L'ultimo fine settimana

I'm sitting here wondering how did this pass by so quickly? It's my final weekend in Florence (L'ultimo fine settimana) and I find myself so full of every emotion imaginable. I can't quite bring myself to write about my reflection on my experience here yet. And it will probably come in bits and pieces because it's hard to describe everything at one time.

I'm very pleased with everything I have done here and I'm not really finding myself trying to cram in last minute things to do before I leave. There are a couple things that I would like to do but if I don't get to, I can still leave Florence without any regrets. Yesterday I got to do one of my "wish list" items- Climb the Cupola- the top of the Duomo. It was absolutely amazing! I can't even begin to put in words the beautiful landscape and scene that God laid out before me when I came out at the top and looked out over this city in which I've been living for the past three and a half months. Even my pictures can't do it justice of portraying how incredible the view was, but at least the pictures can show you much better than I can explain. :-)

A little view out of one of the windows on our way up :)

On my way to the top!

Up, up, up we go!

Ta-Daaaaaa! We've made it!

God is so good!

Week before Finals- Italian style

A brief update on my life:

I have reached my first "week before college finals" aka h-e-double-hockey-sticks week as the majority of the college population calls it. Except, I'm having quite the opposite experience, and I'm not quite sure if I should be extremely worried about it or not.... Those of you that know me and my study habits and my feelings towards school have seen the worst in me when it comes to achieving academically and how you can't expect much kindness from me when major projects, assignments, or tests are in the near future. Studying and preparing to do well has been so much of my life. Yet, I am now six days away from my first final and I haven't started studying....

I've been doing really well in my class. A's on everything, so I know I have some wiggle room, yet I still feel preparred enough to where I truly believe I can't "cram" for anything at this point. Yes, being abroad and this atmosphere has a lot to do with this newfound calmness, but I think I've finally found my niche in studying and how to keep up with my classes enough to where I don't have to cram in the end. Which is absolutely wonderful! The past few days have been perfect as my time here is coming to a close!

Sunday I went to the center and walked around and shopped with my friend Jessi and came back in the late afternoon and just got in bed and started reading a book. Monday I got to come home early because my Italian class was cancelled and I got into my PJs and got in bed again to finish reading the book I had started the day before. Tuesday I got to sleep in because my classes don't start til 11 anyways and after my workstudy job I came home and watched TV during my freetime. And today we didn't have school because it's a national holiday and I went to the Christmas Market in Piazza di Santa Croce with a couple of girls and walked around there for a bit. I've also been able to write extensively in my personal journals on my reflections of my experience here. I've been wanting to do that very much so for a while and it's nice as the final days are coming to be able to take the time and let it all out.

I'm sure my attitude will change a bit tomorrow and this weekend as I do actually do some studying and preparring, but these past few relaxing days have been much needed, and they've really shown me how much I've matured since I've been here. I've arrived at a rational mindset to approaching academics, and still setting high goals and expectations for myself. Part of it has come from my amazing relationship with God that has strengthened since I've been here and I've learned that I can only do my best and no matter what, it's all in His hands. I've really turned my whole life over to Him in every aspect that I could, and since I trust He has a plan for everything else, I know He has a plan and a reason behind the grades that I receive when I utilize the blessings that He has given me to the best of my abilities.

I've been reflecting on this a lot lately, but it is absolutely amazing what God can do when you put it ALL in His hands. I started praying about my college decision as soon as I started my applications, and when April 1st came and I found out from my last two colleges (one of which had been my number one choice) that I had been denied, I knew from the devotional that I read right before I read my letters that God was with me and He had a plan for me. I honestly never could have imagined this time last year that I would be in this city, in this country, in this place in my relationship with God. But there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this is EXACTLY where I was meant to be. For so many reasons. One of which is the maturity level to which I have reached and how my life has become so much more peaceful because of how much I've turned over my life to God and the environment that He has provided me with here to learn from.

I cannot wait to get back to the homeland and share with everyone all of my stories, experiences, and guidance that I have received from God since I've been here!

It's crazy to think that I can now say, "I'll be home next week!"
9 more days!!

