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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas πŸŽ„ // Buon Natale! πŸŽ„

This year for Christmas/Advent, my sister π“Œ’π“ˆ–π“π“ made our Mom 𓅐𓏏𓁐 an advent calendar of beautiful π“„€ homemade ornaments for the Christmas tree 𓆭𓅓𓆭 using pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 from past Christmases! One of the pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 she chose was a picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 of us at the MET with Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ! This picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 definitely qualifies as β€œChristmas Themed” because my sister π“Œ’π“ˆ–π“π“ is wearing a Santa hat, plus this was actually taken during Christmas 2015!Β 

My Nonno loved Christmas and he loved spending Christmas together π“ˆ–π“Š— as a family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦. Christmas 2019 was my Nonno’s last Christmas, and I’m so glad we got to spend it with him. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (we celebrate both days) are very hard now that he isn’t here with us. I miss him so, so much. 

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ – this time it will be Christmas πŸŽ„ themed vocabulary! 

𓋴𓃀𓄿𓇼 – Star

𓆭𓅓𓆭 – Tree

𓄫𓂝𓏺 – Gift, Present

𓅐𓏏𓁐 – Mother 

π“ˆ–π“π“ˆ–π“€• – Baby/Infant

π“Œ™π“²π“π“…‚π“›π“‹Ύ – Shepherd

𓄫𓄣𓏏/𓄫𓏏𓄣𓏺/𓄫𓄣𓏺/π“„«π“„£ – Joy, Happiness (Wide Heart)

𓉔𓂋𓏏𓏛 – Peace

π“‰”π“ˆ–π“‡‹π“„Ώπ“Έπ“¦ – Sweet Food

π“Šƒπ“‚‹π“ˆŽπ“²π“ˆ—π“ˆ˜π“ˆ‡ – Snow

π“ˆ–π“Š— – Together 

𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦 – Family

From me 𓁐 and my family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦 to yours, I hope you all have a joyful 𓄫𓄣𓏏, happy 𓄫𓄣𓏺, and Merry Christmas πŸŽ„! 

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Blog Video

Video – Replica Statue of Rameses II

This little replica of the Rameses II π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ˜π“‡³π“Ίπ“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“ statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 from the Museo Egizio in Torino was given to me by my Nonno, and I love it so much!

You can read more about this beautiful π“„€ statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 in my post about it!

Here is a picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 to show you where Rameses II π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ˜π“‡³π“Ίπ“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“ (and a replica ushabti π“…±π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“π“­π“€Ύ figure, also from the Museo Egizio) sits on my bookshelf!

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Blog

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today in the USA is the Thanksgiving Holiday, which is a day where we gather with our families to express our gratefulness for all that we have. As I’m sure it comes as no surprise to anyone who follows this account, I am incredibly thankful for my Nonno.

I’m thankful for everything that he taught me and for how he made learning so fun.  I’m thankful that he loved books and showed me the power of books and the knowledge they contain. I’m thankful for all of the knowledge and encouragement he gave me, because without him, I would not be able to read hieroglyphs.

I’m thankful for all of his hard work and the sacrifices he made in order to make sure my family is able to live a good life. Everything good we have is because of him.

I’m thankful that he showed me the power of hard work and I’m thankful he always encouraged me to work hard and to do my best. I wouldn’t be where I am today (a successful teacher, a self-taught (or Nonno-taught) Egyptologist) without him.

I’m thankful for the day we spent together in Pompeii (pictured above) because it was the best day of my life. It was my dream to go to Pompeii with my Nonno and I am so happy we were able to go. I’m thankful for every museum trip, every Disney vacation, and for the days we all just simply hung out together.

I also want to say thank you to the rest of my family – my mom, dad, sister and brother who all support me with this account. My dad drives us to museums and carries my bags, my mom is the director/video recorder/photographer, my sister is also a photographer and my brother gives me lots of support!

Also, a big THANK YOU to everyone on here who has followed along! I appreciate every single one of you!

π“™π“‹Ήπ“†–π“Ž›π“‡³π“Ž›

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Blog

Hieroglyphs and Korean!

So something you might have guessed about me is that I love to learn!! Something else about me is that when I like something – I really REALLY like it and need to learn everything about it. I’m very passionate and enthusiastic about my hobbies and interests. My normally stoic/cold exterior completely changes when I’m talking about stuff I love! My Nonno always got similarly excited when speaking about topics he loved.

One of the things I’m learning right now is Korean! I already speak English, Italian, and can read/write hieroglyphs (I would’ve failed as a scribe because I am awful at drawing the symbols – I’m kinda embarrassed to post my β€œhandwriting” πŸ˜‚) – so why do I want to learn Korean? It’s because of BTS!! I love their music and want to be able to understand it instead of reading translations!

One thing I noticed when I was learning the Korean alphabet (called Hangeul ν•œκΈ€) was that my name (Nicole) is written β€œsimilarly” in both hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ and ν•œκΈ€!!!

π“ˆ–π“‡‹π“Ž‘π“―π“ƒ­
λ‹ˆμ½œ

Now, obviously they don’t look similar at all but both are written as β€œNikol” in romanized letters! When I was a kid I was insistent that my name in hieroglyphs be written as π“ˆ–π“‡‹π“Ž‘π“―π“ƒ­π“‡Œ so it would match the English as much as possible – I was stubborn and didn’t care about phonetics.

Learning Korean has been so fun and so interesting (and very difficult) because it is so different from the other languages I know, however, I did like this similarity between hieroglyphs and Korean! It seems like I relate everything back to ancient Egypt in one way or another!

If you read this, κ°μ‚¬ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€!!!! (gam-sa-hab-ni-da AKA Thank You)!

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Blog Egyptian Artifacts

Look at all the Hippos!

Look at all the hippos π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ―π“¦!!! So I have a story: The first time I ever went to Disney World, I went with my Nonno and Nonna and I think I was four years old at the time! When we went on β€œIt’s a Small World,” I fell in love with the hippo π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ― that winks at you! The hippo π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ― became my favorite part of the ride, and even to this day, I look forward to seeing the hippo π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ―! And yes I’m sure this is an unpopular opinion but I LOVE going on β€œIt’s a Small World!” It’s one of my favorites!!!

The winking hippo in “It’s a Small World”

So when I started studying ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– with my Nonno, I always loved the hippo π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ― statues because they reminded me of the hippo π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ― on β€œIt’s a Small World!” I have included a picture of the hippo π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ― in Disney World so you guys can also see the similarities!

In Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, hippos π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ―π“¦ were both feared and respected π“ˆ™π“†‘π“„…. They were feared because they were one of the most dangerous animals in the Nile Valley 𓇗. However, hippos π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ―π“¦ were also thought to be powerful protectors π“…“π“‚π“Ž‘π“€œ against evil!

Hippo artifacts at the MET

A lot of the hippos π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ―π“¦ have lotus flowers 𓆸π“ͺ painted all over them to associate them with rejuvenation! The hippos π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ―π“¦ are most likely painted blue/green 𓇅𓆓𓏛 to represent the Nile π“‡‹π“π“‚‹π“…±π“ˆ—π“ˆ˜π“ˆ‡π“Ί and rebirth. What’s really cool is that the β€œIt’s a Small World” hippo π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ― also has flowers painted on it!