A Sad Goodbye and A New Beginning

On Wednesday, Dec. 12th, I had my last dinner with my homestay family. We ate pumpkin soup with olive oil for the primo piatto. Then we had carne con funghi and really good spinaci. (Believe it or not, my homestay sisses are eager to eat spinach.) Then we had ciambellone that my homestay mom had made. It is a chocolate/vanilla marble cake and it was soft and moist and good.

They have a guestbook where all of their homestays before me wrote them a little something. I noticed that all of the other entries had a picture of the person in them and I was wondering how my Italian family had gotten pictures of everyone. Then at dinner, my homestay sis G brought out the camera to take a picture of me. I told them that they could have a picture of me if I could have a picture of them. What resulted after that was a photoshoot in front of the Christmas tree. When they send me the pictures, I will update this.

After, they gave me a little present- a necklace with the symbol of Firenze on it in viola. I told them that purple is my favorite color! They were like that's great, but more importantly, viola is the color of Firenze's soccer team. I gave them a mini glass penguin family, which they seemed puzzled by, and some chocolate, which they were thrilled about.

On Thursday, I had my last two finals. I don't think that I did too well because I was so sad that it was my last day. In the morning, it snowed a little bit. I had been praying for it to snow before I left, and for a few moments as I was walking to school, my prayer was answered.

Later that day, I had to leave my Italian family for good. Only my Italian mom, my homestay sis M, and my cat were there when I left the apartment with my suitcase packed. M was sad in a desolate way. She kept hugging me and leaving was truly one of the saddest things I've ever had to do. I never thought that I would be an emotional wreck over leaving a thirteen-year-old. I love her, and all of my Italian family, very much.

I had to go to the final dinner with at my school right after that. I was barely keeping it together, but it was good to get to say goodbye to everyone. That wasn't as sad, because I will probably be able to see some of these people again.

And after that, I took the train to Rome. I was crying as I left my city. When I got to Rome, I had to take a taxi to the airport because the shuttle had stopped running. I was pleased that I was able to talk to the taxi driver in Italian. I (sort of) slept at the Rome airport until I could check in for my 7:45am flight. From there, I flew to Spain. And from Spain, I had an eighteen hour flight to LA. I went a little crazy being trapped on a plane for that long, not gonna lie.

Flying over Antarctica

I was welcomed back by my mom, and soon after, by my family. It was nice to be able to hug them, after seeing them on skype for these months and not being able to. There were goofy "Welcome Back" posters at my house. And I took the train up to my university to surprise my sorority sisters. It was awesome to be attacked with hugs.

So I don't know how I'm feeling right now. I can't help but compare everything to Italy and I don't think that I will be able to help starting my sentences with, "When I was in Italy..." for quite a while. I want to let my love for Italy, and for the people that I left there, make me stronger. Italy is always going to be a part of me now, just like my family is a part of me, just like my sorority is a part of me. And I'm okay with that. I know that I am a different person than I was before, and I am glad for it. I had the strength to fly across the world, alone (okay with God too), and I loved it. I am ready for my next adventure.

(I really am going to miss Cat, though. I love her. Even if she clawed me sometimes when she got excited.)

"...for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away." 
~ Song of Songs 8:6-7

Last Song

Does listening to Italian music count as studying for my Italian final?

This song is "Due Respiri" by Chiara Galiazzo, and she just won the Italian X-factor. This is also the last song that I will ever get to awkwardly sing with my Italian class. :'(

"Open my heart and you will will see / Graved inside of it / 'Italy'." ~Robert Browning

Monastero di S. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi

One thing that I like about going to school in Italy is that we go on a bunch of field trips! Learning outside of the classroom makes a lot of sense to me. 

In my culture class, we've been learning a lot about saints and Catholicism. For our field trip, we went to a convent of cloistered nuns last Thursday! We met with three nuns. Two of them spoke only Italian and one spoke some English. Our professoressa translated for us. 

At the convent with my class [Photo Credit: Lisa Kaborycha]

One of the nuns told us that she had joined the convent when she was in her teens. Her parents had opposed her decision at first. However, then she got sick and her family came to her and they were reconciled. 

The one who spoke English was actually a nun-in-training. She looked like she was about 50, and she emphasized that she had had a full life. She said that she had traveled to many places and that she had many friends, some who still came to visit her. She looked at peace and like she was where she was meant to be. She did not wear a habit because she was not yet officially a nun. She had been there six months and eventually she will get voted in (or not). 

