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Made by yours truly.

Maybe if my feet weren't so big

I cause natural disasters.

Before I went on my trip to Italy, my team was having some team bonding time and we each shared something interesting about ourselves. This was soon after the earthquake in Costa Rica, and so I decided to share my theory on how natural disasters follow me when I travel. Here are the data:

Nicaragua 2005 - Earthquake (6.6) while I was there

Guatemala 2007 - Sinkhole kills 2 people

Peru 2007 - Earthquake (7.9) kills 330

Costa Rica 2009 - Earthquake (6.1) kills 15

I swear, it was kind of a joke at first, with my teammates asking me what type of natural disaster I would cause in Italy. Maybe Pompeii Part II? But no. It was decided that since Italy is on a fault line it would be more likely that I would cause and earthquake. Well oh well. Something to add to the proof:

Italy 2009 - Earthquake (6.3) kills 207

This is just plain freaky. I've been called a "prophet" by Jessica's friend, but I'm pretty sure I'm just plain cursed. And it only seems to happen in places where I travel to alone, without my family. They seem to cancel out my bad mojo. But I've kind of been hesitant to go anywhere now because who knows what could happen next... And of course my friends find it hysterical: When I announced that earthquakes follow in my wake, someone's response was, "Well maybe if your feet weren't so big..." Oh yeah, thanks for boosting my ego a whole bunch.

Peace. (I hope)
Ti amo Italia

"Your eyes are like the ocean: I want to dive into them!" (ASB ITALY 09)

Oh Rome. What can I say? I have extremely mixed feelings about my trip to Rome because I was oh-so-sick the entire time and stressed out. But you know what?! I loved every second of it. Let's do a *brief* recap.

The Vatican: I'm Roman Catholic. Not practicing very much, but Catholic nonetheless. And to be in our equivalent of Mecca was quite the experience. I received communion in the Basilica di San Pietro, saw and heard the Pope address the crowds in eight different languages, and even witnessed the wonders of the Sistine Chapel. It was a moving feeling to be connected to a religion that isn't quite your own, yet you call your own. I have never felt more Catholic in my life. My only regret: I was too chicken to go to confession. I think I would have to had a penance of a thousand Holy Marys considering the first thing I would have to say would be, "Forgive Father, for I have sinned. I have not been to confession in ten years."

DAAAAAHH pope

The Coliseo (Colosseum): Man, this thing is beautiful and I still have no idea how to spell its name! Unlike the Sistine Chapel which was a bit disappointing, the Colosseum's grandeur lived up to its name. Michael kept saying that he could hear the crowds yelling, that's how amazing it was. And to hear the stories about the things that went on in there, it was hard not to be impressed. But to walk to the lower level and see the "locker rooms" and inner-workings proved to be the most impressive. The intricacy astounded me, especially considering the weight of the rocks used. Poor, poor slaves.

Park Scholars in the Coliseo

And the outside :O

My team: What an AMAZING group of KIDS. haha. But seriously, some of the greatest people that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I thoroughly enjoyed their presence and gained a lot of perspective from all of their different backgrounds. I firmly believe that we couldn't have picked a better group of scholars. Or a goofier group. I swear, these folks were playing with nipple cups, dick rings, and everything in between. Some thought trees were pineapples, others claimed that they were serving Holy Meat to the people at the soup kitchen. I think that most of the pain I was in actually came from the amount of laughter in my daily life hanging around these goofballs! And there were no problems, as far as I could tell, between members by the end of it which made my job a little, ok a lot, easier.

