Dinners, plural

So I have been slacking for sure so sorry about that. I should be studying right now but I spent allllll day yesterday working on a drawing assignment and I just want to write because sitting and drawing really gets your mind a wandering. Italy has been good and I have been really put in a place of understanding why I was brought here and just how important these experiences are. A lot has happened since that wonderful trip to England.
I had some wonderful nights hanging out with the lovely ladies I have grown to love here! We had one night where we just sat around for several hours and laughed about the most random things, honestly I was even having trouble keeping up with the pace of the conversation. It guess it did not help that we had this long night yet weirdly eventful night after a dinner with my Italian friend. Giovanni is this Italian from Salerno who Angela and I met while taking a walk. He is super sweet and was working here for just a few weeks so we asked him if he wanted to be shown around. The problem which turned out the be a blessing is that he spoke nearly no English and so in order to communicate I had to dig real deep for the Italian I have been learning. Wow that is difficult but oh so rewarding, and tiring. One night he took me out for dinner and it was so delicious. We went to this little place that was hidden down below in a basement probably once for wine storage and we enjoyed Florentine steak and pollo. The olive oil was so fresh and the atmosphere was really welcoming. We talked about a range of topics and I wasn't too bad with my Italian. I had to do a lot of hand and body gestures but hey I already do that.
Anyways he is a chef and so we agreed that he was going to show me how to cook sea food (frutta di mare) and so we went to the local market bought all the ingredients and had a wonderful meal. He took over my tiny kitchen and just went to town making pasta with spinach like greens and Calamari. It was buono. I decided to contribute good ol Cornbread in order to give him a little taste of America, that and I love Cornbread!!! We had enough to food to fill the bellies of Lynn, Denise, his and me and I had a meal later on in the week.
So in return we took Giovanni to a thanksgiving dinner where he had the works. Sweet and regular mashed potatoes, green beans, turkey, and the best, Pumpkin Pie!!!! So it was great, and after the church that hosted the party, St. James, had a live Italian folk band, what a night. It is a great holiday, but I did miss my family. So needless to say, thanksgiving is themed around a really beautiful concept, community and thanksgiving. I guess when it comes down to it, you can always be thankful to be among beautiful people and a large warm meal.

Jolly ol' England

WoW, I had a great time in that lovely place. My friend Angela and I went to England just for the weekend which is a common practice for students studying abroad. Angela and I had an agenda, it started with a D and it ends with a cute ending. We saw that Death Cab was coming to Nottingham and hey we are only a few hours away by airplane and i guess if you include all the alternative travel that is included. The thing was that Angela's friend who is studying in London was so confused why we would come to the UK and not come to London. Andrew had a great point and so we incorporated London into the trip agenda, best decision ever. I have no idea what we would have done in Birmingham and Nottingham.
So we got on the train early in the morning and headed off to Pisa which is a big port for cheap airlines to fly out of. Withing hours we were in a place that we had no trouble talking with the workers and being able to find our way to London. The flight over we had this random man start talking to us and he was pretty out there. We wished our passport never fell between the seat because it just gave him and invitation to start conversation with us. He explained how he spoke seven or eight different languages and he said he's lived in over 75 different locations and that he could not tell us what he did for a living. He was so hyper and just kept talking so we listened because it passed the time but then when we arrived to London it just kept going and it got a little creepy. So yeah we had to devise a plan to get rid of him and the Lord helped with that one.
Oh we knew we were in Britain because the first interaction we had with the locals were these kids on the train and one had a fake black baby in their stroller and another had a pregnant belly shirt and another was in a wheelchair and the last one had a video camera. They were all taking on alter-egos and it was hilarious. I love the wittiness, it was a breath of fresh air and we could ask what they were doing, it was glorious.

SO the train ride was great, and I saw really cute sheep along the way and had time to just reflect, I find that to be the hardest but also the most crucial part of traveling. It is like too much time and your mind starts to contemplate life to the fullest extent, it is amazing. So yeah sitting on the train I got through a big part of my book but was distracted by all the conversations I was able to understand, it was crazy. I could understand and it was hard to disregard after several months of only understanding tourist conversations. I couldn't help but listen in because someone meeting a friend to go out and get completely smashed was way more interesting than reflecting on life. And it definitely helped that the accent was so attractive and enjoyable to listen to. English people are very proper and just pleasant people from those that we interacted with, I think it is a large generalization but we found it to be quite pleasant whenever we talked with people. The first people we met were these newspaper men and one of them was a huge music buff and best of all he was all about blues and we talked for a good ten minutes just about Chicago Blues until Andrew met us and swiped us away. '
He was our own little Kiwi tour guide and he took us a good distance to show us his school,
St. Paul's Cathedral, where there was some type of circle being projection on the facade, but mostly we just walked around and got distracted by the buildings and people. He ended our night in the town by taking us to a pub and we met some of his classmates. When we walked by the Tate Modern we passed this instillation for Oxfam and a photographer who took these wonderfully engaging photographs that were displayed in light boxes. The photographer is, Cheka Kidogo, super talented. We had some chips and nachos which did not hit the spot but we headed to his house and we were greeted by his parents with a lovely meal. They were so great and they are missionaries there working at a church in the area but they normally live in New Zealand which explains their beautiful spirits. I would love to go and visit them especially after they showed us
pictures with postcard backgrounds. We were spoiled with a warm house to spend time and the night at. We had a great time connecting and just learning about what we had been up to both before Italy and during our study abroad. They were intrigued by couchsurfing as most people are, and we happily informed them.
The next morning we woke up to a full breakfast with yogurt, fruit of all kinds, cereal, wheatabix, juice, caffe, and more. It was a blessing to just feel like a honored guest and be greeted with so much kindness. We had a full day of sightseeing so we headed off quite early. Andrew had a full plan for us and just took us all over, it was awesome. London is a beautiful city and apparently we might have brought the sunshine with us from Italy because it was a beautiful "sunny" day. It felt so foreign to me to think that the usual is cloudy because I am just used to that weather to description to be a rare occurrence. We saw so much and had a blast interacting with the people and just trying to talk as frequent as possible with people before we had to head back to Italy. I felt awkward and would often forget that I talked the same language so I had to just get used to the feeling and talk with anybody. We of course saw all the usual things, Big Ben, House of Parliament, The Prime Minister's house, Buckingham Palace, ate lunch in St. James Park, and many other sights. The funniest thing was seeing these guards that worked at the Equestrian Club, The Horse Guards Parade. We watched them change and they were quite the drama queens, with these obnoxious boots. They would just walk through the tourists and not stop, like a cannonball coming through. The next guards that we met were way more chill. They were guarding something and they would just do this little routine and so we messed with them of course and we witnessed a little girl get completely freaked out and start crying a ton when she saw them up close. The parents were cute and witty and they scared the kids more by saying the guards were off to go get back children. I missed hearing dialog between families, so sorry if that is useless information but it made some of my day.
It was a whirlwind of touring the city and we were pretty exhausted but we still had the concert to head to for the night.




