Long walks & dinners

Hey everyone! So much has happened since my last post, it seems like...and there's so much to describe--I'm kind of stumped about where to start. I guess I'll just start somewhere, but if you guys have any questions about what stuff is like, etc., leave me a comment or something. I don't know how to get it all in!

Okay, so how about the stuff we did yesterday...it was a very full day. I started it off by having breakfast at the Caffeterià Emo, which is a little snack bar pretty much directly downstairs. (It's located on a street called Via Angelo Emo, hence the name.) I tried Italian espresso (which is what you get if you order caffè--just a warning in case you come sometime) and it was sooo good. Very strong, though, even for my taste. But it did solve my caffeine headache, even though it was only a couple of teaspoons. :) The people at the caffè are very nice, and when I asked them the names of things in Italian (cornetto = croissant) they were very helpful and seemed to think it was charming or something. I actually just feel like an ignoramus in moments like that, but I guess they don't get much contact with confused foreigners, so they think it's cute or something. So anyway, after breakfast and some wandering around the neighborhood, my roomies (Courtney, Claudia, Nancy, Molly) and I decided to be adventurous and try to find the university and the restaurant we would be eating at that night. It took us about 2 hours total to find John Cabot...but that included getting lost 4 times and stopping for gelatto around 1:00. It was fun though, and here are some of the things we will pass every day on the way to school:

St. Peter's Square

Vatican Museum

We actually walk right through the middle of Vatican City (Città di Vaticano) every day to get down to Trastevere, where the school is. (By the way, sorry I haven't posted any of my own pics yet. This internet cafe doesn't have the connections for me to do that.) Rome is incredibly hard to get around in, actually. We had detailed maps and directions, and five brains, and we still got lost several times, as I mentioned. Rome doesn't have the street numbers \ alphabetical names system. The streets just seem to be named random things, and they change names all the time. For instance, the street the school is on is named Via della Lungara, until about a block past the school, where it magically switches names to Via de la Scala. Same street! Plus, none of the streets are really all that straight, so they might curve you around until you're going in completely the wrong direction. I was wondering how the Romans themselves find anything if they've never been to a certain store before or something, but I think they probably just get lost and wander around a while, too. Or ask directions. A good map is essential to getting around, but you're still going to get lost a few times. It's fun though.

Okay, so eventually we found John Cabot. I am trying to upload a pic of the entrance, but it's not working. Oh well. Suffice it to say that, from the outside at least, it looks like a little hole in the wall. I haven't seen the inside, but yeah, not exactly an imposing or impressive entrance lol. But in Rome, who has room for that? Later we found the restaurant for the welcome dinner that evening (La Fraschetta), which is right in the heart of the fun, yet rather touristy Trastevere quarter. Then we just killed time until dinner...

Dinner was an event, let me tell you. In Italy, a dinner out with friends is an entire evening's activity. We were there for four hours. And it was wonderful! There were about 20 of us (only 18 students came with Study Abroad Italy this semester), and we had appetizers and pizza and dessert, with wine of course, and an extremely strong (50 proof) lemon alcoholic drink at the end that all the students decided tasted like Thera-flu. Only Paul, from Georgia, seemed to enjoy it. It was a great meal (seriously, the best pizza I have ever eaten. Period. It was pizza con funghi e prosciutto, that is, with mushrooms and ham. Not Canadian bacon, but really big, thinly shaved pieces of this interestingly spiced and cured ham. Multo bene.) and a great time for everyone to meet each other and relax. It helps a lot with the whole culture-shock thing, when we know each other and can talk about our experiences.

So...then we walked back, and that took, oh, 20 minutes or half an hour. Lol it's a lot easier when you know your way! Rome is surprisingly well lit at night, and I loved how everyone was still out at 11:00 and midnight. Not just weirdos and young people, but everyone, sitting at tables outside, smoking, talking really loud (there's no other way here in Italy). It makes sense, of course: take advantage of the cool hours! So the five of us didn't feel like we were in danger walking home at that hour, even though we did have a few Italian guys whistling at us and trying to get us to stop and talk with them. "Ciao! Hello!" Whatever, guys. They're not threatening, just amusing.

