PS: I know I haven't written anything for quite a lot of time, but my 'Maturità' exam starts on the 21st of June and school isn't over yet, so I have a lot of things to do in these days. Moreover, I have to deal with the strange feelings connected to the fact that I finally have to say goodbye to the people I've lived with in the last 5 years.
On the one hand, I'm happy everything is (almost) over, because some of my teachers have the rare quality of upsetting me every time I see them. For example, this morning my classmates and I had prepared a little party for celebrating the last hour of philosophy of our lives: we had brought something to drink, we had prepared cakes and biscuits, we had downloaded lots of songs and we had even downloaded a 'tango' (our teacher loves it and we absolutely wanted to see him dancing). In that hour we should have also talked about the exams and taken pictures with our German mother tongue teacher (which we adore). Unfortunately everything was ruined by our PE teacher, who destroyed all our plans by making us taking part in a stupid theatre play created by ourselves not in the 5th hour (as we had originally planned), but in the 6th one.
Eventually, we finished our show (which was the worst thing we've ever done in all our lives) just 5 minutes before the end of the school day, so that in the following minutes we were too busy tidying the gym and changing our clothes to start eating the cakes and putting on some music. Someone proposed to stay and have the party after the last hour of school, but the janitors didn't agree and the teachers (just like my classmates who had to take the bus) were in a hurry. Therefore our party was actually transformed in a meeting of a few depressed students, terribly angry at their PE teacher and terribly sorry for not having the chance to say 'adieu' properly to their teachers (they all had to abandon the school as soon as the last hour of lesson ended because they had an important meeting right after the last hour of lesson).
On the other hand, however, I feel a bit sorry about the end of high school. Some of my teachers have always been nice to my class and watching our German teacher bursting into tears at the end of her last lesson with us was very moving. Moreover, having to say goodbye to my friends (who are not going to study the same thing as me at university) will be pretty hard too. In addition, I have the feeling that some of my teachers would have liked to teach us more things than they actually did. For example, we started Kafka yesterday and our last German lesson was today, so our teacher was obviously sad about that.
Oh, and talking about my mixed feelings about the end of high school, how can I avoid to mention the fear of the exam? Our Maths teacher abandoned us 3 weeks ago and Maths is featured in the exam; our philosophy teacher will ask us history questions and our Italian teacher will ask us Latin questions. Too bad that our situation in History and Latin is dramatic (for my classmates and I, the cold war never started and Apuleio didn't write anything about Love) :P In addition, the fact of having to talk in Spanish in front of someone that doesn't know me (and whose name is not Denis Menchov :P) really makes me feel uncomfortable. Especially because, knowing myself, I'll end up mixing German and Spanish as I usually do during texts.
But hey, everyone has got over this exam without big shocks and, after it, I'll finally have some time to relax (and to watch the Tour ;) In the meantime, I wish a happy birthday to Andy Schleck once again and I cheer for Sorensen's second place in Dauphine Libére ;)
Oh, and talking about my mixed feelings about the end of high school, how can I avoid to mention the fear of the exam? Our Maths teacher abandoned us 3 weeks ago and Maths is featured in the exam; our philosophy teacher will ask us history questions and our Italian teacher will ask us Latin questions. Too bad that our situation in History and Latin is dramatic (for my classmates and I, the cold war never started and Apuleio didn't write anything about Love) :P In addition, the fact of having to talk in Spanish in front of someone that doesn't know me (and whose name is not Denis Menchov :P) really makes me feel uncomfortable. Especially because, knowing myself, I'll end up mixing German and Spanish as I usually do during texts.
But hey, everyone has got over this exam without big shocks and, after it, I'll finally have some time to relax (and to watch the Tour ;) In the meantime, I wish a happy birthday to Andy Schleck once again and I cheer for Sorensen's second place in Dauphine Libére ;)
Yay! Happy Birthday to Andy, Happy End of School to Miss Fede!
RispondiEliminaI'm so sorry to hear that your last day was spoiled: that's very sad, after all those years together. I hope that you will manage to see at least some of your friends again - perhaps you can have a mad reunion next year!
And now you have a whole lot of new things to look forward to: new studies, new teachers, new friends, new places, Andy winning the TdF - oh, sorry, I drifted off for a moment there.
So Yay! for Miss Fede, who is going to do FANTASTICALLY in all of her exams (I have total confidence in you) and who is going to have a wonderful summer, who is going to enjoy watching Andy win the TdF, and who is going to have a FABULOUS time at Uni. Yay!
