The goodbye to the best year of my life.

I couldn't finish this blog that took me so much time like this so I decided to write a last but first post from my  bedroom in Spain.  

June went by so fast. Daddy came to visit, I graduated from Vero, I went in an awesome trip to the Keys, Chiara and  I visited, saw and took thousands of pics of California (SF) and we had a very sad and emotional Goodbye Party. 

I decided to talk about the emotions I was expiriencing during the last days to try and help all the new exchange students to get those days throw as good as it can be.

(The trips and the graduation were awesome and I would have so much to tell about them that I just prefer to let you think and make up your own story)

Chiara and I thought of doing a last thing together by ourselves. She has been the big discovery of my exchange and the idea of saying goodbye hurt so much. We booked our tickets to San Francisco on March so we always had something to look forward to when the days were finishing. When we came back from the trip everything started to hit me so freakin fast.

My family and Chiara's Mom and Dad planned a Goodbye Party for us. Tons of people came and I had a blast although the Goodbye was starting to become a reality. That day I had tons of sad goodbyes to say but the hardest was the one I had to say to Anna. Anna was such a great friend and a wonderful gal that helped me so much to get throw each phase of my exchange. She was going to the University of Hawaii the day after that party so she was literally going to be on the other side of the world from me. I know I will see you soon and If you are reading this just know I miss you like crazy. 

The day after the party Chiara and I had the last sleep-over at Taylor's house. On Saturday my family and I did our last "thing" or adventure together and they decided to take me to the Zoo. At first the idea was not very exciting for me but when I think about that day now, I wish I was there with them so bad. 

We also had a last dinner at my absolute favorite place. We saw the sunset and took last Vero pics. Another bad and sad goodbye also came. I had to say Goodbye to Taylor, my absolute soul sister and best american friend. The tears were just falling from my face like crazy.

What I want to express by telling all this sad stuff is that you guys should enjoy every last minute you have during your exchange because when you go back home you will miss this last days so bad and you will want to go back to them. 

After 345 days, the D-day came. On Sunday I had to say goodbye to Vero, to my dogs, my house, the great Atlantic beach and least but of course not least my awesome host family that put up with me for six amazing months. Saying goodbye to Mary, Dave and Maddy was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I couldn't stop crying for such a long time. 

On Monday our plane left to NYC. We stayed there in a collage with tons of exchange students form all over the East coast. It was the last night with my Exchange friends. The Floridian group was breaking down into twenty-eight little peaces and spreading all over the world. 

Tuesday was the last day in America. The exchange students were leaving to go to the JFK airport. It was sad seeing Jenny leave. Claudia leave. Mint leave. Henrik and Chris leave. It was actually sad seeing last hugs between people you didn't even know but you were feeling the emotions they were holding and expressing.

That day I expirienced the worst goodbye I ever faced. I had to say a "see ya later" to my partner in crime, best friend, sister and twin.  

I think the thing that makes me feel so close to Chiara is that I have shared with her moments and adventures that no one could ever imagine or understand. She is the one who I shared my whole exchange with and that year has also been the best year of my life. She is the only one who can understand the feeling that right now I'm feeling. 

Saying goodye to her was by far the hardest and I tried to hold it in but It hurt too much. 

That day I also saw all the Spanish exchange students after a whole year. That was very exciting and I really enjoyed talking with them about our year abroad. 

The Spanish bus left at two and we landed in Madrid at six in the morning the day after. 

You can't imagine how excited I was when I landed. I think I was even more excited that when I first arrived to Orlando. I had so many emotions going throw me. Sadness but also happiness. I remember when I went throw that door and saw my mom and my two best friends with a enormous sign that my artistic friend Irene drew. 

I will finish here because I won't write about my life in Spain but I will tell you that It's also been an amazing summer.

After almost two months I still miss Vero and my friends and family very much. It's not a feeling that goes away quick. I think you just have to try and live with it. Now I have twice the things I had a year ago and It's hard to have something that you love so much so far away. I will tell you that the "going back home" it's by far the hardest thing I faced during my exchange even though I had a change of families. I missed Spain a lot but It was no this feeling of emptiness I am still feeling. I think it's because I knew I was going to come back here and although I know I will go back to Florida I still don't know when and who I will see there. 

Also seeing people start their adventure makes me so happy but so jealous at the same time. I recall every emotion I was leaving during the first days of my american life and I know how everything built in together to become the best experience I've ever had. 

The AFS effect and the traveling bug hit me and I can say I'm infected by it. I hope all the exchange students enjoy their experience as much as I did. It will for sure be a year that you will never forget. 

I hope everyone enjoyed reading as much I did writing this blog. 

I encourage everyone to write during their year abroad because It helps you during your exchange to think about how lucky you are and it helps you after to recall moments and to go throw it when your life back home gets boring and you miss the good'all USA. 

BTW: I'm being a liaison this year and I think it will also help be get back to reality. If I have the time I'll write about it and tell you how is it. It's another way to live AFS. Now as a Volunteer maybe next year as a host sister? 

Best wishes to all of you and thanks for putting up with my exchange memories. 

