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.