Amici

Monday brought the official One-Month mark of my stay here in Italy. That means I'm a third of the way through my Italian adventure.

It's amazing what can happen in one month.

When I think back to the beginning of my time here in Foligno, I remember so clearly the wonderment, excitement, and freedom that I felt as I braced myself for a long and unknown road ahead. There I stood, completely free and ready, facing the beginning of an epic journey and carrying nothing but my bags and hope for the future.

Yet at the same time, amidst the excitement and anticipation of a new future loomed a great sense of loneliness and fear. Even though I was confident that the experience would conclude as a rewarding and beneficial time, I still feared embarking on this journey alone, having no companions to laugh with me, no confidant to walk beside me, and no comrade to explore mysteries with me. As the days passed, the mist offered no promise of clearing. I trudged on into the foggy obscurity that remained ahead, surrounding myself in a whirl of my fears. There was no escaping the loneliness. It consumed me in my travels to Rome. Emptiness followed me as I walked through the streets of Foligno, unable to communicate with anyone I encountered. Hopelessness threatened by deceiving me into believing I would never develop fruitful relationships. Quietness echoed around me as I sat alone at home with nowhere to go.

And suddenly one day the sun peeked through. I found a friend. I was introduced to more. And I no longer felt the chill of the hopelessness surrounding me. Each day brought new excitement, new opportunities, new relationships. What seemed to be an unpromising and secluded path had suddenly turned into a bustling and busy road with dozens of other travelers. They brought encouragement, they brought adventure, they brought fun and delight. And they have turned and begun to walk alongside me. I am no longer alone. I have been brought companions, been blessed with loving spirits who want to enjoy and face new experiences with me.

On Thursday, I was invited to a concert with Andrea. Andrea is studying Geology at the University of Perugia, and the concert was a special event for all the Geology students at his school. There were several bands playing classic American rock, some heavy music, and popular Italian songs. There was also an entire buffet of food. It was a different crowd than I normally find myself around, but it allowed me the experience to be a part of a typical Italian concert. I saw it all - the excitement, the jumping, the free dancing, the belting and singing - and loved the enthusiasm of the participants. These listeners ensured that they truly enjoyed their concert experience and made the most of the thrill of the music.

Piazza Navona Christmas Market

Saturday I packed a backpack and left for Rome. It had been a challenging week (babysitting can be quite difficult at times), and I needed some time to relax and unwind. Upon stepping off the train, I had friends waiting for me - such a different dynamic from my previous visit to the city. I joined Madeleine, an au pair from Maine, and we walked around the famous Christmas market in Piazza Navona. Although we weren't especially hungry, we indulged in candied nuts and spent the rest of our time fascinated by all the fried food and children's toys. Later on, our friend Jess, an au pair from Australia, met up with us. She told us the plan for the rest of the day and we continued on our way through the city. I don't remember having a specific destination. We just walked. Right around sunset we found ourselves on a bridge overlooking the Tiber River. Of course, I got out my camera and we made the most of the beautiful golden sunlight. Madeleine and Jess both seemed to thoroughly enjoy playing with my camera, so I was kind enough to let them take turns carrying it through the city for me ;-)

I don't know what this was, but it was amazing! Almost as good as the food at the Texas State Fair... Almost.

Haha... actually I had been lugging around a heavy backpack, a thick coat, and my purse and camera all day. It was quite a blessing to have some relief for a bit! And it didn't even stop there. Madeleine had to return to her Italian family to work for a few hours, so she was amazing and took my backpack with her until she came back. In the meantime, Jess and I enjoyed an evening date in the city. We visited an International Bookstore where I found a book to teach myself Italian (which has actually resulted in drastically improving my language skills in a matter of days already), a guidebook for Umbria (so I can know what I am seeing when I travel to nearby cities), and the last book in the Narnia series (I have been determined to finish it for over a year now, so I am making sure it happens before I leave Italy). The bookstore happened to be right across the street from the beautiful St. Regis hotel that I visited during my last trip to Rome, so we stopped in for a few minutes to rest our feet and enjoy the atmosphere. You will never guess who we saw there. Okay, you probably already did. That's right - the old man that I awkwardly spoke with last time! Part of me couldn't believe he was there again, but then part of me was not the least bit surprised. I told Jess I wished I had taken a picture of him last time, and she cleverly suggested that I take a picture of "her" in the hotel. I officially have a way to remember my awkward friend :)

St. Regis

Indian food!