Okay, so I need to get going. We have orientations today, so we need to get walking! I love all of you and I will try to update as much as possible!

Buona giornatta!

In Rome At Last

Hey everyone! Well, I finally made it. I am sitting in an internet cafe in the beautiful city of Rome, Italy. And when I say "beautiful," I mean "crazy"...

The flights were perfectly fine, for the most part. We had a 2-hour delay on the flight from Dallas to Toronto, resulting from some sort of mechanical failure that the pilot discovered after we were all on board, so I ended up being on that plane for over 5 hours. Then I had about an hour and a half layover in Toronto, during which I ran around feeling scared and lost, but in real life I did just fine finding my terminal and gate. I must say that I didn't get all that great of an impression of the Canadians, but then again, if I worked in an airport I probably wouldn't be disposed to be particularly friendly either. I also was disappointed that Toronto's airport wasn't somehow strikingly Canadian...aside from the occasional Canada t-shirt, and Michael Buble playing EVERYWHERE, you would have thought you were in the US. But you can't judge a city by its airport, I always say. So then after that, I boarded my flight to Rome, and promptly fell asleep (thanks to a little Benadryl) for about six hours. The flight was eight and a half hours long, so the rest of the time I just relaxed, ate breakfast, and so on. Air Canada is a pretty nice airline, and it amuses me that every single announcement has to be made in at least two languages, English and French. On the plane to Rome, they announced everything in English, French, and Italian. Needless to say there was a lot of announcing going on...

When we landed in Rome, I just followed the herd of passengers around, through a looooong line for passport checks (I was giggling at the disgruntled New Yorkers who couldn't figure out why there wasn't a line specifically for first class), then customs, where they looked at nothing whatsoever, and through baggage claim, which was a claustrophobic scene verging on shoving matches at certain points. My bag was one of the last ones to appear on the carousel, and it took forever, so I was really scared that my bags were lost...but it turned out ok. Then I found my program coordinator easily, and waited for another girl to show up. Once she did, they packed us into a little semi-SUV thing...and this is where things got interesting.

First of all, the driver spoke no English whatsoever, so we really had no idea where we were or what was going on most of the time...and second, Italian drivers are absolutely crazy! I spent the first half an hour of the drive not even looking at the scene, but just fearing for my life. After a certain point, the drive didn't get any less harrowing, but I just got used to the fact that Italians drive really fast, cut each other off constantly, miss hitting parked cars by inches, etc. Apparently Romans have no respect for lane markings: this is especially true of the motorcycle riders, but it's true of the cars too! Sometimes you'll see one going the wrong way down a street to get ahead of a traffic pile up, then squeak over when a car comes. People honk, but they do that constantly anyway. Honking, and throwing their arms in the air like, "You idiot!" then turning around and doing some harebrained move themselves. (My driver was no exception.) It's highly amusing. And you'd be amazed at the way people park around here. Maybe it's a mark of their desperation, but the cars are sometimes double parked on the sides of the streets, and sometimes parked in the medians! I'm pretty sure that's technically illegal, but what do I know? The cars themselves are, of course, all very small. Lots of little Volkswagens, Audis, Fiats, and jillions of those tiny little Smart cars, with the occasional Ford Focus thrown in. They need to be small to navigate these tiny winding streets, and to squeak through traffic.

So needless to say, I won't be driving anywhere.

My driver finally got me to my apartment building, but I had no idea what to do at that point. My coordinator had told me that someone would meet me there with the key, but no one was to be seen when I got there. The driver ended up just leaving me there sitting on the step! I eventually managed to get in touch with someone and figure out how to buzz my roommates, but it was kind of scary for a little while there. Once I did get up to my apartment, I found two of my roommates, along with mucho heat and humidity. Lovely! Lol, I was prepared for that though. My roommates apparently weren't, but we bought fans tonight at a little shop around the corner, so I suspect we'll do just fine. (Incidentally, the internet cafe I'm in right now has AC. I'm gonna be a regular.)

