Last Days

I guess I'll make at least one last update before I leave! Classes are all finished, and I actually should be writing a paper right now, but I think it's time for a break. Tomorrow is officially the last day of my program here:( We'll have our final exams and then a big lunch with all of the teachers and students to celebrate!

It has been so long since I wrote a blog, I don't even know where to begin! So much has happened since February, it's almost overwhelming to think about!

Brad came out for 12 days which was a really amazing time:) We spent a weekend in Rome, a few days in Siena and Florence, and another few days on the beautiful island of Capri! It was really special for me to share this experience with someone from home and was almost a way to unite these two worlds I feel a part of right now! Not to mention I had rock hard abs by the end of his trip from laughing so much. I think that sometimes we might have too much fun together;) It was also really nice to finally have some fellowship and to get to sit and pray with somebody. That's one thing I miss a lot is the community I have in Colorado. Wow I am so blessed:)

For my Spring Break, two friends and I went to Northern Germany to stay with family friends of mine. They have two daughters my age, Nina and Tini, and their parents and mine met 25 (?) years ago in the Grand Canyon. Somehow our parents kept in touch since that random meeting while they were hiking in Arizona, and every couple of years they come out to stay with us in Colorado. So I have seen them multiple times in the States, but hadn't been to Germany to see them since I was 11 years old. It was so much fun to talk about memories and see how we've changed throughout the years. We of course did a lot of shopping, eating sausage, visiting WWII monuments, watching old videos of us growing up together and of course dancing:) Oh and I forgot eating marzipan!

As I said before, I have been teaching English to 3, 4 and 5 year olds at a kindergarten in a nearby town. It has been an eye opening experience and one that I'm going to cherish for the rest of my life. I'll never forget every Wednesday morning, walking into the classroom and all of the children stopping what they were doing to say 'good morning!' This past Wednesday was our last morning going there, and they brought us out a cut out heart with a picture we had all taken together. Then while they presented it to us, they said 'thank you!' and all of them started singing a song they had learned for us. Saying goodbye was hard, but was made better by getting attacked with kisses from the 4 and 5 year olds with whom we spent the most time with.

I spent the most of my service time at the hospital with a incredibly kind neurologist named Donatella. Most Thursdays and Fridays I went in and shadowed her while she visited patients and did some research. I learned so much about the healthcare system here in Italy through watching and talking with her and I was also gained a much better understanding of what it's means to be a doctor and a researcher in a hospital. Not only was it a really neat educational experience, but I think that it has made me more sure of what I want to pursue for my career!

It's hard to think about leaving this place where I have learned and experienced so much. This is an experience I know I'm never going to forget, and one that I feel will affect me for a long time. I'm going to miss making fun of our disgusting cat Poofo with my host sister, and laughing at the dinner table with Giulio and Gulianna. I'm going to miss running to the bus stop with Casey and Jessica because we're always late and walking on the cobble stone streets to get to school. I'm going to miss the margherita fields, Italian class with Antonella, the fun times I've had with friends here. I'm going to miss the hospital, Misericordia, and teaching English to the most precious children I've ever been around. I'm going to miss coming home and being with 'ciao tesoro! Come va? Tutto bene??' and maybe even a little bit showering in that darn bath tub with only a hand sprayer that doesn't hook up to the wall.

That being said, I think I'm ready to wrap up my time here. My family comes on Friday (eeeh so excited!!!!!!) and we're going to spend 2 weeks driving around Tuscany, up to Venice, then across to the Cinque Terre and the beach, and then we'll finish in Rome. THEN Kali comes the day they leave, and we're spending a week here in Italy and then making our way down to Greece for a week in the Mediterranean! THEN I'll fly to France to see my dear miss Kate and then Sarah will meet me in Paris and we'll spend 10 days in Provence riding bikes, hiking and visiting old French towns:) And I guess that's all! It seems like home is still far away, but I think that these next 7 weeks will fly by. I'm so excited for all of the traveling, but also I'm so excited to be home:) I miss you all a lot and I'm excited for the day when I don't have to get updates on your lives via e-mail or skype. And it's pretty much summer now, which means baseball games, barbecues, volleyball and plenty of hiking! Only 7 more weeks!

Living a Dream

I’m absolutely terrible about updating this. I think it’s been 3 weeks now? I don’t think anyone reads it except for my parents, but I guess I’ll update for the heck of it. So much has happened!

