https://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?12557-Scribblings The largest classic literature discussion forum on the Internet. Read Write Teach Share. en Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:54:00 GMT vBulletin 10 https://www.online-literature.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg https://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?12557-Scribblings https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?4811-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:19:23 GMT Yep, I'm skipping again. :( I don't seem to be able to remain on LitNet for long each time I come back! Anyways, I'll be back here by the end of the month, or the beginning of April, hopefully.

I've just come back from a trip to Trento, in the north of Italy, which has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. Each place in Italy is more beautiful than the next! Trento is a little town surrounded by mountains. It's not far away from Riva del Garda, the largest lake in Italy, also cradled by the Alps.

There were about 15 of us there, students from the AFS program from all different parts of the world, and stationed in different parts of Italy normally; but for this week we did an exchange with Trento. Later on I'll be doing another exchange with Laspezia (also north but by the sea), while other exchange students in my area will be going to Sardegna, Sicily, Venice, etc.

We also were supposed to go one day to ski in the mountains, but it was actually too hot (STOP GLOBAL WARMING!!) so we ended up climbing up a bit of one of the mountains to an awesome view, and then going sledding and snowball fighting.

One day we went to Venice, about 3 hours from Trento, and very cool; and we even took a ride on the gondolas!


Anyways, once I get back from Laspezia, I hope to be back on LitNet. I leave Thursday - I've only been back in Lazio (the region where I live) for a few days, most of which I've spent sick with this influenza that's sweeping Italy! Oh well. The exchanges are very awesome, especially since it's great to get to know some of the other exchange students, and to learn about their cultures too: there must have been kids from 15 different countries in Trento alone, from Brazil, to China, Argentina, Denmark, Russia, Egypt, and many others!


And I want to thank all of your for your help in making a decision about changing host families. In the end, I did decide to change families, with advice from my natural family and after talking things over with the family here as well. I understand the philosophy of trying to stick it out, and that is usually my own mode of thinking; however, after "sticking it out" for almost six months and remaining with so many problems - and still being not all that happy as a general rule - we pretty much all decided that the best thing would be to change (which was absolutely terrifying for me). In the end it's all very definitely worked out for the very best. I love my new family!! I have a sister of my own age, and a 10-year-old brother, and even though I've stayed with them for only a few days in all, we already like each other a lot and get along really well. Hopefully it will continue bene!

See you all in a couple'a weeks! ]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?4811-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?4597-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:15:12 GMT A problem:

My host family here and I get along, generally. Certainly I'm not as nuts about them as I am about my family back in the United States. But 5 months after I became their new "figlia", I still fight with my mom about one thing or another several times a week. I'm not a very responsible person, and my casa here seems to have rules about everything, which I always end up forgetting, or generally doing something wrong. It's really tiring! Plus, I always feel like my mom is mad or disappointed in me about something/everything. She is always busy and tired, and I feel like apart from everything us I'm just another weight - she's a single mom taking care of now-three kids, a dog, and aging parents all on her own. When she doesn't have as much to do and is more relaxed, we get along; she has more patience and we can joke together. But the times when she's relaxed are pretty rare. In general, we're just very different personalities. And I still feel like this family laughs so rarely!

But, on the other hand, my family has done everything that they can for me, including inviting me along when they go out, taking me to other parts of the country which I doubt they would have visited otherwise, and I think generally trying, in their way, to make me feel at home. I've discussed this with my host mamma, and she's basically left it up to me. I know that a lot of the problem is me - that I can't remember the things that would make her not-mad at me, that I seem to tune people out after I think I know everything they're going to say and don't say when I don't understand; that basically I'm maybe not the sort of person who should have chosen to go on an exchange program.

