Wally's World... no no no, were going to Etnaland

      Today was soooooooooooo much fun. But first I'll explain yesterday. I woke up at 10 and had a meeting with my rotary counselor finally. We talked about insurance and other such things. He asked me my first impression of Siracusa, and the only thing I could think of is hot, but there are so many better things to say. After that I went back home and waited for Pier to get up cause he sleeps in late, but I'm not saying it's a bad thing cause I'de do the same thing in a heartbeat. Once he got up we had lunch (pranzo) and then Pier, Gianmarco, and I went to a huge soccer field out in the almost deserted part of town (or so it seems). I wasn't going to play in their match, but next time I've been invited to play, so I'm gonna go defensive like in gym class. They did the full hour and a half then we left and went back to the house for a while. At 8pm we went back to Gianmarco's house and met up with other people and all went out to a panineria. I had a sausage and pepper sandwich, but there was alot of stuff to choose from. After waiting forever for the food to be done (everything with cooking takes forever because it's all done fresh), we went to a gelateria then back to Gianmarco's house. Now something funny about Italian boys, they talk and talk and talk in Italian, but curse in English. I don't mind except for the fact that their English grammer is not good, so they don't use the curses correctly. So after singing 'Getting to Know You', I became teacher and help them out a bit. Well to say, now they know a bit more about Englishes bad side.
      Me and Pier got back to the house around 12 and hit the hay. We both woke up around 8:30am and left for a Sicilian water-park called Etnaland. Needless to say, it's less than 10 miles from Mt. Etna and has the regal mountain hovering right over it. I slept all the way there and woke up with a WOW finally being next to the mountain that on the new yesterday was erupting. We got into the park and found a spot to sit down, and I didn't bring my camera in for fear of theft and water, so go on google and you can find Etnaland. Now what, pray tell, is better than a wave-pool in a water-park. I'll tell you.... almost 1000 Italians in the same pool going crazy over outragious club music. This will be my video of the post, and would like to say that I was in this very pool and was in the middle of all the hustle and bustle. Afterwards we went on home and now I'm sitting here typing, so I'll see you later.... yes I mean you at your computer. CIAO!

A Parden for a Friend

On my post that talked about going swimming and riding on a Catamaran, I forgot to mention a new friend named Giovanni. He is actually a friend of Valerio's and Francesca's, but I consider him one of mine also. He lives on the Mediterranean and we went to his house the day we went swimming. He is a good person and I will make sure to mention him in future posts where he is concerned. Preggo Giovanni :)

Easy-Peasy Lemon Squeasy

      One week down....easy-peasy lemon squeasy (super corny). It is sometimes hard to explain something that I want to say, but I always get it done. After one week I really do feel that I've improved much. For example, I can always understand what the people are talking about now, but just have to guess who they are talking about and when the subject changes using context clues. I can also reply in broken Italian, which is better than jsut saying 'ciao' and 'pizza'. We have an unspoken rule in the house to only use English when I or they have no idea how to say what we want to. I want to use most of this post to describe my host-father though.

       I couldn't of been paired with a better host-father for me. I will describe him first. He is about 5"5' or 5"6' with black and grey hair. Kind of rough feature I guess you would say. His proffession is that of a criminal lawyer who also deals in civil suits but only when he has to, cause he prefers criminal cases. The first thing that he said about his job was that when he is training new interns he shows them the part of 'A Few Good Men' where Tom Cruise really goes down on Jack Nicholson during the code-red trial. I happily did my impression of 'I eat breakfast 300 yards from 4000 Cubans who are trained to kill me.....'  and made everybody laugh. He went on to say that his father was regarded as one of the best criminal lawyers in Sicily, and vividly described a few of his best cases.

       The best part is not the amazing stories from an interesting job, but that he is an intellectual who is basically a living, breathing, encyclopedia of knowledge about everything from music to 3000 year old stone theaters. My favorite thing that happened so far was when we sat down and had a discussion about the English translation of the Divine Comedy and how it doesn't keep the same pentameter as the original old Italian translation. Also we did a critical analysis of the first paragraph and of the title of the work itself. Then he gave me the happy news that during school this year we will be going through all of Inferno word by word. He has written two books that can be bought online. The first is a book that's named 'La Parola all'Accusa'. This is about his cases in work and I hope to read it when my proficiency in Italian is a bit better. Same with his other book named 'Casi Miei'. This is about the different stories and legends that go along with living in Siracusa, which I'm sure I've only scratched the top of.

