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.
24 October 2010
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.
06 October 2010
He looked into her eyes and saw the stars
Blog title is a line from "Apollo and Daphne" by Ovid, in the Metamorphoses
Being a foreigner in Italy, it was inevitable that I would begin to draw comparisons between this country and my own country. Somers and I just drew up two lists our favorite things about each country. They're both a work in progress, but here's what I have down so far:
Things I love about Italy
-Walking through the city every day
-ART. Out the wazoo. Tons of it and all of it amazing.
-Siena and the Contrade
-Gelato! Especially from Vivoli in Firenze and Kopacabana in Siena :)
-Cheap European chocolate like Kinder and Milka
-HARIBO. Mmmm.
-Cheese and prosciutto
-Having class with Talbot aka D-Tal
-Hunky Italian men
-Marco and Paola!
-Fiat cars
-Eating pasta for dinner every night
-Fresh fruit that wasn't picked in Mexico 3 weeks before you bought it
-Fanta
-Seeing the black and white marble of the Duomo every day
-Multigrain baguettes from Conad
-The art. All of it.
-Amazing views of the Tuscan hills around every corner
-Window shopping
-A good transportation/bus system
-Panini from Gino Cacino's and pizza al taglio
-Speaking and hearing Italian every day
-The Wednesday market
-Italian art
-Having everything around you be way older than you can even comprehend
-The fountains (large and small) in Rome
-Sleeping like a rock every night
-Hinged windows
-Italian shoes and scarves
-Well dressed men
-Art-packed churches everywhere
-The LDS members of the Siena Branch
-The awesome friends I've made with my BYU groupies
-Laughing with Somers every night
Things I love about America
-Towels fresh out of the dryer
-Washing my hands with warm water
-Not having to use soggy toilet paper and sit on a wet toilet seat because your potty is in the shower
-Being able to do laundry at my own house for free whenever I want
-Not having to re-wear clothing without washing them
-8.5" x 11" paper
-Knowing where to buy stuff
-Knowing what I'm buying
-Knowing when I'm getting ripped off
-Air conditioning
-Being able to drive
-Music everywhere
-Being able to walk down the street without walking into and inhaling someone else's puff of cigarette smoke that they've left in their wake
-ICE WATER
-Being able to communicate with people and know what they're saying to you
-Cold skim milk
-My mink blankey
-My kitties! :(
-Not being taller than 90% of the population
-Full-length Mirrors
-Carpets and vacuuming
-Blow drying my hair every day
-TEXTING. And cell phones in general.
-Netflix and watching movies
-Eating dinner early
-Money bills that are all the same size and actually have value to me
-People that don't hate Americans
-Taking science classes
-GROCERY SHOPPING!
-Having a schedule
-Chocolate chip cookies
-My BB gun
-Playing music loudly (iPod, guitar, ukulele) and singing and dancing along
...And many more to come, for both lists!
Being a foreigner in Italy, it was inevitable that I would begin to draw comparisons between this country and my own country. Somers and I just drew up two lists our favorite things about each country. They're both a work in progress, but here's what I have down so far:
Things I love about Italy
-Walking through the city every day
-ART. Out the wazoo. Tons of it and all of it amazing.
-Siena and the Contrade
-Gelato! Especially from Vivoli in Firenze and Kopacabana in Siena :)
-Cheap European chocolate like Kinder and Milka
-HARIBO. Mmmm.
-Cheese and prosciutto
-Having class with Talbot aka D-Tal
-Hunky Italian men
-Marco and Paola!
-Fiat cars
-Eating pasta for dinner every night
-Fresh fruit that wasn't picked in Mexico 3 weeks before you bought it
-Fanta
-Seeing the black and white marble of the Duomo every day
-Multigrain baguettes from Conad
-The art. All of it.
-Amazing views of the Tuscan hills around every corner
-Window shopping
-A good transportation/bus system
-Panini from Gino Cacino's and pizza al taglio
-Speaking and hearing Italian every day
-The Wednesday market
-Italian art
-Having everything around you be way older than you can even comprehend
-The fountains (large and small) in Rome
-Sleeping like a rock every night
-Hinged windows
-Italian shoes and scarves
-Well dressed men
-Art-packed churches everywhere
-The LDS members of the Siena Branch
-The awesome friends I've made with my BYU groupies
-Laughing with Somers every night
Things I love about America
-Towels fresh out of the dryer
-Washing my hands with warm water
-Not having to use soggy toilet paper and sit on a wet toilet seat because your potty is in the shower
-Being able to do laundry at my own house for free whenever I want
-Not having to re-wear clothing without washing them
-8.5" x 11" paper
-Knowing where to buy stuff
-Knowing what I'm buying
-Knowing when I'm getting ripped off
-Air conditioning
-Being able to drive
-Music everywhere
-Being able to walk down the street without walking into and inhaling someone else's puff of cigarette smoke that they've left in their wake
-ICE WATER
-Being able to communicate with people and know what they're saying to you
-Cold skim milk
-My mink blankey
-My kitties! :(
-Not being taller than 90% of the population
-Full-length Mirrors
-Carpets and vacuuming
-Blow drying my hair every day
-TEXTING. And cell phones in general.
