Yes, it is midnight. And yes I am going to school tomorrow. But as a person who wants to be a writer, I can't fight the urge to write when ideas are storming through my head. And yes this post may have absolutely no point to any of you, and yes I should probably make another blog for all my rambling posts, but this is exchange and it is my life and this is how I define my life... In writing.
Writing, a truly amazing thing and something I feel so priveleged to have a talent in. Maybe everything I write isn't beautiful and they are full of grammatical errors, but I was gifted with the knowledge, that I have the power to write whatever comes to mind. And I was gifted by our founding fathers with the right to speak my feelings.
Many people see these as downfalls in Americans. Our uncanning ability to say what we feel. But I have always been taught to never leave something unsaid. The words unsaid are the ones that you will regret the most in life. And I believe this to be true.
Blessings, something so evident in my life at this moment. I am blessed beyond words. And I know I am so painfully redundant when I say this, but how can I not be? Look at where I am and how I got here. I am one of the most blessed people on this planet. I was blessed with a Mother, who has taught me to love unconditionally and to never give up. A Father, who has always taught me to speak my mind and choose to see the light in all the darkness. Two Beautiful Sisters, who have taught me what it means to have family and have never failed to be there for me when I needed them, no matter the price. Exchange, that has taught me that there is no impossible. Everything can be achieved and the adversity and the strife only make the victory that much sweeter. Friends, who have shown me that flaws do not define me and who I will become but only make me stronger, and who have held me up when my world seemed to be crashing.
Life, the scariest thing in life, is life itself. We are scared to know when we will take our last breath. We are scared to lose the things and people we hold dearest in our lives. But the most important thing about life that people so rarely remember is it is a privelege. I am priveleged to be breathing at this very moment. And I am priveleged to live the life I do. And it is always worse for someone else. But sometimes we forget these things. We get so wrapped up in something that we forget the simple beauties and priveleges of this life. I am as guilty as ever. But one thing this year has taught me is to never take a single moment forgranted. I will never get back the first time I saw the ocean, I will never get back the last time I heard a dear friend laugh, I will never get back the feeling of sitting on my dads' shoulders knowing he could stop any monster from getting me. I will never get these things back, but yet I still focus so much on the future and forget to live for now. What I would give to hear my mom singing a lullaby to me, or to push my little sister in a swing even though I wasn't much bigger than her. Or that feeling of waking up on Christmas knowing Santa had come. So many things that seem so ordinary... but I will never have those moments again in my life.
So what this year has taught me, and the moral of the story is this... Life is filled with blessings that we take forgranted. And try as we might we cannot live for now. We always have to be ahead. I guess the reason I am writing is to say, I am deciding right now to live for now. To remember how blessed I am and to never look back.
I apologize if this made no sense to anyone. I really don't expect my rambling to have any sense even to myself, but when I am laying in bed and my mind is racing, I know I have to write. Whether it has sense or not, I have to write. So thanks for reading.
Much love, Kari <3
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Monday, March 4, 2013
England is Calling
ENGLAND, Inghliterra, Great Britain, The UK, Home of the Queen, Land of the most beautiful Prince, The place to keep calm and carry on, One Direction central, that place with that one tower, inventor of tea and crumpets, and so many more.
Call it what you want, but what I have come to know this beautiful country as is, the place where I made memories I will never forget. This past week I went with my school on a trip to England. And let me tell you, it is unlike any place in the world. It is such a mixture of America and Europe and I have never felt so close, yet so far from home. Being there made me realize what this year is. A chance to get away from everything that seemed so normal, but at the same time, keep a little of who I was and use it to better myself into the person I want to become.
I have fallen in love with this country in the short week I spent there. I made memories that will last a lifetime and became closer to some Italians and my lovely American friends (if that is even possible, seeing as we are closer than most families are.) When the week was over, I was so sad to go, because I knew I wouldn't get these moments back. I don't think people truly understand how precious life is until they experience the moments that cannot be repeated. I will never get the satisfactory feeling of seeing Starbucks after 6 months back. I will never walk down the streets of London again with Italians who I have become close to. I will never roam the streets of Bath, purposefully trying to waste time. These things will never happen again. And it scares me to think of all the moments I will lose when I return home, to my real home. But one thing I do know for sure is, I had the greatest week of my life and spent it with the best company I could have ever asked for.
