Five Weeks In...

The wedding in Amalfi was wonderful. It was really great to be with the family, if only for an evening. Amalfi is a fun little town, despite being full of tourists. We spent Saturday on the beach and swam in the Mediterranean. In the evening we found a little church for mass. I was the youngest person there, and if I hadn’t been there, my parents would have been the youngest. It was so fun to see all these cute old people singing their hearts out and responding enthusiastically to the liturgy. I have no idea what the gospel was, or what the homily was about, but I found so much joy in this Saturday evening ritual. My favorite part of the weekend was riding the boat back to Salerno. The water was blue, the coast was green, I may as well have been on a postcard.

Mom and dad stayed the rest of the week in Rome. We explored the Catacombs on Monday. They are incredible. Three stories of underground tombs that expand for miles! I was totally impressed. On Wednesday we ventured to Orvieto, a hill town in the region of Tuscany. The basilica there has the most intricate façade. There are huge mosaics that tell different bible stories and intricate carvings of stone that must have taken a hundred years to finish. I climbed 254 stairs to the top of the clock tower from which there were fabulous views of the surrounding countryside. Then the family and I headed back south to Naples to spend the weekend with my Aunt Vicki. Her flat has the most incredible view of the coast and we spent some quality time on the patio eating and drinking wine. Her boyfriend Antonio cooked us the most delicious dinner. The lobster we ate on our pasta was brought home alive from the market! It was all so fresh and mmm, wonderful. We spent Saturday on the island of Ischia at a hot water pools spa. It was beyond luxurious, but so relaxing. Sunday night mom and dad came to campus for evening mass and we said our goodbyes.

This past weekend was the first that has not been planned out for me since I arrived. I spent Friday wandering about the south of Rome exploring some churches, one claiming to have relics of Jesus’ cross… Another church, called Scala Santa supposedly has the steps that Jesus walked up and down during his trial with Pilot. On these specific set of stairs you are only allowed to climb up on your knees. It was really moving to see all these different tourists and people of faith climb the stairs in reverent prayer. I may return and climb the steps myself, but I feel it would take a certain preparation. Saturday I went to the beach with some friends. It was a bit windy for my taste, but the sun was hot and the water bearable.

Life at JFRC goes on as usual. With my parents here for two weeks, I felt like I never really got into a routine of classes and such things. I cannot call our campus home, not yet. I have been craving the human rights, social justice, and international relations curriculum that I am used to. I do not get that in any of my classes, unfortunately. There is an intramural Calcio (an abbreviated version of soccer) league with the students that play every Wednesday. I had my first game this week. It was exhausting, but so much fun to have a greater portion of the community together cheering each other on. I have also begun to lead a CLC, only one so far, but I am happy to have a spiritual community on campus.

I have found what I think will become my favorite spot in Rome. Our campus is on a hill and there is a park that opens up to overlook the whole city. There is a fallen tree, that is comfortable enough and I just love being in nature, but the view is unreal. Much time of contemplation is bound to happen there. Happy October! Peace. 

Pasta and Wine

It has been a little over two weeks in Italy. My classes have started and my favorite thus far is a writing of fiction class. It is an on sight class so we read stories that take place in Rome, walk to those places and discuss the stories, and use the city of Rome as our inspiration to write our own fictions. I have the same fun professor for European Masterpieces and Italian Film. I will read some great novels and watch some great films by the end of the semester. Tonio Kroger by Thomas Mann is our first book. (Let me actually read it and I’ll let you know what I think). We watched Cabiria, a silent film made in 1914. Revolutionary for its day, I am glad movies have come so far. Finally there is Italian 101. I am far from fluent, but my professor is very patient and it is a fun class.

I spent a wonderful weekend in Tuscany to finish off our orientation to the JFRC. There was a lot of good food and a lot of good wine. For my taste the weekend was heavy with tours of quaint and quite Tuscan towns. My most favorite moment was sitting on the front of the boat on our lake tour and simply basking in the Tuscan sun and taking in the sights of the surrounding villages. I was able to meet a few more people as well. There are two hundred here in our program and I will not get to know each one of them, but it is nice to know names and see familiar smiles in the halls.

“How is Rome?!?” My friends at home have been asking, and I actually don’t quite know how to answer. Rome is old, ancient in fact. There is history around every corner, much of which I will never learn. Ruins mix with tourists, mix with fashionable locals, mix with an inefficient bus system. I am lucky to have already experienced studying abroad because it has taught me to be patient and open with the quirks of another country. I also know that it will take me some time to fall in love with Rome, and that is ok.

The official conclusion of orientation was mass of the Holy Spirit at the Ignatius chapel down town this past Wednesday. It was fun for the community to come together, all dressed up for mass in this gigantic church. The homily was about how we are to believe in the human spirit. Father Al began with a story from the 1936 Olympic Games where Hitler was determined to exemplify the dominance of the German race. Jesse Owens, an African American runner, beat out the German hope Carl Long in the long jump event. During the medal ceremony, Owens with gold and Long with silver, Hitler stormed out of the stadium. After the anthem, Long embraced Owens and they walked off the field arm in arm. This was quite a brave act on behalf of Long, but what a testament to the human spirit. That story stuck with me and is an inspiration for me to live in love…

Tomorrow I am off the Amalfi coast for the wedding of my cousin Tony to his wonderful fiancé Lisa. It is going to be a beautiful wedding, in a beautiful place, with beautiful people. Peace.