Wedding

Yesterday I attended my cousin's wedding.  It was a very interesting experience because I hadn't been to a wedding in a long time.  When I was little, I was the flower girl at several weddings, but I don't remember too much from any of them.  Although all of those weddings were in Romania, I had never been to a traditional Romanian Orthodox wedding.  I was a little nervous at first because I wan't sure what it would be like or if I would enjoy it at all, but it turned out to be a pleasant experience.

From what I hear, the procedure was much like most of the weddings done here.  It took place in August, which is the usual month for Romanian weddings.  I was happy that it was a cool day because August is usually really hot here.  There was the civil service in the morning, but we didn't attend that.  However, we were there for the church service, though not many people came to the church service and it didn't last really long.  After the church, we walked over to the park to take several pictures, including the one above and the one below.

Me with my aunt (left) and cousin (middle)

Following the pictures was of course the dance party that went on allllll night.  I wasn't too sure how this would go because I get pretty tired at all-nighter parties and can't dance for the life of me.  The party ended up being surprisingly lively and fun.  I even tried a few dances.

   

My life as a home schooler (so far)

In the last week, I have been able to start working some on my online classes.  Well, mostly just chemistry.  My classes for next year will be: yearbook and AP English (BCA), chemistry and trigonometry (probably both from Northstar Academy, an online school), Romanian 3 (home school), creative writing (from the Potter's School, another online school), and AP US History (from another online source).  So yeah, that's a total of five schools.  And all of the online schools have different softwares and systems I need to download and learn about, which is part of what I've been doing in the last week.

But so far it's been a pretty positive experience.  With chemistry I've already managed to turn in a few assignments, do some virtual labs (which were weird but kind of cool), and meet some of the students.  There are students from all around the world, which makes it interesting.  I'm looking forward to learning more and getting to know my teachers and fellow students better.
I'm also looking forward to things like:

  

Old Man and the Sea: A little over halfway

As you may have guessed from my blog title, I am a little over halfway done with Old Man and the Sea and have decided to post my thoughts on it.

First: Hemingway's writing style.  In my pre-reading, I learned Hemingway was known for a very simple writing style.  I wasn't expecting a lot of descriptions in this book, but the way he describes the old man on pages 9-10 was very detailed and helped me picture him perfectly.  The conversations between him and the boy were written very simply, with nearly no interruptions between the dialogue.  It was different than what I'm used to, but I liked it.  One thing I found interesting was although the reader learns the names of both characters, they are only referred to as the old man and the boy.  Otherwise, I actually don't find the book too simple.  He actually spends quite a bit of time elaborating on a plot that is rather simple.
Second: the plot.  Like I said, it is very simple.  An old man goes fishing and... yeah, he goes fishing.  He's had an "unlucky" streak when he couldn't get any fish, so when he finally does get a fish, he hangs on to it for dear life, actually spending days on end not letting it go.  And well, not much else has happened.  He talks some to himself (and a little to the fish, but I don't really blame him because I would be going insane if I was on that boat), remembers the good old days in Africa, and occasionally expresses loneliness.  It seems to me Hemingway is making a point about perseverance, but I don't think I'm far enough in the book to pinpoint everything he is trying to say.
Lastly: predictions.  I have a feeling the old man is going to loose his fish one way or another but still be okay with it.  I think I've heard this book is a tragedy but I don't really see how it could be that sad...  Anyway, I'm interested to see how/ if Hemingway deepens the story, how it ends, and finding his purpose for writing it.      

Everything is Awesome (Adventures at Camp Living Water Part 2)

Just yesterday, I got back from another fun week volunteering at Camp Living Water.  This week was a day camp from kids aged about 5-9, but  we took in a few older kids.  Doing a day camp was fun and a lot more relaxing because the kids went home, whereas at other camps kids needed to be cared for all day long.  After they left (at around four) the staff got to rest, eat good American food, and watch movies.  We had a lot of fun hanging out and playing games.

Every day at about 10:00 the kids would arrive in really crowded cars.  Sometimes there were about twenty kids in one back seat.  After that we would allow them some free time before we herded them inside for some singing and a message.  Because they were young, we did about two crafts a day and did a lot of games.  My favorite activities were probably the slip and slide and the water games.  I didn't actually play the water games with the kids, but after we were done I got at least twenty buckets of water dumped on me.  Yeah, I was completely soaked, but it was fun.

Even though camp can be very tiring, I was sad to leave.  I know I'm going to really miss the kids, staff, and camp itself.  I can't wait to go back, whenever that might be!!!!

Side note: Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures from this week, as I was changing into dry clothes when they took the group pictures before the kids left.   

Iceberg theory and other Hemingway-related things

I began my research of Ernest Hemingway by looking into his writing style, which he referred to as "the iceberg theory."  He believed that in the same way you can only see a small part of a large iceberg, an author only has to put a small part of his or her knowledge of a story in a book.  Essentially, the writer only gives the reader the basic facts, and the rest is implied.  Hemingway developed this style by writing short stories and trying to put as much information as possible in less space.

I found the idea of iceberg theory fascinating and can't wait to see how it plays out in Old Man and the Sea.  Based on what I read, an iceberg writing style appears simple but actually forces the reader to dig deeper into the story and put together pieces.  After reading a book, I many times wonder what things the author knew and didn't decide to share with the reader or state straightforward, and if I had guessed any of these things correctly.  As I enjoy analyzing books and writing styles, I greatly look forward to finding if I like Hemingway's iceberg.

From his childhood in a conservative Chicago suburb, Hemingway's brilliance was evident.  He not only showed talent in writing, but enjoyed it, writing for pleasure and in school newspapers, although he did once receive a D on an English paper for poor penmanship.  In his early adult life he wrote for newspapers and aspired to one day write fiction.  Eventually he moved to Paris to pursue this dream and become a successful writer.  Unlike the many authors of classics whose works were only recognized after their deaths, Hemingway was quite famous during his lifetime, a celebrity in his own right.  The press closely followed his escapades in sports such as fishing and hunting and his many marriages.  It is said that his well-known novella Old Man and the Sea was an allegory of his own struggle with fame.  Ernest Hemingway's remarkable life came to an end when he committed suicide in 1961.  

     

MK Camp

Once again, I'm a little late.  At the end of June/ beginning of July, I went to Croatia to attend an MK camp there.  It was in a woods/ mountain setting right near the border to Slovenia.  (Actually, we swam across a creek to cross the border.)  Every morning we did a sport (hiking, rock climbing, archery, and canoeing) and in the afternoon we enjoyed free time, group games, and sessions.  I really enjoyed this opportunity to connect with other MK's from around Europe and to hear about their experiences.  The week was filled with fun and new memories!  Here are some pictures.

Group photo with everyone

Me with my cabin mates

Me rock climbing.  Yes, I actually did it!

One of our group games

La Mare, La Munte

This last week I was at the Mather's camp to help with a one week overnight camp for Fitionesti girls (aged about nine to fifteen).  Some times I felt like I was busy doing something every second of every day, but it was sooo much fun.  The theme of the camp was la mare, la munte (at the sea, at the mountains) because we used sea themed decorations and activities, like we brought the sea to the mountains.  We also did a flash mob every day to the song Everything is Awesome from the Lego Movie.  Warning: if you listen to that song it will be stuck in your head for all eternity.  Anyway, the girls were very sweet and had such a good time.  They were actually crying really hard when it came time for them to leave.  Now I get to rest some so I'll be ready for the next camp!!!!!!
Here are some pictures from the week.

Me with another staff member (left) and a girl from the village (right)

The staff for the week