Full Day

Hello / Ciao:

Woke up this morning feeling really weird. I was still exhausted, and so comfortable in my bed, but I knew I had to get up and go to school. All I wanted was to go into my kitchen at home, get a good breakfast (something that doesn’t exist in Italy) from my mom, and eat next to Simon and Maxie. I knew it was a feeling just because I was tired and down, and that it would dissipate as soon as I began to move into my day.

Had a yogurt out on the balcony, the sun just hitting the ocean, the pigeons flying around excitedly in the morning light. It woke me up and made me feel good. Off to school, where I did a whole lot of reading “The Grapes of Wrath”- In the book Grandpa just died from his stroke, very sad. Read almost 70 pages! Also practiced some Italian and verified that all was done for my participation in the photo contest.

After school Gerlando and I went to the house of one of my classmates for lunch. Her mom was born in England, so could speak English which was a treat. We ate a TON. First a big plate of pasta, Sicilian style, which is packed with cheese and ham, then bread and chicken, then a delicious serving of pork, potatoes, sausage. More bread, some (small bit don’t worry) of wine, then some pastries, fruit, an espresso, and a small taste of a local spirit. Never been so full in my life. They joked that I was going to throw up. It almost became not a joke haha.

They drove us to San Leone, the beach town about ten minutes away, where we walked around in the beautiful light, getting blown around by the heavy wind, sprayed with the sea, it was wonderful. Then I met up with Sergio and Kaja, who had come down on motorcycle. The family we had lunch with left us with lots of goodbyes and thank you’s and see you soons!

It was a beautiful afternoon in San Leone with Sergio and Kaja. First we walked slowly along the beach, talking, sometimes serious sometimes joking and laughing. The sun was setting behind us, so we decided to stop and hang out at a nice jutted out part of the beach. Sergio and I skipped rocks for about an hour, until my arm was aching. Its so addicting, and so exciting to find the perfect rock, and such a let down when you blow a perfect chance with a nice rock. We made plans to camp out on the beach this summer after a day of fishing. I am hoping we can catch some fish, camp on the beach, make a fire, cook the fish, and eat em. I think that would be amazing, and Sergio said that we can totally do it come summer and spring! The sun finally set in a dramatic neon pink. It was fantastic.

We walked along in the dark next to the sea, talking. Then the shining lights of a gelateria lured us in, and we all had crepes with ice cream in the middle. Damn good. But that was dinner! We walked to the main port, past cars with fogged up windows and blurry figures on the inside. We laughed and pointed. We sat on a rock on the jetty of the port telling ghost stories, giving ourselves the chills. It was getting late, and we finally had to leave.

Drove home past three ancient temples lit up in the night. It was surreal and beautiful. Now I am tired but am going to work out for a while, then read and go to bed. I have been listening a ton to the mix my mama made for me. Its got some great stuff on it, esp. Nick Drake, who I had never heard.

Anyways, the moral of today was that every day ends well. I have to remind myself that. Its been a long day, and I am ready for sleep! Buona Notte!

Zander

Recently...

Oggi é stata una giornata bellisima.

Ciao ciao,

 

Kept waking up in the middle of the night last night. It was strange- the house seemed really quiet and empty. I had crazy, frustrating dreams. It was hard to wake up early for the first time in about five days! But, it was nice to finally get some routine going again.

Woke up first at 7:10, then turned my alarm off and set it for 7:45, then woke up again because I thought that was too late, then set it for 7:35, then woke up at 7:35 and laid in bed until 7:45. Pretty funny haha hehe. Got dressed and washed up really fast and raced out to school.

Finally there were students! Everyone decided to come to school today. First period, Chemistry, which I have free, so I studied my Italian verb conjugations for the tutor, and drew, and talked with my classmates. Next period, math, we all filled out an Intercultura (AFS) questionnaire on how things are going with “Il Americano!” That’s me.

Then gym, which is one of my least favorite classes because the gym is dark and freezing, and all we do is lazily kick around a soccer ball. It’s a sad class.

Then Physics, which I also do not have to participate in, so I read “the Grapes of Wrath” which I am totally loving. So much in there! I love the character of Tom Joad’s Granpa. Hilarious.

Then Italian, my favorite class, where we learned about the reform of Italian comedy in the middle ages. Pretty cool, and I can understand a lot.

Speaking of language! My Italian is going really well! Today I felt especially confident. I am trying to be more and more conscious of remembering vocabulary, using the right verb endings, etc. I can pretty much hold a simple conversation now. In one month more I think I’ll be pretty confident. By June I hope to be fluent.

So I went to the tutor, then came home, changed, and went for a really nice long run. The weather was beautiful, and I was able to run in a t-shirt and shorts. I went farther than ever, and felt great. Getting into good running shape. Then I came home and worked out a little more in my room, showered, and went to my friend Sergio’s house, where we played Wii Tennis and Golf. Really fun! Hung out at the “villa,” aka plaza with some good new friends, talked and joked in Italian. It felt great. A very full day. I plan on repeating tomorrow.

