Kara's Packing Tips

• PACKING.
   Monday, the first day when everyone else was back at school, I woke up at 10:30 and started packing the day away. Not only packing, but I did a full-scale cleanout of my room. It's easy to believe because I am in fact a teenager that keeps her room a step above tornado mosh pit. As I was packing, I was army-rolling the clothing I wasn't taking in my drawers so I could fit more into them, as I was army-rolling them into my suitcase too. 

IF YOU ARE PACKING FOR EXCHANGE, READ THIS. THIS IS WHAT I AM DOING:

1. Plan accordingly to what will be the easiest during the flight and our Rome orientation. Wear your heavy garment on the plane, whether it is a coat, sweatshirt, jacket, sweater, or whatever it may be. It will save room in your suitcase and save some extra ounces, and you will be able to take it off during flight. AFS says to pack all that you would need for the Rome orientation (3 days and 2 nights) into a small bag (your carry on) because you will not be able to access your suitcase during the orientation. Since the Italians don't wear sweatpants or any sort of relaxation clothing, that is what I'm packing in my carry on for orientation. Just for organization and all of my clothing for school and such is in my actual suitcase. 
2. Pack things that you are able to missmatch (wear with other things). Don't pack "outfits", pack "pieces". Ladies, check out this guide if you don't know what I mean.
   
3. Instead of using plastic bags/grocery bags to pack things in, use bags that you would use there for activities. My carry on is actually my backpack. I am putting all of my undergarments in a pullstring bag, that I can also use for an overnight trip or a beach day. All of my host family's gifts are going into a larger bag that I can use for anything as well. With such limits that we have, you can't be wasteful with space and weight. Also, if you have smaller items (like make up, any sort of toiletries, pens, pencils, those small things), stick them within other things so they don't take up room themselves. Roll them in shirts, stick them in pants pockets, stuff socks/shoes with them, etc. 
4. Keep in mind that you will be washing the clothing you bring and buying clothes when you are over there, so don't freak out when you can't fit your closet into your suitcase. Just bring your absolute favorite things to wear so you aren't stuck with things that just take up space.
5. Limit the amount of shoes you bring, and bring them according to where you are going. My host family, for example, loves to go to the gym. So I am definitely bringing my nike sneakers instead of a pair of converse. If you're going to the North, you probably don't want to bring 8 pairs of sandals and flip flops, and no boots. Think ahead! 
6. Going off of "thinking ahead", look into what is appropriate to wear to your host school. I know my host school doesn't allow short shorts, which are really popular in the USA. I am going to Sicily, which it will be hot for most of the year, but I am not packing many really short shorts because I won't be able to wear them. 
7. DON'T BRING YOUR HAIR STRAIGHTENER/CURLING IRON. I actually was told this over the information call back a few weeks ago with a past AFSer. Apparently the voltage in the outlets there are much stronger than that of the USA's, so it causes your flat iron or curling iron to break. Wait and borrow one or just buy one there. (I'm not sure if the voltage in other countries are as different from Italy's as the US's are.)

things that I thought would be a good idea to bring:

• advil (some headache medicine)
• of course, outlet adapters! pack them in your carry on for the hotel!
• small umbrella (I am walking to school, so it will be fitting in my backpack)
• pens, pencils, and paper to write on (I'm taking 2 notebooks, 1 big and 1 small journal sized one)
• a book (I just bought "The Fault in our Stars" today for the plane)

Hope this has helped, my fellow exchange students!

deep-fried nostalgia and other fun stuff: trip to Pittsburgh.

Buongiorno i miei amici! É buona a parlare a voi nuovamente! Last time I promised a nice long entry because I was going to Pittsburgh. This is actually great because I have never been to Pittsburgh before, so I took more pictures than I have done on any other trip! 121, to be exact. 

Why Pittsburgh? Well, not only have I never been there before, but my mom actually went to Pitt for college (3 years until she went to Old Dominion). She wanted to show us around campus and where she used to hang out with her friends, and where she worked. 

