Things have kind of slowed down a bit and I am thankful for that. Yesterday we had a field trip to Ravenna and it was so relaxing. Definitely the most relaxing field trip we’ve had yet. It was so laid back and less structured than previous trips, especially the trip to Rome. Everyone in Ravenna rides around on bicycles or walks. I saw only one car yesterday and one vespa. It was so neat to see everyone on bikes.

This weekend I’m staying pretty local. I woke up this morning feeling a little sick. I’m hoping it is just allergies and the change in the weather and not the little bug that seems to be circulating around Santa Chiara. I spent about two hours at Hermes Café, drinking hot green tea and working on my bible study. I think I’m beginning to see what it is really like to be clothed in strength and dignity (Proverbs 31). But of course I’m always learning and there’s still much to learn.

This afternoon Peter Lang is taking us to Arezzo. Not really sure what he wants to do with us there. I guess we’ll see. I don’t feel well though.

Rome

I have had quite an adventure over the past week. On Tuesday morning everyone from A&M that’s studying here at Santa Chiara took a train to Rome. I was so excited to be going to Rome and when I got there, I was more excited than when I actually landed in Italy. How that works, I’m not really sure, but I was. We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and grabbed a sandwich at a little bar about a block down the road. Then a group of us took the metro (of which I am a pro now) to the Colosseum. By the way, I discovered that mass transit stresses me out, especially the metro during rush hour because of the close proximity to everyone. When we got off the metro at the Colosseum and started walking towards it, I could barely contain my excitement. When I could see it through the door, it felt like Christmas morning in September. I had only read of ancient Rome in history and Latin books, but to see it, right there in all its glory was amazing. I haven’t been so excited in a long time. We spent the afternoon walking through ancient Rome and I was actually impressed with how much I remembered from Latin. I could picture the Roman forum and basilica as it was originally and could see a parade marching towards the Colosseum. It was so overwhelming. We saw the prison where Peter and Paul were held, which brought so much to life for me. I think I tend to compartmentalize things – this relates to history that relates to religion, and so on. Just being here has made me realize that’s not how the world is at all, and all of a sudden, my Latin, history, and religion were one with architecture. It was incredible.

On Wednesday morning we had breakfast at the hotel, so everyone was very happy about that. Breakfast at Santa Chiara is on your own, which means a lot of us don’t eat it. (By the way, thank you so much for the package, Mom. It was waiting for me last night when I got back.) In the morning, we had an audience with the Pope. We had reserved seats, which just means we were able to sit while everyone else stood around. We were also recognized for being there and though we are not supposed to whoop while we’re here, some people did. (That’s so embarrassing too. Who ever came up with the idea to whoop at A&M must have been a real hick or something. Why do people enjoy sounding like animals?) The Pope drove around in a little car through the crowd for a while. I guess he needed to know that he had the support of the people behind him. During his address he semi apologized again for what he said the other week, but not really. You could tell he stood by what he said but was just trying to cause a little peace and put it to rest. It made me chuckle a little.

In the afternoon, we spent the day inside St. Peter’s, which was absolutely amazing. I’ll have to send some pictures, because I don’t know how I will ever put into words what it was like to be in there. Again, it really set into motion all I had learned about it in classes. I had always heard that as you get closer to it, Michelangelo’s dome seems to disappear but to actually see that is something else. I can see why he might get criticized for that. Why would he design a dome that disappears, but originally the plan was a Greek Cross plan and it wouldn’t have the effect of disappearing like it does now – with the longitudinal plan. (That might be boring to some of y’all – but Sara – that’s for your benefit☺)

That evening we had a gallery opening at a museum to attend, which was very neat. We got to see a whole bunch of museums that have been proposed all over the world. It was great to see how architects have worked out solutions for the building and the environment it will be situated in and for what purpose the museum is being built. However I did see one of them that simply just looked like a blob. I didn’t like it at all.

