At the end of my last blog I said I had another story to tell you, but it was long enough so this is my seperate post for that story.
It starts on a beautiful sunny day in Florence, Italy. I decided to wander around Florence to explore a bit after class. I walked around the Duomo, down streets, by bridges and through Piazzas. As I strolled I was keeping an eye on the street artists. When I'm here I have been thinking of getting a piece of artwork for my dorm room and future home to help remember Italy. Now most that I looked are were beautiful, but seemed a bit expensive. As an artist myself I didn't want to get ripped off by spending 25 Euro for a small 3x3 painting. I wanted my money worth if I was to buy a painting. Now I came round to a full circle ending up close to the Duomo. I decided to look at those street artists a little bit better because I now had more of an idea what size, how much and what picture I was looking for.I slowly paced myself down the line of artists working. I stopped at the one stand, but her paintings and etchings were a bit more than I wanted to pay, so I kept going. I stopped at one of the next stands. This one painting caught my eye. I asked the painter how much and he gave me a good number, so I bought it.
As the man is packing up my purchase, he engages in conversation. Now picture this: an older man talking in broken English with an accent speaking to me, an American student who knows about 6 words in Italian. Let's just say one of us knew what he was saying through the whole conversation. He was really a nice guy. As we talked he found out that I'm a student here in Florence studying art. He talked some more about how there is a lot of history and information for art history here in Florence. Then he was trying to tell me what it was like about being an artist out by the Duomo, however at this time the bells that ring every 30 minutes that are in the bell tower that is no more than 500 feet away from us started ringing. We waited then continued our talk. He said how it was hard these days for them because of photographers and photoshop. With that technology now everyone can have a piece of Florence stored on their computer or camera. This was the point he was kind of bashing photography, which is ironic, because that is what I want to pursue in the future. It was only fair of enlightening him to my future plans of wanting to be a photographer. He kind of gave me a look of grotesque, but I proceeded to tell him that as an artist I do appreciate what him and others do because it's something I can't do. I think it was a statement that changed something between us. He understood I did understand how much work it was to do what he does. So with that he said, "Since you're an art student I'll add this one for you. It's uh, last years." With that he opened up the wrapping he did around the first painting and put in the second painting.
A few of the last words we exchanged though I hope to remember for a long time. Hopefully, I can go back to them and see inspiration to furthering my faith. "It's people like you, nice people, who come here and buy this. It's people like you who make me believe there is still a God." With that it was kind of the end of our encounter. I walked home thinking that being nice and talking with this man I might of been able to encourage his faith another day. It doesn't sound like I did much or that important, but it stirred up thoughts for me as I returned to my apartment.
"Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’~ Matthew 25:37-40
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
I thought it was called summer BREAK?
"I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught. " ~Winston Churchill
I've been thinking what we will be doing the most over here in Italy. I've come to the conclusion that it will be learning. We will be learning a lot. Not just our minds in the course we are enrolled in, but their society rules, along with Italian living and speaking and also our bodies will be learning to cope with the difference in food, weather, exercise and all else that comes to a new environment.
Now what does this really pertain to? I have been realizing that there are things that I have to learn to do, kind of out of necessity and out of respect. To live here the way of life is different from that in the United States. As the days pass by I start to realize I am becoming more and more "Italian" while still keeping, obviously, my American traits. This week has been a big week, as it is our first full week living here, for my compadres and I. Now I can only really talk about myself and my roommates here because that is who I am around. Now besides learning how to order and buy stuff there are more important things to learn while living abroad.
As I said there are societal rules to learn. One is don't be afraid of the cars. They are going to be crazy drivers and they most likely will stop if you do get out in front of them. However, do not rely on the whole American: Pedistrian has the right of way. This is not the right way. Now that was easier than others to learn because you just observe the people around you and follow their examples. The most interesting learning experience I've encountered has to be our living style. Yes, we have all the necessities we need plus a few extras, like that of wi-fi. However, "things" may be the same but the directions are not. This week my roommates and I in a collaborative effort have learned how to work an Italian oven and an Italian washing machine. These appliances you may think should be easy for us to use, but not really. The knobs are different, the symbols are different, the whole process is different. *Side note: We learned to use the oven for one purpose so far: toast. We had to be creative to get toast since we don't have a toaster.* Aside from just appliances to learn, computers are also a new experience. I come to the ISA office to use their computer lab to type up these wonderful blogs. This is always an adventure for me. Let's just say that their keyboards are Italian. Now we can switch the keyboard keys to English, but that still means you have to kind of use your muscle memory to remember where the "normal" keys are for an English keyboard. Also, all the pop-ups and websites are in Italian. Let's just say I have learned how to understand the context of things without exactly knowing what they are saying.