It reminded me of my sorority and the pledging process. But the idea of committing to live with the same people for the rest of my life is terrifying to me. But then, that is what people who marry do, too.

I shared my insight- that I'd decided I didn't want to join a convent- with my friend. Her response was, "You sure?" Why I befriend the most sarcastic people, I don't know. But I like it. 

Anyways, these were Carmelite nuns, and they were a cloistered order. That means that they do not leave the convent. If there was an emergency (like if one of their family members became deathly ill) then they could leave, but beyond that they stay in the convent. They spend most of their time in solitary Bible study, in prayer, in meditation, and in contemplation. There are other monastic orders that are not cloistered and that do things like go out and feed the homeless. So the nuns that are here chose this lifestyle purposefully.

There is church that connects to the convent, and it houses the body of Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi. I saw her and I was able to see her more clearly than any of the other dead saints that I've seen. Yep, she's dead alright. The nuns were saying that her body still does miracles. I'm skeptical about that. I think that that's something I'd have to see to believe.

A nun we met [pic from nuns' website]

If you want to know more about these nuns, they have a website (naturally): http://maddalenadepazzi.jimdo.com/

Be forewarned that the site is in Italian, so you may need to google translate the page.

It was cool to do something that I may never have gotten to do otherwise. The "I Will Follow Him" song from Sister Act may or may not have been playing in my head during the visit.

"I will follow Him, / Follow Him wherever He may go, / There isn't an ocean too deep, / A mountain so high it can keep, / Keep me away, away from His love..." ~ "I Will Follow Him" from Sister Act

Thanksgiving in Paris

I left for Paris on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. When we arrived in Paris, we had some trouble finding our hotel. No one spoke English (or Spanish or Italian) and so we asked: "La Villete?" and people would point in a direction. We found out too late that there was a La Villete avenue as well as a La Villete boulevard. Of course we were at the wrong one and they were 30 minutes apart by foot. So, we decided to stop for dinner at a place that looked a little fancy. We ordered pizzas because that was the cheapest thing on the menu. I got one with cheese, vegetables, and honey, and it was actually really good. I have been converted to believing that honey and cheese go together. 

During our meal, the waiter came up to us and awkwardly asked: "Would you like some apple juice or something?" We were confused at why he was trying to sell us apple juice and said no thanks. He explained that they guy over there (the only other customer in the restaurant) was paying for it. So we said, "Sure, bring us whatever is best." We each got a glass of mango orange juice and it was so good! It was hilarious that some guy was buying us... juice. He did not even speak to us at all, either. We told the waiter to tell him "merci."

The next day, on Thanksgiving, we climbed to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower (because that was cheaper). Seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time was amazing! It was cloudy so we could not see the top of the Eiffel Tower at first. We kind of freaked out when the clouds cleared for a moment!

Climbing the tower was fun because I really got to see it up close. Did you know that the Eiffel Tower has a restaurant in it? It's expensive, of course. We were freezing when we climbed the tower because we were not prepared for the cold.

After, we saw a Statue of Liberty in Paris. Did you know that there's more than one Statue of Liberty? This one was also made by Frederic Bartholdi, who made the one that is in New York. This one is much smaller, though. She was made before the one in New York and I believe that she faces her sister in New York.

We had a late lunch at a French restaurant, and this was my Thanksgiving meal. It was rabbit with pasta. It was actually very good! But of course it is not the same.

At the Arc of Triumph, we learned that with our Visas we are treated as EU students! That means that we got to climb this arc and go into the attractions FOR FREE!!! That saved so much money! Points for the French!

This is the view from the Arc of Triumph. Here we learned that every hour on the hour, the Eiffel Tower does a light show for five minutes. It was super windy, so we waited huddled up. It was worth it. Pictures and videos cannot capture how amazing the tower looks when the lights go crazy. Seeing it that first time is something that I am going to remember forever.

The next day, we went to the Louvre! This is where the famous pyramid from the Da Vinci Code is!

The Louvre was massive, so I probably only saw a fraction of it. But what I saw was really cool. I'm not really an art history lover, but it was refreshing to see French art after seeing a bunch of Italian art.

Venus de Milo

Da Vinci's Mona Lisa

The most famous painting in the world was painted by an Italian... just sayin'. :P (Italy is still my fave.<3) The Mona Lisa was protected by bulletproof glass, and there was a swarm of people trying to get closer to her. I enjoyed my Louvre experience, and it was nice that I could take as many pictures as I wanted, without flash of course.