Sadly we missed our couch bus and had to take the later one which set us off course. Luckily Gill the lay from couchsurfing picked us up from the bus station and took us back to her place for some tea and a nice place to relax for a bit. We wanted to get to know her and assure her that we were legite so with that decision we ended up missing most of the concert which she also brought us to and ended up catching just the encore. Death Cab is an awesome band to watch live and we were happy to just know that we saw them in England, what more can we say. Nottingham is an strange place well not really but at night it got quite wild and we just were so exhausted that it was good just to sit have a kebab and people watch. Gill was the highlight of our Nottingham trip, she had traveled all over the world and she was so sweet just in for the night taking care of her sick daughter who is also very sweet. We sat and talked and also watched t.v. which was a treat for us well to an extent because we got sucked into the show about the 100 top icons. In the morning Gill took us to the airport at 4:30, what a sweetheart. So we were thankful and we really enjoyed our time with her and with Nottingham, Oh Nottingham!
We arrived to Rome and were immediately reminded that we were in Italy because the bus we got on left like 15mins. late and they crammed it with people and it was just like yep we're back!
Roma is a beautiful place with so much to see, we only caught a little bit and actually wound up watching a calco, football, tournament with all South Americans. It felt like I was at Montrose beach on a Sunday and that made me happy. I walked around a grabbed a couple pictures but mostly we just sat there to eat. I did meet an Afghanistan man who spoke wonderful English and he told me how he goes to this park because he has not found his place in Roma yet but feels connected most with the South American community. He was very informative and I was happy to hear about Afghanistan. I can safely say it was a wonderful weekend, and a lot thanks to Angela she is quite t

Camminare

It's a little random but I was just listening to the John Mayer song and it definitely relates to the activity that occurred this week for me. I had a wonderful weekend which involved staying in Florence and enjoying the beauty that exists within reach. I have enjoyed these weekends which I have spent here because it helps me not to feel so much of an outsider. My friend Angela and I took a nice long enjoyable walk that started in the somewhat suburb Fiesole. We took the #7 Autobus and when we arrived to the town, we just walked down the main street and it took us all the way down to this other little town, Settignao which is very quaint and just a wonderful place. So the walk took us about 4 hours but we went at about a 1 hour mile speed because we were super distracted and wound up looking at all different things from the clouds to the leaves on and off the trees. Also we were living off the earth because not only did we find a few apples to consume but we picked a couple olives and we plan on making those edible. The walk was so good because we were able to take our time and enjoy some greenery, fresh air and calm noises. We just enjoyed the scenery and I had my medium format camera so I hope to have gotten some great landscapes, especially because we passed two castles, castelli. They were not inhabited and just had their own little characteristics. I like just visiting Castles, they are just so interesting and they put you in a strange position being so close to them and knowing that they have been through so much. Well yeah it was just what the doctor ordered, besides the few sun-showers which forced us to take shelter under trees or a makeshift gazebo. We even had a little picnic which is the same word in Italian. Per lo pranzo we ate (abbiamo mangato) some bread, cheese, peanut butter and apples. (pane, formaggio, burro di arachide) It was a great lunch and we were very thankful to have a place to scurry to once the rain started falling. It was a great walk (camminare) and I hope to head up there sometime soon before (primia) the weather (tempo) changes. After (dopo) Angela and I took the autobus to her house (sua casa) and there I met (incontrare) her host father (padre) and we collectively tried to talk (parlare) Italiano with him.
It is quite difficult to talk on the spot because you learn these sayings that may never come up in the conversation so then you are stuck trying to think of English-like words in Italian.
The following day My roomie, her friend (sua amica) and I met Angela at the Marcato Centrale and there we picked out dinner fix'ns. They picked out these really big tortellini and I almost got a Pumpkin but I wasn't sure if we were headed straight home so I plan on going back for one. Afterward Angela and I didn't head home, instead we wandered to the river(Arno) and there we met some Italians. They ranged in ages but they were all there fishing. I guess that is the place to go and talk to Italians because they are already taking it easy and so they speak slowly and it works out because they also are in the mood to talk usually. It was a great conversation that we had and Angela and I combined our Italian knowledge and got by pretty far. There was a guy named Giovanni and he was basically visiting because he lives in Torino but he is working in Florence for just a few weeks. We agreed to show him around a bit and so from there we went to a caffe and talked a bunch more. He bought us cappuccinos and little pastries. It was a great time and we talked about all sorts of things, I definitely feel that my Italian is improving. So yeah I may not have been able to say what I wanted to say but the act of trying proved to be quite rewarding. I will definitely head back soon to the river to hang out with the fishing guys.