 After our elegant experience at the St. Regis, Jess and I made our way to an Indian restaurant for dinner. First of all, I love Indian and am very excited that I live in an area of Dallas that has tons of Indian restaurants. Second of all, I can't tell you how thrilled I was to have Indian food in another country, especially after eating pasta every day. It was amazing! We ordered samosas, tikka masala, garlic naan, and the house wine, an absolutely fabulous meal. As if we weren't full enough, we left to meet up with some other girls for tiramisu right afterwards.

We passed this on our way to tiramisu :)

The tiramisu place was on the other side of town, so it took us awhile to get there. We decided to walk. As we came to the end of our 40 minute trek, I considered how quickly it had gone by. A similar walk two weeks ago on a Saturday night in Rome had seemed to drag on forever, but with company to talk to and laugh with along the way, it didn't quite seem long enough.

I don't know what this tiramisu place was, but apparently it is extremely popular and was quite crowded. I also discovered where to find the local Italians in Rome and concluded that since there weren't too many English speakers around, we must have made a good choice in our caffe selection. The selection actually came on the suggestion of a girl we were meeting - one of several girls from Iowa State University who are studying interior design in Rome for the semester. All of us know each other from church, and I had worked out beforehand that I would be staying with these girls for the night.

I ordered a classic tiramisu, ate till I was stuffed, and then stood outside with the girls trying to decide where to go and what to do next. We finally agreed on walking around until we could find a comfortable, quiet, and warm caffe. There was one not too far away, so we went inside and ordered hot tea. The next hour or so was spent in laughs, jokes, and good conversation as we all opened up to each other and took time to get to know each other better. As much as I loved having the delicious tea at the St. Regis two weeks ago, I'm quite certain I preferred the not-quite-as-delicious tea at the caffe, because there's nothing more enjoyable than good company.

That night I went home with the Iowa girls to their large apartment. They had a futon set up for me and proceeded to supply every item that I was lacking for spending the night. I think I even ate some Corn Flakes before going to bed :)

We woke up for church the next morning and enjoyed a service with our friend singing for the special music and an intriguing sermon on God's silence. We stayed and talked to people until we were kicked out because the next service was starting, and then we made plans for the rest of the day. Two of the girls had to go to their studio to work on projects that afternoon, so that left me and Anna to have the entire rest of the day to shop and explore. And boy did we shop! I brought a list to Rome with me of all the things I wanted to buy:

• Pashmina Scarves
• English books
• Socks
• Black boots
• Christmas presents
• Exchange money
• Contact Solution 
• New shirts/sweaters
• A Rome snow globe

You better believe it - I checked off every single thing on my list! I still have a few more Christmas gifts to purchase, but I definitely did not come home empty handed. *By the way, please take note that I bought a pair of black boots. I would just like to point out that besides the cowboy boots I bought when I first moved to Dallas, this is the first pair of real boots I have ever bought. It's official: I now fit in :)

One of the shops we passed along the way

 I was also quite satisfied that I was even able to find my contact solution here, because I had convinced myself that the brand I use would not be sold anywhere in Italy. Not true - they do sell it, just for three times as much money.

By the end of the day, I was carrying a massive bag of all my new purchases, and we were exhausted. We stopped by the Piazza Navona market again to make sure we didn't miss anything, but shortly after that we headed home and did what the rest of the Italians do at 4:00 - took a nap.

