Topic: Iter in Memoria

[Tassadarh]

Iter in memoria... it means "A journey in the memory" in latin (yes in italy we study latin... is cool but... god if it's hard and useless)
Let's get really serious now.
I'm doing this topic mainly to tell you that I'm not going to visit the forum for about a week...
That's because I'm makeing a trip to the ex-concentration and extermination camp in Bolzano, Dachau and Mauthausen.
The trip is organized by the ANED (or NEDA, National Ex-deported association) and is half financied by them with the help of our school.
Me and other students from my school are going to begin this journey with some of the Ex-prisioners of those camps.
During the trip (when we arrive at Mauthausen or Dachau) we are going to partecipate to an international event (done every year in those camps) to remember those who died in the holocaust.
This journey is really important for me, one of my great-grandfather was a partisan who was cought prisoner by the Italian National Republican Guard (the fascist soldiers of Salò) and luckly the war ended before he was sent to one of this prisoners camp... I never met in person my great-grandparent but all his memories was told to me by his son (my grandfather).
So this is it... I'm not going to post this week and I'm a bit sad, I really love you guys and I really love this forum even if I'm a new member, I now I'll miss you a lot and this post is just to say goodbye and see you soon

[cata]

Have fun in your trip! =)

[Tassadarh]

I finally come back to italy...
It was... well... really interesting.
I wanted to say "fun" but there's not so "fun" talking about concentration camp....
I split my description of the Journey in the "serious part" and the "happy part"..
The serious part is about the visit of the concentration camps...
We visited Mauthausen and its sub-camps (Gusen, Ebensee)... it was shocking, I think there's not a film or documentary to illustrate how HORRIBLE was "living" in these concentration camp...
On the Third day of our Journey there was a special event at the ex-concentration camp of Mauthausen, a commemoration event, where almost all the ex-prisoners came back to Mauthausen... there was a lot of French, Polish and Russian but reeeally a Looooot of italians.
Every group of different nationalities waited his turn to enter into the camp, and when they were annouced by the speaker a "traditional song" was sang... one different song for each group.
I rememer that the polish song was a traditional song of the 2 WW... more precisely a Yiddish song... it was really sad.
The italian song was our most traditional partisan song "Bella Ciao"... here's a few sample of the song...
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55yCQOioTyY" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55yCQOioTyY</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgzunxz8hs8" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgzunxz8hs8</a>
It wasn't sad as the rest of the songs... but it has a special meaning for italians.
In the following days we visited many cemetaries and monuments...
Watching the survivors of these horror crying in front of these monuments was really sad... it's not very easy to tell you what i felt there... it's something you have go there and watch by yourself... But I tell you something, watching the buildings of the concentration camps doesn't give you "strong emotions"... but watching the face of who survived there... that's the important thing

Now let's start with the happy part.
After the whole day spent in the visit of concentration camps or cemetery we came back to the hotel.
It was a good hotel... but the austrian food is HORRIBLE!!! I'm italian! I can't live without my pasta! (try to eat real italian pasta for a week or two and everything elese is like mud)...
Anyway in this journey I met a girl, well in fact he met me... while I was doing my buisness she came to me to talk... BTW at first I didn't gave her much attention, a girl that suddently pops up next to you without warning.. lol it's quite scaying when you don't expect it ... but most important, I recently had a very bad quarrel with a girl sometime ago... and I wasn't so happy to meet another one while just a month ago my heart was destryed...
But this girl was quite gentle... and one night I invited her to come to my room (with other 4 classmates... 2 girls and 2 boys) to play the wii console (a friend of mine brought it there...)
We had a lot of fun, and when it was possible she came to see me (during dinner etc)...
It was quite strange... I've never been popular with girls... in fact I've never had a girlfriend, just girls as friends (wpmen has this strange attitude to devide friendship and love with a berlin wall)...
But then I discovered she had a boyfriend, they have been togheter for almost 2 years.
Anyway she keept smiling at me for all the journey and in the return to italy she decided to set next to me in the bus... we watched 2 movies with a portable dvd player (I convinced a friend of mine to lend it to me ) and talked a lot... she even helped me doing the luggage (by her own will!).
Now back to italy i thought "well... it was fantastic but... I think what happens in Austria stays in Austria".... luckly not, she added my msn contact and she wanted to stay in contact with me (strange... not the contrary... I mean... I would but I don't wanted to be oppressive)...
Now I really don't know what to do...
I like her a lot... she has a very good character, she is beautiful (at least... I think so... i don't know if I'm just affascinated by his character... maybe I should post some photo just to have more opinions lol) but she has already a boyfriend (who loves her a lot) and I don't want to make trouble...
I just don't know what to do... I'm divided... there's 2 options..
A) Take her out of your mind! don't you remember how you suffered a month ago? Don't let another girl ruin your life again! And in any case she considers you a friend! and you know what it means!! (berlin wall theory)
B) She is a very good girl... not like the others you have met before (in facts this is true... usually I try to meet a girl and be gentle with her, not the contrary)

Ok maybe that's a bit OT... but these are the 2 most important things that happened in the trip... I tried to devide the 2 thing because they were sightly different and they happened in 2 different time of the day (the first during all the day, the second after the lunch).

[cata]

I would love to go on a trip like that with my classmates! Despite the fact that concentration camps are... horrible I do like to go to places like this and learn more about them. Things like how they would live, what they could eat, etc. It fascinates me how people can endure and survive in those awful conditions.

About the "happy" part:

I've been in your shoes and what I decided to do was "go with the flow". Don't force yourself to stop liking someone or liking someone. Let things go and enjoy. Don't waste too much energy thinking about what you should do but let time work things out. Seriously, go with the flow. It's the best thing to do.

[UruseiNeo]

That's a concept I tend to work with.

[Tassadarh]

About the "happy" part:

I've been in your shoes and what I decided to do was "go with the flow". Don't force yourself to stop liking someone or liking someone. Let things go and enjoy. Don't waste too much energy thinking about what you should do but let time work things out. Seriously, go with the flow. It's the best thing to do.

Humm I know... maybe she never love me but I'm very happy about those little act of friendship anyway ^^
BTW the next year we have to work together to make a small presentation video for our trip at the concentration camp... and her boyfriend is away for the university... ok maybe I'm to evil right now... but I hope for a little bit of luck ^^

[veehive]

If it works out with her, you'll be able to tell people "we met in a concentration camp ..." 

(this works equally well if it doesn't work out, too! >)

(Good luck with her, Tassadarh. Love is hard to find these days.)

[cata]

Good luck Tass!

[Tassadarh]

hehehe thz for the support ^^
BTW this sunday we have organized a little dinner with all the people form our school who went to Austria...
And that girl invited me there... Let's home I get the place next to her in the table, the other people who came to Austria with me were a bit annoying lol

[cata]

Good luck! Don't be disappointed if you don't seat next to her and just focus on having fun!

[Tassadarh]

Thz a lot for the support guys, I really appreciate it ^^

[cata]

You can count on me. Always.