Barcelona

Wow this was an amazing time and I am so thankful that Angela was my buddy for this journey. Sadly she came down with a random case of food poisoning or food allergy so that was lame but she was a trooper. Seriously if I was as sick as her I would not want to get on a train, bus and a plane, oh and let's not forget Xavier's car. We had a full day of traveling the first Lunedi of the break and so I started my day with a hike. Angela was to join me but I let her sleep which was amazing for the both of us. I had alone time and she had zzzzz time. My hike was quite random and I had no idea where I was going. At this time I was still in Bardonacchia and so I was up in the mountains of Italy. It was a beautiful day, a little foggy but it made for a great walk. I just had some time to think and time to connect with God, it's quite majestic when you are surrounded by mountains and you feel so humbled being so small. I walked for a good hour through the town but that was not that eventful, I wanted nature not streets and cars. Finally I found a beautiful path that lead me to a Castle, it was wonderful. I could not have asked for a nicer time to take a walk because I had to sit for almost the entire day because I was stuck on many transportation vehicles which do not allow standing.
So Barcelona, first Angela and I were so blessed with the couchsurfer we picked. He waited at the airport for an hour because we couldn't use our phones and didn't know how to work the phone teamed up with his number. We are so glad we finally got a hold of him because he took us to his house and it was so nice to finally rest and to rest in a home of someone. I would have not liked placing Angela in a hostel for the night especially in her condition. Xavier and I stayed up a couple hours just chatting and he worked on his English and I just spoke not trying to try Spanish or Italian. I know, I was lazy but he needed the help more-so than I did. It was chill but when we woke up in the middle of the night it was clear that Angela and I not having a blanket would be a problem. Spain had a big cold front come right through and we got the most of it. The next day was raining the entire day and so Angela was still out of commission and we just walked around Barcelona and took it easy. Xavier met up with us later on in the day and took us back to his house. I went out and bought some soup fix'ns; celery, carrots, peppers, potatoes, chicken broth, noodles, and the secret ingredient; lime. I took the mother roll and made us a nice big pot of chicken noodle soup and it was wonderful. We all hugged a warm bowl of it and sat in for the night, just what the doctor ordered in Angel's case. It was great to be settled and have access to a kitchen.
The next day Xavier took us out for a little day in Barcelona, first we stopped at a bakery called La Panera which was a small little cafe' and we had chicolatta caldo which is basically hot chocolate pudding. We headed out and went straight to Park Guell which is the park with the super long mosaic park bench and it was beautiful. Besides the lame weather once again, we had a fun time running around and checking out all the beautiful mosaics. I want to make one when I get back or sometime soon because they are wonderful and they seem pretty practifal, take old broken things and reassemble them to make something new. We also went to La Boqueria which is a huge central market in the middle of town and it has all types of items and some charming little places to stop and grab a quick lunch. We were pretty cold and I just wanted to go someplace and eat something light and steal their heat for a few moments. We wound up going to some genaric place that had the front door wide open and I ordered pizza, not exactly what I wanted but it had to do. I would write down the name but more for the fact that it should be detoured. So after lunch Angela and I headed to the MACBA, which is a contemporary art museum. It was great and the metra took us right there, it is quite close to La Boqueria so th estop is Leica or something like that and you just head down l'Hospitale street. I could not have asked for a better place to get lost in with so much photography, I was in heaven. It was cool to see what Barcelona's contemporary art scene looked like and how they compare to the rest of the world. There was one exhibit where the photographer took portraits of the latin kings in Barcelona and is researching about their culture and how they fit into the whole makeup of Barcelona. Sadly there is a large drug problem in Barcelona and we witnessed it head on and it was quite depressing. I think it is important to understand where these individuals are coming from and see that they may not know of any other options, so prayers for them are important to just give them a boost in the right direction. Following the museum visit which lasted the rest of the day, we went back to Xavier's and again I made a big soup for everyone. I am on a soup kick and I have no problem with that.
The highlight of the night was when Xavier's friends came over and it was just obvious that he was pleased with our visit and his friend's all had the chance to practice their english and enjoy a change of pace. They enjoyed the soup but more so they enjoyed the cookie cake that we made. Angela was just wanting to bake and so we conjoured up a random recipe and it turned out both a disaster and a master piece. First we boiled some cloves and then added some ingredients to that; butter, sugar, milk, eggs, and then we added flour, baking soda and cinamon. The last thing we did was break up a dark chocolate bar because chocolate chips are pretty much not a thing over here. The only baking dish we had was a caserole dish and so we added the mix to that and baked it for a little bit. The problem was that the bottom was burning and the top was pretty good but the inside was not getting there. Xavier told us to nuke it which we were hesitant to do but it turned out pretty good. We just had a pretty gooey cookie cake which was a hit for the spanish people. Xavier told us that they talked about the cookie-cake, which they named it, the next day at work which is hilarious. We all sat around and ate the cookie-cake and two of his friends really didn't speak English so there was some translation going on but the two Xaviers took off and let us with the spanish speakers, that went way better than we expected. We talked for a good hour and yet we spoke only a small amount of eachother's language. I think that was great and I know that is how I need to learn a language. I just need to have no crutch from people being able to speak English.
The following day we headed up to Xavier's roof and it was a beautifully sunny day and it was great to just hang out with his friends and I got to play around with my Medium format. Xavier's friends treated us like best buds and it made all the difference. Since the day was so nice Angela and I headed to the parks close to the sea and they were enormous and really pretty. I love walking and I love it even more without the rain. Xavier's friend Xavier met up with us and he took u son a personal tour through the Gothic District which has the houses of Gaudi and some other beautiful works of arcitecture. He took us around and it was so easy because he knew where to go and he spoke to people if we needed something, it was great. After that we all met at La Sagrada Famiglia which is the church that Gaudi started but it will not be done for another 20 years or more, it is crazy. From there Xavier drove us to the top of one of the mountains in Barcelona, to the Olympic village and this super cool fort. It was closing so that trip was kinda quick.
That night Xavier took us to this amazing Tapas bar which was totally authentic and we enjoyed some really great Spanish Tapas. Everything having to do with tapas is fried but we had potatoes, green chiles, calamari, and what looked like blood sausage. It was delicious and we enjoyed the Spanish atmosphere.
So yeah if you want to go to Barcelona do it and don't let rain stop you because there is some real beauty to be found there. Both in the people and in the scenery.
Early in the morning Angela and I headed to the bus station to catch one to Madrid. xavier walked us to the Metra and it was sad little goodbye but we had a good time so all is good. The tain ride lasted about 5 hours but it wasn't too bad, just the act of sitting for that long was killer. Once we got to Madrid we had no idea what we were going to to. I had contacted a couchsurfer but we needed a number to call and that meant we needed internet so we headed toward the University stop on the metra. The metra is overwhelming at first but then it is a breeze once you get it. In no time I just brought up to Angela that we should just skip out on couchsurfing; enjoy a night at the museum and a long dinner and just head to the Airport a numch early because we had a 6 am flight. That was the plan and so we went to the Contemporary museum which has a bunch of Picasso and Salvador Dali among others.
Right around the corner of the Museum there is a super authentic little bar that we snatched a quick lunch from before closing ourselves in the Museum. The guy behind the counter spoke no english but served us this delighful Potato ball thing stuffed with Spinach. It hit the spot and we were good till we stopped for Thai food after the Museum. Over all the plant to no-mad for a while worked out perfectly but left us with only an hour of sleep and so we were done by the time we reached Florence. So Fall Break was a Success, and Angela was a great buddy to travel with.

