How I almost got in a fight over a mirror

Context: 

First-My school is kind of “Geto” graffiti everywhere everything is broken and is has the reputation that everything gets stolen there, you know how is has that reputation, its true

Second- classes here are together all of high school so they are really close and they all ride mopeds.  After school they always ride of together on their little mopeds like little moped gangs.

On to the story.  When we got out of school we all went to where every on parks their mopeds and one of the kids from class left the mirror in his moped so it got stolen as well as the plastic thing around the key hole(like I said everything gets stolen).  However both items only fit one type of moped, and there are only 5 in the school, 4 of which are owned by members of my class, and my friend knew who owned the other one.  How did he know?  Because he stole the wheel(/other part in the wheel region, he was pointing I didn’t understand the words) from him.  So we (like 10 kids from my class) go and confront this kid, search his back pack and his moped; but we find nothing.  Then they try to search his friends moped but he denies it’s his.  The whole time is really like tense almost a fight kind of feel.  Then my group wait around the other moped until snother kid passes us and askes us why we are around his friends moped so we confront him with the situation and he goes over to the other group to get the key to open the moped.  Low and behold the mirror and other thing are inside.  We go back over hand the kid his key back they talk to him really angrily then say are sacrcastic thanks and head off.   We then go into Pisa for kabob and on my way there I beat every one with my bike while they are on their mopeds.

It seems weird that this is my new life, not because of now different it is but because of how easy I have settled in to it.  The new manners and customs are second nature now and I'm not homesick at all.  I've gotten past the phase where everything is new and interesting and its not like everything is perfect (I still despise the bus, early mornings' and school on Saturday).  But everything i do here fells like its always been that way.  An example is I spent most of may conversations straining to barely understand and that just part of learning a new language but when reminisce about hanging out with friends back home i think " how was I ever able to say I have no clue what those words are, oh wait I could talk to my friends in English DUH".
Ive started to have little moments where I think in Italian without continuous effort.  My current example of this is a story about where my teachers fail to communicate with me because they insist on speaking terrible English instead of Italian. So I've told this story to my host brother and parents and my friends, and all of these time in Italian with a few quotes English, then im telling my mom this same story and Im like wait how the hell does this part of in English. 

The things I miss so far

My Car, I hate having to regress to taking the bus
Mexican food, specifically chips and salsa and Chipolte burritos which were stapes of my summer
Knowing the city, I have way to many times where I'm thinking where the hell am I, I'll just keep walking
All of my favorite TV shows, I've gotten over the fact of barely understanding the tv but they dont have all the shows I loved back in the States
Netflix and Pandora, Stupid "licensing constraints"
BBQ sauce
Surfing

Why the hell am I here

Why am I here?  Not In the existentialist sense; but, why did I come on this adventure.  I’ve been asked that so many times; why did I want to go on exchange, how could I leave my home and my friends for a year, why did I choose Italy, and I’ve asked myself the same questions so many times, especially over the last 3 weeks. 

I’ve answered so many ways: I want to learn a new language, I’ll get to experience another culture, I can travel more and see the world, I want to meet new people, to party hard duh, and this is my only chance to do something like this.  Maybe it’s because I didn’t get in my dream colleges and want to apply again or I’m just not ready for college and I am using this as an escape route.  Did I think I'd find something here I could not find In California or I'd learn more about myself  here and really grow up.  Was I just so sick of my home town that I wanted a drastic change or did I think I needed to travel across the globe to escape my parents(and If you're wondering, ten thousand kilometers Is not far enough). 

All of these are partially the answer but I think an answer lies deeper that I’ll never really know for sure.

But I've got do wonder, why would I ever make such a massive change in my life If I didn't even know why I was doing It.  Maybe it’s cause we never really know why we do what we do.  But more likely it’s simply... Why the Hell Not.

I know that as I sit here writing college apps about myself I don't have a really answer to even tell myself let alone others.  I know I am learning about a culture and a language, I did want to get away from my town and my parents--but for one I know I’ll never escape either they have made me who I am and additionally I now have another set of parents quite similar and a town that was not the drastic change I was hoping for.  I do think I could have gone to college but I know in this year I'll grow up a lot more then I would have in college and it is significantly cheaper.  Also getting to apply again to my top schools turned out to be a much bigger bonus then I had expected because In 3 weeks I have so many more answers for the applications then I did a year ago it’s astounding. 