If you aren't familiar with the University of Pittsburgh, it's just outside of the city in a suburb called Oakland, and shown below in the next picture is the only university building in America that is a skyscraper, called the Cathedral of Learning. The Cathedral of Learning is home to a lot of upperclassmen classes and offices, and there are different rooms that are dedicated to different countries. Of course, the classrooms were dedicated back before the 1950's so Yugoslavia has a room and all of that jazz, but I was able to find some really neat things.  

The Cathedral of Learning from a few blocks away. 

Looking back through the gate to the entryway, the gathering room was huge! 

 Hm. Wonder why I took a picture of this.

 How Harry Potter-esque can this place get?!

 The only room with a peephole big enough to stick a camera lense through: The Irish Room

 This room was actually open, but with no furniture. It was the Scottish room, and I have no idea who the picture is of...

 The doorway that I caught sight of heading out of the Scottish room: A freedom is a noble thing.

 I was tempted to go see if Sirius Black's face would pop up in the fireplace. 

 Oh and by the way, it was a BEAUTIFUL day. 

Next stop was my mom's college hangout, what she called "The O". It's supposed to be called The Original Hot Dog Shop, but who can say that whole phrase when it's full of drunk college kids. This place was open all hours of the day, and served everything it had to offer at all hours at decent prices. Plus, all of the signs and furniture haven't changed since my mom went there in the late 1980's. Not to mention, the pictures below are a SMALL order of fries. Let that blow through your mind a little while you scroll on down. 

 These are the college dorms that freshmen have to live in their first year. My mom (thinks) she lived in the middle tower. 

Now that we all got our serving of nostalgia (even though only one of the three of us actually went to Pitt), we headed back to the city to our hotel to drop the small bag of shirts we bought. I changed into mine because I felt lame not wearing any Pitt garb and going to a Pirates game.

WAIT I forgot to throw that in. Good thing we are segwaying right into that. 

As soon as we were done in the hotel, we were on our way to the other side of the river to the stadium. In Pittsburgh, they call what others know as the subway/metro/tube (if you're in the UK, if so thanks for actually reading this far) as the T. The T was not far at all, so we walked to it. I was expecting it to be packed on a game day in downtown Pittsburgh, but this is what we got when we walked down there.

This was only one side, but in total there were 6 people in the underground, including my mom, brother, and I. 

I'm going to try and condense this as much as I can for the sake of sanity and energy, so here's how it went. We got there super early and took a stroll through some parking lots, to get a shot of Heinz Field (where the Steelers [American Football team]) play and that ended up like this.

Ate some mini pierogis and deep fried pretzels at Jerome Bettis's Grille (Bettis was a linebacker for the Steelers at some point in time, and now has a restaurant right across the street from both stadiums.)

Packed Stadium for a game that the Pirates ended up losing pathetically. 

Really pretty buildings. The whole plaza was like this.

 This happened.

I ate the whole thing.

Annnnd then we went home. 

Exactly 2 weeks from today is the day I take off, plus I think I am packing more of my suitcase today. Wish me luck and sanity, ragazzi. 

Peace. love. Pasta.

Kara

19 days out.

Since I've been chillaxin' on my couch for the past 48 hours and still look like I was beat up in a back alley, I've had a lot of time to just think about what's about to go on. Currently, I have excelled to almost solid foods, like ground beef, eggplant, salad, crackers, and sliced potatoes. Today, like every other Monday, I am home alone. Know what that means? UNLIMITED INTERNET! That's right, kids. Why throw a wild party when the internet is always there for you?

As the title says, I'm only 19 days out from leaving for Italy. It's good to know that I'm spending most of those days sitting on my couch doing absolutely nothing with my life except blogging and keeping a facebook window open, just to complain about how much I hate facebook. My mind is a complicated place right now, taking account of everything that needs to be done, doing everything, and just being a completely paranoid android about anything my mind can find something that has the potential to go wrong. Plus when you're 19 days out, reality hits you harder than ever before. But in this case, reality starts to not make too much sense. It's been occurring to me all the stupid stuff I will miss when I'm gone for 10 months. Just for kicks and giggles, here's some.

