written October 22nd

Warning: this entry may be super long and detailed, but it’s especially for my parents and grandparents who are amazing and love details. :)

Italy! It was an amazing, challenging, hard, and incredible trip. We got back late Sunday night, and so I’m halfway processing the day-by-day of this lovely adventure.

Friday, the 10th: We took off from Segovia at about noon, took a bus to Madrid, caught the metro to the airport, and flew into Rome at about 8pm that night. Sooo crazy! We had kind of a rough start because the airport was outside the city, and our hostel, the Peter Pan, was also badly situated. After a number of bus rides and learning that Spanish wasn’t nearly as similar to Italian as we had thought, we luckily met some guys who were staying at our hostel on the bus and finally made it there.

Saturday, the 11th: We got up the next morning, way excited for our first day and enjoyed the some intense Italian coffee. Our first stop was the Vatican. We waited in line for about 2 hours just for security, during which we managed to get separated, anger a German woman for unknown reasons, and be assertive city girls when people tried to cut the line that snaked down 2 or 3 city blocks. The Vatican was SWEET. Of course, the main attraction is the Sistine Chapel, but the funny thing was that they have you walk through the entire museum, following deceptive signs that say “Capella Sistina” for about 2 hours first, haha. We saw some pretty sweet things along the way, but the chapel itself….whew! The actual famous part of the Michaelangelo’s painting with God and man touching fingers was smaller than I thought, but the ceiling itself was sooo much huger than I had realized. The chapel was packed with people, just whispering and murmuring, and I couldn’t take my eyes off this part of the ceiling….God reaching out to touch man, stretching out to have a relationship, to be part of our world. So cool. My only regret is that I didn’t snipe an illegal photo or two. :P After the Sistine chapel, we headed to St. Peter’s Basilica, which was also huge and unreal and beautiful and (unfortunately) packed with tourists like ourselves. We spent the evening wandering around the streets of Rome, went to an outdoor concert for a cause unknown to us, checked out a sweet thrift store, bought pasta and sauce and cheese to make spaghetti, and occasionally looked and each other and screamed “we’re in ROME!!”

Saturday was such a crazy day, mentally. The only cultures I’ve had substantial contact with besides that of the US are of Spain, Mexico, and a bit of Japan….and all three of these I’ve had experience with the language, the culture, or the people since I was young. But Italy? nada. I knew next to nothing about the Italian culture, language, or people before coming to Rome. And all of a sudden, there I was in this other new world, as developed and unique and intricate as my own. It blew my mind. And all throughout the day, I was surrounded by tourists speaking German, French, Chinese, Russian, English with a British accent, and countless other languages. To think that each of these languages is only a hint of all the other “worlds” out there, all so distinct and amazing and different from each other, I can’t even wrap my brain around it. For all the weeks I’ve lived in Spain and settled into its culture and people and language….and this is only the first layer that I’m experiencing. I can’t believe that each country, each region of each country is a whole different world and culture….in sum, the world really opened up to me like never before. I decided then and there that I’d like to study abroad in about 20 more countries, discovering all the intricacies and quirks and passions and languages that lie within them. So, so cool. :)

Sunday, the 12th: On Sunday we visited the Borghese Gallery, which had tons of amazing sculptures depicting Greek and Roman mythology. This was definitely one of the highlights. At first, I was so frustrated because here we were, seeing all this amazing art, but without Ricardo or a tour guide or even a book to tell us the history and significance of these pieces of art. But after a while, we began to actually look at the sculptures, noticing the lines and movement and how the light hit the surfaces and caused certain shadows. And for one of the first times this semester, I found myself actually connecting with the art, being affected by it emotionally and intellectually, interacting with it. Though it’s wonderful to have all the facts and history behind this stuff, it was a really cool experience to have the chance to just breathe and take it in for what it was, visually, aesthetically, without jumping to analyze it initially. After the Borghese we headed to the National Museum of Rome…which I have to admit, didn’t hold my interest for long. Lots of history, lots of ancient stones and tablets….a bit too much for one day. That night at our hostel, a lovely Italian couple hardcore rejected our attempt at spaghetti and instead gave us tons of their own delicious real spaghetti.  We went out that night, but quickly found out that Rome is not a good place for five girls on a Sunday night in the metro station, even if they’re speaking Spanish. We had a quick gelato and were super glad to get back to our safe beds in the Peter Pan.