Ok amici, a domani! Spero che tutti e posto in gli Stati Uniti!

 Nighty night.

 Zander

Carnevale Pictures

Favara in the Rain

Favara is a sad place in the rain. However, I am making the most of my time cooped up inside the house. Here is what I have been doing:

I woke up this morning to a rainy sky, grey and dirty-looking. I fell asleep last night listening to Brendan Benson (Mom you would love its music made for you), and the iPod cord was wrapped around my body when I woke up. I found that pretty funny. So today was supposed to be my first day of school after vacation for Carnevale, so I got dressed, washed up, had some break fast, and raced out to school. We arrived at school and the first thing I noticed was that their was no one standing outside of the café nearby like usual. The whole area was deserted. I thought maybe we were a little late.

Then we pulled into the parking lot. Not ONE scooter parked in the parking lot. Only the teachers lot was filled. Not one student in sight. We stalled for a little while laughing. Gerlando asked me if I wanted to go to school still. I told him I really thought I should, even though I was surely going to be the only one in the class. I would have felt guilty not going! So I walked into school with Maria, my host mother, and was met by some smiling teachers at the front. They laughed when Maria told them that I wanted to go to school. No students had showed up, everyone had been out dancing again for Carnevale. It was funny, but Gerlando was a little ticked that I made him get up to go to school for nothing.

So we drove around for a little while in the rain, bought bread and groceries. Returned home, and I sulked the couch with my book. To tell you the truth I really wanted to go to school because I haven’t gone to school in a while. I read for a while, cleaned up my room, studied my Italian work for about an hour. Gerlando and I watched a hilarious horror movie called “Shrooms” about these American kids who go to Ireland to take shrooms but guess what THE TRIP IS REAL! AHHHHH! It was really entertaining. After that I got a little homesick so I wrote for a while to get my mind off of it until lunch, which was a pasta kind of thang.

After that I hung out until I was digested enough to work out. I did pushups, sit ups, and this arm work out thing that I can do in my room. Then I stretched and set off for a long run. I ran up the hill, past the church and castle, then all the way around Favara, and up a hill that I always challenge, steep and slippery. I pushed myself really hard today, and it felt great, even in the light drizzle. I returned home, took a long, hot shower, and went for a walk with Gerlando, taking advantage of the break in the rain. We returned “Shrooms” and rented “Saw”, a film I have never seen. We are enjoying these horror movies, really funny and entertaining.

Came home, then went for a little while to a jam session of my friends. Great guys and great musicians. This time they were dressed up in their Carnevale costumes which was hilarious: a hippy, Bon Jovi, an old woman, a rocker. It was great, and I got some funny pictures which I will post.

Then we went to the mall, which was an experience. I bought a poster of Audrey Hepburn for my room, its beautiful and makes the room MINE. I also bought myself a birthday present, a pair of Adidas sneakers that I have been eying.

So now I am back home, warm, enjoying the softness of Dad’s cashmere sweater, which I live in, and about to make some popcorn and watch “Saw.” Tomorrow I am hoping to spend most of the day at the beach, just hanging out. I love being by the ocean.

OK- Will post some pictures now.

Miss you all,

Zander

Day in the Country / at the Beach

Carnevale!

Buongiorno! Its been a few days (I think?) and I wanted to update you on everything thats been going on with me, Favara, Sicily, etc. It is another beautiful day out, finally the normal Sicily weather. Blue blue blue sky, ("celeste") in Italian, and fluffy white clouds that float lazily across the horizon all day. It looks like the intro to the Simpsons. It is Monday, Feb. 23. I have been here almost 1 month, which is strange to think about because it seems like so much longer. I have learned a bunch of Italian and am starting to get into all of the crazy past / future tense that accompany this beautiful language. I have drank more espressos than I can count on two hands, and have shot hundreds if not thousands of photographs. I have made two videos, and more are in the works, and I have started writing a ton. I run every day except the weekend, and do pushups and sit ups every day. 

Things are going well.

So anyways, its Carnevale all across Italy, but yesterday I got to go to the most famous Carnevale in all of Italy, in a town called "Acireale." It was hilarious and fascinating to watch the day develop. I got off the bus with a few other AFS'ers, and walked down the main street, which was decorated and lined with people selling silly string, masks, costumes, confetti to throw, and alcohol. Its a beautiful city, right on the eastern coast of Sicily in the region Catania, which sits below the mighty Mt. Etna, which I got to see yesterday, snowcapped and cloudy. From the park you could see mainland Italy, which is only about 2 kilometers. I was really excited to see that. It made me not feel so far away from the world, in a way. So Acireale, an old and cobblestoned city, completely overun at Carnevale time by little kids in costume running around with silly string, shooting anyone in their path. It was so lively and playful, the only thing like it in the U.S. is Halloween or the Carnival. It was early, so the drinking hadn't really started yet, except in some groups of young men who probably had gone all night. We watched the massive and intricately made floats go by, with funny themes- Rocky, the Beatles, the Italian government, some vague political message about Russia and the U.S. and money, etc. We ate a big lunch at a self service buffet style place, then went back to the festivities. I joined in on the silly string fighting, which had intensified while we had been eating. 