Terra Madre= Amazing

Oh man how the break did begin with a bang! I attended the Terra Madre 2008 conference and it was unbelievable. Oh man, I had no idea what to expect, I guess I was told that it had something to do with sustainability and the quality of food. Low and behold it was a movement, supporting the connection of community and food processing. This is a conference that now held it's third birthday and so people come from all over the world and learn about new ideas to spread sustainability and how to give more back to the people that matter most which are the farmers. The conference was held in Torino where the 06 Olympics were held and so you can image we pretty much filled the stadium and there were opening ceremonies and closing ceremonies. 152 countries were represented and counting because there were tribes within those countries that may as well be separate. Honestly the speeches were pretty great especially because they had live translation in 11 languages but that too can leave you with mis-translated information. Regardless the speakers included the President of Slow Foods, a powerful Woman Activist in India, a highschool student from Massachusetts who created his own school garden. The president of Slow Foods, a powerful Italian man, was so passionate about getting people inspired to take action and most of the time he was directing his speeches to the power that the youth holds. His name is Carlo Petrini and this quote says a lot,
"Eating is no longer about Love, but about consuming fuel. A woman cooks some food and no one smiles at her to say thank you. Neither is there any fascination with food. In Mediterranean Europe there is still that fascination, still the conviviality, the ritual. The most important thing about eating is to enjoy the moment of affection between family members or friends or work colleagues. A civilization that loses its ritual becomes poor. It is especially important for children to learn again how to experience communal eating"
So you can image that people were so different because it is a message that involves the entire world and it is especially directed to the that are falling into the trap that commercialized food companies created by luring people in with the desire to make things convenient. So at Terra Madre I learned of the struggles that farmers face daily and how they are coping through these struggles and also the wonderful things they are doing to in a way fight back and inform people that they are important people and deserve way more recondition than they are getting. The opening ceremony was great and it was just a great way to get people pumped about the days that lay ahead.
The great thing about my opportunity was that all the youth were sent to the same housing complex which was in Barranacchia about an hour away which was where the athletes stayed for the winter games. On the bus rides I met so many different people, both nationally and internationally. I met a lot of people from the east and west coast who were giving me great examples of how to bring knowledge of this problem to my campus. A girl from Yale explained how they have a school garden and how they sell a lot of the food that they grow to their campus dining centers and of the food that they are unable to grow or produce the school buys from local farmers. It was inspiring too, to hear of Eat-ins going on across the United States which is a form of protest but it is peaceful and spreads a great message. Basically a sit-in involves a group of people that buy ingredients from local producers and collectively they cook a meal to be served on a big long or very obvious table that is in the middle of a public space. The protest is an informational gathering that brings people together to enjoy a completely sustainable meal in hopes of inspiring others to do the same but more importantly it spreads awareness about the injustices of farmers that are ruled by the commercial enterprises. I definitely would like to take part in one or organize one for ISU and see how it turns out. I already love having pot-lucks so this will just be icing to the cake. I want you to image people from all over the world coming together and enjoying each others company and learning from each other with and without a language barrier, that is what I witnessed at Terra Madre and it was unbelievable. The beauty that I witnessed just shows how God has given us difference to embrace and just leave us speechless. Seriously I had some of the best conversations in my life and they mainly involved looks and or many hand gestures.
When I was there I attended several talks about the increase of spreading the knowledge and so on which were wonderful but became repetitive, I wished that I attended more of the interesting shows on things such as cheese production and wine tasting and things that I may not regularly have the opportunity to enjoy. So yeah if you get the chance to attend this wonderful event make sure to check out the events taking place at the Salone Del Gusto, they will blow your mind.
To fast-forward, I would like to just tell you how amazing the closing ceremony was. It started with speeches that were again inspiring and gave us even more of an incentive to change the way we grocery shopped and changed how we consume our food. After the speeches it became a dance part with a mixture of cultural music ranging from Ethiopian drumming and horn blowing to Italian traditional music to Native American ritual dancing and drumming to Belarusian Accordion playing to Arabian marriage performance which were all teamed up to the music of Mau Mau. It was a three hour dance party with people teaming up from all over the world. I captured some great photos but they do not give it justice. I want you to picture a Mexican with a sombrero dancing with a Hippie like girl and African women and men dancing with Chinese people both in traditional garb. I danced along side random people and enjoyed the company of Angela and my new found buddies from Switzerland who were sweet girls that I became really close with over the course of the conference it did help that I invited them to stay in the empty beds in my room because they were given the opportunity to attend the conference but were not provided with housing and basically it was impossible to find housing. But that is another story in itself, so here is a link to the media that was taken there. I looked and honestly could not find enough information to truly enlighten you of the beauty that took place but they are planning on making a documentary so keep your eyes peeled.
http://multimedia.slowfood.it/index.php?lng=2
This is also a wonderful site with these beautiful portraits taken at Terra Madre of the faces of the world. Please check it out because I would often pass the area where these were being taken and I cannot even tell you how different all the faces were and the photographers did a great job of capturing their unique qualities. Also I want to just end with informing you that I cannot even tell you how many different foods I consumed just from walking around the different stands and just enjoying the different flavors that my mouth had the privilege of tasting. There was a lot of cheese and meats, honey, chocolate and cookies depending on the area you were in but you did have the surprising treats from random places that were just so random. I enjoyed some really great things including nuts, Israeli treats, Italian soup, man the list goes on. So yeah I wish I could just bring you along because it is impossible to try and tell of all the tasty treats. But yeah I guess the next post will be of my continued adventures to Barcelona and just what all occurred there.
Oh I almost forgot, Angela and I and our new Turkish buddy made signs to give out free hugs and by the end of the night we had only gone through the hang out spot at the youth logging and wound up with over 15 different languages and even more friendships with wonderful people. I think it helped that Terra Madre was like a big filter to pick out people that are passionate about sustainability and preserving the land and the people, so I already took a liking to most individuals I came into contact with. So yeah I really enjoyed myself and I hope to some day attend another Terra Madre.

The stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Italy, well Cortona. It was quite a beautiful sight especially the stars up in the Italian sky. It was pretty spontaneous of us; Lynn, Angela and Sarah, when we decided to go for a walk and wound up on some random drive way and so there was our star gazing spot. Cortona is a little town that sits a top this hill and there is a magnificent view if you walk to the end of the street(strada) I enjoyed the tranquil atmosphere which invited all walks of life. Our tour guide Luca is a calm spirited Italian man who lives a simple life and he took us to the top of the hill where there is a Medieval fortress and a Renaissance church, Church of Santa Margherita, where her body of is on display. She is the patron saint of the falsely accused; hoboes; homeless; insane; orphaned; mentally ill; midwives; penitents; reformed prostitutes; third children; tramps. So anyways there is a wonderful cathedral that is filled with some wonderful paintings and the architecture is really a spectacular. So yeah I have to admit that the trip was unbelievable and having my somewhat unexpected roommate, Angela, was a great treat. I am loving these random times and I know that I have been blessed being here and being able and willing to go places and just see where I end up. The little towns were wonderful but towards the end of the trip after all the awesome food, I started to feel like I was seeing a repeat of the town before. That's when I knew that I wanted to actually engage myself with more than just the tourist tour but actually maybe have a real conversation with the locals or even spend some quality time with people from around the areas I was at. So that is the ramble about Cortona and Pienza and the other beautiful places I went. I have to admit this uploading of photos has proven to be the hardest part, and so I almost feel like I am just preparing a super cool slideshow for all those that would like to sit down with some popcorn and hear some tales from abroad, a world premiere if you will.

Ravenna

Ravenna, it was such a random trip but Melissa suggested it and I was pretty excited to just explore any part of Italy. Ravenna is a beautiful town on the east coast of Italy. It is most know for it's Byzantine Mosaics within several of the churches throughout the town. We had to catch an early train around 7 in the morning and even though we thought we were early, the train too was early and thus we had to sit around and wait on the next departing train. Luckily the trusty McCafe' was open and so we sat there for a couple hours and enjoyed some tasty coffee and pastries from McDonalds of all places. I know it's lame to go to McDonalds for pastries when we are in Italy but we just went for convenience and McCafe was the closest thing. It was actually nice to have a moment to collect ourselves and enjoy a time to sit before we embarked on our journey to Ravenna. To get to Ravenna from Firenze you have to stop and change vehicles in Faenze. The train trip there took about 2 ore and it was pretty pleasant. Sadly we had to switch to a bus which was not so pleasing. While in Faenza we went for a walk to catch a quick snack. Melissa and I purchased some cookies which turned out to be super dry and could have possibly cracked some teeth. I had never craved milk (latte) more than at that moment. Funny thing, as we walked back to the train station we passed a wall that had a vending machine like thing that dispersed latte by the litre. I had my nalgene and filled that sucker up, it was glorious. Even with the help of the latte, those cookies were staying pretty hard so I gave up and just enjoyed my latte from a wall in Faenza. I would love to write a story about such an invention. Denise was so determined to find McDonalds and we had zero luck following the signs to the nearest one, I guess it was good that we didn't find one personally I am not a fan of McDonalds/McyDs so I can always do without it, but Denise just had one of those days. Upon arriving in Ravenna Denise immediately strolled into the McDonalds attached to the train station while we collected ourselves after a horrible bus ride that just made us all sick to our stomachs and just put us in a funk. As soon as we began strolling through the streets we could feel a great difference in comparison to Firenze. Firenze is so busy and filled with tourists where as Ravenna definitely practiced Siesta and all things Italian. It was actually quite desolate and just about the only things offering much to us were the churches. We went into a total of 5 churches I wanna say and they were all equally stunning. One had some really odd set up of strange figurines which did not match and had such odd physical features. I had to stop taking pictures of them because they were so odd. I liked being in churches that still function as churches, not just a place to charge tourists for it's historic features. The streets were very inviting to our exploration and so we walked for several hours not knowing where we were headed. At one point we saw a sign for water meaning the ocean and we were so tempted to walk there but after inquiring about the distance we found it to be more than 10kil. away. Not cool. So we just continued toward the train station but wandered upon an old fort, it was renovated into a park with fun playground equipment. We had a good time reenacting our childhood by spending time swinging. Having done that it was safe to say that we experienced Ravenna. The funny thing was that the things that enticed us about the town was the one thing we could not see.
The Church which holds the more popular mosaics was holding a wedding ceremony the exact time we were there and it was going to last a while so we decided to continue on in hopes of returning before departing. Sadly those plans fell through and we just accepted that we will have to return if it really strains our heart that we did not experience those lovely Mosaics. I took a lot of photographs but the one thing I regret not taking a picture of was the meal we had in Faenza. We had a pit stop there on the way back to Florence and so we decided to catch a meal there. As we walked around, there was no sign of a good place to eat which was a bummer but we kept at it and wound up arriving just as this one place was opening for the night. The place was really large and it had an enormous menu. The name of it , Osteria del Mercato. We did not know what to expect but there is such an assortment of things to choose from and even a small buffet which I wish I got because the food looked so appetizing. The bread they gave us before the food was so spongy and delicioso, we finished off two baskets full within the small amount of time we got to stay there. We ordered pasta and when they brought it out it looked to tantalizing. The noodles were homemade and so fresh. It was pretty fattening because there was a lot of grease involved but regardless it was so good. Getting to the good part of the trip, we ran to the train station only to find that our train was a fiesta train meaning it only goes out every other oggi. Wow, so what were we to do.... While we sat there waiting we helped a small old man with his train issues, because he too was headed in our direction but he knew of how to get there with the use of a detour. We on the other hand did not put two and two together and wound up asking some wonderfully helpful African ladies. Getting back to the old man, his name was Giorgio and he was coming back from a senior citizen gathering where there was a poetry contest. The poem that he entered which won 4th place was entitled, I'm Not a Dog, and it talked of how getting old almost feels as if you become a dog. He explained that people tell him where to go, they feed him and think he is unable to take care of himself. He finished with how he is able to do things on his own and how he is much more capable than people think but if people want to baby him he has no complaints. Well that is what I think he translated it as. He had excellent English and told us of his life. Old people have wonderful stories which help with journeys because they have experienced a lot and have many things to teach us, the younger generation. He admitted that he really enjoys sitting and talking with young people and he said often when he looks in the mirror he does not recognize the man in the reflection. He said he has a very youthful mind but his physical state does not match up. It is so important to exercises your mind and to try new things in effort to stretch your mind.
So after learning of a practical detour we hopped on a train only to find that we had to pull the foreigner card and sweet talk our way out of a ticket and having to pay, Praise the Lord cuz that would've been awful, so we were given a foreigner stamp and he helped us find the next train once we got to Bologna. It was such a blessing to be helped in our time of need and so we just had faith that we were going to be guided home, that is very peaceful feeling stemming from the spirit. We were worried don't get me wrong but it almost seemed pointless to worry. The next train we had to take was called the night express or something like that and it was super ghetto. We didn't get a ticket but that was not a problem because there was no one in sight checking and just about anyone hopped on that creepy dark train. We had to cram into a little compartment and we instantly fell asleep the moment we somewhat spooned. There was a squeaking sound that eventually our ears just droned out, and so it was quite easy to pass out and just enjoy the ride. It was not an enjoyable ride by any means but it got us where we needed to go so there are no complaints.
The final part of our journey included the long walk home from the farthest train station from our house. What I thought was a shorter walk turned out to be a much farther distance than what I remembered from first arriving. We trekked home at an impressive speed and so in time we found the leading light to by the statue of David at the top of Piazza Michelangelo. It never felt so wonderful to make it home and just crash for the night.