Monday, the 13th: What an exciting day Monday was! We started out bright and early at the enormous, amazing Colosseum. This was one place where I wished we had a tour guide or at least some more background knowledge, but the sight alone, the size of it was breathtaking. We spent the rest of the morning walking through the Roman Forum (with a few philosophical discussions thrown in there! :P) and the Pantheon, and it blew my mind again to consider the incredible history and culture of the Roman empire, with so much of its remnants intact today. We left midafternoon for Florence, and had quite the adventure getting to that city. The train system in Europe is enormously confusing for foreigners, and after we got on one train for Florence, I jumped off really quick to double check our ticket and make sure we were on the right train (it wasn’t supposed to leave for another 15 minutes). Right as I got off the train, the doors shut, and it took off for Florence, with my four friends, my luggage, and my passport. It turned out that it was the wrong train that they took (though it still got them to Florence), so I got on the train we were supposed to take and managed to look up the address of our hostel and find it once I arrived. My friends had the harder end of things, going a bit crazy trying to contact me once they got to the station in Florence and getting really frustrated with the Italian police, but we finally reunited later that night. Our first big adventure as a city girls…and I can’t say it passed without a few tears and prayers…but now- bring it on, big city. :)

Tuesday, the 14th: On Tuesday we went to the Uffizi Gallery (I saw more Madonna and Child on this one place than in my entire 20 years prior to this….) and saw the Duomo, a huge and beautiful cathedral in Florence. We spent the rest of the day wandering around a huge outdoor market, exploring the city on foot (waaaay better than the sketchy Roman metro system), and went out for some amazing pizza for dinner. In Florence, we stayed at a hostel called the Albergo Paola, and it was the cutest thing of my life. We met some really fun and interesting people, including Elisabeth from the Canary Islands and Nic from Mexico. They helped us practice our Spanish, and Nic gave us sweet tips about the best pizza in Florence and how to make a mean spaghetti using noodles, olive oil, bacon, and an egg. One of the sweetest parts of the trip was all the people we met and bonded with in one situation or another throughout our adventures.

Wednesday, the 15th: On Wednesday went to the Accademia and saw Michaelangelo’s David. This sounds cliché, but it was sooo enormous, graceful, striking, and beautiful. Michaelangelo was a crazy talented guy. Right in front of the David, we happened to meet up with the other Bethel/Concordia group from Segovia that was traveling in Italia that week. We went out with them later that night for some mean pasta and more gelato, of course.

Thursday, the 16th: Thursday was a SWEET day. After packing so much in during Rome and the first few days of Florence, we finally took it easy, slept in, and then went for a hike for about an hour to the top of the city. Florence was sooo gorgeous from there, and we spent forever just leaning over the edge of the stone wall, daydreaming about living there and picking our where we would love among the forests, countryside, and hills of Florence. :) After that, we took off for Milan and arrived at Hotel Brasil that night (without a hitch!)

Friday, the 17th: While Rome and Florence are pretty much tourist cities to the max, there’s not a whole lot to do in Milan besides, well, shop. It’s one of the fashion capitals of the world, ay yi yi! After visiting one last cathedral (and feeding the birds!), we did some hardcore fashion merchandising, haha. Sensory overload for me, but the girls convinced me to buy my first pair of skinny jeans at the H & M there in the center of Milan. :P

Saturday, the 18th: SWITZERLAND. OHMYGOODNESS. One of the best parts of the trip, by far. We knew we wanted to visit Switzerland (only about an hour north of Milan by train) for a day on the trip, but we didn’t know anything about where to go, what to see, nothing. We randomly picked the city, Lugano, the night before and bought tickets. Our least-planned day turned out amazing! On the train on the way there, we were talking in Spanish, and the girl sitting next to Emily started talking to us. Turns out she’s from Milan, but studied in Barcelona for 3 years, and was now visiting her Swiss boyfriend who lives Lugano. We mentioned that we had no idea what to see or do once we got to Lugano, and she offered to show us around for the day! We had our very own tour guide and got to practice our Spanish for about 5 hours that day. :) But goodness, Switzerland is soo gorgeous! I think I’ve fallen in love with mountains. I felt so, so small and so in awe of these huge tree-covered mountains on all sides. We went on a foggy, chilly day and it was absolutely breathtaking with the clouds resting gently between the hills. We went to Lake Lugano, and for the first time in months I was on a shore, listening to the sounds of the waves crashing up against the pebbles. After we had the chance to explore Lugano a bit, exclaim over and over about the view, and eat some Swiss chocolate, Alessia took us a little city near Lugano called Bellinoza, I believe. We went up to this old, old castle at the top of the city where the view was even more amazing. With the chilliness of the day, the stone walls, and the green all around, I felt like I was on the moors of England or the middle of Ireland or something…just to let you all know, I may be moving to a little cabin in the mountains of Switzerland as soon as I save up the $$$ to feed the chocolate habit. :)

Sunday, the 19th: And that was it! We spent the morning in Milan, finishing up some souvenir shopping and dealing with our not-so-fun hostel, and spent the rest of the day wrangling buses, metros, and airplanes until we finally glimpsed the cathedral of Segovia all lit up at about 10pm on the bus ride home. One of the most beautiful sights of my life. It was quite the adventure, a week of excitement and sensory overload and good conversations and tons of laughter….as well as a healthy amount of fear and stress thrown in there to make us grow a bit. :P

Whew! That’s it folks. Saturday morning we head to Barcelona for a four day excursion (planned by someone else this time! :))….as Sandra would say, “corriendo, simpre corriendo!” (running, always running!). Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers during this week away. I miss you all loads and loads!