The group, with Trevi Fountain in the background

Caritas (the soup kitchen): Wow. I have never volunteered for a more organized and dedicated organization. Carlo, the coordinator/manager, is so dedicated to the work he performs everyday and the volunteers are truly inspiring as well. And of course the food was much better than what I was served in elementary school, so there's that, too. But it was the "clients" who made the biggest impression. I learned so much from them: the racism between Italians and Romanians and between Italians and Africans, the life of an immigrant, surviving the streets in Rome, politics, education, you name it, they knew it. And one individual that will always stand out in my mind was Rocco. Rocco, the man who came in with the same jacket and shirt, but also with the same wild hair and gigantic smile. "ELENA!!!" he would always shout in an extreme Italian accent, always made my day. Although we had trouble communicating (I think there might have been a slight handicap of some sort) we could just sit at a table while he ate his food and enjoy each other's company. I could not think of a more rewarding experience than to witness the people that came into this place day after day. I even have a soft spot for the women in the red jacket who cussed everyone out :)

Alma, Me, and Rocco

Agencies: Well, one could see this aspect of the trip as a huge failure for me, or as a great step forward. I do not want to work for any of the agencies that we visited with (US Missions to the UN Agencies, World Food Programme, and Food and Agriculture Organization). The first, well to be honest, I still have no idea what they do or why they are needed. The second, a great organization, wonderful work, but I just have no interest in emergency food aid. My concentration is on solving chronic hunger issues through development projects, and that's just not their cup of tea. And of course FAO. Such a disappointment. I thought that since the WFP worked on emergency aid problems, that FAO would do more developmental programs. Not so. Basically all the FAO does is gather information, about EVERYTHING that has to do with crops and food, compiles it all together, finds out what's wrong, and then writes about it. No action, just a big fat book of facts and data that makes it look like we're not doing anything in the hunger front. And we're not! We're just writing books! I was so sad. And I even said to the lady, "So, these facts are great, but do you actually take any action to change them?" And she said, "No. We just influence people's opinions." LAME-O. I quickly lost interest in working with them. Too bad, because that would have been easy, living in Rome and finding facts. Oh well. There are much too many more important things to be doing with my time. Like actually FEEDING THE HUNGRY. I'm bitter, I know.

In the FAO with all the flags

Well, there's a little recap on some of the parts of the trip that stood out to me. Of course, there's a lot more to talk about: Trevi Fountain, that gay bar that we happened into, my sicknesses (I try to forget), Angelo's trattoria, seeing Katie (Yay!!), Italian parallel parking, and a whole bunch of other side notes. So ask me, and I'll share. Oh yeah, and I chopped off eight inches of my hair!

European haircuts!!

Peace.

Leavin'

Tomorrow's the big day!!! I'm off to Italy!!!

But here's what I have to tackle in the mean time: Tonight is study session in my room. I have a microbiology and biochemistry test tomorrow, back to back, 9 am and 10 am. Then I have to meet up at 11 am to go to the airport. I haven't quite determined my game-plan as to how I'm going to fight against jet-lag, but I'm pretty sure that I'll have a nice long time to sleep on the second plane ride from JFK to Rome (9 hours). I am worried that the trip won't be AMAZING, but then I remind myself that I'll be in Rome. Haha oh YEAH. Rain just can't ruin the Sistine Chapel, Colosseum, Pantheon... I think I'll survive. And be ready for thousands (no joke) of photos!

Our general itinerary, or rather the idea of the trip, is that we will be meeting with agencies during the morning (World Food Programme, Food & Agriculture Organization, US Missions for the UN) to learn about hunger policy issues, and then in the afternoon we will be working in a soup kitchen of sorts called Caritas. I'm not really sure what to expect from either aspect of the trip, but I know that I will walk away from this experience a lot more knowledgeable and well-versed in hunger issues and policies.

Well, maybe I'll have a chance to make an update when I get there, but if not...

PACE! (<-- Italian for PEACE!!)