So: do I tell them that I just don't think it's working - that I think it would be better off with another family, and take my chances with that, hoping that it will also make things easier for my mamma here - or do I stick it out and deal with things as they are? ]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?4597-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?4451-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Tue, 05 Feb 2008 10:25:03 GMT More to come soon, I hope! If you want to see them all, I've set up a site - http://afs.curcogito.com/

Albano Laziale and Arricia, the province between Albano and my school:



Lots of graffiti in Italy


And the group of exchange students in my area:



And our trip to Firenza (Florence)!





My favorite(I'm the one in the middle, not standing up straight,and this is Brunelleschi's Duomo):


Yay Italy! :banana: ]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?4451-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?4410-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:14:33 GMT I don't want to clutter up the forums with awful poems by putting all these up :p but if you'll have fun reading them, please enjoy! These are from the start of my exchange in September 2007.


A gradual dismemberment

First, the legs
When I can no longer walk to home
Or board a bus
Across wide seas –
The arms go with my family
My friends; useless here
Hugs lack strength.
Like me, they are ghosts
Memories
Their feeling fades away.
My head
Has spun from sloped shoulders
The mouth can’t talk
The brain won’t think
A fuzzy haze
Blots out the eyes
The ears hear jibberish.
No use;
They’re gone.
All that they’ve left is
An empty husk
Some skin, veins, bones
Some parched old dreams
Unwanted presence
Blown down by the wind.


English as une lingua dos

They mangle all the nounses
And mispel all the verbs
Use grams when it says ounces
Or forget some the words.
Tense had caused confusion
The passive is pass by
There’s no “cut” but “contusion”
They learned from CSI.
In short – to use a moral –
Conditions would less dead
If you left “fiore” less floral,
And taught sign language instead.


Cieco

I saw that in the darkest nights
The clouds still held their form
And grey-limned colored starless skies
Like lightning in the storm

I saw that in the deepest place
The walls reached toward the sun
And there was nothing deeper still
Just steps to be undone

I saw that in the saddest soul
There remained yet a poem
And that all hope is never gone
If it can still find home.


David

I see a triumph that I pity in your eyes;
You think you’ve beaten me?
Yes, I lie in shatters on the floor;
I have only been set free

The hammer that cracks my bones to dust
The chisel that splits my skin
The hands that tear me to a naked crust
For your dreams to live in

I see the triumph that illuminates your face
You prop me up on a stone
Yes, my voice is silenced in closed lips
I will never let you hear me groan.


The New-Age Teenager

We are the new age teenager
We’re looking for a change
We don’t like how you’ve done the world
We’d like to rearrange

There’s too much pain and broken things
Which no one wants to fix
Democracy has sprung out leaks
The ozone’s on the spritz

And duct tape’s just not doing it.
You can’t use the trash bin
To clean up all the pieces when
The sky is falling in.

The dust bunnies have hit the fan!
The landlord’s at the door
The walls are holes of disrepair
And it’s about to pour

We know that you were waiting
For the cleaners to arrive
It seems for now the service’s down
Hammer to save your lives!

This world is old and far too full
Each cousin wants a bed
They spend all their time fighting
While stepping over the dead

We can’t clean up the mess alone.
If we’re to hold the sky
We need someone to stand below
And teach us how to fly.

We are the new age teenager
We’ll inherit this earth
We ask of you only your wings
We’ll give your stars new birth.



Indian Giver

Old man white, why you come aroun’ here?
Why you laugh at our jokes, why you drink our beer
Why you look at us like you’ve got nothin’ to hide
Like we’re just wood with naught inside?
Why you want our clothes, why you tell our tales
Why you listen all voice of us but our wails
Why you tell your children about our past
‘Till we’re dead while livin’, and gone at last?
Old man white, why you see our face
Why you think that says all about our race –
Our stolen hearts, our faded years
Man white, can’t you see we’re still trailin’ our tears?


A Small Farewell

How do you pack yourself
Into a bag for a year?
What do you put inside:
Your dreams, your beliefs, your fears?
And when you zip it up
With neatly folded trust,
How do you know – when you return –
More will remain than dust?
I have only been set free.