I learned only a very few little phrases in Italian before coming here, since I was told by many sources that most people speak English, so I didn't really need to spend hours learning Italian. Ha. Whoever told me that has never been to my neighborhood. I am very close to the Vatican, just blocks away from St. Peter's, in a neighborhood just to the north and west of Vatican City. It's a really cute area, with lots of apartments and tons of neat little shops, but seriously, nobody speaks any English. Naturally, why should they? But I wish I had known that weeks ago: I would have spent more time on my Italian! But I'll pick some stuff up pretty quickly, I hope. I managed to buy some fruit and water this afternoon, and the aforementioned fans, by using the few words I knew and some hand signals, and I bet things will get easier as the days go on. These first two days are particularly awkward, I think, because we're just on our own in our neighborhood here, and we don't have orientations until Friday, so we have no idea what we're doing, basically. It's kind of fun though, a bit of an adventure. I liked walking around the neighborhood by myself this afternoon. The city is so densely packed, so old, so dirty (graffiti everywhere), but so charming at the same time. I like it a lot. :)

Well, I think I may be running out of time here. I promise I'll report again soon!

Last check...

Currently Listening: "Better Now" by Collective Soul from Youth



Packing: done. Well, mostly. I'll throw in few extra things this morning after I get dressed for church. Despite Alisha's and Eric's concerns (wink), I was able to get it all done in one day with very little stress. Since I'm packing pretty light, it was pretty easy. Heck, I even took a trip to Wal-Mart for some last minute items, and didn't get Wal-Mart Rage. That's saying something.

So now I'm just wrapping things up here in my apartment...I gave Alisha free reign over any groceries in the fridge she might want, since in six weeks I'm sure none of it will be edible anyway. I don't have too much in there, though, since I've been working on eating all of my groceries...and haven't been to Market Street in over a month. In fact, I am so desperate this morning for something to eat that I gave in and actually warmed up some Bananas & Cream oatmeal. It came in one of those variety pack boxes, and I've been refusing to eat it for a couple of weeks now, since it sounds gross. It actually is gross, too, but I'm hungry. So oh well.

Alisha and I made an Arby's run yesterday for lunch, since I'm pretty certain there won't be any Arby's in Italy. That and Rosa's and Taco Bell will be the places I miss the most, I think. Those, and my mom's cooking and my dad's steaks. Just imagine...six weeks without a chicken fried steak...do you think I can make it? Lol.

So that's the story here. In other news, Alisha and I watched Bridget Jones' Diary last night on Bravo (yay for edited-for-TV movies). I thought it was amusing, but nothing too special, until the part where Colin Firth and Hugh Grant get into a fight. That was priceless.

Well, I really ought to stop rambling and start getting my stuff together for church and for leaving! I can't believe I'm leaving town today...I've been waiting for six months for this trip, and it's finally drawing near! So anyway, this is my last goodbye or whatever until I can next get to a computer, which will probably happen once I get there on Wednesday. I love all of you! Keep in touch!

Packing, Etc.

Well, now that I've got my blog all rearranged to my liking (for the moment), I can actually update.

Today is the day I'm supposed to be packing for this trip. I actually haven't packed a lick, yet, (haha my roommate is starting to freak out a little on my behalf...) but that's because I am currently working on cleaning my clothes (it's hard to pack if they're all dirty, which they were). So first I'll just throw out some pics from last night's "Totally Happening Friday" Greek Food Extravaganza (there were about 20 of us there, but I only got a few pics):

J.P. and Evan

Bethany and Michael

Cassie and me

Do you see the "Bellydancing with Cheryl" sign behind my head in the last pic? Well, Cheryl was totally there...I suppose I should have taken a picture of her shakin' it, but I was too busy enjoying everyone else's awkwardness. Haha it was amazing! A "bonding experience," as Joe said. :) Great fun.

