Catching Up

Do you ever get to that point with friends where you haven't talked in so long that you feel like you just don't know where to start and because of this, you just don't talk.  I feel like I have been doing that here.  But I am back and will try to catch you up on my life in Italy without rambling like I sometimes tend to do.

Let's see...where did I leave off?  The Chianti Wine Festival?  My that was a long time ago.  I think I will just give you the highlights of life since then.
Last Saturday my roommate Becca and I decided to go to the calcio (soccer) game.  Fiorentina v. Lazio.  We went with four other girls and very excited to have one of our first real cultural experiences.  We all stuffed ourselves onto a bus with the rest of the calcio fans who were headed to the game.  When I say stuffed, I mean stuffed...like sardines.  We had to shove against each other to make room for the doors to open.  I was so glad that I left my purse at home and only brought the necessities in my pockets.  When we got off the bus we found that Lauren, with her oversized purse, had been pickpocketed.  Her purse was unzipped and her wallet was gone.  This all turned out to be in vain when Lauren, Becca and I found out that we could not get a ticket to the game without an ID.  Copied passports were insufficient.
If nothing else, I found out from this night that Becca and I both love to play games!  It turns out that she is just as obsessed with Banana Grams as my family and some of my best friends!  Of course, we didn't have Banana Grams here in Italy so we played cards and drank some cheap 1 Euro wine instead.  It's a rare find to find someone who doesn't think that games are a bore...in my age group at least.

Perfect weather mixed with a perfect traveling companion made a perfect day in Lucca!

The next day, Domenica (Sunday), Becca and I went to Lucca for the day.  It was about an hour and a half by train and ended up being an incredibly refreshing day.  As I talked about in my last blog, I have been missing the quietness that city life does not accommodate.  Lucca definitely had that peacefulness about it that I have been missing.  We didn't do much of anything while we were there but that was the nice part about it.  Neither of us had an agenda and we just wandered around, went into shops and markets and just sat and watched the whole day.  It was also here that I bought my first cappuccino!  Mmmm, it was good!  We paid 1,20 each and sat inside instead of falling into the tourist trap and paying 2,70 each sitting outside.  Besides, this way we were surrounded by locals.

A self portrait in Piazza Anfi Teatro in Lucca.

First time I've been able to do this since arriving.  Ah, it felt nice.

Tuesday, I finally had a real conversation with Victoria for the first time since arriving in Italy!!!!  That is almost a month that we really didn't know any details of each others lives!  Needless to say, we talked for 2 1/2 hours and probably could have gone on for another 2, but we both needed to get back to the real world.

My goal this past week has been to make myself get out and do things that it would be easier to pass up.  I went to a scavenger hunt on Monday for study abroad students and met people from Italy, Spain, Belgium and Sweden.  I have also been stretching myself by saying "yes" to going out and doing things with people when I would be perfectly content to be by myself.  Today I am going over to someones house to have omelets with an entirely new group of  people from my school.  And last of all...I AM GOING TO ENGLAND AND IRELAND OVER FALL BREAK!!!!!  This is also with an entirely new group of people who were gracious enough to invite me to join when they found out that I had no one to travel with over break.  I will tell you more about this trip another time.  Besides flights and hostels this is all still very much in the planning stages.

The past week and a half has also been a whirlwind of emotions.  The ups and downs that come with living in a new place with people who don't really know the real you, getting familiar with apartment dynamics, dealing with a new culture of men here in Italy, and lastly but most of all about 20 emotions all at once of life back in California.
On that note:

"I will praise you , O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.  I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."..."The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.  Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.  Sing praises to the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done." Psalm 9:1-2 & 9-11