Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Can you hear it? "Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby. Someday I'll wish upon a star and way up where the clouds are far behind me...where troubles melt like lemon drops, way above the chimney tops...that's where you'll find me."

It started in the 8th grade after I read Francine River's Mark of the Lion triology. This set of three novels is based on a young Messianic Jew's story of life in Rome duiring the days of Christ. I began dreaming of seeing these ruins and the places of history. Over the years, I've spent afternoons reading about Italy in Barnes and Noble's Bookstore, watching Italian cooking shows on the Food Network, listening to Josh Groban's music in his amazing Itlanian voice and language, eating gelato at Tuscany's Italian cafe and gelateria in College Station, and even watching the movies that could give me a better glimpse of the place that I dreamed of seeing. I made big, but outrageous, plans to save some of my needed courses so that I could study abroad after my sophomore year in college. But now, sitting in a hotel room in Houston, Texas, after over 24 hours of traveling and my last night in Italy, it is still hard to believe that this dream was a reality for me.

Two months ago, I remember driving to Austin for a much needed rode trip and some time alone with the Lord. I did not know how I was going to make it through the Spring Semester with school, heartache, spiritual warfare, and all of the personal battles I was facing. I remember crying out to the Lord in worship and weeping when I saw a rainbow appear through the storm clouds had been mirroring my emotions of fear and doubt. To my amazement, the Go of Creation allowed my eyes to view, not just one, but a double rainbow in the sky that day stretching from end to end. As cheesy as it sounds, it reminded me of his promise to Moses, and for me it represented the Lord's faithfulness. At that moment, I knew that his grace would be sufficient in my weakness. The next weekend, I went to a concert where I sat dumbfounded in the grass at night while Sean McDonald sang "Somewhere over the Rainbow". With tears streaming down my face in need, I closed my eyes and held on to the dream and relief. Sure enough, my Sweet Jesus helped me win those battles and conquer a hard time in life, all the while looking to Italy as a place of hope and healing. That is what it was. Through lone adventures, amazing sights, a wealth of new knowledge, and much needed companions, he fashioned a dream story that helped my heart to heal and stand in awe of exceeded expectations.

That promise and song of three month's ago was enough to hold on to, but our God always exceeds our needs. I mentioned how he reminded me of that promise and song while we were walking in Venice and I heard it on the grand canal. Then, as icing on my cake, The Wizard of Oz "just happened" to be showing on the plane flight home to America. Just as Dorothy begins to close her eyes, click her heels, and repeat those five words (there's no place like home)...that gentle rainbow tune chimes in. You can only imagine the smile that crossed across my heart and face at that moment. Even in coming home, I didn't need to end the dream but boast of the Lord's sweet gifts, healing, and precious memories.

There's a lot of reflecting to do in the days ahead and I refuse to live my life in the past, though I still long to be in that place that I hold so dear. In the airport today, however, my friend mentioned this quote by the famous Dr. Seuss: "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." I hold on to this and am thankful, especially after just reviewing over 400 pictures and talking with the folks for four hours, for my "somewhere over the rainbow". This, I know, is only a fragment of the land that we have to dream of. For heaven, our home, is far more worthy of our dreams than any place that I have seen.

Great Expectations

The Dolomite Mountain Range is part of the Alps Mountain Range in Northern Italy. These huge cliffs, massive boulders, and snow peaked areas tower in the ice blue sky, putting even the Colorado landscape to shame. After our trip to Venice and Verona, we rode on a bus for 4 hours to reach the Dolomites and our surprise three days in this beautiful place. I can not capture the beauty, colors, and sights with mere words, but pictures testify to the beauty since even the colors and images look fake...like someone painted a picteresque background and put us in front.