As the day progressed, clouds started moving in, giving the street a dark and dramatic light. The darkness of the sky contrasted in a creepy way with the bright costumes and floats. Around this time, the drinking got intense, and I giggled as groups of smurfs and cross dressers ran to the outskirts and alleys to vomit. A sad, drunk smurf is a funny thing to see.

From Acireale we went to a town strangely named "Misterbianco" (Mister White). Carnevale here was less out of control, and the floats were more in the Rio style, with live dancers and shiny outfits all over the place. We were there for a little to long, like four hours. We all started to get a little stir crazy. There is only such much you can see of something like that. It all starts to look the same. I slept on the ride home, then got into Favara, where our own Carnevale was raging on, but far from where our house was, so we decided to go to sleep. 

Its Monday, and the students are "striking" aka they were out dancing until one o clock last night and don't want to go to school, so I got to sleep until 10 o clock. I am planning on getting a bunch of stuff done today, which includes a run, reading, shower, etc. As I said, things are going well.

Zander

The Lazy Lives of Sicilian Sheets, Blown by the Wind

La Spiaggia / Recent Photos

Best Day Yet

Howdy Folks, 

Yesterday was a perfect day. Woke up what felt like really late, but was actually only 10:00. Got up, worked on a new short story for a while, which is coming along really well, I'm pretty excited about it. Then, there was a buzz from the buzzer on the bottom floor. Gerlando said excitedly, "I think your package is here!" I shook with excitement! It was my package finally. Khakis, new Bruce Springsteen cd, a mix from mama, GUM, a jacket, SLIPPERS, and most importantly TEA. I immediately put on the slippers and made myself a cup of green tea. Then I sat out on the balcony (It was the nicest weather I have had yet), writing my short story, sipping tea, looking out over the Mediterranean. Yeah. I did that. 

Then I set off with my camera for about an hour. Snapped some pictures of a cool old Fiat, then started taking lots of video. What I did turned into a pretty funny idea that turned into a pretty funny video I made. I'll post it now. I'm pretty proud of it. 

So came come, edited the video, ate a great lunch, (soup and tortellini), and finished the video after lunch while I digested. Then I put on my sneakers and went for an hour long run, my longest yet. I did two really big hills, and was keeping a good pace, so it felt great. Came home, showered (the light was beautiful), and when I got out of the shower Gerlando said (in italian), "I have great news, Maria is taking us to the beach!" How could this day get any better? 

So we took the beautiful ride to the beach, where Gerlando and I walked around for a while. The light was perfect, so I got some good pictures. Got some gelato, and drove home. Went to the tutor, where we drilled the future tenses and vocabulary. I went next door the home of a friend of my host mother, where we were going to have a banquet. We ate a huge Sicilian meal with a few people. Delicious. Then, Gerlando and I went to a birthday party for two girls in my class. Really fun, but I was confused about whose party it was and said "buon compleano" to the wrong girl. Ehhh. Felt pretty embarrassed about that. So many names to remember and associate with faces. Danced a bunch, hung out with my classmates. Fell asleep at 1:45. Had crazy dreams all night:

1. The night I come home from Italy its really snowy but everyone insists on going and playing on the swing set in the yard. While I was gone we had bought an iron structure that was a tree house but looked really scary and had no windows and doors, only a small hatch on the top.

2. I get forced into going to a weird bluegrass / jazz festival in this huge mud pit. Belle and Sebastian plays, but in the dream they were all Indian, and sang with really heavy Indian accents. Frustrating.

3. Trying to explain to my new class in Italian why I can't crip walk well. Involved me crip walking poorly across the room while they heckled me. This dream frustrated me so much that I had to wake up. Laid in bed annoyed for a while before falling back asleep.

Today I am going to a picnic in the country at the country house of one of my class mates. I think it will be really nice. Carnavale starts tomorrow, that promises to be pretty insane.

Hope all is well back home.

Love,

Zander

Beautiful Day

Ciao to All:

Last night I finally got to go see "Benjamin Button" with my friends Sergio, Rino (Also my Italian tutor), Kaja, and Ditte. We left at around 8:30 and drove about 10 minutes to Agrigento, the bigger town near Favara where the cinema was located. Really nice theater; comfortable chairs and a nice, big screen. It was interesting seeing the film in Italian, with an Italian audience, after seeing it only a few weeks ago in English with an American audience. The two crowds laughed at all of the same things, (Did you know I was struck by lightening seven times?), and cried at the same parts. I remember distinctly the feeling after walking out of the theater in Bedford, with Jireh and my Dad. I remember thinking so much about the themes of the movie- mortality, youth, love, etc. It was interesting to see my friends go through the same emotional process. I returned home late, at 12:00. 