-ITALIAN ALPS-

In the first week of February we wrapped up our 3 week Intensive Italian course. To celebrate we went on a group excursion to the Italian Alps for 4 days and 3 nights. I finally got to go snowboarding!!!! The mountain was pretty impressive and felt pretty much just like Colorado. They had moguls, groomers, some powder runs, and even a little park with some fun boxes and some little kickers. But for some reason, the jumps had no landings, just flat land. Ouch! We also found this little cliff which was sweet. I need to tell a funny story about that-just in case you need a good laugh. Actually it's not that funny when I tell it because as most people know, I stink at telling stories, but maybe somehow you'll be able to picture it.
My skier friend dropped off of the aforementioned cliff but it was obvious before he took off that it wasn't going to end well. He leaned really far forward and his ski tips stuck right into the powder. His bindings came undone and he launched forward in the air. He landed about 10 feet in front of where his skis were, did a perfect somersault, and in the process his helmet flew another 15 feet in front of him and he somehow lost his gloves. Oh mio.
And just in case you're worried, he's okay. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. It was such a fun day! After some stressful days of riding, we went back to our hotel where there was this adorable spa complete with a sauna, Turkish bath, pool, heated tile recliners and of course plenty of Enya:) It was perfect.

-VERONA-

On the way to the Alps we stopped in Trento and saw the Contemporary Art museum there. A guide took us around and described the artwork and authors, so it was especially interesting to understand the pieces more in depth. After the 'tour' we wandered around and even got to see some ballerina paintings by Degas :) Then on our drive back to Siena, we made a stop in Verona for a few hours. The picture at the top of this little group is of Juliet's balcony! This is the balcony that inspired Shakespeare to write the play. We also found a castle (bottom right) and also located in Verona, is the best preserved Roman Colosseum. It literally took my breath away when I saw it. I have dreamed of seeing a real Colosseum for so long now!

-VENEZIA-

The next weekend some friends and I took a little day trip to Venice for the final weekend of Carnevale. Carnevale is the Italian version of Mardi Gras and it starts 40 days before Ash Wednesday and consists of festivals all over the country where people dress up in beautiful costumes, wear masks, and have performances and concerts. It ends on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday but I think there are festivals each Sunday until Easter. It’s interesting because Carnevale is not technically religiously affiliated, but because Catholicism is so deeply rooted in this culture, Carnevale operates around religious observances. So back to Venice. It was beautiful. We spent most of the day wandering around the city instead of actually going to the shows, but it was perfect. It was so warm and peaceful. I was so content. We spent hours just walking, talking, taking pictures, and oohing and ahhing at all of the incredible costumes.

-SIENA-

Last week the semester officially started. I’m taking Italian, Art History, Italian Institutions and Society, and a Reflective Writing course that’s linked to my service here. I also started working at the hospital and the Misericordia (ambulance) At the hospital I shadow a neurologist named Donatella. She sees patients and also does some research so it’s perfect! Its kind of fun to run a PCR reaction here in Italy because it's exactly the same! At the Misericordia I ride in the basic ambulance and our job is to mostly transport patients from the hospital or treatment center to their home. So for example, today we picked an elderly woman up and took her to the hospital for her radiation therapy. I also got to work at the soup kitchen on Friday which was a fun experience! And on Wednesday I’ll be starting at the kindergarten class:) I can’t wait to be around little kids again.

Like the title of this post, I feel like I'm living a dream right now. I can't imagine a better experience than I'm having. I miss all my friends and family so much, but I'm starting to feel like this is home! Tuscany really is magical, even on cold dreary days. And I won't even get started talking about the days when the sun is out! God is so good and faithful. Even though I don't have a church or really any fellowship here, I'm growing so much right now in my faith. God is revealing Himself to me in ways that I never could have imagined and I'm so excited for how He's going to use me here! Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. I'm so incredibly blessed. So blessed. And I praise God for His grace and mercy because I deserve absolutely none of this.

I love you guys so much!!

Miss you!!!!!

Scuola di Cucina di lella

On Wednesday we took a cooking class!
It started at 3:30 and we didn't leave until 9. Amazing. One of the host family's moms owns a cooking school, and apparently it's a pretty big deal. Sometimes she's featured on the Italian cooking channel and is ranked one of the top 100 cooks in Italy.

First we made the dough for the ravioli and spaghetti (all from scratch). For the ravioli, we stuffed it with ricotta and spinach, and then made a sauce that included butter, cream, broth, and sage. Then we rolled out the dough and stuffed our own raviolis!

Then we took the other dough and rolled out spaghetti noodles, and made a sauce with tomatoes, basil, and garlic. A-mazing.

Alas, for dessert, we had cenci, which is basically the equivalent of 'fried dough'. It had orange flavoring and dessert wine in it, and Lella made a frosting to dip it in.

Then we ate it. gah so much food. But so worth it.
That was two days ago.
I think I'm still full:)

Mama, I think I’m in love…

I fell in love yesterday.

His name is Siena.

