MY BEST HOLIDAY

Little miss, only 9 days and I go to MIAMI with my best friend. Together will pass a long travel.

From Milan to London and from London to Miami... I'm very excited. My first time out of Europe.

I'm so HAPPY. I will go in a fantastic Place. 

It's a long time since I wanted to go in America , but my father never took me. I think that he just waiting for the right time , and arrived. I repeat for me  will be the most beautiful holiday of my life. 

We will do a lot of  funny things. It's a dream all this. Wow... only a world for to descrive this Holyday: MAGIC!!!! Thank you so much Daddy and Mamy. Love you xxx

- MARTINA

Creps with Nutella

Yesterday afternoon I want to do a sourprise for my family and for Leah. I have decided  to do the CREAPS WITH NUTELLA. 

I have used:

- 3 eggs

- 250g flour 

- 500ml milk

- 40g butter

- 1 pinco salt 

http://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Crepes-dolci-e-salate-ricetta-base.html

- Martina 

St. Moritz: A Weekend in Switzerland

This weekend my family took a trip to St. Moritz, Switzerland. We went with Leah and our family friends.

We departed on Friday evening and ate at a restaurant called La Florida for dinner. This is a very good restaurant.

The second day we drove to St. Moritz town to give Leah an idea of where we were! There were a lot of shops and restaurants.

At 3:30, we drove to Zouz because my best friend is currently at a summer camp there. She is studying English and at camp until next Sunday. After picking her up, I went to the supermarket with Francesca (my BESTFRIEND) and our fathers. We bought groceries for dinner on this trip to the supermarket. Then, at 21:00 Francesca's mother took us back to the campus to drop Francesca off at camp! After we returned home, we ate dessert with all of our friends and went to sleep very late. We were in bed at 0:30.

On Sunday morning, we walked up to the glacier: MORTERATSCH!

In the afternoon, we went home. For dinner, we ate the watermelon. I enjoyed this weekend, it was very fun and funny!

-Martina

Mini Post :)

I am not going to write a long blog post today. I have to run some tests because I have had a pretty bad asthmatic cough allergy for a while now.

This weekend, we went to Switzerland to visit our friends. It was Amazing! We went to the glacier Mortarash and it was fantastic show to Leah what landmarks we have near home.

The weekend was very relaxing and I got to spend a lot of time with Leah and Alessandra. I showed her the show we have been obsessed with, Gilmore Girls! She really enjoyed it and even asked us to play it in English with Italian subtitles. That was very interesting because she is so little and barely speaks any English. We ate a lot of cheese and chocolate, two things that Switzerland is famous for. I was sleepy during the car ride home and we had a relaxing evening before starting our school week.

After doing our blog posts today, Leah is showing us something called Mad Libs. Basically, Mad Libs is this game and activity where you fill in the blanks of a story without reading the story first. It is a good way to practice some new words we have learned. It also makes us use different types of grammar because of the past and present tense switching during the story. At the end, we will read the stories we helped write!

I am excited for this activity because the two topics Leah picked are especially interesting for us: one about Disney World and the other about someone's first day of school.

-Alice

Schedule Change!

This morning instead of to write on the blog, we are going to Lecco for to do shopping on Subdued.

I bought a sweatshirt and a white silk shirt. It's so very pretty. Then, we returned at  home with my mum because it started raining raining. For lunch, we ate Cotolette and now I'm writting on the blog! I am not sure of our plans for the afternoon but I'm sure it will be fun.

                              -Martina

Creativity At Its Finest

I attempted to channel my inner-Francesca with the girls yesterday. Francesca is the girl I stayed with for 2 weeks prior to starting my coursework at London School of Economics this summer. She is also one of my best friends BUT living with her was definitely a strange experience. Strange in a good way but Francesca is extremely into the concept of manifesting happiness and positivity through one's daily activities. I found it extremely refreshing to be immersed in this way of thinking. While I don't entirely understand the concept just yet, I do understand why proactively thinking about your goals might encourage eventually achieving them.

This school of thought is referred to as the "Law of Attraction" and it basically refers to the ability to attractive into our lives whatever we are focusing on. Thus, it is believed that regardless of age, nationality, interests, or religious belief, we are all susceptible to the laws which govern the Universe---one of which being the Law of Attraction.

It is this law that tells you to use the power of the mind to translate whatever is in our thoughts and materialize them into reality. All thoughts will turn into things eventually. It's simple when one thinks about it in terms of cause and effect: if you focus on negative doom you will remain in that mindset. If you focus on positive thoughts, however, your actions will follow and your routine will change so that you achieve these mere thoughts. 