After, we went to La Sainte-Chapelle, which is this beautiful church full of stained glass windows! I was very impressed. It is so different from the other churches I've seen.

And this is the Locks of Love bridge in Paris! It was cool to see that there were locks with writing on them in all different languages. 

This is me in Paris, nbd. 

Here we are on "Point Zero" of France, which is where all distances in France are measured from.

These are the two towers of the Notre Dame.

Inside the Notre Dame

Here is the Notre Dame at night... kinda creepy.

On Saturday, we went to Sacre Coeur, which is a lovely white church.

And after, we went to the Pantheon. It had a neat pendulum in it that moves with the Earth's rotation.

The Pantheon was really cool because it turned out that there were tombs underneath it! I got to see where Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Voltaire, Rousseau and Marie Curie are buried! Alexandre Dumas is one of my favorite authors.

The last thing that we did in Paris was chill by the Eiffel Tower. We watched the light show, because it never ceases to amaze. Why can't my city have one of these?

And I will leave you with a video of my new favorite tower. (Of course the video cannot capture it.)

"En art comme en amour, l'instinct suffit." ~ Anatole France [In art as in love, instinct is enough.]

What I'm Thankful For

This year, I was not able to celebrate Thanksgiving as I traditionally do- with lots of family, love, and food. This year I ate my Thanksgiving meal of duck with pasta in a restaurant in Paris. It was actually very good. But it just didn't feel like Thanksgiving to me.

And so, even though this is late, I want to write down what I'm thankful for.

I'm thankful for this experience. This adventure. I'm thankful for the people I've met, the places I've seen, the things I've learned. I know that I am not the same person that I was before.

I'm thankful for my family. Their love, support, encouragement, and money make all of this possible for me. I am thankful that I get to see their faces and talk to them on Skype. I love telling them what I'm up to here because I know that they're almost as excited about it as I am.

I'm thankful for my homestay family. I was afraid to choose to live in a homestay because I had no way of knowing what sort of situation I would get. And when I found out that I would be the only student in my homestay, I was afraid then too. But I am glad that I followed God in this- my homestay has been the perfect living situation for me. They are all excessively kind. If I apologize for drinking all of the espresso, they ask me if I would like some more. Sometimes at dinner they bring out more and more foods for me to try. When I hurt my arm, they came to the hospital. When it was my birthday, they got me a mini moka (expresso maker). Besides. I adore my Italian cat.

I'm thankful for little things. Like a bit of chocolate. Or a warm beverage on a cold day. I just bought five different fruity flavors of tea in one pack and I tried one out tonight. The blood orange flavor was lovely.

I'm thankful for getting to live in Italy. When I first got here, I felt overwhelmed. Everything was different. The food, the language, the culture. But now I love it! I love the delicious food, the beautiful language that keeps me guessing, and the relaxed, social culture. I do not want to leave just yet! :(

I'm thankful that Mondays and Wednesdays are cappuccino days.

I'm thankful for my English-speaking, student-filled church here, Florence Gospel International Fellowship. I'm thankful for the friends that I have met through it. I am thankful for the familiar worship songs. I am thankful for the yummy snacks that Tuula makes.

I'm thankful for you. Thank you for reading this, for caring about what I'm up to.

I'm thankful for my God, who is on this adventure with me. He is my strength and my courage. I know that He will keep me safe, even if I have no idea where I am going.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." ~ James 1:17

Botticelli. Bologna. Birthday.

I am all too aware that my European adventure is coming to an end. And so, on Friday I finally went to the Uffizi to see some amazingness.

I got in for free with my student museum pass. I didn't take any pictures, because the security was dense.

The Seven Virtues (1469-72) [from google images]

The virtue on the far left was painted by Botticelli and the other six were painted by Piero del Pollaiolo. You cannot see them too well here, but when I saw them they took up a whole wall. They are each awesomely expressive. I thought that Botticelli's Fortitude was the most well done.

Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (1486) [from google images]

This piece is the reason that I went to the museum. And it was definitely striking. It was much bigger than I thought it would be. I was fortunate to have gone on a uncrowded day, so I didn't have to push past a mob to see it. Her hair is awesome. 

Botticelli's Pallas and the Centaur (1482) [from google]

However, though Venus is lovely and all, I preferred Botticelli's depiction of her sister, Pallas Athena. While Venus is floating out of a seashell, gorgeous and passive, Athena is taking care of business, wielding a giant axe to be used if necessary. 