"When you have eaten and are satisfied, Praise the Lord, your God." Deuteronomy 8:10.
So yeah as you can tell from that passage, I had some great meals here and I just want to say thanks to the Lord for his provision. It is pretty great to have a meal every time I go hungry. I joined a group of ladies for lunch yesterday and we ate at this wonderful little place that had phenomenal dishes to choose from. Personally I was not as hungry as I would have liked so I wound up getting an ensalata.(salad) The vegetables were so fresh and I had some really great Feta cheese on top. I had my fair share of free bread offered at the counter so I was pretty satisfied. I normally do not have large lunches so it hit the spot. I met these ladies through my wonderful friend Angela who I am going to to be traveling with after school gets out. We share many things in common and she just has an attitude about life that I could not agree more with. She is a go-getter and I really enjoy all interactions with her. So she lives with a host family that is affiliated with Agape (Campus Crusade in Italy) and through that she had lunch plans and invited me along. I also met a girl from University of North Carolina and she was a sweetheart. We shared a bit about ourselves but for the most part we were just learning about how the program is doing and what they plan to do in the future. It is crazy how the Lord is providing for this little ministry, and one of the ladies informed us of the cultural differences as far as religion is concerned. It is obvious that people are more prone to have a private religious life that does not correlate with their public life. It was definitely interesting to hear their point of view and to see how they respond to this dilemma.
I had two oral presentations both of which went well and I am glad I prepared myself for them. One was on a piece of art by Luca della Robbia who lived during the 15th century and produced many beautiful pieces of sculpture. He is known mainly for his glazed terracotta pieces majority of which depict the Virgin and Child. My other presentation was just in Italian and I had to describe Mi Famiglia.
Later on that day, I had the opportunity to attend a wonderful musical performance at the British Institute of Florence. It is right around the corner from my house and I just strolled over there a little late because I wound up having to stand for the performance since the place was packed. It was held in the Library and I want to add that it was such a great combination of things within the room; piano and literature. The books really created an interesting atmosphere for the music to accompany and I was pretty inspired, enough to write a poem of some type. I am not much of a writer so I will spare you the time and energy and therefore not publish it.
I loved being there because I got my fix of listening to live music and people watching which was a blast because most of the people were British and it was a joy to hear their accents. I deffinately plan on hitting up that library and checking out their sellection of books. I hope I have the permission to take out books and so on even though I don't have a card or whatever is needed. I will look into that. So yeah to conclude my night I joined a sweet newlywed couple that attends church with me and we enjoyed a wonderful night of pizza. I think it was good to spoil myself as far as food is concerned because I have been holding back on spending money here. I don't think you can blame me with the economic crisis taking place back in the states. So yeah I guess I have been just busy doing random things and I plan on traveling somewhere away from Florence this weekend so I will keep you posted.

