MY VACATION in VIRGINIA and...
A Thousand Splendid Suns - The 2nd Jewel (of a novel)  by Khaled Hosseini! A must read! A story you'll see soon on the big screen! But a story that reminded me of an ugly reality in our society: domestic violence! Let's help prevent/stop it!

LA Mia VACANZA in VIRGINIA  e... 
Un Migliaio di Soli Splendenti - (Italian) Il secondo gioiello (Romanzo) di Khaled Hosseini,

Una storia assolutamente da leggere! E presto potremo vedere sul grande schermo! Questa e' una storia che mi ha fatto ricordare una brutta realta' della nostra societa' contemporanea- la violenza domestica. Aiutiamo a prevenirla e fermarla!

 

        1. My family and I had problems seeing groups of dolphins swim by the Norfolk Bay Virginia, when we were there last week. I had difficulty seeing them because I couldn't keep my eyes off a book that I was reading, a novel (fiction story, an imaginary one, not real), and so was my daughter Salvi. My wife and my son were lying on the sand and sunbathing. 

        Although the dolphins were at about 100-150 meters from the beach, we wanted to get a good look at them because they are one of our favorite animals. So were constantly looking at the sea, when I wanted to relax my eyes from the reading. Sometimes we may hear someone, or a kid yell: Dolphins! Over there! Other times, at least once, or twice (two times) in a day, if we were lucky,  we could spot these smart, friendly and playful creatures swim by, as you see in the image below. We could see their arched backs and their air puffs shoot up in the air, as they came up to the surface and rhythmically (at the same time) came up for breathing. As you can see them in the images here.

 

        1. La settimana passata, durante la nostra vacanza in Virginia, alla spiaggia di Norfolk, io e la mia famiglia a volte abbiamo avuto problemi nel vedere gruppi di delfini nuotare a un 100-150 metri dalla spiaggia. Io stavo leggendo un romanzo, A Thousand Splendid Sun (Un Migliaio di Soli Spendidi), il secondo roamnzo di Khaled Hosseini, uno scrittore afgano che risiede negli USA.  Mia figlia era occupata a leggerne un'altro. Mio figlio e mia moglie invece erano sdraiati sulla sabbia a prenderesi il sole. Ma quando qualche bambino gridava: Delfini! Li giu! Non ci scappavano di vista. Altre volte, se eravamo fortunati, vedavamo queste splendide creature anche due volte in una giornata. Dalla spiaggia si vedevano le loro schiene arcate, i loro sputi d'aria e aqua, mentre venivano fuori in superficie e nuotare ritmicamente per poter respirare. Ne vedrete alcuni in queste immagini.

2. Unfortunately we didn't see any dolphins up close, as in these two images (top & bottom). Although dolphins live in the ocean, they are not fish, they are mammals because they breath like us. They have lungs, hence they surface (come up, out of the water) for breathing. They also have warm blood like us, and they too feed their babies milk. They do not lay eggs like fish, and/or birds. 

        2. Sfortunatamente non abbiamo visto delfini da vicino, come nell'immagine qui sopra. Anche se i delfini vivono nel mare, non sono pesci, ma mammiferi, perche' respirano come noi, hanno polmoni, allattano i loro piccoli, hanno sangue caldo, e non depositano uova come i pesci e gli uccelli.

       3. As I was telling you before, last week was indimenticabile! unforgettable! My vacation was relaxing; I got darker from the warm sun, walked/laid on the lovely clean and warm beach, the calm seascape. I spent most of my mornings and early afternoons with my family sitting on the Norfolk VA beach under my umbrella...and next to a beautiful woman... my lovely wife! And a great book! A story that kept me on the edge of my beach chair! So interesting it was! This is the 2nd novel by Khaled Hosseini. He is a writer from Kabul Afghanistan, who now resides in the US. His first novel was is The Kite Runner (which was an international best seller, published in 40 countries, and was made into a movie). A Thousand Splendid Suns was so splendid! (great story) that I just couldn't put it down. If you have the opportunity read it. This novel was also made into a film. It should come out sometime this year. I can't wait to see it!

  4. My family and I at the Norfolk Virgina Beach. From left to right. Salvi (our daughter), Maria (my wife),  and Gianni, our son.  4. Con la mia famiglia alla spiaggia di Norfolk, nella Virginia. Da sinistra a destra: mia figlia Salvi, mia moglie Mariella, io, e mio figlio Gianni.

5. WHAT'S THIS STORY ABOUT?

This is the story of two Afghani women who are forced into marriage two violent and unjust men, which cause much suffering (pain) and abuse. However, the ending is good and hopeful. But when I think of the condition of many women in our society I realize that, unfortunately their situation isn't always hopeful. I am talking about domestic violence- which is a big problem in our society at this time.  We know that our society is a violent one. That is why, at the bottom of this blog,  I have included the images and graphics (with info/facts) on domestic violence. These pictures show us the sad reality (truth, facts) of many of our women in our society (and also children- they too get caught become victims and suffer from domestic violence for the rest of their lives). My daughter is a licensed mental health counselor, and she told me that people who are victims of domestic violence, tend to end up in relationship that are unhealthy- (not healthy, not safe, not good)- they have a high possibility of being abused and/or themselves becoming abusive, the abuser, the one who hurts others. For more info. on women's abuse visit the Abused Women Aid In Crisis at www.awaic.org and click on facts. And if you or someone you care about is being abused, call their hotline 24/7 at 272-0100. 