1. Turkey Hill Iced Tea: If you're not from the northern part of the Eastern Seaboard, you have no idea what I'm talking about. Turkey Hill is a widespread gas station where I live, and they have their own iced tea, ice cream, milk products, etc. that they are known for. Turkey Hill is basically the iconic drink anywhere you go around here; kids carry them around in their backpacks, they're sold in every vending machine, grocery store, and cafeteria you can find, plus it's basically a ticket for kidney stones. But we are a-okay with that because it's 16 fluid ounces of pure happiness.
2. Walking to my first period class with headphones on: This one is even more lame than the last one. Last year, I had a long walk to my first period class from where the buses dropped us off, so I literally had a track I'd walk through the school to. My special track (brace yourself) was seriously, "The Imperial March" from Star Wars. Yes, you read that correctly. For 4 minutes every day, I was the biggest BA to walk those halls and no one else could tell. Instead of walking from the front to the back of the building now, I will be walking through town. I think I may need a little more than a 4 minute track to get there. 
3. Getting into debates in English class: My 9th grade English teacher and I had an awesome relationship, and any time she wanted our opinions on a book or topic, I'd love to express my own. I was known for going above and beyond on stuff, especially while studying Romeo and Juliet. A lot of times, we'd spend half a class period going on and on about our opinions of the book and they were some of my favorites, just getting so deeply involved into the book. 
4. The Solanco Fair: This is probably going to be the hardest for me. The Solanco Fair is a three-day fair in the middle week of September, along with a parade the first night of it. It's not a fair with rides and carnies, though. We display tractors, show cattle and every other farm animal imaginable, baking contests, knitting, quilting, sewing, crocheting displays, and not to mention my favorite part, the food. It was the only 3 days of the year that my dinners were of elephant ears (fried dough covered in cinnamon sugar), chocolate milkshakes, french fries, and snow cones. The parade is just local businesses throwing candy out and waving out of their work vehicles.The Solanco Fair is literally such a huge part of the culture here, kids get day passes so they can work there. We have the option in middle school to be shuttled from school straight to the fairgrounds. I'm literally leaving the week before and it may just as well kill me. I'm going to miss this more than probably all of my classmates combined.
5. The Drama Department: School musical and drama club are (a lot of the times) the reason for my existence in school. I LIVE for music, and I actually wrote a play myself over summer for the Drama club to perform next year. I have written plays previously for our Drama Club, and they turned out to be a success. Even though most of the people I don't like are part of the drama/music department, it's always the highlight of my school year. I'm working on being skyped in for the musical, so if you go to Solanco, please contact me if you're interested in sending me a video or skyping me in. (;
6. Past teachers: This is another one that I will have a horrible time with. It's such a close-knit school district that you can easily be in contact and meet up with the teachers who have influenced you. I've had so many teachers who have impacted me and inspired me over the years to be more than what is expected. Of course I have email, but nothing beats a hug from the people who mean the most in life. Basically, if you want to read the extended version of number 6, scroll down to my previous entry, "Inspirations of a 15 year-old world traveler". 
7. The ability to wear sweats to school: if you really want to upset a lazy teenager, just tell them that sweatpants aren't appropriate to wear to school. If you want to throw them into full-on crisis mode, tell them that they aren't allowed anywhere. In Italy, sweatpants are only acceptable when you're going to sleep in them, or stay at home where no one can see you. (I can feel all the teenagers internally screaming while they read this)
8. YOUTUBE.  YouTube is mainly the reason I'm beginning to not blog every other day. It's basically my television now, and since internet access isn't that great over in Italy, guess who won't be getting her daily dose of internet trolls anymore. 

