Italia

Okay, here we go. Italy.

I arrived on the 20th of December at Marco Polo airport in Venice. It was lucky that I got out of Paris because of all the snow. Most of the flights after mine we canceled. At Venice I was met by Jakob (a friend who was an exchange student in Courtenay last year) and his parents. From there it was a 2 and a bit hour drive through the mountains (which I could not see because it was night time) back to their house in Brunico.

I awoke the next morning to find myself in a winter wonderland in the heart of the Italian Alps. It was incredible.

That day we went into town (a 30 min drive away). And I was surrounded once again by building that are older than Canada. It was beautiful. A river runs through the town, and the building are all painted in different colours. It was a crisp -20 ish.

Christmas was wonderful, yet very different from what I am used too. It is celebrated on the 24th in the evening. The tree was beautiful with candles and silver decorations. As we opend our gifts the sparklers on the tree were lit, creating a magical vision.

After the holidays we took a 3 day trip to Rome. There I saw all the sights, Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, the ancient ruins, a tour of the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel and the Museum of Modern Art ect.

For new years we were back in Brunico. There was a live band playing in the town square for the countdown and lots of fireworks. Hello 2010.

On my last day we climbed a mountain for 3 hours to get to the restaurant at the top. After eating we sledded down (which only took 30 min-ish). The view was incredible.

I flew out of Venice on the 4th of January to return to France. I went straight to a new host family. It is kind of exciting to move, I am a lot closer to town, and I am in a beautiful house, and the family is very kind. But on the other hand I miss my old family a bit. Like I said, when you arrive you are like a baby, and it is your first host family that "raises" you and introduces you to this strange new world. I think that it is for that reason that so many people are so close to the first family. However, I think that I will settle in just fine here. :)

I have no school today, because it snowed (only about 2 inches...) and it is supposed to snow again tonight. The city has come to complete halt, and looks beautiful.

I have had a wonderful past month, full of memories and good food.

-arlie