  La scritta sopra dice: La violenza non e' cultura!

E quella in basso: 1 donna su 3 sara' violentata, malmenata e abusata nel corso della sua vita.

5. DI COSA PARLA QUESTA STORIA? E' la storia di due donne afgane che furono costrette a sposare due uomini violenti e ingiusti che gli causano tanta sofferenza e tanti abusi. Comunque questa storia ha un buon fine, ispira e da' speranza. Ma quando penso alla condizione di molte donne nella nostra societa' moderna, mi rendo conto, che sfortunatamente la loro situazione non e' tanto bella, e non sempre offre speranza. Mi riferisco alla violenza domestica- un grosso problema attuale nella nostra societa' contemporanea. Allora, in fondo a questo blog ho incluso delle immagini e grafici  sulla violenza domestica. Queste immagini mostrano la triste realta' di tante donne (e purtroppo molti bambini che diventano vittime di queste violenze, che si portano per tutta la vita - ferite, morali e fisiche). Mia figlia Salvi e' specializzata con un Master Degree in salute mentale, lavora negli Stati Uniti,  e' possiede anche una licensa statale da mental health counselor. A riguardo le violenze domestiche, Salvi mi ha spiegato che le vittime di violenze domestiche hanno piu' probabilita' di diventare vittime, o diventare anche loro abusatori.

Per avere info/ sull'abuso delle donne, negli USA visitate il sito di Abused Women Aid In Crisis www.awaic.org E se voi o qualcuno che amate e' abusato telefonate 24/7 (di qualsiasi giorno/ora della settimana) al tel. (negli Stati Uniti) 272-0100.

The essay above is © Copyrighted by Ottavio Lo Piccolo. August, 2015. All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be copied or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the authors’ written permission. Classroom teachers may copy individual articles with the images included in each piece, but only for instructional purposes and only for their classroom students. Images are from Google images, unless otherwise specified.
Italian: 
L'articolo/blog in alto e' protetto da Diritti d'autore, che sono esclusi solo all'autore Ottavio Lo Piccolo, 25 aprile, 2015. Per publicazione intere e/o parziali richiedere il pemesso scritto dall'autore.

This is the author's synopsis - How he summarizes his story in a simple brief (short) way. Il Riassunto dell'autore.

After 103 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and with four million copies of The Kite Runner shipped, Khaled Hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting, and haunting novel that confirms his place as one of the most important literary writers today.
Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love.

Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them—in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul—they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. 
 
With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman’s love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.
A stunning accomplishment, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love.
(Source:  http://khaledhosseini.com/books/a-thousand-splendid-suns/synopsis/) and images (except my personal vacation ones), are from Google Images.

  

 The movie isn't out yet, but i can't wait to see it with my family and in class with my adult ESL students.
Il film ancora non e' uscito, ma non vedo l'ora di vederlo con la famiglia e in classe con i miei studenti!

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IS WRONG!
PROTECT YOURSELF/OTHERS 
LA VIOLENZA CONTRO LE DONNE E' UN'INGIUSTIZIA
PROTEGGIAMO NOI E GLI ALTRI

Sopra: LUI DICE CHE NON SUCCEDERA' PIU'

In basso: NON SOFFRITE IN SILENZIO

Sopra: LUI DICEVA CHE NON L'AVREI MAI LASCIATO, 
MA INVECE L'HO FATTO.

Titolo sopra: IL CICLO DELLA VIOLENZA;
La freccia in basso dice: L'abuso inizia 
La freccia a sinistra: Scuse e penitenze
Quella a destra: La tensione aumenta (e il ciclo si ripete)

Sopra: Come sono e cosa includono le relazioni sane; (non riesco a leggere la scritta, secondo me sono):
RISPETTO
FIDUCIA
AMORE
PAZIENZA
COLLABORAZIONE
COMUNICAZIONE

Sopra: Il mio ragazzo si arrabia se non gli do' i soldi per uscire con i suoi amici. 
Quindi io gli pago l'affitto e tutti gli altri conti.
Questa si chiama violenza domestica.

In basso: Un minuto sei la sua Principessa, e un'altro minuto sei una stronza. Cosa ti aspetti dopo?

non ci fate piu' male

Non tappatevi' piu' la bocca

FERMATE LA VIOLENZA CONTRO LE DONNE

FERMATE LA VIOLENZA CONTRO DONNE E BAMBINI

Poster in basso- dall'alto verso il basso. Quello che dicono i vigliacchi alle loro donne:
 "Non sei niente senza di me"
"Non ci pensare nemmeno di lasciarmi"
"Non sei degna di me"
" Non troverai un'altro come me"
"Sei una persona inutile e devi migliorare" 
"Io so' quello fa' bene per te"
"Non sei degna del mio amore" 
"Io faccio cosi perche' ti voglio bene"
Ma Dio dice: "Non ascoltare aquelli che non ti capiscono e non ti apprezzano"