February 6 2017

Wow, it's been a while since my last post. I had some computer issues for a few days, but it's all cleared up now. It's been a relatively chill week but I'll catch us up.

 The other day when I came home from school, Giogio called out to me that she was cleaning the upstairs balcony. We really only use the upstairs for parties, so it's easy to forget about it, and the view surprises me every time! This is to the left of the balcony.

The center view.

To the right.

My host dad has been off in a foreign city (It's hard to keep track and remember where he is), for a while. When it's just me and Giogio, we eat much healthier and lighter. This is one of my favorite meals; salad and fresh mozzarella. 

Fresh fish from Marina. I'm still usually not trusted to clean my own fish, and they are probably right.

After rugby practice Friday we went to eat at the rugby club! It was such a different experience to actually have a space for the team to hang out. My team back in Minneapolis barely has a field to practice on much less a cool club house.

The team with homemade pizza!

This week has been beautiful and sunny, and on the walk home everyones laundry was out to dry.

Saturday night was Mati's diciotessimo!

Sunday, I woke up bright and early to go with the rugby team to Caltanissetta (about two and a half hours away by bus) for a rugby tournament. The views out the window were amazing.

I wasn't able to play because they have to send my paperwork to Rome. 

Orsola, one of the heads of rotary in Sicily lives in Caltanissetta and came to see me at the game. 

I've been having a lot of interesting conversations with Giogio and other people in Ragusa about the immigration to Sicily. Everyday boat loads of people arrive, escaping from war. Italy has been doing a lot to help; rescuing people and setting them up in hotels and providing money for them to live. The problem is that at the same time Italy has been dealing with earthquakes, the job market is terrible (Most young people, especially in Sicily, have to leave Italy to find work) and there is a lot of negative feelings.

The overall view is that rescuing the immigrants is the right thing to do, but there is a lot of fear. People fear that there isn't a good way to monitor who is arriving, and that it's not only victims of war but also criminals trying to escape punishment arriving. It's also thought that the immigrants will be given black market jobs or will be payed under-table instead of Italians.

One the first things I was confused about when I arrived in Ragusa was the intense amount of diversity in the streets but the stark lack of diversity in the schools. Because there are no jobs, most of the immigrants survive off of the food and money given to them by the government, but of course many Italians see this as lazy. For reasons I have yet to understand it doesn't seem that the young people go to school, so as a result they spend most of their time walking around the streets. The assumption and stereotypes (which as always are based off of some truth) is that because the people have nothing to do they get high and drunk, pester for money, steal, and are overall dangerous.

I clearly don't have all the information or alternate solutions, so I am simply saying what I see. Italy is doing so much more than the U.S for the immigrants, and the as a country we should really pick up the slack. However on a very simple, day to day level, for a culture that constantly brags about its welcoming and warm embrace, there is very little integration and a lot of prejudice. 

January 31 2016

This weekend has been all about Anna's Birthday! At midnight of Thursday (The first minute of the 27th) Anna's friends surprised her by sneaking into the house with cake. Dorottya had casually suggested that the two of them watch a movie before going to bed. 

Friday was the second night of celebration. Dodi, Anna, and I getting ready for Anna's 18simo! .

At the party.

The party started at 10 (Meaning that as the host Anna showed up at 10:15, and everyone else around 10:45), so instead of a dinner there were a million types of desserts including cakes and cannoli.

Saturday I was able to sleep in, and then Davide (who had flow in for Anna's party), Giogio and I went down to Marina di Ragusa to run some errands. The view of the ocean!

Since we were at Marina we stopped at a nice sea food restaurant for lunch. This was the appetizer! 

It was mussels covered by bread for dipping! (My camera got fogged up from the steam).

For night number three of celebration, we went to Anna's Uncles house (Bruno had flown in that afternoon!). The house is on the hill across from the Ragusa, so the view is amazing. The photo doesn't do it justice at all. If my camera was able to capture everything, looking farther into the far left corner you would be able to see Ragusa Ibla continuing down the hill.

On Sunday my class took a school field trip to the top of mount Etna to play in the snow. It was really interesting talking to my classmates because a few of them had only ever seen snow from a distance. When we started getting closer to the top of the volcano/mountain, the snow made me feel like I had a small piece of home!

Everyone was so excited, and surprised by how exhausting it is to climb up a hill of snow.

So much open space!

The views from the top of the mountain were amazing! It was really nice to be able to have the opportunity to connect with a few classmates outside of school.

When we trekked our way to the top of the biggest hills I have ever climbed in my life, we sledded down on plastic bags, snow pants, and a few types of rental sleds. It was terrifying looking over the edge of the steep hills and pushing off the edge, but it was so much fun even when we spent most of the time flying out of the sleds and tumbling down.

Dance classes have been going well. Yesterday Mati and I came in half an hour early to go over the basic steps and I feel like I am slowly improving and catching up. 

Today was Dorottya's last day in Ragusa. Hopefully I'll make it to Budapest sometime soon. You never know!

January 26 2017

With Dorottya in town, and Giogio and Pino traveling I have been spending a lot of time downstairs with the family. I feel so fortunate to have found such an amazing family in Ragusa.

Luisa, Martina's mom, made a ricotta cake. So we crossed the street, to have cake and coffee. Not only does the family all live in the same building but many of the family friends live walking distance or just across the street!

