Week 1: Famous Last Words--Romeo & Juliet

"Eyes, look your last!  Arms, take your last embrace!  and, lips, O you The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss A dateless bargain to engrossing death!"

And with those passionate but somber words, I will embark on a tale of Verona, a tale of travel and adventure--and countless maps, haha.  This past weekend, I went with a group of people here at OUA and traveled to Verona, which does not center solely around Romeo and Juliet, shocking as that may be.  While I did leave a letter at the Juliet wall and rub the Juliet statue for luck (feeling like a pervert the entire time, lol), it turned out that Verona is, all in all, a marvelous city with plenty of places to visit and much to see.

(Archway in Verona; personal photograph, Jan. 19 2015)

My favorite part of Verona was either the castles--both the intact and gorgeous Castelvecchio situated along the river and the ruins of multiple castles on a hilltop overlooking the city with the small but intact Castel San Pietro as the crowning jewel--or the huge Roman amphitheatre, the vast majority of which still stands.

(Crypts of the Lords of Verona; personal photograph, Jan. 19 2015.  Roman amphitheatre in Verona; personal photograph, Jan. 18 2015.)

Wandering through city streets we came across multiple ancient Roman arches, various sarchophagi/crypts of the Lords of Verona and other significant persons, and scattered Roman ruins running underneath the streets.  Churches abound, many striped red and white with warm colors and bright frescoes decorating the ornate interiors, with vaulting and stained glass windows opening up the space in a magnificent and glorious display.  All in all, a fantastic trip!!  (Especially seeing as I managed to navigate various train stations and stops along the way without any untoward happenings, haha.)

(Church San Zeno; personal photograph, Jan. 19 2015.)

Now to bow down to the reality that is coursework!  Ciao!

"Go, get thee hence, for I will not away.  What's here? a cup, closed in my true love's hand? . . . I will kiss thy lips;  Haply some poison yet doth hang on them, To make die with a restorative."

Week 1: Exploring the Untextbook--Too Much to Choose From!

Alrighty, so it's getting pretty late here in Italy and all these hills and all of the walking and orientations are kicking my behind.  That, mixed with the overwhelming amount of options (all of which I wish I can/could explore!), is bound to lead to a blog post which is both brief and bumbling.  Here goes!!

The four reading units that--at this moment, at least--I am interested in are. . . Drum roll, please!

1.  Italian Tales:  Being in Italy and all, and knowing only the ancient Roman and Greek mythology as I do, it would be utterly fascinating to read some of the popular folktales and fairytales of this wondrous country!  Add in the fact that these include stories much like the ones I was raised on, and I'm hooked!  And can we please have a rooster as a Pope?  That sounds pretty awesome, haha.  As long as it's an educated, confirmed, virtuous rooster, of course.

2.  Europe (I or II):  European history, culture, languages, folklore, food, etc. all excite me, even more so now that I have the opportunity to travel to some of the places and experience some of the things we have always heard and learned about.  I am always looking for more information on cultures I know relatively little about, and I feel these fairy tales could help me at least feel like I relate to these foreign countries on some level while learning a bit about them.  So yeah, let's go!

3.  Celtic Fairy Tales:  I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here, but EUROPE!!  Plus, I have always had a soft spot for tales of selkies, and Nessie, and leprechauns and . . . well, Irish/Scottish/Welsh stories.  They're just so rich and often different than a lot of other tales.  So even if I wasn't planning on going to Ireland and possibly Scotland, I would still be really intrigued by this unit.

4.  Arabian Nights:  For once my explanation of my interest has only to do with my interest.  (See if you can puzzle out that late-night, slap-happy, circular logic, haha.)  The Arabian Nights are stories that I have always wanted to read but have always been kind of wary of jumping into on my own.  1001 tales is just daunting.  But the whole premise of these tales and the romanticism and nesting of it just enthralls me.  I am sure I will be as enchanted by Scheherazade as all of her listeners!!


G'night all!  (I'm too tired to think of/look up another Italian phrase for goodbye. . . So, yup.  G'night!




Image Information.  Scheherazade.  Illustration by H.J. Ford in The Arabian Nights' Entertainments, 1898.  (Found in the Untextbook.)

Week 1: Storybook Favorites--Let the Inspiration Abound!

In my quest for inspiration for my upcoming Myth & Folklore Storybook, I came across three storybooks that I actually read in total because I was so intrigued and drawn in.  Also, probably because I'm still jet-lagged and writing this at like 1 am, this post may get a little rambling--just bear with me!


The first Storybook that really caught my eye was up near the top of the list:  The Kalevala As Interpreted by Dr. Seuss.  At first it caught my eye because who doesn't like Dr. Seuss?  Then, when I clicked the link to go to the homepage, the juxtaposed images of Dr. Seuss characters and some creepy creatures increased my interest.  And while the sight design is somewhat sparse and plain, the stories were just plain awesome!