Coug (Auntie)
Auntie, school is finally ending!!
RispondiEliminaI actually have my last 3 hours of lesson tomorrow (my description of today's events isn't very clear :P), but unfortunately we won't be able to make up for today. In fact, tomorrow we won't be able to see our German mother tongue and we won't be able to see our Philosophy teacher either. Moreover, the mood will surely be sadder than it was this morning, since tomorrow is REALLY the last day of school and we must say goodbye to other two teachers, to our classroom and to 5 years of life together. I bet I'll cry like a baby! :P
Luckily I've altready planned to go on holiday with my friends at the end of July and perhaps one of them (who hasn't decided yet what to study at uni) will be with me also at uni. I hope so!
As far as mad reunions are concerned, a few teachers told us that they're going to talk with us about our 'Maturità' after the end of the exam. But still, they didn't say if they want to meet us or if they'll try to contact us through e-mail!
Thank you for having so much confidence in me, auntie <3
I'll do my best in the exams, but I'll have to fight with myself for not watching Tour de Suisse at the end of the month. But hey, then I have the Tour de France and the Vuelta to look forward to!!! :D
Fede, you're going to do GREAT on these exams. Honestly, I spend half of my own university career observing other students, and even if they were assigned readings by Kafka, the only thing they would be able to write about him on an exam is: "He wrote something about a guy who turns into an insect" Or, "Franz... Ferdinand, a band, named after the archduke of someplace."
RispondiElimina:P
Actual conversation overheard at the university:
Boy: There's a course reader with all of our reading assignments.
Girl: Ohhh. Do we have to buy it? We have to read all of that?
Me: I have to go to classes with these people? Just shoot me.
Sending you all the luck in the world, though you hardly need it. You're going to kick butt on these exams, just try to keep one eye on the books, and try not to let the other eye get too mesmerized by the Tour de Suisse, so that it invites the other eye to watch :P!
Incidentally, what is it about races being timed concurrently with exams? It's so hard to care about the German Zollverein, when there are Classics races taking place.
You have so much to look forward to Fede. There's all of July to enjoy the Tour, and Uni is going to be a sublime place of learning for you. :)
The end of the high school :) we were taking photos with teachers during the whole last week, was funny. How many exams do you have and how do they look like? There is still lots of time up to 21st of June! One my very good friend is used to say that if there are 3 days to exam so that’s mean there are also 3 nights, so it’s almost whole week and nothing to worry about.
RispondiEliminaAnyway I can promise you that this summer after exams will be the best ever. Maybe even Andy will help you with this celebration... who knows.
And now auntie Ania have to go back to her studies :S
Fede, that antyspam wasn't that bad... I had time for checking and correction of my mistakes
RispondiEliminaWhat is this strange feeling I have inside? I think it's called nostalgia :P I remember my Maturità, those were exciting days and an exciting summer :-)
RispondiEliminaDon't worry, take your time and keep your cool, the best is yet to come! And surely you will make us pride :-)
Francesca
Good luck, Fede :D You'll do great!
RispondiEliminaI feel all nostalgic too and I only graduated high school last year xD I have a couple of friends from middle school who're graduating this year and part of me really wishes it was me. Obviously I don't miss all the exams but I miss all the celebrations. Last year was definitely the best summer of my life.
I never really fit in with my classmates (except two or three) so at the end of high school I was quite happy to go my own way. But come graduation I could have cried too xD Suddenly it was terribly sad to say goodbye to everyone :P
Figgy, I love conversations like those. It makes me feel so clever :P
Fede,
RispondiEliminaYou'll do wonderfully on your exams. Enjoy your summer of freedom before uni. Just kidding about that. University is a great experience, meeting new people and challenging your mind in new ways. I recently went back to the town where I when to university. Walking through the campus, I couldn't help but think of all the wonderful times I had. I'm sure you'll have a great time too. But first, bring on the Tour de France!
Brenda
Susanne, I think if I was younger, I would feel clever too, but as I'm 28 (*cries*, enjoy your early twenties, girls, it's all downhill from 23) I just feel old. I assume my grumpiness towards other students is due to old age. It's like a hobby for old people to rant about the young. :P
RispondiEliminaSome of the conversations I overhear, make me wonder how some people were accepted to Uni in the first place.
Boy 1: Fin de siècle, do you know what that is?
Boy 2: Umm, does spelling count?
Girl: Is it about the Edict of Nantes?
Professor: We're reading the prologue to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales today. I'll be going around the class to hear your Middle English pronunciations.
