Unknown Destination

For more information: https://www.facebook.com/lucrezia.ioannonifiore

TURNING TABLES

English:

3 and a half months , almost 4. Exactly are 3 and a half months that I'm here , immersed in my new American reality. I realize how this brings me mental and physical changes, how difficult it is sometimes to understand it , how it is sometimes easy and childish wonder in front to the simplest Americans everyday, about how I 'm settling into this new world ...
My experience here is just beginning , but events make changes that can not be predicted nor avoided. I feel lucky I'll see many faces of America that I would not be expected to know , I will be settling in the large multi-ethnic society that is waiting for me , I'll live in another part of the United States ..
South Dakota gave me and is giving me a lot. As the people say, I'm in the "real America ", the America of the old Native Indians, the America of the cowboys, the America wide and green, the wild America, the America that built the history of this nation, the America that welcomed me in its simplicity and beauty.
This America, for me, always will be the first, by which I immersed myself in a new mentality . But a change of course is waiting for me.
For the second half I will have to relocate into another state of U.S. , which I hope will give me different horizons and opportunities.
My journey continues with the discovery of this country , and in January Florida will be my new little-big "discovery" .

Italian:

3 mesi e mezzo, quasi 4. Esatto sono 3 mesi e mezzo che sono qui, immersa nella mia nuova realtà americana. Mi accorgo di come questa mi abbia apportato cambiamenti mentali e fisici, di come sia difficile a volte capirla, di come a volte sia facile ed infantile stupirsi innanzi alle più semplici quotidianità americane, di come in questa mi stia ambientando...
La mia esperienza qui è solo agli inizi, ma gli eventi apportano cambiamenti che non è possibile prevedere nè evitare. Mi sento fortunata: vedrò molte sfaccettature dell'America che non mi sarei aspettata di conoscere, mi ambienterò nella grande società multietnica che mi sta aspettando, vivrò un'altra parte degli Stati Uniti..
Il South Dakota mi ha e mi sta regalando molto. Come si dice: sono nella "vera America", l'America dei vecchi indiani, l'America dei cowboy, l'America vasta e verde, l'America selvaggia, l'America che ha costruito la storia di questa nazione, l'America che mi ha accolto nella sua semplicità e bellezza.
Questa America sarà, per me, sempre la prima, tramite la quale mi sono immersa in una nuova mentalità. Ma un cambio di rotta mi aspetta.
Per il secondo semestre dovrò trasferirmi in un altro stato degli USA, che spero mi regalerà diversi orizzonti e diverse opportunità.
Il mio viaggio continua alla scoperta di questo paese e spero per Gennaio la Florida sarà la mia nuova piccola, grande "scoperta".

MY NEW HOST FAMILY

English:

I can't believe it!!!!
Yesterday I found my new host family in Florida in a really wierd way!!!
I will start to explain it from how it all started.
Almost 2 weeks ago I was on facebook searching for information about my new school in Florida and I found many profiles about it. I sent requests to be friends with them and to start searching their friends to find the profile of the other exchange students in the school (because i read in the official website of the school that there are). But I couldn't understand who the people were so I gave up.
Some days after 2 people (apparenty American) sent me a friend request on facebook but they didn't have mutual friends with me and from their profile picture I didn't know them so I didn't accept them on facebook.
The same happened two days ago when an Italian girl sent me a friend request on facebook and I didn't accept her too.
Yesterday night (3 December) I was on instagram and i decide to see some pictures from the hashtag about VeroBeach (the town were I will go). After that I saw some pictures and there was one that I liked a lot so I clicked on the profile of the person that had published it. It was an Italian girl!!!!!!!!! I immediatly thought that was another exchange student in the same school where I will go. Looking at her pictures I saw that there were some really similar to the ones of the girl that sent me the friend request the day before on facebook. I immediatly accepted her and I was going to write to her about how she knows that I was going to the same school, but she wrote to me. The message was about a day before but I didn't see it!
I, obviously, wasn't thinking that she could be a part of my new host family because you can't have another exchange student of the same country as you. But when I read, I understood the strange coincidence that it is happening.
She wrote to me that she was in Florida but not for one year, but only for six months. Her host family probably wants to take me like an exchange student because I will come on the second of January and she will leave the 25th.
When I read this I started to tremble and I was really excited and scared because I realized that I'm really going to Florida and I'm really going to leave here. I answered to her and after I saw that she had pictures with the same person that sent me the request before her and I didn't accept. They will be my new host family!
Another wierd case is that I visited one profile of the last two when I was searching for the school two weeks before. But when she sent to me the request I didn't understand that she was the same person.
This experience makes me wonder everyday more, makes me tremble, laught, cry, smile, scared and grow.
I never expected a similar experience.

Italian:

Non riesco a crederci!!

Ieri ho avuto le prime comunicazioni riguardanti la mia nuova host family in Florida, in un modo davvero strano!

Com'è iniziato il tutto?

Circa due settimane fa ero su facebook: stavo cercando informazioni sulla mia nuova scuola in Florida ed ho trovato molti profili di studenti .

