Suitcase of Memories in Italy

Hi there & ciao! I’m Muhammad Faizan, an AFSer from Sabah, Malaysia, who went abroad on an Intensive Program to Italy during the short winter terms break (18Dec-18Feb).

18 December 2010 is an unforgettable date for me. All of us (32 Malaysian students) had actually step foot in Rome after the 13hours+ ride in the airplane. We were greeted with warm welcome by the AFS volunteers. All of us were so excited plus crazy that time as we had made our first Italian friends with those volunteers as soon as we meet up at the airport. The volunteers then took us to the arrival orientation camp in a hotel at Rome and we had so much fun throughout the camp. I can still remember the following morning as we including two of our friends from South Africa experience our first white snow in Rome. We were like monkeys non-stop taking picture with the snow without wearing any winter jacket and the temperature was like almost 0˚C. Mamma Mia! E molto freddo (Very cold)! I almost caught the flu that day.

The following day, we were split into groups and was sent to our respective host family throughout Italy. I was placed at the northern part of Italy which is located in small town called Cassine, Alessandria.

I was in a 9hours train along with some of my Malaysian friends going north. I only had one host sister and mom and dad in my host family. My host sister was very generous in letting me to use her bedroom during my 2 months stay because she seldom stayed at home as she is in university right now. She is currently doing her practical in medicine in Torino. My host dad is a director while my host mom is a tourist guide in that area. Although my host parents are quite busy with their career, there was never a day that they would not treat me with a generous heart. Sometimes, I follow my host mom on her tour guides every week and so I had a chance to visit many places in Italy!

Then I attended my first day of school. I was placed in a Liceo Linguistico (language school) in Alessandria. I learned other kinds of foreign languages which I never expected to ever learn. I met many new friends with various kinds of faces and attitudes. Some of them are friendly and nice, yet some of them are way too crazy and are passionate to know about me and my home country as they don’t know where and what Malaysia is. But as least, they know where Borneo a.k.a Sabah and Sarawak is and it make my job lot more easier to introduce Malaysia to them!

I can still remember the day when I present my Malaysian presentation to my fellow friends, wearing full set of Baju Melayu that I brought all the way from Malaysia. With only around 30minutes of my presentation, they were all amazed with the beauty of Malaysia, the culture and also the people. Some of the teacher and students even plan to visit Malaysia someday. Proud to be Malaysian! Being a young ambassador representing your home country is a honor especially when you are in a completely different surrounding. Not to mention the language. But I manage to speak their language fluently with all the help from my teachers and friends. This helped me to communicate with the people in my surrounding a lot easier. With that, I can now speak a total of 5 different languages, including Italian and Spanish.

My relationship with my host family and the people in my town is one of the important part in my experience. I was welcomed with incredible hospitality by the people at Cassine as soon as I first arrived. Not to mention my host family but many of the people of Cassine gathered and prepared a welcome feast for me. And that is the first time I ate my host mom homemade meal. To be straight forward, my host mom and my sister are great cookers. Thanks to it because now I can eventually cook many kinds of Italian meal and dessert, including lasagna which I like the most!

The following morning, I was in the local newspaper. Throughout my home stay at Italy, I was visited by quite a number of people. First is a doctor (my host sister friend) from Peru who celebrate Christmas Eve and New Years Eve together with the family. And another one is a girl (a friend of mine) from Malaysia. Their appearances during my home stay in Cassine really turn-out to be an unforgettable memory for me which I can't really describe it one by one.

As time pass by, our relationships became deeper and deeper. I was well recognized among the people at the town and also in the city of Alessandria. As I walk into the streets, I was like part of it where I belong to which I cannot described or explained in only a few sentences. Every AFSer knows that feeling. My life as an exchange student as well as a young ambassador of Malaysia ended just as quickly as how it started. The two months in Italy was definitely more than just a student exchange programme. It had changed my life entirely as a person.

The suitcase of memories with my host family, school friends and the people in Italy as well as my others foreign and Malaysian friends really will stay in my heart forever. I hope that someday, I will have the chance to see all of them again. No matter whatever and wherever the circumstances are, this bond of friendships and relationships will never end. With AFS, I believe that the people in the world really are connected. Sharing different culture and different ways of living truly lead to a peaceful and better world.

Thank you,

Grazie mille per tutto AFS!

Muhammad Faizan Bin Mohamad Su'ait

AFS Returnee,

Italy Intensive Programme 2010-2011