And, a riddle:

I am so small
That when I grow
I take your breath away
I'm often benched
Or bitten;
Exploding me is okay

Used hard
Or hardly used at all
Ten minutes or a day
I might taste good
But don't eat me!
Who am I here portrayed?

:thumbs_up ]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?4410-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?4375-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:26:37 GMT To figure out why I'm posting this, see the entry below this. Enjoy! :D


Month no. 1 (sent at the beginning of October)

A bella! (Romana dialect for "hi!")

I was planning to send this on the 5th, that being the day I left and started out on all of this. However, my calendar-reading skills failed me and I didn't realize what day it was. Then I decided to write on the 6th, that being the day I arrived in Italy. I ended up going out with my brother and his friends and not getting back until 3:00 in the morning. The 7th I was out all day at a festival in a nearby town, and now it is the 8th, and I figure this is a perfect day to write, since it is the 1-month anniversary of absolutely nothing but the continuation of my procrastination skills.

Anyways, this should give you an idea of how busy the weekends are here. We have six days of school, so Saturday night is when everybody goes out. 3:00 isn't all that late to get back! But everybody sleeps in until 12 or even 1 or 2:00 the next morning. Sunday is the day for doing homework, although this weekend, there was a big festival in Marino - about 20 minutes by train from Albano Laziale, where I live - called Sacra Dell'Uva. "Uva" means grapes. Therefore it was a rather interesting festival, since you could get a 1.5 liter bottle of wine for just a few euros, and not quite everybody was sober. There are quite a lot of festivals in different provinces each weekend. Italians love to "fare in giro", just walk around and encounter friends, and these are a great place to do it.

Anyways, short history of Italian weekends over - I'm not quite sure what to say to sum up this month. It hasn't been an easy one. It's one of the loneliest things possible not to be able to speak the same language as everyone around you. And Italy from the inside is very different from the country you see as a tourist.

However, I have learned a lot in this time. It's like one of those reality shows where they pull people out of their comfort zones and stick them on a deserted island with nothing but perhaps a knife, and then tell them to survive. I feel very Darwinist right now! And the strange thing is that I think my experience would have changed very little had I gone to another country in the world. There are some things unique to each country, but real differences - language, culture, just having to adapt after being completely uprooted - stay the same. The hardest thing of all here for me is making friends, and that's the most important and possibly difficult thing in any new place.

I'm not quite sure what else to write here, since it's difficult to sum up the most turbulent and just different around-thirty days of my life in a few paragraphs - so, I'll give some basic observations of Rome and Italy in general. First of all, everything is old. Not only the ruins, although those are pretty impressive; I've been into Rome twice so far, and seen the Colosseum, Forum, President and Senate houses, and my personal favorite, the Fontana di Trevi. But even the buildings in which shops are housed have to be at least a couple centuries gone. America seems so young now! Italy really is very pretty. Although, I will never get used to seeing palm trees here. They're everywhere, even though the weather isn't all that much warmer than PA!

A couple other differences are the ages when you can do certain things. Here, there really is no drinking age. (No, I promise I haven't gotten drunk, but I'm having fun trying things out!) You can't drive a car until you're 18, but you can drive a "motorino" - a type of small motorcycle; Vespas are a type of these - when you're just 14. And I don't know what the age is at which you can buy cigarettes, but people who don't smoke are a worryingly rare exception; including teens. I would bet that at least ¾ of the kids in my school are addicted.

