Occupazione!!!

Ciao Tutti!
So the last two months here in Italy and also around Europe, something has been stirring. I wasn't aware of the situation until a couple weeks ago so I thought I would talk about it now. As some of you know in Italy there are a lot of protests! Almost every week! This is really normal here and it has taken me a while to get use to, I'm still not completely use to it. This year my school held some protests, a couple assemblies then an occupation. You know a good ole sit in. Why? Well after it was all over I found out it was because the government now wants to make students pay for all schooling, even public school. Now this is crossing the line! When I finally heard the reason for all this I wanted to join them in their fight. How could this privilege be taken away? All students deserve a right to a free education, otherwise I feel like the world would go to shit. As I learned in Michael Moore's latest film "Capitalism: A Love Story", on January 11th 1944 FDR declared a second Bill of Rights, an "economic bill of rights". He stated it would guarantee employment with a living wage, freedom from unfair competition and monopolies, housing, medical care, EDUCATION and social security for all. WHY HAS THIS NOT HAPPENED! Why cant all people have these rights? What sick twisted game is the government playing? Kids my age are already having enough trouble staying in school these days, adding a money factor doesn't help at all. Well I'm rambling...This is what is going on in Italy right now, and I am with all the students in saying that having to pay for an education is wrong and unfair. All we can do now is fight and wait and hope the government will vote no.
Here is a small article on more: http://libcom.org/news/we-wont-pay-the-crisis-26102008

My school

Piano Piano

So I've decided that blogs are evil, and its SUPER hard to write in them! So I'm sorry to all my followers for the delay. I HAVE WAY TO MUCH TO WRITE ABOUT!!!
     So I have been here for 3 months! 3 MONTHS! I cant even comprehend time anymore, when I think about how long I've been here I feel like time is going way to fast! But when I think about how much time I have left here time seems to be going very slow. I don't know which one I should prefer. I'm starting to go through the period of minor homesickness. Its nothing to really worry about, exchange students go through it, but I just wish it would go away. I mainly feel homesickness when I'm not doing anything, which usually means while I'm at school. But as long as I keep myself occupied I'm as happy as ever! At school I am improving so much! The other day I opened my sketch book to start working on my drawing some more and I literally gasped and said "HOLY SHIT I DREW THAT!" but nobody understood me, so to them I was just jumping up and down screaming, my friend thought I was upset about the drawing. With other subjects its another story. I did answer one oral test question, who is Machievelli? He wrote Il Principe, and that was it. Right now all I do is copy my friend's notes and try to understand them, but I don't take part in any tests...yet. In math I actually do nothing, they are way to far ahead of me so right now I'm just waiting for my math book in the mail, for now I get to sleep during that class (which I did today). I'm starting to get to know my class mates more and more, also some other students at the school. I met one boy Danielle, he is the only student (that I know of) who speaks English in the school. So I got to talk to him, turns out he's an actor and has done 2 movies and is working on a TV show right now. WOW! Plus he's super cute.

Daniele

Marco

but as actors go hes a little narcissistic so I've decided not even try. My newest friend Marco is super cool, hes in a band and loves to show me his music collection! I have a feeling we are going to be best friends.
      At home things are still going well, I talk to my host mom (poorly) and to my host dad, although with my host sister we are starting to get really distant. Its not that I don't like her its just we really just don't have many similar interest. If she was living in Taos I doubt we would ever hang out or say anything to each other in school. But we do get along fine. I do feel bad for my host mom, she seems so bummed that I don't speak perfect Italian yet and it makes me a little frustrated. I am not bad at Italian I just cant understand all these grammar rules! So I'm trying and I do speak better than some other people (those people being the kids that got stuck in town with English speakers, that would be tough) and better Italian than when I came here; It is still a bit annoying when I speak Italian to someone and they just respond in English. And as the Italians all say "Piano Piano" "Steady Steady".
     As for Rome I am proud to say I have been there 5 or 6 times and almost completely know my way around! The fact that everything is right next to each other is still a bit hard to understand so every trip I learn my bearings more and more.

Tevi Fountain

My last trip I went to 2 museums, the first one was called "I Grandi Veneti" or " The Great Venetian"; it was filled with work by Bellini, Pisanello, Vivarini, Carpaccio, Tiziano and about 8 others.