Our group stayed in a small city called Canazei which reminded me a little of the quaint town of Telluride Colorado. This city hosts several of the Olympic Winter sports and is usually a booming tourist town in the winter months. It was the perfect spot for us at the end of this summer trip, however, and the cooler weather and occasional showers/thunderstorms were a nice change compared to our hot and muggy days in Venice. Wednesday afternoon our bus pulled up to the parking lot of the Biance Croce Hotel which is where our director has taken groups for many years now. Apparently we are the only student group that is allowed to stay there nowadays. Derek, the hotel manager/hotel owner's son, was waiting for us and all of the girls instantly fell in love with this young pro-hockey player, turned model, turned hotel manager and soon to be owner. I never imagined what typed of accomodations we were in for at this four star hotel. Joy and I had our own room with a balcony, couch, table, and huge bathroom. The hotel was right near a stream where I went for a walk in the afternoon to explore, and it sits in the middle of the town right next to a gelateria and crepe restaraunt. We definitely enjoyed both of these sights. The lodge had several rooms for a bar, piano, card tables, and a pool table. Best of all, downstairs there was a Turkish Bath complex and spa. The spa offered massages and pedicures, of course, for a good sum of money. The baths, however, were completely free.

Let me just explain how we spent our afternoons: First you enter the complex by way of a cold pool of cleansing water for your feet. Next, you shower off with warm water before entering the "cauldarium" or hot steam bath that had a black ceiling with lit up stars that changed colors. In between each room, you shower in a tropical mist and fragance. Afte the steam room came the aromatherapy room filled with hot, strong lemon scents. The sauna was next and was the most exhausting and draining part of the cycle. After losing all of this sweat, we chilled/shocked our system with a huge downpoor of ice-cold water before sitting in the room filled with room temperature lights. The last room, the "frigidarium" was full of stones that kept it extremely cold. After all of the rooms, I sat in the lukewarm jet bath full of massaging foot stones before laying under the uv lights above the warm stone benches that contoured to your back. The first afternoon, I was so relaxed and suffering from Dramamine that I fell asleep here for an hour and a half before my friend had to wake me up...Talk about a relaxing pair of afternoons!

It must sound like I am making all of this up, but the fairy tale hotel just got better with our dinner that was served promptly at 7:30 pm. A huge salad bar, a five course meal where you get to choose each option, and a scrumptios dessert left me feeling extremely blessed to be at this place in Italy...once again, a complete feeling of amazement and gratitude. My friend/roomate Shiethal showed us her Indian dancing that night and I stayed up late reading Quo Vidas on the overstuffed leather couch.

Thursday morning started early but enjoyably with our huge buffet breakfast where I made a fruit and yogurt parfait that reminded me of my mom and aunt. The entire time, the waiters were completely at our service and the manager was so helpful to meet our every need. At about 9 am, our group split up for the day: some went hiking with Dr. Oberhelman, others went rock climbing and paragliding, while I joined 6 other girls for horseback riding throughout the mountains, along a stream and into the hills of serenity. Pina, my shorter horse, hated other horse behind her, so the German guy in charge of the trail horses, wanted me to ride in the back. I had been in a really reflective mood at day, so when I got to lag behind and catch up with a trot every once in a while, I had the time to think deep and claim the Lord's promises and faithfulness. After a short nap and packed lunch, I went on a solo hike up to the top of a waterfall just because I was in the mood to explore. I have been able to do several solo things that allow me to spend time with the one who has gotten me through so much hurt and provided such great healing. I had my last European crepe from the nearby cafe. Frutti di bosci (fruit of the forest) and vanilla made a great combination for my afternoon chat and snack with McKayla and Shiethal. Last night, I sat and played cards with all of the girls before we talked late into the night. We wanted to be tired for our long bus ride today, so we found out more about the fascinating life of Derek, and I was able to find our more about Katie and her daughter/salvation experience.

We left Canazei in the rain today, a perfect reflection of my emotions in having to leave this place and come to the end of such a sweet dream. Nic and I had some interesting conversations on our 7 hour bus ride about A&M's student government association, philosophy, and my friend/his girlfriend. A large purchase of the world famous Kinder chocolate completed this first day of the month before we arrived home at the center for the last time. I was able to pack before dinner tonight so that I could enjoy our last night and day iin Italy! I'm trying to find somway to get left behind and forgotten so that I can stay longer. I've never wanted to stay in a place so bad. Everyone is talking about the "I miss..." of American life such as food, conveniences, and simple goods but I have to admit, all of the inconveniences of Italian life are worth the time in Italy in comparison with the small conveniences of American life. I know the Lord calls us to contentment. I don't know what to expect from here: I have been able to check so many dreams off of my "list" and could be discouraged that it's all over. Instead, I'm trying to treasure the last of these moments and trust that the one who has overexceeded every expectation will continue to meet my needs and desires. Hail the King!