So anyway...packing...I have accomplished one bit of packing, the part which is, in my opinion, the hardest part. If you were going to a foreign country for 6 weeks and only had room for 24 CD's, which ones would you take? It's been agony deciding, but here's my list:

1.) Aqualung: Strange and Beautiful
2.) Bic Runga: Drive
3.) Counting Crows: Films About Ghosts (The Best Of...)
4.) Steven Delopoulos: Me Died Blue
5.) Lord of the Dance: The Soundtrack
6.) Collective Soul: Collective Soul
7.) Collective Soul: Disciplined Breakdown
8.) Collective Soul: Dosage
9.) Collective Soul: Youth
10.) The World's Most Relaxing Piano Album...Ever! Disc Two
11.) Maroon 5: Songs About Jane
12.) Josh Groban: Closer
13.) Boston: Greatest Hits
14.) Burlap to Cashmere: Anybody Out There?
15.) Frou Frou: Details
16.) King's X: Ear Candy
17.) Jewel: This Way
18.) Michael Buble: Michael Buble
19.) Paul Simon: The Collection
20.) Soundgarden: Superunknown
21.) Simon & Garfunkel: The Essential Simon & Garfunkel, Disc One
22.) Pearl Jam: vs
23.) Jason Mraz: Mr. A-Z
24.) Sister Hazel: Chasing Daylight

Yeah, that's a pretty good collection to get me through. There are a couple of albums I would take, such as Eisley: Room Noises, or Michael Buble: It's Time, except that I just downloaded those, and therefore have no CD of them (and I don't have a CD burner). But anyways, now you can all see my "excellent taste" in music. Whatever that means...I was just thinking lately about people's ideas of "good taste" associated with music, art etc., and they just don't make sense to me. People will say that someone has "good taste," implying that there is some kind of objectively "good" thing that this tasteful person has the intellectual and artistic acumen to recognize and appreciate. On the other hand, the girl who jams out to, say, Britney Spears has "bad taste" because she's just not cultured enough to recognize crap when she hears it. I object to that sort of viewpoint...since there's nothing objective at all in music and art, who's to say what's "good" and what's "bad"? I say things are a lot simpler: either you like stuff or you don't. There's nothing wrong with shakin' it to Britney Spears every once in a while, if you like it. My roommate and I find ourselves doing just that on occasion...and then on other occasions we study to Rachmaninoff pieces. Whatever. We just like all kinds of stuff. We don't feel like we need to like a bunch of obscure artists to have "taste." And that makes our musical lives much happier.

Okay, time to go get the laundry, eat lunch, and maybe pack eventually? Enh.

Currently Listening: "Breathe In" by Frou Frou from Details

Chalk Fairies

4 college girls + 1 box of 52 Crayola sidewalk chalk + 1 sidewalk = fun stuff

Life, Love, Death

I went to work this morning as usual, but the day turned unusual really quickly. My mom called and told me that one of my friends from high school died last night. A girl whom I had loved and respected...whose family I still love...we laughed together, decided we were both going to marry baseball players after high school (preferably Oakland A's)...went to each other's houses...celebrated each other's successes...and now, suddenly, she's gone.

I haven't seen this girl in the flesh in 3 years, since we graduated, but I've been living next door to her older sister for the last several months, and we had kept up with each other a bit over Facebook and our blogs. I have no doubt at all that she was a Christian, a true daughter of the King, so I'm not worried about the fate of her soul. But I'm just kind of in shock right now. And my heart breaks for her family...whom I know pretty well. What would you do if a close family member just suddenly died? No one knows what happened to her exactly...they'll do an autopsy this week sometime...something just went wrong. How does a mother, or a father, or a brother, or a sister, deal with that?

And if a 21 year old, healthy girl can die...I can't take my own life or anyone else's for granted.

But I feel guilty about being alive. Survivor guilt...it's totally irrational, but I can't help feeling guilty when I sit and watch a baseball game with my dad, thinking about poor Jon who doesn't have his daughter to watch baseball with anymore. Poor Jon who is about to have the worst Father's Day ever, tomorrow.

My life will go on...but I feel guilty about that. Yet I know that Lauren's life was exactly as long as it was supposed to be. It may seem to us like her life was cut short, but God designed her with exactly 21 years in mind. And she's with Him now. So all I can do is pray for her family...and thank God for the certainty and peace of mind He brings to his children, even in the face of death.

Get Your Hands Off!!