Week 41&42. American Prom and Long Weekend.

Hi everyone!
Excited to tell you all about my first American Prom.
The whole week was about preparing everything to have it ready to go. I picked up my dress from the Taylor's and I freaked out about how expensive was it.....crazy! Chiara, Tay, three other guys and I also went on a boat ride to an island in Vero. On Friday I skipped school and I went to the saloon with the girls to fix my messy nails. I was so afraid about people touching my feet (It really scares me) but it ended up being an experience. That afternoon was also the last football game. It was a "Spring game" to show the students the new team and the new cheerleaders for the next season. On Saturday I woke up early and helped Andy with his prom proposal to Maddy. It ended up being all my idea. I took a quick shower and went to the hairdresser with Chiara. I had already thought about my hair style and the hairdresser ended up doing what ever she wanted. It didn't look bad but it wasn't what I thought it was going to be.  We almost didn't make it in time. We went back home, put makeup, took some pictures and met Taylor and Aurora in Quail Valley to have an awesome dinner watching the amazing sunset. After dinner we took some pics and we went to the dance. Gatsby was the theme of the Prom and actually the decorations were pretty cool. I danced and danced all night. It was funny because they put tons of Spanish songs so I was the one knowing them all. It was great being able to see everyone and talk to them. We left at about 10 and we went to the afterparty. The party was very cool I had a blast. On Sunday we woke up very late and we just chilled in Taylor's house.
Last week I had to do tons of tests and homework because it was the last full week of school.  I actually can't recall what I did after school so I'll just leave it like that. On Friday I went to the movies with Maddy and bowling with some friends. On Saturday Chiara and I went to the graduation of Caroline (Chiara's liaison daughter) I haven't talked very much about her but she is very nice and she was also a foreign exchange student last year in Italy. She helped us a lot during our exchange and it was so nice to see her again. We went with all her family to have dinner at the Melting Pot and at night Chiara and I finished our fourth video. (You should go to Youtube and search for Chiara Bonvento and watch all of them). On Sunday Chiara and I had to do a project for COPO and I went with my family to have dinner in some family's friends house. They actually have a daughter that it's a senior at my school and I got to meet her. She is very cool and I would love to hang out with her more often. Today was memorial day so we didn't have school. My host mom is trying to do everything I want to do before going back so she is planning all this stuff all the time. She is so cute and wonderful. We went in a horse walk along the beach. It was so pretty. We went for an hour and the views were fantastic. We had lunch in this really cute "Bar" in Fort. Pierce. Now, I have to study for the last finals. I have them tomorrow and Wednesday and then my Summer finally begins. I can't believe that there is not going to be more waking up at 5 in the morning. My dad is coming in nine days and I will start to prepare everything for his arrival. June is going to be such an interesting and full month.
Here are some pictures of the last weeks. (I still need all the good pics of prom and to upload all the horse pics to my computer)
Enjoy yourselves and Carpe Diem!

Week 40. Last West Coast trip.

Hi! I've been having a lot of homework so I have problems managing time.

I left Vero on Wednesday to go to my cousin's house in Tampa. I went with Chiara's host parents because they had a wedding in St. Petersburg. We went in a truck and it was pretty uncomfortable but we saw an amazing sunset from there. We had dinner at Burger King and I arrived to my cousin's house at ten at night.

On Thursday I went to the beach with my cousin's daughter and son. We went to a beautiful beach that reminded me of Spain's sea. There were buildings and restaurants along the beach where you could get food. I went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico for the first time in my life. The water was cold and not salty at all. We had a panini for lunch but the bird ate all of mine. After the long day at the beach we had an amazing dinner and I realized that I was ver sunburnt.

On Friday I woke up early and I went with Peggy, mi dad's aunt, to buy some prom shoes and jewelry. Prom really stresses me out and I thought I would never find the perfect shoes, but I did. They are silver and they are super cute. After shopping we went to have lunch and we also went to the movies. On the afternoon I went with my cousin Robin, her daughter, Samantha, and her parents Peggy and Dick to a RAYS baseball game. I've never been to a professional game and I was so excited. We also got very good seats. We were literally touching the field. I started talking with the boy that picked up the balls and he ended up giving me professional baseball league ball and one of the player signed it for me. It was pretty cool being able to experience this. We had hotdogs and chips while we were watching the match. I learned some rules about baseball but I feel like I have much more to learn. I also bought a RAYS shirt that has my last name at the back.

On Saturday I woke up and we went kayaking along the river. The current helped you advance with no problems so I didn't have to do a lot of work. In the afternoon all my family from all around Tampa came to my cousin's house to have a nice dinner. It was actually so much fun. My dad's uncle is the funniest person ever and he is always asking me all this nonsense questions.

I left Sunday morning to go back to Vero and I celebrated mother's day with my host mom.

