I guess I don't really have to keep blogging on here since this is technically my Italy blog, but something tells me that there may be some sort of public outcry if I shut it down. Better safe than sorry, right?
My time at home is winding to a close, and the past month has been just as hectic as the months preceeding it. I had a week to readjust to being home and in America before I was off to Wisconsin to help out my aunt for a few days. It was not exactly thrilling to live out of a suitcase again, but it was really fun to see (and be intimidated by the genius of) all my cousins, including 6-month-old Alice whom I had not yet met. Then I was back home for a few days, just enough to get in a load of laundry, before we made the long drive down to Florida for our friend's wedding. And as they say, "when in Florida... go to Disney!" We of course had to make a stop at Disney since we were going to be down there anyway, so we spent four days in the parks with about 30972034209384 other people. I didn't get to see any of my Disney friends who still work there, except one of my former managers who is also friends with my mom, but it was a short trip so I'll just have to go back and see them another time. Oh darn. Another long drive and we were home, just before Christmas, which we spent in our new house. The heavens rewarded us by dumping a few inches of snow on our town on Christmas morning! So after opening presents I got all geared up and went outside and made a snowman! I don't think I've ever had a white Christmas before. My headlining present this year was actually 5 mini presents - 5 new 2GB iPod shuffles to replace the 80GB one I accidentally (and tragically) left on the plane on my flight from Rome to Paris (I'm still heartbroken about it). Today it snowed a little bit more, and between the melty snow ice from yesterday and the snow today, church was cancelled. It's kind of a bummer, too, because I had been asked to join in with the other college students from the ward who are home to share my testimony with the ward and besides getting to share my testimony, which is always worthwhile, I wanted to meet the other college students in my ward, especially the other BYU kids! Oh well. I'll meet them...well, eventually. And now I have one more full day at home before I go back to Provo on Tuesday. Ohhhh my life.
What a year this has been. I rang in 2010 at home in North Carolina, then went back to Provo. I visited NC for a weekend in the spring, then back to Provo. Then to Hawaii, back to Provo, then back to NC. From there I went to Rome via Raleigh, Atlanta and Newark, then from Rome to Siena. From Siena I visited many a city in Italy: San Gimignano, Volterra, Sirmione, Venice, Verona, Assisi, Gubbio, Spello, Pienza, Pisa and multiple trips to Florence. Then back to Rome, a stop in Paris before landing in Atlanta and driving to my new home in Alabama. And from AL to WI, then back to AL and then to FL and now back to AL and soon to return to Provo. My goodness, props to you if you even bothered to follow any of that.
This hasn't been a very insightful post, not that my posts typically are, but at least you're now caught up on the happenings in my life. Well, sort of. There is so much more to tell. Guess I'll just have to keep blogging :)
26 December 2010
06 December 2010
Waiting for the snow to settle
Well, I guess now's as good a time as any to blog. I've been home for about 9 days. Wow. I can't believe I was in Italy just two weeks ago. Wow.
I've been comparing my mind lately to a snow globe. The past three months have been insane, and I've felt like my mind has just been shaken up. So many new things and experiences and places and languages and food and everything, I just tell people that it's been snowing in my head for the past three months and I'm waiting for the shaking to stop so the snow can settle in my brain. I really can't describe what my life has been like these past three months. Awesome, scary, amazing, terrifying, annoying, moving, unreal... I just don't think there's a word that describes it. My life has been go go go and I've just gotten caught up in the whirlwind and did everything without thinking. I mean, how could I think about what I was doing? First of all, I didn't have the time. The ideal time for thinking is of course the short time between when you go to bed and when you actually fall asleep, but that time lasted a grand total of about 5 min or fewer when I was in Italy. Second, how on earth can you even begin to comprehend that you've just spent the day in the Sistine Chapel and the day before you were at the Colosseum and the next day you're going to a Roman emporer's villa? Or that you've spent the past two months living in a city that is over 500 years old, speaking a language you hardly know? Or that you've seen, in person, almost every single work of Italian art that defined and spurred the Renaissance, effectively changing the world? My brain can't even wrap itself around the possibility of that ever happening, let alone that it has already happened!
Existential. That is closer to describing how I feel about my time in Italy (and how I felt when I was there). It was like someone had taken hold of my body and made it go and do and see all kinds of insane, amazing things and I just got bumped into the backseat and all I could do was just watch. Surely I couldn't possibly be IN Italy. Those aren't really 2000 year old ruins (what does that even mean to be 2000 years old?). Those rolling Tuscan hills aren't really one-of-a-kind. I don't feel any different. My body's the same. It moves the same. Those people look like regular people. The whole thing was just weird.
That being said, I loved Italy. Despite feeling weird while I was there, my life was pretty normal. Yeah I had to eat a lot at dinner (thanks, Paola) and change my schedule a bit, but it was like being in any new place. Granted the language was a barrier, but it could've been worse. Taking four Italian classes beforehand was definitely not useless. I could still communicate (at least a little bit) with people, I bought my groceries the same way, I brushed my teeth the same way, I just walked a different route to school, bought kinds of food and used a different kind of toothpaste. I mean, I'm pretty confident that I was just completely overwhelmed by everything, but there's a definite chance that I was really underwhelmed, that instead of being numb beyond all feeling, I wasn't feeling because there wasn't anything to feel. Who knows. Honestly, it doesn't even really matter. I went to Italy. I lived in Italy. I went to school in Italy. I spoke Italian every day, and people understood me! No one can ever take that experience away from me. And I really, truly did learn a TON. Not just about Italy and Italians or history and art, but I learned a lot about myself, about other people, about who I really am and what I believe. It was a super-condensed learning experience for sure.