Coppia di Musici

Madonna con il Bambino

It was beautiful, and for the first time I actually studied the pieces and looked carefully at what they were trying to say, which made the trip so much more worth it. The second museum we went to was called "Il Teatro Alla Moda" or "Fashion at the Theater". It was gorgeous! It featured clothes by Armani, Capucci, Fendi, Valentino and some other famous names.

I did see some clothes that looked as if my mom had something to do with them; one dress looked like one of her black and white doodles.

      The visit to Rome before that was one of the craziest moments of my life! If you have ever heard the song "It's A Small World After All" and didn't understand, then get this. So me and two other girls from the states (Bekah and Lucia) were walking around Rome, mainly around the Colosseum area, talking about things and looking at all the amazing monuments Rome has. We stopped at a bar (cafe) and got some grapefruit, then started walking down Via del Corso, a huge street with lots of people, trying to find Trevi Fountain. As we were walking I started spacing out looking at the other side of the street and something catches my eye, a boy that looked sort of like our friend Orion. So I stop and keep staring at this boy and the more I look at him the more he looks like Orion, so I say "hey guys is that Orion?" and they are just as confused so I shout at him "ORION!?" and he LOOKS OVER!!! How amazing is that! Just walking down a crowded street in Rome and see another kid from AFS just walking with his host family on the other side! Not only that, but about 20 minutes later as we were standing in front of the Colosseum, two other girls from AFS Jenny and Camila come running up screaming our names! It is indeed a small world. Makes me think about who else I might run into on this trip...

Orion (Washington), Jenny (Iceland), Lucia (Minnesota), Camila (Dominican Republic), Bekah (Oregon) and Me!

Photos

Hey guys!
If you want to see my photos taken on this trip please go to my DeviantART page:
http://adelizabackaspace.deviantart.com/
I will try and put most of my photos here, there are already a lot so check em' out!!!
Ciao Ciao!
<3

AFS Trip

Salve Tutti!
So last week I went to Pescaserolli (small town in the mountains) for a weekend with AFS.

I got to talk with all my friends and just hang out! The mountains were amazing, fog, sheep, horses, italian buildings, multicolored leaves BELLISIMO! After visiting a small town I kind of wish I was living in one, the mountain air was so fresh and all the trees were beautiful! But I am glad I am living in a "city" because there is more to do, I'm sure if I was in a small town I would be saying the same about a city. So on the first day we went to a small bear sanctuary, I was really more interested in the leaves and talking with my friends.

After the bear sanctuary we walked to the top of a small mountain; it was absolutely incredible and everything you saw looked like it belonged on a desktop! I got to run around and take many beautiful photos!!! 

The next day we started thinking about the talent show we had to do, we were seperated into 3 groups; 1 had to do a skit about family, the other school and the other communication. My group did school and lets just say we were not prepared...

Saturday was the most epic night! That night, after the talent show, a whole group of kids played truth or dare til 4 in the morning!!! And the AFS volunteers joined us too! It was a lot of fun, I laughed a lot and got to know some people very well (not that you wanted to hear that mum)...The next day we packed our bags and went to a pretty town over the mountains called San Donato V.C.

It was super cute, and I got to take a whole bunch of pretty pictures of the town.

After the brief tour we drove to a restaurant for our last lunch together, when we sat down there was wine at our table and all the students got really excited because the whole weekend we weren't allowed to drink, but then all the volunteers went around and collected the bottles, and took it to their table.

After a long long bus ride to the train station everyone said their goodbyes and went home.
I had way too much fun with my friends and I miss them a lot. And for some reason, after spending a weekend, mostly talking English with my friends, I have started talking more in Italian and I've started to understand more, I still cant figure out what happened....

1 Month in Italy!

Salve!
     So I have been here for one month and a lot has happened! I made tons of new friends, finally got school figured out and went to a couple festivals involving alcohol! First thing I want to talk about is my friends; my best friend Camilla is amazing, she is totally cool and very different from everyone else. She keeps telling me she wants to take me to Rome to meet her friends but we haven't really figured that out yet.

My sisters friends Alice, Ilaria and Veronica are also still very awesome. They are so warm and nice to me I love it!!! And of course my classmates are all really great to me, they warmed up to me about 2 weeks after school started. With school, everything is better that great! I love school, I would seriously be fine with going to school 7 days a week (sometimes), mostly because I have something to do. Its still a little hard for me to find something to do. I know my way around my town but I don't have any personal friends in my town, so right now I am just following Beatrice everywhere. But at school I am learning so much about art, well about drawing, I still cant understand the verbal classes. That's also why I love my school, because its mostly visual, its fantastic.
     At the end of September my family and I went to Octoberfest in Ciampino!

