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Wednesday, January 21, 2004
This feels a little artificial. And if not artificial, then superficial. These feelings in regard to this entry. I don't know. I'm really tired at the moment.
I'm in this required overseas journalism course now, and as a part of this journalism course that you can take for cr/nc (or simply 0 units if you prefer), you must keep a journal of 'reflection.' That is, not only write about the things you do, but reflect on your feelings/reactions to these things. The nice part about this journal is that you can keep it in any format you want: e-mails to a friend, a hardcopy journal.. or.. in my case (not a suggested option, but it works equally well) a blog.
And in all honesty, this is good for me despite my apprehension about it. The instructor apparently will not read too much into the journal entries that we decide to "easily cut and paste/copy" into a concise book for him at the end of the semester, but it still feels like I'm forced to write in a new conscience despite this class not being worth anything literally toward my degree, and despite the instructor not caring about our grammar/content in these journals.
It was difficult-enough for me to overcome an awareness that an entire internet community had access to my thoughts/events-of-the-day via this blog/journal, and it becomes even more difficult when there's an awareness of people you personally know are reading the blog (Der - to name one), and even further more straining when now I subconsciously will be reminding myself that with these particular entries that I ought to keep-in-mind these onlookers.
So the whole thing seems rather futile to me, but, meh whatever, I'll still attempt to work around this and do my best. They'll still be my thoughts to some degree. Only they'll be more self-conscious thoughts - thoughts with practical omition and editing to an extent - and that makes me vulnerable since it could be argued that I do take a thorough consideration of everything I write in here as a result of these onlookers, but in reality, I'm just a normal person, and normal people are inconsistent. My thoughts in here are inconsistent. That's not to say my core values are always changing, but the way in which I look at these values and act as a response do have the tendency to change. I don't think inconsistency is a bad thing either. Someone ought to be inconsistent if they are truly a person who is seeking growth. God bless them if they're perfect and don't have the need to change (and that's not possible. When people tell you, "You're perfect just the way you are." It's a lie. But consider it a good thing that they say this, as you know they are truly only trying to look out for your best-interest, or what they feel would be most appropriate to tell you according to how you may respond at the time. If they were to respond to you in silence when you were doubting yourself, would anyone rather this response? Of course not. Best is the friend who is willing to guide you in the most peaceful way they know how to.), but I ask that God bless me as well, as I know I'm not even close to being perfect and always have room for growth in every aspect of my life.
I'll keep this entry short at the moment.
Ciao!
Rach
Monday, November 17, 2003
Wow -- I haven't wrote in here for too long. I've been incredibly busy. I'm not going to try to make up for all that I've missed posting in here (Rome, Cinque Terre, mountain retreat.. Italian soccer game - pazzo!!)
Abot what's coming up :
I'll be leaving to Greece this weekend.
I'm focusing on my Christmas planning now though. I have no idea what to expect with Greece, but I'm more concerned with my travelling during Christmas and what I'm going to do for -8 days- in Paris before I fly home. At first I was concerned, but now I'm actually getting really excited - planning this all on my own and such.. teaching myself french via websites.. haha.. though it's not going to help me probably. Oooh well.
that's alll for now... I need a nap or something :/
Ciao!
Rach
Monday, September 29, 2003
[IF]
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!
--Rudyard Kipling
I've started my intensive humanities, italian, and astronomy classes today.
That poem was at the end of the humanities syllabus and I kind of wish I had it for my grad. speech, but the passage I used at the end by Walt Whitman from Leaves of Grass was just as meaningful to me and I'm happy I used that.
I'm *really* going to enjoy this humanities class I think :)
Reading works by : Cunningham, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, Cicerco, Dante, More, Descartes, Moliere, Voltaire, Rousseau, Obsen, J.W. Goethe, F. Nietzsche, L. Pirandello, F. Kafka, and B. Russell
and better.. we go on field trips every week to one of the many amazing museums in Florence to actually research the works of these people. They want us to take away a "different experience than what we would have received if we had been taking humanities over in the U.S.." It's nice because our teacher isn't interested in knowing facts/dates about the philosophers themselves, but moreso about their ideas and our perspectives on them. A lot of thinking in this class. Our teachers are all italian speaknig english, so I hope there won't be too much of a language barrier in how well I learn. I don't think there will be.