I wouldn't trade my Italy study abroad for anything. I've learned a ton. I might not know what all of it means, but everything is shoved up into my brain, waiting to find a home. I've made some really great friends, which is surprising in and of itself for me (you can say "whatever" all you want to that comment, but it doesn't make it any less true). And I guess the most perplexing thing for me is the fact that I wanted something really bad and I actually got it. I went to Italy. My dream came true. I don't know if that's ever happened to me before. I mean, yeah, I've wanted things, but not this bad that actually happened!
During our last group meeting our professor told us that it was going to take us years before we'd finally begin to understand what had just happened to us the past three months, a conclusion I'd reached long before he said it. Please don't ask me what it was like being it Italy or what my favorite thing was or what I'll miss most because I honestly don't know. Ask me again in 10 years and maybe I'll have something for you.
Don't get your hopes up, though. I've got three months of snow whizzing about in my head and every one of those days has been a blizzard.
I've been comparing my mind lately to a snow globe. The past three months have been insane, and I've felt like my mind has just been shaken up. So many new things and experiences and places and languages and food and everything, I just tell people that it's been snowing in my head for the past three months and I'm waiting for the shaking to stop so the snow can settle in my brain. I really can't describe what my life has been like these past three months. Awesome, scary, amazing, terrifying, annoying, moving, unreal... I just don't think there's a word that describes it. My life has been go go go and I've just gotten caught up in the whirlwind and did everything without thinking. I mean, how could I think about what I was doing? First of all, I didn't have the time. The ideal time for thinking is of course the short time between when you go to bed and when you actually fall asleep, but that time lasted a grand total of about 5 min or fewer when I was in Italy. Second, how on earth can you even begin to comprehend that you've just spent the day in the Sistine Chapel and the day before you were at the Colosseum and the next day you're going to a Roman emporer's villa? Or that you've spent the past two months living in a city that is over 500 years old, speaking a language you hardly know? Or that you've seen, in person, almost every single work of Italian art that defined and spurred the Renaissance, effectively changing the world? My brain can't even wrap itself around the possibility of that ever happening, let alone that it has already happened!
Existential. That is closer to describing how I feel about my time in Italy (and how I felt when I was there). It was like someone had taken hold of my body and made it go and do and see all kinds of insane, amazing things and I just got bumped into the backseat and all I could do was just watch. Surely I couldn't possibly be IN Italy. Those aren't really 2000 year old ruins (what does that even mean to be 2000 years old?). Those rolling Tuscan hills aren't really one-of-a-kind. I don't feel any different. My body's the same. It moves the same. Those people look like regular people. The whole thing was just weird.
That being said, I loved Italy. Despite feeling weird while I was there, my life was pretty normal. Yeah I had to eat a lot at dinner (thanks, Paola) and change my schedule a bit, but it was like being in any new place. Granted the language was a barrier, but it could've been worse. Taking four Italian classes beforehand was definitely not useless. I could still communicate (at least a little bit) with people, I bought my groceries the same way, I brushed my teeth the same way, I just walked a different route to school, bought kinds of food and used a different kind of toothpaste. I mean, I'm pretty confident that I was just completely overwhelmed by everything, but there's a definite chance that I was really underwhelmed, that instead of being numb beyond all feeling, I wasn't feeling because there wasn't anything to feel. Who knows. Honestly, it doesn't even really matter. I went to Italy. I lived in Italy. I went to school in Italy. I spoke Italian every day, and people understood me! No one can ever take that experience away from me. And I really, truly did learn a TON. Not just about Italy and Italians or history and art, but I learned a lot about myself, about other people, about who I really am and what I believe. It was a super-condensed learning experience for sure.
I wouldn't trade my Italy study abroad for anything. I've learned a ton. I might not know what all of it means, but everything is shoved up into my brain, waiting to find a home. I've made some really great friends, which is surprising in and of itself for me (you can say "whatever" all you want to that comment, but it doesn't make it any less true). And I guess the most perplexing thing for me is the fact that I wanted something really bad and I actually got it. I went to Italy. My dream came true. I don't know if that's ever happened to me before. I mean, yeah, I've wanted things, but not this bad that actually happened!
During our last group meeting our professor told us that it was going to take us years before we'd finally begin to understand what had just happened to us the past three months, a conclusion I'd reached long before he said it. Please don't ask me what it was like being it Italy or what my favorite thing was or what I'll miss most because I honestly don't know. Ask me again in 10 years and maybe I'll have something for you.
Don't get your hopes up, though. I've got three months of snow whizzing about in my head and every one of those days has been a blizzard.
21 November 2010
Rome (if she wants to)
So here I am back in Rome.
And...
...I really want to say I love Rome...
...but...
...I can't.
What? Katie! The Eternal City! ROME! The Colosseum! The Roman Forum! The birthplace of western civilization! How could you NOT love Rome?!?!
I know. I know! I knowwww. I can't quite figure it out myself and I feel like a horrible person and a big loser because I'm not completely enamored of Rome. Let me be clear, I love Italy. I love it. I love Italy. I loved Siena. I loved Florence. I loved Assisi. I LOVED Venice. I'm just not crazy about Rome.
