Annamaria Watson’s blog

Who am I?

I am just an American girl whose always been obsessed with life outside her own country. I’m 16 years old and I think someday I might want to be a journalist so that I can travel all over the world. I enjoy adventure and I have no interest in taking the path less traveled, I would much rather create my own path.

When did you decide to go on an exchange and why?

I decided to go on exchange when I was in 6th or 7th grade, I don’t even know what sparked the interest of let me know it was possible, I’ve just always wanted to go.I really believe that an unexamined life is not worth living, and that if you don’t get outside of your own country at least once, you’re cheating yourself out of an experiance that will only better your understanding and perspective of the world.

You went to Italy. What made you chose Italy?

I am a quarter Sicilian, it’s kind of been engrained in my family since I was really little. When I was 5 or 6 I had a small book on Italy, and I was obsessed with it. I would memorize phrases and read every piece of information I could find. I was morbidly obsessed with Pompeii and the Gladiators of Rome. I think Italy has always been a part of me, so I just wanted to be a part of it.

What was your biggest fear before leaving?

My biggest fear was having a bad host family. I’ve seen exchangers go through such hard times with host families that they just don’t get a long with, and I was scared to death. Now that I’ve been here for 2 months, I really feel more like apart of the family. Of course, there are things that they do that annoy me and vice versa, but I really couldn’t have asked for a better, more loving host family.

Has it been hard to change language?

Any language is hard to learn, and Italian is no exception. Especially because in Naples, they also speak Neapolitan which is almost a completely different language in itself. I’m not going to lie, it’s extremely frusterating sometimes when you just cannot make yourself understood or understand anyone else, it also makes it really hard to make friends. But two months in and it’s really starting to click with me, I can understand almost everything now and I am starting to talk a lot more. It really is a beautiful thing to be understood! The best advice I can give anyone is to study before you go, it helps so so much!

How was the school in Italy different to the one in USA?

School in Italy is generally pretty boring. You go 6 days a week and you stay in the same classroom with the same people all day. Some teachers give interrogations, which can be really annoying and scary. But in my school as an exchange student, you really don’t have to do much. School is a good opportunity to meet new people and practice Italian, and I get to study Arabic, which I would have never gotten to do in the US.