At one point I was helping my host brother with basic calculus and had no clue want I was doing and started to think that I was already for getting the things I and learned and would be worse off waiting a year to go to college and I thought this year might be a waste.  but then I realized that In this year the growing up that Is happening will me magnitudes greater than that that would happen at a year of college and quite a bit cheaper.  additionally I may not be learning 3 dimensional calculus but Instead I’m learning skills I’d never learn without this, I’ve learned how to adapt to new situations, deal with different types of people and I’m surprised how well I can tell a story or order food with just hand gestures.  I’ve made friends with little more than a smile and a few laughs.  I know I can travel across the world on my own and over all I see that when things get hard I won’t only survive I can thrive.  I know that skills and confidence I have and will gain from this experience will far outweigh any negative or stupid facts Ill for get before college. 

This is kind of my rough draft for a college essay, now I just have to cut it down by 2000 characters. 

Transportation

Before my exchange getting around was fairly easy and the worst part always seemed to be traffic and if I didn't want to drive I could usually get rids with friends.  Now coming to Italy I knew I wouldn't be driving and I was OK with that I had taken the bus before and I would get by.  Now that I'm here I most definitely miss my car and even driving in general but if i had a car I would have missed some experiences, so the Transportation stories:

Because none of my fiends here have cars we have to gets rides if we want to go after the buses shut down.  The morning after going to the disco one of my friends dads was driving us back, we were cruising along in the fast lane going along and some car pull in front of him so he slams on the breaks and barely misses the guy who then pulls back to the slow lane.  Once the guy was out of the way my friends dad zooms off again.  After seeing teh rapid deceleration I'm thinking wow were going pretty fast, so I lean over and look past the seat to see just how fast.  Well shit were going 180 were gonna die!!!  ...wait...thinking...thinking...  oh that's in kph not mph it isn't that fast.  Commence quick mental calculation, 60m=100k so 200k would be 120mph so its pretty fast maybe I didn't read that right.... look around seat again.  Nope its not 180 now its 220, holy shits that like 130mph and this is a station wagon, my Volvo definitely doesn't do that.  (Don't worry mother I made it home safe.)



The next is a story the has exchange student written all over it.  It was Sunday afternoon and I was hanging out with my friends in down town Pisa some how holding a conversation with my broken Italian and their broken English.  They had to leave around 5:45 so we parted ways and I set off to take the bus home.  There are 2 buses that take me home and the stops are on opposite ends of the main street so I check my bus schedule and see the next one is on the far side of town at 6:30 so I casually walk there and get there 10 minuets early.  I sit down to wait for the bus and wait and wait and wait.  6:30 comes and goes, but this is Italy the buses are always late.  So I keep waiting, 35, 40, 45, still no bus.  Maybe I missed it some how so I'll see when the next one is... 845 at this stop, nope, and 7 or 9 at the other station.  Well shit i had better run if I want to be home anytime soon.  So I set of sprinting through town.  the only areas of Pisa I know very well is the main street where there are all the shops and there for all the tourist so I'm running as fast as I can dodging through crowds to try and get to the other station.  by the time I left the first station it was 6:50 so i had to make it across town, about 3k, in 10 min.  So i finally make it to the station and as I'm nearing it at about, no exactly 7:02 I see kids I recognize from my town at the stop so i know I'm not late.  I get to the stop thankful that the bus is late when i hear one of the guys saying something about 7:20 and looking at the bus sign so i go over and look my self and in a little yellow square it says calci-7:20.  In Pisa the buses have special schedule for holidays so not all the buses run on those days and the yellow ones show those time.  I had forgot in Sunday counts as a Holiday.  Which explains why my first bus hadn't come.  The things I should know but don't know for being a foreigner.  So I settle in to wait for the bus.  around 7:20 the correct bus pulls up but now to our part of the station so twenty some odd kid run over to the bus so I follow(currently that is why I get by other people i know are doing something better imitate, that's how I eat get to class, and do most things now a days)  then the bus driver points off in some direction and the kids run off again so I follow.  there were these metal bars in the way which most people took the long way around but i just hurdled which ended up getting the attention of one of the kids once we were on the bus the kid sat down next to me and we talked for most of the bus ride, by talked i mean I laughed and said "si" when I thought was appropriate and wondered 'what the hell is he saying'.  In the end I made it home for dinner so it wasn't too bad. 

