The End is Near…

pictures by Emily Waite

So, I guess this is the last post before I go back to America.

This is really hard to do.

Even though I have posted many different blogs entries on my time here, It won’t compare to the experiences that I didn’t even write on this blog.

First of all, my experience here has been amazing.

I met so many awesome people (both American and Italian alike), ate GREAT food, and learned a lot about myself and who I want to be going through life (not exactly WHAT I want to be).

Even when the low points did come, the good experiences, the laughs and happiness that I experienced in this program, with the SYA students and staff have definitely overshadowed the bad parts (Trying to forget about them as I type this)

So what I want to do for this last blog post is not to reflect or an “overview” about my trips, my trials and tribulations, the higher points of this year and focus on the people that I have grown close to the most: us American kids.

Before even coming to Italy, I was excited to make friends with the American kids. I knew that even if I did not make a single Italian friend, I will still have amazing American friends. So, when I got my first friend request from Max (haha yay max!) I was so psyched, that when I got the “list” with everyone’s names I immediately started friend requesting.

I guess I did it a little too much because I am remembered at the girl “who friend requested EVERYONE” and also “the girl with the purple hair on her profile” (which is a different story altogether).

Anyway, after all these times and the months passed, I feel like these kids are like family to me in a way. Yes, we do bicker and bitch about one another but what family doesn’t do that?

And I feel closer to these students than I do my class in Indiana. I mean once I think about it….there about 600 students graduating this year, about half I know (elementary, middle school, throughout high school) and then about less then half (maybe even a quarter) of those students I know personally (in my classes in elementary, middle school and high school) and even then do I really even know them throughout all this time?

Yes, this isn’t fair because I am going to a school with 47 students so there will be definitely bonding time, but I feel like with these students I know people: their personalities, their behaviors, their pet-peeves…and the list can go on.

There is more between all of us here than we actually do know. I mean, we are the only class that gets to experience (5!) the teachers we have, the troubles and fun stuff that happens, and the events that occur in our lives.

I hope you guys feel the same way I do.

Vi Voglio Bene e Mi Mancerete

Maya

La Pausa di Pasqua 2011: Puglia

So, it has been basically I week since my spring break ended, and so now I am back to school**
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**Well I did this really early but haven’t go around to publishing it….so yeah
So I went to Puglia which is in Southern Italy with my friends (aka burn buddies) Max and Lindsay for the week of Easter.


We had a blast and definitely took in the culture there (Especially the weather) and it was truly an experience.
We did have some pitfalls especially with a certain tour guide in Trani who scammed us to give him 5 euros (donated by Max) and the fact that we had a total of almost a day of train travel (however it was super efficient there)…and also the fact that Lecce (my favorite city from the trip) did NOT have a H&M (but Bari did)…
and also the fact that I spoiled MANY episodes of Glee for Max (and alas he repeats I have ONLY seen the first FOUR episodes of the FIRST SEASON…which in my opinion is just a shame)
Anyway here are the pictures:

so we start out in Bari…we actually stayed in MOLA DI BARI which is about 20 minutes outside of Bari…but yeah…I think to conclude about Bari is that it is like the Naples of the South…which could be a good thing or a very bad thing…
So we also go to see this church in Bari in the citta vecchia part of the city…it was really nice…however we did not really see the city so I barley have any pics from this city…
So Trani was the first town we go to see and I really enjoyed it…I thought the place was kind of sketch at first but then It became really enjoyable…
This is the Duomo of the town, and as you can see it is a Romanesque building….I hate Romanesque but since the background is SUPER blue and the building is white, I can’t really hate it..because it looks so awesome.
so Puglia is definitely a fishing district and Trani is one of the many places where there are boats…and this was the first place I heard Pugliese (the dialect from this area) and all I have to say is WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
There was also a castle…(which is very common in this area) and we wanted to go in it, but Max refused to go into because he didn’t want to pay the 2 euro fee… this is also an area where the sky almost matches the sea…amazing
So the next day we headed out the Alberobello which is the middle of Puglia. They are famous for these trulli houses…at first I thought there would be a field of them (like the train ride there) but found out they are actually HOUSES and people live in them! Sweet…you can even rent on out….Spring Break 2012?
This is also the church of the town…really pretty…yeah I don’t have anything to say about this but how nice it is….
Now,  you may ask “What does Busta Rhymes have to do with Puglia” but I will tell you this man has everything to do with Puglia…our next destination was Lecce, the Florence of the South as I heard from many people….and Bust Rhymes was having a concert on Easter…we were thinking about going but did not know where they were having the concert and also did not want to pay the 25 euro fee.
So I found out there is a such thing as Leccese Baroque…and that is what makes up Lecce. Baroque EVERYTHING. and I l always love me some Baroque..so here are some sequences of pictures of Baroque* things in Lecce.  (*if some things aren’t baroque I apologize terribly on making you think it is baroque…I am assumer…)





Lecce was actually my favorite city of Puglia…people were nice and friendly and I definitely enjoyed myself…very young town (well always because of the university)
Do you see the town that is in the distance? You know after the sign, the car, the big tree on the left? Yep that is Ostuni…and yep we did walk up hill 45 minutes…it was absolutely lovely…hopefully you know it was sarcasm.
So this is the outskirts of Ostuni and it was a really cute town..reminds of those Greece towns I have seen on Mamma Mia! and The Sisterhood of Traveling pants…So here is a sequence of the town…I would say more but we didn’t really do anything…because we were wiped out from the climb.




So now I leave you with some leftover pictures of Lecce and sidewalk chalk art…which is lovely.


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so hopefully you enjoy this post, and I will have one out before I leave this place *tears* (not sarcastic)
A presto,
Maya