And now I'm off to start reading a massive amount by tomorrow!
Ciao!
Rach
Monday, September 22, 2003
A letter I wrote to my aunt (a good overview of things around here - mom, I know you'd like to read all of this at least :P ) :
(edited a bit)
Hi :)
Thank you for your very gracious 'welcoming' me if I'd like to visit. I am definitely taking it into consideation now, though I am starting to lean toward staying in the Europe area the entire time. It is a wonderful opportunity to travel!! Haha. My italian teacher calls me "indeciso!" (indecisive) - for obvious reasons.
As far as your questions regarding travelling. Pepp. takes us on "educational field trips" in which they pay for transportation/meals/and housing entirely. Some of these field trips for this year include : San Gimigano, the city of the dead, Sienna, Orientto, Sicily, Pompey, Ireland, Buccine, and I believe the Island of Capris. There is also another "service project" which we are trying to plan. The University gives us a great deal of money for this (through a 1.5 million dollar gift/grant they received recently) and we are going to possibly use a bit of this money to take many of us to Croatia (sp?) to help with children in foster care. I think? I really am not sure about this at the time since it is in the baby-stages of planning. If you have any ideas of a wonderful place to visit *anywhere* on this side of the world which you feel might also be a good place to do a service project, I would be interested in your ideas as *we* are the ones who get to plan the entire trip/project and all ideas are being requested from us. There is also a spiritual retreat which I am planning on going to, and that is in another wonderful area, though I'm not sure where or when. All I know is that it's supposed to be "wonderful." And at the end of Christmas break I will be staying with an italian family for a little while. This is something new the program is doing to help is become further absorbed into the 'real'-italian'-culture. And also something new they're doing, which we're starting next week, the director of the program has found some italian college students around our age who hang out with us on various nights/events, and they will be taking us with them on little outtings at night so that we can meet their friends and hopefully make some italian friends of our own. :) It sounds like a great time to me. That starts next monday.
As far as travelling on our own goes : we do that on our own just about every weekend that we don't have an educational field trip of some sort. People just tell each other where they're going, small groups to different places are formed, and then we head out for the weekend and are required to be back at the villa at 9 p.m. (and if arriving later than 12 a.m. - they will call the police and report you missing!). This last weekend was interesting because it was the first time we were on our own trying to buy a train ticket. Everything worked out well. I learned something interesting today from my italian professor - apparently if you buy a ticket to one place, you can get off the train at any of the various stops and then get back on the same type of train again at a later time as long as the total travel time to the destination does not exceed 6 hours. That would have saved me money on this last trip had I known that. We went to Pisa, got off, and then later caught a similar train to Lucca. It was still a nice trip and relatively for low-cost to travel (I think I spent around 10 euros for the entire round trip). But then again, those places are very close to Florence.
This weekend I think I will be staying in Florence to go see all of the many museums. Apparently it's free saturday-sunday to enter any of the state-operated museums in Italy. Plus, I think I'm going to be needing the rest. The following weekend my plans are either to go to Germany or Chinquaterra. I'm kind of leaning toward Chinquaterra which is only a short distance from Florence (lovely beach-front area with scattered small towns we would be walking to - though I'm not sure I'm up for these 1 hr/2 hr. long-distance walks they're talking about.. haha.. but I've already been doing that a lot.. so who knows..)
Anyway. So that's life around here these days. :)
Ciao!
Rach
Sunday, September 21, 2003
Woke up bright and early this morning to catch breakfast and the caffe libertta (sp) - delicious food! Mmm.
Ran back to the house to catch the group leaving to Pisa.
Pisa was great. Small town with a tower, a beautifully built chapel, and some other building? The tower really is leaning. I took a picture 'pushing it back up.'