The last thing on my list of learning was our bodies. Now it definitely is a lot easier evolving to the eating style here. Last night a few friends of mine and I had made homemade pizza, brucchetti and nutella crepes for dessert. Now this type of eating, the freshness, the love put into the time making delicious food seems so unique to this country. At home I have been able to enjoy homemade meals from my parents almost every night of the week. But yet what we eat in Michigan is completely different from what I've been eating in Italy. For those of you who know me, I tend to be a picky eater, but over the years I have shown improvement. Italy has so much fresh food that I have been up to trying pretty much everything! Yes there are things I don't enjoy, but come on, I can't like everything I eat. In addition to our stomachs adjusting, our muscles have to adjust too. Now I live on the top floor with an amazing view, without an elevator. I walk up 100 stairs (I counted) to get up to our door. The first times having to go up were a struggle and had to take breaks after this one certain flight of stairs. After having to do this daily and multiple times, I have had to take less and less stops and now I am very proud to say I have made it up without stopping now and my pace has gotten slowly quicker. Yesterday after returning from the market with my roommate Sarah, I was very proud for my accomplishment of not only carrying back a 6 pack of 1L bottles of water from the market, but all the way up the stairs without stopping once. These stairs have been the biggest challenge for me and eveyday I see my progress and keep staying proud of my accomplishments.
I have another story to share another time about something else I learned. Hopefully I'll post it next week.
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."~Proverbs 1:7
I've been thinking what we will be doing the most over here in Italy. I've come to the conclusion that it will be learning. We will be learning a lot. Not just our minds in the course we are enrolled in, but their society rules, along with Italian living and speaking and also our bodies will be learning to cope with the difference in food, weather, exercise and all else that comes to a new environment.
Now what does this really pertain to? I have been realizing that there are things that I have to learn to do, kind of out of necessity and out of respect. To live here the way of life is different from that in the United States. As the days pass by I start to realize I am becoming more and more "Italian" while still keeping, obviously, my American traits. This week has been a big week, as it is our first full week living here, for my compadres and I. Now I can only really talk about myself and my roommates here because that is who I am around. Now besides learning how to order and buy stuff there are more important things to learn while living abroad.
As I said there are societal rules to learn. One is don't be afraid of the cars. They are going to be crazy drivers and they most likely will stop if you do get out in front of them. However, do not rely on the whole American: Pedistrian has the right of way. This is not the right way. Now that was easier than others to learn because you just observe the people around you and follow their examples. The most interesting learning experience I've encountered has to be our living style. Yes, we have all the necessities we need plus a few extras, like that of wi-fi. However, "things" may be the same but the directions are not. This week my roommates and I in a collaborative effort have learned how to work an Italian oven and an Italian washing machine. These appliances you may think should be easy for us to use, but not really. The knobs are different, the symbols are different, the whole process is different. *Side note: We learned to use the oven for one purpose so far: toast. We had to be creative to get toast since we don't have a toaster.* Aside from just appliances to learn, computers are also a new experience. I come to the ISA office to use their computer lab to type up these wonderful blogs. This is always an adventure for me. Let's just say that their keyboards are Italian. Now we can switch the keyboard keys to English, but that still means you have to kind of use your muscle memory to remember where the "normal" keys are for an English keyboard. Also, all the pop-ups and websites are in Italian. Let's just say I have learned how to understand the context of things without exactly knowing what they are saying.
The last thing on my list of learning was our bodies. Now it definitely is a lot easier evolving to the eating style here. Last night a few friends of mine and I had made homemade pizza, brucchetti and nutella crepes for dessert. Now this type of eating, the freshness, the love put into the time making delicious food seems so unique to this country. At home I have been able to enjoy homemade meals from my parents almost every night of the week. But yet what we eat in Michigan is completely different from what I've been eating in Italy. For those of you who know me, I tend to be a picky eater, but over the years I have shown improvement. Italy has so much fresh food that I have been up to trying pretty much everything! Yes there are things I don't enjoy, but come on, I can't like everything I eat. In addition to our stomachs adjusting, our muscles have to adjust too. Now I live on the top floor with an amazing view, without an elevator. I walk up 100 stairs (I counted) to get up to our door. The first times having to go up were a struggle and had to take breaks after this one certain flight of stairs. After having to do this daily and multiple times, I have had to take less and less stops and now I am very proud to say I have made it up without stopping now and my pace has gotten slowly quicker. Yesterday after returning from the market with my roommate Sarah, I was very proud for my accomplishment of not only carrying back a 6 pack of 1L bottles of water from the market, but all the way up the stairs without stopping once. These stairs have been the biggest challenge for me and eveyday I see my progress and keep staying proud of my accomplishments.
I have another story to share another time about something else I learned. Hopefully I'll post it next week.
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."~Proverbs 1:7
Monday, May 16, 2011
When In Rome...
