story20433.xml
Title
story20433.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2006-09-11
911DA Story: Story
While my father was stationed at Aviano Air Force Base Italy, my family and I were able to tour around Europe. Well on the week of September 11th, 2001 we were in the Cech Republic visiting the city of Prague. I was in seventh grade at the time and going to an Italian school. We had not started school yet so before school started my paretns wanted to take my three younger sisters and I to the Cech Republic. We were suppose to visit there for a week but our trip was cut short after we heard the news of Spetember 11th.
Even though my mom did not tell until the day after the attacks, I can still remember the day my mom told me what had happened. But I never fully understood what had happened until I went back home to Italy. My paretns are from New York so being so far away from their family members was extremely tough. Since we were on vacation, we had no way of getting in contact with my family in the states and we did not understand what was being said on the news because we did not speak Cech. My parents tried to gether as much information as they co9uld by popping thier heads in bars trying to watch the news while telling my sisters and i to stay outside. My mom told only me, the oldest of my three sisters while we were walking around a town square in Prague the day after the attacks. I honestly could say i did not know what the twin towers were until my mom described them to me. Once i understodd what she was talking about i was very scared but i was thinking to myself what about all my family in New York? and if that could happen on U.S. soil then what could happen at the bases the military families were at? I was so scared and my mom did not want to frighten my younger sisters while we were still on vacation so she told me not to tell them. After we were done sight seeing for the day we went bac kto the hotel room and my parents tried to understand what the news was saying. We left our trip early to come home and when I got home, it was a new world almost. All the new security poceedures were awful and so long to go through. Just to get onto the base to go food shopping took forever because the guards had to check everyone's cars. When we got home we called my fmaily and none of my immident family were hurt or killed but i had some second cousins that lost their lives and some of my uncle's friends died as well. When school started it was not that big of a deal in the Italian school because i was the only American in the school. I was continually asked if i knew anyone that was hurt and tried to explain to the students what it was like being an American at a time like this. That day will be a day i will never forget because it change my whole view on the world that I thought was somewhat safe. But anything can happen i guess and it effects everyone, no matter who or where you are.
Even though my mom did not tell until the day after the attacks, I can still remember the day my mom told me what had happened. But I never fully understood what had happened until I went back home to Italy. My paretns are from New York so being so far away from their family members was extremely tough. Since we were on vacation, we had no way of getting in contact with my family in the states and we did not understand what was being said on the news because we did not speak Cech. My parents tried to gether as much information as they co9uld by popping thier heads in bars trying to watch the news while telling my sisters and i to stay outside. My mom told only me, the oldest of my three sisters while we were walking around a town square in Prague the day after the attacks. I honestly could say i did not know what the twin towers were until my mom described them to me. Once i understodd what she was talking about i was very scared but i was thinking to myself what about all my family in New York? and if that could happen on U.S. soil then what could happen at the bases the military families were at? I was so scared and my mom did not want to frighten my younger sisters while we were still on vacation so she told me not to tell them. After we were done sight seeing for the day we went bac kto the hotel room and my parents tried to understand what the news was saying. We left our trip early to come home and when I got home, it was a new world almost. All the new security poceedures were awful and so long to go through. Just to get onto the base to go food shopping took forever because the guards had to check everyone's cars. When we got home we called my fmaily and none of my immident family were hurt or killed but i had some second cousins that lost their lives and some of my uncle's friends died as well. When school started it was not that big of a deal in the Italian school because i was the only American in the school. I was continually asked if i knew anyone that was hurt and tried to explain to the students what it was like being an American at a time like this. That day will be a day i will never forget because it change my whole view on the world that I thought was somewhat safe. But anything can happen i guess and it effects everyone, no matter who or where you are.
Collection
Citation
“story20433.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 16, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/7249.