I hate it

I hate the Internet. I hate that people can assume whatever they want to assume because they can't see what's going on on the other end. I hate that men are insecure. I hate liars. I hate when people think I lie. I don't lie. I hate when people are jealous of nothing. I hate crying so much my body hurts. I hate living in the middle of a life that I don't like. I hate being 21. I hate loving people who don't love me. I hate when people only think of themselves. I hate wanting and deserving everything and getting nothing. I hate pain. I hate that no one hugs me on a day-to-day basis. I hate not having a best friend here with me. I hate irrational people. I hate people who don't trust me. I hate when people think that I am bad or mean because there isn't a bad fiber in my body. I hate stubbornness. I hate wanting to be somewhere else every single second of my life. I hate being away from home. I hate nonsense. I hate being human and having emotions. I hate having my personal life affect my professional/educational life. I hate regret. I hate making mistakes. I hate being misunderstood. I hate having options. I hate that I'm afraid of stupid things. I hate responsibility. I hate any temperature outside other than 72 degrees Fahrenheit. I hate being cold when I'm inside. I hate canker sores. I hate losing things. I hate getting up early in the morning. I hate having so much to study and not having the least bit of interest. I hate cramming. I hate that I have no memory. I hate that I don't keep in touch with a lot of the people that I should keep in touch with. I hate having so many families that aren't even really related to me. I hate broken promises. I hate wishing for miracles. I hate pants that don't fit. I hate mayonnaise and sour cream. I hate not understanding something really important. I hate mood swings. I hate feeling empty. I hate feeling hungry. I hate being nervous or anxious. I hate stress. I hate disease and poverty and hunger. I hate feeling helpless. I hate pollution. I hate not being able to see the stars at night. I hate distractions. I hate death. I hate wondering why. I hate insecurities. I hate searching relentlessly. I hate being so frustrated that smoke literally comes out of my ears. I hate looking at beautiful things and be reminded of something sad. I hate dry skin. I hate confusion and uncertainty. I hate a lot of things.

I hate that I love my life.

What would Gandhi do?

I never could have possibly imagined the kind of semester that I am having this year. Sure, 19 credits seemed like plenty, but not like this. I have way too much on my plate, and I know saying no is something that I have a lot of trouble with. Especially when there are a lot of people counting on me. I say that I don't pine for CR, but to be honest I want that lifestyle back. For that matter, I just want any normal life back. Not going crazy worrying about information for tests that I will forget in a week because of my lack of memory. I thought that I was finding a balance... but maybe not.

Some news, I'm starting up two projects with rice! And that deserves five thousand exclamation points because it is really exciting for me, but I thought I would spare you the extra scrolling. The first is for my crop science lab, where I am observing the differences in growing rice at different depths and flooded versus non-flooded. Simple, yes, but I really have an interest in learning about growing rice since it is a staple food for 2/3 of the world's population. The second project is more of a research project about rice crops and nitrogen levels. My teacher took me to his "Rice File" and gave me so much literature on the topic that I am literally reading through things like the "Peace Corps Rice Manual, Sierra Leon" circa 1978 like it's the new Harry Potter installment. My World Population and Food Prospects class has also sparked a lot of new interest in my life and I have never wanted to go to Africa more than I do right now. My food science seem to be lacking in the enjoyment factor and that worries me. My interests are straying, to say the least. It's just too bad this is all happening so late in the game. But I am so excited about my rice!!

My birthday is coming up. The big one. I can do almost anything (still can't get a rental car, boo) after next Friday. Kind of crazy to think about.

And Italy. Ahh yes. Leaving the country once more. My spring break trip will be absolutely superb in Rome. We are hitting some road blocks with some of the agencies that we would like to meet with, but I think we will get a lot of information on how these governmental agencies are fighting hunger. And our service work at Caritas will of course be very rewarding, I already know. And I'll be in Italy! Mamma Mia!!

I also bought plane tickets to go back to Costa Rica in May. I found out my official start date for my internship and booked the tickets the same day. I'll have two full weeks, which seems like nothing but is a lot better than actually nothing. I'm hoping to get to Manuel Antonio since I never had the chance to see it. Of course I'll be going to La Casona, drink a couple Imperiales (maybe even a Pilsen...), and catch up with old friends. And I'll get to see my Tiquito...

And I'm also getting amazing cool new shoes...

Peace.