Ahhhhhhh!

The 2nd Paragon trip has arrived (on the 24th) and things are going really well. Some of my friends are here and that has made things even better. Also, some of the girls I coached in cheerleading, and they are always a bunch of fun. I picked everyone up at the airport on the 24th and that went smoothly - I felt all grown up for the first time in Italy, where I normally feel like a child just learning to see, and it was nice to know what was going on rather than be taking in something new just that one time. Since then, we have gone to Rome and I got to see my school! I was so excited and, even though I couldnt look around for long, it was nice to have found it and finally been there. Its a beautiful buildinmg and theres a nice courtyard that is surrounded by the classrooms. I look forward to sending you pictures of it when I arrive there.
Im sorry that I havent been able to write more lately, and that I cant write more now, but I will catch up when Im through with this week. Its just insane!
I really miss family but having my work/school family here is nice and is helping out a lot. Also, I have a good tan and there are lots of cute Italian boys. Ciao!

A Safe Haven

Today I walked the short distance from Jane and Marks house to the walls of Lucca. The way Lucca is set up is unique: there is the larger city area which extends beyond the walls, and then there is the "centro" which is the city that lives inside of the walls. Inside of the walls, housing is more expensive, the town is slightly more busy, there is more foot traffic and fewer cars. Mark and Jane live almost immediately outside of the wall, which I think is perfect for a local with children. On the way to the wall I grabbed a gelato (my new favorite is Cocco a.k.a. Coconut) and I walk under the archway into the centro. I realize that reading is preferrable to strolling the hot streets so I make my way up a short hill to the top of the wide wall where I can read. Right now, that book is The Last Boleyn, and it is completely addictive. I start out on a park bench but its not comfortable enough. I move to the grass but the bees are hovering over the sweet flowers and its hard to find a good spot. I walk a little further and find what I will now refer to as "my place." There is a bridge (underneath, cars enter and exit the city) and it has a roof with trees on either side. I sit down in one of the window-type seats (which are about twice my width) and begin to read my book. Over the next hour or so, I look up and see a breach where the clouds shine through and the nearby church gongs its bells. I look below at the park and there are children swinging on the slightly squeeky swingset, and only steps away, the piazza where everyone is busy. Its amazing how close you can be to everything and also how far away. I enjoyed my book and left for home.

XMen

Last night the family I am staying with discovered the movie XMen! It was so great because from 5 to 45 everyone was really enjoying the show. There were thrilling parts where Mickey was scared and there were love scenes where the girls were entranced and there were times when I sat back on the couch and just had to look at this loving family. Jane sat with the little boy on her lap and the two girls snuggled in together on the couch with their dad on one flank and their grandfather in the other. I thought how lucky I am to be a part of their world and how, in less than a week, they have already made me feel like one of them. I was recently reminded that the external structure of a family isnt everything - the chaos of where everyone originated and "whose" we are...its all just politics. The real heart of the family is what I saw in them last night, pausing their very busy schedules for some time together, to just exist as a unit. Thats family.

All in the Family

A few days ago I began a week long stay with a friend of mine and her family. She was born in Texas and married a man from Boston, whose family is from Italy. As it turns out, they own a house and apartment in Lucca and Jane (my friend) actually coordinated the school group trip here. She taught me Latin originally (when I was 12!) and now here I am sleeping on her couch! Its strange how things work out. So, her husband, Mark, is now the owner of his fathers house in Lucca and they stay there in the summers. They lived in Lucca for five years with their three kids before moving back to the States, and in fact one of their kids was born in Italy. Mark has a daughter from a previous arrangement, Mari, who lives in Austin and Jane has a daughter from a previous marriage, Sophie, who lives with her. Then, Jane and Mark had a son, Mickey, together. Mari stays with them in the summer and also every other weekend. The kids are really delightful; I love watching them play together. Jane and Mark have been really good parents to them. In addition to this crowd, Marks dad is staying in Lucca, in the connected office, with us.
The location of their house is literally blocks away from the city walls and from all of the pasta shops, internet cafes, dolcerias (sweet shops) etc. I can walk anywhere in just a few minutes, which is so freeing.
The "neighbors" who actually lease out their main house are very friendly Australians. They run a family business in Lucca and have four kids, who are very sweet. The whole garden comes alive everyday with the hustle and bustle of creative kids making up new games and new rules and getting further and further into the childs world. Its very interesting to watch and has drawn me from my reading more than once.
Some things about Italy:
1. People are very friendly about the language. I know very little Italian, and yet, they always want to accept what I know and help me along. I met a man at an internet cafe and after my second visit, he was already giving me discounts and trying to help me with my Italian.
2. In the supermarket and on the road, Italians are in their own worlds. On the road, if you are walking and youre in the way, they WILL run you over. In the supermarket, they dont move when you want to get by.
3. Italians dont have shop open from 1-4 every day. They start work around 8:30 AM and close around 6:00 PM and from 1-4 they dont work. Its a more laid back atmosphere.
4. If you are speaking with the elderly and you tell them that you dont know much Italian, they will speak to you in rapid-fire Italian anyways.
5. Pasta is inexpensive here and underrated in the States.