Went right to bed, and had strange dreams about buying a car with my Dad. In the dream, he really wanted me to get this car that was made by a Cuban company, but it was really old and smelled. For some reason he insisted, and said he wouldn't buy any other car. It had to be this one. I don't remember if I ever actually bought it, because my dream then shifted to me trying to break into a diplomat's house to sleep. I crawled through a window and slept in a bathtub in the house. I woke up from the dream with a sore back, no wonder. I had set an alarm for 7:40, but got a text message from Kaja early in the morning saying that her and Ditte weren't going to school. I laid in bed for a while thinking about whether I would sleep in or not. I dozed off after turning off my alarm, and was awoken by my host mother Maria about 15 minutes later. I was running really late. I jumped out of bed, made a quick espresso, got dressed, and raced out of the house. I forgot all of my notebooks at home. 

At school, I had my first real class of Mathematics. Liceo Martin Luther King, being a "Liceo Scientifico," is based on science and math, so the level at which they learn math is much higher and faster than anything I am used to. I showed off my high-tech calculator to my neighbor, Antonio. He made a huge deal about it until the teacher came over and said I couldn't use it in class! So lots of mental math today. Grrr. I did a lot of reading of "the Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I have already read more than half of it. I'm really enjoying it. It takes me to another time and place every time I open it up. I had a lot of time to think today, so my mind naturally drifted towards memories of home and family. Funny memories, like when Mom was trying to beat box in the car and was completely incapable. Great memories, like eating pierogi's in New York City with Dad after a photo shoot last year. Watching Lost with Maxie, going to Socratic Debate Club with Simon. It was really nice to think, but also made me feel a little sad. My English teacher, Sra. Spinello, had read my blog, and found the "Joy and Sorrow" poem that my Mom had suggested I read. Sra. Spinello had found it online, and as a gift to me translated it into Italian. It was one of the kindest things anyone has done for me here yet. 

School ended at 2:00. I took the bus home, ate lunch, then went right back to school with Gerlando for a meeting in regards to the "Concorso Fotografico." As I expected, I was the only one who showed up, other than the teacher who organized the competition. I was happy to hear that at least 5 other students are participating, and that the top twelve photographs are going to be included in a special Favara calendar. WOW! Haha. Gerlando and I walked home, making stops at his old driving school, where he introduced me to his drivers education teacher, a character greatly different than my drivers ed instructor. Really nice guy. 

Studied for a bit at home, then walked to my Italian tutor, where I struggled through a short story by Luigi Pirandello, a famous italian writer who lived in Agrigento, so especially popular in Sicily. It started to rain hard.

I walked home in the heavy rain. I didn't mind, because the street lights cast a strange orange light on everything on the street. For some reason it reminded me of an old Hollywood movie set. Ran some errands with Gerlando, and drove around Favara for a little while with Maria and Gerlando.

Which brings me here- I am tired and sore, in a really good way. Dinner, shower, then sleep. I can't wait.

Weekend

Ciao Ciao-

 

Eventful couple of days in Favara. It snowed on Saturday! It wasn’t really snow, more like frozen rain, but nonetheless everyone was excited and amazed. I got to talk to the family a little bit, saw the dogs, Andree and Franck up at the ski house. Just for a little while, I realized after I had so much to tell them, but it was too late. I went to make a cake for Ulriche’s (The German exchange student) birthday. Ditte, the student from Denmark, showed us how to make a traditional Danish cake. It was nice:

 

Strawberries in the shape of a “U” for Ulriche

Sugar Glaze

Layer of Cake

Bananas

Nutella

Layer of Cake

Pudding

Layer of Cake

 

Yummy. We then went for a walk up to a church I hadn’t seen yet. It was good, I got to speak some English which was nice and relaxing, because I have been doing so much Italian! Then we went to Urliche’s birthday party. I took a bunch of pictures, ate a bunch of pizza, and then got really, really tired. It was so nice to know that I could sleep late on Sunday (today).

 

Saturday’s school was pretty strange and boring, because it was Valentine’s Day, and only four students showed up to the class. We did a LOT of sitting around, until two o clock. Longest day yet, and with little to do.

 

Anyways, it was really nice to sleep in this morning, until 11 45 or so. I woke up and read a little in “ The Great Gatsby” for a little while. I’m really liking it. Finally got out of bed, uploaded and checked out some of my new pictures, which I will post later, and ate a big lunch of cous cous and chicken. Delicious! Then Gerlando and I went on a long walk around Favara. At one point he stopped and said, “now you have officially seen the ugliest place in the world!” He was referring to the decrepit old section of Favara, where there is garbage everywhere, and the old abandoned houses are ruled by gangs of stray cats and dogs. It was pretty nice out today, the sun was out for most of the day, and now the light penetrating the clouds over the sea is magnificent.

 

Something I have been noticing a lot here is the contrast between the sky and the city. The dramatic and beautiful sky doesn’t quite fit with the not so beautiful, industrial sprawl of Favara. You can see it in the pictures, I have been trying to focus on it. I think it could make for an interesting video piece.