There's so much to be thankful for

Oops... I'm really bad at this keeping up with the blog thing :-/ I forgot that I never finished telling about my wonderful Thanksgiving Festivities!

So to finish my story! After my Italian class (in which we cooked and ate) I headed down to the Duomo with Jessi and we met Janece to work on an Art History project (the details of it are irrelevant to this story). After we finished at the Duomo we headed back to the school to help out with the preparations for a dinner our Freshman group was having that night. As we turned the corner in the courtyard to walk down into the entrance of the kitchen, we were overwhelmed with this amazing smell of deliciousness! We walked down in, and low and behold there was a turkey in the oven! Apparently only a couple of the "chefs" knew that we were having a turkey, and they wanted to keep it a surprise for the rest of the group! What a wonderful surprise it was indeed! 

The next couple hours were quite interesting! Jessi baked her first cake- I assisted in the cleaning of the bowl (if you know what I mean!). We couldn't figure out how to work the other oven that had all these weird Italian knobs and dials. I slightly burnt the skin on my right hand because in order to stir our Macoroni and Cheese (or as we called it- penne e formaggio), I had to stick my hand in the actual Mac&Cheese because the spoon was shorter than the pot itself. I didn't complain though- I had a nice appitizer leftover on my hand once we finished! :-) Various people preparred various dishes while we listened to some music and danced- I mean worked- the next couple of hours.  

Cylicia, Bri, and Catherine preparring the salad

Jessi, Rachel, Myself, Bri, Mariah, and Terry- Jessi was waiting on her cake to bake, Rach and I were working on the penne e formaggio, Bri was cooking the vegetables, and Mariah and Terry were waiting for the samples :)

Exhibit A: My hand was a complete mess but
Exhibit B: Look at that smile on my face!
Can you tell I was having fun?

Jessi and her first cake!
Che bellisima! (How beautiful!)

Catherine and Terry working on the Bruschetta!

The "first" course: Chips with homemade guacamole dip and cheese dip, steamed and seasoned vegetables, mixed salad, bruschetta, and cranberry sauce. Oh and a little chocolate on our plates! :)

Harrison and I! As you can see our plates were full as well as the table!

Our table at some point during the meal: Shepherd's Pie, Beans, penne e formaggio, and bread.
Also, please note the drink in my cup: Orange Fanta- best drink ever! They make it with real orange juice here! It's like carbonated orange juice! It's amazing!

Jessi was adament on baking the cake by herself.

Ah oh! We got caught!!

Harrison and I were having quite a bit a fun during dinner!
There is no telling what I was doing with this face!





 Mari (from Puerto Rico!!!) and Catherine working on the Bruschetta

I don't even know where to begin to describe the rest of the night as dinner progressed and we enjoyed our meal(s) and each others' company. Throughout the night, I couldn't help but think about how different this Thanksgiving was to anything I have every had, but how wonderful, and almost just as special, this night was for me. We took some time out of our dinner to go around the room and do the traditional "I am thankful for..." but this year, you could definitely tell a difference in the way each of us spoke, that we really meant it from our hearts. The two most mentioned things were: our family back at home in the States, and our "family" here.

It is truly a blessing and definitely the works of God of the dynamics of this Freshmen group. With 20 girls, two boys, two upperclassmen mentors, and a "mama", it is amazing how all of us can manage to get along so well and have the relationships that we do with one another. As our time here is coming to a close, I think most of us are starting to realize how this is an experience that we will never have again, and nobody will be able to understand exactly what we went through except the 24 other members of our "family". We all are so unique in our own ways, yet many of us have (freakishly) common personalities and this "common thread" that we can't quite pinpoint and describe. I will have to spend an entry talking about each of the persons in my "family" later on. Probably when I'm back in the States constantly thinking about them and wishing they were there with me to laugh at certain (ab)normalities that we are going to have to adjust to.

The Family :-)

But anyways, back to Thanksgiving. Being here in a foreign country, not having a roommate for the second half of the semester, and living in a homestay that isn't near anyone else in the program and a half an hour walk to the school has actually been one of the best things that could have happened to me. Pertaining to the spirit of Thanksgiving, I have come to a completely deeper appreciation for the blessings that God has placed in my life.