Rome was not built in one day. ~John Heywood
It didn't hit me that I was in Italy until recently. The past few days have seen like such a blur and yet so magical from all that has happened. Travelling from one end of bella Roma to the other. Along the way picking up words, food, and most of all memories.
The first of Italy I've experienced is Rome. This is a place that holds a special place in my heart, maybe not as much as what Florence will, but still a place is held there for Rome. The atomosphere around you is so unique to the American ears. Walking down the street you here multiple languages that you don't recognize. It's scary, it's exhilirating!
Now since I have been able to see basically all of Rome in 2 days, theres no way I can fit it all in one post, so I will talk about the things that I feel like sharing. =)
This is the place that had death and murder as a best friend. A place of violence, a place of peace and a place of importance to Ancient Roman culture. This is the Colosseo. The marble stands strong and stands firm against the sun and tourists. The ruins stand tall and proud of what they have endured, though they chill it gives is refreshing. Seeing this great ruin was amazing. I still have a hard time realizing I was there! I was seeing the history come to life! Now I do want to add a side note here, while staying in Rome, from our hotel you took a right and walked to the corner looked left and you saw the Colosseum! It was amazing.
The next place on our map was a bit more busy, bit more rich and a bit more wet. Fountina de Trevi. Now this place was really packed, but beautiful anyways and of course a must see. To me it was beauiful at night with the lights illuminating up the water and statues. It was just gorgeous. Yes, I did throw my coin with my right hand over my left shoulder to come back to Roma.
Now I think I had 2 favorite spots in Rome. One was the Sistine Chapel. I was where I needed to be. I think once stepping in there and seeing the "Last Judgement" on the wall a few feet in front of me I whispered "Oh. My God!" It was breathtaking to just see it all. It was hard to take it all in. I think I would of strained my neck from looking at the ceiling any longer. It was hard to realize I was surrounded by such history and such great art. Though the placed was packed I felt at peace.
Now the last I will describe has to be my favorite thus far. It's hard how to describe how I feel about the Pantheon. When I learned about this place in class back in Michigan it was something else I needed to memorize for class, but being there in person was breathtaking. I, again, was at peace and in awe. To go in you walk through a few colomns then you pass through the 2 big doors and inside is decorated with all sorts of art. There are paintings, there are statues and gold leafing. As you look above you see a magnificent dome with a hole at the top. The sun streams down and warms the heart. Yes, it may not sound very special, but I think what made it extra special was when we were there touring it another touring choir started singing. I couldn't recognize what they were saying, but it didn't matter. My ears were swimming on the beauty of the sound and my eyes were consumed with everything around. The choir was the cherry on top of the whipped creme on top of the tastey gelato. It was perfecto!
I'm now in Florence and will have many more stories to tell when they come along. Although this is the same country there are differences between the cities. Now apparently Firenze (Florence) is a small city, though that's compared to Roma. Firenze is about 325,000 where Roma is about 3 million. I think I'll enjoy this city. It has about 12 museums and many churches.
Now you may wonder where I'm living at for the next 3 weeks. I am staying in an apartment, that is beautiful, and has a gorgeous view, which is reached after 95 steps. (Just imagine 95 stairs, 4 girls and luggage...it was an interesting first impression).
"You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."~Psalm 16:11
It didn't hit me that I was in Italy until recently. The past few days have seen like such a blur and yet so magical from all that has happened. Travelling from one end of bella Roma to the other. Along the way picking up words, food, and most of all memories.
The first of Italy I've experienced is Rome. This is a place that holds a special place in my heart, maybe not as much as what Florence will, but still a place is held there for Rome. The atomosphere around you is so unique to the American ears. Walking down the street you here multiple languages that you don't recognize. It's scary, it's exhilirating!
Now since I have been able to see basically all of Rome in 2 days, theres no way I can fit it all in one post, so I will talk about the things that I feel like sharing. =)
This is the place that had death and murder as a best friend. A place of violence, a place of peace and a place of importance to Ancient Roman culture. This is the Colosseo. The marble stands strong and stands firm against the sun and tourists. The ruins stand tall and proud of what they have endured, though they chill it gives is refreshing. Seeing this great ruin was amazing. I still have a hard time realizing I was there! I was seeing the history come to life! Now I do want to add a side note here, while staying in Rome, from our hotel you took a right and walked to the corner looked left and you saw the Colosseum! It was amazing.
The next place on our map was a bit more busy, bit more rich and a bit more wet. Fountina de Trevi. Now this place was really packed, but beautiful anyways and of course a must see. To me it was beauiful at night with the lights illuminating up the water and statues. It was just gorgeous. Yes, I did throw my coin with my right hand over my left shoulder to come back to Roma.