-Netflix and watching movies
-Eating dinner early
-Money bills that are all the same size and actually have value to me
-People that don't hate Americans
-Taking science classes
-GROCERY SHOPPING!
-Having a schedule
-Chocolate chip cookies
-My BB gun
-Playing music loudly (iPod, guitar, ukulele) and singing and dancing along
...And many more to come, for both lists!
04 October 2010
Don't call her name, Alejandro!!!
Well, I've been in Italy for a month! I can't believe it! The time has flown by. Before I know it I'll be back in Rome and then headed back to the US of A. Yikies.
Lots of things have been going on here. Last weekend was our first free weekend where we didn't have anything planned as an entire group. I ended up going with some people to Firenze again on Friday. The first thing we did when we got there was go to the San Lorenzo market. Firenze is basically the leather capital of Italy, and two of the girls I went with got very nice, and expensive, Italian leather jackets. I hadn't planned on getting a leather jacket, but man they looked really nice. I'm thinking about investing in some boots, though, so we'll see how that turns out. After the market we went to the Academia which houses Michelangelo's David. We waited in line for an hour and a half because they only let in like 50 people at a time. But oh my gosh it was worth it. The David is at the end of a hallway in a little apse and the force perspective makes this 15' statue look even more gigantic. As soon as I turned the corner and saw it I couldn't look away. There he was, in his glowing white Carrara marble, staring off into the distance thinking about his upcoming task: Goliath. David is seriously huge. Incredible. Michelangelo is a master. You can see the veins in David's arms, hands and neck. My favorite part was probably getting so see him from behind. I'd never seen a picture of him from behind, probably because there is not really any space for a good picture of him from behind. Therefore, I never knew that the sling he holds over his shoulder actually spans his entire back - he is holding the sling in both hands, you just don't ever see it. I was in complete awe. I loved it. Amazing. Unbelievable. So realistic. Michelangelo, I'm a believer, honey. The rest of the day was spent scurrying about the city, going to the Ponte Vecchio, H&M and sitting on the steps of San Lorenzo as the sun set. Not a bad day. I can't believe I can pay 7,10 euro and just hop on a bus to Firenze for the day. Firenze! Florence! The birthplace and home of the Renaissance! Ahh! This place is incredible.
That was my only major excursion as of late. This weekend I'm going with four other girls to Assisi for the weekend. I'm excited about it, it should be really fun. And then the next weekend I think we are all going to Venice. Reeeeally excited about that one, too.
School has been going pretty well. There are four girls in my Italian class, including myself. Two of the girls had to skip Ital 202 because they don't offer it here, so technically Audrey and I have the most Italian under our belts. Well, I think our teacher, Letizia, thinks we're dumber than she thought we were. We all get out of class feeling stupid and are generally on the verge of tears at any given point in class. It's just so frustrating sometimes to not understand what people are saying or how to say what you want to say. It's exhausting to pay attention and comprehend. Ugh. My other classes aren't too bad, though. Talbot is a great teacher and he speaks in English to us! Huzzah!
I love Paola and Marco. Paola loves to feed us until we're about to explode and Marco teases me about being tall, not being able to cook very much (both of which will make it difficult in my husband search, apparently) and the other day he pointed to my nose and declared that I had a pimple on it. Paola denied seeing anything (because of all of the places on my face where there are pimples, my nose was not one of them, at least at that moment) saying "non vedo niente! / I don't see anything!" Marco has finally started to defer some of his attention to Somers to whom he told yesterday that she will have to diet when she gets back to the States. When I said, "oh, me too!" he was just like, "no. Just her." It was fun.
The day after I learned that new Ingrid Michaelson song on my ukulele, I brought my ukulele to school so I could jam with our group since they were the ones who put in the request that I learn the song. At dinner that night I told Marco and Paola that I had brought my ukulele to school and they, with Somers' encouragment, demanded that I play my ukulele for them after dinner. So I did. I played "You and I" and then I played "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. They liked it, I think. Then we showed them pictures of our families on facebook. Then they showed us pictures of their wedding. Paola is about 5'4" and she told us she weighed 46 kg when she got married! That's 101 lbs! But holy cow she looked GORGEOUS. Absolutely gorgeous. And she was wearing a Chanel dress. They got married in like 1962. It was so much fun to see their pictures and show them our pictures, too.
I wore my new ankle boots to church (conference) yesterday and they were insanely painful. They are suuuper cute, though. And when I walked in the door I had to do a mini runway walk so that Marco could see them. Paola's brother and sister-in-law were over. She was the same one that picked us up from the train station and said I was beautiful. Well Paola wanted me to play my ukulele for her, so I did. I played the same songs I had played the other night and then I played "Hey Soul Sister" by Train, which they seemed to like. They asked if I plan on being a musician, and were a little surprised, I think, that I just play for fun. (Of course, I wouldn't turn down a record contract if it came my way!) They said that they liked my singing, even if they couldn't understand the words. I love singing, especially when I'm playing my ukulele, so it was fun to have an audience. If anyone has any requests for new songs that I should learn on the ukulele, let me know! My mom suggested "Everything" by Micheal Buble, so that's next on the hit parade.
