2 Weeks

I've been here for two weeks now and that feels like a huge accomplishment, these two weeks have felt like they lasted for months because each day is so exhausting. The adjustment to a new culture and language is exhausting and everyday is a battle to understand, or at least pretend to.
School is very good. I have absolutely no idea what is going on in most of my classes, but i do understand the math class because it is pre-calculus and I did that in America. I never thought i would be so happy to see conic sections.I remember the first day we had math class and the prof started talking and I was already preparing for a nice nap, when suddenly I saw her draw an Ellipse. That entire class i felt like the smartest person in the room, which is a nice change because most of the time here i feel like a bumbling idiot. I have english, german, latin, french, and italian classes, so I'm trying to learn like four languages at once. It is significantly harder when you don't understand the language they are being taught in. It is really hard to stay awake at school because i have nothing to focus on haha. It is getting better though, i didn't fall asleep during class yesterday :). Before i came to Italy i was warned alot that people would dress differently, they don't. I think I already mentioned this, but the same brands are popular among teenagers (Abercrombie, Hollister) and Skinny jeans are still very in here ( :(  skinny jeans only look good on skinny people). I'm interested to see what happens to fashion when it gets cold here because last year it got to be -22 celsius (-7.6 F). I can't even imagine that cold. However, one difference i have noticed concerning fashion is that it is okay to wear the same outfit two days in a row here. There is a lot of accesorizing with scarves. Living with a host family is definitely been the hardest adjustment for me because they have a lot of rules and I'm not used to that. I still get really frustrated and I always feel like I'm doing something wrong. The language barrier to really difficult to overcome and most of the time i can't get through what I'm trying to say at all. When i can't understand something is makes me sad and very homesick. Right now I honestly don't think I'm strong enough to do an entire year here it seems too difficult. I have made  a lot of friends and the kids in my class are very nice. Yesterday I went to Alessandria (big city 20 minutes away from Tortona) with my friend Chiara and we went shopping. The shopping was great, but it was hard to find clothes that fit because i am like taller than this entire country. Today I am going to the cinema to see Magic Mike. I am excited because that is definitely a movie i do not need to speak italian to understand. As I try to learn Italian my English is disintigrating sorry.
The meals here are different. Breakfast is usually coffee and like cookies. Then lunch is pasta, then some sort of meat and maybe fruit. Dinner is the same. They eat a lot of nutella here and all of the water is carbonated. I went out to pizza with my friends last week and discovered that the soda also tastes different. I got a Fanta orange and it was more bitter than the ones in America.
I have definitely run into alot of stereotypes about Americans and it dissapoints me. They think we are pretty stupid and that our school is very easy and we only eat junk food. So far my American high school is far more difficult than the one here. Also they older generations seem to think because we can drive at 16 that we grow up too fast, but here kids are smoking, drinking, and going to clubs at 13. It is interesting to see they think driving is more freedom than that.
Speaking of driving, everytime i get in a car here I feel like I am going to die. The driving here is crazy. THe streets are only big enough for one car but there are two lanes going opposite ways, people drive waaay too fast, and leave no space between cars when they stop. I have had to ride on  a moped a couple times and it is terrifying. You keep your hands behind you like underneath the seat and I swear I am going to fall off. Apparently i don't ride correctly so i get made fun of  "the American who can's ride on a motto". All i can think of while riding is that the tiny helmet i have on is not going to save me if we crash. my head just keeps chanting "brain bucket, brain bucket, brain bucket,".
Next Saturday I am going to Milan with some friends and the Saturday after that to a club! I am very excited.