On Saturday, a friend and I went on a day trip to Bologna. We actually had no plans at all for what to do once we got there. Fortunately for us, there was a giant chocolate festival that day! It was even more legit than the one that I went to in Perugia. We had gotten there in the morning, and at that time it was not crowded. We walked around and helped ourselves to samples from every white tent. This random chocolate festival felt like God's early birthday present to me. He knows me so well. :)

Bologna!

Some chocolate goodness

So we walked from tent to tent and I asked for a sample at every stop. They don't often have samples out but if you ask in Italian then you can have a lovely market experience. So I would point to some chocolate and say, "Posso trovare questo?" I was trying to say, "Can I try this?" What I was really saying is, "Can I find this?" I did not realize that until after I got back to Firenze. It explains why their faces were so confused. But I must say that between my persistent pointing and my hopeful face, I did succeed in getting tons of samples. I now know that the correct phrase to say is, "Posso assaggiare questo?" ("Can I taste this?")

Even chocolate shoes!

After that we walked around the city for a bit. It was decked out in Christmas cheer!

Really tall tower

We noticed that Bologna really favored the color orange for its architecture.

Christmas lights!

At lunchtime, we searched forever for a place that served Bologna's famous dish, tagliatelle al ragù alla bolognese. We found a vegetarian place and several pizzerias and were getting discouraged. I finally found an empty ristorante, and we decided to give it a try as we were starving.

It was super fancy! In Europe, you are lucky if a restaurant has a bathroom let alone a bathroom with toilet paper. So between the waiter asking to take our coats and the bathroom having cloth napkins, we knew that this was way fancier than we'd bargained for.

Le tagliatelle al ragù alla bolognese

I ordered the famous dish and it was very good! My friend ordered the greenest gnocchi that I've ever seen and she said that it was good. So we had a very nice, fancy meal.

After, we got the bill. There was a five euro each coperto! Usually the coperto (seating charge) is two euros max. So it turned out to be an even fancier meal than we'd anticipated! Oh well, live and learn!

And on Sunday, it was my birthday! Happy twentieth to me!!

I decided to start off my twenties on the right foot so I volunteered to feed the homeless. There was only one lady in charge and there were about a dozen homeless adults, and they all only spoke Italian. So it was a bit intimidating for me as I was the only volunteer there. Fortunately, we had just learned the cooking vocab in my class, so I was able to understand some of what was said. I was nervous so that contributed to my Italian being terrible. It was a humbling reminder of how good my Italian isn't. Nevertheless, when the lady spoke slowly and repeated things a few times, I was able to understand. One guy seemed skeptical of my bread cutting skills (I thought that they might like a variety of sizes, ok?), but I got to eat with them and after I felt good about going. I also made it to church and that was nice.

On Monday, my professoressa told me that she hadn't known that it was my birthday. But another girl in my class had her birthday on the same day, and she wasn't in class today, so my teacher gave me the cake that was meant for my classmate and my class sang "tanti auguri" to me (as is our class tradition). It was an apple cake and it was yummy.

At dinner, my homestay family made me a special birthday dinner. The primo piatto was lasagna. It was nothing like the lasagna that we buy from Costco and pop in the oven. This lasagna was homemade with love. Then we had meat and potatoes. And then I got to see the sorpresa that the girls were so excited about. My Italian mom had made me a tiramisu as a birthday cake! And my Italian sis G and her friend had helped make biscotti!

my tiramisu cake

G's friend, G, me, and M

"Soffi!" ("Blow!")

This probably goes without saying, but the tiramisu was lovely! And the cookies that G and her friend helped make were surprisingly good, too! They took the marscapone cookies, put Nutella and creme in them, rolled them in milk, and then rolled them in cocco (coconut). I'm a big fan of coconut (especially coconut with chocolate), so I thought they were great!

I'm so glad that I got a cake with twenty candles on it to blow out! Because now, I officially feel twenty.

"O Lord bless me and keep me / Cause your face to shine on me / Lord be gracious / Lift the light of your countenance / Give me peace / For I live only to see your face / So shine on me." ~ "Light Of Your Face" by Misty Edwards

Pandoro vs. Panettone

"They look almost the same."

My homestay dad's face was full of disappointment.

"...but I'm sure they're really different."

The "war" that is going on in my house is one that likely occurs every Natale: il pandoro vs. il panettone.

Il pandoro is a sweet bread with some powdered sugar on it. Il panettone is a sweet bread with raisins and candied fruits in it. The two are similarly shaped.

Il panettone [from google images]

Il pandoro [from google images]

In my opinion, they're pretty similar.