 

So today I went to photograph the great grandmother (90 years old) and grandmother of Gerlando in their house. The light wasn’t so great, but I think I got some good stuff. I did two nice video portraits, which I am pretty excited about, but I have been battling hard drive space on my computer. I’ve been backing up a lot, but it still doesn’t always make enough room for my pictures and video. I’ll figure it out.

 

I am hoping to go see Benjamin Button tonight in Agrigento with some friends. We need to find a ride. If not Gerlando and I are going to watch Tropic Thunder here. Either way I am getting some good old American cinema. (Benjamin Button would be in Italian which would be cool).

 

OK a domain!

 

Zander

 

 

Bisnonna

Encounter With Il Pastore Pazzo

Il Pastore

Ciao-

Yesterday was a really excellent day. I woke up early, after a night of dreaming about finding out my SAT scores. They weren't posted when I got up, which was disappointing, then I remembered that it was only 2 in the morning in the U.S. All day at school I was jumpy to get home and find out how I did. I finally got to a computer, and was a little disappointed with my results. I got my math scores up a good amount, which was my goal, but was kind of surprised with my English- thankfully there is score selection, where you can choose your best scores from each section. 

I didn't want to dwell on that too much, so Gerlando and I set off for a passagiotto. He had been wanting to show me an abandoned building in the campaña (country). We walked around for a while, he showed me some plant that you can chew on that has a citrus-y taste. Pretty tasty. Sludging through lots of mud and in a light and cold rain, we finally got to the abandoned house. It was really cool- totally falling apart, but got some nice photographs, because the light was dramatic. The sun broke through, creating an amazing rainbow to our left. 

We saw a "pastore" or shepherd with a pretty big flock of sheep in the field below us. I asked if we could go down so I could get some video and pictures. We stalled, and I started to photograph the rainbow behind the flock of sheep. The shepherd started to yell and Gerlando told me to put down my camera. I was confused. Thankfully the rainbow was there, so I pointed to that, pretending that I wasn't photographing his sheep. We started to walk toward him slowly, because I really wanted to get some photographs and video. We said ciao, and began to talk to him. He was pretty crazy- I didn't really understand what he was saying, but later Gerlando explained it all to me. I just snapped a bunch of photos, and we walked around the field with him, listening to him talking about the sheep and Sicily. He allowed me to take some pictures of him, which I was grateful for. The light was amazing, but Gerlando suggested that we leave. I was a little confused, because the man was being so welcoming it seemed. He had given Gerlando his number so that we could come back another day because he wanted to show us a better, bigger abandoned house a little farther away. We finally left, and Gerlando said "I don't ever want to see him again I think" I was again totally confused, but Gerlando explained to me that he was totally crazy, and had told Gerlando that he had been in prison. I laughed. 

It was a really cool experience- I got to see something that I would surely never see in Bedford, and something that Gerlando said few people ever see even living in Sicily.

Later I had my first Italian lesson with a tutor, which was pretty cool. Learned some new vocabulary and tenses. Thats going to really help. After, I went to a bar with Gerlando and some friends, hung out, watched Italian music videos, and the occasional random Dire Straits or R.E.M. video. Gerlando and I made dinner for ourselves back at the house. Watched an episode of Family Guy, and fell asleep.

Today I am going back to the tutor, and am hoping to fit in a run somewhere. Its nice to be busy.

Zander

Crummy Weather / Good Day

Buona Serra!

Its 8:30 right now. I feel exhausted! Mentally and physically. Woke up today, immediately went to the computer to see if my SAT scores were posted, which they weren't. I thought maybe College Board was as jumpy as I was to get those scores posted. I guess not. Tomorrow they will be surely. Very excited, but nervous as well. 

Had an espresso and biscotti for breakfast, and raced off to school with Gerlando and mia mama Maria in their Fiat. School was really good today- my Italian teacher is a really nice lady, speaks little to no English, but always explains things to me when I don't understand something. Today's lesson was on the history of theater in Europe. I got most of it. Lots and lots of cognates in the Italian language, very helpful. School ended at 11:00, because there was an assembly for teachers. I walked to the plaza and learned how to play Italian card games with Kaja and Sergio. It was really fun. People crowded around us, asking questions in bits of English. "You like Favara?" If I answer yes, they say "WHHYY?" They all say its very ugly. Its new and different for me, and that's what makes it beautiful. Frequently I get questions about English swear words. I have yet to teach any. That cultural exchange will come in due time. Loved playing cards. 