My first week in Italy was spent in Rome. I loved it right off the bat. I loved cramming every single day with as much sight-seeing and touring as I could. I loved the Colosseum. I loved seeing things that are over 2000 years old. I loved all the fountains. I loved the Vatican. I just loved the history and beauty of the city. But when it was time to go to Siena, I was ready to go. This time around we're staying in timeshare-like apartments that are literally right across the street from our old hotel. It's the same path to the Metro stop and the same grocery store as before, and the familiarity makes Siena feel like a dream. Like it never happened. It's weird. The fact that it feels like we never left is probably a contributing factor to why I'm not crazy about Rome this time around. I feel like I've done all of the headlining touristy things, with the exception of the Vatican museums which we're doing tomorrow. People keep wanting to go out and go back to the Colosseum and the Forum and the Pantheon and other fountains and stuff, and I keep finding myself not wanting to go. Rome is just so dirty and full of tourists. Everyone speaks English and even when I try to speak Italian I can't understand the harsh Roman accent. Maybe that's because I was just in Tuscany where the Italian is "pure" and easy to understand. There is a ton of petty crime here and I automatically reach for my pocket whenever I'm in a big crowd or especially when I hear an accordian (gypsies). And when you think about it, Rome really doesn't have much to offer beside it's ancient sites. New York City, for example, has a ton of historical sites (Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty) as well as museums (MoMA, the Met), public sites (Central Park, NY Public Library, Brooklyn Bridge), cool buildings (Empire State, Chrysler) and of course the fame of Broadway. But in Rome I feel like apart from the old stuff (Colosseum, Forum), fountains (Trevi, Four Rivers) and museums (Vatican, Capitoline, Borghese), there's not much to do. It wouldn't be a big deal, but those things never change. When you go to the Trevi for the first time, you look at it, stare at it open-mouthed, snap some pictures, exclaim how much you love it, and then you're done. It doesn't ever change.
I think I'm just a little jaded and that it's just too early for me to go back and visit all of the sites in Rome. I mean, I've been waiting a long time, my whole life basically, to see all of these things and then I saw them. And to be back a mere two months later and see all the same things seems like old news. I waited 21 years to see the Colosseum and then only waited 2 months to see it again. I feel like it underscores the awesomeness (in the real meaning of the word) of these sites. That's pretty much what happened to me with Michelangelo's David in Florence. I haven't even had time yet to sort through all of my thoughts from the first trip to Rome. I haven't even had time to fully comprehend the fact that I'm actually in Italy! My mind is a whirling vortex of thought and experience and art and it's going to take me years, literally years, to try and think about and understand everything that has happened to me in the last two and a half months. In ten years I'll go back to the Trevi Fountain and look at it again, stare at it open-mouthed, remember details about it that I had forgotten, snap some new pictures, reexclaim how much I love it and then I'll be done. But I haven't had time to forget it yet. I haven't had time to remember it yet. I feel like going to the Trevi tomorrow would taint my memory of it from the first time I saw it because I haven't had time to form that memory yet. It's all very confusing.
I think the bottom line is that I'm just ready to go home where I can have my thoughts finally settle in my brain. I miss America. I miss my family. I miss my kitties. I miss my friends and I'm excited to hang out with my new Italy friends when we're all back in Provo. And I guess I don't not like Rome. I do like Rome. I realize that those last two sentences say the exact same thing. I suppose I just needed to think about how I really feel, and now I feel better. Whew.
Thanks, blogworld :)
And...
...I really want to say I love Rome...
...but...
...I can't.
What? Katie! The Eternal City! ROME! The Colosseum! The Roman Forum! The birthplace of western civilization! How could you NOT love Rome?!?!
I know. I know! I knowwww. I can't quite figure it out myself and I feel like a horrible person and a big loser because I'm not completely enamored of Rome. Let me be clear, I love Italy. I love it. I love Italy. I loved Siena. I loved Florence. I loved Assisi. I LOVED Venice. I'm just not crazy about Rome.
My first week in Italy was spent in Rome. I loved it right off the bat. I loved cramming every single day with as much sight-seeing and touring as I could. I loved the Colosseum. I loved seeing things that are over 2000 years old. I loved all the fountains. I loved the Vatican. I just loved the history and beauty of the city. But when it was time to go to Siena, I was ready to go. This time around we're staying in timeshare-like apartments that are literally right across the street from our old hotel. It's the same path to the Metro stop and the same grocery store as before, and the familiarity makes Siena feel like a dream. Like it never happened. It's weird. The fact that it feels like we never left is probably a contributing factor to why I'm not crazy about Rome this time around. I feel like I've done all of the headlining touristy things, with the exception of the Vatican museums which we're doing tomorrow. People keep wanting to go out and go back to the Colosseum and the Forum and the Pantheon and other fountains and stuff, and I keep finding myself not wanting to go. Rome is just so dirty and full of tourists. Everyone speaks English and even when I try to speak Italian I can't understand the harsh Roman accent. Maybe that's because I was just in Tuscany where the Italian is "pure" and easy to understand. There is a ton of petty crime here and I automatically reach for my pocket whenever I'm in a big crowd or especially when I hear an accordian (gypsies). And when you think about it, Rome really doesn't have much to offer beside it's ancient sites. New York City, for example, has a ton of historical sites (Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty) as well as museums (MoMA, the Met), public sites (Central Park, NY Public Library, Brooklyn Bridge), cool buildings (Empire State, Chrysler) and of course the fame of Broadway. But in Rome I feel like apart from the old stuff (Colosseum, Forum), fountains (Trevi, Four Rivers) and museums (Vatican, Capitoline, Borghese), there's not much to do. It wouldn't be a big deal, but those things never change. When you go to the Trevi for the first time, you look at it, stare at it open-mouthed, snap some pictures, exclaim how much you love it, and then you're done. It doesn't ever change.