The group split up and one took the train to a nearby beach, and since I didn't have my bathing suit with me (and others didn't) - we decided to go to Lucca. Lucca is a very beautiful quaint town. It is surrounded by high walls which take the shape of a four leaf clover. Inside the walls are two beautiful chapels and a very nice area throughout the streets where tables are setup and random antiques are being sold. I really enjoyed it all.
Attempted to catch the train from Lucca to Florence, but missed it by 1 minute. We waited in the train station for the next train (45 minutes later) - and all turned out well!.. though we did miss 'sunday night welcome back dinner' at the house, but someone was nice enough to make us some plates and save a little but of food.
Tired. Classes start again tomorrow! Funny stories about my italian professor.. but that's later. G'night!
Ciao!
Rach
Saturday, September 20, 2003
Grape picking today in the hills of Tuscany!
A long day in the beginning. Very hot. Very glad I wore shorts. We each received a bottle of red wine produced at the vineyard - as their way of thanking us for our help. We're going back again on another field trip to see the white wine finally produced, and then another trip to pick olives. The trip was entertaining because I hung out with my coming-to-be good friends Andy and Cristin*.
Anyway. Good times at the vineyard. Awful awful bus rides to/from the vineyard - the roads were killer.
Later I went to get dinner with friends Ki* and Cait*. Once again we got lost. After walking and walking trying to find a particular restaurant - we finally got there - only to discover the place was completely booked with reservations. We ate at the restuarant next door and had a lovely meal. For me : wine, bread with vinegar and good oils, linguini pasta with mixed-in salmon, and then - for the main course (haha) - their speciality - pizza. I chose the mozarella, fresh tomatos, some sort of green leaves?, anchovies!.. (different), and... something else on it. It was wonderful but I definitely could not finish all of it. Then we walked back and got gelatto on the way. Mmm!
Tomorrow : Caffe Libertta then off to Pisa for a day trip. Pictures with Pisa.
night!
Ciao!
Rach
Monday, September 15, 2003
Intensive Italian class for the next two weeks - 7 hours a day.
Fun times ahead. :/
Then the rest of my classes will begin. They just want to give us a 'headstart' on becoming absorbed into the culture by learning a fair/good? amount of the italian language. That will definitely be helpful.
I say 'fun times' as-if I'm disappointed, but actually, I'm really excited. They're just probably going to be long days; however, the days will probably be shorter because we are going to go on little escursions into the main Florence area (which is only a few minutes away) during class. That will be great!
There are only nine people to each class, and I was placed in the beginning course after taking the crazy entrance exam.. haha.. but then again, mostly everyone was placed in the beginner's course (except those who had some previous background in taking any Italian over at Pepperdine). Having only 9 people to a class is nice because we each get a lot of time to practice saying the language out-loud, and it's easy to practice with each other, and everything is naturally more personable between students and then students and the professor. Our professor is visiting from the "Insitute of the Italian language" - located in Florence - and that's really nice to be getting some professional help from the experts.
That's all for now! I finally have the picture gallery up - that's definitely worth seeing some of the places they've taken us to during our orientation. Unfortunately I don't have pictures from many of the places (like Siene... and others I can't recall the names of) because I either forgot my camera (awful I know), or my batteries ran out on me.
G'night!
-- please pass this site on to anyone you think might be interested in knowing how my trip is going. I would appreciate it as I definitely don't have everyone's e-mail and I'm sure there are some people who would like it as well whom I've forgotten to give the website address to.
http://www.collegeoverseas.blogspot.com
and
http://www.geocities.com/collegeoverseas/
for the picture gallery
Ciao!
Rach
Pictures!!
A few of the many I've taken so-far.
Some aren't *the best* quality, but I have plenty of time to make up for that. And all are interesting. And all do not give any of the places justice for how they -really- looked up close. IOW : you would just need to visit these places sometime. hehe.
Enjoy. :)
Ciao!
Rach
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