        The book he is working on now is a thriller full of suspense, passion, music, and murder. I will go no further as to not ruin the story for those who may read it, though you have to learn Italian first. I am looking forward very much to reading that, for if he writes as well as he talks, then it will be good.
         Now I want you go on google right now and type in 'Valerio Vancheri' and you can find alot of articles with him and links to buy his books.


         Now I'm sitting here with Pier and listening to My Chemical Romance and finishing this blog right about.......wait for it.......now, CIAO!

The Boys are Back in Town

      So yesterday I went to the Mediterranean Sea and swam and rode catamarans there all day. It was a really good time and I met friends of Valerio and Francesca. Afterwards is when me and Pier when out to hit the town. We rode on his motor-scooter and first went to a boy named Matteo's house. Now I will describe Matteo, but only people who know the kids at Oakcrest will get this. Take the cunning and crazy mind of David Poley who graduated 2 years ago, but is still in my opinion the most fun person I have met at Oakcrest, then I want you to take the sheer loudness and craziness our Schyller Da'Boss and then you have Matteo. He seems to be the leader of the gang and I've already pledged my help with his English class if he promises to only speak Italian around me. Then there is a boy named Lorenzo. He is basically Danny Matera in a nut-shell, except Lorenzo has a bit more common sense.

      Then after we told Matteo where to meet up we went to the house of a boy named Gianmarco who is a replica of Schyller. We told him where to go then we left and all met up at a pizza place. We got a table and ordered. I ordered a pizza that had prosciutto and arugala greens on it. That may sound expensive, but prosciutto is so common place here that is was one of the cheaper pizzas. We sat around and talked and Matteo had many questions for me about America. Some of them were about the schools in America and others were about drinking ages and things of that sort. Everyone in Siracusa thinks it's the neatest thing that I am allowed to drive at 16. They are only allowed to drive at 18. Matteo laughs a bit as he reminises about last week when he crashed his grandmothers car on a test drive of his. After the pizza of proscuitto and pizza that was kind of like a dessert came out that was sliced into 6 pieces and was stuffed with nuttella. That was really good, and afterwards we went on the scooters and Vespas and went around town and just basically hanging. They showed me the different parts of town and later on we all went our separate ways and went home. That was about at midnight which is normal here.

      Now I haven't really taken a moment to describe the town, but for any kids reading this.... I want you to get on your xbox and go onto multiplayer Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare. Go onto a level called Crossfire and walk around in it. This is exactly what my area looks like. The video I put up on this post will be of the level also. Now I don't want to get the wrong idea though. My area here is not a war-zone at all, and all the buildings are in one piece here, but the buildings are built exactly the same and the graffiti is in Italian instead of Arabic. Also none of the shops look bad like on the video-game.
      Today I also had my first cannoli. It was amazing and a bit different from the ones at home. Later today I am going with Francesca and Valerio to watch Valerio play water-polo. It was the sport of his youth and many of his friends went on to play on the Italian National Team. I'll be posting soon and make sure to look at the pictures on the side next to this blog. If you don't want to watch it as a slideshow, click one of the pictures and you will be taken to a page to look at them as a photo album. Ciao!

By the Sea

           With Mt. Etna on the horizon and the Ionian Sea two or three blocks away, Italia is living up to many expectations. I want to take a moment to describe the local swimming area. The area is commonly known as the Zen. It is a bar built on the side of a cliff which you have to walk down to on many stairs. Once you walk down I think it is about 5 euro to enter the bar and swimming area. Then you walk down another set of steps to the swimming area where you drop your stuff and climb down a set of rocks to the water. Now you have to be careful when going into the water because if you step the wrong way you will go in too fast and hit the rocks. Now I'm not an expert but I think that the rocks are a combination of chalk and limestone that when they are washed away by the local water they become sharp. So falling in almost assures a cut. Once you are in you walk to the edge of the rock underwater and jump in. The water is so clear that you can see 30 to 40 feet all the way to the bottom. As many of you know this is the complete opposite of New Jersey beaches. This is also ironic because a local export that is very close to us is a huge petrolium refinery. Now you swim out about 20 to 30 feet to a huge rock sticking out of the water. You then climb 15 to 20 feet up these sharp rocks and jump off. It doesn't look high from the ground, but it is, trust me. Then What I did was use a mask and snorkel and looked at all the wildlife underwater. Holding my nose and blowing every 10 feet I was able to make it all the way to the bottom.  A while later me and Alle spent a while looking for a local animal called 'Riche', which we know as a sea urchin. They live in the cracks of the rock and are hard to catch not because there fast, but because they are very sharp and have to be handled carefully. My finger with many cuts are evidence of that. After swimming you go and get a gratina which I described earlier.