Thoughts of Venice

Our second night in Venice was labled ¨Khakis and Sass¨ since all of the guys dressed up in their khakis and the seven of us girls dawned our newest outfits. Venecians are famous for their squid ink pasta, but since all we could find was the cuddlefish ink version I had to settle. The pasta was really good and cheap since my faithful food sharing friend, Joy, and I got to split the meal and enjoy dessert in St. Mark´s square later that night. Of course, since we were in Venice everyone wanted to go on a gondola ride. We were willing to spend a little more cash than expected for such a memory, so six of us pitched in for a 100 euro ride down the dark canals. Pino, our gondalier, whistled in the quiet night air and showed us the house of Marco Polo and even pointed out some of the river rats. It was peaceful and (as sappy as it sounds) left you longing for the romance that Venice is famous for. A friend behind me snapped some shots of Joy and I in the front of the gondola as we were pondering and praying for those ¨special someones¨.

On Tuesday, Felicia and I went to the famous islands of Burano and Murano. Burano, about a thirty minute ferry ride from Venice, is known for their intricate lace shops. The quaint little town has houses of all different colors and tourist stream down the city streets in search of a perfect little piece of white, delicate fabric. There was a small store at the end called Emilia where a little woman sat making a lace piece. She wouldn´t even budge for the pictures. Apparently, there were amazing wedding dresses and comforters upstairs in her shop. Her work is in all of the local magazines and known all over Italy. After making a few special purchases for family, we caught another ¨vapereti¨to the island of Murano. This Venecian island houses the primary sources for all of the glass for Italy and the world. When we got off of the ferry, we had several opportunities to watch men blowing glass out of the hot furnaces. They gave some tours and even let some of the girls from our group help form the beautiful pieces. The further we walked down the streets, the cheaper the glass products were priced. If I had had the money, ability to pack, and the time to buy more glass pieces for a home someday I definitley would have spent more time on the island. Felicia was feeling a little sick so we made it back to our hotel to nap and journal. We met up with the rest of the group on the beaches of Lido where we lounged in the sun before playing volleyball. It was my first time to ¨pepper¨with a partner and it felt so good to get to play again without all of the pressures of matches and teams.

That night, I saved some money on food by purchasing risotto and tuna from the alamentari (supermarket) down the street. We went back to the guys´hotel since they had a kitchen and TV and ate our ¨put together¨ meal in order to save money for our last night. After showers and medicine for upset stomachs, I joined some friends in St. Mark´s square again for more music and some exploration of the island. We ventured off to find a gelato shop that Nic remembered from his last trip here...that it until he figured out that the reason we couldn´t find it was because it was actually in Nice..and then we made it to the crepe shop just after it closed. We weren´t too disappointed, though....how can you be when you´re still standing by the grand canal in Italy...and we ended up having some pretty reflective conversations on the steps of the bridge. We talked about our favorite trip memories and how we had grown over the trip...these are definitly things that I am pushing aside because I don´t want it to be over, but eventually I will love to dwell on.

Wednesday we left our hotel on the island of Lido by way of the ferry to Venice. After three incredible days in the city, memories weren´t the only thing on my mind. My head was in a constant rocking motion since the entire city, plus lots of hours on the boats, sent me swirling. I´m thankful that my motionsickness hasn´t really been too much of an issue, though. I didn´t want to leave Venice, primarily because I had no idea or expectations for the Dolomites and our time in the mountains. If I could have know what was waiting for me in my time there, however, I probably wouldn´t have believed it!

More Precious...

