Week 2
Hello Blog People!
Well, I'm coming to the end of another week of school. I'm still getting into the swing of things, getting back on schedule with classes and homework.
I'm gonna be honest, this week was pretty normal. Most weekly updates will most likely be like this one, letting you know what I did over the week, but nothing super exciting happening. I'll tell you anyway, 1. so that you can be kept in the loop and 2. for future me to read back on my adventures.
CLASSES- Classes this week went pretty well. We all (like all the ACA students) had a grammar test on Thursday, so a lot of the week we studied (at least a little bit). I am impressed with how much we covered in just two weeks. There was a lot of material on the test. In case you care, here is what we have learned about: We have learned about some common irregular verbs (essere = to be, avere = to have, and stare = to be {but feeling}) and how to conjugate -ARE enduing verbs. We studied vocab for different professions, nationalities, and objects in a classroom. We learned about prepositions, how to make a noun possessive and plural, and the (many) different definite and indefinite articles (an and the). We practiced how to ask questions and how to answer them. Since I was learning some Italian over the summer, most of this week has been a sort of review. It's been a huge blessing to not have to start from scratch. Anyway, I felt like the test went really well, and I don't even have my score back. I'm trying to be more gracious with myself if I get a few wrong because language is hard and I'm just starting to learn it. But I feel like I did well.
MEAN GIRLS- This week, we "celebrated" Mean Girls Day. For those who don't know, the movie Mean Girls (released in 2004) has a line where the main character, Cady, is asked for the date by the guy she likes. To which she replies "It's October 3rd." So every October 3rd is Mean Girls Day. The school put on a little movie night for us with a 2000's themed dress code ( I did not participate in that, except I wore my gummy bear earrings!) I forgot how funny that movie is, and it was a good way to rest a little after a day of school.
POPPI PLANNING- As the spiritual rep, I have been working with the chaplain and the rest of the spiritual team to prepare for our spiritual retreat at Poppi. I'm really looking forward to that little trip. I think it will bond the whole school and will be a good time for rest. The week after that is our Amalfi Coast trip, so some rest before that crazy week will be good. I'm giving a little sermon on the Sunday of the retreat (which I need to prepare for), and I'm really looking forward to that. Our theme for the year is The Hidden Joy and so me and a couple other students are going to talk about a joy that we think is hidden or not focused on. I'm really looking forward to this opportunity to speak to the student body.
MISSING HOME- The homesickness is starting to set in a little bit. It isn't horrible but honestly, I do miss my family and my people back home. I miss the network of friendships that I had, both at home and at Union. I know it will probably be a little bit worse after like month of being away, but I'm trying to keep everything in perspective and hopefully, my friendships with people here will be deeper. It's hard because I just met a bunch of people a few weeks ago, so there hasn't been time for the relationships to grow. They have been, but obviously, they are not as close as the ones I've been working on for years, or a year. I am still in contact with my family a lot and I get to hear about what's happening at home. I talk to my parents a lot, at least 3-5 times a week in some way. But I'm so grateful to be here and have this opportunity.
WHAT I'M LEARNING- I'm learning a lot in a short amount of time. And not just Italian, but learning about myself. I'm learning to be ok spending time alone. But it's not just a little bit of time alone, but for hours on end. I'm learning what I need to work on and how I can grow. I'm learning about what's important to me via what I feel like I'm missing. I'm learning the people I want to associate with and observing who would be a good friends. I'm learning about the kind of person I want to be and who I am now. I have learned that country music is my comfort music. And superficially, I'm learning to get better at changing my earrings because I changed them for the first time this week and I'm super excited about it! I have gotten to wear a lot of the ones I brought and it makes me happy every time I get them in. Anyway, that's what I've been learning so far.
I also have come to realize that I love romanticizing life. Every day I walk down the hill to breakfast around 7:30 in the morning. The sun is coming up on the other side of the olive grove, and everything is quiet because it the morning. The sky is soft and the air is a little cold and I absolutely love it. Then between breakfast and worship in the morning I get to sit under this one tree in the middle of the field. It is so peaceful, and I just get to sit in nature for a little bit. I love it.
That was this week. Nothing too crazy. This weekend I'm planning on resting and spending time with friends.
Thanks for reading this update.
Ciao,
Ellie
Wakonda Youth Link: https://www.wakonda.org/post/from-wisconsin-to-italy
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