I think I'm just a little jaded and that it's just too early for me to go back and visit all of the sites in Rome. I mean, I've been waiting a long time, my whole life basically, to see all of these things and then I saw them. And to be back a mere two months later and see all the same things seems like old news. I waited 21 years to see the Colosseum and then only waited 2 months to see it again. I feel like it underscores the awesomeness (in the real meaning of the word) of these sites. That's pretty much what happened to me with Michelangelo's David in Florence. I haven't even had time yet to sort through all of my thoughts from the first trip to Rome. I haven't even had time to fully comprehend the fact that I'm actually in Italy! My mind is a whirling vortex of thought and experience and art and it's going to take me years, literally years, to try and think about and understand everything that has happened to me in the last two and a half months. In ten years I'll go back to the Trevi Fountain and look at it again, stare at it open-mouthed, remember details about it that I had forgotten, snap some new pictures, reexclaim how much I love it and then I'll be done. But I haven't had time to forget it yet. I haven't had time to remember it yet. I feel like going to the Trevi tomorrow would taint my memory of it from the first time I saw it because I haven't had time to form that memory yet. It's all very confusing.
I think the bottom line is that I'm just ready to go home where I can have my thoughts finally settle in my brain. I miss America. I miss my family. I miss my kitties. I miss my friends and I'm excited to hang out with my new Italy friends when we're all back in Provo. And I guess I don't not like Rome. I do like Rome. I realize that those last two sentences say the exact same thing. I suppose I just needed to think about how I really feel, and now I feel better. Whew.
Thanks, blogworld :)
16 November 2010
Sienana hey hey hey goodbye
It's raining outside. How appropriate.
Well, today is my last day in Siena. We leave for Rome tomorrow morning. I'll do a reflection post later when I'm home, but I figured it was worth mentioning that today is my last day. We all took our Italian finals this morning and then had a big lunch at the school as a group. I probably won't take another Italian class, but I'm hesitant to say I'll never take one again because I love Italian. But, at least at BYU I probably won't take another Italian class. Weird.
After lunch today I went out with Bev and bought a gift for my host dad. Somers and I decided to split parting gifts so she would get one for Paola and I'd get one for Marco. Somers bought a cute, personalized apron for Paola that has her name on it and says "Il miglior ristorante sono io / The best restaurant is me". I bought a cool carved, wooden horse statue thing for Marco. I really like it and I feel like it'll totally go with their house. When I came home today, Marco had gotten our suitcases from their storage room and put them in our room. I am not looking forward to packing all of my stuff into my suitcase. I went out and bought an Adidas duffel bag because I have acquired quite a bit of stuff and I knew I was going to have to check another bag on the way home. I'm especially not looking forward to having to live out of a suitcase in Rome for ten days. Speaking of which, I leave Italy in 11 days. Yikies.
I'll have a ton of stuff to do in Rome. We're finally going to go to the Vatican museums and we're even going to the Galleria Borghese which is home to Bernini's David and his Apollo and Daphne. Excited.
Well I should probably start packing. I'm not really sad; I still don't think the fact that I'm actually in Italy has settled in yet, so it's not a big deal to leave a place I've never been. But ask me again in about two months...
Well, today is my last day in Siena. We leave for Rome tomorrow morning. I'll do a reflection post later when I'm home, but I figured it was worth mentioning that today is my last day. We all took our Italian finals this morning and then had a big lunch at the school as a group. I probably won't take another Italian class, but I'm hesitant to say I'll never take one again because I love Italian. But, at least at BYU I probably won't take another Italian class. Weird.
After lunch today I went out with Bev and bought a gift for my host dad. Somers and I decided to split parting gifts so she would get one for Paola and I'd get one for Marco. Somers bought a cute, personalized apron for Paola that has her name on it and says "Il miglior ristorante sono io / The best restaurant is me". I bought a cool carved, wooden horse statue thing for Marco. I really like it and I feel like it'll totally go with their house. When I came home today, Marco had gotten our suitcases from their storage room and put them in our room. I am not looking forward to packing all of my stuff into my suitcase. I went out and bought an Adidas duffel bag because I have acquired quite a bit of stuff and I knew I was going to have to check another bag on the way home. I'm especially not looking forward to having to live out of a suitcase in Rome for ten days. Speaking of which, I leave Italy in 11 days. Yikies.
I'll have a ton of stuff to do in Rome. We're finally going to go to the Vatican museums and we're even going to the Galleria Borghese which is home to Bernini's David and his Apollo and Daphne. Excited.
Well I should probably start packing. I'm not really sad; I still don't think the fact that I'm actually in Italy has settled in yet, so it's not a big deal to leave a place I've never been. But ask me again in about two months...
10 November 2010
Bombolicious!!!
Marco (and Paola) made us bomboloni tonight. We had to wait until 11:30pm until they were ready to be cooked. We just ate some. I almost died of deliciousness. My tastebuds swooned, that's for sure. I'd post a picture, but I didn't take any. And I would just take some random picture from the internet but I've read two news articles today about plagarism/cheating/public v. private domain and so now I'm all confused and I don't want to break any laws or hurt anyones' feelings. If you don't know what bomboloni are, let me google that for you. Basically they are Italian donuts. Mmmmmm.