Tonight I went to a boring little dinner/presentation thing with some of my co-workers from the pharmacy. We like to go for the free food (it was 50 Yard Line, y'all) and the CE credits (continuing education) we earn that help us renew our certifications. It was fine...mostly boring, but the food was okay. The only part I didn't like was our waiter. He was one of those guys who kneels down and gets right in your face when he takes your order, which kind of annoys me, but isn't too big of a deal. The thing that really got me was the way he kept touching me every time he came by our table. He would tap my arm or shoulder every single time. The last time he really made me angry, because he put both his hands on my shoulders for a pretty long time while he asked me condescendingly, could he get this sweet little girl a coke or something, since all her friends had wine? Aarrgghh. The condescending question I can deal with, but the hands on the shoulders just made me want to slap him. I actually didn't do anything except grit my teeth and say, "Really, I'm fine." But what is a girl supposed to do in a situation like that? At the time, I couldn't really think of a way to handle the situation except to either ignore it or snap something like "Get your hands off me!!!" Allowing a guy to be schmucky never seems like a good idea to me, but I certainly don't want to be a jerk, since one of my greatest responsibilities is to love the people around me! I suppose I need to come up with a carefully tactful way to request a no-touch zone, and have it prepared for the next time the situation arises. Any suggestions?

Audio?

God's Food Pyramid

Last night was a lot of fun, as Jonny and I talked over coffee at J&B's. We had met to discuss how we were planning on approaching Titus 1 in our Bible Study, but we ended staying for a few hours and touching on topics from sports to The Matrix to relationships. My favorite, however, was Jonny's rant on dietary topics.

It began on milk. Jonny explains that his frappucino drink, while good, is going to cause him some ill effects later because of the milk in it.
"Are you lactose-intolerant?" I ask.
"No, I just don't drink milk."
"How can you not drink milk?"
"It's bad for you."
"Jonny!" I exclaim. "It's in the food pyramid!"
Unperturbed, he retorts, "It's not in God's food pyramid."

He's really not joking, either, which is part of what made this conversation priceless. Jonny isn't the kind of guy to go around spouting statements like that without having something to back it up, so I let him explain all the reasons he thinks milk is bad for you. He's done exhaustive research, that's for sure, and, philosopher that he is, he knows how to build a convincing argument. I was intrigued but unaffected until he got to the part about how milk is bad for your asthma...he had me there. He says that his doctor tells mothers of asthmatic children to stop giving them milk and see if it doesn't help them breathe. And apparently, it almost always does.

As much as I love milk (as you all know), I hate my asthma worse. It's been flaring up more often and more seriously in the past few weeks than it ever has before, and at this point I'll try anything (short of going to the doctor) to help it get better. Jonny urged me to try abstaining from milk for a couple of weeks, claiming that it makes him feel better. "I'm either deceived myself or I'm telling the truth...the only way for you to find out is to see for yourself." Good point, Jonny. So, bemused, I find myself allowing him to convince me, and here I sit, drinking only coffee with my oatmeal (I wouldn't let him tell me why coffee is bad for me. Some things I just can't give up).

That conversation led into Jonny's belief that the Old Testament dietary laws served a purpose beyond encouraging obedience. He figures that if God ordered His people to eat a certain way, it was because He knew what would be good for them. And even though we no longer are under the old levitical laws, Jonny thinks that paying attention to them could still be profitable. So he does...he doesn't eat much beef or pork, hits the vegetables and fruits pretty hard, etc. He certainly looks healthy and happy...so who knows. I have no plans on giving up beef and pork, but he still may have a good point. I just smiled at him at the end of the evening and said, "Jonny, you're a complete radical, but that doesn't change the fact that you might be right."

La la la la la la life is wonderful...

I am a very happy person. Perhaps this is why I have a hard time thinking of something interesting to blog about. Happy people are boring. This is why movies are only happy at the end...they'd get really boring really quickly if they kept going past that point where the couple kisses at the end and drives off into the sunset.

But I never said I wanted my life to be like a movie.

Other than working, and working out, I've just been doing some more preparations for my upcoming trip, hanging out with my roommate (whose life is a heck of a lot more eventful than mine...), reading a bit and studying my teaching materials, and spending time with various other friends. Tomorrow I am going home to see the parents, then coming back to have movie night with the Classics girls and later a concert at a coffee shop in which two of my friends are playing. Then Sunday is the usual church, leaders' meetings and hanging out with church folks...