Anyway, I've stayed up a little later than I probably should have to finish this post, so you are welcome! Happy October!
Lots of things have been going on here. Last weekend was our first free weekend where we didn't have anything planned as an entire group. I ended up going with some people to Firenze again on Friday. The first thing we did when we got there was go to the San Lorenzo market. Firenze is basically the leather capital of Italy, and two of the girls I went with got very nice, and expensive, Italian leather jackets. I hadn't planned on getting a leather jacket, but man they looked really nice. I'm thinking about investing in some boots, though, so we'll see how that turns out. After the market we went to the Academia which houses Michelangelo's David. We waited in line for an hour and a half because they only let in like 50 people at a time. But oh my gosh it was worth it. The David is at the end of a hallway in a little apse and the force perspective makes this 15' statue look even more gigantic. As soon as I turned the corner and saw it I couldn't look away. There he was, in his glowing white Carrara marble, staring off into the distance thinking about his upcoming task: Goliath. David is seriously huge. Incredible. Michelangelo is a master. You can see the veins in David's arms, hands and neck. My favorite part was probably getting so see him from behind. I'd never seen a picture of him from behind, probably because there is not really any space for a good picture of him from behind. Therefore, I never knew that the sling he holds over his shoulder actually spans his entire back - he is holding the sling in both hands, you just don't ever see it. I was in complete awe. I loved it. Amazing. Unbelievable. So realistic. Michelangelo, I'm a believer, honey. The rest of the day was spent scurrying about the city, going to the Ponte Vecchio, H&M and sitting on the steps of San Lorenzo as the sun set. Not a bad day. I can't believe I can pay 7,10 euro and just hop on a bus to Firenze for the day. Firenze! Florence! The birthplace and home of the Renaissance! Ahh! This place is incredible.
That was my only major excursion as of late. This weekend I'm going with four other girls to Assisi for the weekend. I'm excited about it, it should be really fun. And then the next weekend I think we are all going to Venice. Reeeeally excited about that one, too.
School has been going pretty well. There are four girls in my Italian class, including myself. Two of the girls had to skip Ital 202 because they don't offer it here, so technically Audrey and I have the most Italian under our belts. Well, I think our teacher, Letizia, thinks we're dumber than she thought we were. We all get out of class feeling stupid and are generally on the verge of tears at any given point in class. It's just so frustrating sometimes to not understand what people are saying or how to say what you want to say. It's exhausting to pay attention and comprehend. Ugh. My other classes aren't too bad, though. Talbot is a great teacher and he speaks in English to us! Huzzah!
I love Paola and Marco. Paola loves to feed us until we're about to explode and Marco teases me about being tall, not being able to cook very much (both of which will make it difficult in my husband search, apparently) and the other day he pointed to my nose and declared that I had a pimple on it. Paola denied seeing anything (because of all of the places on my face where there are pimples, my nose was not one of them, at least at that moment) saying "non vedo niente! / I don't see anything!" Marco has finally started to defer some of his attention to Somers to whom he told yesterday that she will have to diet when she gets back to the States. When I said, "oh, me too!" he was just like, "no. Just her." It was fun.
The day after I learned that new Ingrid Michaelson song on my ukulele, I brought my ukulele to school so I could jam with our group since they were the ones who put in the request that I learn the song. At dinner that night I told Marco and Paola that I had brought my ukulele to school and they, with Somers' encouragment, demanded that I play my ukulele for them after dinner. So I did. I played "You and I" and then I played "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. They liked it, I think. Then we showed them pictures of our families on facebook. Then they showed us pictures of their wedding. Paola is about 5'4" and she told us she weighed 46 kg when she got married! That's 101 lbs! But holy cow she looked GORGEOUS. Absolutely gorgeous. And she was wearing a Chanel dress. They got married in like 1962. It was so much fun to see their pictures and show them our pictures, too.
I wore my new ankle boots to church (conference) yesterday and they were insanely painful. They are suuuper cute, though. And when I walked in the door I had to do a mini runway walk so that Marco could see them. Paola's brother and sister-in-law were over. She was the same one that picked us up from the train station and said I was beautiful. Well Paola wanted me to play my ukulele for her, so I did. I played the same songs I had played the other night and then I played "Hey Soul Sister" by Train, which they seemed to like. They asked if I plan on being a musician, and were a little surprised, I think, that I just play for fun. (Of course, I wouldn't turn down a record contract if it came my way!) They said that they liked my singing, even if they couldn't understand the words. I love singing, especially when I'm playing my ukulele, so it was fun to have an audience. If anyone has any requests for new songs that I should learn on the ukulele, let me know! My mom suggested "Everything" by Micheal Buble, so that's next on the hit parade.
Anyway, I've stayed up a little later than I probably should have to finish this post, so you are welcome! Happy October!
02 October 2010
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