School in Italy

I had to write another post because I found out some interesting information about going to school here in Italy and I wanted to get it down before I forgot it. I asked Francesca about school and how long middle and high school students were in class. She told me from 8:30-1:30 and some of them go back after a 2-3 hour lunch break. They only go back if they are taking extra classes or certain types of classes. They also go to school on Saturdays because they end so early. College is quite a bit different in Italy than in the U.S. Francesca just came back from a week long break. Her classes just started up again and will go until the end of May. Then in June and July she has exams. Then I think she has a bit of time off. She told me that she had lectures from October to December, then exams in January and February. I don't know if I could handle 2 months worth of exams! But she said that they are used to it since it's what they've grown up with. After exams, they also only get a week off. It makes me appreciate getting more time off after exams/between semesters. I'm not sure if they do semesters here or if they have a longer break in the summer. I assume they do since exams end in July and classes don't start until October. Maybe they have August and September off as their summer break. I just found the differences between U.S. schools and Italian schools interesting and it's cool to compare cultures and see what it's like here. So, I figured I would share it with you all. Buon giornato!