This post took me 6 days to even finish because I was so lazy writing it. Most likely because I have barely left the house at all in the past week. My mouth has healed up basically just fine, I'm almost back to normal. Kids, I swear, eat a TON of pineapple the day before you go get your wisdom teeth out. It makes it so much quicker to be able to eat solid foods/eases the pain!! 

I'm actually heading out to Pittsburgh tomorrow night, so I promise that these entries will be A LOT more interesting! Arrivederci per ora, ragazzi! 

Inspirations of a 15-year-old world traveler.

Before even coming up with a topic for this entry, I spent a good hour typing nonsense that really wasn't that interesting. It wasn't until I started writing about people who have made an impact on me at any time in my life that I realized that it deserved it's own entry. Over the past 15, nearly 16 years, I have been blessed with people who have taught me so much about the world, about life, about myself, and brought out who I am today. I'm absolutely positive that every single one of these people have built me up to the opportunity I am embarking on in 25 days. I'm honored to write about every single one of these people and how they have changed my life, no matter how big or how small the impact, how short or how long they were in my life, or what their relationship was to me.

Mrs. Gagliardi: The woman who was my second mother. Thank you for being such a great voice in my life, a voice of comfort, humor, wisdom, and direction. For those who don't know, Mrs. Gagliardi was my middle school music teacher. I have never, ever encountered a woman who has had the power to captivate a group of kids into learning the way she did. We've all been through middle school, we all know how unmotivated kids are at that age (especially in today's world) to do enriching things in school, but she never took it as an answer to not have kids do well in her classes or in chorus. She brought out the bigger person in me and made me express myself through leadership, making my own decisions, and during school productions in drama or chorus concerts. For 2 whole years I ate my lunch in her classroom with my friends and companions, I cried so many times in that room, happy and sad tears, I've made friends, I've lost friends, I laughed, I loved, and most of all, I was able to spend all of that time with one of the most meaningful people in my life; Mrs. Gagliardi. Thank you for building me up to who I am today.

Joe Garrison: I've written about Joe in blog posts before. He is my youth leader (the short guy who was in charge of a bunch of teenagers in Nashville, remember?) and sadly, he is leaving in a literal matter of days to move to Massachusetts to finish his schooling, and most likely will be a pastor with his own church at the end of it. I started out going to youth group at the church he worked at nearly 4 years ago when I was in the 6th grade with a friend I had made in elementary school. At first, it was just a way to hang out with my friends a night or two every week. As I got older and started to become more involved in youth group and my faith, I realized how much Joe has impacted me in growing up. You can see it in the faces of everyone at church and all the kids in youth group how much they love him. He's a person that you look at and wonder how it's even possible for them to mean so much to such a HUGE group of people. So Josephine, if you're reading this, thank you for helping shape me into the person I am today. I really didn't go to church that much in my early years, and I also had a parent that didn't go to church at all. Thanks for "planting the seeds" in my faith, as we've talked about so much the past few months. I honestly don't know where I'd be sometimes in my faith if it wasn't from studying with you. Congratulations to you and Ashley, and I hope you have a wonderful time up in Massachusetts starting fresh up there. It's gonna be weird to come back and not have you screaming my name at me as I get out of my car and walk into the church. But hey, everyone comes back after a while. Arrivederci, my brotha.

Literally the closest thing to a picture of him and I that exists.

Mr. Novakoski: (Mr. Nova was my 8th grade algebra teacher) Oh my goodness, you are one of the most unique people I have ever encountered. Eighth grade was my favorite year of my life (so far) because of so many different reasons, and of course, it isn't a shock that you were one of them. I'll be honest with you, I hate math to a degree so high that there is nothing that could ever make me change my mind, but being in your period two "power row" made it so much more fun than any other teacher has ever made it. Not only did you completely prepare me for high school and enlighten my 8:54 to 9:31 time slot 5 times a week, but you also were my "Brother of Rock" in a rock band. (Uh, yes. He's just that cool). It was an honor to jam with you on numerous occasions, and even get to sing your song. Thank you for not being normal. Because normal is just weird. Prepare yourself, because sometime in the next 20 years or so, I will have a wedding that you will be DJ'ing. Oh, and by the way, I've been meaning to tell you. I will be spreading the NovaMagic hands internationally this year. (: Keep the munchkin parade under control!