1) My "Webster family- Gainesville Division- Daryl Klan" I have really learned to appreciate the foundation and necessity of my family back at home, despite how independent I've tried to become. There will never be anyone else on this earth who could ever even substitute for my relationships with my mom, dad, brother, and sister. I can't continue with details because the tears have already started and I've got to keep typing.
2) My Christian family- the ones who have been with me for years and years and the ones who I have just met and our relationships are just starting to grow. I talked about it earlier in the semester, but I have to say it again, there is something completely different about being away from a Christian family and not getting to be around even just one Christian brother or sister every day. Realizing how much of a part of my heart that my Christian family holds has made me see what is important to me and my Christian faith, as well as I have been completely humbled by the amazing Christian family God has provided me with. I don't know if yall will ever know how much your prayers, messages, and words of encouragement have meant to me while being here.
3) My relationship with God. The best way to sum it up is through this bible passage that has been at my side (literally- tapped to the side of the nightstand next to my bed) for most of this semester:

"So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and anxieties to God, for He cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. In His kindness God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So that after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation."

-1 Peter 5:6-10

Once I returned to my homestay after the dinner and was getting ready for bed, I couldn't get a particular song out of my head. I sang it last summer at GAP and it's remained imprinted in my heart ever since. The song was "Thankful" by Josh Groban. I'm going to copy and paste the lyrics and a link to a video on Youtube so you can listen to it and see why this song embodies almost everything I've been thinking about and feeling during this Thanksgiving holiday.

Thankful by Josh Groban- Youtube Video

Somedays we forget

To look around us

Somedays we can't see

The joy that surrounds us

So caught up inside ourselves

We take when we should give.

So for tonight we pray for

What we know can be.

And on this day we hope for

What we still can't see.

It's up to us to be the change

And even though we all can still do more

There's so much to be thankful for.

Look beyond ourselves

There's so much sorrow

It's way too late to say

I'll cry tomorrow

Each of us must find our truth

It's so long overdue

So for tonight we pray for

What we know can be

And every day we hope for

What we still can't see

It's up to us to be the change

And even though we all can still do more

There's so much to be thankful for.

Even with our differences

There is a place we're all connected

Each of us can find each other's light

So for tonight we pray for

What we know can be

And on this day we hope for

What we still can't see

It's up to us to be the change

And even though this world needs so much more

There's so much to be thankful for

Wonderful Wednesday!

I don't even know where to begin for this entry. The past four days have been a whirlwind of emotions. Sunday and Monday a giant wave of sadness and missing home came over me and I was crying at every little message from someone at home. Monday night I decided I needed to get off Facebook for the week because it was getting too difficult to see everyone who was getting to go home for the week and thinking about how I wouldn't get to see all of my friends and family. I didn't want to be moping around all week so I signed off of my Facebook and told myself to have a positive approach to the rest of the week and to keep my head up. Then, Tuesday morning I woke up with a migraine, and it was the first day the sun had actually come out in the past two weeks or so. It would be my luck :-) So Tuesday I stayed in bed pretty much all day sleeping and studying a little. Then Wednesday came...

I woke up Wednesday morning to yet another sunny morning, and while my head was still dizzy and hurting a lot, I took some medicine and got ready for school because I didn't want to miss more class time and I wanted to try and enjoy this sunshine in case it didn't last for much longer! So my first couple classes were hard because everyone was talking very loudly and then I had to sit at a desk in the sun which didn't help much, BUT it was good to be with my friends because even if I did have a headache, they were still making me feel better and not be so sad about this whole holiday and whatnot. Then, Italian class came, and my day was completely turned around. 

Since I wasn't in class on Tuesday, I had no idea that we were going to be cooking in our Italian class Wednesday. So that was a very nice surprise! We went down to the kitchen on our campus and we started out our class all gathered around a big table. Our professor, Isabella, asked us to get out a piece of paper to write down the grocery list so half of us pulled out paper and started writing the items down as she told us the recipe. Then, at the end, she had us recite it back to her and then she handed us some money and told us to go. We all looked at her and then realized that we had to actually go to the store and buy it! So, with much laughter as we got up, we started our way to the store!