It was a lot of fun, good german food and good beer! The band playing there somehow was told I was there and in the middle of me eating my delicious apple strudel, they called my name!!! I was so shocked and so my family pushed me over to the stage so they could ask me questions in front of everyone! I was so scared but they only asked me how italy is and I answered "bene".
     On October 2nd the town Marino, where my school is, was having its annual wine festival!

So during school everyone went outside to do their art projects, it was so great! I drew outside with everyone and felt so inspired, plus everyone who was walking by stopped to look at everyone's art which was a nice little ego boost. Then after my sister and I returned home to eat, nap and get ready for the festival! At about 4 we went with Alice, Michelle (sp) e Veronica to eat pizza and Chin Chin (cheers) at a bar; after chin chin we went to the lago to visit Ilaria at work and got a doughnut (best doughnut I've ever had). After all our mini adventures we went to Marino! The wine festival was amazing!!! of course a lot of the people there were very drunk but there were so many people there!!! It was really great to see and be in. For the people in Taos, imagine fiestas and solar fest combined x2 with half of the people there being drunk and that was the wine festival. Loved it.
     Then finally the most exciting part, Roma! After a month of thinking and hoping I was going to Rome, I finally went today. It was the most spectacular, amazing, beautiful thing I have ever seen!!! The entire time I was speechless!!! When I came around that first corner and saw the Vatican in the distance, I almost fainted! I was so shocked that it was right in front of me (well a long distance away, but the closest I've ever been). Then the next corner Trevi!!! Rome was just one surprise after another.  And when we went into the churches I just wanted to sit and watch the stillness and beauty of the architecture! The churches here are just too amazing!!! I just cant wait to go again and see more! Plus I wouldn't mind a little shopping ;)
Well I am very very tired from today, now I will go and dream of everything I saw...
Ciao ciao
Addie

First week in Ariccia

Well week 1 is complete....I dont know what to think! I'm so amazed that I'm in Italy!!! And it has only been a week! I have 39 more in this beautiful country!!! Its just beautiful living in Italy! The only problem so far has been the time change. My body is still not use to sleeping during day time at home and being a wake during the night. So all day I feel totally exhausted and just want to sleep and at night I'm ready to do stuff and cant sleep!!! Its terrible but I know soon i'll get use to it. My first day of school was tuesday, it was weird I had absolutely no idea what was going on!!! I just followed my sister around the school. The first couple of days were weird and confusing but once everyone settled I could start to figure out where we were and sort of what we were doing. Because I'm attending an art school life is a lot easier. It my art classes I just have to observe and when the teacher explains something I'm doing wrong, I can understand easily! And after one day at my school, looking at everyones art I was able to draw this!!!

 

      After about 5 days of just sitting around with Beatrice's friends I started to actually interact and try and talk with them, its very fun and they are really nice people!

My friends...

 

In conclusion...I LOVE ITALY! I am really excited about school and my friends and everything about this country! I will report back when more is to report! Love you all!!! Ciao!!!

BENVENUTI A ITALIA!!!

CIAO!!!!
     I CANT BELIEVE I AM HERE! I AM IN ITALY! It was a long trip, but I am finally here! I dont even know where to begin!!!!! I guess I will start at the beginning, which is also the end.
Last day in Taos, September 7th: I had to pack, get a little more organized, and do a bunch of errands, including sending a package to my boyfriend : ), I said goodbye to some people and then my mom and I left for Denver! When we were about an hour away we stopped to try and find a luggage store, because my big suitcase was breaking (it was 7$ at a thrift store). The first one we went to was closed and the people who worked there were in the back kissing (we could see them it was really funny). Then we went to Khol's and found one! It was very big and perfect. Afterward we went to the hotel and switched suitcases, got more organized and went to bed.
     In the morning we went to the airport and found out that I had 20 extra pounds in my luggage and it would cost 100$ extra to check, so we took as much out as we could and put it in a REI shopping bag, which I had to carry with me on the plane (it was very annoying). We took a train to my gate and my mom and I said our goodbyes (it was sad).
     When I arrived in New York everything went well, I got my bags and found the other AFS kids right away, I just saw a bunch of kids sitting together talking. We went to the hotel where we started the first orientation. I met a lot of kids (58 americans), I cant remember most of their names...