The vision board is utilized as a Law of Attraction took as it serves as a visual affirmation. The biggest hurdle people face when trying to adopt the law of attraction is losing sight of the meaning of life---the point of doing all of this. As the oh-so-famous acronym, YOLO, states: you only live once. I realize it's cheesy to think this, god forbid say it aloud, but it's true. We really all do live once, and to spend half of this precious time contemplating what the point of it all is...is silly. 

In the later afternoon, we baked the girls' grandmother's special chocolate cake. It was delicious and I had it for breakfast, too. My heart is happy...stomach probably not AS happy. :) 

-Leah

(that is Alice sneaking a taste of the cake batter- we caught you red-handed ;) )

Vision Boards :)

As we do everyday as part of our morning routine, we write on our blog about what we did together  the day before. But now, I want to tell you guys about our activities yesterday afternoon.
We all made a VISION BOARD, and for this project we used:
- Magazines
- Cardboard
- Markers
- Glue
- Scissors

My VISION BOARD is composed of 9 people: 4 Italian celebrities and 5 foreigners.

The Italians are:
- Fedez (Rapper)
- J-AX (Rapper )
-Benji e Fede (Singer)

The foreigners are:
- Justin Bieber (Singer)
- Ariana Grande (Singer)
- Mika (Singer)
- Zac Efron (Actor , Singer)
- Cara Delevingne (Actress, Model)

This project was very funny and perfect for my interests. This is mainly because I am very creative and people always tell me I am a creative person.

                                                                                                           

                                                                                           

Wednesday at English Camp!

Yesterday was not a very hectic day but I really liked it!

In the morning we wrote the blog for about 20 minutes, and we did some English grammar and writing exercises. About an hour spent on grammar and an hour spent on writing and the rest of the time on reading. Leah has found me and Martina a TV series: Gilmore Girls. I love it!!!!! Martina does not particularly like it but I have been watching it at all hours of the day (when I'm allowed). 

In the afternoon, we each made our own vision board. Mine and Martina's turned out to be very beautiful but Leah's is very very very cool! Mine is completely covered with stars and five out of nine photos are of Ariana Grande. Leah's is artistic and has lots of different photos arranged to recreate a scene, but through collage.

Today, we will write on the blog and continue our exercises in English, then in the afternoon we will finish up our vision boards and then we will go down to Lecco.

I think it will be fun even though I still have to finish my holiday homework, put away and organize the clothes that I've left in my suitcase since we were in Toscana a week ago. Finally, I must put away the books that I left around the house.

-Alie

An Afternoon To Lecco... :)

Yesterday afternoon we decided to go to Lecco to show to Leah where Alice and I live.

We have did some shopping  and we bought t-shirts by Tally Weijl. We also bought eye-liner by Kiko! We got a snack at Yogurteria for Leah, Alice and I went to Pinguino (an ice cream shop). 

After, we went to the tourist office to get information about the ferry.

Then, we went to the dock on the lake to relax because of the heat. We talked there for a while and we were also accompanied by 3 boys playing loud music music. The volume was very high. We got some very beautiful pictures on the dock together!

Finally we went back home and took showers!

It was a good day! I hope to spend another day just like this! I really enjoyed it. 

-Martina

Showing Leah Our City!

Looking back to yesterday, I think it was special.

In the morning, we wrote on our blog and then we did English exercises. Then, in the afternoon we went to Lecco.




We walked around the Long Lake and then we decided to roam around the shopping streets of Lecco.

We entered Kiko for the make up.  Tezenis for costumes and lingerie. Tally Weijl for the clothes. as well as Witin for the clothes, too. Finally, two different ice cream shops AND a yogurt shop!

We went also by the tourist office like my mother recommended to retrieve the times of the times of the ferry to Bellagio and other towns on the lake.

We would like to go by ferry to Bellagio. We can show to Leah our lake! Yay!!!

Today we are making vision board, "A vision board is a collage of images, pictures, and affirmations of your dreams, goals, and things that make you happy. It can also be called a dream board, treasure map, or vision map. Creating a vision board can be a useful tool to help you conceptualize your goals and can serve as a source of motivation as you work towards achieving your dreams."

I think it's a good idea and I think it will be nice!! Bye!

-Alice

Lecco!

Hello friends! Yesterday, we went into town after class. It was even more beautiful than I expected. It is truly amazing to me that the lake and mountains can be seen from pretty much all the areas in town. I like how it serves as a focal point, in which the community seems to congregate. It was HOT. But I'm glad the temperatures were so high as they merely justified our ice cream. We shopped at the stores in Lecco square; a nice combination of boutiques, chains, and specialty shops. I bought some socks. In retrospect, this sock purchase might have been a mistake as they led me to slip down the stairs later that evening! But, nonetheless, my feet are currently warm, I learned my lesson, and I got up with a cool battle scar. I'm kidding, the battle scare isn't too cool, but I'm sure I could make up an interesting story explaining this tiny scratch on my wrist. 