I was able to try both. The question remained: Did I prefer il pandoro o il panettone? My homestay dad was team panettone and the rest of my Italian family was on team pandoro.

"Mi piace.... tutti due," I replied to the dissatisfaction of everyone except la nonna, who had given me the response. Honestly, in my opinion, both of the cakes needed some chocolate.

My homestay family asked me about traditional Christmas desserts in America. I tried to explain "Christmas cookies."

"You mean that only the shape is different?" my homestay mom asked. She didn't seem to appreciate the significance in getting to cut and decorate Christmas cookies into different forms.

Oh well. I think their Christmas desserts are a bit strange and they think that my Christmas desserts are strange. Va bene. The main thing is that I am very glad that Christmas cheer starts early here. And I'm glad that I bought a beanie for only one euro. My ears and my wallet are happy. The only downside to the Italian Christmas season... my jeans are getting tight. O Mamma Mia!

Which seasonal dessert is your favorite?

3 Things Studying Abroad is Teaching Me

1. LOVE, NOT JUDGE

"Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." ~ Luke 6:37

It is not my place to judge the decisions of others. It is, however, my job to treat other people with love.

Love can be shown in infinitely many ways. Some examples of love are: giving a hungry person your food; spending time with a friend; building up another person with words; forgiving someone who has wronged you; expressing appreciation; the words "want to come?"; a hug; reaching out to a friend; skyping your parents; listening without judging; giving without worrying about receiving; just being there; giving another person the freedom to be themself; showing support.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." ~ 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

BONUS! When you show people love, sometimes they show you love in return. And sometimes this results in love-filled relationships with other people. In the words of the Beatles: "the love you take is equal to the love you make."

2. TAKE A CHANCE (AND THEN TAKE ANOTHER ONE)

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." ~ Isaiah 41:10

With God holding me in the palm of his hand, what is there to stop me from doing things that are a bit scary?

One thing that I am afraid of is rejection. I came to Italy without knowing a single person, and I was placed into a homestay without any roommates. To make friends, I had to really put myself out there. I forced myself to strike up conversations with strangers. Sometimes it was awkward and many people were actually very rude! But I persevered and met many awesome people! I know that having loving friends adds a lot to my happiness.

So whatever you want -whether it's to go to another country, learn a new language, make a friend, join a club, take up a sport, learn to cook, face a fear- just go for it! What's really the worst that will happen?

BONUS! Every time you take a chance, you get a little bit braver.

3. DO WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." ~ 1 Corinthians 10:31

Sometimes I feel guilty about doing things that are not explicitly "productive" (by productive I mean schoolwork). However, living in another country has shown me how important it is for my happiness to do the things that I enjoy. Some things that I enjoy doing are: writing, taking pictures, spending time with friends, eating chocolate, jogging outside, reading a good book, baking, going shopping, ballroom dancing, volunteering, cooking, going to church, and travelling. I've decided that if an activity brings me joy, then that is reason enough to do it. No justification necessary. Obviously, some activities are more healthy than others, so I leave it up to you to decide which activities are beneficial and which are not so healthy for you.

BONUS! When you do an activity you love, sometimes you meet other people who share your passion. And then you get to do what you love with awesome friends!

What are you learning from your experiences right now?

An Italian Cooking Class

Last Tuesday, my class and I went to an Italian cooking class instead of our regular class! It was way yummier than my usual class.

Abbiamo cucinato la pappa al pomodoro, le patate arrosto, l'arista ed i biscotti di prato (i cantuccini).

La pappa al pomodoro [Photo Credit: Cinzia]

Le patate arrosto e l'arista [Photo Credit: Cinzia]

It was all AMAZING!!! For me, the cantuccini was the best part! I've never had it right out of the oven like that. I definitely ate what some people might consider to be "too much." I'm including the recipe here. We got to keep all of the recipes and even our aprons!

[Photo Credit: Cinzia]

[Photo Credit: Cinzia]

I BISCOTTI DI PRATO

Ingredients:

300gr. flour
150gr. sugar
150gr. whole almonds
3 eggs
vanilla
baking powder (quanto basta)
salt

Instructions:

Make a mound with the flour, sugar, almonds vanilla and baking powder; add the eggs and mix with hands. When well combined, make small loaves and place on a cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, cut into the typical diagonal biscotti shape and return to the oven until toasted.

"You take notice, darling. The real way to get a man is with melted cheese and cream of mushroom soup. He'll die at 50, but his love will be true." ~ Mary Cooper (The Big Bang Theory)