     After the orientation we hopped onto a bus and went to JFK airport, we waited there for about 3 hours then got on the plane. The plane ride was about 8 hours and was horrible, I tried to sleep but could never find a comfortable position, so I watched some parts of "4 Weddings and a Funeral". When we arrived in Zurich we moved to our next plane and waited for about 30 minutes, we got on a bus and it took us to our plane.

The plane ride was 1 hour but felt shorter! and then the moment of realization, I WAS IN ITALY!!! After waiting for 6 months I WAS IN ITALY! It was amazing!!! We got on a bus and went to our hotel where the orientation was being held. I wont go into great detail about the orientation because it was long but here is a short description: I met hundreds of kids from different countries, everyone except the Americans spoke 2 or more languages and the food was amazing.

On sunday everyone left with their families, on buses, trains or planes. Since my house was in Roma my family picked me up.
     When I got to my house I unpacked and tried to organize my room (it is still not completely organized...) had dinner with my family, drank champagne to celebrate my arrival, Then I went out with Beatrice to meet some of her friends.

The next day I woke up late because I didn't get much sleep, I ate lunch (pasta con pesto) then went out with Beatrice to the piazza!
      Today I went to la scuola d'arte...it was hard to say the least. I'm glad I'm going to an art school instead of a technical school, art is a bit easier to figure out but I am still struggling with the language barrier. Luckily my sister speaks good enough English to explain what going on. After school we went to la piazza and waited for the bus to come and take us home, I was so tired I almost fell asleep on the bus :P so when I got home I crashed for 3 hours. I woke up to everyone telling me we were going to visit my other sister Linda in Champagno? So I got ready as fast as I could. When we arrived in Champagno Beatrice and I walked to a park and met with one of her friends, she was really nice.

Then we went to Linda's house and ate a fantastic dinner. Linda has 2 small children Gabrielle (4) e Virginia (7 o 8), I played catch with Gabrielle for a while and we watched "The sword and the stone" in italiano of course.

    Beh, this blog was a bit disorganized because I had SO MUCH to say, the next one will be better I promise. I AM IN ITALY!!! LOVE YOU ALL!!!
BUONANOTTE!

Last Day In New Mexico!!!

Countdown til Departure- 3 days
Today was my last day in good ole Taos, I didn't do much but pack and do the laundry. I said goodbye to all the people I wanted to, but I have yet to say goodbye to Taos...I will miss it. I think I'm going to miss my puppy Gugu so much, her cute puppy face looking at me everyday, playing fetch with her and giving her walks (which I didn't do as often as I should have), shes really going to be hard to say goodbye too...Its going to be difficult but I know the second I arrive in Italy I'm going to forget all about that! I know it will take me a while to get over the shock of it, we will see how that goes haha.
I cant wait to leave tomorrow!!!  I cant wait to be completely packed hahaha.
Well I'm off to a dinner party :)
Ciao, Bacchio!
-Adeliza

Countdown til Departure!

Official countdown til my last day in Taos, NM: 1 week!
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TIME!!!! I NEED TO DO SO MUCH, SEE SO MANY PEOPLE! AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGG!!!!!!!! But I'm really excited, and cannot wait to leave! I wanna be there right now!!! Life here in this town is just slowly getting more and more boring...while I sit at home and think about packing, everyone is at school! Maybe I should get one of my college friends to come here and slap me and make me pack...ugh I'm still not looking forward to it. I got some space bags the other day and I'm actually really excited about using them :) I know they will make my life SOOOO much better! I'm rambling. STOP! Hahaha well I've got things to do today, maybe ill actually do them haha.
Love, peace and chicken grease!
-Addie

My Countdown Begins

Official countdown until I am in Italy: 22 days!
I am totally freaked! I look at my room and the only thought that crosses my mind is "damn I'm going to have to go through all of this in a week aren't I?" Packing for 11 months is going to be very difficult. I do not pack light, I have never packed light. I just need to keep telling myself "Addie, you will buy lots of things while you're there, do not bring everything you own." I wanted too bring my Xbox so I could play with my friends back home, although that would be difficult considering the time change. Anyway I'll be too busy enjoying Italy to be sitting around playing games (sept when i'm sick).
My feelings about leaving come in waves, last week I felt really scared and definitely unprepared for this trip. This week I excited and ready to leave this second. The only thought that has stuck with me was the feeling of leaving Italy and coming back to lots and lots of problems. 1 being my credit situation, I might not get enough or even any credits for my Junior year which means I either, do Junior year during the summer, do Junior year twice or get my GED. The GED part is NOT AN OPTION for me! I just hope that everything will work out in my favor...
Well I'm going to watch an Italian film and cry about how much I don't understand yet. : )