Came home, ate a big Sicilian lunch, with fish and fried cakes and salad. Digested a little, then ran up the hill that is Favara, all the way up to the church and high plaza, ("Where the old men come to spit") and weaved around the narrow side streets. The light got very dramatic and dark- pretty creepy on the decrepit side streets. The temperature dropped dramatically. Just when I got onto my street it started to rain and sleet really hard. I was shivering by the time I got into the house. Took a warm shower, got dressed, and did some video work around the house. The light over the Mediterranean was unbelievable. Every second it got more beautiful, but the light only broke through over the ocean, avoiding Favara! Took some video of that. Gerlando and I met up with Kaja, Ditte (An AFS'er from Denmark), and Sergio to go to a bar to hang out and play some cards. I wanted to practice some Italian. We had hot chocolate because it was so cold- the hot chocolate here is totally different. Its more like a thick soup of melted chocolate than the liquid that I consider HC. Hung out for a while, then got picked up by Maria to go meet the Intercultura liaison at her house. She is my math teacher at Liceo MLK, and is a really nice lady. The reason I have been getting out of school so early is because she has been absent, tending he husband, who just had some sort of surgery. So don't worry Mom and Dad- I will be resuming normal school soon! We talked about what I should be doing in school and such- for now she said just listen to the Italian. Don't worry about the tests and assignments seriously now, just learn Italian. JUST. It was a good thing to hear. She also informed me of a trip that Intercultura organizses that I have the chance to take- a week in Verona, staying with a family. It sounds amazing. Just explore Verona and learn about another part of Italy. Pretty cool! Its all a matter of finding someone to host me there, because she said that its hard to find people who want to host boys. 

I meant to write before- I entered a photo contest that is announced on my birthday, March 8th. March 8th is the "Day of Women." I think its like mother's day or something of that sort. Anyway, I am photographing the four generations of living Scibetta's on Sunday, and I think I will enter that. Really excited. 

OK- I'm going to get to bed early tonight. A domani!

-Zander

For Maxie

Photographs (Feb 8. / Sunday Exploration)

Things Are Going Well

Buongiorno!

Today and yesterday were very nice days. Only moments of loneliness and homesickness, greatly overshadowed by the good things that are happening. 

Yesterday, I went for a long run after school, on a new route, which was not particularly beautiful but gave me a chance to see a new party of Favara. I came home, showered, (my mind cleared), got dressed, and called up my friend Sergio and Kaja (an AFS'er from Canada), inviting them to a cafe called Parigi nearby. We met up at my house, and I insisted that we walk, because the light was really nice and it was warm out. We went to Parigi, hung out, practiced Italian, then walked home. It was a very nice outing. Cheered me up immensely. Later that night, I hung out in the main plaza (the national pastime for teenagers) with Gerlando and some of his friends. The moon was unbelievable. La Bella Luna! 

Came home, slept really well.

Today was even brighter. Although the weather wasn't that great for a lot of the day, I think it was a success. School ended at two (my first time past 12 10, and tomorrow it ends at 12 10 again!) I took the bus home alone, which was nice and good practice, and ate a nice big lunch of collared greens and potatoes. I digested for a while, in the meantime wrote a letter to Patrick Symmes, the author of the book I am reading. Then I set out for my run. I am in better shape than when I arrived, and explored a new part of Favara, straight up the hill. I was panting and had to take a break towards the top, but it felt amazing. I returned home and did some pushups. Showered, grabbed my camera, and me and Gerlando went to meet Kaja. We took a walk up to the castle, and the old plaza ("where the old men go to spit"). Then we searched for a while for a cafe to get something to eat. It was a nice time. Now I am going out to the plaza with Gerlando, bringing my camera, I hope to get some good photographs of as I said before, the national pastime.

Hope all is going great on the homefront. Later I will post some pictures from the last couple of days.

Zander

Exploring Favara

It’s a fascinating thing to walk aimlessly around an unfamiliar city. Dreamily you wander, making turns on streets randomly, stopping to listen to the happenings within the houses, reading posters, and kicking around garbage.

Today I woke up, washed up, had an espresso, and took my camera to explore Favara. With a camera strap around your neck, you see the world a different way. Everything you see is presented as a possible subject- a parked car, crumbling walls, fading posters, piles of garbage. The mundane becomes beautiful as you scan your vision consciously.

I took a right out of the apartment building, walking alongside olive groves to my left, and the industrial sprawl of the city to my right. I stopped to read some spray paint graffiti on the walls. In poorly translated English, I read “Fuck you!”,  “Anarkism 4ever”, “always forever I will loving you.” I continued on, made a right, turning up the hill. I walked on a main street past bars, cafes, and construction sites, stopping frequently to photograph. I read the obituaries posted all over the town, and took pictures of many of them. I watched a stray cat eating garbage, and two dogs chasing each other on a side street. I turned off onto a side street, wandering aimlessly in circles as Fiats, Alfa Romeos, and mini coopers raced by, weaving in and out of pedestrians, cars, scooters, and dogs.

People on their balconies watched me pass by. I said “ciao” to all of them, sometimes receiving a mumbled “ciao” back. I get the feeling that people don’t expect to see a lone teenager wandering around the streets with a camera, since this town is not on the tourist radar, overshadowed greatly by the more historical and beautiful town over, Agrigiento, with its ancient Greek ruins, statues, and modern shops.

I walked around abandoned constructions sites, looked into the crumbling remains of the failed projects. Shoes, old sweaters, abandoned wheelbarrows and ladders were strewn about everywhere.

I thought a lot while I was walking about where I was, where I wasn’t, where I will be in five months. Will this be my home? Or will my home still be across the ocean, thousands of miles away?

