A Week in Statte
As I emailed my host family, packed and even as I looked down from the plane window, I was completely unsure of what I was going to expect in the coming week. Luckily, I was greeted by a charming family who welcomed me with open arms and made it an unforgettable week.
My host family consisted of Giulia, her parents and her two younger sisters. All of which I send endless thanks for welcoming me into their home, being the sweetest hosts and introducing me to their beautiful town.
Giulias two younger sisters, Martina and Claudia, were constantly making me laugh and smile, they drew me various times and made me a bracelet which now sits in a place in my room where I can always see it. The parents made my heart warm every time they tried to say something in English, and the mother showered me with delicious food. In the meantime, Giulia became a very close friend. She made me feel accepted, introduced me to her towns friendly residents and taught me a small amount of Italian vocabulary which will hopeful come into use in the future.
The first day, the family took me to a beach. The day was spent giggling, running and picking up flowers. Throughout the rest of the week we shared many more similarly amazing days which I hold very close to my heart.
The rest of the days consisted of being in the school and tours of the surrounding areas (which included many cathedrals). Some of the time spent in school was with Giulia's friendly class, 3B, which contained people I hope I will reunite with in the future. The class talked to me with their limited English (and sometimes even got Google Translate involved) as a successful effort to make me feel welcome.
On my last afternoon I went with the class to the library where we read Romeo and Juliet (in English for my advantage), amongst other texts. Although I felt self conscious whilst reading, I enjoyed the literature and most importantly the company. The Statte library was an incredibly welcoming place in itself and they gave me the gift of a lovely book. The book follows the story of an English woman named Janet Rose who lived in Statte and I hope it will improve my Italian, for when I hopefully return to this beautiful country.
The Erasmus project didn’t only enable us to create friendships with those from Italy. The inclusion of the other five locations allowed me to create friends from all across Europe, whether we bonded over TV shows or dancing. This experience has created an ambition for me to visit each of those countries and hopefully reunitewith those I met during this trip.