Tawn Battiste (or Mrs. B, whatever is more suitable): When I was in the fifth grade, we started switching classes to get us prepared for middle school the following year. Even though I was not in Mrs. B's homeroom class, I was in her English class first thing every morning. Of course I am able to say how she made learning fun and was absolutely hysterical, plus was one of the nicest people I have ever met. All of which is 120% true, but I am still friends with her to this day. Most elementary age teachers sorta move on once you're out of their class, at least to me they do. Mrs. Battiste has stayed active in my life, inviting me over to do RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) days to make cake pops, pool sitting for us when we lived at our old house, and just being the definition of a caring, hospitable person. I remember when I was in her class and for a "my role model" writing, I wrote about Rosa Parks (don't ask me, I still don't know why to this day). But now, I'm pretty sure I could write it about her. She is always there, and always will be there; to have a person that you just know will do that for you is a blessing in itself! Thank you, Mrs. Battiste, for all that you do and have done for my family and I!

Rebecca Hess: Mrs. Hess, or as I know her as Miss Becky, is the founder of the community choir(s) that I mention from time to time on entries. She started the first choir, originally Southern Lancaster County Children's Choir that is now called the "Solfege Singers", when I was in the fifth grade and I joined it the first year. Fast forward to now, five years later, and there are now two choirs, Solfege and an adult choir called "Crescendo", that I would be a part of if I wasn't going to Italy. I've never really touched on this with her before, so here it goes. I honestly can not thank you enough for bringing such awesome things out of the past 5 years; some of the best friends I've ever had, my love for music, and sharing memories that I still laugh about and think about to this day. Solfege is the only thing I can think of that honestly saw me through all the stages of my life. I went in as this awkward child, not really knowing what to do with herself or what to expect of her future, to the future pastry chef that loved 70's bands, to the marine biologist who's closet was basically plaid shirts and nothing else, to the motivated and multitasking person that never really shut up around her friends, the girl who managed to get sick at every concert that ever was, the girl who laughed at her own jokes (and still does to this day), and now, to the girl who is going somewhere in life, but doesn't really know where, but she knows it's good. You've watched me grow and motivated me throughout the last 5 years, and just being a darn good friend to me. I will forever and always be a hoarder of newspaper clippings and memories from this choir, and I will never not be a part of SLCCC. Like the song says, this shall be for music, even if no one else can hear it. No matter where you go in life, the people closest to you will always be with you in some way. The "broad road that stretches" is headed to Italy for me. 

Meemaw: This is probably the hardest one for me to write, yet the biggest one. Meemaw was what I called my grandmother on my mom's side. It's hard to believe that she has been gone for over eight months now, but I know that she is more proud than ever. You ask about impacts and life lessons that you have been taught in your life, and I'm pretty sure that Meemaw has taught me more indirect lessons of how to live than anyone else. Love unconditionally, live how you want to live, don't take no for an answer, do what you want when you want it and don't let anyone tell you otherwise, there's always a way to make someone happy, and take pleasure in the smallest things in life, she definitely lived her life to the fullest. Being her granddaughter was the biggest blessing I ever could have asked for and more. If you knew her and say that she didn't make you smile and be filled with warmth and joy, I'm pretty sure that you're lying. There wasn't a single person on the planet that she would turn away from, and to the day that she died she loved everyone. She lived the life. The life. The one that you read about in quotes and books and on tombstones. Even though this is a temporary home for all of us, she made it the best it could be for her. That's the kind of thing that makes you wonder why so many people are unhappy with what they have, and why they can't just enjoy what life has given them. Meemaw, thank you for being you. There's really no better way to put it. 