I explored for two hours, then returned to my house, where Gerlando and Sabrina were playing Guitar Hero, and Maria, my host mother, was asleep next to a heater, snoring faintly. 

Party / Agrigiento

Rollercoaster

Its amazing the highs and lows that I have felt so far. One minute I feel totally comfortable, happy, then the next I am wondering why at all I made this decision, totally sad and lonely. Yesterday we went to Agrigiento again to see more of the Mandorlo in Fiore festival. More of what I had seen earlier, but it was really nice anyway. Walked around, got gelato, took some pictures. Then we went to McDonalds, which was really weird. I was a little grossed out by it so I just got fries and water. The lunch of champions. The whole time I felt really down. Even though I was surrounded by friendly and helpful people, I felt immensely alone and far from my home base. Its a really crippling feeling, and it has so far been lingering in the back of my head at all times. I try to keep in my mind the poem that my mom sent me about Joy and Sorrow, which says that it is the sorrow that makes the joyous times so amazing, and the joy that makes the sorrowful times so terrible. Really amazing poem, and has helped me a lot to understand what I am feeling.

Then I got home, showered, got dressed, and Skyped with Dave Rozins and talked with Chris online. That helped a lot to cheer me up. Its just strange how high and low I get. 

Last night was fun. We went to an 18th birthday party, which is the equivalent to a sweet sixteen, in that at 18 you can get your drivers license. It was really fun, all of my classmates were there, and I got to talk to Kaja, another AFSer, about what I was feeling. She said that that is totally normal, that she felt it for the first few weeks then it subsides. I am looking forward to that! 

Really late I Skyped with Simon, Dad, and for a little bit mom, when they were up at the ski house. It was amazing to see them. Skype is a really unbelievable thing, that I can be watching them in real time thousands of miles away. It has helped so muc through out this process. 

OK- I must go now. I am going to a soccer game today, I am really excited about that. Its just a local game, but it promises to be a cool experience.

Ciao,

Zander

Mandolo in Fiore (Almond Tree)

Mi Piace Disegnare

Fa Benne

Hello / Ciao

Just came back from a nice long run down the hill towards the ocean. If you run just five minutes down the hill and don't turn your head around it really looks like a beautiful old Italian landscape. I run straight down, then straight back up, sheep and goats following me alongside the road. Running is going to be one of my greatest allies on this adventure. When I get home from school and my head is spinning with Italian and information, it feels really good to run, clear my mind, burn off some steam. I need to find a new route to run, though, because today I was running by a construction site and a big guard dog charged me, and I had to pretend to hold up a rock to throw at him to scare him off (a method I learned in Peru). Pretty scary, but other than that it was really nice. Showered, Skyped with Simon, (which was great and cheered me up immensely), and now I am listening to the new Andrew Bird album. Its really good, and will surely be forever associated with this step in my time abroad. A good soundtrack to my life.

School today was the most actual "school" I've had the whole time. It was my fourth day of school. Mostly in school we hang out and talk, playing funny games and trying our best to communicate in Italian. Its good because it leaves a lot of time for me to talk and explore the language. Everyone is really funny and kind, and more than willing to help me learn the language. It really helps to have Spanish under my belt, because the two languages are so similar. 

Today I was walking into school with Gerlando, my host brother, and one of my classmates stopped me and told me that the class wasn't going to school today, instead they were taking a bus to Agrigiento to hang out and see some of the festival of the almond flower, which is famous all around Italy (Mandolo in Fiore). I told him no thanks, that I should probably go to class, and sat in the classroom alone for about a half an hour, then people started showing up. I think they felt bad leaving me alone haha.

I met the Italian teacher today, she seemed very nice. She told me that she was willing to help me with my other studies as well which was great. In English, I stood in front of the class and read from a really complex history text book in English. Then the teacher took it away and made me recite what I just read from memory. My first oral examination! I did pretty well. Luckily it was in English.

Simon just sent me some of the graphic design stuff he's working on. Really cool. He's got an eye for that. I suggested we start to collaborate, and sent him something I have been doing during school when we have no teacher. Its pretty cool. I'll post it in a sec.

OK- tonight we are going out for some pizza and hanging out. I'm looking forward to it. Also, tomorrow we have no school because of the festival in Agrigiento. I could get used to this Italian school system! Hahaha. OK, Ciao!

Zander

Favara Day 3

Good Days

Yesterday was a great day. School was pretty funny- we had one class, “filosofia”, in which we talked about Rene Descartes, something about morality and mortality, then finished at 12:10, because none of the other teachers were at school. I came home, read a little, and finally Skyped with my mom and dad. I could see them, but they couldn’t see me. I thought it was going to make me sad and homesick, but it did just the opposite, cheered me up and inspired me to get out and take some photographs around Favara. It was beautiful out, I could see the Mediterranean clearly and it was warm and sunny.

 

We had espressos in a café called Parigi (Paris) and I got to see a new part of the town, a nicer and less industrial looking part. I also found a gym where I can go to work out in walking distance.

