Today was more interesting than yesterday, partially because I was more aware of what was going on.
So as soon as I walked into the classroom, the Italians surrounded me, all trying to ask me at once how I ended up in the States and now in Italy. It was quite overwhelming, to be honest! Of course, comparing the two countries was unavoidable. I told them that America is heavily romanticized and that not everything they believe is true. But they insisted that America must be much better than "the crappy country they live in now." I was quite shocked to hear that.
Before the classes started, I looked around. Valerio, one of my newly-made Italian friends, didn't show up to school today. Instead, there were 4-5 new students. Apparently, they were all absent yesterday. So now our class is comprised of about 25 students! Also, I learned today that all of them have been in the same class for 4 years now. The students are put in a classroom during the first year, and from there, they move up together. I think this system has its pros and cons.
The first class was English (you have no idea how happy I was). We listened to some recordings for comprehension exercises, and the Italians found it funny that I kept trying (and failing) the British accent. I was surprised by how difficult the English class was; during the interrogation, the teacher asked them about the Puritan ideology and the Salem witch hunt... Even the Americans won't be able to answer that question well!
Then the funniest thing happened: I went to the bathroom and was locked from the outside. So what did I do? I climbed up the wall and jumped down in order to sneak into the next stall. Well, of course, the janitor walked it at that exact moment and yelled at me. After much explaining in my terrible broken Italian, the janitor fixed the door (she didn't believe me at first).
During Art History, no one paid attention. Actually, there were 2 people who asked questions and participated. The remaining students doodled or did other homework. The teacher knew that since the students got up to talk to one another and what not. But she really didn't do anything. She couldn't do anything. I felt bad for the teacher.
I find myself constantly using English to communicate, so tomorrow, I will try harder to practice Italian. Let's see how it goes!