So I probably should be researching for an oral presentation I have or studying Italian so I can just get the language but I just feel like this is way more up my alley right now. I had a great weekend but I was grabbed by the arms and held back from any real vigorous activity. It was definitely an uneventful weekend to say the least. Honestly, the highlight to my weekend was watching the Presidential Debate, which was quite boring and I felt like the answers were safe and nothing was really elaborated on. I also thought it was quite odd that McCain not once looked Obama in the eyes or speak to him directly. I had to watch it at a nearby school with many cool Democratic Americans that were part of the club Democrats Abroad. They served some really tasty treats and the building was so wonderfully old and classic. Afterward I went to a friend's house and cooked her some food because she is without her house mom and she doesn't know how to cook. It was quite odd working in someone else's cucina especially an Italian one. Things were real cute and small and we of course finished the meal with a nice espresso. I cooked up some rice and veggies and we bought some really delicious desserts and of course gelato.
It is just interesting to be so laid back being here and not being completely busy, but I might go to Romania and that would be quite a weekend. I just was exhausted and felt it would be fine to just take it easy and enjoy Florence through a different perspective. I went out but just to take a stroll, not to go to a discotec or anything like that. I did go to an Impressionist exhibit and it was very wonderful. They painted on a lot of what see mes like scrap pieces of wood majority Cigar boxes because they would be outside and just find a surface to paint on.
Oh I guess I did go to a Chianti Farm and it was very stupendous, and it was in an Old Castle and you could just sense the history. The scenery was gorgeous and we tasted some really delicious wine. I am not much of a drinker and I had about four glasses and it was a little much for me. Luckily they gave us snacks so we downed those in an effort to absorb the alcohol. I was going to buy some olive oil but it was ridiculously expensive and I guess I am in Italy so things I buy here will be authentic regardless.
I am finding some interesting sections in Florence like today I found a neighborhood that consisted mainly of Arabs because we were in search of this really good Egyptian bakery. They sell Kababs like no other here and I am definately going to buy one the next time I am around and in need of nourishment.
Oh and on the Thursday before the weekend we went to Prato where there is a Contemporary Art Center and we met one of the artists whose art is on display. He had some really interesting work and it dealt a lot with movement and mapping that movement. It was wonderful to talk with the artist and hear his meanings behind his work. He covered all the windows with this orange plastic and it made the room so red it was quite unbearable but soon we just got used to it. My whitebalance settings on my camera were outa control. He had copied a nautical map that is like a topographic map but for the ocean floor and he enlarged it for the entire wall, it was quite spectaculat. I'm excited because we now have access to a sweet library at the Contemporary Center and it has a great collection that I will not hesitate to discover for an entire day. I would have to travel about 30 min. but I cannot wait.
Well I will be heading to bed now because it is getting late and I need to just suck it up that I may have had one of the most unproductive weekends here so far. God-willing I am going to be doing some exciting things he's just giving me a break and letting me catch up on some down time.

Pompeii, Sorento, Capri

Although I took a trip to these three places; Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri, I thought I would let you know how cool they were to go to. I wrote about them in my Journal but I never found the time to get to you all about them. It was so eye-opening to see Pompeii and all the history within it's gates. I loved the atmosphere but I will admit that it was quite dusty and we walked away pretty filthy. Our tour guide was a sweet man who had a real interest in the geological and archaeological information that Pompeii offers. He told us a lot of information and he really knew what he was talking about. A lot of Pompeii was reassembled but a few things were left how they were found. All the roads were left and they were so stable and you could tell they were just assembled meticulously and with time. It is a shame that things built now a days are made so carelessly and without an intention to keep it for a long time.
It is really cute because there are so many dogs running around like no big deal, and they all have so much character. I definately miss my animals but those guys were a little treat for me and I was able to pet a couple of them but they had little missions which were a priority to them. The one thing I bought from Pompeii was a bag of oranges which were supposed to be the best oranges in the world. I was not impressed to tell the truth, I have tasted better from the market by my house. I have been making fresh orange juice in the morning though and that has been a treat for sure.
In Sorrento it was a beautiful place with great views.
I think it is amazing how scenery can really make a trip, we had all kinds of weather the whole weekend and it made all the scenery have such a contrast for each location. I want to say it was easy for me to compare my trip to Capri to that of my trip to the Grand Canyon. We had great weather leading all the way up to the end which was the climax. When we were going to head to the shore, it started raining and things got really foggy. Basicaly we had to head back but in good time because it was a nightmare getting back to the main island. I would defiantely go back there. We found a great little road that let us to an unbelievable view with no other people. We saw all of Capri and just had time to rest and enjoy the atmosphere. I drew a little and I pressed a few flowers, I am really enjoying my journal being here and I am thankful that I have the desire to fill it up with memorable things. I think it will be a cool thing to show my children when I get a few, not anytime soon. It is crazy to be going to new places and just watching as things go on around me. I was just sitting around and an entire band just walked by playing for the people in the street. Anything goes around here, that's how I would best describe it. This entry is more of an image packed entry than anything.....
The andventures in capri were shared with Denise, Sarah Lynn and this crazy little lady from California. We were all a little random, but it worked out and for the most part visited all the places that Capri has to offer. They have a cute garden and a wonderful walkway to the shore but like I said before it got really wild on that walkway and we had to head back. It has been really great to find these calm places because I have wonderful and essential quiet times and just find God speaking loud and clear. God is so powerful and very quiet too so you have to give him time and let him talk to you when your both calm and hysterical. Also I have been just loving my bible and getting through some tough old testiment passages. I think it is teaching me a lot about discipline being here and reading tough books like Numbers and Deuteronomy. Who knows why I'm doing it but its a great experience none the less, and I love learning about History what better topic than the history of my faith.

