HOST FAMILY!!!

WoOoooooOOoOoooow...

These past few weeks have been crazy. I received all the information on my host family a couple weeks ago, and haven't had the time to update the blog until now!



Okay, so here's all the info:
I'll be living in a town called Modica, which is on the south end of Sicily. It's situated in the Hyblaean Mountains, and is one of those super beautiful stacked towns- where all the buildings and houses are stacked up the mountains. It's absolutely amazing. 
Some history: Modica was owned by many different countries and inhabited by many different people, but was annexed to Italy in 1860. As the city developed it was gradually split into "Modica Alta" (Upper Modica) and "Modica Bassa" (Lower Modica).

Garibaldi Theater

Cathedral of Modica

Modica is home to some of the most beautiful architecture in Sicily, in the Sicilian Baroque style. Some of its most famous buildings are a large Baroque Cathedral dedicated to San Giorgio, Castello dei Conti, and Garibaldi Theater. 

Along with being a picture perfect city, Modica is also known for its chocolate! Great 20th-century Sicilian writer Leonardo Sciascia once said that "Modican chocolate is unparalleled in savor, such that tasting it is like reaching the archetype, the absolute, and that chocolate produced elsewhere, even the most celebrated, is an adulteration, a corruption of the original." If that isn't perfect enough, every year in April there's a five day Chocobarocco festival, devoted entirely to chocolate. I think I've died and gone to heaven.



I'm going to be living with my host mom (Valeria), dad (Antonino), and two younger sisters (Beatrice and Lucrezia, 8 & 14). I'm really excited about this because I've never had younger sisters :) I've been talking to my host mom on Facebook (thank god for Google Translate) and she's amazing. They're so welcoming and excited for me to come. My host mom even told me they already have a room ready for me. Knowing my family makes me a whole lot less nervous and a whole lot more excited!! My flight leaves New York on September 5th. It'll take 7 hours to get to Zürich, Switzerland, and then from there I'll take a 2 hour flight to Rome.

Countdown: 59 days, 20 hours, 20 minutes, and 16 seconds!

-Maeve 

PS- Unfortunately you can't donate directly to my tuition anymore, but if you'd like to make a donation just email me and let me know!

Oops!

Hello all,

Sorry I've been so absent recently- I've been crazy busy these first few weeks of summer! This Saturday, the 22nd, I'll be running Grandma's marathon in Duluth, so I've been preparing for that. I also have a job as a teacher's aide at a camp, and am there Monday through Thursday 9-4. Needless to say, I haven't had much time to update y'all! After this weekend I'll have more free time and will post more!

Updates:
• I haven't received my host family information yet, although I've been eeeeeeagerly awaiting it! Everyone asks me where I'm going, and it'd be nice to be able to tell them. Oh well! Hopefully I'll get it soon...
• I've been working on the first few lessons on Rosetta Stone, and I think I'm learning! Ciao, il mio nome è Maeve. See? :)
• The online system for donations hasn't been available for awhile now, but I think within the next week or two it will be. I'm also currently writing letters to companies to ask for donations. If you have any ideas about who I should contact, let me know!

Nothing extremely new... Let's hope the next post will be about my host family!!

-Maeve

Accepted!

Hello everyone!

Sorry it's been so long since I've last updated!
I was officially accepted to the AFS Italy Program on March 16th, and have been working on raising money for the tuition and other minor details since. I'm so excited to go, and will hopefully be getting my host family information within the next month.
At this point, I'm just fundraising, fundraising, fundraising.

I'll post with more information soon!

-Maeve

Chip In Replacement

Hi all,

Just a quick announcement that my chip in app is currently being updated so please don't donate through it until I post that it's available to use!

Thanks!
-Maeve

Submitted the application!

Hello all!

Hope everyone is doing well.

Well, we're one month into the new year, and yesterday I submitted my full AFS application! While I was a couple days past the priority deadline, I was told I'd still be likely to get my first choice (Italy!).

Here's hoping there aren't any problems with the application and I get accepted soon (crossing my fingers)... I'll keep you updated!


-Maeve

Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

~Maeve

Just Checking In!

Hi everyone!

Just a quick update and a thank you.

First of all, my application is coming along well! I am just finishing up writing my letter to my host family, and am figuring out transcripts with my school. Hopefully (cross your fingers), I'll be able to send in my finished application by Christmas break!

And in other news, the Viaggio Italiano scholarship has become available to apply for! To get this $2,000 scholarship, I have to answer a writing prompt in the form of a small essay and send it in. I'm hoping that I'll win this scholarship because it would make a huge dent in my tuition. If you're interested in looking at the prompt click here!

Again, thank you!
Amore sempre,
Maeve