Busy Busy Busy!

Hello. So it has been a while since I have sat down to write on the blog, or at least it seems like a while. It has been hanging over my head, especially because so much has been going on here, so I am excited to have some time to let it all out.

So, this week, AFS students from all over the world who are currently doing what I am doing (living in Italy with AFS) came to Sicily to experience a different part of Italy. It has been one of the most fascinating and overwhelming weeks of my life. In Favara, my town, my friend Kaja (Canadese) is hosting a really sweet girl named Lu Qi who comes from China, a friend named Carmelo, who lives here in Favara, has been hosting Luis, a Chilean, and a good friend of Gerlando is hosting a girl from Austria. In Agrigento there are some girls I have made good friends with, one from Brazil and one from Costa Rica. Also in Agrigento there is a girl from Turkey. We have been together most of the time the whole week, and it has been really amazing to see how similar we all are, even though we come from all different corners of the earth. 

Tuesday we woke up bright and early and took a bus to Palermo, a two hour drive through magnificent green, rolling hills. I listened to "This American Life" on my iPod, which I am getting really into. The program this time was about "Plan B," the idea that so many people end up doing something that they didn't initially expect. Highlight: John Hodgeman's program in which he talks about the man whose job it is to live in "Cuervo Nation" (which I just found out is an actual official nation in the Carribean, only 8 acres) and get people to party. It was a hilarious but at times serious piece. I really enjoyed it. 

Palermo is a terrific city, despite the violent history involving the Mafia. Every corner you turn there is another beautiful plaza with big white statues and cathedrals and churchs everywhere. It really looks in some parts like old, old Italy. We saw a beautiful old theater, and actually got to sit in for a little while on an orchestra practice, which left us all in silent awe. The best part of the day without a doubt for me: I was exploring the massive Cathedral by myself, photographing the statues of Jesus and the hundreds of saints, studying the intricate architecture and ornate gold work. I saw a sign for the "Tombi Reali," which means "Royal Tombs," and read the names of the kings whose tombs lay in the next room. My eyes moved over "Frederick II." I felt like I recognized the name, and realized that this was Frederick II, the falconer who literally wrote the book on falconry, which we have referenced in the past, and who is considered the greatest falconer of all time. I got so excited, paid the one euro to see the tombs, and got to explore around. It was so cool to remember that he had lived in Palermo. Great thang. After, we went to another beautiful Norman church, which was more in the Greek Orthodox style. Lots of beautiful mosaic and depictions of the saints. By that time we were really tired, but the day had just begun! We had lots more to see. We boarded the little bus, and headed for the towering mountain that leaves Palermo in shadow. It looked light something right out of "300," sheer white cliffs, monasteries at the top, and a huge statue that we could see silhouetted against the beautiful blue sky. We drove up to the top, and hung out for a while at the peak by the statue, taking pictures, and having a really good time dancing to the music that a car was blasting at the top. Everyone's spirits were really high and positive. So many nations represented, all having a blast. From there we went to the other side of the mountain, where there is a famous grotto which used to home a hermetic nun, that has now been converted into a church right in the side of the mountain. It was pretty amazing. Bought some creepy postcards of mummies at a souvenir stand, and drank the most delicious fresh squeezed blood orange juice with a little lemon. We drove down the mountain to a beach town on the other side. Ate some amazing Nutella gelato and met some local kids who were doing Techtonic dancing on the beach (Simon you would have shown them up hardcore). On the way home I sat with the girl from Brazil, exchanging music and talking about politics and life in Brazil and the U.S. It was pretty interesting, and the moon was full and beautiful. I came home and passed out. 

Woke up Wednesday morning after a sleep that was so intensely deep that I forgot where I was in the morning. Crawled out of bed, took a quick shower, enjoying the light streaming into the bathroom, and the hot mate de coca. We boarded another bus which took us to Agrigento, the bigger town nearby, where the head of the local AFS chapter met us in an awesome white Defender. He drove us to meet up with a big group of kids, also AFS'ers, some of whom I knew from my primary orientation in Rome. The "multi-culturality" of our group was extended to include Finland, more from Chile, more from Brazil, more from the U.S. (Maine and North Carolina, good interesting kids), and some other places I can't remember which is sad because it was amazing. Will try to remember later. All together we explored the "Valley of Temples," a valley incredibly rich in ancient archeology. We saw the Temple of Concordia, the Temple of Hercules (which has a crazy ruin of a statue of a giant which I thought was really cool), and walked through an ancient city and garden, where we were all surprised with what we described as "heaven." Picnic tables set up with a ton of great, local Sicilian food, including olives that would impress my mom, fresh cheese, freshly picked blood oranges, and fresh bread. We all ate like Americans. At one point, I heard one of the American students badmouthing the local cheese, saying that it was not as good as in the North. Maybe I felt some sort of Sicilian nationalism, so I had to ask him to stop, which he politely did. It was pretty funny, and made me feel proud to be living in Sicily. 

One of the things that has been really great about being with all of these kids that are here from all around Italy is to hear about how Sicily is compared to the rest of Italy. The biggest thing that I have heard, and something I have definitely noticed and appreciated, is how friendly, warm, and animated the people are here compared to in the North. That really makes me feel proud and lucky to live here. When you are walking around the streets, people will come and talk to you, say hi, joke with you, something that supposedly wouldn't happen in the north. 

I get really jealous when people tell me that they live ten minutes from the Alps, where they go skiing every day after school, but then I realize, wait, I live ten minutes from the beach, where I will go every day when it gets warm. The grass is always greener on the other side I guess! 

Some bad news: I have shin splints developing, so I cannot run. I can continue to work out, and I found out about the local swimming pool, which is supposed to be pristine and have warm water, so I am going to start to swim. I am still sad that I can't run. 

Today we went to Agrigento and explored. The weather was magnificent, fluffy little clouds that floated across the sky, the sun shining on the ocean, making it light blue and warm looking. My favorite thing: we saw an amazing church, really one of the prettiest churches I have ever seen connected to a convent. The light was amazing, and walking into the walls of the convent I felt like I was entering some sort of paradise, the sun beaming through, the arches old and beautiful architecture, benches to sit on, cyprus trees towering over us. I laid on my back for about ten minutes watching the clouds and the cyprus trees swaying. I could have stayed there for hours. I didn't bring my camera today, just saw and will remember. 

I am back home finally, and am so happy to have spilled this out! Its been busy busy busy, but I have had a ton of time to explore and really live. I am having a great time- this week has been an amazing experience. Will write tomorrow and post some pictures later today.

Listening to: "All Songs Considered" NPR podcast

Reading: "The Last Temptation of Christ" by Nikos Kazantzakis

Liking: "Huffington Post" and the new GQ

Ciao!