He resides deep in the heart of Toscana and is more beautiful than you could ever imagine. As we walk the ancient cobble stone streets, he whispers secrets into my ear, telling me of the history he witnessed centuries ago. He tells me about Dante’s Inferno, (which was actually written about him), the Renaissance, and the ospedale (hospital) de Santa Maria, where children were brought into the world in the 15^th century, and families spent their last moments together after Florence tried to conquer him. He loves his history:)

He is very fashionable and would rather own a beautiful leather jacket made by a small, old Italian woman in Florence than five sweatshirts repping the American college he went to. But he’s not materialistic. He loves his family so much. And instead of working and spending all of his time on things the world says matter, he sits at home and holds hands with his mamma while they watch the news together. And his mamma expresses her love for him through food. Mamma mia, she makes the best Pesto. Fresh with homegrown garlic and basil, and usually accompanied by vino rosso from Chianti. Only the best of course. And even though he has a four course meal for prenza e cena (lunch and dinner), somehow he’s not fat. Maybe it’s because he walks so much:)

He is changing me and the way I see the world, myself, and God. He’s shown me that everyone is searching for God in some way or another, whether it has evidenced itself in the exploration of Eastern philosophy or a fight to feel accepted by other human beings. He has shown me that the great desire of the world is to feel that we are part of something. That we belong. And when we are suffering, our desire is to be able to believe that this is not as good as it gets. And that there is something greater to live for. Like Heaven. Where hurt and sadness don’t exist. And he hopes that someday we will realize we access to that in Jesus Christ.

Somehow, when I’m with him, the sun shines differently. Like in the pictures you look of Italy at that get you feeling sappy and romantic. And make you wonder if a place like that actually exists. And I can tell you truthfully it does.

When I'm with him, it doesn’t matter that it's cold outside. Because the warmth he stirs in my heart overcomes the goosebumps on my skin. And I know he’s more than 2000 years old, but I think that’s part of why I love him. I wish I could put these thoughts into words and make you understand, but it’s something that almost cannot be expressed vocally. It needs to be experienced. And I hope that someday you get to experience it :)

Once Upon a Time in Siena...

Ciao!

So I decided I didn’t like my last post…so I’m rewriting it. Sooo…

Sono in Italia! (I’m in Italy!!) And all I can say is that it’s absolutely incredible.

I’m living with another girl in the program named Casey. She goes to Siena College in NY and has a twin sister who’s also here. We share a room in an apartment just outside the city walls that overlooks a soccer complex and pool and this track that people ride bikes around. Our parents are named Gulio and Gulianna and they’re in their late 60’s. Gulio is pretty sick, and never leaves the house. Every night he has to do dialysis and apparently a few years ago, he had a bad stroke. Gulianna is an incredible cook. She has a garden that Gulio helps out with where she grows tomatoes, olives, and all kind of fruit.

Every night with dinner we have pasta then a side dish which is either homemade pizza or this garlic, spinach, and sundried tomato dish. Then we have some meat which varies from fish to chicken to beef. Ah never in my life have I eaten such incredible food. All of the tomato sauce is homemade, and she also makes pastries with marmalade that she makes from the fruit that she grows.

In the morning, we eat Corn Flakes con latte (with milk), yogurt, orange (aranchia) juice and caffe (coffee). Gulianna also packs us a lunch which consists of two pieces of bread and usually 2 pieces of salami or formaggio (cheese). We don’t snack throughout the day, unless we take a break during class to go to the Gelateria, so by dinner I’m so hungry! But it’s worth it because I can eat so much of Gulianna’s cooking at dinner.

After breakfast, we take the number dice (10) bus to the centro and either get off at the Santa Dominica Basilica (cathedral) or Piazza Grampsci and then walk through the ancient cobblestone streets to get to our school which is on via Fonte Branda at the bottom of this magna hill (at the top of the hill is the Piazza del Campo) We then spend 5 hours in Italian class or split it up between that and a Reflective Writing class and then go explore!

Today, I finally got batteries for my camera, so we walked around and took pictures for 2 hours (with a siesta in the middle where we sat and talked in the Piazza del Campo :)) So I’m trying to figure out how to put up a slideshow where you can see!

It’s crazy to believe that I’ve been dreaming of living here since I was 17 and now it’s actually a reality. I have been exhausted since I got on my flight to Rome, and now that I’ve been here almost a week I still haven’t gotten more than 5 hours of sleep each night. So while it’s all amazing, I’ve been so tired and somewhat so overwhelmed that it has been hard to take in. But that makes me even more excited that I have 5 months to explore and learn about Siena.

Okay, I like this a lot better now. I miss you guys a lot! And can’t wait to talk/hear from you..

A piu' tardi! Ciao!