Girl on a laptop, typing something on Facebook: Huh? We have to read?
Professor: Today we're going to be looking at the theme of paralysis in James Joyce's Dubliners.
Classmate: Why does she even bother? Nobody listens to her lectures.
Me: Did you even read the book?
Classmate: Hell no.
Classmate: Did you finish your paper?
Me: Yup, last week.
Classmate: I just finished watching the movie, how close is it to the book?
Me: Sorry, I didn't watch the movie.
Classmate: Oh. In the end does the Becky character end up in India with Jos?
Me: Jos dies in Aix-la-Chapelle, probably poisoned by Becky. She lives in England in the end.
Classmate: I'm screwed.
@figbash: Never trust a movie when there's the wiki page :P I like your classmates, they are a source of ample entertainment :-) When you create things in Economics it's not so fun.
RispondiEliminaFrancesca
Thank you very much for having so much confidence in me and for wishing me good luck, girls: it means a lot to me <3
RispondiEliminaNow school is really over (or 'ovah', as we say in our class) and the exams are waiting for me. Gonna kick some butts there - hoping no one will kick mine!!
@ Figbash: I really like Kafka, so I may start dancing around the classroom happily if they ask me something about him at the exam. And the same worths for Dubliners: I pretty liked the book and I had to study it all super well in September. A friend of mine (poor girl) failed her oral test about Joyce because the teacher asked her: 'At the beginning of the novel 'Eveline', what is the protagonist cleaning?' and she couldn't answer... :P
Unfortunately my Giro was spoiled by the last tests of my high school career and the beginning of the Tour may be spoiled by my Maturità. But still, I'll spend the rest of July on my couch, cheering for our glorious leader :D
Talking about the Tour, have I ever mentioned my crush on Nicolas Roche? :P
Oh, and still talking about (holidays and) the Tour: I won't be able to write anything about the last stages of the race because at the end of July I'll be in Spain, livin' la vida loca with my friends. Gonna have a great summer, no matter how the exam goes!
Figgy, you're not old!! My religion teacher used to say that the best period in one's life goes from when you're 30 to when you're 40, because 'you can finally have a good job, you can make your own life and you can build your family'! Therefore you still have at least 12 years of fun before starting getting depressed because you're 'old'! ;)
Complaining about younger people is a very common hobby, I spent half of the year ranting about the people in the first class who 'have no respect at all for those who know much more than they do'!
Those dialogues are great, loved the one about 'fin de siecle' and also the one about the movie!
@ Ania: Auntie, I didn't find anything in the anti-spam thing! I've broken Blogger (again)!! D:
LOL at what your friend said! I'm actually having some problems with getting organised, because I know that, if I study everything in the next few days, I'll have to review it all right before of the exam. Ah, my organisation -problems...
The Maturità is formed by 4 parts: the first one consists in writing an essay in Italian; the second one consists in the comprehension of a text in a foreign language (English, German or Spanish); the third one is formed by questions of Philosophy, Maths and foreign literatures (we have just 10 lines to answer each question, I'm already panicking!); and then, dulcis in fundo, there is the oral part, which will be bloody hard. And then, I'll be finally free to watch the Tour! :D
Good study, dear auntie! <3
@ Francesca: I'll try my best to make everyone (me in primis) proud of me and, if the exam doesn't go the way I want it to go, well, I surely won't spend the rest of the summer crying my eyes out because of that.
RispondiEliminaSchool ended exactly 5 hours ago and I'm already very nostalgic. The last 3 hours of school were crazy, with teachers telling us off (our English teacher explained Arthur Miller in the 1st hour, we were so angry that none of us took notes!), people crying and dancing and many other things.
We took pictures with the teachers, we danced under the rain, we screamed, we did a 'trenino' ('little train') while running across the school and entering the classes to ask people to join us. Too bad that, when we entered a third class, our philosophy teacher sent us out of it because he was testing a girl about Aristotheles :P
@ Susanne: My classmates are the best people I know, they're all very nice and they're all very intelligent. Our teachers say that they've never had such a good class and that's why some of them were moved when they had to say goodbye to us!
We've always got on well and we've always agreed on important matters. We cried so much when the last bell rang! One of my friends stayed in the class until 11.25 (school was 'ovah' at 10.55) because she couldn't stop crying, the poor thing!
@ Brenda: A few weeks ago I considered university the best thing in the world, right now I'm not so sure :P My classmates are lovely guys and knowing we won't see each other at school anymore is really depressing. Unfortunately, you don't realise what you have until you lose it :(
But still, high school will always be one of my best memories and I'll soon be ready for new adventures. On to the Maturità now!