 

That night we went to Agrigiento, a larger and more beautiful city about 10 km from Favara. The festival of the almond flower (mandolo) was taking place, and there was a parade of about 25 different country’s folk groups. Really fun and nice to get out and do something. From one point in Agrigiento I could see three ancient temples all lit up at night. It was pretty unbelievable. I went to sleep feeling really good.

 

Today I got up and it was beautiful out. Had fresh squeezed orange juice and biscotti for breakfast, then went to school. We did nothing for about an hour, just sat around talking and hanging out, then had an hour of “latin”, which consisted of going to the computer lab and looking at optical illusions. Then we had physical education (educazione fisica) where we played some funny old fashioned games with a volleyball. Then we had “storia”, where we actually did work, learning about the French Revolution. Little by little I understand Italian. Each day it is getting a little easier to communicate…so far.

 

Later I am going on a run with my new sneaks, which I am greatly looking forward to, and am getting pizza with some friends this evening.

 

OK- ciao, I’ll write more tomorrow!

Mio Clase in Liceo MLK

First Day of Scuola

Ciao! 

So today was my first day of school. I met the two other AFS Intercultura girls, one from Germany and one from Canada. It was weird to speak some English. I walked into school and the first thing I saw was a big banner reading "WELCOME ZANDER!" I met the principal, who was very friendly and talked alot about Obama, (not that I knew what he was saying) but he seemed to like him. 

My classmates paraded me around the school and I said Ciao about a thousand times to so many people. They were really excited for me to finally arrive. They joke alot about "Il Padrino" aka the Godfather. They love the movie. The town in Sicily where the Godfather is from has bullet holes in the sign (real bullet holes) from when the Mafia lived there. I didn't do anything in school other than sit around and talk (kind of) and get to know my class mates.

I was pretty homesick last night. Every song on my ipod reminded me of something at home, so I had to just read my book until I fell asleep. (The Boys from Dolores by Patrick Symess, about Fidel's school and classmates) 

This saturday I am going to Agrigiento, the neighboring town, where there is a famous festival about almond flowers or something like that. Then I am going to the beach to hang out with some friends. 

Miss you all and tell you more later. 

Zander / or as we figured out yesterday Sandro (as in Alessandro)

First Day in Sicily

We figured out the internet in the house- Gerlando is a wiz with computers, he set it up in minutes. Today we drove around Favara, got bread and a small dictionary for translations, and went to see the school. 

From my balcony I can see the Mediterranean, which I was very happy about. I live on the sixth floor of a pretty much empty apartment building. Our neighbors are all Scibetta's, who own the supermarket next door. 

Last night I met all of Gerlando's friends. They were really excited to meet me, and bombarded me with questions like "do you like Kiss/ Pink Floyd/ Pamela Anderson/ ACDC/ etc" and "are you an activist?" I answered yes. They were all very nice and funny and lively. 

We had pizza last night when I got in. Delicious. Gerlando is designing a layout for the blog, so coming soon a new and improved Zander in Italy.com! 

Ok its time for pranzo, ciao!

Zander

Piazza di San Pietro

At Vatican City

Villa Aurelia, Rome

Buongiorno!

I finally got some internet service in our hostel, so I wanted to check in to say ciao to everyone back home. I am staying at the Villa Aurelia, where we have been for two days. The air in Rome is fresh and cool, but the weather has been beautiful. We are not allowed to go outside because we really aren't near anything, but yesterday we had the opportunity to visit Vatican City, (our fourth country in three days! (U.S. / France / Italy / Vatican City)). 

The Piazza di San Pietro and the Basilica church is magnificent. There was a huge Christmas tree and Nativity scene in the center next to the obelisk, which partly obscured the view of the church from the outside of the piazza, but it was amazing none the less. 

I got to go inside the Basilica for about forty five minutes, said a prayer for Kevin and Jim in one of the prayer rooms, but supposedly missed an actual service by about three minutes. Darn. 

Dad, I drank an espresso at the Cafe San Pietro, so got to check that off of my list of things to do in Italy. I am sure it was the first of many! My friends all got gelato, but I wanted to save that for when I get to Sicily. 

We have been doing tons of orientation, my favorite activity was when they gave us a big map of Italy and said, "identify where you will be!" The results were catastrophic. Surprisingly, very many people couldn't say where they were headed to live. I am going to be on Sicily with two others, who happened to be my friends, which is very nice, because I will get to see them at a few orientations throughout the year.

I just checked out of my hotel room, which stank of feet. I have five hours to hang out in the hotel lobby until I fly to Sicily. I am looking forward to feeling the Mediterranean heat when I step off of the plane, but nervous / excited to meet my family and see my town. 

Hope all is well on the home front. I'm sure everyone is happy to be done with midterms, and the Riverkeeper auction. Mom Dad Simon Max I will call when I get the chance, but its been iffy using the phones here. Sorry for getting cut off before Sime. Keep the fire going in the living room! And Max, enjoy my binders.

Ok, miss you all but have not felt much more than that yet. Its been great, smooth travel (knock on wood). Hope it continues to be.

-Zander