On our walk I was thinking about how in high school, and really any other place besides the native country, that when you are learning a language and get to the food section, you don't do much hands on learning like we can do here. We went to a market the first few weeks of class when we were learning about the foods and that was an experience in itself, but this was just another Italian class for us and going to the store wasn't that big of a deal. For all of us, we have to go to the grocery store anyways for any food that we want not out of a restaurant or bar so we're used to going to the store. We were mainly just worried about getting the right things that Isabella told us to get and pleasing her! :-)

Here's a picture of some of the girls in my class and myself pretending to look confused. We weren't actually confused :-) Just bored while waiting in line!

Skipping ahead, we got back to the kitchen and started on the cooking activities. I won't go into details. I think the story is better told through pictures and some captions :-)

The Tiramisu Team

The pesto I helped cut up!

Allison and I working on the pesto

Tiramisu Team working again

Yay! Spaghetti con pesto!
(This is Chris and I. Chris is another freshman in the Discovery Florence Program!)

My first Tiramisu!

Tiramisu with Chocolate Mouse! So amazing! And all homemade!
...Or schoolmade I guess since we were at school :)

Can you tell we liked the tiramisu?

My Italian Class! Professoressa Isabella is in the center

Alex (another DF gal!), Professoressa Isabella, myself, and Allison (from Franklin and Marshall)

I think I can speak for the whole class when I say that we all had a such a blast Wednesday- shopping, cooking, and eating! I'm very blessed to have such fun kids in my class! We each have somewhat of a humurous and silly personality so we usually have quite a bit of fun and laughs when we're both in class and doing things out of the classroom!

This was just the start to my day turning around and turning into one of the most memorable days of my time here in Florence.

"Faith is not faith without believing"

A quick update:
I apologize (again) for not updating recently. I've been swamped with school, work, and just trying to answer emails and messages from individuals in the US keeping in touch with me. We're hitting the final stretch and my professors are definitely making all of us feel it. I've had at least one major (at least 750 words) essay a week for the past two weeks and this next week I have two that are due. Along with all the essay writing, we're assigned readings and in the past week and a half I've read about 300 pages of texts ranging from the philosophies during Protestant Reformation to a modern art critic talking about "Sexual Personae" in the Renaissance. And to top off the "exciting" workload, it has been raining for at least the past two weeks every day (we had two days where the sun shone for a few hours but it ended up raining again).

To overcome this "dreariness" I've been listening to 104.7 The Fish a lot more every day and really getting into a couple of books that I'm reading: "Captivating" by: John and Stasi Eldridge, "Blue Like Jazz" by: Donald Miller, and "Radical" by: David Plath. They're all "religious" books, but they each touch on VERY different subjects. I really like reading all three of them simultaneously though. It's provided me with an interesting "balance" in a way, as I read each of these author's points of view.

I've also been reading these more heavily because I've been doing a lot of readings for my political science class and I've wanted to make sure that I don't become drawn into ideas that aren't Christian and could pull me off of God's path of truth. Ironically though, as I've been compiling excerpts from the texts I've read for polisci, I've found some pretty eloquently stated beliefs that I've found consistent with things that I've read in the Bible and not contradictory to my beliefs but actually enforcing them and enlightening them in a way. So I want to share some of the quotes that I've gathered thus far and leave you with these for today:

“Prophecy is not an art, nor, when it is taken for prediction, a constant vocation, but an extraordinary and temporary employment from God, most often of good men, but sometimes also of the wicked.”
– Leviathan by: Thomas Hobbes

“All the life and power of true religion consist in the inward and full persuasion of the mind; and faith is not faith without believing.”
–A Letter Concerning Toleration by: John Locke

“Can it, may some say, be properly said that God hath voice and language, when it cannot be properly said He hath a tongue or other organs as a man? …For to see and hear are honourable attributes, and may be given to God to declare as far as capacity can conceive His almighty power. But if it were to be taken in the strict and proper sense, one might argue from his making of all other parts of man's body that he had also the same use of them which we have; which would be many of them so uncomely as it would be the greatest contumely in the world to ascribe them to Him.”
–Leviathan by: Thomas Hobbes