School

I just started school a few days ago.  It is very similar; the teachers are still boring the desks still suck and school still starts way to early.  But its also different; teachers change class rooms not students, they have different breaks and get out at 1, obviously the school itself is different, and every one speaks Italian.    I have a math class that is very easy for me, I changed from doing 3 dimensional calculus to doing polynomials and parabolas.  English class is obviously very easy for me and I just help out the other students during that class.  My other classes are very difficult because they are about fairly complex subjects like history and literature but are in Italian so many of the more complex topics are hard to understand. 
So far the worst part of being here is that I don't have a car anymore.  I don't like having to regress to taking the bus and losing the freedom I used to have.  Especially when the bus is too full and drives right by me, but it made for a pretty walk back home. 

My First Day

 During my first day in Italy, while still adjusting to my new life, My host Brother Giuseppe took me into the city of Pisa.  Because teens can't drive until they are 18 we had to take the bus.  The bus is very similar to our bus but it is slightly nicer, the seats have actual cushions and its closer to a tour bus, however it is more expensive. We talked on the bus in Italian, although Giuseppe had to help me with a lot of words I didn't know, I was still proud of my self.  Once in Pisa we walked from the bus stop to the cathedral.  there it was very touristy and crowded.  But while there I had to take the cliche. Leaning tower of Pisa photo right next to all the tourists.
After that we walked to the Bank to deal with my money.  while there I noticed it really wasn't that different from banks back home.  We walked from the Cathedral to my host fathers office where we waited for him and talked with him about the bank.  after that we left to take the bus back home.  At the bus stop we determined it was gonna be long wait so we got a drink at a little bar(like a cafe) around the block there I tried a new drink(below) which was tea with peach.  I was very similar to Arizona tea just smaller and like everything else here more expensive.  Once home we had lunch which was much more formal.  The whole eats together and there are multiple courses.  The food was really good.  We had rolled meat with some sauce 

 and french fries as well as salad and green beans.  it was all delicious.  The only thing about the food of the meal that was odd is that they have fruit kinda as a dessert or final course and I'm used having something much more sugary but its healthier so its good.  And for when my sweet to needs it I still have half a kilo of chocolate from duty free. 

My Simplicity and Comfort

Its only my second day here and I though I was starting to get home sick.  But its not that I miss home I miss simplicity and comfort.  This the difference between life at "my home" and  the new home.  At my home in California every thing is easy.  I get up from my bed and grab what I want for breakfast chat with my parents text my friends from my phone then get in my car and go to my friends house.  Its easy and simple I know where everything in my house and my city. 
But here everything is different but isn't that what I signed up for.  Even though its different its very similar, I still eat breakfast lunch and dinner, I still like the same food and music, I still wear the same cloths and I'm still me.
Here it isn't yet "my" house or "my" city so I don't know it.  When I wake I don't even know if its morning or night I have to fish out my computer to know if I need to roll back over and sleep a few more hours of if its actually time for breakfast.  When I go to get breakfast I have to search around for the items I want.  And today I finally had the big success of discovering how to make coffee their way!  Even talking is difficult, duh its another language, but the most ridiculous part is translating in my head is so difficult for me that i can't multi task; ie eating while listening Impossible! which makes it so I eat awkwardly slower than the rest of my family not to mention a lot of the food I am not used to and have to watch how to eat it.  What I really miss from California is the simplicity and comfort of life but that's not what I signed up for. I keep thinking that this is difficult and that is more difficult than at home and it sucks here.  Instead I need to remember that when life is hard and it seems to suck "It Builds character".  When life is difficult that's when you get to see who you really are and what you can accomplish.  I know that if I have difficulties this year I'll just think of the last bit of advice that my dad promised to give me if I ever called home and complain, "MAN UP you chose this".  I chose to step out of my confertable way of life and try a new life because real progress is made out side of the comfort zone.  I for see that this will be more difficult than I expected but will still be an amazing time in my life.  This fee that I am rambling but hopefully its comprehensible and anyway its my blog and I never expected it to be perfect. 