Whoever wrote this storybook has a great grasp of rhyme and meter, and the way they were able to shorten the tales they told while keeping the essence of the characters and the stories is impressive.  The verse format worked perfectly, and the images aligned with the stories in such a way that they added to the experience of this storybook.  Now if only I could write short stories in rhyme, I would be set!

(screenshot of the Kalevala/Dr. Seuss Storybook)

The second Storybook to draw me in was Flipped Scripts: History, Written by the Vanquished.  Anyone who was in Epics of India with me last semester will have realized by now that I love taking the perspectives of minor characters or "villains," and using their voice to turn stories on their head or at least to raise some doubts and questions not before thought of.  But the way that this storybook does so in such a serious and yet lighthearted way is truly fantastic.  With the two narrators, Puff and The Dude, they are able to mediate the stories and bring in some humor and relief when topics get deep.  Yet there is still a lot of truth to the variations/backstories presented here, and so I really enjoyed seeing someone else's method of twisting tales.

(screenshot of Flipped Scripts)

The third Storybook to grab my attention (though certainly not the last!) was Nursery Rhymes Gone Wrong.  These types of continuations of classic tales are fascinating, giving insight both on the rhymes and most definitely on the people who write them.  Enter the world of Little Betty Blue, who is friends with some nursery rhyme stars you know, and a couple you may not.  Quickly, you will lose your bearings as these characters turn dark or daring, as they lose their minds and their control.  A fascinating storybook, the author utilizes images and narration to further the detail of the stories and the characterizations of the protagonists.  Loved this book, the writing style, the stories, and definitely the fonts!  Maybe it's time I write a collection of horror stories. . .

(screenshot of Nursery Rhymes Gone Wrong)

Buonanotte!

Week 1: Introduction to Mythology & Folklore!

Now that this NEW blog has been established, I believe it is time to formally introduce myself.  Or at least it's time to informally introduce myself, if I am being completely accurate.

(A personal photograph of my front porch from my favorite

tree to sit and read in; July 2014)

I am a Pennsylvanian; originally from (and raised in) Macungie, PA, though I now live in Mount Bethel, PA--where formerly I spent every summer since I was a baby.  So I guess you could say I have two hometowns, haha.  I came to OU due to the National Merit Scholarship and fantastic Honors College programs.  And, upon attending school here, I have realized that there is no other university where I would rather be!

I am double-majoring in Biology & Letters, a very eclectic (but fitting) duo.  I have always wanted to go into some kind of animal behavioral research, but also find the classics, literature, philosophy, history and language fascinating--making my choice in majors perfect but widely encompassing as far as subject matter goes.  This semester I am studying abroad in Arezzo, Italy through the OUA study abroad program, so I am busy learning Italian (all I know are a few words and phrases, so I'm kinda lost right now, haha) and traveling across Europe while trying to keep up with 15 hours of coursework--it should be an adventure and a half!!!  I am taking Renaissance Art in Italy, Machiavelli's Modern Princes, The Republican Tradition, Italian Cultural Literacy, and of course Myth & Folklore.  So, yeah, a busy semester all in all.

As far as hobbies go, I love to read, watch a variety of movies and TV shows, like to write stories (though I have issues with completing what I start. . . whoops!), enjoy playing sports such as volleyball, soccer, basketball, and ping pong, like to sketch (even if I'm not an utterly fantastic artist), love to hike and kayak, and all-around enjoy any time spent outdoors.  I have also recently resumed running, an exercise that seems to get the better of me more often than not.  Since I'm in Europe, I'm sure my main hobbies and sideline activities here will be traveling (wherever and whenever possible!), enjoying ALL of the Italian food, and wandering the rustic countryside and historical city while being blissfully inept at speaking the local language.  All good things, haha.

(One of my favorite silly photos of my sisters and I a couple of years ago

when we were moving out of our old house; November 2012)

I have two sisters, one older and one younger, and I am two years apart from each of them.  If this had been written before this past summer, I would have stated that I have two pets--a Brittany spaniel named Buddy and a gray calico cat named Princess.  But then my sister decided to adopt an eight-week-old German shepherd/Anatolian shepherd mix puppy, so now I have yet another pet to list.  And while she is absolutely adorable, Calypso has proven to be a very mischievous puppy.  Unfortunately she has only grown more curious and energetic over the past few months, but she is a lovable sweetheart and luckily isn't--at least yet--as large as previously predicted, which makes her easier to manage, haha.

(Personal photographs of our new puppy, Calypso, on the left and my Brittany,

Buddy (under my favorite reading tree!) on the right; August 2014)

Well, now that you know the basics about me, it is time for the fun to truly begin.  Onward and upward we go!!