Piazza Navona

 We woke up re-energized and hungry, so we made ourselves pasta (did you expect something else?) and got ready to go out one more time. We still had a few things we needed to get, so we visited a few shops close to her apartment and then headed home. Because I didn't want to rush to try to leave early in the afternoon, I had decided to just spend the night on Sunday and leave Monday morning. That meant we had the whole evening together. We went back home and chatted with the other girls for a little while and told them about our day.

In front of the Pantheon

All day long the girls had been so encouraging and sweet to me, even though we had only known each other for a few days. As we were laying on our beds listening to worship music, Anna (a different Anna from the one I had spent the day with) turned over and asked if she could hear my God story. I love how she worded it. She didn't ask to hear my testimony or how I came to know Christ. She asked to hear the story of God in my life. It's a beautiful thought, thinking of the Creator of the Universe working, molding, and shaping my life, and to be honest, it's not something I've thought about much lately. Before I knew it, I was sharing the struggles I have faced and the pain I have felt in the past year, piecing together as I spoke how God was at work through all of it and how He has had a plan for it all along.

Although the trials I've endured are not exactly over, I felt the encouragement of love from my sisters in Christ. They didn't know me very well. They had no reason to sit and listen to my emotions and my story. But they did. And not only did they listen, but they cared, they empathized, and then they encouraged. We had some great discussion afterward about things we had learned or were learning from God's Story - the Bible. Even greater still was the girls' request to pray for me before our time was through. What a shower of encouragement and blessing, to be surrounded by lovers of Christ who love Him enough to love others - to love me - at a time when I needed it most.

To top the night off, I had the most delicious gelato in Rome. The girls are friends with the owner, so we tried pretty much every unique flavor you could think of. I ended up with a cup of Biscotti, Ricotta and Pear, and Nutella. Um... delicious?... Yes!

My train left from the end of these tracks. Understand my frustration?

The next day was one of the worst days I have had so far. I got up incredibly early (6 something - ugh no one should ever have to see that hour) in order to take a train to the main station so that I could take another train home to Foligno. My first train was five minutes late, so I ended up arriving in Roma Termini station (a huge and very hectic train station) 10 minutes before my train to Foligno left. I thought I would be dropped off on a platform close to my next train, but things never turn out like you expect. Instead of arriving at platform 8 as I had expected, I was at platform 26. The train to Foligno was at Platform 1. I looked ahead of me, looked across the tracks, and looked all the way back down to where I would have to run to get on the train. I still hadn't bought my ticket, and don't forget that I was carrying a backpack, purse, winter coat, and bulging shopping bag that weighed about 20 pounds. I was a mess. I dashed through the station, weaved through people, smashed into other people, and thought I was going to die I was so out of breath. I bought my ticket and ran and ran and ran some more, until I just couldn't go any further. I got to my platform, just in time. The train wasn't there. I looked up at the kiosk to make sure it was the right platform and realized that instead it was about another quarter mile down the way, to the very outermost platform of the whole station. I walked. As I was walking, panting, and sweating, I watched the train back out of the platform and roll away. It was 7:43 am.

I tried to be positive and think about the good that could come of my missing the train. I had two hours before the next train (which cost twice as much...of course), so I could definitely enjoy a Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit from the McDonald's nearby. Wrong. I forgot... this is Italy. We eat pastries and croissants for breakfast, and that does not include Egg McMuffins. Don't even try suggesting it because you are just a heretic if you do. When that idea failed, I found a pizza place that was open (because it's okay to eat pizza at eight in the morning, but not Sausage Biscuits) and indulged in a very large piece of ham and cheese pizza.

My pizza... still not as good as a Sausage Biscuit ;-)

 I'm going to skip the rest of that day, because I was not in a pleasant mood and wasn't too fond of Italy for a few moments during that day. Thank goodness the next day came to redeem my attitude a bit.