Avendo letto sul sito ufficiale della scuola che è frequentata da Exchange student, ho inviato alcune richieste di amicizia ed ho cercato di individuarne la loro presenza fra gli “amici” ma, non riuscendo a capire chi fossero, vi ho rinunciato.

Alcuni giorni dopo, due persone, apparentemente americane, mi hanno inviato la richiesta di amicizia su facebook; poichè non avevamo amici in comune e dalla loro immagine del profilo non li conoscevo, non li ho accettati.

Lo stesso è accaduto due giorni fa: una ragazza italiana mi ha inviato una richiesta di amicizia su facebook, ma non ho accettato neanche lei.

Ieri sera ( 3 dicembre ) ero su Instagram ed ho deciso di vedere alcune immagini con hashtag di Vero Beach ( la città in cui andrò); dopo aver visto qualche foto, una ha attirato la mia attenzione e quindi ho cliccato sul profilo della persona che l'aveva pubblicata ... Era una ragazza italiana, ed ho subito capito che era un'exchange student della stessa scuola che mi accoglierà tra poco!!!

Guardando le sue foto ho notato che ce ne erano alcune davvero simili a quelle della ragazza che mi aveva inviato la richiesta di amicizia il giorno prima .

Connessami a facebook, ho subito accettato la sua richiesta e, mentre mi accingevo a scrivere per chiederle come aveva saputo che sarei andata nella stessa scuola, ho notato che lei, a sua volta mi aveva scritto...

Il messaggio era del giorno prima, ma non l'avevo visto !

Io, ovviamente , non pensavo che lei potesse essere parte della mia nuova host family perché non vi possono essere due exchange student della medesima nazionalità nella stessa famiglia; tuttavia, leggendo la sua missiva, ho capito la strana coincidenza che si era verificata.

La mia connazionale mi riferiva che era in Florida solo per un semestre e che la sua famiglia stava pensando di prendere me come exchange student perché io arriverò il 2 Gennaio e il lei tornerà in Italia il 25.

Leggendo quelle parole ho iniziato a tremare … ero molto emozionata e spaventata perché ho realizzato che sto davvero per andare in Florida, e sono davvero sul punto di lasciare tante persone a me così care …

Le ho risposto e, dopo aver visto il suo profilo, ho notato che in una foto c’era una delle due persone che mi avevano inviato la richiesta e che non avevo accettato … Ebbene, queste persone saranno la mia nuova famiglia ospitante!

Un’altra strana coincidenza, che ho realizzato solo dopo, è che avevo visto il profilo di una di queste persone americane quando vagavo su facebook alla ricerca di informazioni sulla nuova scuola due settimane prima … ma quando ho ricevuto la sua richiesta d'amicizia non l’avevo riconosciuta!!!

Questa esperienza mi stupisce ogni giorno di più.

Questa esperienza mi fa tremare, ridere , piangere , sorridere, imparare, spaventare e crescere.

Non mi sarei mai aspettata di vivere un’emozione simile.

Hi everybody <3
I want to tell you about the last Sunday, November 24.
At school there was the Snow Queen contest and there were 5 girls to compete to be crowned "Junior Snow Queen" and "Senior Snow Queen". These girls, before the show, were interviewed by the judges. The stage was placed in the school gym and the audience was about 100 people.
There was also a snowman "Frosty" that nobody knows who is inside it.

The stage in the gym (up)
The snow man (right)

After , the girls came on the stage and presented themselves to the audience, there was a Talent Show in which some guys of our school perform and sing, play, ect.
The judges have to decide the winners of the Snow Queen and the Talent show, so some little child came on the stage as entertainment.
Another part of entertainment were the three queens from afar: Antonela (Ecuadorian queen) Iryna (Ukrainian queen) and me (Italian queen). After that we were called on the stage, we went on and we talked a little about ourselves and our country.
I really didn't talk about my country: I read a really important and personal letter that I wrote for my mum 1 month after I left Italy. I was really nervous and I shook a lot!!!! The people probably did not undestand the importance of that letter because of my bad pronunciation but I was really happy! I fought against my shyness and I gave the audience a little "part of me and my culture".

After me Anto (my Ecuadorian sister) and Ira (my Ukranian friend) talked about their amazing experience and their country. They were really good speakers.
After that our speaking was over Kayla was crowned Senior snow queen and Julia was crowned Junior snow queen. The winners of the Senior devision Talent show were Wendy and Tess that sang "I'll be" by Reba McEntire. At the end of the show the senior snow queen took off the mask of the snow man.

Of course after the show Anto, Ira and I did a photography set thanks to our photographer Sierra (my American sister).

If you want to see more you can visit my facebook profile. There is a video with me and Ira jumping on the trampoline with prom dresses.

https://www.facebook.com/lucrezia.ioannonifiore/media_set?set=vb.100000387913288&type=2

It was an amazing day <3

Lucrezia from Langford, South Dakota, Exchange program 2013-2014.