“So that the controversy between these churches about the truth of their doctrines and the purity of their worship is on both sides equal; nor is there any judge, either at Constantinople or elsewhere upon earth, by whose sentence it can be determined. The decision of that question belongs only to the Supreme judge of all men, to whom also alone belongs the punishment of the erroneous.”
–A Letter Concerning Toleration by: John Locke

“I cannot be saved by a religion that I distrust and by a worship that I abhor. It is in vain for an unbeliever to take up the outward show of another man’s profession. Faith only and inward sincerity are the things that procure acceptance with God.”
–A Letter Concerning Toleration by: John Locke

Be strong in the Lord

"Be strong in the Lord and,

Never give up hope,

You're going to do great things,

I already know,

God's got His hand on you so,

Don't live life in fear,

Forgive and forget,

But don't forget why you're here,

Take your time and pray,

Thank God for each day,

His love will find a way,

These are the words I would say "

- "These Are the Words I Would Say" by: Sidewalk Prophets

These lyrics from this song reverberate how I'm feeling as I reflect on my Friday afternoon. I've already somewhat expressed how grateful I am for the many ways God has worked in my life while I've been here, but I'd like to elaborate on a specific way that God has truly been watching out for me.

The week before Fall Break, I had to write a journal entry for my Freshman Forum class where I was allowed to "vent" about anything I wanted to. Feeling alone as a Christian was really affecting me so, I spent the majority of my entry writing about that, and I emailed it in on Tuesday evening. The next evening, I went to my Freshman Forum class and as soon as I entered the door, Amy (my professor) asked me to come over to talk to her for a second. She told me that she had found another girl here who was also struggling as a Christian and was also a "fellow southerner". Amy gave me this girl's email address and said this girl knew I would be contacting her.

We got in contact with one another and set up a date to have coffee and visit. Even in the conversation of trying to find a date, I could tell this was going to be someone I could easily communicate and feel comfortable with- don't ask me why, I just had this feeling. So, after my last midterm exam the following Wednesday, this girl and I met at the school and made our way to a cafe to get something to drink. I don't remember exactly what we first started talking about, but I felt an immediate sense of comfort, and I know I just went all out and was completely open with her about pretty much everything I was feeling and thinking. I had my Freshman Forum class at 4:40 so we had to cut our talk short, but that hour and a half that we spent talking was such a blessing that I had needed for so long.

I have emailed and on a couple of occasions Skyped with my Christian brothers and sisters back at home when I've been in a hard place and needed some guidance or just plain fellowship, but it just wasn't quite the same as physically being around another Christian. Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful for my Christian brothers and sisters who have been there for me and taken out their time to pray for me and respond to my messages when I am across the world from them, and I don't know how strong I would be right now if it weren't for all of their help, but it's hard to understand how different it is unless you've been through physically being alone as a Christian. Needless to say, this girl was definitely a God sent at a time where I needed her most.

We met again last Wednesday and did the coffee thing again, which by no surprise was extremely wonderful and exactly what we needed, and then we met up again on Friday to have lunch together and talk for the afternoon. We were originally going to go to the Boboli gardens but I was being lazy and we ended up just walking a bit to Piazza Donatello where we sat on a bench, ate our Chinese food, and talked for about five and a half hours.

Those five and a half hours flew by so quickly and if it hadn't had been for the fact that I had to be home for dinner, we probably would have remained talking for even longer. God could not have sent me anyone better to help guide me and interact with than this girl. She is so strong and radiating beauty from the inside, that I hope and pray I can one day be like that. She has such a compassionate heart, and sometimes I feel guilty for how long I end up talking and venting while she just sits there and listens and puts in guidance when she's led to. We also have such similar personalities that I can so easily open up to her and know that she understands what I'm trying to say if I can't word it just right, how I felt about something, and why I think or feel certain things. I also am humbled when I'm able to give her guidance when she's going/gone through something very similar to what I've gone through. 

God's timing in bringing this girl into my life couldn't have come at a more perfect time. We were both starting to feel the weight of feeling alone as a Christian, so each other's pressence was a gift in itself. Not only was our pressence a gift, but the guidance and friendship that we can provide each other with was exactly what each of us needed at a time where we're both going through personal things. I wouldn't necessarily say that I was giving up hope, but I definitely hadn't been as strong as I really could be as a Christian, and God used this opportunity to show me He always has a plan and a way about doing something and that I just needed to trust in Him and remain strong.