Martina invited me over to a friend's house for dinner on Tuesday night. It's Italy, so she picked me up at 10:00 pm when she finished her volleyball game. We arrived at her friend's house and drove up to a beautiful and huge home situated on a hill and overlooking the city of Foligno. Inside the cozy home we found seven girls (Martina's teammates) sitting at a round table, each with a pizza in front of her. There were two open seats. Martina and I sat down and dove right into the pizza.

The rest of the night was filled with hysterical laughter, comical attempts at English and Italian, and playful shouting matches. The girls were fascinated by my American background and kept asking questions about what things are really like in the U.S., as opposed to just in the movies. They couldn't believe we actually have balls in high school called Prom and that students really put their books in lockers. I assured them that these ideas are true and that the movies are usually pretty accurate when it comes to things like that.

After a late, late night, I went home and crashed for very short four hours. But it didn't matter. I am content :) I have had encouragement when I'm down, sharpening when I'm weak, laughter when I'm sad, and company when I'm lonely. God has been good. He has provided what I began to fear would never come. I have wonderful friends :)

Weekend in Rome

Me and Chiara on Friday Night

And yet another exciting weekend! Friday night rolled around, and I was already feeling pretty tired, so I just figured I would stay in and head to bed. But thank goodness for Aurelio and Zoila! We finished up dinner and Aurelio looked at me and said, “It’s Friday night! Aren’t you going out?” Well, I didn’t know where I would go or what I would do, so I hadn’t really considered it, but fortunately Aurelio and Zoila had some good places in mind. As everyone else got ready for bed, I got ready to go out and hit the town, Italian style! I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but I figured I’d at least give it a try. What better chance to meet and get to know some of the young people in Foligno?? Aurelio knows the owner of a really popular wine bar in town, so he took me there and brought me inside to introduce me to some people. I met the owner, although he didn’t speak much English, and one of the bartenders named Chiara. Chiara spoke great English and I spent a lot of time hanging out and talking with her. Apparently she’s quite the social butterfly, so she knew tons of people and introduced me to all of them! Some spoke English, some not so much, but I was happy to not be standing around by myself!

After about an hour, Chiara told me that everyone at the wine bar was leaving to go to a party. She said pretty much all the young people in Foligno would be there, so if I wanted to meet lots of people that would be a great place. I debated whether or not to go but thought, how many chances will I have to go to a big event like this? We headed over to the party and what an experience! This wasn’t like a small party at someone’s house. It was a social gathering at a huge venue with hundreds of people (mostly all from Foligno). There was music by a DJ, art being created on the walls, and awesome decorations – really a neat set-up. From my time there, I learned that Italians aren’t as crazy as Americans or British people when they go out. Most people there were just talking and hanging out. A few were dancing, but overall the atmosphere was pretty chill. Chiara took me from person to person, introducing me to every English-speaking friend she had. All of them had done lots of traveling and have lived abroad (hence why they know English), so we had lots to talk about. For those who didn’t speak English, Chiara just pointed them out and told me who they were, how she knew them, and what everyone thought of them. Because Foligno is such a small town, everybody there already knew each other. I actually recognized some of the people as the students I had seen studying in the library earlier that week. I left a couple hours later, before it got too late, and took a bus home with some of the girls I met.

with some of Chiara's English speaking friends

The next morning, I was supposed to take a train to Rome, but I was so tired I slept in a little too late. When Zoila woke me up, I spent a couple hours frantically trying to plan and put together my trip to Rome, so that I would know exactly where to go, how to get around, and where I was staying. I booked a hostel, figured out the train times, and was on my way to the train station. Two hours later, I arrived in the very wet city of Rome. It was pouring outside so I bought an umbrella from the first vendor I saw. (By the way, never pay 5 Euros for an umbrella from a street vendor… it’ll only last you about five minutes.) I decided to go to my hostel first in order to drop off my backpack. I followed the directions to the hostel just fine, but once I got to the street it was on, I had a really difficult time locating the right number. I eventually found what I thought was it and went upstairs to check in.

