Travel, and coming back home

Ciao tutti!

Last saturday, I got back from a weeklong travel to Belgium and Spain. The travel was nice, and coming back home was wonderful. I got off the plane and shouted "ITALY!" I was so happy to be back in a country that I love. It was wonderful to see more of Europe, but it also only confirms that I love Italy and really feel at home here.

The night I got back, I wound up going out to dinner alone. I was feeling kind of lonery for going out alone, but was glad to eat my favorite pasta at my favorite place. I wound up sitting next to two Australians, who I became fast friends with. We spent 3 hours chatting, and they let me try all their food (including cow stomach...better believe it!) and then bought me after-dinner wine. They gave me their email and told me if I ever found myself in Melbourne, Australia, to call them. It was wonderful and I walked home feeling like I was on cloud nine.

That was not, however, a good night for my family. Saturday night my Grammie Ellen woke up in the middle of the night throwing up so violently that she was admitted to the hospital. I called her the next day to see how she was doing. In her typical fashion, she didn't want to talk about how she was. What she really wanted was to talk about Italy, hear about my travels, and wish me blessings on the rest of my journey. I told her to rest and that I'd call her in the morning. However, soon after (I don't know if it was Sunday night or Monday night) she went into respiratory failure and had to be put on a ventilator.

A few days later, quietly, peacefully, and surrounded by loving family members, she passed away.

Now I am in Italy feeling overwhelmed by grief, and simultaneously overwhelmed by my inability to grieve so far from home and my family. I'm going to go home for the funeral, and am so grateful to be surrounded by love here in Italy. My host mother, roommate, and professors, and in fact everyone on the program, have been especially understanding. Everyone has encouraged me to go go GO and be with my family. Next weekend, I'll go to Rome with the group and fly out from there.

On a happier note, my cousin Laura delivered a wonderful, beautiful healthy baby boy this week. Little David was born just one day before my grandmother passed. This week has been all about teaching me the circle of life.

Thank you all for your support, please send prayers to my family

Amy

Mi piace

The verb in Italian for “like” is “piace”. When you like something, you say “mi piace!”. Up until yesterday, I was translating this in my head as “I like!” But yesterday, our Italian professor pointed out to us that this actually translates as it likes me.

Do you know how much this changes for me?

When my Italian Mom was discussing my likes/dislikes, what she ACTUALLY said was “Broccoli likes you, but cauliflower doesn’t”. Which is exactly how I would describe it!

Once again, feeling blessed to be somewhere where I’m free to like whichever foods I do, and eat only that which LIKES ME!

small update, I know, but I'm also busily preparing for Jacob's arrival tomorrow!

Venezia

Ciao tutti!
I have just returned (well, last night) from a weekend stay in Venice! I've uploaded all my pictures to Facebook, and for some reason I'm having a difficult time uploading them here. But let me just say, it was extremely beautiful! I think it was my favorite few days in Italy, for a lot of reasons.

First of all, I got to be away from the loud hustle and bustle of Florence, which does get old after a while. Because there are no cars in Venice, it's much quieter than Florence ever is. That was extremely nice. I also found it a very, very beautiful picturesque city. There was so much to do and see, and everywhere you went it was clear YOUR IN ITALY! It was just as stereotypically scenic as you'd imagine it to be. I couldn't believe that I was really there, really in Venice, and really got to be surrounded by a place I'd dreamed of going to since I was a little girl. We went on a gondolier ride on the very first day, which was a wonderful experience. One of my professors was kind enough to give us her morning and take us all on a walking tour so we could see the main sights of Venice. It's an incredibly difficult city to navigate, so it was wonderful to have our professors show us around. We also got a semi-private tour of the Basillica...just a breathtaking place in general. The next day we went to Padua (the namesake for my former neighborhood from senior year) and tour a chapel there which Giotto painted the interior of. Sunday, we went to the Peggy Guggenheim museum and got to see much more contemporary art. Wonderful to be surrounded by beauty in so many forms...

The other awesome part was that we were all in a hotel together. It's been kind of hard for us all to coordinate hanging out, since a lot of us live pretty far away. But with everyone staying in one place, it was really easy to hang out with new people and just have a good time. That was some much needed relaxation and breaking of those first groups you tend to get immeshed in when you're in this kind of situation. New friends, fun times, and lots and lots of bonding :)

This week is our second week of the full course schedule. My favorite class so far is my drawing class. On the first day, when the instructors explained to us what we would be doing I about left I was so intimidated. I kept thinking "I've never done this before! I'm going to be terrible at it!". But I took a deep breath and did it anyway, all the while thinking of my dear Grandma Helen who started drawing later than I in life and is now a wonderfully accomplished and experienced artist. She definitely inspires me when that class gets difficult or I get overwhelmed. Thank you Grandma for setting such a wonderful example of how to be a courageous, adventurous woman!

Also helpful is my new friend Alyse who draws next to me. She is taking the opportunity to become a teacher to me. Where she could be insulting or ignore me, she gently corrects me and teaches me new ways to learn and grow. How wonderful to be surrounded by friends like these :)

I am also continuing my Italian course and taking two courses genearally geared towards art history. Drawing, however, is my favorite. I find it extremely relaxing and enjoyable to try something completely new in life.

I'm loving the emails you are all sending me and will try to respond slowly as the internet is available. It feels so nice to be contacted by all my wonderful family and friends! Love to all

Amy