           Two things I haven't said..... I have a maid. Her name is Ambi. She is very nice and comes every morning to clean the house and make all the beds and wash the clothes and so on and so on. She says she comes from a country close to Madegasgar. She is very nice and speaks English, so it is easy to talk to her. She brings her daughter who is about 4 or 5, but I don't remember her name. Second.... on top of going to Naples soon, in September we are all taking a holiday for two day in Venice. My goal is to ride a gondola, see St. Marks Cathedral, and buy a Carnivale Mask. I can't wait to see the city. Alessandro is leaving tonight for Milano to be part or a caneoing team that is representing Sicilia in a national caneoing tournament.
       Ill be sure to post again soon ciao.

Mamma Mia in Siracusa

Last night me and Alessandro spent about an hour and a half working on the song Mamma Mia by ABBA. I wrote the music and he helped with Saxophone writing. Here is what we came up with.

Paradiso in Sicilia

First what I have to say is that I completely condone the steriotype of Italian food being amazing. Everything here is fresh and tastes great. I will give an account of my first dinner.... Mrs. Vancheri cooks whole shrimp with heads and all (Gamberoni...and take that crumby old Red Lobster). That was finger-food and very good and was followed by a salad (insalata) with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. After that was an assorment of fruit that I have never heard of. My favorite was a fruit called Fichi d'India (Figs of India) which has the texture of a very soft apple but is much much sweeter. Also we had a fruit that looked like honey-dew but was also much sweeter. Afterwards we went to the ancient part of town called Ortigia which is a small island to the south of central Siracusa. There are three bridges to get to the island and we used il ponte vecchio. Now one thing I do have to say that the roads are very small, but easy enough to get around in. I rode on the back of a smaller harley davidson with the father to Ortigia. There we got gelato in the Piazze Duomo....and this is the best ice cream I have ever had... no joke.
      The mythical story of Siracusa beginnings go like this.... there was once a beautiful woman in Greece named Aretusa. One day she went down to the river to bathe and the river god, Alfeo, saw her there in her full splendor. He transformed into a young man trying to seduce her because he was so madly in love with her. She did not feel the same way right away, so she pleaded to Diana the Huntress (a Greek Goddess) to protect and conceal her, so Diana said yes and brought Aretusa all the way to Siracusa to protect her. She also transformed her into a beautiful natural fountain to further protect her. The water of the Fontana Aretusa run into the sea. So Alfeo searched through Greece, but could not find her. When he heard the news that she was transformed into a fountain he made the sacrifice of turning back into a river so that as a river his waters would eventually meet the waters della fontana di Aretusa and man and woman would be together as one. Now next to a fontana di Aretusa there is a statue that is Alfeo and Aretusa together inside of flowing water.
        The true story of Siracusa is much less romantic. A powerful Athenian came here when Athens was destroyed and founded the town.... thats about it, but there might be more, but I dont remember. Today I awoke and we went to the store to buy supplies for school. The children here are required to have 20 notebooks and 20 books of graphing paper because of all the work that is done. After that we went to the local cliffs for a swim in crystal clear blue water. There I tried a drink made of Almonds... kind of like a pina colada except of almonds. Did I mention a local product is Almonds and almost everything has a Almond flavor, but it's the best thing I've ever had. Now I am here listening to Alle (Alessandro) piano and sipping an Italian energy drink that is like a very weak Monster (oh how I miss Monster). I will post again soon. Ciao

Italians Play Ping-Pong Too

I did not sleep a wink on the plane, but it's alright. I arrived in Sicilia about 400pm there time and about 10am our time. When I went throught the Italian baggage check I met my family int he airport and we finally met. The ride home was good and full of questions. The father is very nice and understanding about the language barrier, but he knows English very well and I have found out that he studied in Ireland and England in his youth. The mother is very nice also. She does not know English as well, but we understand each other fine. The drive home was about 45 minutes and when we arrived in Siricusa it was very condensed, but very nice. We live on a flat in the penthouse of an apartment building and I have a great view of the Ionian Sea. I feel kind of bad because the younger brother gave his room to me.

