19th Dicembre 2014

I will begin with the night before. 

Giuliana's friend came. She had made a vegetable pie, but he doesn't eat vegetables. So she cooked some hamburgers for him, and he scraped off the garlic. Really. Garlic is barely a vegetable. He was friendly, and he brought a pot-plant very similar to the one I gave Giuliana (see attached photo).

Yesterday was Friday. At school, we opened the day with History. Without slides to translate, I was hopeless, so I wrote a list of words to learn (such as shutter, to open, cupboard etc.) and tried to learn them. Next, however was English, and I was presenting. 

I enjoy speaking, and I was looking forward to this. But as I stood out the front, waiting to begin, I began to feel very nervous. I think it was the teacher. She was handing back work, with remarks like "do not invent words" and "next time think twice before helping someone else". She stood up the back and told me to ignore her expressions during my talk. 

I knew I had to talk for an hour, so I had prepared a slideshow with several sections, many of them being suggested by my classmates. I didn't want them to be bored, so I thought I would let them decide which ones I presented. This is the list:

ØGeneral Information

ØHistory

ØGeography

ØCulture

ØIndigenous Australians

ØCurrency

ØEducation System

ØGovernment

ØFlora and Fauna

ØMelbourne

ØChristmas

ØAbout Me

ØSydney Siege

Of course, I am an expert in only one of the above things. The class first chose General Information, then History, Christmas, Education System and Flora and Fauna. They were very interested in the VCE system (hard to believe, I know!) and I tried to explain it. I couldn't. There are so many acronyms and abbreviations. Professor Faccini (the teacher) directed me to move on. 

One boy, Leonardo, is very interested in animals. I was prepared for some questions about the unique Australian wildlife. His first question:

"You know Tasmanian Devils? If the cancer originated in the nerve cells, how is it contagious?"

When I first heard "Tasmanian Devils," I thought I could impress him with the fact that I know that there is a contagious facial cancer among them. But no.

I had just started talking "about me" when the bell went. I will continue it next year!

I am quite happy with how it went.

Then there was a two hour test in Italan. I had to write a comparison (in English) between school in Australia and Italy. I think I did quite well, though I went off on some tangents to fill in the time.

The final hour was also history. This time, there was an accompanying slideshow, from which I gathered that we are learning about the foundation of the Clunaic and Cistercian orders and the general reformation in the church between 910 and 1098. Very interesting, and something I have never looked at before.

After school I tried to study for the maths test that is today, and I grated/peeled chocolate for the cake. Then, we went to the AFS/Intercultura festa di Natale (Christmas party).

It was really good. I met the students that are here from a year, who are from the Netherlands, the United States, Hong Kong and Costa Rica. I also met heaps of volunteers. The chocolate ripple cake was a success - the first dish to be finished (even before the savoury ones)! The biscuits weren't quite right, but it was pretty good. The girl from Hong Kong, who introduced herself as chocolate, has convinced me to speak Italian as much as possible. If necessary, use sentences that are in multiple languages. I would like to, but it is very nerve-wracking. However, I have less than six weeks left, so I will push myself to begin. As Arno, the Dutch boy, told me, the first bit is the hardest. Once you can formulate a basic sentence in most situations, you will learn without noticing.

I was talking to Francesca, the girl who introduced me to the school on the first day, and I found out that her birthday is on the 2nd of January (the same day as mine)! It is incredible that in Australia, I only know one person with whom I share a birthday. Here - two in three weeks!

Yesterday was two weeks to my birthday, and today is three weeks since I left home. Time is certainly flying. I only have two days left of school until the Christmas holidays begin.

These are the two plants. Mine is at the back.