As if the events of this trip were not enough for a lifetime of amazing memories, I get one more week of incredible cities, dinners, and lounging in Italy with friends. Saturday morning we caught a bus for Verona and stopped at a cafe for a rushed lunch. We made it to our hotel on Saturday afternoon where we rested up for the night. The TV graced us with a showing of Grease, which we thought was too good to be true. Sure enough, it was! Just as I was getting into the singing and dancing in our room when they cut me off...apparently that is an extraordinary way to hook American tourists into buying the movie. That night, we got all sassy and dressed up...this was my night to wear all of my copper jewelry and new black dress in hopes of appearing somewhat Grecian...for the opera in Verona. It was hot while we walked to the house of Juliet where all of the girls with honeys back home placed their names on a piece of paper and attatched it to the wall of Juliet with gum. This has become a new tradition instead of signing the wall...someday I will get back.

After strolling the streets, we ate an amazing dinner...what do you know...I got to eat a pizza Marinara for the tenth time this week. It is the best way to eat cheap and get full, though. We attended an opera called La Gaconde which I found out is one of the most confusing, dramatic, and ultra action packed operas around. It took place in an ancient Roman theatre and was done entirely without acoustic magnification. We got gelato during intermission and then enjoyed the ballet dancing and exploding ships on stage. The opera was finished around 12 or so and we got a little rest that night before waking up to travel to Venice.

Venice...what can I say? It has met and exceeded every expectation. Our hotel is on the island of Lido and hosts some of the best beaches and night life around. We spent our first day on the island. I think I was a little bit more adventerous than some. I did not sit down from 1 to six and only then for a short dinner. After dinner, I continued in my normal way of exploring by getting lost. All of the Venecian people say that the best way to get to experience the city is to go as far as you can (or in my case with friends, to cross as many bridges as you can) and then take the vaperretto down the Grand Canal to St. Marks square. As most everyone knows, the city of Venice is sinking. All of the city is created to shift. For example the church of St. Mark is made with tiny tiles that will wave with the tide. St. Marks church is fascinating. It hosts a domed ceiling and mosaics made with 14kt. gold, four horses from the 4th Century BC, and a door panel made of gold and precious jewels. The entire time the Lord brought sweet songs of praise and worship to my mind about his preciousness as a Lord and his holiness as God. I was walking and hanging out with a group of friends all day, but every once in a while I could go through the market to look at pasta, Murano glass, leather journals, masks, and lace fans. I sat outside St. Marks square and ate an amazing piece of Tarimisu cake while listening to the four person concerts that take place all over the square. The environment is classy and expensive, but so engaging. I giggled for minutes after Felicia and I twirled through the pigeons that cover the square floor and made fake proposals (I had to be the boy since I wore a hat) like the one in the commercial on TV.

Today, we went on a walking tour of Venice. Our guide, Anna, was older and precious. She told us about the uncomfort of living a Venician life. Some things like constant flooding, tons of bridges and stairs, no parks or greenery, and tons of tourists make it a difficult place for true Venicians. And so, this makes the population of 63,000 base their economy and lifestyles around tourists. She was so gracious to tell us interesting facts like why the masks have really long noses. Apparently, the doctors would wear them during the bubonic plague and stuff preventative drugs inside. Later, we went to the Dolges (or Presidents) palace and prisons that have been turned into a museum. This historic site on St. Marks square holds pounds of gold, artwork, and ballrooms for the political society of Venice. More market shopping and a quick tuna wrap gave me enough energy to relax on a bridge for an hour this afternoon with Nick and Bart before touring the Peggy Guggenheim collection of modern art with a small group led by Paolo. He gave us more of a knowledge of modern or contemporary art, saying that it was a transition from the traditional. New ideas, like these, always take time to catch. I favored one of them, named the Empire light, which showcases a night scene of a house and lights with a sunny background. This kind of art, apparently, prides itself with opposites.

A quick look into a church with several new Byzantine and Baroque styles ended our afternoon. Looks like tonight holds a good dinner of pasta made from squid ink and some excellent dessert.

Finals, Flying, and Friends

Always remember that during the Roman empire there really was no middle class. The class system either noted people as poor or very wealthy. As long as you remember this fact you could have passed our archeology class final with one sentence such as ¨There was no middle class in Rome.¨ Turns out that the six pages of knowledge that I wrote down about Roman emporers, living conditions, monuments, religion, and history were really unnecessary for our final yesterday. I just had to laugh when my professor for the class told us about the trick question, but I don´t think that I would have been gutsy enough to trust my one sentence answer anyway. He´ll still consider all of our responses, so there´s really no worry, and I kind of think it was a clever way to end the class that has been so fun and informative.