Arrivederci!

Week 1: Storytelling--The Echo of Tommy Lin

There once was a little boy named Tommy Lin who lived on a farm.  Now this little boy was not your typical, somewhat-meddlesome but rather well-behaved child.  No, Tommy Lin was the kind of boy who would sneer at you and cause shivers to roll down your spine and goosebumps to pebble on your skin.  He was the boy who you would turn around and watch as you walked away from him so as to never turn your back to him.  He was the boy whose laughs seemed to echo on forever as he mocked you.  He was the kind of boy who brought you nightmares.

And yet, somehow, Tommy Lin always seemed to maneuver so that adults never saw him act out.  While even they refused to turn their backs on him, nothing could ever be proven against him--and you can't do anything about a child who simply gives you the creeps.  But that all changed the day Echo, Mr. Lin's barn mouser, was found drowned in a well.

You see, Tommy Lin never did like that cat.  He was always locking it out of the house, giving it spoiled milk, or kicking it if it got too close.  Then one day poor old Echo raced right into a baited trap Tommy Lin had left for him; I mean, have you ever known a mouser not to chase after a live mouse?  Echo was only doing what he was supposed to, and he wound up dead.

In fact, it was not until later that evening that Echo was discovered.  Mr. Lin ran outside to find his dog Pioneer whining at something in the farm's well, and upon investigation found a strangled, waterlogged cat floating on the top of the water.  Yet Echo had done one final valiant deed before his drowning--he had scratched Tommy Lin across the face, marking the boy for his murder.  When confronted by his father, Tommy Lin only laughed; he laughed all the way to the correctional center and behind padded doors.  And, to this day, his laughs still echo through the fields of his father's farms, along the roads of the town, and in the cell where he stands grinning through the bars. . .





Author's Note.  This story is based on the nursery rhyme "Ding, dong, bell," which can be found in The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang and illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke (1897).  The original rhyme is written as follows:

Ding, dong, bell,

Pussy's in the well!

Who put her in?--

Little Tommy Lin.

Who pulled her out?--

Dog with long snout.

What a naughty boy was that

To drown poor pussy-cat,

Who never did any harm,

But kill'd the mice in his father's barn.

I decided to take a risk (and a new storytelling route for me) and create a mini horror story out of it.  Now to find a dying campfire on a farm and wait for a dark, cloudy night. . .

Additional Author's Note.  This was originally written by me last semester, so hopefully I caught any errors I missed then and it is still enjoyable to read!!!

Image Information.  A photograph of a farmhouse ruin in the winter.  Photographer Peter Dargatz. Source: Pixabay.

Week 1: Grand Cayman and Arezzo. . . Two NEW Favorite Places!!!

So this year is going to be kind of insane for me--but in a good way!!  Thanks to my older sister's college graduation gift and my own opportunity to study abroad, I recently found two new favorite places to blog about.  Granted, this post talks about my favorite places back home, but I thought I'd put up something new!




My final week of winter break, thanks to my sister and the generosity of my grandparents, I got to take a trip with my sisters and my younger sister's boyfriend to the Cayman Islands and spend a week relaxing in the sun.  The beach was literally at our back doorstep, and the sound of the sea could be heard throughout our timeshare.  (The fact that I was able to get a tan while back home the temps only got up to a high of like 20 degrees was an added bonus, haha.)

(Personal photo of timeshare in Grand Cayman.  January 2015)

We went to a Pedro Castle, the oldest building on the island, went to the same restaurant as Taylor Swift a mere 2 hours before she ate there (so close!), went hiking, saw an amazing botanical garden, and marveled at the loquacious local parrots and massive blue iguanas--as well as the hundreds (thousands?) of free-roaming chickens/roosters and domestic cats.  All in all, a fun and fantastic vacation!!!

(Personal photo of Cayman parrot in Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Gardens, Grand Cayman.  January 2015)

Roughly 12 or so hours after returning home from that trip, I got to get back on a plane to fly over to Arezzo, Italy for my semester abroad!  And while I have only been here a couple of days, already I know that this is a place that I will love and remember for life!!!

(Photo of myself and friends with gelato in Arezzo Italy.  Taken by Wade Hensley.  January 13, 2015.  Facebook.)

The surrounding vineyards and olive trees, the walled city with its history and rich culture, the people, my apartment, and the food--aahhh, the food--are so amazing and perfect that I still can barely believe that I am not dreaming.

 (Personal photo of the country outside the walls of Arezzo, Italy.  January 13, 2015.)

There you go.  Two more favorite places to add to my list.  And be assured, as I travel throughout this semester, I will most definitely have more places to add, haha.

Ciao!!!