History Entry On Trieste - The Tram of Opicina, one of the few Trams in Europe

The tram of Opicina could probably be considered the symbol of Trieste. Trieste's tramway is an old trasportation system that "connects" the city center to the Carso, a region right above the city. The tram's first "trip" took place on the 9th of September 1902. This means the tram is 105 years old! Ever since 1902 , the tram has been used by tourists as well as "Triestini" to move around. But why do so many people use the Tram to move around? Well, during the trip, beautiful views of Trieste and its gulf can be seen and, it is well connected with almost every part of the city. The tram has changed a lot during his life... First it was open and has no windows so the driver was exposed to all types of weather. When it rained he wore a raincoat to cover him and the controls... Then, in 1908 the windows were added. The tram was also modified in terms of lenght , it was made longer right before the adding of the windows.

The tram has had many accidents during the course of it's life... For example, the 10th of October 1902, just 1 month after the"opening", at approximately 7 AM, the Tram of Opicina "fell" down Scorcola and crashed into a house, destorying it completly. Fortunally, the 4 people were aboard were able to jump off the veichle and save themselves. However, Antonio Sossich , the driver, remained stuck and broke one of his legs. A very famous song was written about that day: "El Tram de Opcina". This song is considered the most famous and important of Trieste's songs and, just like the Tram itself, it symbolizes Trieste. Every single triestino knows at least a small part of the song by heart, and most of the old people know every single word!!!!

For other information on the tram visit this site:

http://www.tuttotrieste.net/varie/tram/tram.htm

EL TRAM DE OPCINA lyrics

E anche el tram de Opcina xe nato disgrazià
vignindo zò per Scorcola una casa'l ga ribaltà
Bona de Dio che jera giorno de lavor
che dentro no ghe jera che'l povero frenador

E come la bora che vien e che va
i disi che'l mondo se ga ribaltà
E come la bora che vien e che va
i disi che'l mondo se ga ribaltà

Co'l due se va a Servola, co'l quatro in Arsenal
col sie se va a Barcola, col zinque in Ospedal
con l'uno in zimitero, co'l sete a la staziòn
co'l nove in manicomio, co'l diese in canòn

E come la bora che vien e che va
i disi che'l mondo se ga ribaltà
E come la bora che vien e che va
i disi che'l mondo se ga ribaltà

E anche ste mulete tute mate pe'l capèl
le zerca de acompagnarse a quelche bel putèl
ma co i riva a casa se senti un gran bordèl
e pare, mare e fia copa simisi co'l martèl

E come la bora che vien e che va
i disi che'l mondo se ga ribaltà
E come la bora che vien e che va
i disi che'l mondo se ga ribaltà

L'Italia ga pan bianco, la Francia ga bon vin
Trieste ga putele tute piene de morbìn
Carbòn ga l'Inghiltera, la Russia ga cavial
e l'Austria ga capuzi che no se pol magnar

E come la bora che vien e che va
i disi che'l mondo se ga ribaltà
E come la bora che vien e che va
i disi che'l mondo se ga ribaltà

E anche ste mulete xe nate carigade
le tira zo le cotole per meterse le braghe
le fuma come cogome, le legi el Grand Hotel
e pare, mare e fia copa simisi co'l martèl

Twilight By: Stephenie Meyer

Bella, the protagonist of the novel Twilight, written by Stephanie Meyer, has just moved to Forks, a city where it rains all the time!! The first day at her new school , Bella meets Edward Cullen, a handsome , yet very sinister guy. His skin is abnormally white, his hair looks like bronze, his eyes like gold and his teeth seemed to glitter… At first, Edward and Bella didn’t even talk to each other because Edward is kind of solitaire and always hangs out by himself or with his gang, made up of extremely pretty and mysterious people… However, Bella and Edward become good friends, and eventually their friendship turns into love…

Bella loves Edward a lot , but she feels that he is somehow “different”, and she knows he has a secret he doesn’t want to tell her. But Bella is determined, and she really wants to discover who Edward really is… Then, she discovers that Edward is a vampire and that all the members of his “gang” are too. She’s shocked and a bit scared but the emotions she feels for Edward are stronger than the fear . So, she decides to be his girlfriend anyway without knowing that loving a vampire could change her life completely. She thinks that nothing bad is going to happen because Edward and his friends are a particular type of vampires that drink animal blood and not human blood. However, she doesn’t know that also the vampires who drink human blood live in Forks and that they will come and visit her quite soon…

Life in Trieste

Although many young people don’t like Trieste because it’s small and a bit boring , adults love it because , unlike other cities, it isn’t chaotic and noisy but very “calm”. Tourists visit Trieste because of it’s history and because of its architecture. Trieste was the main port of Austro-Hungarian empire and the typical Austrian neoclassical architecture is still visible in many buildings. Also, tourists visit Trieste because they want to visit the Carso which is a wonderful area where the air is fresh and clean. Other tourists attractions are the various castles ( the one of Miramare for example) and the small but interesting museums that can be found in the city center. People also visit Trieste to assist to the Barcolana, a “boat race” that takes place in Trieste’s dark blue sea. Another very beautiful place where many tourists go is the Val Rosandra , a spectacular valley with wonderful waterfalls and an ancient roman aqueduct. There are so many places and things to visit here, far too many to list…

In conclusion, Trieste is a small city with many cultural and artistic attractions , a beautiful sea, a perfect place for nature lovers ( the Carso), and the Torri D’Europa , a super cool shopping mall!!

My Grade

1. I did all 6 entries
2. I did all 6 rough drafts
3. My grade: A
a. I did my work on time
b. I did my work completely
c. I used good grammar
d. I did proper proofreading (spelling, punctuation, etc.).
e. I did the best I could to make the 24 total comments that I needed to make (I 'm missing 3 comments but I will write them as soon as Sophia T has written all her entries).
f. I used my time wisely in class over the last month.
g. I followed the rules for each blog entry (Only 1 entry is a bit too long...)