Segue into school . . . Italian schools are certainly different from those in America. Besides the extra day, classes end at 2:00 and the kids go home to have lunch. However, although this seems to compensate for the time on Saturday, there is no lunch hour, and no frees, only a 15 minute break halfway through the day. Classes are an hour each. Students always stay in the same rooms, and the teachers change. There are no computers or equipment aside from text books - which many people still don't have - and a blackboard. The teachers simply lecture and the students take notes. Italian ragazzi (boys and girls) can rattle off a lot more information than the average American teen, but there is not so much emphasis on understanding what you're learning. For instance, I'm having to retake Chemistry, since that's what the kids in my class are learning; and except for French, which I'm taking also with the 1st year students, as my class is in their third year, I can't really change subjects. Right now we just finished orbital diagrams and some naming of elements. But the teacher still hasn't given out periodic tables. Since there are no handouts except in Spanish class, who knows if she will!

As for subjects, I'm enrolled in a Liceo Linguistico, which is a language school. I'm taking Chemistry, History, Philosophy (my favorite), Letteratura (Literature - history of Italian poetry and writing; we're also reading Dante, which is pretty cool to do in Italian!), Latin (although I'm not quite sure what's going on with that, since we seem to be learning yet more history and not the language), Algebra 2, English ( :) ), Spanish (5 hours a week), Art (history), Phys Ed, and French (6 hours a week, since I'm getting French 1 and French 3 at the same time). Whew.

So, things are pretty busy here. I go to a karate class three times a week for two hours each time, and two times a week I have Italian lessons with the other AFS exchange students in the area, who are from America, Thailand, Hong Kong, Bolivia, and Berlin. While I'm not exactly having the time of my life, this is one of the most mind-blowing things I have ever done, and that's pretty valuable in itself.

Love and abbracci,
Sara ]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?4375-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?4373-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:19:41 GMT Hiya all, I am returned to the awesomeness that is LitNet - hopefully permanently this time! Things have been a bit crazy in Italy, what with a... Hiya all,

I am returned to the awesomeness that is LitNet - hopefully permanently this time! Things have been a bit crazy in Italy, what with a family that speaks no English, a me that speaks very little Italian, and all the work of trying to settle myself into a life that speaks no American (here, English and American are two different languages, and Italian very different from both :p ). But, in somma, I've managed to survive almost 5 months, and things have gotten a lot better and almost (possibly) normal?

So, for those of you who want to know some more about Italy, I have been sending out monthly emails to all my family and friends around the world while I've been here. Although I don't want to overload the blog with repasting all of these here (they're pretty long), I'm going to put up at least the 1st one, which has mostly information about the Italian schools. If you want to see the others - which talk about all sorts of stuff, including info from trips to other areas of Italy - or to be added to the monthly mail membership, just email me: ness.sara@gmail.com.

:wave: s to all from the red, white, and green,
Mir ]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?4373-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?615-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Sat, 07 Apr 2007 22:47:19 GMT So, if any of you have noticed, I haven't been around much lately . . . as AFS and next year gets closer, I'm doing a lot of preparing, especially in learning Italian. It's taking up a lot more of my time than I'd like. And still about all I can say is a few "the hat of my aunt bites your dog" phrases! :bawling: Imparando Italiano é difficule . . .

But, anyways, that's why I haven't been around as much lately. Hopefully when I've learned a bit more I can stop freaking out and concentrate on other things, i.e. Litnet, school, life. :p

Also - If anybody here would not mind doing me a huge favor for which they would gain many electronic hugs, I really need somebody to talk with or write to who speaks Italian. It's very hard to learn a language on your own! :alien: So if anyone does know la lingua, and has some spare time, please PM me? :( ]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?615-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?497-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Fri, 16 Mar 2007 22:21:18 GMT . . .Which, rather less misspelled, is where I'm going tomorrow. :p

Spring Break! The greatest invention of mankind. My grandparents are taking me to Costa Rica over it. Which should be very fun, especially as I might actually get to see my favorite bird, the quetzal.