It was especially interesting to see some of the local folk. We saw this scene many times during our excursion: several boys sitting in a clusters around a portable speaker, blasting unidentifiable house music. The boys also seem to look like one large family, with the same soccer boy-esque haircut and "urban Italian" fashion sense. It is so nice to have Lecco such a beautiful, easy walk away! I'm excited to go back and explore some of the other hidden gems. 

Today we are going to make "vision boards." A vision board is a tool used to help clarify, concentrate and maintain focus on a specific life goal. Basically, a vision board is any sort of board (or book) on which you display images that represent whatever you want to be, do or have in your life. They can be used for daily affirmations or just a fun way to display your current interests and passions. I think this will be a helpful activity as learning a language can often make one reflective on their current life and current strengths and weaknesses. These boards encourage one to be grateful with what they have and simultaneously strive for more.

Hopefully, tomorrow we can update you on the course of our project. Bye for now!

-Leah

Yesterday was a fantastic day!

Yesterday was a fantastic day! It was our first day of class. We learned about our schedule and what we will do for the next weeks. Today, will be even more beautiful because we show our city, Lecco, to Leah.


It isn't a big city but it's very very good for tourist attractions. For example, in Lecco we have the palace of the fears, where there are many shops. We also have the Basilica of St. Nicholas, the planetarium of the city, the Museum of the World War Two and other but not particulary important.

Yesterday, we relaxed at home because I was sick. We still had a funny day. In the morning, we worked on our English writing on the blog for the first time. We then all (Leah, too!) got set-up on DuoLingo and Memrise. On both programs, we get prizes and report cards but Leah can control the activities and skills from her computer. It is cool because she can see what we're doing from her own screen and help us by speaking aloud and writing on paper. This is a fun way to learn that I haven't done. DuoLingo shows you the different words and sentences, then makes you write them, and then makes you identify them on your own.


We had a break during which Leah corrected our mistakes made on our blog posts. She then showed us what we did wrong and how we can improve. Then, we all made lunch. A little later in the afternoon we made healthy pancakes with only banana, two eggs and a pinch of baking powder. Fine, we added some Nutella!!!

When we were finished with the pancakes, I worked on my school homework: technology and math!

After dinner, we watched a film called Mean Girls. It was so nice!!!

-Alice

Easy as pie! Or pancakes!

After our first day of official class time, I think we were all happy that it went so smoothly. The girls seemed to know more English than they thought they did, which boosted both their confidence and motivation. I am excited about our blog for many reasons. First, we will be able to look back and see how far we've come. It is a difficult (but incredibly useful) skill to sit down and force yourself to just write. Consistent use of a blog makes developing of this skill way more fun---as we can all write about things that interest us individually. Through this resource, we are hitting all the areas of the English language. We are working on vocabulary and sentence structure when initially drafting the posts. In addition, we are constantly discussing the content of our posts in English as we write. Thus, we are practicing conversational speech. Lastly, grammar and new vocabulary is improved as I help them edit and enhance each of their posts. We look for errors and ways to make our sentences sound more sophisticated. Of course, the first step is just getting the message across but the eventual goal is to speak in full sentences with little mistakes. This takes time but by being strict on the girls now, I think this will improve dramatically by the end of our classes.

Yesterday, we made healthy pancakes! I was especially excited because they surprisingly tasted like normal pancakes! I am excited to make these next year at school. They were so easy to make and the equivalent of just eating an egg and a banana for breakfast. I would choose pancakes over an egg and a banana any day! We all cooked lunch together prior to our pancake extravaganza (which luckily decreased our pancake consumption). Then, we all watched the first episode of Gilmore Girls (our new favorite English series ;)) together. Alice is now caught up and I'm excited to see what happens in episode 3! Finally, although they might think that American girls are really scary now, we watched the all-time classic, Mean Girls. I have seen it more than 50 times probably, but I still enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time! It may not have much intellectual value but it makes everyone laugh. Laughter is valuable!

-Leah

My First Day of Official Lessons!

Yesterday, was my first lesson in english with Leah. We created our own blog and it was very funny.
In our blog, we will write about everything that happens during the day before and specifically comment on what we found interesting. Basically, we are going to reflect!
Indeed, my last post I wrote about when Leah firstarrived here with our family.

