Water Guardians

       How many times a day do you turn on a tap? How many times a week do you buy a bottle of water? What about, how many times do you think, where is this water coming from? Have you ever asked yourself this question?

      Water has become a commodity. To such an extent that people are dying because they cannot afford to purchase water. Water corporations are making huge profit by buying water sources around the world without any consideration for the people this affects. This is called water privatization.
From cities in America, to entire countries in Africa, water corporations are taking away peoples basic human right to our most vital life source. In Ghana, taps turn on once a week inconsistently, so they must be kept on and whilst on the meter is running and they are being charged. In a small village in Africa, to young girls were at home whilst their mother was at work. Their shack caught fire and burnt with the two girls still inside. The neighbors said that they could not afford the water to put out the fire.
       Many of you will now be thinking how does this affect me? Well, 97% of the world's water is salt water so there's much less of it than you think. If that weren't a big enough problem, by bottling the water and sending it around the world, we are no longer allowing the water to continue its natural cycle. Purchasing a liter bottle of water costs on average $2.00, while a liter of water of the same or better quality from a tap costs only $0.0005. The companies selling us this bottled water such as; Coca-Cola (Dasani), Nestle (Perrier), Veolia, Suez and Bechtel are also responsible for selling people their own water at a price they can't afford. Three European water corporations are partnered with the World Bank, and together they relieve the debt of many less developed countries in exchange for complete rights over their water supplies.
      This is only the beginning of an incomprehensibly huge problem. Which is why we are spreading awareness and making a difference but we need your help. In countries that have kicked out these corporations, it wasn't done by the government, but by the people. You can help by spreading the message, and making a conscious effort not to buy bottled water or products sold by the previously mentioned companies, try to buy as locally sourced food as possible, buy a reusable water bottle, turn off your tap when you aren't using it and BECOME A WATER GUARDIAN OF THE 21ST CENTURY!!
Thank you so much for taking time to read this message, instead of watching your usual evening movie, why don't you watch this documentary which will explain more in depth the extent of this problem and will hopefully inspire you further.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKcf-RBHirw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3Ffc9uBAlU&list=PL2F48F357164DBD7E
WATER FOR LIFE NOT FOR PROFIT!!

A Small Comparison

      I’ve been living in Italy for the past seven months and have had the pleasure of becoming immersed in a whole new culture. My previous home, and my current home carry many differences; some of which have been easy to adjust to, while others have proven more difficult. My friends and I love to answer each others questions about this or that by just saying, “Well it’s Italy” and that is the simplest and truest answer we can give. 

     The most obvious difference from America to Italy is language. The Italian language is incredible to hear but not the easiest to pick up, at least not for me. I love listening to conversations just to see what I can make of it. Although, I'd say my skills are at conversational Italian by now, it is difficult as I'm not supposed to speak it in the home. There are so many rules and exceptions to those rules that make grammar a real pain; not unlike English though. Soon I will be starting to have conversation partners- where we spend some of the time speaking English to help them, and some of the time speaking Italian to help me. I do enjoy the language and will continue to use it and practice it when possible.

     Family holds such strong importance here, and they're so much closer than many families that I know back home. It is a principal that they hold very close to their being. Grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, and parents. They see each other often and cherish that time. They're big and loud and are not very much different to my family when we are all together. Another thing I love about them it they help one another out no matter the situation, no questions asked.

     I find it interesting to look around and see all the immense structures around me that took years of hard work, and I wonder if they're all tired out from those centuries of labor so they now have become languid. Even the moms here complain of the slow pace that many working Italians get things done. Nothing you can say or do, will make them want to work at a quicker pace or get things done on time. Once, our internet broke and they promised it would be fixed within the next two days, when it was not, Mavi called and was upset with them, they said another three days and it will be fixed.. And so it goes.. If you have a problem in a restaurant, many waiters I have seen aren't keen on the ideal that the customer is always right. They argue and tell you you're wrong. The customer does not come first.

     The thing that gets most American/English is the lack of promptness. In my personal experience, I have yet to meet an Italian that shows up on time for anything. It can be frustrating, for example, last night I was with my friends and I knew Giova was to be home at seven so I made sure I got there on time, and he didn't arrive till ten to nine. This is not unusual! This aspect I hear complained about more often than most other things here in Florence. People are almost never on time for any occasion. It wouldn't be that difficult to arrive on time, but it just isn't important to them like it is to many of us who were brought up being told to never be late.

     Ahhhh the food :D Italian food is not to be compared with any other. It can't. It sits on a pedestal all its own. The rich wholesome goodness of every dish is something rarely seen/ tasted in America. The ingredients you eat are always fresh; no highly processed, no high fructose corn syrup, no meat you aren't sure of its origin, not here. The Italian diet means you can eat smaller portions as they fill you up much quicker than the garbage I was accustomed to eating at home. I don't have to question what I'm eating, unless it's an Italian menu and select at random. :) Pizza will never be the same again. The crust of the pizzas are so thin and most locals eat with fork and knife, not picking up each slice. Tomato sauce with oregano, fresh mozzarella cheese, and any toppings you could ask for, all cooked in a stone oven that you can taste in your food, making each bite enjoyable and inevitable until you're done and have eaten the entire thing. Personal pizzas are the way it's done here.