Now I think I had 2 favorite spots in Rome. One was the Sistine Chapel. I was where I needed to be. I think once stepping in there and seeing the "Last Judgement" on the wall a few feet in front of me I whispered "Oh. My God!" It was breathtaking to just see it all. It was hard to take it all in. I think I would of strained my neck from looking at the ceiling any longer. It was hard to realize I was surrounded by such history and such great art. Though the placed was packed I felt at peace.
Now the last I will describe has to be my favorite thus far. It's hard how to describe how I feel about the Pantheon. When I learned about this place in class back in Michigan it was something else I needed to memorize for class, but being there in person was breathtaking. I, again, was at peace and in awe. To go in you walk through a few colomns then you pass through the 2 big doors and inside is decorated with all sorts of art. There are paintings, there are statues and gold leafing. As you look above you see a magnificent dome with a hole at the top. The sun streams down and warms the heart. Yes, it may not sound very special, but I think what made it extra special was when we were there touring it another touring choir started singing. I couldn't recognize what they were saying, but it didn't matter. My ears were swimming on the beauty of the sound and my eyes were consumed with everything around. The choir was the cherry on top of the whipped creme on top of the tastey gelato. It was perfecto!
I'm now in Florence and will have many more stories to tell when they come along. Although this is the same country there are differences between the cities. Now apparently Firenze (Florence) is a small city, though that's compared to Roma. Firenze is about 325,000 where Roma is about 3 million. I think I'll enjoy this city. It has about 12 museums and many churches.
Now you may wonder where I'm living at for the next 3 weeks. I am staying in an apartment, that is beautiful, and has a gorgeous view, which is reached after 95 steps. (Just imagine 95 stairs, 4 girls and luggage...it was an interesting first impression).
"You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."~Psalm 16:11
Thursday, May 5, 2011
First steps...
"We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey." ~John Hope Franklin
Most college students get the "college experience" living on campus and meeting people from all over the nation. We become situated and secure in our place of friends and security. But what if that isn't enough? For me it would and can be. I like routine with a bit of flexibility thrown in, and I like the comfort of knowing the people who surround me. However, there comes a time that we want to expand our horizons and explore the unknown.
When I think back to the days leading up to college, I'm pretty sure I was close to the same as I am now: scared,worried with a dash of excitement. Studying abroad is something I have dreamed of doing for years now, probably since my eldest brother did. I wanted to go to Europe because it is enriched with history. I adore history. I love seeing how things progressed and see the wonders of the old days. It astonishes me what they accomplished without knowing what we did. Now I have to say Italy may not of been exactly my first choice to go to study, but once I became an art major it only would make sense. I have an overflowing passion for the arts, especially for art history. This is an opportunity for me to see what I have been learning about for years now in it's natural habitat.
Now this plan of travelling to Florence has not been an easy decision for me. I have struggled with seeing if it was in line with God's plan or not. Honestly, I came to the conclusion that God is going to use me while abroad. I don't know how yet, but I feel that in someway he will be able to turn this trip into something for His glory and bless all that happens on the trip.
Through this blog I am hoping to update on my life while in Italy and hopefully continue this as I am at camp again this summer. This also means (attempting) to post pictures in addition to my future posts.
I do want to ask for those of you following this, that you pray for my time overseas and that God works in great ways in my life and those who surround me there.
Thank you and God bless! ♥
"So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God. " ~Isaiah 41:10
Most college students get the "college experience" living on campus and meeting people from all over the nation. We become situated and secure in our place of friends and security. But what if that isn't enough? For me it would and can be. I like routine with a bit of flexibility thrown in, and I like the comfort of knowing the people who surround me. However, there comes a time that we want to expand our horizons and explore the unknown.
When I think back to the days leading up to college, I'm pretty sure I was close to the same as I am now: scared,worried with a dash of excitement. Studying abroad is something I have dreamed of doing for years now, probably since my eldest brother did. I wanted to go to Europe because it is enriched with history. I adore history. I love seeing how things progressed and see the wonders of the old days. It astonishes me what they accomplished without knowing what we did. Now I have to say Italy may not of been exactly my first choice to go to study, but once I became an art major it only would make sense. I have an overflowing passion for the arts, especially for art history. This is an opportunity for me to see what I have been learning about for years now in it's natural habitat.
Now this plan of travelling to Florence has not been an easy decision for me. I have struggled with seeing if it was in line with God's plan or not. Honestly, I came to the conclusion that God is going to use me while abroad. I don't know how yet, but I feel that in someway he will be able to turn this trip into something for His glory and bless all that happens on the trip.
Through this blog I am hoping to update on my life while in Italy and hopefully continue this as I am at camp again this summer. This also means (attempting) to post pictures in addition to my future posts.
I do want to ask for those of you following this, that you pray for my time overseas and that God works in great ways in my life and those who surround me there.
Thank you and God bless! ♥
"So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God. " ~Isaiah 41:10
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