wrapping things up

With less than two weeks left, I am continually excited for my return to the wonderful state of Iowa.  It has been such a good semester of learning about the world, its people, and myself.  God has been so faithful in directing my steps! 

I don't know what the weather is like in Iowa, but here it is jacket weather.  I can't even imagine the frigid air I will face when stepping out of the airport in Minneapolis on the 18th.  I will enjoy every last bit of this nice weather!

Currently I'm sitting in a little coffee shop next to our studio.  Every wall is covered with books.  Colorful books.  Kids books.  French books.  Italian books.  Even English books!  We've enjoyed some capuccino and hot chocolate and a plate of interesting bruscetta.  We didn't really like the tuna paste. 

Today has been so relaxing and productive.  This is the best kind!  This morning we went on a refreshing jog to the top of Jericulum Hill.  There was leaf throwing and grapefruit picking.  The latter might have been considered unlawful.  We made french toast for lunch and ate Nutella on top...yum yum for chocolatey goodness!  Since then we've been working our pituties off to get our projects done. 

I hope this message finds you enjoying your time.  Take a few minutes and throw some leaves...or snow.  I am excited to see you all very soon!

Country Villa in Umbria

Yes, this is as wonderful as it sounds. See, my friend Allison's dad has a friend who owns a villa in a region of Italy called Umbria. He let us stay there for free. It was pretty amazing. We took three trains and a taxi to get there. It is really in the country. The villa sits high on a hill, surrounded by olive groves and vineyards.

Four of us went this past weekend to get away and crank out some homework. As the taxi drove us from the train station to the house, we winded up and around little farms until he pointed to what looked like a castle on a hill and said, "I think that is it." We gasped in unbelief! Once we arrived, we explored the place and found that it was equipped with everything we could possibly need or want. We got right to work making ourselves at home. With the fireplace crackling, fresh sheets on the beds, popcorn made, hot tea in cups on saucers, we all took a deep breath and sank into the couches and chairs to watch the movie October Sky. Oh how wonderful!

The next day we slept in and made french toast. We explored the surrounding area and made friends with an old man whose marbles weren't all together. He asked us if we had boyfriends and when we said no, he said, "Aaayyy, Italia." As if it was the fault of Italian men. He walked with us for a while and explained that he spoke Russian, American, and Japanese. His 'American' consisted of, "Athankayou avery maaacha." We were grateful for his company. Once we went our separate ways, we were accompanied by an adorable little dog. We named him Francesco. Here are some pictures of our adventure.

Much of the rest of the day was spend finishing homework. I got my fingers dirty with a charcoal drawing for painting class. We watched many more movies and finished the day with a lovely dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Baked apples were dessert!

 

In the morning, we all got up at 6:30 to watch the sunrise. Because of the thick clouds we couldn't see much so the girls went back to bed. I stayed up and waited patiently. Gradually the sun turned the sky a bright pink and then slowly faded  back to gray, making my patience so worth it! I decided to enjoy the quietness of the morning. I started the fire, made a hot cup of espresso, and sat down to read. I think every day should start like this!

Coconut Macaroons

  We set out on another mission. Location: our kitchen. Subject: coconut macaroons. Purpose: meet our white haired friend on her doorstep rather than out the window. Our journey began at the grocery store with a list of sweetened condensed milk (latte condensato zucherrato) and coconut. Two helpful workers and a patron later we found them. As we left, we thanked the helpful patron and she wished us a "buona torte." Good caking. This really cracked us up. In the kitchen we joyfully prepared the little cookies, the aroma of toasted coconut filling our entire apartment. As they baked we looked up some key phrases:

Abbiamo portato dei biscotti che abbiamo fatto oggi. = We brought you some cookies that we made today.
Ci piacerebbe essere tuo amico. = We would like to be your friend.
E' stato bello conoscerti. = It was really nice to meet you.

We figured these would get the general idea across. As we were baking, she poked her head out the window to hang some undergarments on the line. She waved and asked us if we were good...then blew us a kiss goodbye! We were very excited to really meet her!

After writing her a little note, we drizzled chocolate over the cookies for a finishing touch, and then set off across the courtyard to deliver our treats. Once we found her door, we nervously rang the doorbell and waited as the door slowly opened. Behind the door revealed a very short old man smoking a cigarette. We asked him if there was a lady that lived there. He shook his head and shut the door in our face. Ouch! We were so confused, but sure that this was in fact her door. We rang the doorbell again, just waiting to be yelled at in Italian. The man reluctantly opened the door again and our conversation proceeded as follows. At least this is what we think he said.