     I'd love if the methods of transportation back at home became more like that of Florence's. The most popular modes of transportation seem to be feet, bicycles and motorbikes. Better for the environment and in the cases of the first two, the added bonus of exercise. Although many still drive cars, they aren't driving big gas guzzling trucks and cars that get terrible gas mileage; they drive small cars that get quite a few more miles to the gallon (or kilometers to the liter). There are also dozens of busses that transport hundreds of people daily, which cuts down on the need for cars and the use of gas. The roadways are a whole other story, it's crazy! The lines on the pavement are either non-existent or acted as such. Constantly honking, swerving, slipping through reds, and cutting off the person in front of them. It amazes me that since I have been here I've yet to see an accident. Only quite a few colliding bumpers, but hey that's what they're there for.

     My favorite thing about Italians is the amount of passion they have for anything and everything they do. Every emotion, good and bad, is heightened and brought to another level. Whether its road rage; angry at the car ahead of them and they yell and take it to the extreme by cutting them off and slowing way down. Or, the amount of excitement that comes out on game day, when Fiorentina is playing and the crowds are dressed in purple, enthusiastically cheering on their players. Maybe, when you walk down the street and see it lined with couples kissing and holding hands, and all the many locks of the bridges; locked and holding on for dear life, for love. Whatever the emotion, you can expect it done full heartedly. Tapping into this extra passion makes life seem brighter and fuller. Everything can be more exciting and stronger felt. It is almost as if my life was a bit dim until I came here. Then all of a sudden, an explosion! Of color, life, art, and beauty. A great passion for living in the vast world around me.

Two Weeks With the Family

     My family excluding my oldest brother David, took a trip to Italy starting on December 20th and ending January 3. In that time, we visited Venice, Rome, Athens, Pisa, Siena, and spent lots of time right here in Florence. We had lots of fun with a pretty jam packed schedule that my mom put together in order for them to make the most of their time here. I'd say they definitely did!

     Venezia, Dec. 22-24:
It was pretty cold when we arrived in Venice and it wasn't quite what I was expecting, I think I imagined much smaller narrower streets with more water ways and loads more boats. Instead, there were pretty big streets, and in some areas you'd never have guessed you were in Venice if every little shop wasn't crowded with figurines of striped men in hats and masks for Carnivale. But, all the little streets that you picture when you think of Venice do exist and they are wonderful. It's so fascinating to see a city not overrun by cars; to see boats doing the jobs that cars usually do. The mail boat, ice-cream boat, ambulance, fire boat, etc. The main piazza is inhabited by San Marco church, magnificent in and of itself. Right next to it is the Doges palace and the prison that is reached by going over the "Bridge of Sighs". We went inside both and the palace was covered in incredible paintings that hurt your neck when you stared at the immaculate ceiling for too long. The prison was even better though, I found it more interesting to see the cells and especially the room harboring all the prison drawings that were found in the rooms. On the 23rd we took a boat provided by the hotel to the island of Murano, famous for their glass work. We watched in amazement as a man created horses and many different vases from a blob of hot glass. When he would finish one he'd put a small piece of newspaper on it and it would immediately catch fire and turned to ash from the heat. It's an incredible talent, one I think would be cool to learn about! They say everyone gets lost when they go to Venice, well, we didn't really. If I was alone I would have been beyond lost but thankfully Jesse seems to have a built in GPS and did a great job leading us everywhere. I just followed along silently, taking in all the bridges and colorful homes. Also the sunsets in Venice were some of the most beautiful that I have seen!

Gondolas

Rialto Bridge

     Firenze:
Florence was our home base obviously, and it's also where we spent Christmas. Christmas Eve after we got back from Venice, everyone opened their presents from me and ones from each other. Dinner was a bunch of random appetizers or antipasta as dad likes to say. Christmas morning we opened santa presents and then started making a big American breakfast that I'd been craving for ages! French toast, sausage, scrambled eggs, fruit.. Luca was thrilled about breakfast and he and my dad got along really well. After breakfast was finished and none of us could think of eating another bite, we joined them in going to church at Santa Croce. Was quite boring actually, Italian catholic service is far from exciting. Back at the house we did pass the present; Mavi, Giova and Luca partook in our Christmas tradition and they enjoyed it very much! The rest of the afternoon was spent chilling; playing the wii, watching movies, and talking. Dad got a ham and had to look up how to cook an uncured ham, it took longer than expected, so we ate linner. The rest of the days that they were in Florence, I took them around to all the good places I know. Happy to be a tour guide :) New Years Eve we came back from Athens and at night I took Jesse and Hunter up to Piazza Michelangelo to watch fireworks, little did I know that they'd also be launching them from there and what a cool feeling! They set them off right next to us so we were standing right underneath them watching them explode with sound and color right above our heads! And if you peeled your eyes away, to overlook the city, you could see fireworks going off all over. Florence lit up sporadically in every color and shade was a beautiful site. What a perfect way to start the new year! Happy 2013!!