PS- pictures are on facebook here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051154&l=71ff7&id=63804298
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051156&l=a9fe5&id=63804298

more pics!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050346&l=3f3ab&id=63804298

written October 4th

hey all!

Sorry, it’s been a little bit since I’ve updated this. It’s been a whirlwind of a few weeks! I’ve been in Spain for 5 weeks tomorrow, but it feels like it’s been sooo much longer than that! October already. My classes are really starting to ramp up here, papers in Classical Lit and Advanced Comm and some super interesting discussions in Modern Spain. And….oh my goodness! My photography class is AMAZING. I’m taking it with four other girls with this professor named Javier, who’s hilarious and little did we know, THE main photographer here in Segovia. We laugh a lot, and the stuff we’re doing has just been sweet! We worked with black box cameras for a few weeks – just a shoebox painted black inside with a little hole and film paper inside. You open up uncover the hole for just 30-40 seconds, develop the film, and whala! I have a sweet pic of the aqueduct! I feel more pride over this not-so-high-quality photo than any pic I’ve taken with my digital camera. ;) Last week we got our first rolls of black and white film and I spent 2 hours with Emily getting lost in the Alameda (the gorgeous park that runs along the alcázar) as we experimented with velocity, zoom, focus, and a bunch of other photography terms that I only know in Spanish. ;) Turns out this girl has a few more of her dad’s artsy genes that she knew!

Excursions: Last weekend we went to La Granja, a pueblo 20 minutes outside of Segovia. We toured a glass blowing/crystal factory that was used to make all the glass products for all the castles in Spain. It’s still in use and we saw some pretty sweet glass blowing and sculptures. We toured the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) also. But the best part, by far, was the gardens. The king who built this palacio created this HUGE expanse of amazing gardens….some back yard! They are set against the mountains, and we had the perfect fall day to explore the flowers, forests, fountains (how’s that for alliteration…) and pathways….all the while with “The Hills are Alive” running through my head. The gardens in La Granja are definitely my favorite of all the excursions so far. Today we went to Toledo, about two hours north of Segovia. It’s a gorgeous town that was a center of culture and religion. The amazing thing about Toledo is that three religious groups: Jews, Muslims, and Christians, all resided there for virtually centuries of peace. We toured an enormous cathedral with no end, a synagogue, and another museum with lots of Arabic influences.

I have Spanish friends! How nerdy does that sound. :) At Horizonte Cultural, the center where we take classes, Spaniards can sign up for intercambios, language exchanges in which they practice their English and we can practice our Spanish. Three weeks ago, Melissa and I started meeting with a guy named Miguel who lives here in Segovia and attends the university in Madrid during the week. He introduced us to his group of friends here, and I’ve had a number of opportunities to hang out with them since then. They remind me a lot of my guy friends at home in some ways, and it’s been great for my Spanish. We spend a lot of time with Americans speaking Spanish here, since our classes are only with Bethel and Concordia people, so it’s nice to break out of that bubble a bit. I’ve been learning plenty of slang and muddling my way through trying to make jokes in Spanish, haha.

In a week, we have ten days off for fall break. I’m traveling to Italy with four other girls. We’ll be taking off this Friday night and spending three days each in Rome, Florence, and Milan packing in all the art, culture, history, and gelato we can. The last day (get this!) we’re going to take a side trip up to Switzerland since it’s so close to Milan. We don’t have anything specific planned, but I’m definitely most excited for this. I love sightseeing and learning and seeing famous works….but give me mountains and Swiss chocolate any day over all that, and I’ll be oh-so-happy! :P If you could pray for safety and health as we travel and navigate these big cities this next week (we’ll be gone October 10-19), that would be wonderful.

I'm not really sure what else to write....except that I'm simply loving it here. So blessed by friendships with people here- Spaniards and Americans alike, the chance to start over and figure out who i am in a different culture and a different language (i'm more outgoing in Spanish! :P), everything. Sometimes, I feel this weird gap between who I am here and who I am at home, since there are so many differences in my lifestyle, friendships, leisure activities, family etc. I think I'm starting to understand what some of my friends mean when they talk about their different identities/lives at college far away and at home, something I haven't dealt with too much at Bethel. I talked to Em a lot about it yesterday, who's struggled with this between her two homes in Chicago and MN. Yesterday in church (writing this on Monday now) I found my center again. No matter how much I change here, no matter how different my passions and interests and friends and lifestyle is here in Spain....my God is the same. Meeting God face to face here....it's the same as at home, during Vespers or devos or anything. He's doing different things in my heart, teaching me new lessons, showing me new opportunities, but the grace he showers upon me day in and day out is the same....the peace and trust in talking to him, his faithfulness through all of the valleys and mountains of experiences both here and at home....the same.

You all are in my thoughts and heart tons these days! Happy Monday. :)