And to everyone who made this week special, Vi voglio TANTO bene. <3
Now on to pictures. I don't want to have to type out some long description of the weeks events, so I will try my best to show it in a few photos. REMEMBER, you can always check out all the photos on my Facebook!
Before I start with photos, I will add just a few comments. So we left Monday night from Milan and got into London at about 11:30pm local time. That was a fun night trip. We stayed in a hotel and spent the whole next day exploring London. We saw things such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, The London Eye, and even the Hard Rock Cafe. (a must see for all Italians.) After the day spent in London, we took a bus to Bath, England. We spent the rest of our week there, staying in host families. Kayleigh and I had a very old host family, who happened to give us both the flu, thank you for that one! Anyways, in the mornings the Italian students had English lessons, so we spent the mornings roaming town and drinking Starbucks. I don't think anyone realizes how much we have missed it! After their lessons we would eat lunch then go on little trips around England. We saw StoneHenge, Bristol and the SS Great Britain, as well as Salsbury and the Magna Carta. It was such an amazing week. We came home Saturday afternoon. And since then I have been extremely sick, hints why I am writing this so late at night! No school for a few days :( And yes I am actually sad about that because I miss my class!!!!
Now for the photos!
This is the Roman Baths in Bath, England. They were used during Roman times as a type of spa. The stories are actually really interesting, not to mention, they are beautiful. 
Oh hey British boys! Hope I wasn't being too creepy for you ;) But really though, marry me? 
Pizza night!!! The Italians liked it, but quite honestly I prefer authentic Italian pizza... Maybe I have become to spoiled. 
I am now the captain of the SS Great Britain. ;) 
London and Weasley ;) But for real though, does this kid not look like Ron Weasley? IDENTICAL! 
The bears of the group. All they do is eat and sleep, therefore they are bears. <3 
We were just way too excited to drink our 800th Starbucks of the week. Honestly though I think we had about 15 each. Maybe more. To the CEO of Starbucks.... we now deserve to own a piece of your company. 
Hahahahha, this picture cracks me up. The British humor is something else. This is a store, which clearly everyone believes the name to be something it's not. 
In the Cathedral in Bath, England. 
The Salsbury Cathedral. Inside is the Magna Carta. This church is breathtaking. 
Kayleigh and I at Stone Henge!!! 
I have seen so much history, another thing that shows me how truly blessed I am. 
If this doesn't explain the life of an exchange student, then I dont know what does. 
We found Krispy Kreme.... We cried. 
About 10 minutes and 5 exchange students later. 
The London Eye! 
As much as I want to KILL this kid at times, he is still family. Love you Connor!!! 
And we found KFC ;) 
M&M World, London, England 
London at night, someting everyone must see once in their life. 
Hard Rock Cafe, London! 
Buckingham Palace, where one day I will be living with Prince Harry ;) 
The Americans, plus Weasley, in front of Big Ben! :) 
This screams London, does it not? 
Guards!!! 
The official first Starbucks after 6 months. 
The Rossetta Stone inside the British Museum! 
The inside of the British Museum was so cool. And now for some of my favorite pictures from the trip, courtesy of Regan Wagner Photography ;)
London at night, like I said, unlike any other. 
USA <3 
M&M World. 
We MUSTACHE you a question ;) 
What I will wear during my marraige to Prince Harry ;) 
We should have read the signs ;) 
I absolutely LOVE this picture. These girls are unlike any others. I cannot explain how much I love them. They are family. <3
Everyone has to take a telephone booth photo, right? ;) 
With our lovely German <3 :) 
Representing the USA with two Italians and a German! 
Ignore the two strange men in the back. They are not our friends! 
And one final photo with the people who made this trip what it was. I love you all so much. <3 I had the best week of my life and it was thanks to all of you.
So there was my week in short. Hope you enjoyed it! <3
Much love, Kari <3
Monday, February 4, 2013
Noi Siamo Infinito
Noi siamo infinito:
Direct translation: We are infinite
True meaning: This life is infinite. The memories made and the people we meet are infinite. We are leaving a mark on this world. We are changing it in ways we have never known. No matter how small our mark, it is a mark and it will be left for future generations.