Of course, things never work out as you plan, so I attempted to check in, only to find out that my reservation was actually made for the next night. I asked if they could change it to that night. They said there was no room. I tried not to freak out, but was pretty discouraged that I might have to spend my afternoon in Rome trying to find a hostel, in addition to paying double the amount that I anticipated. Fortunately, I think because I look like a helpless little girl, they decided to be very nice and give me a room in another hostel owned by the same company. It was actually the same location I was checking in at, so I didn't have to go far at all. The only downside was that I had originally booked an all female hostel so that I would be able to be in a room with only girls, but the only opening available in the hostel I'd be staying at was co-ed. It turned out to be not bad at all. There were only two other people in there, a couple that I think was backpacking, and they were asleep when I got in the room at night and asleep when I left. The room had bunk beds and was clean enough, and I left in the morning and even got a coupon for a free breakfast at the caffe' across the street.

After I sorted out the hostel mix-up, I headed out into the city to explore and look around. I had planned to take the metro, but when I realized that I didn't have a whole lot of time in the city in the first place, I figured I'd walk and take in as much as I could at once. I wanted to make sure I was able to get to church in the morning without getting lost, so I headed out to locate the church, intending to sight see along the way. I walked for about 30 minutes or so, and finally arrived at what seemed to be a very crowded tourist destination. As I rounded the corner, I stumbled upon an absolutely breathtaking view. My route had taken me right near the Piazza di Spagna, to the very top of the famous Spanish steps that lead down to an incredibly expensive and nice shopping district. The view overlooked the entire city and was accented by a gorgeous, colorful sunset. I got my camera out, took some pictures, and enjoyed the amazing view.

Gorgeous!

The rest of the evening was spent walking. I'm pretty sure I walked for about 3 hours straight. I walked to the location of Rome Baptist Church, I walked to the movie theater to buy my ticket for Harry Potter (in English!!), I walked to McDonald's to eat dinner, I walked through H&M and all the great shops several times, I even walked to Trevi Fountain and threw a coin in. That would be my third time throwing a coin in that fountain. And I'm pretty certain that I've made the same wish every single time. It still has yet to come true.

And don't worry! I definitely got some gelato! It's not quite as silly to eat gelato in Rome in the winter. Everyone else there is a tourist too, and what do tourists want in Rome? Pizza and gelato. So I fit right in :) Except maybe it was a little lame to go to McDonald's... but I had a serious craving for some American food. How much more American can you get than that? If I had seen a Starbucks I might have gone there, but surprisingly, there are NO Starbucks in Rome. I have seen them literally all over the world, in pretty much every major city I've been to, but I didn't see a single one in Rome! So weird, and so sad!

Walking on Via del Corso

After all that walking, I was totally beat, and I very gladly went to sit down in the movie theater. Harry Potter was great. The theater was packed, and there were tons of Americans and English speaking people all around. It would have been really nice to have met some people and hung out with them, but it didn't happen.

This is what I've learned about traveling by yourself. It is amazing and it sucks all at the same time. It was absolutely incredible to be on my own schedule. I could go wherever I wanted, any direction I wanted, any destination I wanted, on my own time, as fast or as quick as I wanted, without a single other opinion to conflict with mine. It was quite a freeing feeling. I loved it. Yet at the same time, doing whatever you want on your own is only fun for so long. By the time the movie got out, I was incredibly lonely. I was doing so many fun things, but I know they would have been so much more fun if I had someone else to enjoy them with.

Harry Potter was great, but it was a kind of a dark movie, which wasn't helpful for me right before I had to walk around in an unfamiliar city by myself at night. On my way back to my hostel, I was hurrying through the streets when I looked up at a building next to me and noticed that it was an absolutely beautiful hotel. I was outside in the cold, in the dark, and could hear peaceful piano music floating out from inside where there was an amazing lobby with cozy, warm, and beautiful atmosphere. It was totally calling me. I didn't even have to think about and walked right inside. I sat down on a comfy couch, listened to the calming jazz piano, and appreciated the ornate decorations. It was bliss. I ordered a cup of tea, and they brought me an entire tray of cookies to accompany the whole pot of tea that I got. I didn't even want to know how much it was going to cost, but I knew that the whole experience was totally worth it.