02 November 2010
The hills are alive
This past weekend we went to Pienza, a little town in Tuscany known for its pecorino cheese, and for the fact that Pius II basically built the whole thing, giving it a kind of fake/Disneyland-esque quality. Pretty much the posterchild for Tuscan mini-cities. Our bus ride through the campagna was incredible. I thought I'd just post some pictures I took from the bus to give you an idea of what I could see at any given moment.
24 October 2010
Grilled Cheezus
Thomas S. Monson, prophet and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was in Rome yesterday for the groundbreaking ceremony of the soon-to-be-built Rome Temple.
It was a closed event, due to Roman congregation laws or something, but one of the families in the little branch here in Siena was able to go. They got up in the meeting today and talked about how amazing it will be not only for there to be a temple in Rome, but also how their testimonies of the prophet were confirmed upon seeing President Monson in real life. After church we gathered in their little family history library (basically a little room by the "chapel") and watched this video.
Today was seriously a great day. I was so moved. I almost cried a few times. I think about the super strong members here. There are two young women, one young man, one boy in primary, maybe five sisters and maybe, maybe 10 men. We BYU students outnumber them, that's for sure. But I love going to church here. We try our best to understand their Italian and do a pretty good job of it. They are very willing to pause and let someone translate for them and they love when we participate and make comments. Everyone who attends is really active. They are all very knowledgeable about the scriptures and doctrines of our church and actively participate in the lessons. When you think about it, it's obvious that they would be stalwart members. Italy is the home of Catholicism, literally. It would be so much easier and ridiculously more convenient for them to not be members of or frequent our church, and yet they do. Every Sunday. What amazing examples they are to me. I love them for that.
I was thinking about the family who got to see the prophet yesterday. He said it was the first time he had ever seen the prophet and it will probably be the only time he ever sees the prophet. I think about how I've twice been in the same room as the President Monson and how neither time I thought it would be the last/only time I'd ever see him. I mean, he lives in Salt Lake. And considering my geneaology, being around prominent members of the church is not really a big deal. But for the people here, it's a huge deal. They're not direct descendents of Orson F. Whitney, Abraham Smoot or Heber C. Kimball, nor are Bruce C. Hafen or George Albert Smith their great+ uncles. They aren't even Americans! And yet they have solid testimonies that America was the place that the gospel would be restored and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. Currently, the closest temple is in Switzerland. Switzerland!!! What a great blessing for these amazing members. The Rome temple will serve as the temple for Italy, Greece and North Africa. I just want to burst into tears of joy for the people of this country. I'm even tearing up again as I write this!
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I believe that we are all children of God and that He loves us individually. He loves you. He knows you personally. He is there even when you don't think He is. He believes in you even if you don't believe in Him. He doesn't make you anything, He lets you be who you are and who you were meant to be. God has not left us comfortless, nor has he abandoned us. There is a prophet on the earth today who acts as the mouthpiece of God on the earth and his name is Thomas S. Monson. He counsels us to choose what is right, even when it is unpopular and we are criticized and harrassed for it. He has the authority to do that. Through the blessings of the temple, families can be together for all eternity. This life is not the end. I have not been blindly led into believing these things. I have thought about the nature of God, read the scriptures and have asked God myself, through prayer, if this is all a bunch of baloney.
This is my answer; this is what I believe.
It was a closed event, due to Roman congregation laws or something, but one of the families in the little branch here in Siena was able to go. They got up in the meeting today and talked about how amazing it will be not only for there to be a temple in Rome, but also how their testimonies of the prophet were confirmed upon seeing President Monson in real life. After church we gathered in their little family history library (basically a little room by the "chapel") and watched this video.
Today was seriously a great day. I was so moved. I almost cried a few times. I think about the super strong members here. There are two young women, one young man, one boy in primary, maybe five sisters and maybe, maybe 10 men. We BYU students outnumber them, that's for sure. But I love going to church here. We try our best to understand their Italian and do a pretty good job of it. They are very willing to pause and let someone translate for them and they love when we participate and make comments. Everyone who attends is really active. They are all very knowledgeable about the scriptures and doctrines of our church and actively participate in the lessons. When you think about it, it's obvious that they would be stalwart members. Italy is the home of Catholicism, literally. It would be so much easier and ridiculously more convenient for them to not be members of or frequent our church, and yet they do. Every Sunday. What amazing examples they are to me. I love them for that.
I was thinking about the family who got to see the prophet yesterday. He said it was the first time he had ever seen the prophet and it will probably be the only time he ever sees the prophet. I think about how I've twice been in the same room as the President Monson and how neither time I thought it would be the last/only time I'd ever see him. I mean, he lives in Salt Lake. And considering my geneaology, being around prominent members of the church is not really a big deal. But for the people here, it's a huge deal. They're not direct descendents of Orson F. Whitney, Abraham Smoot or Heber C. Kimball, nor are Bruce C. Hafen or George Albert Smith their great+ uncles. They aren't even Americans! And yet they have solid testimonies that America was the place that the gospel would be restored and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. Currently, the closest temple is in Switzerland. Switzerland!!! What a great blessing for these amazing members. The Rome temple will serve as the temple for Italy, Greece and North Africa. I just want to burst into tears of joy for the people of this country. I'm even tearing up again as I write this!
