bulaniskandar asked: Hi~ I'm pretty sure you're one of people who participate in rotary exchange program. Do you mind to tell me about the tests and interviews? And general knowledge/history, will it hard? I'm so interested to this program, please answer me. Thanks ^_^
Hi! I had to give in an application and then I got through to the interviews, where they asked me many questions like ‘what is your greatest achievement’ and ‘why do you want to go on exchange’. The questions are hard but you have to answer honestly! They also looked at my school scores and so on. I didn’t have to know much about Italy, but it could be different for each club. Good luck, if you have any other questions just ask me!
myadventuresinitaly asked: Hey! My name is Abbey and I'm going to Italy next year with Rotary! I'm from the United States btw. What can you tell me about Italy?! :)
hi! so sorry I didn’t reply ages ago, I haven’t been on tumblr for the longest time. How is everything? Ah I wouldn’t know where to begin with Italy! It all depends on where you go. I see you’re going to Brescia - I never visited there but the boy I know from there is so lovely.
It will be hard when you arrive, but stick through it! Also, say YES to every opportunity you get. It will make your year so so much better. Be prepared to feel a little bit left out at school - I find some Italians can be hard to accept you straight away. Find someone and STICK WITH THEM, you will learn the language so much faster.
Always explore your city on foot where you can, and sample different food from different places and find your own little version of Italy that one day you will look back on and remember your city for. I remember walking down the cobbled streets of Lecco past our favourite cafe with my favourite focaccia!
Most of all, travel as much as you can. And make good friends with the other exchange students, they’re a great support network and can help you travel and discover things!
Anything else I can help you with, let me know :)
the view from the baths, Bormio
Bormio
On December 17 2011, Carson, Asia, Kate and I took a long train ride and a long bus ride up into the mountains, to the beautiful Bormio. Located north of Lecco, only a couple of hours from Tirano, Bormio is home to natural baths, fed by hot springs. Bormio boasts the Old Baths and the New Baths, with the Old Baths being over two thousand years old and an old retreat for the Ancient Romans, and a handful of famous people such as Leonardo da Vinci. As we sat on the train listening to Christmas music and laughing hysterically, spots of snow started appearing on the sides of the train tracks, finally some evidence of the winter which had been slyly hiding from our view in Lecco. The snow kept on accumulating until we descended at Tirano and ran to catch our bus. The bus was ridiculously delayed during the voyage due to a terrible accident that held up traffic for a long time, but eventually we made it to Bormio where we descended, frolicked in the snow for a few minutes and jumped in a taxi to take us up to the baths. We shared a taxi with a scary pair of women – they had furry Russian style hats and were practically clones of each other (except one was wearing pink and the other purple), who left us at the New Baths. We continued onto the Old Baths where, upon arrival, we were handed delicious tisane tea with a whole assortment of delicious fruits enhancing its flavour. After paying the fee and giving them our names, we were given a pair of flip flops and a bathrobe, and proceeded to change into our bathers and donned our robes like the luxurious celebrities we are. We headed to the first bath, which was a hot cave followed by another cave with hot water in which we waded in and sat in for a while, and finally a freezing cold bath where we had to partially immerse ourselves in. We spent six hours moving between baths and saunas – highlights include the massaging waterfalls, the massage pools, the mud bath, the boiling hot saunas (which were around 70 degrees Celsius!), more tisane tea, and the outdoor panoramic pool. The panoramic pool was literally outdoors, and while we sat under a hot tap looking over the beautiful valley, it started to snow! It was absolutely gorgeous. There were also a set of Roman baths, which definitely looked old! It was strange getting there, though, because we had to walk outside while it was snowing, through the snow, in our robes and flip flops to get to them. It felt unnatural walking outside wearing so little clothing and with wet hair, but we didn’t get cold! At the end of the day we felt amazing and took long hot showers, using all of the free beauty products and then getting changed back into our regular clothing. All in all, it was a fantastic day and definitely something I would recommend!
the lovely sailors + some exchangers :)
up the mast!
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