Settling into a Routine

On Tuesday,I was placed (seemingly randomly) in a fourth year class. I was pretty nervous looking around the room, blinded by my first impressions. The desks were small, and there was quite a bit of graffiti on the walls, which I'm not used to. A girl quickly grabbed a desk and put it next to her, occasionally translating the lesson so I would know what was going on. During break, some classmates showed me around the school, pointing out the gymnasiums, garden, library, labs, and coffee bar. After break was philosophy. At first I had one person translating and explaining the concepts, but soon several students had joined in, and after a while the lesson became a question period of what I thought of the beginnings of philosophy.

I am at a classic school, so students learn Italian (they study a lot of Dante), English, Philosophy, History, Ancient Greek, Latin, Art History, Law, Religion, Math, and Sciences. I took primarily science courses in Canada, so many of the subjects here confuse me. So far the only thing I'm good at is math, and everyone in my class seems to hate math, so I stand out a bit (this has helped me though - my classmates help me with Italian and I help them with math). Some of the subjects are familiar, but from a ways back. I studied the basics of the Roman and Ancient Greek civilizations in grade 7, and European history a few years ago, but still, many of the lessons have no context. I sometimes get frustrated and want to say, "No, really, I am smarter than this!", as I feel so stupid in class.

Though my classroom lacks in physical beauty, the students and teachers more than compensate with enthusiasm. My teachers are eager to help me with lessons, always asking me about school in Canada, or how I was enjoying Italy, and students are forever being kind to me. I feel guilty about how I treated exchange students in Canada. I never thought I was mean to them, but compared to people here I have been nothing but cruel.

After school my family has lunch together, which I like (especially because lunch is usually really tasty and hot, unlike the crappy lunches that I make at home). The first few weeks I had to continually explain that not having seconds did not mean that I didn't like the meal. My family has mostly gotten used to me having "small" portions now.