HOST FAMILY!!!! :)

So the inevitable (which I thought was impossible happened) I have been permanently placed with a host family!!!! So this happen last Thursday on July 25th but I have been so busy communicating with them and looking into my host city that I forgot to blog about it.

I AM PLACED IN SARNO, SALERNO (province), Campania (state), Italy!!!! :)

I cannot say that I am anything less than excited/overwhelmed. (I still am in shock)

My family is very special and traditional. I say special because originally I thought I would just be living with my host parents Antonietta and Domenico and my host brother Antonio (20 years older than me) but upon further inspection I realized I am living with many more family members! In fact, I am living with the whole family!!! (which is like 18 people) From what I gathered my host family owns a large residential building filled with beautiful Italian apartments all occupied by Lanzetta's (family name). So I will share a big apartment with my host parents but in all actuality I will be "living" with the entire family and we all eat dinner together on Saturdays and Sundays!!

My host dad Domenico loves the arts especially photography. My host mom is very traditional and love to cook Italian food and my host brother loves volleyball and he is a music DJ!!! I don't think AFS could have placed me with a better host family, everyone seems so nice and excited to meet me.

As far as Sarno goes, I don't have many photos of the city but it is like 38,000 people and it is like 10 km from Salerno (the city) which is a beach city of like 150,000 ( the population of my hometown Dayton) and 20 km away from Naples which is a super large city!!! And I am in the south of Italy (which I am not even going to lie, I wanted to be in the south sooooo bad) where it doesn't snow and has beautiful beaches. =D Life is good! Now that I have a host family, I really want to leave so bad but I don't need to rush things as I still have to get my visa info turned in! #DetroitBound

I almost forgot to mention that my local AFS volunteer in Sarno Facebook messaged me today, (which was crazy because he added me months ago when he saw I was coming to Italy) and told me how excited he was to meet me and the other volunteers are excited to meet me!!! Gotta love AFS <3

I am in such a happy mood, I hope you are too!
-Shayla

                                                           Side View of my Host family's house

                                                         Mountain View of Sarno

                                                                       City of Salerno

Naples

6 weeks left...

Guys I have only 6 weeks left in Ohio before I have to fly to NYC, 6 weeks and 1 day until I fly to Switzerland and 6 weeks and 2 days until I arrive in Rome with all of the other amazing AFSers.

I am not sure how I feel about all of this, it is all happening really quickly and I don't know how to feel about this. I am in no way regretting my decision (in fact I haven't done that this far) but it just doesn't seem real yet. Going abroad has bee a dream of mines for so long and now that it is actually happening I am kind of taking it day by day. Time is flying and I haven't really realized it, all of this time I have been like "September can't come quick enough" and now I am at the end of July and reality still hasn't set in.

I think this may be because I actually haven't left yet but my mind knows that I am leaving for 10 months but the rest of me haven't quite got that concept yet (it's weird, I know) it's kind of hard to explain. I am nervous that something might go wrong, that my luggage might get lost, my classmates won't like me, or that I won't fair well with my host family. These worries are not consuming my mind but they are still somewhere in my cranium ^.^ Every returnee I have talked to says my exchange year will be the most emotional year of my life. They weren't lying, I am emotional and I haven't even left yet. 

As far as AFS news goes, I got 2 emails from AFS, one for my country conference call- where I can talk to other kids going to Italy and a returnee from Italy ( this call is Italy specific). The other email asking for me to go back to my doctor for another medical evaluation just to make sure I am still on the up and up. Well that is about all I have got to say at this point.

Arrivederci, Shayla

P.S. I still have to finish Rosetta Stone :(

I can see into the future...AFS is apart of it

 So besides my weird title I am making this post on where I see my future with AFS. If you didn't know my family hosted an Austrian girl 2 years ago (and we are still close) but I must say that besides my exchange coming up in 55 days, I am really inspired to work with AFS when I come back. I want to volunteer and help AFSers, I actually want to volunteer now (but I don't want to overwhelm myself,so I am going to wait until I come back) and I am going to try and fully commit myself to it.

 I even want to be one of those families that host a student every year!!! Really exchanging culture can be an addiction and I think I am addicted. Once I get older and have my own family, I want them to be AFSers, exchanging culture is such a beautiful thing! The people I have talked to now from different countries have really been nice and accepting of me, I love how exchange can connect people and create a bond you didn't even know existed.

 I haven't departed yet and I feel more mature, more aware. (I cannot seriously wait to see how I am when I come back!!!!) =D It isn't always easy (trust me when I hosted I found that out) but it is definitely beautiful and worth it!

 I signed up to go on exchange with AFS for 10 months but I am definitely NOT just going to stop being an AFSer after those months are up, I will always stay involved because I am just that passionate about it!!! I don't think I can truly express how happy/exciting/magical this can be, I might sound a little repetitive but really that is just how inspired I am! Thanks AFS!

Arrivederci, Shayla

Semester vs. YEAR

     "If there is one thing I could change about my experience, it would be the fact that I chose to only go for a semester. A year might seem overwhelming, but almost everyone I have spoken to who choose to go for a semester regrets not choosing a year long option. Heres why: after five months in Russia, I finally feel confident with the language, I can understand my schoolwork. I finally have started to make close relationships with people. Just as I begin to realize what I've done wrong, and what to do better, just as I am starting to fit in, it's time to leave. Of course, a semester is better than nothing, but if you can, go for a year."
-Past Semester AFSer to Russia

I just read this on a blog and and it keeps me thinking that I made the best decision to fully immerse myself in a new (to me) foreign culture for a year! I cannot express how excited I am in the blog about going to Italy in exactly 60 days. CRAZY!!! I feel so ready and unprepared at the same time (now I totally understand Taylor Swift in "22") but I never once regretted my decision so far and I think that is great!

I guess since there are no new updates I can say I am really happy to be apart of the 2013-2014 AFS Italy Group. Everyone thinks that I have spoken to are very nice and are just as excited as I am. Elliot (another participant) has this idea to make a YouTube channel account that all of us could add videos to document each of our experiences! Our motto, to be the best exchange group to ever come to Italy, which is definitely possible. It's crazy because I feel instantly close to them even though we never met (might also have something to do with our insanely long Facebook chats). The beauty of Exchange.

I will say one negative (which is not really negative, because it happens every summer) thing about departing in September is that I will be in the States the  whole summer and that is generally fun but guys keep flirting with me and I have to constantly remind myself that I cannot start a relationship because I leave in 60 days. But I can still have some fun, but just as friends!!!I am not complaining that is more of a missed opportunity, but I surely wouldn't replace Italy for that!

Weird fact: In exactly 1 year I am returning from Italy, I somehow feel sad about that and I haven't left yet! I can't wait to see the improvements from now until then!

Arrivederci, Shayla