This Week is Over / This Week Begins

I knew at the start of this week that it would be an odd one. My new friends from AFS departed from Sicily on Sunday morning to their various homes around Italy, Ditte, my good friend and Danish exchange student who lives near Favara left for her week exchange in Parma, Ulriche, the German exchange student in Favara left for Rome for a week, and Kaja, my English speaking buddy, and Canadian exchange student in Favara left on Monday to go home to Vancouver. I mentally prepared myself for a strange and possibly lonely week. 

I decided that the only way to keep my mind off it all was to stay really busy, and to make sure I always had things lined up to do after school. It turned out to be not as bad as I thought, maybe because I was battling other, more immediate challenges that manifested this week. 

Since I haven't been able to run because of the shin splints I have depended mostly on just working out in my room, which is great, and I love being able to listen to music and having the ability to do it whenever I want, but it certainly gets boring. I need something where I am really moving, where I can just burn off the steam that builds up so high here sometimes. I had been hearing a lot about the local pool, famed for its cleanliness and nice water, but had never gotten around to checking it out. The problem is it is too far to walk, and my family can't always take me, so it is not the perfect situation. I got rides a few times this week, and it was wonderful when I could go.

The pool is surprisingly clean, and wonderfully wild. While I swim laps kids are doing cannonballs over my head while the swim instructors are chasing them around with a whistle. Just to get in the water is enough to make me feel relaxed. I am trying to figure out a more surefire way to get there- possibly the bus system, but I was told there is no bus to the pool. 

The Italian is coming all really well. This week, since I couldn't speak English with Kaja, I really spoke in Italian the whole time. I even refrained from reading my English books, (until yesterday when I couldn't resist, bored in school). I am fascinated at the complexity of the verb conjugations in the Italian language- it is amazing how many different situations warrant different verb forms. "Napolean had two wives" translates as "Napolean ebbe due mogli," while "I had a weird experience when I was three" translates as "Avuto una esperienza strana quando avevo tre anni." All forms of "to have": Ebbe, avesti, avessi, avevo, ebbero, ho, avete, abbiamo, etc. etc. It's pretty amazing. I see a lot of beauty in it, while those who are learning English are fascinated by the simplicity of our verb conjugations. " I had a cramp," "Napolean had two wives," "I had a coffee this morning." We're lucky! 

Well, I think this will be a lazy Sunday. I slept until 11:30, and just ate a massive lunch: 1. Lasagna with spinach, 2. Salad, 3. Pork, 4. Fresh bread, 5. Pineapple with honey. We always eat pineapples on Sunday, I find that funny. 

Ciao!

Zander