So yeah. Boring. But great.

By the way, my first Bible study as a leader went beautifully. I felt like both Jonny and I taught effectively; we had some great discussion and ultimately, I felt, learned a lot in the process. Jonny is totally awesome (which I think I've mentioned before), and now I know that I'm not going to clam up and pass out next time I'm put in a leadership position...so it's great.

After Bible study was over, I was so exhausted, but it felt so good...because I know I'm doing something that I'm supposed to be doing, and I know I'm helping people in some way and contributing to God's glory here on earth. In a small way, to be sure, but still important. It's great.

And, in other news, I just received my housing assignment from Study Abroad Italy and discovered that I'm going to be staying with 4 other girls in an apartment. That will be interesting, to say the least... But I'm up for it! And I'm up for the no AC, no clothes dryers, no living rooms (apparently Italians live in the kitchen), and everything else they've prepared me for. I simply can't wait!

Currently Listening: "Ready for the Good Times" by Shakira from Laundry Service

Ego, Femina Sapientiae

One of my wisdom teeth came in this week. Isn't that wild? I had no idea it was there until I suddenly felt something hard back there on Sunday. At this point, it isn't clear whether I'll have to get these guys removed or not. At the moment, I appear to have plenty of room, since they pulled 8 of my adult teeth during my braces stage...and the new guys don't seem to be pushing against my teeth or hurting or anything.

I hope I don't need surgery. In any case, it wouldn't happen until I got back from Rome...but blech.

So, in celebration of my wisdom teeth, I've decided to feel particularly wise this week. It's a good week to feel wise, since this is my first week as a Bible study leader with my church. Sunday was our leaders' meeting, and yesterday I met for the first time with my teaching partner Jonny, to prepare for tonight's study at our pastor's house. I am feeling well prepared and fairly confident (wise, yes, wise), especially since I have absolute confidence in Jonny to be a very capable leader. We actually just met each other on Sunday, about 30 minutes before we found out we were going to be teaching together. ("Uh, yeah, Nathan's not here so...why don't you teach with Jonny?") Lol. But anway, I think Jonny is awesome, and perhaps one of the best people in the entire ministry they could have teamed me with. We haven't had any major theological disagreements yet, although we jokingly considered holding a debate over the issue of predestination...just to see all sides of the issue, of course...and we both approach the Scripture in a similar way. We also have a lot in common just generally, since I'm a Classics person and he's a Philosophy person with a strong Classical background...so yeah, it's pretty cool. I think we'll make a great team. Hopefully he feels reasonably confident in me, too.

In other news, I've been transforming slowly but surely into a morning person (yeah, it's crazy, I know). I get up at 6:30 because I want to...I like to linger over my coffee and breakfast in the mornings before I got to work at 8:30. Who would have ever thought this girl would do something nutty like that? It's a good thing it's happening, though, because this fall I have 8 am classes Monday through Thursday!

Also, I've been heeding the principle of sanis mens in sani corpe (sound mind in a sound body), and trying to get myself back into something resembling shape. After an entire school year of neglect, because of lack of time, my poor body was getting a little flabby. I had to buy a summer membership to the rec center, but I think it's worth it. I'm certainly trying to get my money's worth...I go every day except Sunday, and I already feel much better (it's only been one week since I went back). Some days I swim, some days I run on the elliptical or ride the bike (or anything I can find that won't kill my knees)...and I meet my pastor there fairly often. It's fun.

Well, now it's time for me to get ready for work...

Have a great day!

New Post...?

Maybe I ought to post something legitimate sometime soon.

Until then, you can all get to know my 5-point personality profile:

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have low extroversion. You are quiet and reserved in most social situations.A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you.You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people. Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness.You're generally good at balancing work and play.When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done.But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness.You're generally a friendly and trusting person.But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism.You get along well with others, as long as they play fair. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism.You are very emotionally stable and mentally together.Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly.Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium.You are generally broad minded when it come to new things.But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it.You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

The Five Factor Personality Test