Old man: I've just eaten dinner and I have no room for your cookies. Us: We live in apartment B. Old man: Oh, you're in the wrong building. Us: No, we are looking for a lady that lives here. Old man: Grumbles. Hollers for someone. Younger lady: Hello. Us: Hi, do you speak English? Lady: Yes. Us: We are looking for an older woman that lives here. We wave at her from our window, and we have brought her some cookies. Lady: Mama! Her mother was not the little lady that we had hoped. They squabbled for a little bit in Italian. Lady: You must be talking about Louisa, she lives below us. But she's not home now. Us: Ok, thank you.

However, we are most definitely positive that she indeed lives in that apartment, for this is the window that she always waves from. We stood outside their door, a little bruised, frustrated, definitely not the ending that we had hoped. We are saving her cookies for when we see her again, but as I sit in our kitchen typing, her window looks much different than before. The shudders are closed and the lights are off. There are no undergarments hanging on the line. It is strange.

On the bright side, we enjoyed the extra cookies that we made with the ladies in our Bible study. We had the most wonderful evening, digging into God's word and delighting in his wonderful gift of Jesus Christ! We are reading through Romans, and are really learning a ton.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. Romans 3:23-24

Wonders of Fall

The air is less thick. The wind is stronger too. It carries with it the reality that time is moving on. Leaves are dying, creating piles of wonderful crunchiness on the sidewalks. I took a walk to the top of Janiculum Hill where I looked out over the entire city of Rome. It was as if I were gazing at a gigantic map, recognizing the tallest landmarks and long row of trees arching over the river. Just being away was so refreshing. The walk back really brought out my inner child! There were huge piles of leaves covering the sidewalk…where I might have skipped and frolicked when no one was around.

For my History class we walk. We have no books. We are currently studying the Renaissance Period. It is the most interested in History I've ever been. Our teacher, Linda is so very wonderful. She makes us cookies and always presents them to us with such joy. She knows little details about daily life in the past that makes her class so worth it....the cookies help too. After class this week, Katelyn and I went back to a little Mediterranean food shop that Linda recommended. I ordered a thingy called shish taouk. The lady was asking me whether I wanted it spicy or not. I said yes. She asked me again. I said yes. I watched in horror as she dumped two heaping spoonfuls of the red fiery sauce into my food. It smelled so wonderful, but a few bites into it, my lips were numb and my tongue was buzzing. Adding some humor to the situation was the couple sitting next to us. If you haven't heard, public displays of affection are quite common in Italy. This was a perfectly awkward example. Let's just say I wasn't hungry for the rest of my shish taouk!

For a little peace and quiet, a few of us went to the town of Tivoli yesterday. It is home to Villa D'Este, a home commissioned by a cardinal in the Renaissance period. Behind the villa is a large garden and an extraordinary variety of fountains. The hydraulic engineering that went into the water systems is genius for that time. We were blown away by the sheer amount of water. The three of us had a very silly picture-taking day. We became entertainment for the old folk wandering around. I think we made their day!

Train Ride Home

Long train rides are my favorite...Especially when we get a first class cabin for second class price! It is such a great time to see the countryside, get some sleep, read my Bible, and jot down my thoughts. All for the small price of $19.95. The best part is ending up in a place different from where you began.

Last week was our first school trip. We spent the first night in Sorrento, a small town in the south of Italy on the Amalfi Coast. In keeping with tradition, everyone ate at the Lemon Tree where we were served the most delicious four course meal! My favorite part was the stuffed zucchini flower.

The next day we visited a town called Herculaneum. It was like going back in time! In 79 AD the village was "frozen in time" by a volcanic eruption from Mt. Vesuvius. In 1738 excavations began to uncover the lost town. Archeologists found almost everything perfectly preserved, from table settings to frescos.

The most fascinating part was the Roman baths. The baths were the town's number one place of excitement. It was where people gathered as often as they could afford to pamper themselves, catch up on the latest news, and just get away from the daily grind. These places are extraordinary, with high ceilings and floors covered in mosaics of sea creatures. They contained a heating system of a furnace and lead pipes. The pipes carried the heated water through the different rooms, heating the sauna, and the water for the pool. It was so eerily peaceful.

