom works for the public heath system. My host dad likes reading and politics and my host mom (who wrote me the email) loves to cook and she wants to show me how to make typical Italian food! That makes me happy because I love cooking =D. My host brother and sister (Giuseppe and Isabella) both go to the same school I will be going to but Isabella goes to the Liceo Classico and Giuseppe goes to the Liceo Scientifico (basically you learn latin at one and math at the other). Their application says Isabella likes to talk, so I'm happy. I just wonder if she talks as much as I do, if she is anywhere close to that achievement then I should be fluent in Italian in about a day! I really do wonder how I am going to get though the first few moths of not being able to say what I want when I want to, I may die even.
Anyway, my host mom told me that Giuseppe has played violin for five years and their application says he "is like a vulcan" (I think that is a reference to Star Trek and my parents told me it means he has pointy ears) and he likes his motorbike. Is a motorbike the same as a motorcycle? I'm assuming it is, but I'll have to find a British person to be sure.
I'm glad I got my host family early because they wrote that they want I student who makes their own bed. I figure it will take me at least three months to learn...
I did a presentation on Italy in my Euro history class and I got to include Martina Franca in it. I have researched it a lot and all the pictures I've seen are soooo beautiful!! I can't wait to get there!
I emailed my host family back a week after they emailed me and they still haven't responded. I thinks it has been close to 3 or 4 weeks now and it makes me sad. But still excited. I think yahoo mail did something funny and made the title begin with "RE:R:" and maybe it went to their spam... I don't know but I re-emailed it and tried to fix the title and I hope it works!
My next project is going to be.... getting a visa! It's going to be so fun!!!! Best part!!! Yay for sarcasm. There is so much stuff and paperwork and documents to get together, it's worse than actually applying to go for the year (and that's saying something). At least it will give me something to do other than reading every word of every single AFS Italy blog, AFS facebook page, and repeatedly counting the days on the calender until I get there (89 by the way). I say that I'll just go to Italy as an illegal immigrant so I won't need a visa. Then I could stay as long as I want (or until I'm caught) and I won't need to fill out my visa stuff. Actually I'm not sure that AFS would appreciate that. The Italian government might not either.
Oh and my host family has a parrot (or a cockatiel)!!!! That's so awesome =D