My Host Family

                                                 The Schiaffini family <3

Random Update

Salute!
Well I haven't written in a while, mainly because there hasn't been much news. But here is what I've got:
My host sister and I are facebook friends now : D and we have been talking a lot! She is an artist, like myself, and cannot wait for me to come down!!! She sounds amazing, and all her pictures are gorgeous! I think we'll get along just fine.
I have also been e-mailing my host father & mother. They seem really excited for me to come as well. I found out they have a beautiful lake house as well as a lovely apartment! I also found out that I will have my own room!!!  I'm glad about that because I have some particular sleeping habits and I didn't want to have to conform to my sisters.

The lake house

I believe I will be going to the same school my sister will, which is an Art School (yay!). I will be waking up at 6:30 to catch the bus (I think) to school. I get home at 2 to eat and do homework then I am set free into the world until 2 am!!! I can't believe that is my curfew!! I guess I won't be getting much sleep while I'm in Italy : )

Well that's all for now! Until next time, Arrivederci!!!

Adeliza in ARICCIA!!!

Salute Everyone!
I've got a lot to tell you all! First off I know where I'm going to be living! I will be living with the Schiaffini family in Ariccia, Italy!!! Ariccia looks gorgeous, and not only is it gorgeous it is also 10 minutes from the ocean, about 10 minutes walking distance from Lake Nemi, and last and best of all, it is 30 minutes from Rome!!! My host fathers name is Romano, My mother's name is Ida and my sister's name is Beatrice. I don't know anything about them accept their address and phone number. My sister is my age which is really exciting! I just wrote them a letter but I bet it sounds really stupid considering I used a translator to write it.





The next exciting news is that I went to the pre-departure orientation in Albuquerque! It was very nice, I learned a lot about the trip and met some lovely people. It really helped me a lot to hear about all the other kids hopes and worries. Some of them didn't even know their countries language! Which made me really feel better because I've taken 2 years of Italian via Rosetta Stone. They also were worried about not liking the food, which I am not at all worried about, I'm totally psyched to try everything!!! They said most exchange student gain at least 10-20 pounds on their trip because most of their families are force feeding them all kinds of different foods. My only worry about the food thing is that I'm tiny and my stomach gets full very fast and easily, so I'm just scared they'll think I'm weird for not eating a lot or that they'll think I don't like their food. Anyways I had lots of fun that the orientation, I even met the students who had come here from other countries. They really impressed me because one of them didn't know English before she came and she was speaking it fluently!

Well I'm almost finished with my letter to my host family so I'll write when I get a reply or more information about them. Hopefully they like me and can understand my letter haha.

Alla Prossima! Until Next Time!
-Adeliza 

Sponser Me!

Salute Readers!

I just put a sponsor me gadget on my blog! Please sponsor me! Even if you only have $5 to spare, anything will do! Grazie Mille!

Here is something cool I found about an Italian woman with my name:

     Adeliza de Borgomanero (c. 1350-c. 1370) was an Italian murderess. The wife of a count from the Val d’Ossala region, she was exiled to a remote castle at Bellagio, near Lake Como, because of her iniquitous behavior. Adeliza held court at the castle, taking lovers as she chose. Legend turned her into a vampire-siren figure in popular lore, and she was said to have ordered her lovers to commit suicide the morning after their sexual revels. Those that chose to refuse this option were dropped through an oubliette into the lake below.

ACCEPTANCE LETTER!!!

Hi Adeliza,

Congratulations! AFS-Italy has just accepted your application!  

Next, AFS-Italy  will match you with a host family.  This can be a complex process and may take some time.  It is common for host family information to arrive during the month prior to your departure. So, if you don't hear right away, don’t worry, this is normal.  Once we have confirmed the details of your host family placement, they will be available on your AFS Account, so feel free to check there for updates.