This week I've been doing AP tests and yesterday after school I went to a national park with Maddy that it's in Sebastian. We went biking! 10 miles!. We are getting fit. We did a lot of workout and it was pretty fun. Today I did my last AP test and I went to get something to eat with Anna. Taylor picked Chiara and me up and we went to the beach and we ended up going in a boat rode with some random collage kids. We went to an Island and we explored an had tons of fun. I'll post the pics of today on Sunday because I still have to download them from my phone.

I'm catching up with my scrapbook and I'm really liking the result. There is only one more week of school left and I'm pretty excited to Graduate. I'm counting the days till summer. Prom is this week so I'm gonna be stressed out but will post something on Sunday to tell you about my american experience in a high school dance.

Week 38&39. AFS Pre-Departure Orientation.

 Hello. I've no been writing a lot lately and It's because I felt that last week there was not much to tell. It was a pretty calm week and I didn't really do much. I slept the whole Friday afternoon because I was very tired and I watched a scary movie with my mom. Saturday I woke up late and I started doing my scrapbook (It's been sitting down in my desk for literally five months). It's looking very cute and Maddy is helping me a lot with it. I also went to the beach with Andy and tried to surf. At night I hag out with some friends.We watched movies and we ate burgers. On Sunday I went with Chiara to the beach. It was an awesome day, very sunny. At five we went with Maddy and Andy to the Sebastian Inlet. It's a natural park where you can find dolphins and manatee's. We  swam and I lost my water camera (It really pissed me off). 

Sebastian Inlet.

Jackie and Aurora.

My other italian half

Third wheel but always having fun.

During the week I had testing.I had to do the Algebra 2 EOC and it was very hard. We didn't cover any of the material that was on the test and I was very angry about it. I also missed lots of tests and assignments because of testing so I had to make up all the work. It crazy, when you don't turn in something here in the USA your grade drops from and A to an F. On Wednesday it was an early day so we went with Taylor to have lunch at the beach. I also spend the afternoon with Mads. 

Can't get over this pic.

America's patriotism is alive in the teenagers teeth.

Boring school days.

On Friday, after school was over Chiara and I went to the AFS-Pre Departure Orientation in Orlando. Tony an AFS exchange student that spent his year in Italy was who drove us. He is very interesting and always has tons of this to talk about. When we arrived on Friday late afternoon all the exchange students were already eating dinner. We talked for a big amount of time because there was lots of things to catch up on. Prom was big topic that everyone talked abut. After dinner Chiara, Esra and I went to the dorms and we picked our beds. There were pretty nice but the water smelled very bad. At night we just waited for the rest of the South Florida exchange to come. 

On our way to the Orientation

Jenny is pretty cute.

We arrived!!

East Coast girls.

Squad.

Cute room.

Saturday we woke up early and had breakfast. We had three sessions. The first one was about expressing how you think our year abroad changed us. The second one was to makes lists and know what to do with our little time left (If we need to talk with our Guidance, buy presents..). In the third one we had to make a comment of a newspaper article. Chris, a german exchange was my partner. It was pretty cool to share our opinions. Our article was about the Second World War and it's always interesting hearing the version of a german person. We had lunch at two and in the afternoon we went tubbing to the Springs. It was very fun. We enjoyed the nature and the clean water. We also played volleyball.  We arrived to the campsite at seven. We ate dinner and I enjoyed talking again to Louis. Louis in our chapter president (East Coast). She is a very sweet lady and she gave me a very cute Christmas ornament. At night Neal created a bonfire and we sang songs. It was a pretty sad moment because It's when we started to realize that our exchange it's almost over and that we have very little time left. We celebrated also Claudia's birthday. My favorite Swedish girl was turning sixteen. At midnight we started to play Mafia with all the Volunteers and It was very fun. 

Ready for the next step.

Always smiling.

German boy and Spanish girl.

Jenny, Stephanie and me.

Mint and Chiara.

Sisters.

Happy sweet sixteen to my favorite girlie. 

Tubbing was cool and the water was pretty cold.

When's your birthday?

The ones that make all this happen.

Always having fun.

Because we live where you vacation.

On Sunday we woke up ate breakfast and did our last session. We talked about how difficult is going to be to go home and all the new adjustments we are going to go throw. Everyone is going to notice that we have changed and we have to try and fit in. We came up with ideas that will help us. We finally took some AFS pics (that aren't downloaded yet) and we started to say goodbye. Some foreign exchange we won't see again because they are staying longer or because they are leaving earlier. I had to give a big goodbye hug to Lovisa form Sweden, Auruuke from Kathajistan and Mohammed form Pakistan (Esra is also leaving early but I will see her again this month). It was very sad to give our first goodbyes. It really hit me when I arrived home. I started crying because I realized that the best year of my life it's almost over. 

My family.

I have an Australian friend.

Lots of love for Anna always.

Romina from Uruguay.

One of the last ones I promise.

Goodbye Lovisa, I'll miss you very much!

Aurukee's goodbye.  Have a safe flight back home girlie. 

This afternoon I just studied for my AP Psychology test with Maddy. It's tomorrow and it's scary. I'm just going for three days this week to school because I will be going to Tampa to see my family on Wednesday. I'll spend five days there and I will arrive on Sunday. 

Carpe Diem!!!