20 Feb 2014
Dear Mom. And y'all.
I had planned on updating once a week on Sunday, but I was in Palermo last Sunday and then I got caught up in everyday life, so I apologize for being a bit behind. We spent last Friday-Sunday on a little "Mini-Tour" that Rotary organized, and I was able to see more of the west side of Sicily. One of the incredible things I got to see was Agrigento, the Valley of the Temples. It is quite an experience to be standing in front of Greek Temples! While I was talking to my friend Marlene (an Austrian exchange student) about how many pictures we take of everything, she said something interesting that I've been thinking about for a little while. She was telling me how she likes to have pictures of herself and people she cares about in her photos because you can find gorgeous pictures of any place on the internet, but how many pictures will you find of Carol Burton standing in front of a Greek Temple? I always hated being in the pictures, but it's been fun to look back through them and think "Hey! I was really there!"
Another interesting thing to think about came when I asked someone if he preferred the mountains or the ocean, because I get asked that question quite often here. He responded that it depends on who is there; he said he wouldn't want to go to a beach if he was by himself, but he would love to go with his friends and family. I've have been to many really neat places, and quite a few beaches too, but it really is the company that makes the difference. I think that's one thing Dad has always understood quite well. I was writing a paper for my Italian teacher about the book The Thief Lord because I had just finished reading it in Italian, and the main topic was about every child's dream of being an adult and how many adults wish they could go back to the simplicity of childhood. I think we've all been guilty of this one time or another, but I know it was an eye-opener a few weeks ago to realize that I turned 18 without even realizing it. Oh my heavens to Betsy, I'm old! Maybe it's just the sun lightening my hair, but I think I even found a couple white ones... Time passes so quickly. I officially booked my return flight last week and I will be home on June 28, just a little over 4 months away! That means I've been here for 6 months. How nutty!
Karyn, the Nero di Seppia didn't taste bad, but it was still disconcerting to be eating black spaghetti! I have been eating many things I normally don't eat (in a good and a bad way. Bad because I end up eating a lot of things I don't like, but good because there are some delicious foods that are only found here in Sicily, and I get to eat them!) Some of those things are gli arancini. Delicious! I might be a little fixated on them... I'm learning the conjunctive tenses and hypotheses in Italian, and it gives my English teacher (who is pretty much my Italian teacher) a pretty good laugh when she reads my work because most of my sentecnes and hypotheses are about how happy Americans would be if we had gli arancini in America. Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well at home and I love you all dearly!
Carolina
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You should learn to cook all of these amazing dishes. And good news, They sell arancini balls at Aldi (Where we shop every week). I liked them, but they are very small. Peter will buy you a couple of bags if you come visit us.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of filling do you like in yours? (My google search says they have many different fillings)
ReplyDeleteAlso, could you post the picture of Carol in front of the Greek temple? I want to see your cute white hairs:)
ReplyDeleteyes I want to see some pictures of you as well..and bravo for reading a whole book in italian!!
ReplyDelete