THAT CAME SO MUCH FASTER THAN I EXPECTED!!!!!!!!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish I didn't have to wait that long to know where I will be living though. But I GOT ACCEPTED!!!!! I AM OFFICIALLY GOING TO THE MOST AMAZING COUNTRY EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scholarship Q&A

Buon Giorno Readers!!!
     Well I got an email from the AFS scholarship people, they said that I needed to 1 write a letter of recommendation and 2 start a blog. I wrote the letter of recommendation and I started a blog but I need to answer a few questions about myself and why I want to be an AFSer so here it goes:

     My name is Adeliza Backus-Pace, I am from Taos New Mexico and am currently a high school sophomore at Chamisa Mesa High School. I want to be and AFSer so that I can learn Italian, completely immerse myself in a new culture and make new friends.
     I think by going on this trip I will gain a new point of view. I won't be a regular teenager I will be a teenager with some intercultural experience. While I am there I will share my culture with my host family and friends. When I come back from my adventure abroad I will share the knowledge and experience I gained on this trip with my friends and family.
     Everyone of my friends and family are so excited for me and are supporting me 100%. My aunt, my sister's dad, my mother, my father are all pitching in on my tuition and my mom is rounding up some of her artist friends to help me with some fund raising.
     The overall challenge of making the decision to take the first step, deciding to be an AFSer was hard. I'm still having some trouble getting settled with the idea that in about 5 months I will be living in another country with people I've never really met and going to a school with people that don't even speak my language (fluently) It's a bit scary but I'm ready to do it.
     I have won a $2,000 scholarship, my father said he will contribute some money and my mom and I are going to try our best to raise the rest by selling raffle tickets for some art pieces that were given to us, have a bake sale and I am hoping to have an Italian Film Festival with a little help from my friends.

     Well that about sums it up! Now I just have to play the waiting game for a while. I went to my interview in Los Alamos and it went fantastic!!! The woman really liked me and said she thought I was great for this. My application was sent to Italy about a week ago and now I just have to wait 4 more and I'll know if I'll really be going to Italy or not.
     Grazie for reading!!!
          Adeliza

Scholarship Letter!

I received a letter last night that read:
"Congratulations! You have received $2,000 towards your Italy tuition!"
YAY!!!!!!!!! I'M REALLY GOING!!!!!!
I'll write again when I know more!

Interview!

I finally got an email from AFS!!! They told me that I will be doing my in person interview in Los Alamos and that I should get in touch with a woman named Sandy to arrange the day. I emailed her and told her I would drive there now if I could. I just want to get it done so I can know who I'll be staying with, where and what school I'll be attending ASAP!!!! I just can't wait any longer!!!

I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself; anyways, sorry I am writing so many Pre-Trip blogs, I should hold off until I have really important, grand, exciting news!
<3

Pre-Travel Thoughts

Buon Giorno!
I still haven't heard anything from AFS :(. I still need to do an interview but other than that I should be getting some news soon. I did a telephone interview which was lovely despite the fact that I had woken up 5 minutes before she called me. Apart from my sleepiness I think it went very well. But now I need to drive to Albuquerque or Los Alamos for an in person interview (I hope they like me). I've decided I want to live with an artistic family and go to an art school! I love being creative and if I live with a more conservative family I don't think I would be able to handle it. I also want to live in a city that is next to everything! The beach especially! Since I live in a very small mountainous town I want to do something really new. Like a very warm, coastal city! That sounds exciting.

I've been reading a lot of the current exchange student's blogs during my free time and now I'm addicted. I feel kind of like a stalker but it's so much fun. Hearing about all these different experiences is getting me really excited, I can't wait to leave and make new friends and go to raves and parties and talk with my host family. School is a bit scary though. I mean right now I go to school from 8am to 3:45pm, Mon-Thur. And when I go to Italy I will be going to school from 8am to 2pm, Mon-Sat. EEEEEKKKKK >.

I guess this is all I have to report! Wish me luck on my interview!!!
Ciao!

Introduction

Ciao!

     My name is Adeliza Backus-Pace; I am a 16 year old Sophmore attending Chamisa Mesa High School (best high school in the world), and am trying to get myself over to Italy for a year abroad! I know, it sounds terrifyingly fun and adventurous! The terrifying part for me at least is the whole $11,000 tuition!!! WOW! But apart from the money business I'm pretty excited. A year in Italy almost all by myself!!! How cool is that for a 16 year old to experience! Well I will be writing in this quite frequently during my trip so please follow me! Hold on ladies and gents, it's going to be a bumpy and marvelous ride!!!