While I was sitting there, I was joined by some unexpected company. A man about 80 years old walked up to me and asked if I was all alone. I offered him some cookies since I had way more than I'd ever eat, and he sat down and we began to talk. Well, we attempted to talk. He kept asking me questions, but considering the fact that he is almost completely deaf, he could not understand me at all. Every time he asked me a question I had to repeat my answer five times, not before he would get it, but before I would give up trying to get him to understand. The conversation went something like this:

Old Man: So how far are you from the place you're staying?
Me: (After repeating myself three times) Oh I don't know. A little ways. (I really didn't know. But even if I had, I wasn't about to tell some random man where I was staying)
Old Man: Well that's nice. It's too bad you're not staying at the hotel I'm at. It's quite lovely. There's a shuttle service right to the front door.
Me: Awkward smile
Old Man: So how far did you travel to come to Rome?
Me: A few hours (again, why would I give him my exact whereabouts?)
Old Man: And how old are the children you watch?
Me: Three and six
Old Man: Oh there's three children?
Me: No, two. A three year old boy and six year old girl.
Old Man: Oh how lovely, three boys. How old are they?
Me: No answer
Old Man: Hmm... that must be the head waiter over there. I think it's... no maybe it's the other waiter. No that's the one, he's the head one.
Me: Sipping tea....

And, Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.

Yes, that's right. We had the EXACT same conversation FIVE times. He would ask me all those questions, pause for a moment, and then start all over again. I do believe he asked how far my hostel was from where we were about umm.... EIGHT times. I am not exaggerating. Really. So it's true... short term memory loss actually does happen! I experienced it firsthand!

The next morning I got up and checked out of the hostel before heading to church. I attended Rome Baptist Church, a place I found online when I typed in "Baptist churches in Rome." Let me tell you... the list is short. RBC is it. It may even be the only Protestant church in Rome. So I went, and it was so refreshing to be able to worship with English speaking, Christ-loving people. I went to Biblestudy at 9:30 before the main service and found it quite interesting what the topic was: why church is important. We read from Acts 2 and talked about how church is more than an event. It's a group of people. The important of going to church is not just to learn about God, but to be able to have community and to fellowship with other believers. That is why just watching sermons online while I'm in Italy is not going to cut it. That's not why my heart craves to go to church. I yearn for this type of community, this interaction with other believers - teaching, having fellowship, eating together, praying, and praising God together, just as it describes in Acts 2. And God is so good. I found exactly that while I was at the church.

The church was a little more traditional than maybe I would prefer, but how wonderful it felt to sing alongside other Christians and say Blessed Be the Name of the Lord, in another country, in a different time zone, with people around me from all over the world. It was absolutely beautiful. And just in the short time I was there, I connected with dozens of people that offered to let me stay with them the next time I'm in Rome or that wanted to hang out whenever we get a chance. I found one group of people that looked about my age and walked up and introduced myself. Turns out, two of the girls are actually au pairs in Rome and are planning to stay for about another year. I was thrilled, because most people I meet at this time are heading back to the States in just a couple weeks since they're on a semester schedule. Here, I not only found girls that are my age and that can totally relate to what I am doing right now, but I also have the assurance that they will be around the whole time I'm over here. It was really enjoyable getting to talk to them and hear about their own nannying experiences. It was the first time I've had any sort of connection or contact with other au pairs so I loved being able to share stories with people who could really understand. We ended up hanging out all afternoon on Sunday. They showed me around Rome to some of their favorite spots, and we got lunch and gelato. I don't know if I'll be able to go to Rome every weekend, but as long as I do, I now have friends to hang out with and stay with there! What a wonderful blessing God has given me!

Madeleine and Jess, the au pair girls I met

exploring Rome with my new friends!