"newbie": (common noun) (informal) The affectionate nickname used to refer to the student/s (collective) who arrive approximately 6 months after the previous bunch of students. (See "oldie")
"oldie": (common noun) (informal) The affectionate nickname used to refer to the student/s (collective) who arrived approximately 6 months prior to the proceeding group of students.
Understood?
Some of the 'newbies' challenged the actual terminology, paired with swearing and judgements and ruuuudeness.
Anyway, we went to an orientation meeting / conference in Monterosso, in Liguria, where I stayed for a month back in July/August. With 55 students, 3 districts, 5 oldies, it was a lot to take in, but being with the exchange students in a group is always bound to bring laughter, often to the point of tears, breaking of the rules, hiding out after curfew on some hill (I don't even know how this happened), ridiculous videos, and hilarious memories.
We organised for a group of us to meet up in Como on Saturday for a picnic. I don't know if any of the readers recall a certain verbally abusive phonecall I received from a certain Rotarian woman a few months back, telling me how terrible my Italian was, that I never followed the rules...etc?
Funny story.
My friend received a phonecall, but because he is not yet used to the language, he passed the phone over to me to play translator. After speaking for about 20 seconds, the woman complimented my Italian, and asked with whom she was speaking. On hearing my name, I could actually hear her embarassment over the telephone. "Aaaah, la Megan!" My insides tickled with fancy at the thought of me proving her wrong. UP YOURS, YOU BITCH. After explaining the district rules to her over the phone, and detailing how we were 100% compliant to these rules by travelling within our district, I could hear her self-indulged little bubbles exploding inside of her. Love karma.
So we returned to our non-alcoholic beers on the grass and had a wonderful day of foot-skating, catching up and photog.
With my ticket booked for home less that 2 months away, my excitement is not containable. Although first, a slight ambivalence, I am going to have to approach my host-parents about the next few weeks becoming more socially orientated than waste-of-time-at-school orientated. I hope they will be receptive knowing how little time I have left.
Until next time.