Rotary Youth Exchange leaves a mark on this world. It changes lives.
Exchange students, no matter how small we may seem, are creating our fingerprint on this world.
We are changing our lives and our opinions of others. We are creating a path for future students, as the students in the past had for us.
We are normal, everyday people, with some not so everyday experiences.
We can only hope we have left our mark, no matter how small. Every single person's mark on this world is greater than themselves. It is greater than those who told them they couldn't. It is greater than the obstacles that stood in their way. Our mark is infinite. Noi Siamo Inifinito.
I have reached my halfway point. The point in my exchange where I am stuck in between the person I used to be and the person I am becoming. I hope that the person I am becoming is someone that people can be proud of. I pray that I am half the person my role models are. This year has been one hell of a whirlwind. I feel like Dorothy, and no, not because I am from Kansas. It's like that scene in the movie when she is on the Yellow Brick Road. She has met new people and her life has changed. She is no longer scared of the unknown. When I stepped off that plane just 5 short months ago, I was scared out of my mind. I was definitely not in Kansas anymore. I didn't know what was to come. Everyone and everything was so strange. I couldn't understand anything and everyone looked at me strange. Now I am at that part in my exchange where I understand what is happening, I expect certain things to happen, but I know to never be surprised by the unexpected. I am growing and learning. I am creating new memories everyday and having experiences unlike any other.
But I am also at that point where I am scared out of my mind. I am scared of what is next. In 5 short months I will be on my way home. I will be leaving what I have known for one year, with the intentions of using it to better my future. This is scary because I don't know when I will be back. I will never get these moments back. They will soon become just a memory. Getting on the plane to come here was hard, but I knew I would be coming back. Leaving will be nearly impossible... because I am leaving everything, not knowing what is next.
However, now I have realized what this year means. It means a step towards my future. A step towards becoming who I am supposed to be. I am finding myself. I am beginning to leave my mark. I may not know who I am yet, or who I want to be, but I know one thing, I know I have time to get there. Life is full of opportunities. It is a never ending battle. And most importantly, it is beautiful.
Trying to put this experience into perspective is nearly inpossible. There are no words to describe it. I have realized that no matter how hard I try, this is greater than I can imagine. This is one thing that leaves me speechless. This year is something no one can put into words. 1000 pictures and smiles tell a story, and a picture may be worth a thousand words. But there are no words. I am forever changed. 5 months left and I am already a completely new person. One I hope my family and friends are proud of.
These are my feelings on this halfway mark. I am not sure how else to say it. And I hope that this gives you insight. To everyone out there who is still unsure of what's next, just remember, no matter what is next, your mark on this world is special. You have changed this world in one way or another and no one can take that away. We are infinite. Our memory is infinite.
Moving on: Okay, the part where I try to explain my feelings to you is over. I am sure you are all so happy. I will post a few pictures of this past month. Enjoy! <3
Night out with the girls :) This is at a disco in Cremona. I will miss discos when I get home. Maybe I will make one in someone's garage or something. Any takers? ;)
This basically explains me and Regan.... This is what we do when we are bored... :)
Our attempt to be photographers, its a new thing.
A picture from Lago D'Isola, where I went with my host parents the other weekend.
A medieval town near my town. It had snowed a lot and it was beautiful.
Thanks for reading. Love you all! <3 -Kari <3
Direct translation: We are infinite
True meaning: This life is infinite. The memories made and the people we meet are infinite. We are leaving a mark on this world. We are changing it in ways we have never known. No matter how small our mark, it is a mark and it will be left for future generations.
Rotary Youth Exchange leaves a mark on this world. It changes lives.
Exchange students, no matter how small we may seem, are creating our fingerprint on this world.
We are changing our lives and our opinions of others. We are creating a path for future students, as the students in the past had for us.
We are normal, everyday people, with some not so everyday experiences.
We can only hope we have left our mark, no matter how small. Every single person's mark on this world is greater than themselves. It is greater than those who told them they couldn't. It is greater than the obstacles that stood in their way. Our mark is infinite. Noi Siamo Inifinito.