Anyone pictured above. No matter if we are still close, plain ol' companions, just met, haven't spoken in months, or aren't even friends anymore, I was happy with you in the picture. Thank you for making me smile.


Thank you.

Pain and Misery (figuratively and literally)

Ciao ragazzi! It's been some crazy two days. Yesterday was my visa appointment, and today I got my wisdom teeth out. I'm pretty sure they were both equally painful. I am Kara Richards, whose alter ego is definitely the Godfather right now, and this is my story.

In ovest Filadelfia, nato e cresciuto....

Kudos to you if you can figure out what that caption means without using google translate. But anyways, let's start at the very beginning (a very good place to start).

I woke up dazed and confused at 5:30, and I got out of bed right away. This was the first time I used my school alarm since June 6th, and probably the last time I will use it until August of 2014. Useless added detail. Anyways, I hauled myself out of bed and put on the outfit I got especially for Italy, because my mom started getting scared that I didn't have enough nice-ish clothing that I was told I would wear a lot. It was all from Old Navy and probably had a total of 30 dollars, so it's all good. So we hit the road around 6:30, and we were cruising. The only bump in the road was stopping at a Wawa pumped to get a sandwich but they didn't have any. WHAT WAS UP WITH THAT, WAWA?! 

As always, no matter what time of day it is, we hit traffic entering the city. There was an off ramp clogged up so it was very stop-and-go, but still not that bad as it wasn't even 8 o'clock yet. We were almost hit by a tire. A tire? How the crap does that happen? Well my italicized friend, when we had to break to a (sorta) abrupt stop, someone lost a tire. We were on the far right lane with me in the passenger's seat, and it zoomed by us, narrowly missing our rear-view mirror and going very, very fast. When traffic started moving again, the tire was all the way in the far left lane, and behind us a tractor trailer pulled over, the definite source of the tire. And that, friends, is the story of the runaway tire that could of wrecked our car.

We arrived to the Consulate a little after 8 and we didn't realize how close it was to Independence Hall. We actually parked in the garage made for the Liberty Bell tourists. We walked 2 blocks to where the consulate was (with the overwhelming scent of sewage lingering the whole way). We walked in and signed in, then went outside because the building didn't have air conditioning and it was unbelievably nice outside.  

#selfie

We then headed up after watching the line of tourists trying to get into Independence Hall (I'm actually standing right beside the Congress Hall, connected to Independence Hall in the picture above). It was so close and I hadn't ever noticed it before. 

We got to the tenth floor where the visa office was located and there were 6 people waiting in the hallway. The office supposedly opened at 9 but it didn't open until 9:15, so we started late and the appointments just ran later and later. The woman working there was very intimidating. There were 3 or 4 appointments in front of us, and she was very frustrated with the first 2. It made me really anxious that it wouldn't go well, and to top that off, my dad was running late. He was stuck in traffic. 

My appointment was scheduled for 9:40, but since they had started late they were already behind. He walked in 3 minutes before they called me up to the woman. It was like a bank appointment, really. She was behind a wall of glass with a little hole for speaking and a slot underneath. We gave her all my visa papers and there were literally NO FLAWS with my appointment. She leafed through, stamped the date everywhere, and I was done. All of my worst fears were exterminated, and now we just have to wait for the visa to come in the mail within 3 weeks. (Note: in case you're unfamiliar with what a visa is, it's really just a stamp in your passport.)

By the time we left, we ran right into Katie (aka http://katiewantsapizzaitaly.blogspot.com) walking to her visa appointment. We kinda threw together a plan for me to hang out with her while she got her visa, so I stuck with her for the day. We went to the convenient gift shop literally connected to the consulate and got some lollipops and post cards. 

