1 month!

Ahh yeah so time is definitely passing way too quickly now, it's already been over a month?

WELL okay, things have kind of fallen into routine now. I've gotten over the whole shock of being in a foreign country and now I just feel more comfortable with everything. My Italian is getting a lot better, and it's a little awkward writing in English, so I think that's a good thing!

This week I started my new timetable for school, so instead of staying in 3F all day, I get to switch around a litle. I have 6 different subjects now: Inglese (English), Storia (History), Educazione Fisica (PE), Italiano, Matematica, and Francese (French). Some of them I have with prima classes which is the first year, but I have others with the fifth (last) year classes, and everything in between.

All of my classes are so nice and welcoming and I'm really happy with my new timetable. Except I hate French with the passion of a thousand burning suns. I have forgotten everything I learned in the past two years, but my teacher loves to make me present every class period. It's also apparently a good idea to switch between Italian, French and English when talking to me (mid-sentence) because I'm not confused enough already. End whining.

I have Italian lessons after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays now, with four other AFSers in my chapter (United States, Costa Rica, Denmark, Chile!). I'm pretty positive this is when I'm speaking the most english, but they're actually really fun! And Lecce is gorgeous so we go out afterwards and stuff ourselves with gelato or coffee. (Absolutely nothing compares to the gelato and coffee here, ahhhh!)

Oh okay and the weather is so indecisive, I don't even know what to do. Some days, it will just rain constantly, or it will rain for maybe twenty minutes and then be really sunny (I actually saw a rainbow over a vineyard, that is SO corny but kind of cool). At night and in the morning, it's freezing, but later in the day it's sweltering hot. So I was very wrong to assume that it'd just be beautiful warm weather because while that is sometimes the case, it feels like December at times. I love it, but at the same time, I don't have a winter jacket... I'll buy one Sunday (marketplace!)

Anddd an apology for complete lack of pictures. It takes forever to put them on and I don't have the patience! But a few that I have hijacked from Facebook:




THEEE SCANDANAVIAN POSEEE. As brought to you by SSLAG.


Casa casa casa.

And then more later, promise.

A few more updates: I rode on a vespa!, got completely lost trying to find the train station, witnessed Tagada Salice Salentino style (think giant spinning amusement park rides, subtract all safety restraints, add some dancing guys in the middle and two large speakers and strobe lights), watched Pokemon in Italian, etc. etc.

And my math teacher asked me a question in class. I had no idea what the answer was. How to respond exchange student style:
1.) Ask yourself if the teacher understands English. If not, proceed to step 2.
2.) Explain to the teacher that you don't know how to answer in Italian, so your friend will translate for you.
3.) Start talking nonsense while throwing in a few vocabulary words from the topic, some head nods, or short thoughtful pauses.
4.) Tell your friend to just give him the right answers.

It works.