I have reached my halfway point. The point in my exchange where I am stuck in between the person I used to be and the person I am becoming. I hope that the person I am becoming is someone that people can be proud of. I pray that I am half the person my role models are. This year has been one hell of a whirlwind. I feel like Dorothy, and no, not because I am from Kansas. It's like that scene in the movie when she is on the Yellow Brick Road. She has met new people and her life has changed. She is no longer scared of the unknown. When I stepped off that plane just 5 short months ago, I was scared out of my mind. I was definitely not in Kansas anymore. I didn't know what was to come. Everyone and everything was so strange. I couldn't understand anything and everyone looked at me strange. Now I am at that part in my exchange where I understand what is happening, I expect certain things to happen, but I know to never be surprised by the unexpected. I am growing and learning. I am creating new memories everyday and having experiences unlike any other.
But I am also at that point where I am scared out of my mind. I am scared of what is next. In 5 short months I will be on my way home. I will be leaving what I have known for one year, with the intentions of using it to better my future. This is scary because I don't know when I will be back. I will never get these moments back. They will soon become just a memory. Getting on the plane to come here was hard, but I knew I would be coming back. Leaving will be nearly impossible... because I am leaving everything, not knowing what is next.
However, now I have realized what this year means. It means a step towards my future. A step towards becoming who I am supposed to be. I am finding myself. I am beginning to leave my mark. I may not know who I am yet, or who I want to be, but I know one thing, I know I have time to get there. Life is full of opportunities. It is a never ending battle. And most importantly, it is beautiful.
Trying to put this experience into perspective is nearly inpossible. There are no words to describe it. I have realized that no matter how hard I try, this is greater than I can imagine. This is one thing that leaves me speechless. This year is something no one can put into words. 1000 pictures and smiles tell a story, and a picture may be worth a thousand words. But there are no words. I am forever changed. 5 months left and I am already a completely new person. One I hope my family and friends are proud of.
These are my feelings on this halfway mark. I am not sure how else to say it. And I hope that this gives you insight. To everyone out there who is still unsure of what's next, just remember, no matter what is next, your mark on this world is special. You have changed this world in one way or another and no one can take that away. We are infinite. Our memory is infinite.
Moving on: Okay, the part where I try to explain my feelings to you is over. I am sure you are all so happy. I will post a few pictures of this past month. Enjoy! <3
Night out with the girls :) This is at a disco in Cremona. I will miss discos when I get home. Maybe I will make one in someone's garage or something. Any takers? ;)
This basically explains me and Regan.... This is what we do when we are bored... :)
Our attempt to be photographers, its a new thing.
A picture from Lago D'Isola, where I went with my host parents the other weekend.
A medieval town near my town. It had snowed a lot and it was beautiful.
Thanks for reading. Love you all! <3 -Kari <3
Friday, January 4, 2013
Finalmente un nuova posta
Sorry guy's for not posting in so long. It has been a looonnnngggg break. Going back to school on Monday... which quite frankly even the thought of it makes me annoyed. I hate school and school hates me lol. But anyways, things have been good!
2 weeks off from school was much needed. And in that time so much has happened! I went to Verona for the first time and it was beautiful! I also celebrated New Years and Christmas, Italian style! Tomorrow I move to a town just outside of Cremona, into a new host family. With Rotary you change host families 3 times throughout the course of the year. I am happy to be gaining new experiences and a chance to see Italian life in a new perspective, but at the same time I am sad to be going. I love my host family now, but I also know that I will love my new one!
So on to what I have been doing this break, spending lots of money, eating lots of food, and seeing all my friends. What else does a teenager do in their free time, right? ;)
For Christmas, Rotary had a dinner party and although it was the most boring 5 hour dinner of my life, it was fun to get dressed up and look cute for once ;) Now I will post a picture from the party of all the lovely exchangers!