On Thursday morning we felt as if we had been there for a week and we were all pretty exhausted, but we had a full day with Peter Lang (our studio professor) planned. We started off going to the Etruscan Museum and then to see Renzo Piano’s concert halls. We toured them and this was definitely the best part of the day. It’s incredible how much attention to detail there was. And each chair in the halls cost 800 euros each. Let me just say that when we sat in them, we all said to ourselves, “These chairs are so worth 800 euros.” By this point in the day, we were all very tired and hadn’t had lunch yet. It was about 2:30 and many of us were irritable and I seriously thought I was going to pass out, haha. But the day was not over yet. Peter said we had a thirty minute walk to our next sight, which turned into two and a half hours of walking, taking buses, and retracing our steps, which didn’t help the situation at all. Then we were lead right into the ghetto of Rome and there is no joking about that. We were standing right in the middle of a gypsy village and a group of Kurds flying their flag and a group of Pakistanis. Me being the person that I am was scared to death. Many of the people were nervous and upset that Peter took us to the place. It’s one of those places that I am glad I got to see but would have much preferred to see it on slides in a classroom, if you know what I mean. We ended up at the Macro, museum for contemporary arts, where there was an exhibition by Christian Boltansky on death. It was in an old slaughterhouse and it was a little eerie walking through there. He was drawing attention to how many people died while working in the slaughterhouse – interesting, but kind of weird. The more I think about it, the more I like it, but it was definitely strange at first. That evening a group of us went to Hard Rock Café for a little touch of home and some American food. A bunch of people were feeling homesick last week. -maybe from the realization that we will be here for a while. So the night at Hard Rock came at a perfect point in the trip.

Friday concluded our trip to Rome and we left for Capri, but that will come later!

It has finally set in that I'm here for a while, though it still feels as if I'm at a summer camp or something like that...living in dorms, eating meals with everyone at a set time, scheuled classes and meetings and such. Italy won't ever be home though.

It's a rainy Sunday today. I'll be able to get a lot of reading done, which is nice. I spent the morning with James. (The book, that is.) Right now, the biggest thing that sticks out to me is praying for others. We are called to pray for others. But it doesn't only heal the person being prayed for, but can have amazing healing powers for the person doing the praying, I've found. Though this should not be our motivator to pray - it's just a benefit...I guess. This week I think I'll pray for someone I don't normally pray for. Everyone needs prayers. I need a lot.

I miss going to church on Sundays. The only churches around here are in Italian and they are Catholic. So I wouldn't understand the service or the language. Meeting with the girls every week provides fellowship, and for that, I am thankful. I do miss going to church with my family though...and communion.

going and coming

I don’t know if I’ll ever catch up on sleep. This constant going and coming takes a lot out of you. I was in Cinque Terre this past weekend, hiking with two other girls. The hiking was great. We were on trails that overlooked the ocean, right on the side of the mountain -great views of great landscape and a big feeling of insignificance to come with it. Just standing there looking at the vastness of the ocean…how do you even put into words the feeling you get, when you look all around you and the only thing you see is water? Water that seems to go on forever…it’s incredible.

I went to bed at 9:00 both nights, if from nothing else but sheer exhaustion. Combining hiking all day, the sun beating down on you, and the thrills of a new place – rest was definitely high on my list of priorities for the weekend. By Sunday, I was ready to get back to Santa Chiara though, which was a new experience for me as well. The feeling was one of wanting to go home, and then realizing that for the next couple of months, Santa Chiara and Castiglion Fiorentino is my home. S.C. is where I come to relax and unwind, but just a week ago, it was a place so foreign, that all I wanted to do was fly back to the states. Home in Italy, but not really home, for my life is nothing without the people in it, and the loves of my life are not here in Italy, but home. Home in Texas. But then if you think about that idea of home, it’s only temporary as well. For my real home isn’t even in Texas, but with God. Whoa, way too much for me to think about right now.

Tomorrow we are heading to Sienna for a field trip, which means I’ll be tired on Thursday. It’s just a constant cycle of going and coming…and somewhere in there, I get some rest. I didn’t realize how much traveling could take out of you. This weekend we are staying local just to catch up on rest…might make a trip to Cortona (a five minute bus ride, I’ve heard) and will probably wash some clothes. I have to figure out where I can hand wash some stuff…I got some clothes back from the laundry service and one of my favorite shirts had been bleached…not a fancy shirt or anything, but still a favorite of mine.

Ok…time to read, and maybe take a nap. I mean – they take a siesta here in Italy every day from 1-4, so I might as well also, right? Submerge myself in to the culture.

Adjusting to life in Italy hasn't been too terribly hard. Everything moves at a much slower pace in Castiglion Fiorentino, which is greatly appreciated after the summer I had in class all the time. Classes started this week but so far they aren't too time consuming and we've been able to get out and explore the town. Our first field trip was to Florence yesterday, so that was exciting. We'll be going back a couple more times while we are here. It was just a basic introduction to the city.

The one thing I do miss from Texas...good Mexican food - especially Galileos and fajitas. The food here is great, but I will say, I'm a little tired of pasta, but when you're eating from a set menu, there's not much choice.

I miss my family, Matthew, and my friends but thanks to technology, we are able to talk for free over the internet. That really helps me get through the days without them. That's all for now, but maybe later I'll get to my story from Florence yesterday. It was quite traumatic for me.