A story about talking so much my throat started to hurt.

Ciao amici!

I just got back from a Potluck Dinner with 100 AFSers (people involved with AFS in some way, either a future/present/past exchange student, a parent, or volunteer) to socialize and meet eachother. It's the most intercultural experience I've had since...ever. In the two and a half hours I was there, I befriended to Italian girls, a boy from Japan, and a whole mess of others.

The purpose of this dinner was for us to learn more about traveling, and other cultures. Let me start out by saying everyone was SO NICE and outgoing. I felt right at home. We played that game everyone plays at least once on the first day of school, where you walk around and ask people questions from a list, and if it applies to them, they sign their name. No one was obnoxiously shy at all. If anything, the American kids were the shyest out of all of the people!

Most of the kids from different countries had accents, but a few were so fluent in English, I couldn't tell they were foreign. Especially the European students. They were very open and physical, most giving hugs even though they have never seen you before in their life. Which is awesome for me, because I love hugging and meeting new people. The one girl from Italy was amazing, also one I didn't even know was foreign until she told me, being so fluent in English. She told me all about how awesome Italy will be and how school will be. Apparently, American school students aren't nearly as excited about when foreigners come for the year. Italians jump on the chance to be friends with a new foreign kid. Also, their physicality is very obscure from the perspective of an American. Here, we are so reserved around people we don't know, even the people we go to school or work with. It was explained to me that as long as you're decently friends with a person, they will openly touch your butt or something that would be classified as totally wrong here. She told me a story about how she made the mistake of being in an American school and doing something like that, and the girl wouldn't look at her. It was hilarious.

I would have stayed and talked to all the others for eight more hours. Everyone was so accepting, even when I was one of the youngest kids there. I wish I would have talked more to the others, but everyone was in such deep conversation that I didn't want to leave, or interrupt another group. I'm currently on cloud nine with all of the thoughts and people I met. This is actually happening. I'M GOING TO ITALY!

AH! ARRIVEDERCI!