I know, it looks like the same picture three times in a row, but it is different! This week I found out that there is another exchange student in Ragusa and the scientific school. Natasa (far right) is an AFS exchange student from Serbia, and moved to Ragusa six weeks ago after having problems in her first district. I was so surprised no one mentioned her to me until now.

Because Dorottya is in town I have someone to hang out with it, while everyone is studying. We took the typical walk down to Ibla.

We also explored a bit in the green space under the bridge. It was interesting after living my whole life in Ragusa on top of the bridge.

It reminds me a bit of the parks in Minneapolis, like Minnehaha park, but less taken care of with more erosion and trash.

New view of Ragusa. 

You may have already seen this on facebook, but Dorottya and I did a little photo shoot.

On a more general scale, school has been boring. My classmates are nearing the end of the quarter and have a lot of exams and oral tests. I do my best to stay productive even if I don't follow the lessons, but sometimes it is hard not to feel lazy.
 My after school activities have really picked up. I have rugby three times a week, and dance lessons twice a week. In both activities, I feel very out of my element and am always the most lost or have the least experience. It's a mental exercise in accepting the fact that I have a lot to learn, especially compared to everyone else. 

January 22 2017

Thursday I met Andrea at our favorite little tea shop. There were cookie samples!

I finally got my christmas package from my grandparents! My grandma sent me her collection of Pocket Stories, which she has just published! She also has a blog where she publishes her stories if anyone is interested in reading!
http://pocketstories-kcoskran.blogspot.it/ 

Friday was my third rugby practice. The ages of the girls range from 15 to 23. It's a seven's team so the game is much faster, and I think the girls generally have more experience than my teammates back at home. The practices have been difficult after over four months with out playing rugby. In addition to being physically difficult it has been hard to mentally catch up and find my place on the field.
 The most important thing is that the girls are super nice and welcoming. Every friday they eat together. This particular practice it was also the coach's birthday, so we had cake after practice (I know, a little counter productive).

Saturday, Dorottya from Hungary flew in early for Anna's birthday. Her and Anna did a direct, short exchange two years ago. Anna went to Hungary for a month, And Dorottya came to Sicily for a month.

We had sometime after picking up Dorottya from the airport so we went to Taormina because neither me or Dorottya had seen it before. It Is a beautiful little town on the hills by the ocean.

The main street.

Zio Aldo found a cat friend.

I though this arc was really pretty.

Taormina.

We went to the greek amphitheater. It is the second largest after the one in Siracusa. The view of the ocean was beautiful, but I thought the one in Siracusa was prettier.

After a chill afternoon Anna, Dorottya and I met up with friends for dinner. One of the interesting things about living in a small town in Sicily is that the groups of friends are very solid and close. In my opinion, in Minneapolis, people usually have a group of close friends, but because of the constant movement with in the schools and greater access to after school activities there are more off-shoot groups. Both situations have some pros and cons.

When people have only one group of very close friends, there is a lot more consistency and reliability. As a pro, groups in Ragusa rent out spaces to hang out in, kind of like a clubhouse (which is where we hung out last night). With a larger group each person pays about 10 euro a month. I don't think this would work as well in Minneapolis because the groups are much more fluid and there wouldn't be the same reliability. The con to have such solid groups of friends is that if there are problems or falling outs, there are not many options or places to go. After a life time of developing different groups, its really hard to integrate yourself into a new group. In Minneapolis, there is a lot more flexibility and opportunities to join different groups.

After coming home, Anna, Martina Dorottya and I all slept down stairs in Anna's apartment. This is a picture of what was laid out for breakfast. I grabbed granola from upstairs to mix with yogurt, but of course when you have access to pistacchio cream you have too eat some of that as well.  Even despite my best effort to stay active and eat healthy I have gained about ten pounds. 

While the U.S has been concentrated on the Inauguration, Italy has been anxiously watching a different event unfold. Italy has been experiencing many snowstorms, and to make matters worse, earthquakes. On the 19th an earthquake caused an avalanche that almost completely covered a mountain hotel, Hotel Rigopiano. From what I have pieced together from the news updates and the articles online, around 30 people were inside the hotel during the avalanche. Two men were outside, one trying to get medicine for his wife from the car, and were able to contact help. After two days of intense work (The only way rescue crews could arrive was on skis!) six people have been found dead, and eleven have been rescued, including all four children who were in the hotel. Around 23 people remain inside and contact has been made with at least a few. Everyone is still hoping for the best. Please send positive thoughts to Italy!

January 19 2017

On Friday the 13th my paternal host grandma passed away. We spent most of Sunday and Monday is Donna Lucata (near the ocean) with family.

The view from the cemetery. 

Even though it wasn't the best of reasons, it was great to have my host brothers home for another weekend. They found time to have fun.

Package from my grandparents!

Yesterday school was closed for icy roads. It seems a little ridiculous, but in reality the north and central of Sicily have been suffering really badly from legitimate snowstorms. We used the free morning to make pancakes with Zia Graziella and Anna.

When Silvia came for christmas she brought peanut butter and syrup!

After pancakes Giogio and I had to go back down to Marina to run some errands. It's crazy that running an errand involves beautiful views of the ocean.

We stopped at the house in Marina and collected some lemons and mandarines from the trees!

The view from the balcony of the beach house.