And going along with God's amazing timing, I recently started listening to 104.7 The Fish online, and the song "These Are the Words I Would Say" came on Friday after I returned home and I was honestly brought to tears. I've always been so humbled by Christian music and how beautiful it is and what it can do in a person's life. No one could say that all these events happened out of chance. Clearly someone was watching out for me and had a plan behind all of this, because like I said, the timing could not have been more perfect.

Thank you to all of you back at home who have been praying for me! I'm so appreciative and can definitely feel that I am not alone. The power of prayer is real and I am so humbled by it and grateful for it. Every day that I've been here has been such a blessing, but I can't wait to return home to share all my stories and be with my Christian family again!

Venice Continued....

Now, back to where we left off in the Gardens of the Biennale Exhibition.

My favorite "piece" in this section of the Biennale was this installation titled "House Behaviourology" by Atelier Bow-Wow. There were 11 models of different homes, each unique in their own individual way. This installation really captured the whole theme of the Biennale this year, with connecting architecture with people and people with architecture. A couple of my friends and I decided to go through this part of the exhibit and pick out our favorite house and say why we chose that particular house. (We decided this before we read that the point behind this installation was showing how the lifestyle of the "user" really influences the architecture of the home.) I chose this house because I liked all the different levels and openness, but most importantly, the hammock hanging in the middle of the house! =D

The other part that I got all giddy over was this giant layout of a miniature town, or really county I guess you could say. I'm not sure of the title of the display but I do know the artist/architect behind the model was Aldo Cibic. (I referenced my map we were given that showed the layout of the exhibits by room but only listed the architects and/or their firms. Probably because there were so many pieces in each room.) Like I said earlier, I absolutely love "mini" things so I was getting very excited at all the "mini" things in this display like the tiny sheep, people, gardens, houses, buildings and cars. It was also just my luck that my camera battery was minutes away from dying so after I had taken my pictures, I didn't really have much more of an excuse to stay in the room so my friends pulled me out of the room, heels dragging in the ground and all. (Not really, but that was how I felt internally)

Day One in Venice was coming to a close and we headed back out towards the Grand Canal to walk along the water back to our hotel. Much to our surprise, we emerged from the gardens to see one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen! I of course took a couple of pictures! :-)

Day Two in Venice:
We started out the morning by visiting the Doge's Palace (Doge = Duke). This whole palace was so extravegant  and I could go on for days about all the beautiful things we saw! However, I will just point out my favorite part of it, which was the Staircase of the Giants. This elegant and enormous staircase was the entrance to be used for all the "special" guests and important people. We didn't get to walk up it (because it's blocked off) but we did get to view it from the base of the stairs and also from the very top so we got somewhat of a sense of what it might have felt like enterring and leaving the palace. Either way, whether you were leaving or entering, you could feel the sense of being aware of the wealth, power, and prestige of the Doge because of the amazing architecture of the staircase itself as well as the buildings surrounding it.  

After Palazzo Ducale we made our way to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art. Much to my grandparen'ts displeasure, I'm not always keen to some modern art, however the majority of the pieces in this museum were quite interesting and I did actually enjoy them. They weren't too "ecentric" for me :)

One of my favorite pieces here was actually a tree that was planted with a box of little pieces of papers left underneath it for people to write their wishes on and then stick them onto the tree. It was called "The Wishing Tree". It was really neat to see the different wishes each person had and also to be a part of this piece of art and leave our own mark behind.

After the Guggenheim we went to our last stop, Ca' Rezzonico, which used to be an old home I think in the 18th century and is now a museum. There were a lot of beautiful rooms here and we weren't allowed to take pictures but I snapped a couple of quick shots while the guards weren't looking. One of my favorites was this large, open hall that had two huge, beautiful chandeliers.

Overall, I enjoyed Venice a lot and hope to go back another day to explore different things and take more of a relaxing trip there. It was a great time for our Freshman group to take a trip together and I think a lot of us really bonded over this weekend.