Travel

Even though modern technology can make traveling around the world insanely easy, comfortable, simple and fast; when you're traveling cheap and last minute is is far from like it could be.  It is made even more difficult when I are transporting almost all of my cloths and various other belongings so all of my bags were very full and at the weight limit.  When I left home lugging over 100lbs of clothing I wasn't very sad to go I was mostly full of excitement and nervousness.  I loaded my bags in my dad's car and drove off watching my life zip away behind me.  On the way to  

the airport we stopped for lunch.As this was my last meal in America for a long while we had to do it the American way, fast food cheeseburger and fries,  so we went to In-n-Out.  After that we headed to the airport.  I grabbed all my bags and headed up to check in, after a bit of difficulty I got my bags checked and went off to security where I parted ways with my dad.  At this point i got to say i want at all sad to leave I just wanted to get through security so I could set down my heavy bags.  My flight to Paris was long and boring I slept for about 4 hours and watched movies the rest so it want too bad.  Once I landed in Paris I had to figure out how to get to my next gate which was only a bit confusing.

My first View of My new home

I got there fairly quick and then had to wait around for 5 hours which was really boring.   Once I finally got on my flight we boarded a tiny plane.  I slept for most of it and the last bit string out the window silently freaking out that I was actually here. We landed and becasue it is a small air port we had to take a bus from the plane to the Airport so I got a picture of the airport from the bus.  After that I picked up my bags and was on my way out of the airport when I saw a sign for Rotary and found it really interesting.  

 

There was not any customs or emigrating which I found odd but I didn't mind because I was tired and wanted to get to my new home already.  right out side the door was my new family.  We left and drove home.  once I got home I was amazing by the Beauty and age of their home when the showed me around.  Then I quickly settled in to the relief of an actual bed and quickly fell asleep after a long 2 days.  

My Last Day

Today was my last day in Santa Cruz so I decided to spend it the best way I could, surfing and hanging out with my friends.  I woke up and had breakfast with my host brother Micheal then went to meet at my friend(Left) Devon's house where we debated for ages where to go surfing and settled on going to Waddell and the Manresa if it wasn't so good.  Once Rose(Right) got there we loaded up our boards and headed out.  After a fairly long fun drive there we arrive and see gorgeous wave that are not too crowded.  We suited up and charge out.  It turns in to a really awesome session which is sadly short because it is really cold at this break because of upwelling so we go in after 2 hours.  I had to get a quick picture of us to post(above) before we set off to meet some more friends down south at Manresa beach. So we go for another fairly long drive cranking the heat full blast with the windows down curisin' along Highway One makes for a very enjoyable drive.  Once we arrived an Manresa I had to convince them that we did in fact need to to take the longboards down and go surf the stupid shore break.  It turned out to be much more fun than expected.  When we went down there and met up with April and Sophie and surfed small beach break waves for a few more hours.  After shredding those tiny knee high waves for a while we went back home when we all parted ways and I went off to meet my parents for one last family dinner.  We had a nice dinner at one of our local favorites.  After that I met up with my best friend Thomas to waste a way the night chilling till all hours of the morning.  Sadly all good thing have to end so Thomas headed home an hour or so a go and I am sitting here debating weather I should get a little sleep or just stay up 36 hours and hope I can make it to my plane tomorrow afternoon, I hope no one finds me asleep in the airport missing my flight.  Today was an amazing last day, as I said my final good byes to  my friends and prepare to go.  I am actually feeling nervous for this whole trip for the first time.  It still doesn't quite seem real that I won't be at to my home for 10 months and I wont see my friends out side of a computer screen for that long. 

Goodbyes

For me goodbyes have never been something terribly sad because I always new I would see my friends next week or my grandparents next holiday.  I just finished my going away party and it was sad to hear my friends talk of their plans for the the future that I will  miss and know I won't have crazy discussions with them around the fire. However I know that it will be not to long and I'll see them again.  The saddest part for me was the foreshadowing of what will happen 10 months from now when there is no, "for now" at the end of the goodbye instead it will be "Arrivederci, finché un giorno"  and I'll never know when I'll see any of my new family and friends again. I've had far to many people that I was close with and we swore we would stay in contact and it slowly faded away I just have to hope that will not happen with my current friends and won't with the friends I make in Italy.  But that is far off so there is no need to let it bring me down instead I will look forward to all the new experiences I will have.  now that I'm packed and all ready to go it is really hitting me that I will be leaving the country in 2 days. 

Packing

It is quite a difficult task to try and pack my entire life into three bags.  I realize that it is just stuff and I will be fine without it all but I still continue to stress if I have all the things that I will need for my exchange.  As I cram more and more things in my bags the fact that I am leaving become more real to me.  I keep having feelings like this is some sort of end, I think 'this is my last day of work', 'this is the last time I'll go out with my friends', 'this is the last time I'll go surfing' but its not the end just a 10 month break.  More importantly it is the start of something new.