Hello readers,

So it's been about two months since I have written anything. I really just wanted to write and say that I have been adjusting back to America. I am still missing Italy incredibly, but, I am keeping myself very busy. I am going to school, band, work, and the gym. Repeat. 

Right now, it's quite difficult to talk to my friends because a lot of them are at the beach and are not near computers, but hopefully, once their school year starts, we will be able to Skype regularly!!!

Also, about two weeks ago, my ITALIAN exchange student, Irene, arrived!! yay!!! it's so much fun having her around because I get to keep practicing my Italian!!

It has been almost exactly a year since I left for Italy: September 4th, 2012. 

Italy will always have a very special place in my heart and I will never forget the the things I did there or the beautiful people I met. 

Thanks!!! <3

~Shelby K.

Re-adjusting

Hello everyone!

I know it's been a long time since I have written.
I have been incredibly busy!

From working to college visits, I have had no down time.

Being away from Italy is incredibly hard. I am skyping and writing to my friends but it is not the same. I hope that I will be able to see them sometime soon! I miss them all so much.

But adjusting is going fine as long as I stay busy. When I am sitting doing nothing, it is a lot harder.
There are a lot of triggers that make me think of Italy at random moments, but all I have are good thoughts. I don't even think of the hard times anymore. All I think of are the wonderful times I had with my friends and family. I am forever grateful for this experience and I am so glad that it will always be a part of who I am.

Thanks! <3

~Shelby Janae

Returning

Hello everyone, 

I am officially back in America. It is so crazy. I honestly don't even know how it happened. I just remember going to the airport 9 months ago and then having the time of my life. The year flew by so quickly. It feels like I just got there a week ago and then had to turn around and come back. 

My 9 months abroad were some of the best months I have had. I will never forget my time with my friends and family. I feel like I am a changed person. 

Unfortunately, coming back was one of the hardest things I have even hard to do though. I made so many amazing friends and saying goodbye was extremely difficult. I shed so many tears.
I hope with all my heart that we will be able to keep up our relationships and continue to talk. 

When I got home, my family and beat friend were waiting for me at the airport and we went to eat some hamburgers and milkshakes. When I got home, I was reunited with my dogs and my parents surprised me with my very own car. I could not believe it!

Anyway, this year was so great and I'm already thinking about when I get to return to Italy. 
Hopefully I will get back into the American lifestyle soon though!



~Shelby Janae <3

The countdown is beginning...

to be serious. Before, I was counting down, "Oh, one month. That's still a lot of time." 

Now, the countdown is 6 days. I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. It honestly just doesn't even make sense. I feel like I have spent my whole life here with my friends, but I still don't feel like it was enough. I will miss my friends so much, I don't even know how I am going to handle leaving them. Yes, I had bad days where I didn't even talk to my friends, but overall, they were always there and they always enjoyed my company. 
I truly hope that we will be able to stay in touch forever and that next summer they will be able to visit me in America like we are planning. 

So, my bag is slowly starting to be packed and I'm thinking about the things I could leave here in order to save as much space as possible. My money supply is down to only 55 Euros and I know exactly what I'm spending all of it on. I will be going home with basically no money :P

Overall, despite small problems that I ran into, I have had an amazing exchange year. I wouldn't change anything and I'm so glad I was able to go. 

I thank everyone who I have met on this experience and anyone who helped me to get here. I appreciate it so much. I feel like a changed person.

Thanks for reading throughout this year and I hope to keep posting even when I return to America. 

Next post will probably be about having to say goodbye to my whole new life in Italy. 

~Shelby Janae <3

Television

Hello everyone, 

In Italy, I feel like they like to watch a lot of TV. Most people gasp when I say I never watch TV. I honestly prefer movies over television. Anyway, the Italian TV is different than America but there are a lot of the same shows!

Most shows and movies are American or English, so most of the things you see on TV are dubbed. It is rather irritating to watch. They have MTV and disney channel just like we do in America. My host brother likes to watch Disney Channel in the mornings while we are eating breakfast. :)

Also, there are a lot a lot of commercials here. Commercials take up just as much time as they do in America, if not more. Commercials are pretty much the same as in America. The variety is taken up by candy/food and women products. Go figure. haha :)

Anyway, I just wanted to add a little note that I only have 12 days remaining in Italy. It's getting closer and more real every second. I can't imagine how much I'm going to be crying when I leave my much-loved Italian friends. 

Thanks for reading <3

~Shelby Janae

Austria

Hello everyone!

So, I just got back tonight from a school trip to Austria to visit a couple concentration camps. It was an amazing trip. We took a 5 buses (a great 12 hours including 2 hours of breaks) from different schools around my area and traveled through Germany to get to Austria. 

The scenery was absolutely amazing. Everything was so green! 
It was so crazy to see everything in GERMAN! I mean, no offense to any germans, but it looks like the alphabet threw up! I honestly do not understand how some of the German words can actually mean something. It is such an amazing and interesting language! I would love to learn it someday. 
I was pretty proud that at dinner, I was able to understand a little bit of the menu because some of the words are similar to English words. 

At dinner, stores, and any museums we visited, I was the official "talker" because my English is the best. :P
I ended up not eating very much because every night the others ate at about 9 or later and I don't like eating after 9 pm, so I skipped out on the hot dogs and french fries. :P However, I can say that I have tasted REAL german/austrian hot dogs! :D

Now to the serious stuff. I visited the concentration camps of Gusen and Mauthausen. I learned so many facts and saw so many things. 

I met real men and women who were prisoners in the concentration camps. 
I saw a ton of memorials for all the countries with victims of concentration camps.
I stood in the showers were hundreds of prisoners were forced to shower in sometimes groups of 50 strangers ranging from 15-50 years old. 

I stood in gas chambers and crematoriums were thousands of people were tortured and burned in order to get rid of the "evidence." 
I've stood in graveyards with 10,000 people buried. 

I never really imagined that I would visit a concentration camp. I figured I would always just see pictures and see stories. 
I can really see now what happened during this terrible time; even though I wish it never happened. 

Seeing what I saw just concreted everything into my mind and even though it happened so long ago, I hope we never forget.

~Shelby Janae

My New (kind of) Family

Hey everybody, 

So, I changed host families about three weeks ago. I really really like my new host family. 
The new family consists of a mother, father, and 14-year old brother. 
Currently, they have a daughter my age in Brazil. 
This family is so considerate of me. (Not that my old family wasn't... I loved them to <3) 

For example, yesterday, I saw an advertisement for a new flavor of TicTacs and I told my host mom I wanted to try them. The next day, I came home from Athletics to see a pack of them on my desk. How sweet is that?! They ALWAYS ask me what I want for dinner or if I need help. You can really tell that they care about me being happy. It is a shame that I will have to leave so quickly... I only have another 26 days with this family. Hopefully, they will be able to come to America to visit. That might be a little difficult though because they speak ZERO English!

The house is a bit smaller than the old one, but it is comfortable. I really don't mind living in smaller spaces. As long as I have a bathroom, kitchen, and a bed, I am happy  :D

On another note, Friday morning, I am headed off to Austria to visit the concentration camps "Mauthausen" and "Gusen." It should be a very sad but great experience. 

Thanks for reading!!! 

~Shelby