Francesca, my classmates ARE an endless source of amusement. There was even a book of some of their more foolish exam answers published a few years ago: http://www.amazon.com/Non-Campus-Mentis-According-Students/dp/0761122745
RispondiEliminaI want to meet the student who wrote about the “Automaton” as opposed to Ottoman Empire.
Fede, my professor for European civilizations said that you aren’t really a well-rounded human being until you read Kafka, so you’re already ahead of most adults in life! I liked The Trial more than Metamorphoses, but that’s because K reminded me of Camus’ Mersault—a dispassionate character who accepts that the universe, and society is hostile, and indifferent. A cheerful life philosophy, no?
Your poor friend. Tell her that I think it’s bollocks that she failed an exam on Dubliners for forgetting a minor detail like what Eveline was dusting (some old photograph of a priest, and a harmonium). It’s more important that Eveline felt a sense of hemiplegia, and didn’t get on the boat to Italy with Frank! Fede, I get the feeling that if I was reborn Italian in another life, I would be disagreeing with my teachers a lot :P
Spain! I would love to see the Prado, and the Sagrada Família, someday. I am so glad to hear you have plans for the summer—and you should be leading the crazy life, because you’re young!
I’m still torn about whether or not to attend the Champs Élysées stage of the Tour. The impractical, sillier half of my brain is singing, “Andy, Andy, Andy”, but the logical part of my brain (all 5% of it :P) says, “Who is this guy that you’re going to wait around for all day, when you could be visiting the Louvre, or Versailles? You crazy idiot, be sensible!” Man, if only there was a way to contact the Tour organizers, and ask if they could make a detour, and have the maillot jaune pass by Versailles. Unless it’s Contador, in which case, they can just make a detour to the Bastille. :P Joking!
Fede, I'm so sure that you'll do great at your exams and at university. No doubt at all and don't doubt my words because I'm very, very, very old....
RispondiEliminaSilly question: if Fede doesn't pass her exams who ever will?
Barbara,
RispondiEliminaI'm very, very old too, and I agree. She'll do great.
Brenda
Figgy, at least you can choose to believe that age has something to do with it. I'm always the youngest since I started school a year earlier which means that people OLDER than me are that stupid. It's embarrassing :P
RispondiEliminaGo to the Champs Élysées! I was in Paris two years ago in the first week of July and just seeing all the preparations had me jumping up and down in excitement. And that was even before I became a real fan!
Can't you visit the Louvre and Versailles the day before? Or after? :P
Susanne, who says that young people have a monopoly on stupidity? I myself am proof that you can be older, and not the least bit wise :P!
RispondiEliminaI don't get along with the more serious students either, because even when I'm in class, discussing things like the political representation of the Third Estate, I'm really thinking about what I'm going to have for lunch the whole time. I think more about what I'm going to do with a tomato, than what I'm going to do with the rest of my life.
I wonder if the Arc de Triomphe is open during the Champs Élysées stage? Perhaps I could visit the Arc in the afternoon, when the cyclists are expected to arrive, and watch the stage from its viewing platform? Apparently, there's a McDonald's along the Champs, with a perfect view from its second floor.
Fede: I hope the Maturità studies are going well, and sorry for the non-cycling ramblings!
Hi Miss Fede, please add me to the list of people who have great confidence in you! And I wish you all the best! When it's over, you can enjoy the TdF and summer with great relief. As someone who works with university students, I'm a bit biased, but it will be a wonderful time of discovery, learning, and fun! What an exciting time of your life. :)
RispondiEliminaLike you, I'll be focused on a special school project until the TdF arrives. So I'll catch you around then. :) :)
Wow, so many people having so much confidence in me! I'm flattered and moved, this really means a lot to me! <3
RispondiEliminaUnfortunately I won't be able to update the blog for some time. I'm following the Tour de Suisse whenever I have time, but studying takes up most of my time in these days :(
Talking about cycling (once in a while, we talk also about that ;), OGL is pedalling well, Fuglsang looks very strong, Chris Anker Sorensen had a great time at Dauphine Libére and Frank hasn't crashed yet in spite of the difficult routes at TdS- I'm positively surprised!
Cunego was impressive today, just like Sagan. After all, people born in the 1990s rule, I've always said that! ;) And talking about the 1990s: look out also for Thibaud Pinot, he's very strong!