 

The rest of the weekend was individual travel, where my roommates and I stayed another night in Sorrento and the next in Naples. In Sorrento we proved our penny pinching ability by finding awesome bargains on almost everything. Hostel (cabin on the coast with a gorgeous view) - 9 euro. Local transportation- free when you smile at the bus driver. Supper - 6 euro for a whole amazingly cheesy pizza that I proudly ate by myself (see the grease dripping off the plate.) Scarf from the market - 5 euro...someone's Christmas gift. Shot of Lemoncello - free (this is a famous drink in Sorrento but turned out to be a bad idea...it looked like lemonade but felt like acid burning down my throat.) My biggest downfall was gelato...but it really wasn't my fault. We went to this famous gelateria (where the Pope has his pastries specially made.) It was so busy I just pointed at a cone and shouted my three flavors. It turned out to be a 5 euro cone.  Yummy but expensive!

Early the next morning we set off on a ferry to the island of Capri. Let me just say wow! We took a chairlift to the top of the mountain where we were standing on top of the world. I've never seen anything like it in my life. The phrase "feast your eyes" took on a whole new meaning. I couldn't get enough.

The final highlight of the trip was on the train ride home. Anna and I sat with a middle aged couple who spent the first portion of the ride listening to the Rome vs. Naples soccer game. When Naples won he and several other men in our car exchanged joking cheers and boos. Anna and I decided to cheer! After the excitement calmed down, we began to talk with the couple, Rosella and Ciro. They live in Rome. He is a musician and she designs websites. They have two children in their 20s. They joked with us about their son (which was quite embarrassing especially after they showed us his picture…our cheeks had some extra color.)  Ciro discussed his career in music. Then he gave us his cd...so cool! We even had the opportunity to share our faith! Four very short hours later we arrived in Rome where Rosella told us that she currently is taking time off and would love to show us around the city. We are currently planning to meet up on Saturday. You can pray that this will provide another opportunity to share the Good News with them!

        

White Haired Friend

I have a white haired friend!  She lives across the courtyard one floor up.  She's probably in her late seventies and  likes to hang her underwear out in the courtyard.  She has the most beautiful silvery white hair!  The first time we saw each other she was hanging panties out when we both looked up and met eyes.  It was kind of an akward but friendly smile and wave.  The next time was an enthusiastic exchange of waving.  Today, I saw her hanging out clothes and opened our windows to greet her.  She motioned to the three of us and said, "Tutto bene?"  Which means 'are you all good?' I replied with a thumbs up. 

I think I will bake her a cake and deliver it to her door.  We shall be great friends. 

Little Piece of Heaven

Last weekend I witnessed a little piece of heaven. We were on our way to the town of Assisi on a really cloudy Saturday morning. The view from my seat on the bus was spectacular. Around every corner was another amazing view of the large hills/small mountains. We’ll call them hilountains. They were beautiful. After about an hour of driving, the clouds met the sun in such a way that rays of light filtered down onto the land below. At one point, I looked out and saw two very large hills on either side of a valley that was home to a heard of sheep. The hills were sprinkled with villas and the rays of light spread over the valley making it look so wonderfully peaceful. I wasn’t quick enough to capture it on my camera, but it is an image that will stay with me forever!

 

Other scenes I saw on the way were both ordinary and peculiar. There were many farmers out tending their fields, women working in their gardens, people outside their homes talking. Fields full of corn, some still green and some ready for harvest, fields of sunflowers, and also many vineyards. My eyes were overjoyed at the countryside. In one pasture were three men working on some machinery. In the next field sat three surprisingly white bathtubs, placed haphazardly near one corner. I made the assumption that the two were connected…which led to some pretty humorous visuals.

I was also intrigued by the drainage systems of roads and fields. The highway we were on had little runoff spouts into the ditch every 20 yards or so. In the pastures were deep ditches running the length of land every 100 yards. These ditches were sometimes curving all across the land or perfectly parallel with each other.

Assisi is a town that sits on the top of one very large hill. It is home to many churches and a castle that sits on the tippy top. I spent the day with one of my roommates whose name is also Anna. We sketched for a while in the Church of St. Francis, and then we found our way to a lovely little restaurant overlooking the earth below. It was an amazing view with the crisp wind blowing our hair all over the place. We treated ourselves to white wine and pasta followed by tiramisu. The whole time it threatened to rain and the waiter threatened to take us inside. Fortunately, the rain held off and we were able to enjoy the view. It was a very elegant and sophisticated dinner, leaving us both feeling like beautifully poised young women.