To make a very long story short, her appointment was scheduled for 11:20 and we didn't leave the office until 1 o'clock. It was a long wait. A very long wait. After getting out, we went straight to lunch at this amazing restaurant/cafe called Cosi (it has an italian accent over the I, I just don't feel like figuring out how to make them right now). It's like a fancier Panera Bread, and boy was it good. Not to mention it was the first thing I ate all day besides a lollipop. I got a flatbread shrimp sandwich and it was DELICIOUS. After eating we got caught in a rainstorm and were drenched the whole way home. We went back to Katie's house for 2 hours and then we ran to Lancaster where my mom works, and she picked me up. End of Philadelphia, day 1.

PICTURES.

 Independence Hall

 Consulate and the Congress Hall

 Hottiez

Wisdom Teeth don't make no sense.

Today was the day I had to get my wisdom teeth out. My dad picked my brother and I up and we were on our way to the place. I wasn't really nervous the week or so leading up to this, but I started getting really worried when I walked in. Plus watching the Steve Harvey show in the waiting room did not help the situation at all. I was taken back to the operating room that didn't really look like an operating room, and they sat me down. I had my blood pressure taken, and they put one of those oxygen things up my nose. That really started to scare me. I have never had surgery before, so I didn't know what to expect. They hooked me up to an IV, but before they did that, they couldn't get a vein in my arm so they put it through my left hand, which actually hurt a lot. It hurt even more when they actually started pumping the mysterious drug fluid through it. The last thing I recall doing before going to sleep is having another nurse come in and say that I was bringing the sunshine out (it was cloudy all day and suddenly got sunny) in an awesome Scottish accent. I asked her if she was from Scotland and of course she said yes, (stupid question anyways), and then she smiled at me, reached above me to turn the big light on, and that's all I remember. 

I woke up and I didn't even think they did the surgery. I thought I was being punk'd, because it felt like I was asleep for like, 3 minutes. I couldn't even tell anything was done to me until I tried to speak and walk, which nearly made me fall over. Plus I was very cold and covered in goose pimples. I was released within 10 minutes, and then this happened. 

It is sideways, but this is me telling the story you just heard in an illiterate fashion. I do mention the Godfather, David Tennant, and bad Chinese food. Don't ask me what some of the stuff is that I'm saying, because it's incoherent to me too. 

Now, I'm just sitting on my dad's couch, and all I've had to eat all day is 2 cups of applesauce, a glass of water, and a little thing of ice cream that I could barely eat. If someone can figure out a way to get some form of a bacon cheeseburger, large McDonald's fries, onion rings, a pulled pork sandwich, chili, and a burrito that I can eat, please tell me. These food commercials are so horribly tempting. 

Untiw den, fwiends. 

PS, I can't pronounce R's and L's yet. YAY.

It's freak out time.

Ciao ragazzi!

I honestly can't believe people besides friends and family read this blog. The flag counter on the side is waaaaay off, but it's still amazing to know that I've grazed the eyes of people from around the world. Thank you for my readers and all 5 of my followers.

This blog post will definitely be longer than my last link to a youtube video that I did as a buffer because I didn't feel like doing a complete entry. A lot has gone on and it's actually interesting, not to mention I will most likely get completely off topic and go on a tangent during this.

Dutch Wonderland

What is that, you ask? If you're not from Southern Pennsylvania or the surrounding areas you definitely don't know. Dutch Wonderland is in Strausburg, PA and it is a theme park just for little kids. It's made to be sort of like a midevil themed park with Pennsylvania dutch scattered here and there. It's literally on a highway and stretches all the way back to farmer's fields. I went with my mom's friend and his kids, as he has 4 and he is a single dad (when he has his kids).

I hadn't been to Dutch Wonderland probably since I was in second or third grade, so I remembered very few things. I think getting on a roller coaster, buying a personalized kettle corn bucket, and getting yelled at by Santa Claus when I was very little. Yes, that kind of stuff did happen to me. I got yelled at by Santa Claus. That's another story. 

Abby, Joe's oldest and only girl, who is also nearly the same age as my host sister will be.