Laughter

The other day is a day that I cannot believe happened. It was a spur of the moment type thing which I am so glad took place. Lynn is a girl from ISU that is also studying abroad and she is wonderful. She is a musician and always in search of music, literally she will stop listen and follow the melody to it's source. Any who, she is a go getter and likes to participate in fun genuine activities. So we read in a newspaper about this thing; The laughter of Yoga. It was started in India and the man that started it emphasizes how essential laughter is to the health of a person. He also just points out how the act of laughing fake or real will lead to more laughter. As you all know, I am a huge giggler and I will laugh at just about anything especially when I feel a little uncomfortable. Well we were all for it but we had to travel a ways so Lynn looked up where to go and told me to take the number 14 bus. I had no idea where I was going or how it was going to turn out but both Lynn and I had a feeling this would be just what we needed. I knew God was going to lead me the right way and set up a wonderfully new experience for me. I am so glad all the pieces added up to the final destination. I will admit I got on the right bus but it was headed the wrong direction so I had to redirect myself. So finally reaching the park we see a circle of people gathered in the distance. They were super cute with a little smiley face sign welcoming all.
The group was a mix of all ages and they were all very Italian. The entire thing was in Italian so we had to rely a lot on body language, luckily Italians talk a lot with their hands and help all those that are not fluent. We began by stretching and just taking deep breaths. It was so relaxing to be away from the center of the city and enjoy greenery and company with Italians. It was a little strange that we were all so quiet, considering the title of the activity, but in the background a small boombox played Micheal Jackson, Latin Music and other random songs. To hurry this up, we moved right into the laughing activities. It is quite amazing how quickly fake laughter leads to real genuine laughter. My favorite person to interact with was this old man who had yellow teeth and a unique cackle that just made you think of a really great story. It was so easy to laugh because of the circumstance, we did not know what they were saying and people looked different then we were used to seeing in America. By the end of the first activity, Lynn was literally tearing. Oh it was so great, we plan on bringing it to ISU and I plan on trying to bring it to the Vineyard. It was a work out for your abs to say the least. There is going to be another meeting and I will give up any activity to make it to the next one. If you really think about it, it is phenomenal how God made laughter a universal language. Even with the language gap, Lynn, Angela and I were able to communicate with those around us and probably have the best conversations of our lives. I'm getting deep but really think about it because it is a beautiful thing.

Ciao,
I am finally writing, it is quite difficult to stay up to date with journaling, bloggin, photo uploading and emailing. This girl is breaking a sweat with all this. Things here in Firenze are wonderful and I am really getting the hang of the streets, for a while I was getting all turned around once I got to the Duomo which should not be happening, cuz even tourists get it right. Well I just enter it from different perspectives and end up walking in circles till I eventually give in and get out a map. The tricky thing about Firenze is that each street is named something different after it meets up with another street. So after each corner starts a nuovo street. (I'm gonna put in as many Italian words as I know; multo piccolo)
This weekend I decided to stay here and I just explored the surrounding area, and guess where I found myself.... At the Santa Croce, I swear that place has stollen my heart. I just can't resist going there and seeing the activities happening around it. There was a market in front with some musicians and some puppet performers. It was fun to bring my medium format camera and people watch. I met up with a few friends and we ended up going to a near by market and purchasing some food which eventually turned into a picnic. It was so nice to sit in a park and enjoy some quality time with some friends, and we had some really tasty treats. Pineapple, Raspberries, cheese rolls and some cookies. Afterward we made our way to the antique market across the street. I definately wanted to purchase a painting because I need to have one on my wall just for a more homey feeling, but I know I will get attached and then I won't know how to get it home.
To conclude that day we ended up going to a a bar where there was a Pearl Jam cover band playing, really glad we didn't pay to get in because it was quite male, simply put unenjoyable.
On Sunday I ran into some more friends and we ventured to the Florence Leather School which is connected to the Santa Croce. Long story short if you enter through the gift shop, it's basically a free entrance to the Santa Croce. I was so excited, and I wound up spending a few hours inside the confindes. I met a student who is also planning on traveling after school lets out and she said I might be able to tag along with her for a Holiday in Switzerland. Woun't that be amazing, I hope that goes through. Later on that day I made it to church and I really enjoy it. The worship is contemporary and it is a little community of foreigners. We all get a long pretty well and we have a few events planned to get more of a community started. I can see really awesome frienships sparking from this community.
Well besides that, I am fine and dandy and I have been blessed with not feeling under the weather even with so many other students getting sick and not responding well to the change in the season. Keep me in your prayers and I will try and keep you updated on more of my adventures. Buon Giorno

Florence

Wow, I am amazed at the advancement of technology. I am able to have this lovely little website to keep you all updated on my whereabouts and to know how I am doing.
I am blending in quite nicely here and I am beginning to really get the flow of things. I am loving the reduction in vehicle size and just how many people are walking about. I have noticed a difference in my diet, much more carbs; faccacia, rolls, pasta, the list can go on. People enjoy carbs around here and I am not complaining. I am thankful that my Mom taught me to cook just about anything because I've been putting together meals from an odd assortment of goods in the fridge. I am planning on checking out more of the museums because now I have a Amici di Uffizzi pass which rocks, I have access to all of the state museums and front of the line too. I feel like I have that fast track pass at six flags. Italians have a contagious way of life that I have been familiar with as long as I can remember. They are pretty clean, seriously it must be that I live in a touristy area but I always see someone sweeping something. It is a laid back mentality which I relate to I just wish I knew more Italian because I know I would love meeting the people and truely understanding their way of life. I could see myself living here in the furtue, not long term but it could work for longer than I plan to stay this semester. Italy is in a bit of an economic crisis but the EU is holding onto them and helping it not seem so bad. My friend Olga who lives here for school informed me of the irresponsibility that Italy practices with their ecconomy and just how lax they are with labor laws. It is quite amazing how vast the world is and how easy it is to get sucked into the overwhelming things going on just in the states. We are fortunate to have internet because it is so crucial being here to be up on the times and know even just what's going on in Italy because I try but fail at reading Italian.
I have been taking a lot of photos but I have been unable to upload them, not because I havn't gotten around to it but because the uploader will not download to my computer, if anyone can help me that would be wonderful. I have looked online and still no luck. I will need to look more into that. Good news, I met a photographer on the street just yesterday and he is actually quite established. He works for NBC, CBS, Harrington College and an Aboreum. He was listing all these things and I got a little lost but he gave me his contact information and he stressed that I need to get a hold of him or he would be disappointed. I think I am getting the hang of this networking thing, you just have to start a conversation, people will for the most part just keep going on and on about themselves. I love to listen so there we go.
I think it is good that I am here, it is helping me grow and I can see just more of who I really am from living life through a different perspective. I have the opportunity to be more of an observer while being here. The problem is that observers do not participate and I am at that point where I am itching to participate fully here but when talking to my mom she just told me to lay low for right now and that I will enventually get more in the flow of things and truely interact.