The Duomo

View from Piazza Michelangelo

Goofy kids

Christmas Day

Christmas gifts- she got the hat and
I got the scarf

     Roma, Dec. 26-28:

Rome had to be my favorite city by far and nothing I can say will do it justice. I love history and ruins and I could spend hours just imagining life as it used to be. Who was in this building, what were they doing, what were they thinking, what kinds of problems were they worried about, what hobbies did they enjoy? Questions like this could keep me enticed for days. I read what I could, and explored even more. The first big thing that we came across was the Pantheon. The columns were incredible! Just humungous! maybe 18 feet around and who knows how tall. Awesome feeling just to stand among them and to wonder how they possibly created this when they had no mechanical equipment to help. I could have stayed at the Colosseum for ages. When there, we did an extra tour that takes you underneath and also up to the third level, neither of which are open to the general public unless you do the tour. Of course if you've seen the movie Gladiator you know a bit about the Colosseum, but in person, it just blows you away. The woman told us that the structure is a mere skeleton of what it was in its prime. Since then it has been dismantled piece by piece by workers taking material for other buildings, and by those who sold the chunks they were able to pull off. It's a shame, but it's also so enticing to see it as it is, even though its only a fraction of its former glory. The Trevi Fountain was also nice, mom loved it especially at night when it was lit up. It is an incredibly huge fountain that accepts the wishes of many with a coin every day. Its large grand statues, with water splurging out and gushing around, signifies life and hope and that feeling swells inside those around as they turn backward and throw their change into the fountain full of silent ambition. The Roman Forum and Palatino Hill are a wonderful place to explore for a few hours, it's just full of ruins from all kinds of buildings, each with its own personality and history. The great thing about ruins is that everyone gets to draw their own conclusion of what it was used for and we can play out a little story in our minds and we become engaged in the history. Vatican City had to be visited, but wasn't that impressive. We got in trouble there also, went over the fence and one of the "cops" made us go back out. Oh well! When in Rome.. get in trouble at Vatican city :D One evening by the Trevi Fountain, a man convinced us to try his restaurant and good thing we did! They bragged about their lasagna and so we all ordered it, probably the best I have ever had! I'd recommend it to anyone. I hope I go back to Rome soon.

The Pantheon

Inside the Colosseum

Trevi Fountain

Gladiators outside the Colosseum

Vatican City

     Athens, Dec 28-31:

We took a plane to Athens from Rome, and got lost trying to find our hotel; more lost than we ever got in Venice! The day after we arrived it rained pretty continuously for the rest of our time there and we weren't the most prepared but at least most of us had brought a rain jacket. Mine turned out to not be very waterproof, as a rain coat rightfully should be.. So a couple hours in the afternoons were spent drying off in the hotel. But the rest of the time there were more ruins to see! Mars Hill we went to the first day, and it is said that is where the Apostle Paul once gave his sermon on the mount. It offered a fantastic view of all of Athens, and at your back, the Acropolis. The next day we explored the hill of Acropolis, seeing the Parthenon and the other buildings scattered atop the hill. The Parthenon was massive but unfortunately, covered in scaffolding. I'm thankful they are taking large measures to recreate and try to restore it to the way it used to be, but it isn't the nicest stuff to look at. We also went to the Acropolis museum that housed hundreds of statues of one Greek god or another. Another museum we went to had so many old artifacts; coins, jewelry, tools, toys, statues, and even a potty-chair/ high-chair that survived thousands of years.  One thing I really enjoyed was that in completely random areas you see a large fenced off plot of land and inside is all kinds or random ruins- buildings and columns and stones and pathways. Makes you wonder whats underneath all the rest of the city! It must be exciting to be an archeologist that gets to keep looking for more. Dad loves the food- he had kebabs every night for dinner. I really love the atmosphere in the restaurants; the live music, happy cheerful people, and of course tasty meals. One evening Jesse, Hunter and I sat up at Mars hill as the sun was setting and the views are nothing short of amazing. Athens was a beautiful beautiful city.

View from Mars Hill

The Parthenon

     Pisa, Jan 1:

On the morning of the first the boys and I went to a dirt soccer field and played for an hour with some other random Italians. I think this was Hunter's highlight of the trip. We had a great time, it felt so great for all of us to get to play again and together was an added bonus! Showers were quick so we could meet up with the rest of the family to go to Pisa. I've written about Pisa before and it definitely hasn't changed so I'll just share a few pictures. The bottom picture, was our main past time when we were bored on the whole trip. Hunter carried his hacky sack around everywhere and now I think I needa get one!

Hacking at the tower

     Siena, Jan 2:

Their last full day we went to Siena, and since I've already been I showed them around and we weren't there for that long because they wanted to do a bit more shopping in Florence before they went home. That Evening we got their last gelato, found Hunter an artist near the Ponte Vecchio that he was able to buy a painting from, had dinner, and they all finished packing. We did "End of the trip Video Monologues" at the restaurant and I filmed while Jesse asked random questions to the rest of the family, can't wait to watch those ;) back at my house, the boys and I watched Gladiator till I fell asleep and then it was 5AM and they were leaving! Ciara cried.. And they had to have two taxis come because there was too many of them for one. Hugs were exchanged and off they went!