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I believe that we are all children of God and that He loves us individually. He loves you. He knows you personally. He is there even when you don't think He is. He believes in you even if you don't believe in Him. He doesn't make you anything, He lets you be who you are and who you were meant to be. God has not left us comfortless, nor has he abandoned us. There is a prophet on the earth today who acts as the mouthpiece of God on the earth and his name is Thomas S. Monson. He counsels us to choose what is right, even when it is unpopular and we are criticized and harrassed for it. He has the authority to do that. Through the blessings of the temple, families can be together for all eternity. This life is not the end. I have not been blindly led into believing these things. I have thought about the nature of God, read the scriptures and have asked God myself, through prayer, if this is all a bunch of baloney.
This is my answer; this is what I believe.
22 October 2010
Here's to the nights we felt alive
It's funny, being in Italy I feel like a totally different person than who I am at home or at school. I consider myself to be a pretty chill person, easy to get along with, open to doing whatever other people want, with a pretty calm and go-with-the-flow disposition.
Boy, how that has changed.
Have you ever wondered about what you'd do if you only had a week left to live? The American me would be content to spend every last second with my loved ones and just be happy. The Italian me would go and do whatever I wanted, when I wanted it - I've got the rest of eternity to spend with my loved ones! Isn't that weird??
I'll explain my thoughts on this. I still hold to the fact that I'm a pretty chill person. I rarely get irritable and catty. However, I've discovered the fatal combination to change this about myself. If I am tired, hungry and hot all at the same time, prepare for my diva to come out. In the US I'm rarely ever in all three of these states (pun intended) at once. Unfortunately for my fellow study abroad students, this happened to me basically every day our first week in Rome. The cosmos aligned and the Dormant Diva in me was unleashed upon the poor, unsuspecting vitcims of my wrath. You've seen that Snickers bar commercial with the guy who turns into Arethra Franklin in the back seat of the car? Yeah, take that image, transform her into a skinnier, taller, Polynesian version and voila, you've got my Mr. Hyde. I have no idea why it is the combination of tiredness, hunger and heat/sweat that transforms me. If I'm only hot and hungry or hungry and tired or tired and hot, I'm totally okay. In fact, I've had those times in Italy and I've been totally fine and under control. I just have to eliminate one of the three, usually hunger, and I'm fine. Isn't that bizzare?
I feel like this discovery was poorly timed. My first week in Italy was also my first week getting to know the other study abroaders. I can't even imagine what kind of opinion they have of me. Yikies. And it's not only this first impression that leads me to believe that I'm not who people think I am here. All of my habits have changed. I eat twice my body weight in food every night at dinner, I eat straight up chocolate every single day, I drink cans of soda at least once or twice a week, my sarcastic remarks are openly and publicly expressed, I listen to catchy, up-beat pop, dance and hip hop music and I am with people all day long. In Provo I don't eat nearly as much, I never eat candy bars, I drink a diet coke maybe once every two weeks, I keep my sarcastic comments to myself or only tell one or two people, I listen to my unpopular iPod music and I spend mostly all day by myself in my apartment with my cats. Among the other students here I feel like I've developed a reputation of being very upfront, blunt, no-nonsense and probably high maintenance and bossy. I mean, I've always been pretty blunt and borderline rude, but never on such a public scale! People find that out about me only after having known me too long for them to back out of our relationship. The high maintenance thing really gets me crazy. I'm not high maintenance! But when I look back to our trips to Florence and Venice, I can't help but see myself, in retrospect, as having been bossy. No longer was I the agreeable "Oh, I'll just go with you guys and do whatever" person. I was the "I don't want to do that. I'm going to do this other thing and you can come if you want but I couldn't really care less what you want to do" kind of person. I try and justify it in my mind by telling myself that I'm in Italy for a limited amount of time and if I am not vocal I'll end up doing stuff I don't want to do and not doing what I want to do.
Perhaps the greatest contributing factors to this attitude are 1) that I am ALWAYS with all the same people all the time and 2) I don't have any time to think by myself, both of which are things I do almost excessively in opposite. I consider myself to be friends with everyone on this trip, to varying extents, of course. I have made some really great, close friends, and yet I've only know them for what, 7 weeks? Accelerated friendships, as I've heard them once described. I love it. I love having friends (another divisive factor of my life here and in the States). It's weird though because my friends and roommates and classmates are all the same people and we spend all of our time together every day. I love it, but at the same time everyone needs a little "me time." As for the second point, I always have plenty of time to think and reflect upon my day when I'm home. But here, not only am I with people all the time, but when I'm not with them I'm doing homework, trying to communicate with my host family and just generally busy. I usually like to think before I go to bed, particularly before I fall asleep, but I'm out like a lamp within 10 min of my head hitting the pillow. Sometimes before my head even hits the pillow. I thought it'd only be like that at the beginning, but every night, without fail, I fall asleep really fast. For one who has had many a night of insommnia, it's a great feeling. But at the same time I'm missing out on some crucial think/me time.
I've talked to a couple of people in our program and I fervently believe that we are at the point in our study abroad where the honeymoon is over and everything that bothered us at the beginning that we thought we could overlook is coming back to bother us. Everything from personality traits and habits to our frustrations with the language to the food and culture are no longer a novelty, but now an inconveniece or annoyance. We're truly at the hump. Rome and Venice are long gone, Siena is old news, and the other things we have to look forward to are just a bit too far away for us to get really excited about. We all miss our families and friends and the comforts of home. However, I am equally fervent in my belief that once we slog through this marsh, we'll come out at the other end the same way we entered. We'll feel like our time is almost up and will want to pack into our days as much as we can, much like we did when we all got here, because who knows when any of us will get back here? Italy has become part of who we are, whether we like it or not, and that will never, ever change.
