Chinese New Year, Year of the Rooster!!!

Happy New Year!!

Haaapppy New Lunar Year, everybody! January 28, 2017 was the beginning of a new lunar year. The Western culture does not celebrate it, and therefore I didn’t even know what my Asian friends meant when they would wish each other happy new year… I was thinking “Wasn’t January 1st twenty-eight days ago? Why now?”, and then I understood that the Western culture bubble hid another amazing celebration from me… but now that I know, why should’t I celebrate it with my Asian friends??? 

Linh cooking Vietnamese egg rolls!

Yesterday, my friends Linh invited me to her house to celebrate the year of the rooster with her and other girls from allover Asia. Everybody cooked amazing dishes from their countries and I couldn’t believe that everything I usually have to order at restaurants was homemade by my friends… I tried so many wonderful things that I hope I will learn to cook one day. In particular, I always love Linh’s egg rolls (They are absolutely my favorites), but I also tried different kinds of noodles, dumplings, Korean rice cakes and rice cakes and munchi ice cream for dessert!! I was sooooooo fuuuulllll!! It resembled an Italian Christmas dinner… I couldn’t even move after dessert. 

 One of the reasons why I love America so much is that it makes me learn and experience things that if I stayed in Italy I would have probably never experienced. I love to learn and I will never stop. My thirst for knowledge cannot stop with what I learn in a classroom because the world itself is a teacher that teaches just to the people who really want to learn. I WANT to learn and I cannot wait for what other new experiences I will be exposed to. I’ll keep you guys posted!!! 

And here all the good food!!!!

Yummy!

How’s it goin’? How are you liking your classes?

Yeah... This is actually my schedule...

I know I have a weird conception of time… But how is it possible that is already the end of Week 2? If we consider that a semester is sixteen weeks, 1/8 of the weeks I have to spend here has already disappeared! Wow… Unbelievable. By the way, even if putting my schedule together has been pretty though, I have finally made it!!! It’s super busy as usual but you know… If I’m not busy I get bored sooooo quickly!!! Let’s get exhausted again this semester so that when I’ll go back to Italy to my family I’ll just spend time with them cuddling and relaxing, rather then travel allover the world and do a million stuff like every time… But now: let’s get busy!!

Conversation Hour with my fav ESL people

As concern my academics, I am really glad about which classes I am taking… As always, I take just 15 units, but they are enough for letting me do also other things.  I will continue to be a Phi Theta Kappa leader and I cannot wait to spend more time with my co-leaders and plan with them other great events. Additionally, I will be again part of the 2020 Leadership, an Ambassadors leader, a POD mentor for the International office, an ESL (English as Second Language) Tutor and obviously a Student Blogger for SBCC!!! If you’ll keep reading my blog I am sure you will get to know other exiting things that happen at city college and I will keep you updated on all the upcoming events! I’m so excited for this last semester, are you?!? 

Fresno Fig Burger at Eureka!!

For the moment, professors haven’t been giving that much homework, and so I have been able to enjoy the conversation hours with Masa, Bedo and Santiago or enjoy meals with friends at the places I have missed the most. Eureka is always a sure stop and now my friend Rugile works there!!! Cooooooollll!! Then, the local fast food places The Habit with its Santa Barbara Style Char is one of the top places in my “food raking list”. And finally I will never forget to mention the epical In-n-Out!!! I haven’t yet had the chance to swing by my favorite Thai place called Your Place…. Pineapple Fried Rice, aaahhhhhhh, if paradise was made of food it should be made of pineapple friend rice. And about the name of the place (Your Place), it gets always so confusing and my conversations are always like: “Where do you want to go eat?” “I’d say Your Place?” “My place? But why my place? I have no food!!” “Oh no Your Place! The Thai restaurant called Your Place!!” “Aaahh, now I get it ahahah, I thought my house…!” 

I guess I’ll update you soon with all the upcoming stuff!!! EXCITING!!!!!!

Right Back On Track!

Oh God. No way. Yes, it’s true. It started!!!!!!!!!!! And yes, we are right back on track to start off a new and exciting semester!!! Isn't it crazy?? It seems like it was yesterday that I arrived in Santa Barbara to attend my first semester in college… How can I be already about to transfer?!? I don’t even want to think about what will happen in my life after the end of this semester… Will I actually have to leave everything behind me?

Many people will claim that being in school is the most stressful and annoying thing in the world, but I completely disagree!!! When this Tuesday I was back on the SBCC campus I felt so happy and excited about everything the day would have brought me. Taking one class after the other, walking while staring at the ocean, meeting new people and inspiring professors, laugh with old friends who happened to be in my same classes or cross my way… simply amazing! I love my college and all the positive feelings it makes me experience. SBCC is most desirable place to be to learn and grow to be a better and well-rounded person. I L-O-V-E it!

One thing that I always miss about leaving SBCC is the iced caramel latte that Kim makes me every time I go to the BuzzShack… OMG! It is so wonderful!! I am not a coffee person but as soon as I am back on campus I cannot not swing by the coffee shop and buy one! Awesome! Besides the coffee, the other thing I miss the most is chatting with the people I encounter while walking around campus. SBCC what would I do without you!!!