       Dinner last night was pizza and it was very good. Mine had Italian ham on it. Later that night me and the two brother went out to a friend house and played ping-pong and poker till 1 in the morning and it was very fun. When we came home I went to bed and slept for 15 horus strait, but I thought that would happen because of not sleeping on the planes. For breakfast I had pasta (it was kind of lunch time though) and a fruit they call frutta d'India (like a cactus fruit) Now I am sittin on the computer writing to all you fine people, but i am about to get off. So I will write more of my adventure soon. Ciao

Mistakes on a Plane

My tickets arrived from UPS today (take a moment to breathe a sigh of relief) and there are so many things involved with the amount of travel I will be doing. I arrive at Philadelphia International Airport at 3:15 and say my goodbyes. Then I spend a good 20 minutes checking my bags in, but the trick is.... if there more than 50 pounds "you can be fined heavily by your assigned airline" (Sabrina the travel agent), so i have to make sure to avoid that. I'm checked in and I find my way to security where I get stripped and probed worse than an alien at Roswell. To any international friends reading this....welcome to American airports. After I'm beamed out of security with an A-OK, I wait..... and wait..... have a Starbucks vanilla latte.... and wait. My plane arrives and I'm whisked into the luxury of economy class seating. Now I'm clearly warned in my packets about keeping my ipod low and being courteous which is always a good idea to anyone reading this.  Eight hours fly by (get it!) and I arrive at the Charles de Gualle International Airport in Paris. This I am actually looking forward to, so no worries here. I spend an hour and a half lay-over there trying to read the French on the walls and think of how nice a language it is and how I should of payed more attention to Madame Scheaffer in French 1, then board my plane to Rome. Two hours go by and I get off of my plane and step our into the Cradle of Western Civilization that is Italia!!! I have a light meal and clutch my bags for dear life fending off the gypsies my grandfather warned me so adamantly about (too bad I couldn't bring a Hummer). During this time I take my luggage to customs where I will be asked a million time why I have so much Salt Water Taffy.... and I think back to a time when the security guard at Sydney International asked me the same thing and didn't believe that Salt Water Taffy could be used as a gift, but I got through. Once I am through customs I will board my next plane to Catania. This should be an easy flight, so I can't think of anything that may happen. Upon arrival my host family who I am very eager to meet will pick me up and we can enjoy a 50 mile car ride where we get to know each other all the way to my new house in Siracusa where I will be spending my next year.
           This is how I see my travels panning out. Now for the video.... can you guess which one I am?

Getting Ready

Ugh, packing for a year is ridiculous. It may sound hard, and I'm here to confirm that it is. You have to think about what you'll need in 3 months compared to just tomorrow. To get the full picture take a trip to another country for a year and find out. Anyway, my flight leaves at 6:25 pm this Saturday and I am bring 2 suitcases and 2 carry ons, that should be enough right? I just bought a new battery for my laptop today and i hope its here by Friday at least. I don't exactly know what to right about before i go, cause when i leave ill have much to talk about, but for now I'm just here. One thing that's weird is that people keep asking me," are you nervous? are you nervous? did he say no, he must of meant yes cause we only asked him twice if he's nervous." When i signed up for this back in November i thought the whole thing through and took every little thing into consideration so I wouldn't have second thoughts as the time got closer. Now in doing that i eliminated the chance to get nervous. So some things that i am looking forward to are the chance to be in an area where no one understands me and i have to learn Italian to survive. Does that sound strange? Well as i said I've thought about this alot. The food should be amazing. Anyway, i would like to say that rotary is one of the best organizations that i have come across and I can't wait to be part of their ranks later on in life. For example, i went to a weekend meeting to raise money and i contributed in the saving of over 10,000 lives.... i teared up. If you know me i don't get emotional over much. Well I will be putting up new posts in the future and I hope to get some good comments on this.

PS. Do you like my not so suttle Tolkien reference