Here is all 11 of us at dinner! Looking our finest of course ;)
And I needed to post this, because it is about the only time you will ever see a picture of me and Kayleigh together when we aren't making some crazy face... :)
Now on to Christmas! On Christmas eve, my host mom's family all came over and we had a HUGE meal and opened presents. I bought presents for all my host family, but my favorite was the slippers I bought for my younger host brother, I will post a picture in a minute. They were freaking awesome. And he loved them! On Christmas day we went to my host dad's families house for lunch and ate a ton of food. And then we went and got hot chocolate, a family tradition in my host family :)
Our Christmas tree and all the presents! :) Yayayayyayay!
Corrado and his present from me! I think he liked them :)
Now on to New Year's Eve! Me and Regan went to a party at a friends house. We had a good time, and well there really isn't much else to say lol. So that is that. On New Year's Day,, we went with my host family (soon to be her hots family) to Verona! As you all know Verona is the land of Romeo and Juliet! We saw Juliet's balcony and other historical landmarks. I have officially fallen in love with Verona. It is so beautiful and it makes you feel like love is in the air ;) So here are a few pictures!
Me and Regan in front of the Colleseum in Verona! The day was kinda crappy, but Verona is still beautiful! :)
This is the entrance to Juliet's house. It is graffitied (spelled wrong) with names of thousands of people. It is so cool. Anyone can write their name and leave their mark in Fair Verona <3
This is a tree filled with letters to Juliet. There were so many languages and so many stories to be told. We wrote a letter and put it on the tree. We felt it was necessary :) Now we have left our mark.
This is the statue of Juliet and supposedly it is good luck to touch her chest... hints our hand placement. So now we have good luck in love! <3
Juliet's Balcony! Yay! :)
Well that is about all I can say for now. I will make a new post when I switch families! :) So until then, CIAO and thank you for reading!
<3 With love, Kari!
2 weeks off from school was much needed. And in that time so much has happened! I went to Verona for the first time and it was beautiful! I also celebrated New Years and Christmas, Italian style! Tomorrow I move to a town just outside of Cremona, into a new host family. With Rotary you change host families 3 times throughout the course of the year. I am happy to be gaining new experiences and a chance to see Italian life in a new perspective, but at the same time I am sad to be going. I love my host family now, but I also know that I will love my new one!
So on to what I have been doing this break, spending lots of money, eating lots of food, and seeing all my friends. What else does a teenager do in their free time, right? ;)
For Christmas, Rotary had a dinner party and although it was the most boring 5 hour dinner of my life, it was fun to get dressed up and look cute for once ;) Now I will post a picture from the party of all the lovely exchangers!
Here is all 11 of us at dinner! Looking our finest of course ;) And I needed to post this, because it is about the only time you will ever see a picture of me and Kayleigh together when we aren't making some crazy face... :) Now on to Christmas! On Christmas eve, my host mom's family all came over and we had a HUGE meal and opened presents. I bought presents for all my host family, but my favorite was the slippers I bought for my younger host brother, I will post a picture in a minute. They were freaking awesome. And he loved them! On Christmas day we went to my host dad's families house for lunch and ate a ton of food. And then we went and got hot chocolate, a family tradition in my host family :)
Our Christmas tree and all the presents! :) Yayayayyayay! Corrado and his present from me! I think he liked them :) Now on to New Year's Eve! Me and Regan went to a party at a friends house. We had a good time, and well there really isn't much else to say lol. So that is that. On New Year's Day,, we went with my host family (soon to be her hots family) to Verona! As you all know Verona is the land of Romeo and Juliet! We saw Juliet's balcony and other historical landmarks. I have officially fallen in love with Verona. It is so beautiful and it makes you feel like love is in the air ;) So here are a few pictures!
Me and Regan in front of the Colleseum in Verona! The day was kinda crappy, but Verona is still beautiful! :) This is the entrance to Juliet's house. It is graffitied (spelled wrong) with names of thousands of people. It is so cool. Anyone can write their name and leave their mark in Fair Verona <3 This is a tree filled with letters to Juliet. There were so many languages and so many stories to be told. We wrote a letter and put it on the tree. We felt it was necessary :) Now we have left our mark. This is the statue of Juliet and supposedly it is good luck to touch her chest... hints our hand placement. So now we have good luck in love! <3 Juliet's Balcony! Yay! :) Well that is about all I can say for now. I will make a new post when I switch families! :) So until then, CIAO and thank you for reading!
<3 With love, Kari!
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