Ok, end of the cycling part of the comment ;) I'd love to write a post about TdS, but I know that it's better if I don't. Anyway, if someone wants to make a random remark about the race, you all know where the comment area is ;)
Talking about my studies, here's a quick update (if anyone's interested): this afternoon I studied Svevo, Montale and Ungaretti, tomorrow I'm planning to wake up early and review the whole Italian and Latin programme. Impossible? Yes, I know. Hopefully a good cup of coffee will help me.
@ Figbash: OMG, that book is amazing! "Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill and Truman were known as the 'Big Three' ", LOL!!
I really like Kafka, but so far I've read just 'the Metamorphoses' and some very little parts of 'Letter to the Father', which I've found very interesting. Franz's father used to call him 'a parasite', no wonder he ended up writing a book about bugs!
Sometimes I'd love to disagree with my teachers, but I never speak out my mind with them because, if I started, I wouldn't be able to stop without insulting their ways of teaching :P
That McDonald on the Champs could be the solution to all your problems! Perhaps you could take a look at the McDonald in the morning, then go where you want, and then come back to the McDonald in the afternoon and have a drink as you watch the riders arrive! If the view from there is good, it would be a perfect plan.
You shouldn't excuse yourself for the 'non-cycling ramblings': this is a random blog and everyone can talk about what they want, even if it doesn't regard cycling :)
@ Barbara and Brenda: Thank you very much for having so much confidence in me, dears! <3
@ Natasha: We're both gonna take a very well-deserved break in July, that's for sure! ;)
Thank you so much for having so much confidence in me! <3
@Fede good luck with your exams! I'm sure you'll do a lot better than I will/have done in my end of semester exams at uni :) I agree with Figbash - the Sagrada Familia is a must see if you go to Barcelona, + his other buildings (Casa Batllo and Casa Mila). Oh! And Park Guell. (I love Barca, if that isn't coming across :) Prado is good but I actually preferred The Thyssen-Bornemisza.
RispondiElimina@Figbash - see the Tour if you're in Paris at the same time. Who knows when you'll get the chance again, whereas the Louvre and Versailles will still be there all year round? I wish I had had the chance to visit Paris in July to see the final stage. My dream is to watch the final ride in along the Champs, whilst enjoying a macaron from Laduree *sigh* A
A, what what stops you from visiting France in July? Macarons from Ladurée sound wonderful! I can't wait to try a round of sourdough bread from the Poilâne boulangerie, a proper steak-frites, and Berthillon ice cream!
RispondiEliminaFor me the issue is time. I'm travelling from Canada, and don't know when I'll be in Europe again, and there's so much that I'd like to see. That being said, I do love a good spectacle, and the Champs Élysées stage of the Tour is definitely one of those events I'd like to see at least once.
Also, let us not underestimate the Schleck-factor. Since Fede is studying, let's call it "chaos theory". I personally, cannot predict my own mood. I could decide to go to the Louvre, then end up regretting it, and SPRINTING to the Champs. :P
@ A: Thank you very much for the good luck wish, dear! :)
RispondiEliminaI'm actually going to spend the holiday in a place that is 2 hours of travel far from Barcelona, but I'll surely do my best to convince my friends to go visiting the city with me! I'd love to see la Sagrada Familia, Parco Guell and Montjuic!
@ Figbash: Doesn't the Tour ride in front of the Louvre? If so, you could watch the riders arriving and then you could sprint to the Champs Elysées as fast as you can!
Figbash, it's all downhill from 23? I just turned 23!! ;)
RispondiEliminaFede, I couldn't agree more with everyone else, we all have confidence in you. Good luck with all your exams, also on behalf of my sister. University, yes.. it's great, it really is.. very inspiring. Highschool was over for me five years ago and I still miss it sometimes, but at least we have amazing memories ;) Well, remember, there'll be reunions! I just had a primary school class reunion and it was so much fun!! Anyways.. you go girl!
@Figbash I have the same tyranny of distance problem as you - I spent 2 weeks in Paris in Jan but living in Oz, who knows when I'll get the chance to go back over? Hopefully it'll be sooner than I imagine my poor poor savings will allow me :) A
RispondiElimina@ Marleen: Big thanks to you and to Tien for having so much confidence in me! You're all such nice people! <3
RispondiEliminaI can't wait to go to university right now, because staying in this limbo between high school and uni isn't fun at all!!
I'm a bit sad for the end of high school, but on the other hand I can't wait to have a new, inspiring atmosphere around me! And then, as you say, there will be reunions. One of my teachers has already said he wants to meet the whole class after the end of the exam and he also said he wants to have a barbecue with us! Can't wait for that!!