Learning Lucca

The past few days have been spent learning Lucca. Ive gotten to learn the roads and how they connect and the shops. I have a "regular" gelato place and I can take certain piazze as references for other places. So, Im making my way. Unlike in America, Italian cities are like huge shopping malls. Everyone walks and rides bikes and the streets were meant for that type of community. There are "supermercato" shops but mostly, the best stuff is found at shops specifically for pasteries or pasta or meat or whatever. People here are very proud of their specializations. For example, many gelato shops are only open in the summer because their product doesnt have as much integrity in the winter. So, in the winter they make other things like waffles. Also, no chocolate is made in Lucca in the summer because of the low quality. The heat affects the chocolate making process. Anyway, many different things combine to give the idea that quality is much more important that quantity.
Last night, we had a special presentation from the owner of the Villa in the center of the town. In many towns in Italy there used to be palios (competitions of a certain sort). Since 1970, there has been a group in Lucca dedicated to the preservation of the history and use of crossbows and palios, and the owner of the Villa pulled a few strings to get them to do a special performance for us. They started in the wall of the town and we had a procession where there were flags and trumpets for us to walk through. We walked into this arena thing outside of the wall and the performers, all in medieval garb, threw flags, played drums and trumpets and even had a duel! It was really thrilling. To make it seem more real, they even had "townspeople" in medieval garb. Then, we left the arena to go see some crossbow shooting. In the competitions, they would shoot this heavy crossbow at a tiny target, and the men we saw had clearly been practicing for years! They were very good. Some of the kids even got to shoot some off. It was really cool to watch them and to see how much skill it really takes. After that, there was a parade which we followed all the way through the streets of Lucca. Traffic stopped for us and the townspeople joined it until we got to the Piazza Amfiteatro where we saw more of the palio show and ate dinner with the actors and performers. It was excellent! What a night.

Resting...

Since I last wrote, we traveled to Florence, a.k.a. Firenze! I have found that while all Italian cities are very different, they are also very much alike. The architecture, businesses, and general layout are different, but walking down a street in Tuscany in one town is very much like doing so in the next. Firenze is a town known for its beautiful art. There are vendors out with their artwork, painting and selling by day, and it is the center for many art institutes. One of the most famous recognitions in Firenze is Michelangelos sculpture, the David, of the Bible. In the Biblical story, David is a weak boy who is not allowed to go and fight the giant, but in the sculpture, Michelangelo seems to have depicted his heart, rather than his body, making him the perfect man. David is looking to the left because the Italians believe that from the left is where problems come and enemies attack. He seems to be waiting for a problem to ward off with his slingshot. It is incredibly impressive to think that someone without any real technology could sculpt something so massive and so intricate!
The following day we went to the beach for some rest and I played with the little girls down by the waves. The beaches are more like the ones I am used to and less like the ones in Greece that I saw last year, in this area. I hear that as you go south, the water gets bluer and clearer. At our beach, there are mountains behind with snow and the water is very cold, but still refreshing. I was looking for shells with Olivia and a hermit crab bit my big toe and wouldnt let go! It was sort of funny to see me running out of the water shaking a crab off of my foot, Im sure.
Yesterday we went to eat at Ristorante Cerù (pronounced Ch-e-rue) which was one of my favorite things! The food was wonderful and the view was spectacular. Ceru is located on the top of a mountain near Lucca. It overlooks, to one side, the sea, and to the other, the towns. Breathtaking! The owners of Ceru make all of their own food and grow everything themselves - they are completely self sufficient and you can tell that the quality and know how are much better than anything we have had. For dessert we had a flan-like thing with berries on top...delicious!
Today is a lazy day...laundry and the like. I am looking forward to another excellent week!