Real Relaxation Time

Lunch in Bed & The Flash

I don’t like to admit it.. This past week has been my Real Relaxation Time week. Most of you would probably say that from my previous posts it seems like I had the time of my life in Italy with my friends and family but… No! Even in Italy I have been on the go all the time, and even if the things I did were wonderful and exciting I haven’t had time to take care of myself and actually RELAX! But as soon as I got back to Santa Barbara, I finally had time to sleep in for 12 hours a night, and think exclusively about myself. Some alone time has been fully regenerating and necessary to restart such an important semester!!! 

First of all, being back to the blue house and seeing again my small and precious room has been an awesome sensation. In December, before leaving for winter break, I cleaned up and organized everything in the room, and as soon as I opened the door, smelled the air in the room and looked at how welcoming it was I felt like I was “back home”. I love that now I have two lives and two familiar places that I am not able to separate from each other. Both my Italian house and my American house give me the same warm and peaceful feeling of being in a familiar and welcoming place. Sometimes I feel like Hanna Montana, I get the best from both worlds!!

Dooneee!!

Anyways, what have I been up to these days if they where my “real relaxation days”? Well, first of all I had time to finish my UCLA Supplemental Application, and finally feel comfortable about submitting all the supplemental materials. Then, I have rearranged and organized my room and made it even more comfortable. I know that most people thing that cleaning and organizing sound so boring, but i simply love to take care of these things! Besides, this I have also been a series addict, and I watched an endless number of episodes of 5 different series on Netflix while eating breakfast or lunch in bed! Even if I have relaxed a lot, I have to say that it has been really hard for me… Every time I dedicate time to take care of myself I feel like I am wasting time and I need to do something productive and useful. Well, this time my mum remembered me that the time I spent thinking just about myself wasn’t a waste of time at all!! It was rather time necessary for being even more ready to fa

Let's Begin With Spring!!!

If the Fall 2016 semester flew by and I didn’t even notice, this winter break didn’t even exist… It has been a concentrate of emotions in a spark of time. It has been amazing, but it is time to say goodbye and catch a flight!! I am coming back Santa Barbara, and I am more than ready to face this upcoming semester!!! I still cannot believe it is my LAST semester here in SB… How can it be my fourth semester already!?! Don’t worry America, though!! After this semester I’ll be moving to Los Angeles and start a completely new adventure!

What will be this semester about? Now, I have learned that it is impossible to predict what will happen… Every time I thought that the new semester would be pretty much along the same lines as the previous one, however I have always been proved completely wrong!! Since I got to Santa Barbara City College, every moment I live, every person I meet, every adventure I pursue is remarkably different from any other before. Who are the friends who are going to stay? Which are the things that I will continue doing? (besides blogging, obviously) What places will I go back to? What surprises is the future hiding from me? I have completely no answer to ALL these questions and I am for sure not going to answer them… I think that trying to predict the future is just a waste of time (and could also bring bad luck and limitation!!).

Goodbye my Loves

I just want to say one thing: Carpe Diem. I have learned these two words when I was studying Latin in high school and at the beginning I didn’t quite get how important they are!! Carpe Diem means seize the day.. What we live at the exact moment we are living it is what matters!! If we think about it there is no future and no past that we can live in. There is just the present and what it brings to us, nothing else. This will be my philosophy of life this semester: live in the moment and enjoy every single second of what the present brings me. As is enjoyed everything my family and friends made me live this winter break, I want to enjoy every second that my last semester in Santa Barbara is going to offer me… Now it is time to say goodbye to wonderful Italia and appreciate the life goes on.

Friendship Is Weird.. Oh, And Happy New Year!!

What is a friend? How can friendship be described? Every time I ask somebody to define what a friend is, I receive different and sometimes contrasting opinions about it. For this reason, I decided to give up on the definition because I know that the best friendships come out of nowhere and do not need any explanation. Three years ago I went to a Film Festival, called Giffoni Film Festival, which gathers young people to become jurors and vote the films shown. During the ten-day festival I met some people that I would have never thought would become like a second family… Well, even if we live 5 hours away from each other and we get together just twice a year, these guys are some of the most important people in my life. In particular, this year we decided to end and restart the year together at my house in La Thuile, a small skiing town in the Alps… Such and amazing time with six of the most awesome people!!!

The last day of this overwhelming 2016 couldn’t have been better… I can describe it with five words: friends, harmony, relaxation, fun and paradise. First, we went to Prè Saint Dider’s thermal baths and had a sensational and regenerating experience. The thermal baths were in a unique location because they had the great Mont Blanc right in front of them, and it was possible to be in a sauna or outside in a warm jacuzzi, while it was below freezing temperature!! Besides, we did special skin care treatments and enjoyed everything the facility had to offer from the saunas, to the jacuzzis, from the waterfall to the free healthy buffet. Afterwards we were super ready to go grocery shopping for New Years “cenone” (or big dinner) and cook!! 

As we got home we set the table and started to prepare delicious appetizers along with a main course. We perfectly collaborated in the cooking process, and we finished everything so quickly and so well!! Awesome!!! DINNER IS READY!!!! At about 9.30 p.m. we sat down and ate lots of good food and drank tasty wine while talking and laughing. At the end of the dinner we started to dance and we waited together for the start of a new beginning. Ready for the countdown? 3! 2! 1! Haaappyyy New Years!!! A champaign toast, lots of hugs and kisses, and then out to see the fireworks and go dance downtown!!! It was simply amazing how much fun I had! I even hanged out with my sister and shared the best moments! What an awesome way to start this brand new 2017!

Now, if you ask me again “what is friendship?”, I just have one answer: being with the people that make you feel good and important and will be always there for you.