Call it culture shock, the seventh inning slump, the doldrums, call it whatever you want. It's here, and we're all feeling it. I still love Italy, I'm not upset or angry or anything, just kind of in a funk.
And it's probably the most growth I've had since I've been here.
Boy, how that has changed.
Have you ever wondered about what you'd do if you only had a week left to live? The American me would be content to spend every last second with my loved ones and just be happy. The Italian me would go and do whatever I wanted, when I wanted it - I've got the rest of eternity to spend with my loved ones! Isn't that weird??
I'll explain my thoughts on this. I still hold to the fact that I'm a pretty chill person. I rarely get irritable and catty. However, I've discovered the fatal combination to change this about myself. If I am tired, hungry and hot all at the same time, prepare for my diva to come out. In the US I'm rarely ever in all three of these states (pun intended) at once. Unfortunately for my fellow study abroad students, this happened to me basically every day our first week in Rome. The cosmos aligned and the Dormant Diva in me was unleashed upon the poor, unsuspecting vitcims of my wrath. You've seen that Snickers bar commercial with the guy who turns into Arethra Franklin in the back seat of the car? Yeah, take that image, transform her into a skinnier, taller, Polynesian version and voila, you've got my Mr. Hyde. I have no idea why it is the combination of tiredness, hunger and heat/sweat that transforms me. If I'm only hot and hungry or hungry and tired or tired and hot, I'm totally okay. In fact, I've had those times in Italy and I've been totally fine and under control. I just have to eliminate one of the three, usually hunger, and I'm fine. Isn't that bizzare?
I feel like this discovery was poorly timed. My first week in Italy was also my first week getting to know the other study abroaders. I can't even imagine what kind of opinion they have of me. Yikies. And it's not only this first impression that leads me to believe that I'm not who people think I am here. All of my habits have changed. I eat twice my body weight in food every night at dinner, I eat straight up chocolate every single day, I drink cans of soda at least once or twice a week, my sarcastic remarks are openly and publicly expressed, I listen to catchy, up-beat pop, dance and hip hop music and I am with people all day long. In Provo I don't eat nearly as much, I never eat candy bars, I drink a diet coke maybe once every two weeks, I keep my sarcastic comments to myself or only tell one or two people, I listen to my unpopular iPod music and I spend mostly all day by myself in my apartment with my cats. Among the other students here I feel like I've developed a reputation of being very upfront, blunt, no-nonsense and probably high maintenance and bossy. I mean, I've always been pretty blunt and borderline rude, but never on such a public scale! People find that out about me only after having known me too long for them to back out of our relationship. The high maintenance thing really gets me crazy. I'm not high maintenance! But when I look back to our trips to Florence and Venice, I can't help but see myself, in retrospect, as having been bossy. No longer was I the agreeable "Oh, I'll just go with you guys and do whatever" person. I was the "I don't want to do that. I'm going to do this other thing and you can come if you want but I couldn't really care less what you want to do" kind of person. I try and justify it in my mind by telling myself that I'm in Italy for a limited amount of time and if I am not vocal I'll end up doing stuff I don't want to do and not doing what I want to do.
Perhaps the greatest contributing factors to this attitude are 1) that I am ALWAYS with all the same people all the time and 2) I don't have any time to think by myself, both of which are things I do almost excessively in opposite. I consider myself to be friends with everyone on this trip, to varying extents, of course. I have made some really great, close friends, and yet I've only know them for what, 7 weeks? Accelerated friendships, as I've heard them once described. I love it. I love having friends (another divisive factor of my life here and in the States). It's weird though because my friends and roommates and classmates are all the same people and we spend all of our time together every day. I love it, but at the same time everyone needs a little "me time." As for the second point, I always have plenty of time to think and reflect upon my day when I'm home. But here, not only am I with people all the time, but when I'm not with them I'm doing homework, trying to communicate with my host family and just generally busy. I usually like to think before I go to bed, particularly before I fall asleep, but I'm out like a lamp within 10 min of my head hitting the pillow. Sometimes before my head even hits the pillow. I thought it'd only be like that at the beginning, but every night, without fail, I fall asleep really fast. For one who has had many a night of insommnia, it's a great feeling. But at the same time I'm missing out on some crucial think/me time.
I've talked to a couple of people in our program and I fervently believe that we are at the point in our study abroad where the honeymoon is over and everything that bothered us at the beginning that we thought we could overlook is coming back to bother us. Everything from personality traits and habits to our frustrations with the language to the food and culture are no longer a novelty, but now an inconveniece or annoyance. We're truly at the hump. Rome and Venice are long gone, Siena is old news, and the other things we have to look forward to are just a bit too far away for us to get really excited about. We all miss our families and friends and the comforts of home. However, I am equally fervent in my belief that once we slog through this marsh, we'll come out at the other end the same way we entered. We'll feel like our time is almost up and will want to pack into our days as much as we can, much like we did when we all got here, because who knows when any of us will get back here? Italy has become part of who we are, whether we like it or not, and that will never, ever change.
Call it culture shock, the seventh inning slump, the doldrums, call it whatever you want. It's here, and we're all feeling it. I still love Italy, I'm not upset or angry or anything, just kind of in a funk.
And it's probably the most growth I've had since I've been here.
19 October 2010
Walk walk fashion baby
It has occurred to me that though there have been pictures of me in Italy posted on Facebook, it is likely that not everyone has seen them. Some of the girls I am with have schnazzy cameras, so there are some pretty nice pictures of me that they have taken. So, here is evidence that I am indeed having a blast in Italy!