Dutch Wonderland was very laid back, I did whatever the kids wanted to do and enjoyed being with them as they had fun, which made my experience fun. I did get a workout carrying kids all day and trying to keep headcounts going. 

2013 Speedwell Picnic

Yet another thing most of you are probably going "what the heck does Kara do with herself" about. If you follow this blog you'd know that I briefly mention the Speedwell from time to time. Speedwell is an ABSOLUTELY ASTONISHING scholarship given out to kids from my county and surrounding counties. 30 are given out each year, and they are full scholarships. Let's do a little math. 30 only THIS YEAR, multiplied by approximately $13,000 per kid. That's $390,000 for a whole bunch of motivated teenagers. This scholarship may not be lasting for too much longer because they are struggling to even get enough kids to sign up for it. There were only 36 this year. If you are in the Susquehanna Valley and are even REMOTELY, and I mean THE SLIGHTEST BIT INTERESTED, contact me by email: karaloveswhales@gmail.com. I will be MORE THAN HAPPY  to help and keep this scholarship alive. This is the only scholarship that I know of that pays the whole thing (airfare, lodging for orientations, etc.), and I've spoken to scholars world wide. This is an honest blessing and please, please, please, do not hesitate to contact me. I will be eager to help you and encourage you to my highest to embark on this once in a lifetime opportunity. 

The Speedwell Picnic is a yearly thing, and it's past returnees from the scholarship and the future goers (like me) that get together for basically a final meet-up and eat good food. Being all together, as it was said numerous times today, is just like a family reunion. The love we all have for each other because we are all in the same class is phenomenal to experience. 

Started from (not really the bottom) now we here. You can see me in my bad taste in clothing and goodwill shoes here. To the right in the coral skirt is Katie, aka http://katiewantsapizzaitaly.blogspot.com, and to the left are 2 others going to Italy, Lauren in the black dress and Brystal in the pinkish one. (http://stunningtravelsabroad.blogspot.com)

Now for the inner Oscar-thank-you-speech that has been waiting to burst out for months. 

Jenny and Mike Messner are my saving graces in my life. Jenny and Mike are the couple who fund the Speedwell Scholarship, and just seeing how excited they were to be giving 30 of us the opportunity to go abroad was making this experience all the more better. Without them, I don't know where I'd be. Going abroad with AFS has brought a whole new happiness to my life. Being an exchange student was originally a thing that I thought I never had a chance. My parents basically told me that if I found a way to do it and did the work for it, I could do it and they'd support me. Fast-forward 9 months and in exactly a month I will be an insomniac teenager in a NYC hotel, waiting to take off for Zurich, Switzerland the next day. The Messners taught me that if you can dream it, you can do it. For that, I can never thank them enough.

On the not-so-sappy part of this post, I met a girl named Taylor who went to Italy last year, at the same age that I'm going. She lived in Sicily as well, and gave me so many helpful things. She visited Catania while she was there, and said it was literally one of the best times she had over there, and that it was her favorite town in all of Sicily. According to her, she said that the AFS chapter of Catania is one of the best there, and they do a lot of traveling. You have no idea how pumped that makes me for this trip. 

So now we are nearing the twenties in the countdown to my departure, I am finally getting an idea of what to pack, and Britain has a new Doctor. Life literally can not get any better right now. 

Ciao ragazzi, e stai buono. 

So INTENSE.

Ciao ragazzi!

Not much going on the past few days. Next week on Wednesday I will be going to Philadelphia to get my Visa (hopefully) and Thursday, my jerkface wisdom teeth are coming out. I don't know which one will be more painful.

Anyways, besides the intensity of those two upcoming days, check out this video I found of a fireworks show in honor of one of the Saints (Saint'Agata, I believe) that will be on February 3rd. This is intense.


It's like the soundtrack to a scifi movie put with a bunch of explosions....wait. It basically is the normal skeleton of a stereotypical Sci Fi flick.

36 days. Barely.

wut.