I hope that you all enjoyed my text! Furthermore, in the afternoon we cooked the banana pancakes with nutella! I was so excited because we made an American snack, but here in Lecco! I liked it. This afternoon, we will go to Lecco to show Leah our city. We will do shopping and many other things as we roam around. In Lecco, you can visit S. Nicolò's Church, two museums on World War II and if you want you can even go on the ferry to Bellagio or Como. We are going to do this later in the week!

This is a beautiful experience. I like to speak English. 

-Martina

The beginning...

When I saw Leah for the first time, we were in Toscany because my aunt invited me there to spend time with my cousin!

Toscany is an Italian region very famous for the wine and for the cities (for example Florence, Siena, Pisa and many others). It's very beautiful because there are many opportunities to experience nature. The scenery is fantastic!
My favorite view at my aunt's house is very beautiful and particular, you can see the mountains, and many small villages in the mountains. Unfortunately, you can't ski in this area because it's very steep. In front of the house there is a little area of woods. My cousin calls it "the wood of hundred acres" from Winnie the Pooh. This is so funny!!!

I especially love my cousin because she is so funny and she is my age. So, we understand each other and talks to me like she would with a friend.

This trip was a great getaway!

On our way home, we stopped at the mall and in Parma! It was so cool to show Leah our country. I ordered potato dumplings. They made me sleepy for our car ride home and we all had a relaxing evening. I am a little sick so it's important for me to rest and recover as hard as it might be to do. I need to remember that resting now will make things better in the weeks to come! The girls started watching a TV series called Gilmore Girls and I am going to follow the show with them starting tonight. We are going to try to watch an episode a day! Yay! 


Tomorrow I want to go to Lecco and show to Leah where we live. In my opinion, Lecco is a small, very beautiful city that is interesting to explore. I think she will like it very much! Talk to you guys tomorrow!

-Alice

My New Friend!

This year my family and I decided of invite an American Girl into our home so that we can be immersed in the English language. We thought that having someone actually from the country, with American experiences of their own, would be the most effective tool for us to finally learn the language.  I really think that this will be a fantastic experience that I always remember. Her name is Leah and she is 18 years old. She is tall, has long,blonde hair, and two beautiful blue eyes. She is very pretty. 

When she was arrived here (on Friday) , I was so happy and excited because I know that with her, my English will become perfect. I am going to an American school this upcoming year...so this is going to be so helpful next year when I have to start taking ALL my classes in English (other than Italian, of course). 

She lives in Miami and coincidentally, this year we are traveling all the way to Miami with my best friend! As a result, this experience is also a great opportunity to get advice from Leah about our itinerary in Miami. She has lived there her whole life. 

When she first arrived we went to the supermarket for to buy things that she likes to eat. For lunch, we went to the restaurant to Lecco and in the afternoon we relaxed because she was tired from her travels.

The next day, we went to Tuscany because my sister spent a holiday with my aunt, my uncle and my cousins at their home in the area. We spend the entire day with my WHOLE family. 

On Sunday we went to Fidenza village in Emilia-Romagna where we were lucky enough to shop and eat! After these two beautiful days spendtin Italy,we returned to Lombardy. 

During the evening, Leah and I started a new TV series in English: Gilmore Girls. We are going to watch a little bit of the show each night (at first with Italian subtitles). Hopefully, sono we will not need the subtitles! 

Now we have started our blog where we will write  daily. We will use to learn, practice, and reflect on our learning. In September, I start International School of Como and I will study ALL my subjects in English. 

In my opinion, this is a fantastic, different way for to learn the language. 

Our Weekend on the "Road Less Traveled"

Robert Frost once famously reported, "two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by and that made all the difference." This weekend we took good ole' Rob's advice. We ventured to Fivizzano in Tuscany. Once again, I was truly shocked by the landscape. The depth of the mountains serves to make your eyes curious but simultaneously calm your thoughts. 

It is quite wonderful to eat without something rushing you. This concept allows you to enjoy the company of the people around you and the food we are lucky to consume. I love Italian food. I think everyone does.

Time moves slower when they're at their Tuscany home, they like to "eat and sleep and do it again." This is important and good for the soul during the summertime. This trip made me realize that we don't need to associate tiredness with weakness--everybody is tired. If anything, it should be an accomplishment. We are tired because we exerted our bodies to an extent of exhaustion and once we rest we can accomplish even more. Thus, I think that having a month to completely rejuvenate yourself can be life changing. It is also something one can look forward to. 

Overall, I enjoyed this excursion very much and I am so grateful to have found such a welcoming home! I am excited for the weeks to come and to relax and learn with the girls. 

-Leah