Roma

Two days ago was my first trip to Roma! I was so excited to take a glimpse at the eternal city and it was very much like I had imagined with some differences. I will not go into detail about all of the touristy things that we saw, but just say that the Pantheon and the Sistine Chapel were my favorites. In the Sistine, Michelangelos painting on one wall depicts a man holding the limp skin of a human. It is said to be Michelangelos self portrait. Very interesting! There are many trees even for a big city and gelati everywhere! There are also gypsies, which you have to be careful for, because they are very sly thieves and quite scary in many ways. It is not hard to be safe if you are careful and after two days there, I was already feeling very at home. OH! I was incredibly lucky (my mom says because I found a four leaf clover when I was young) because just as we walked into the square near the Vatican, Pope Benedict came out!! I have a great picture of him which I will post on the Flickr link as soon as I can. Anyhow, it was amazing, even though I am not Catholic, to have that experience. There were hundreds of people in the square waiting for him, since he always comes out on Wednesdays, and they cheered triumphantly when he appeared. It was truly beautiful.
On the first night in Rome, one interesting experience we had was staying in a monastery. If you ever want to travel Italy for cheap, stay with the nuns and monks! The bed was hard, but we had one, and the showers flooded a bit, but we were clean. It was beautiful because the monastery was located on top of a mountain and when we woke up the view was breathtaking! If you are going to be a monk, that is definitely the place to be!
I got a little homesick last night, and I know more of that is to come, but I am happy. I am looking forward to seeing my kiddos and friends in the 2nd Parenze group...if any of you are reading this, you are going to have a wonderful time!!!
Much love to all of you at home!

My First Day In Italy!!!!!

Today was the first day in Lucca! We arrived in the airport, exhausted, and traveled by bus (quite recklessly) to the Villa. All night was a rest time and dinner, but this morning we woke up at 7:00 AM and travelled into town. The Villa is located about 10 to 15 minutes out in the hillside and it is the most breathtaking place I have ever seen. It seems that, as I travel, everything becomes more beautiful, but it would be hard for anything to top this! The Villa has been here and owned by the same family for more than 400 years! There are huge trees that line the narrow walkways and birds are singing all day long. It is on the hillside, as many Italian homes are, and the view is incredible. I am able to see the whole valley from my window. There is a swimming pool and a tent where we eat dinner, catered by a local. I am writing on this blog from the chapel of the owners. It is very slow, so I will not be able to write too much, and my computer will not transfer pictures in just yet (but I will figure that out as soon as I can for you).
In town today, we walked around the exterior of the walls. The town is famous for having the oldest walls still around in Italy! They are something like 40 feet high, if not higher, and last week a tourist was too close to the edge and died falling off. Dont worry, I wont be getting anywhere near the edge, Mom. Anyhow, the walls are thick, as fortifications go, and joggers and cyclists go around the city by way of the park on top of the walls! The ground below is a huge park just outside of the city and the grass is very green and well kept. There are even streams running where trenches were once dug.
Inside of the town it was very sleepy today (Sunday means everything is closed) and I already feel like I am learning so much. I cannot imagine leaving, though I know that time will eventually come. We ate a sack lunch on the hillside and then saw the town with a local tourist. We went inside of three churches, beautifully made, and even met the patron saint of one, Zita, who is actually preserved in the church itself for us to see. It was a little bit gross, but made things much more real and had a certain beauty to it. We ate gelati (of course) and looked up at the many bell towers, which chime every hour. There was a great deal of walking, but it was all well worth it.
The weather here is quite chilly at night and in fact, last night, I was a bit cold. In the day it is wonderful. Side note to dad: you may want to put a tracking device on mom when she comes because I doubt she will leave. We may have to track her into her hiding spot among the Italian hills. haha!
I learned several new phrases today and I hope that my Italian will continue to steadily improve. Ciao!

Traveling to Italy

Note: I wrote this in my journal on the plane on June 2nd (or 3rd, if you are thinking of Italian time)
This morning I woke up at 7:00 AM and headed to the airport. I am sure that this journey will be the bravest, most adventurous thing that I have ever done, and it is certainly the hardest. The most difficult thing was hugging my parents and telling them goodbye. I walked through security, waving to my mom and sobbing all the way, and as I arrived at gate 16, I was promptly greeted by two friends of mine who are also going to Italy. I was still crying so, quite embarrassed, I gathered myself together and we headed into the plane. I was sitting separate from them the whole way and spent that time grieving, in a way, my goodbyes. I still go in and out of these emotional outbursts but thnigs are better now that we have met up with the group.
I am currently on the airplane where it is the middle of the night somewhere in the ocean underneath. All is silent around me but I am still unable to sleep. When I close my eyes, all I can see is the airport and my family. I am in a window seat. The clouds are visible underneath me and they look like a white, pillowy blanket, as clouds do. On the horizon is a thick orange streak that has remained with us and very gradually grows over the hours. I watch it and the only other variable in my view is the dark plane wing with one white light on the end.
A friend of mine once said:

There is nothing we will ever have to endure that is bigger than ourselves.