Wednesday, June 22, 2011

L'anno d'oro

Some photos from this week. The first one in Alberobello, a city made up of these little tinny traditional houses thats famous all over puglia. The second while Im at the beach with some friends playing with the volleyball.


I read this on another exchnge students blog and i felt like it really got down to some of the feelings that i think we will have in the next few months.

L'anno D'oro


Un anno è passato e ora sei sull'orlo di ritornare dove sarai circondato dal paradosso di tutto ma invece niente sarà lo stesso.

Fra poco abbraccerai controvoglia e, combattendo contre le lacrime, saluterai le persone che un giorno erano solo nomi su un foglio di carta
Per tornare dalle persone che hai abbracciate combattendo contro le lacrime al momento di salutarle
Prima di partire.

Lascerai i tuoi migliori amici per tornare dai tuoi migliori amici.
Ritornerai da dove vieni e tornerai a fare le stesse cose che facevi l'estate scorsa e tutte le altre estati prima.
Arriverai in città da questa stessa strada familiare, e anche se sono passati mesi, ti sembrerà appena ieri.
Quando entrerai nella tua vecchia stanza, tutte le emozioni ti attravversaranno mentre rifletterai su quanto la tua vita è cambiata e la persona che sei diventata.
All'improvviso capirai che le cose più importanti per te un anno fa non sembrano più così importanti oggi, e che le cose che ti importano di più ora, nessuno qui a casa le può veramente capire.

Chi chiamerai per primo ?
Che cosa farai del tuo primo fine settimana a casa coi tuoi amici ?
Dove lavorerai ?
Chi ci sarà alla festa sabato sera ?
Che cos'hanno fatto tutti questi ultimi mesi ?
Con chi parlerai ancora a scuola ?
Quanto tempo prima che le persone che facevano irruzione senza chiamare né bussare ti manchino ?

Allora inizi a capire quanto le cose sono cambiate, e capisci che la parte più difficile dell'essere un intercambista è di saper trovare l'equilibrio tra i due mondi completamente diversi in cui vivi ora, provando disperatamente di tenerti a tutto mentre cerci di capire quello che devi lasciare dietro di te.

Conosci il significato della vera amicizia.

Sai con chi sei ancora in contatto dopo un anno e chi ha un posto così importante nel tuo cuore.

Hai lasciato il tuo mondo per affrontare il mondo reale.

Hai avuto il cuore spezzato, ti sei innamorato, hai aiutato il tuo migliore amico a superare i suoi problemi, la depressione, lo stress, la morte ...

Hai acceso candele nella grotta e sei rimasto in piedi tutta la notte solo per parlare con un amico che ne aveva bisogno.

Ci sono stati dei momenti in cui ti sei sentito impotente essendo così lontano da casa mentre sapevi che la tua famiglia o i tuoi amici avevano tanto bisogno di te, e ci sono dei momenti in cui sai di aver fatto la differenza.

Fra poco te ne andrai.

Fra poco toglierai tutte le immagini, e metterai i tuoi panni nella valigia. Finite le ore a passeggiare senza fine. Lascierai i tuoi amici di cui gli indirizzi mail e numeri di telefono ti faranno piangere quest'estate, e magari anche i prossimi anni. Prenderai i tuoi ricordi e sogni e li metterai da parte per il momento, tenendoli per il tuo ritorno in questo mondo.

Fra poco arriverai a casa. Fra poco disfarai la valigia e cenerai con le tue famiglie. Andrai dal tuo migliore amico e non farete niente per ore, senza fine. Ritornerai dagli stessi amici di chi lei mail e chiamate telefoniche ti hanno fatto piangere durante l'anno. Tirerai fuori vecchi sogni e ricordi che avevi messo da parte quest'anno.

Fra poco andrai fino in fondo a cercare la forza e le convinzioni per aggiustarti al cambiamento e per stare vicino a tutti. E così, in un certo modo, troverai il tuo posto tra questi due mondi.

Sei pronto !

So in english;

The Golden Year

A year has passed and now you stand on the brink of returning to a world where you will be surrounded by the paradox of everything and yet nothing will be the same.

Soon, you will reluctantly give your hugs, fighting back the tears, say goodbye to the people who were once just names on a sheet of paper
to return to the people that you hugged and fought tears to say goodbye to before you ever left.

You will leave your best friends to return to your best friends.
You will return to where you came from and you'll return to doing the same things you did last summer and all the summers before.
You will arrive in town on that same familiar road, and even though months have passed it will seem like only yesterday.
When you step into your old bedroom, all your emotions will pass through you as you reflect on how much your life has changed and the person you have become.
You will suddenly understand that the things that were most important to you a year ago don't seem to matter so much anymore, and that the things you hold highest now, no one at home will completely understand.

Who will you call first?
What will you do your first weekend home with your friends?
Where are you going to work?
Who will be at the party saturday night?
What has everyone been up to in these past months?
Who from school will you still keep in touch with?
How long before you actually start missing people barging in without knocking or calling?

Then you start to realize how much things have changed, and you understand that the hardest part about being an exchange student is knowing how to find a balance between the two completely different worlds in which you now live, trying desperately to hold onto everything all the while, trying to figure out what you have to leave behind.

You know what true friendship means.

You know whom you have kept in touch with over the past year and whom you hold dearest in your heart.

You've left your world to deal with the real world.

You had your heart broken, you fell in love, you helped your best friend overcome their problems, depression, stress, death...

You lit candles at the grotto and stayed up all night just to talk to a friend in need.

There have been times when you felt helpless being so far away from home, knowing your family or your friends needed you, and there have been times when you know you have made a difference.

Soon you will leave

Soon you will take down your pictures and pack up your clothes. No more endless hours walking around aimlessly. You will leave your friends who's random e-mails and phone calls will make you laugh and cry this summer, and hopefully years to come. You will take your memories and dreams and put them away for now, saving them for when you return to this world.

Soon you'll arrive at home. Soon you'll unpack your bags and eat dinner with your family. You will go over to your best friends house and do nothing for hours on end. You will return to the same friends whose random e-mails and phone calls have brought you to laughter and tears this year. You will unpack old dreams and memories that have been put away this past year.

Soon you will dig deep inside to find the strength and conviction to adjust to change and still stay close to everyone. And somehow, in some way, you will find your place between these two worlds.

Are you ready?

3 comments:

  1. Thanks Kali. This made me cry before I even had my morning shower. All these things are true. CC would really relate to this, I think it's exactly what she was trying to explain to me when she went back to Norway.

    We love you and I can't wait to sit and reflect with you and to welcome you back home to a familiar world, filled with people who have loved you since the first day you came into the world. I'm so grateful that you have this new family in Italy and that you will carry them with you always. You embraced this year with true abandon and I know you got so much out of it. I'm so proud of you.

    I love you,
    Auntie Nina

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  2. Hi honey. I thought about the culture shift that you will have when you return, you will be glad to see your family and all your friends, but at the same time you will feel a loss for what you have left behind. Like your blog says, you will find a way to adjust to the shift and stay close to everyone. Your life is never going to be what it was when you left that day in September. You are a richer, more rounded, and compassionate young woman than you have ever been. I am so proud of the way that you have worked to get as much out of this exchange as possible. You are lovely and I can't wait to hear all about your trip in person and most of all to give you a big hug! Love you, mom.

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  3. You will find your place between these two worlds! I love that.

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