Piazza del Comune at sunset.
The statue of Antonio Stradivari, a famous violin maker.
Me and other exchange students at a Rotary tennis event.
Inside a beautiful cathedral.
Inbound Orientation
The view from the mountains in Segonzano.
At the Palio di Isola Dovarese, a medieval festival.
Lovely music from an outdoors orchestra concert.
Mongolfiere at the Italian military airport.
Frecce Tricolori decorate the cloudy sky.
September has been a beautiful whirlwind of emotions: excitement, wonder, hope, and happiness. It’s only been a month since I arrived in Italy, but it feels like I’ve already gathered a lifetime of moments. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that I actually got on that plane and flew across the ocean with nothing but a couple of bags and a heart full of silly dreams.
I arrived at the airport in Milan after nine long hours. My host family welcomed me with a big sign and a warm smile. We got home, and then my host mom took me for a walk around Cremona. I live in the center of the city, so everything is nearby. The streets are often filled with pedestrians and cyclists. I was surprised to see that even elderly people get around town by bike. After one day, I had already fallen in love with the city’s architecture. The buildings are so compact and colorful, each one with its own unique character. In the center there’s the Duomo, the main cathedral of the city. It’s gorgeous. Right next to it stands the Torrazzo, a tall bell tower you can climb on to get a view of the whole city.
On my second day, I got to meet the other exchange students staying here in Cremona. We attended a festival in town filled with music, dancing crowds, artisan booths, games, and delicious food. It was a small space, but the people and the atmosphere made it feel so alive. That same weekend, I also met the other inbound students from my host district at a short orientation meeting, where we spent time getting to know each other and exchanging our first pins!
I started school just a few days after my arrival. Here in Italy, students attend a liceo that specializes in a particular subject (scientifico, linguistico, musicale, etc.). I go to the liceo artistico, which focuses on visual arts and design, although I still take core subjects like history, science, and literature. The school is very different from what I’m used to in the U.S. Not only for the fact that teachers change classrooms instead of the students, but also because the schedule changes every day. Sometimes I have two longer class periods a day, and sometimes I have four shorter ones. Many Italian high schools, including mine, have classes on Saturdays as well, but the days typically end earlier. I go to school from 8:00 to 12:45, so I practically have the afternoons free. Since the school days are shorter, there isn’t a long lunch break like in the U.S. Instead, we take two small breaks during the day to eat a light merenda and socialize.
Another difference is that students here don’t use laptops or tablets at school. Back at my school in the U.S., I was used to spending class time on worksheets and online assignments, finishing them at home as homework. Here, however, the work we do in class and the notes we take are all done on paper. Most of the time, the lessons involve reading directly from the textbook and writing down notes as the teacher speaks. Then we’re assigned extra work to complete at home. Of course, every school is different, but at least mine sticks to a more traditional style of teaching. The first couple of weeks were tough because I couldn’t fully understand what my teachers were saying, so I was mostly just jotting down the few words I could recognize. Now that I’ve noticed my language skills improving, school is becoming gradually easier. My classmates have also been really kind, offering me help with homework and congratulating me when I speak Italian.
Needless to say, I’ve experienced a few culture shocks since I came here. The first one was how late Italians eat lunch and dinner compared to what I was used to in the U.S. We eat lunch at around 13:30, right after school, and dinner at around 20:00. For lunch, we usually have some form of pasta. Before arriving here, I thought eating pasta every single day was a stereotype, but it really is true! I initially thought I might get tired of it, but every dish of pasta tastes so different that I hardly notice. So far, I’ve had classics like tortellini, spaghetti, gnocchi, orecchiette, and each one has its own distinct flavor and texture.
Another culture shock was that many stores close around noon and reopen after lunch, so the streets feel very calm and empty at that time of the day. In the evenings, you might see people out chatting and enjoying an aperitivo, a casual drink or snack before dinner. One day, my friends and I decided to do the same and go for an iced coffee. What I had in mind was the American version of it: a large cup of brewed coffee served with milk, cream, and a lot of ice. Instead, we got a shot of cold, shaken espresso served in a small cup. It had a strong, slightly bitter taste to it. It was very rich in flavor compared to the iced coffee I was used to.
Two weeks after I arrived, my host district held the first Inbound Orientation camp in the mountains of Segonzano. There, I met some of the Rotex as well as the Italian students who had just returned from their own exchanges abroad. We stayed there for two nights, playing games, sharing stories, and getting to know one another. The view was breathtaking, especially at night when the sky lit up with stars. We all sat together singing songs while a girl strummed the guitar, and the whole scene felt magical. I was surrounded by the tallest mountains and trees, a crisp evening breeze, and people I had begun to form a meaningful connection with.
After all these sights, tastes, and experiences, all there’s left to say is that September was the perfect start to this adventure. Being here makes me realize how much I have to be grateful for. Even the simplest moments like enjoying a gelato with friends, biking along the river, or taking a quiet walk home remind me of how lucky I am to be living this fever dream.