Anyways, I'll be off LitNet for two weeks or so - I'll miss you all! And all other students (and teachers :) ) on break, have a great time. :thumbs_up

]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?497-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?420-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:46:23 GMT I'M GOING TO ITALY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just got the call from AFS, the exchange program I applied to several months ago. After a few setbacks, i have FINALLY GOTTEN ACCEPTED!!!!!! :goof: :eek2:

Thank you to everyone who helped me decide on this country! I'll be leaving sometime at the end of this summer, and I know I'm going to have a great time. Now - to go party! :D ]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?420-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?399-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:04:58 GMT For all those Latinlovers out there. :p For the slightly larger majority of the world, Happy Valentine's day!! :banana:

Actually, there is a less-known holiday celebrated today as well. For those of you who have ALSO spent their day playing Kingdom Hearts and shoveling the driveway - Happy Singles-Awareness Day!!! :D ]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?399-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?271-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Tue, 16 Jan 2007 16:11:16 GMT MARSHMALLOW FLUFF!!!!!! . . .hem. Yes, it is a wonderful thing indeed. :lol: MARSHMALLOW FLUFF!!!!!!

. . .hem. Yes, it is a wonderful thing indeed. :lol: ]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?271-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?192-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:55:22 GMT After two grueling months, it has risen from the imagination to become the STORY WITHOUT AN EDITOR!!!!!!! (bum-bum bum-bum bum-bum) He he he. ... After two grueling months, it has risen from the imagination to become the STORY WITHOUT AN EDITOR!!!!!!! (bum-bum bum-bum bum-bum)

He he he. Yes, my National Novel Writing Month story is, at long last, FINISHED!!! And freakily enough, because i didn't even plan for this, the dates on which the story starts and ends are the same days on which i began and ended writing. (the first date is actually a day off, because i began writing on Nov. 2 rather than the first as i should have, but still. :eek: )

Anyways, i would REALLY REALLY appreciate it if anyone would read this and maybe give some comments!! It took a lot of hard work, and since I now must begin the grueling process of editing, something i have never really done before, if you could give any help at all i would be forever grateful. Even just advice on how to edit! :p

The novel is too long to post on LitNet, but i did start a thread on it:
http://www.online-literature.com/for...ad.php?t=21274
And if anyone would like to read it, just PM me, or post here! Thank you, friends! :D

Oh, and, oo *looks at clock* HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D ]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?192-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?151-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Mon, 18 Dec 2006 23:10:49 GMT Well, i just (finally! :) ) got accepted into AFS, a worldwide student exchange program!!!!!!!! :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:... Well, i just (finally! :) ) got accepted into AFS, a worldwide student exchange program!!!!!!!! :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

besides the bananay happiness :D , I'm going to be gone for a whole year. They are letting me choose the country i want to visit. But, i have no idea where i want to go! :( I definitely want to go somewhere with a new language and culture different from that of the US, but besides that i'm totally open.

So, since i know LitNet has people from all over the world - does anyone have suggestions for places to spend a great high school junior year?? :)

Thanks, everybody! And i will not abandon LitNet while I'm gone, promise! ;) ]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?151-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?109-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Wed, 06 Dec 2006 19:03:44 GMT it's a little too far away to see, but i wanted to say that my new avy is a Quetzal bird - they live in Costa Rica for sure, and maybe in other places around South America and Mexico and such. they're beautiful birds, with enormously long green tail feathers, and the symbol of Guatemala.

it's my avatar because a) birds rock and b) they are rare, and i think they were overhunted for their tail feathers. And it's really sad how a lot of birds and animals are hunted and poached for sport, rather than need. so if anyone offers to sell you quetzal feathers, just say no! :p

OK rant over. but here is a closer picture of a quetzal:

]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?109-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?80-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow Fri, 01 Dec 2006 03:27:03 GMT NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH WILL BE OFFICIALLY OVER IN 1 HOUR AND 34 MINUTES!!!! whew! nothing like writing 50000 words in a month! :D NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH WILL BE OFFICIALLY OVER IN 1 HOUR AND 34 MINUTES!!!!

whew! nothing like writing 50000 words in a month! :D ]]> mir https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?80-Somewhere-over-the-rainbow