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

  

Backwards background

Since I didn't post any background information before reading To Kill a Mockingbird, I'm doing things a little backwards and posting it afterwards.  You might already have read some of this from Andrew's blog post, but hopefully you'll learn something new.

The reason I chose To Kill a Mockingbird for my sort of free reading book is because several people had recommended it to me and had even gone as far to call it one of their favorite books.  Eager to find out what was so enchanting about this book, I put it on my reading list and proceeded not to get around to reading it for about a year.  Not that I wanted to read it, or even had forgotten about it, I just got distracted by other books.  It seems that having To Kill a Mockingbird on the summer reading list was the perfect thing to push me to finally read it.

Nelle Harper Lee was born April 28, 1926 in Monroe, Alabama, and is known for her first and only novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.  It was a huge success, winning the Pulitzer Prize and becoming an American classic.  Growing up, Lee was good friends with a boy named Truman Capote, who also later became an author, and defended him from those who picked on him.  Like Scout, she was raised in a small Alabama town with a lawyer for a father.  Some say that Mockingbird is loosely based on her own childhood.  During her college years, Lee wrote for the school magazine, was an exchange student at Oxford, and started law school.  After dropping out of law school, she moved to New York to pursue her dreams of being a writer.  It was during this time that she published Mockingbird.  Later, Harper Lee assisted her friend Truman Capote in writing In Cold Blood, a work of non-fiction.  She also worked on another novel that she never published.  Now aged 88, Lee tends to stay away from the spotlight or anything related to her book, though she just recently allowed it to be made into an e-book.

"Nelle Harper Lee." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 25 July 2014.        

My opinion after finishing To Kill a Mocking Bird

I'm sorry that I haven't been doing a very good job blogging through To Kill a Mockingbird, as I've been a bit busy lately.  Towards the end of June, I was busy volunteering with Kidz Romania at an English camp for children.  A while ago, I got back from an MK camp in Croatia.  I had a great time there, made some new friends, and had many wonderful and memorable experiences, but I didn't have any access to WiFi, which kept me from blogging.  However, between two 18 hour car trips (yes, 18 hours both ways), I did manage to finish reading To Kill a Mockingbird.

First of all I'll confess: reading classics or older books is a little difficult for me.  My mind is so programmed for the non-stop action found in books, movies, and shows today, that I tend to get bored with slower stories.  In older books such as To Kill a Mockingbird, the authors go through great lengths to describe the setting, the characters, and every day life.  Don't misunderstand me, I like descriptions and character development.  In fact, I consider them to be some of the greatest factors in what makes a good book, but I think that it's the description of every day life that tends to bog me down.  Harper Lee spends a great deal of time simply describing Scout's life in Maycomb, Alabama and random events that happened to her.  While some of the events she described where important, others seemed to simply be extra background information.  After finishing the book, I was under the impression that most of it was rather random and even unnecessary.  I'm not trying to say that's wrong, just different than what I'm used to/ prefer.

All that to say, I did like To Kill a Mockingbird.  I'll admit that it's not one of my favorites but I did like it.  When people have described the plot to me before, I've always been told that it's about Scout and Jem growing  up while their lawyer father, Atticus Finch, defends an innocent black man accused of rape.  Thus, it is usually thought of as a book fighting racism.  However, I wouldn't completely agree with that.  The Tom Robinson case isn't even mentioned until about halfway through the book.  The trial takes place over only a few chapters and Tom Robinson is a minor character.  In some ways, the trial seems to be more of a subplot.  Personally, I think that the main focus of the book is Boo Radley, the Finches' freaky white neighbor.  How is this a book about racism when it spends more time talking about the assumptions made about this white man than they ever do Tom Robinson?  Well, I would say that this is a book not about racism but about prejudice in general.  In Maycomb, people tend to make generalizations about certain families, people groups, and individuals.  As the story progresses, Scout learns that not all of these generalizations are true, especially ones made about Boo Radley.  She learns that she has to look at things from some one's point of view before she makes any judgments about them.

My favorite part about the book was the ending.  When I started the book, I expected it to end happily and hopefully, teaching that racism can be overcome.  Instead, Lee refuses to paint a false, rosy picture and shows the harsh reality of prejudice.  I like how she finally explained her point about Boo Radley, her usage of symbolism, and they way she tied the story together.  There is more I have to say about themes and symbols, but I don't think I can without completely ruining the book.      

Mockingbird Thoughts

So, I've started reading To Kill a Mockingbird.  I think that the book is divided into two parts (if there are more then I haven't found them), and as I have finished part one, I thought it was time for me to post some thoughts.  So far...

Sorry, I had to.  Instead, it is about a girl named Scout, her older brother Jem, and their father Atticus, who is a lawyer.  The book seems a little random, telling stories about Scout's life in a small town in Alabama.  It goes into great detail about the relationship Scout and Jem have with the people in town, especially focusing on their obsession with their mysterious neighbors, the Radleys.  I think that most of what I've read so far is set up for the plot, considering that most of the events seem to have nothing to do with what people have told me the book is about.  Even though I've enjoyed the book so far, I'm hoping that it gets better.  Here are some quotes that I liked.

    

Second Attempt

So, I've been looking at everyone's blogs and I've been impressed by your picture and hyperlinking skills.  I haven't mastered this yet so I will keep trying. :)  All of the blogs are looking really good!!!!  Anyway, it sounds like you all have a lot of fun summer plans that I will look forward to hearing about.  I'm also exited about hearing your summer reading (both free reading and homework reading), and hope to learn about some interesting books.  So far this summer, I've mostly been relaxing and enjoying vacation.  I have obtained a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, which I will start reading soon.  Thanks Mrs. Barbusca for lending me the copy!!!!  Currently I am reading Hero's Song by Edith Pattou, which I have enjoyed so far.  Yea!!!!!  I managed to put in hyperlinks!!!!  And a picture, too!!!! :) 

This is my first time trying to blog anything and I'm not sure if I've figured it out. :)  So far my summer plans are pretty indefinite.  I know that I will be traveling in and out of Bucharest, though I'm not sure when or where yet.   As far as summer reading, I'm hoping to read To Kill a Mockingbird for my book of choice, if I can find a copy.  I'm looking forward to hearing about every one else's summers!