Jumping for joy (and pulling up pants) in front of a Roman amphitheater with Somers and Olivia
In class
Jumping for joy (and pulling up pants) in front of a Roman amphitheater with Somers and Olivia
With Bev and Abby after Bev got her hair cut
With Eliesa at a traghetto stop in Venice
American's Next Top Model??? Venice
In Verona
Loversss
San Gimignano
I LOVE VENEZIA
This past weekend the whole group went to Venice. I loooooove looove loved Venice! Probably in part because I wasn't at risk of getting run over by a tiny, silent, electric car on the streets. And because the city is beautiful. And because Thursday we went to a church where there was a Vivaldi concert and they played The Four Seasons. I admit it, I cried. Vivaldi in Venezia. Life just doesn't get much better than that. Again, words won't do it any justice. We left Thursday morning and stopped by Sirmione on Lake Garda (home of the poet Catullus) before making it to Venice. We spent all day Friday in Venice and then we left Saturday morning and stopped in Verona (home of Romeo and Juliet) before getting back to Siena. The past two weekends were definitely highlights of my time here. I love Italy!
A bust of Catullus in Sirmione:
Lake Garda:
Brooke and Bev. Roommates. I love them.
Me and Somers. Roommates. I love her.
Pier on Lake Garda.
Cliff into Lake Garda.
All the houses in Sirmione were covered with these gorgeous purple flowers.
VENEZIA.
Gondole along the grand canal.
We got to Venice right at sunset. It was absolutely amazing.
Venice is totally bankrupt, probably because they have to pour money into keeping it from completely sinking. In a desperate attempt, they have prositituted the sides of the buildings in San Marco, the main square, to raise money for their sinking (literally and figuratively) city. This was my favorite ad, plastered across the side of a building across from the Doge's palace.
The Doge's palace with its Venetian arches.
The Roman amphitheater in Verona. It has been so well preserved that they still hold concerts there!
The famed balcony of Juliet Capulet!
Me and Somers on the Ponte Pietra in Verona. Pretty typical of our relationship.
Again on the Ponte Pietra with Bev and Olivia.
Me and Audrey with a view of Verona behind us. I tried to edit it to make it look artsy fartsy.
A bust of Catullus in Sirmione:
Lake Garda:
Brooke and Bev. Roommates. I love them.
Me and Somers. Roommates. I love her.
Pier on Lake Garda.
Cliff into Lake Garda.
All the houses in Sirmione were covered with these gorgeous purple flowers.
VENEZIA.
Gondole along the grand canal.
We got to Venice right at sunset. It was absolutely amazing.
Venice is totally bankrupt, probably because they have to pour money into keeping it from completely sinking. In a desperate attempt, they have prositituted the sides of the buildings in San Marco, the main square, to raise money for their sinking (literally and figuratively) city. This was my favorite ad, plastered across the side of a building across from the Doge's palace.
The Doge's palace with its Venetian arches.
The Roman amphitheater in Verona. It has been so well preserved that they still hold concerts there!
The famed balcony of Juliet Capulet!
Me and Somers on the Ponte Pietra in Verona. Pretty typical of our relationship.
Again on the Ponte Pietra with Bev and Olivia.
Me and Audrey with a view of Verona behind us. I tried to edit it to make it look artsy fartsy.
I break all the rules like Evel Knievel
I've been MIA when it comes to my blogging, I know. But, a lack of blogging indicates an increase of activity in this case!
Two weekends ago I went with my lovely friends Audrey, Olivia, Somers and Brooke to Assisi with visits to the surrounding towns Gubbio and Spello. As words cannot describe the beauty of the hills of Umbria nor the hilarious moments we shared, I'll leave this blog post to pictures.
The view from Assisi:
Yeah, just a massive Umbrian valley in the background while he was reading the newspaper. NBD:
Gubbio:
I liked Umbria because there were kitties everywhere!
Gubbio. Doesn't it look like a mini version of that city from Lord of the Rings??
The first hotel we stayed at in Assisi. Audrey, Brooke, Olivia and Somers:
That white-ish bit is Assisi. This is the view of the city from Spello.
An adorable old person petting an equally adorable feral kitty:
The girls in Spello! Brooke, Somers, Audrey and Olivia. I assume you all already know what I look like.
Night shot of Assisi. View from the terrace of our second hotel:
View of Assisi and surrounding mountains from the Rocca Maggiore where we had a mini devotional:
The Umbrian hills. So different from Tuscany.
Two weekends ago I went with my lovely friends Audrey, Olivia, Somers and Brooke to Assisi with visits to the surrounding towns Gubbio and Spello. As words cannot describe the beauty of the hills of Umbria nor the hilarious moments we shared, I'll leave this blog post to pictures.
The view from Assisi:
Yeah, just a massive Umbrian valley in the background while he was reading the newspaper. NBD:
Gubbio:
I liked Umbria because there were kitties everywhere!
Gubbio. Doesn't it look like a mini version of that city from Lord of the Rings??
The first hotel we stayed at in Assisi. Audrey, Brooke, Olivia and Somers:
That white-ish bit is Assisi. This is the view of the city from Spello.
An adorable old person petting an equally adorable feral kitty:
The girls in Spello! Brooke, Somers, Audrey and Olivia. I assume you all already know what I look like.
Night shot of Assisi. View from the terrace of our second hotel:
View of Assisi and surrounding mountains from the Rocca Maggiore where we had a mini devotional:
The Umbrian hills. So different from Tuscany.
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