After our 8 am final on Thursday morning, I enjoyed one of my last mornings in the courtyard, just journaling and thanking the Lord for the things my eyes have seen. In the afternoon, my feelings met up with my physical presence as I soared in the clouds over the region of Tuscany. Paolo, our art professor, has had his pilot´s license for 22 years and has his own plane. He was so gracious to take a few of us up, one by one, to have an incredible view of the town we´ve been living in, the castle we hiked to, the fields of sunflowers, and my jogging path for the past six weeks. He treated us to pastries and peach tea under a shaded gazebo while we waited and then I got to be one of the first one´s up...and what do you know... I never even felt an ounce of motion sickness...I think he probably thought that the smile would never be wiped off of my face because I was so overjoyed with the sights and opportunity of seeing the beauty is such a rare way.

We went back to Florence for the last time today to tour the Uffizzi gallery. The Medicci family, the noble family who had great power in all of Italy, opened their office spaces as galleries to showcase some amazing works of art. They held five original pieces of Greek statues, three of the famous Madonna´s by Ciambue and his apprentice Giotto, the original Rembrandts, several works by Michelangelo, a few pieces by Rafeal, and the famous Venus and Primevera. The Primevera, a Renaissance piece that showcases three important Greek figures including Fertility, Venus as Love, and three figures representing Beauty showed how the Greeks viewed beauty as a thing of inner and outer adoration. I loved these works and our two hour tour in the gallery, but it was nice to get out into the markets and help the boys do a little shopping. I felt so honored to help these men pick out some attire since I have never had the joy of shopping with brothers. I must say, the linen shirts that we picked out will look mighty nice on these fellas.

Today was a holiday in Italy, so we got out of Florence fast before the traffic would make us miss our last really good meal at the center. It has been hot lately, but beautiful, and we will pack up tonight to head North for an opera in Verona, three days in Venice, and a couple of nights in the Dolomites. These are the moments that I remind myself to treasure every second...

Living the Italian Life

It's finally slowed down a little bit here. However, the slow going means that things are winding down for the trip. I have to fight of the melancholy feelings these days and I'm trying not to think about having to leave in 10 days. Tuesday and today, we've wrapped up our last two days of classes in Roman Archeology and Art History. Tuesday, we took a trip to Siena.

Sienna is part of the four major cities including Florence, Venice, and Naples. This town was an interesting surprise for one of our excursions. Most of the other cities that we've visited have been completely founded on religious bases and the churches are the center of all life. Sienna, however, is made into 17 districts that are extremely comptetive. Sienese citizens will identify with their district first and foremost, then their city, and then Italy. They take great pride in their district. This shows every year on July 2 when the city hosts over 70,000 people in the Campo (town square) for horse races. Flags fly all over the square and people pay tons of money just to go and watch the horses fly around the circle. We also visted the civic museum where the paintings and architecture were created to be an intimidation to the entering city officials of other places. Marco, who has been our expert for Assisi and Sienna, pointed out that the church was even more focused on the city than on religion. The 17 district flags are flying right next to the chapel and frescoes of Mary and Jesus. There are small bulletin boards encased with glass that announce deaths, births, and all of the local happenings for the district's people. We ate at a great restaraunt...Marinara pizza (olive oil, marinara sauce, garlic and basil on a thick or thin crust) is my new cheap and safe meal.

Today, I made myself stay in town and relax before our finals tomorrow and our long trip to the North. I went with three other gals and laid out by the pool to study and read under the sun. It was the perfect end to our classes and time in Castiglion Fiorentino. Tonight, we sat in the courtyard for a private concert from one of the Resident Coordinators who used to be a student here. We'll attempt to study for Roman archeology tonight, though no one is really sure what to expect for the final.

Memories in the Making

I wrote for over an hour today about the past weekend in the island of Capri. If the lovely computer had not deleted all of my writing, this page would now include some of the memories that helped me see Gods sovereignty and goodness in a new way. It would have told about how I got to travel with the nine people who just happened to know David Gilbert. We found out about our dear friends death after traveling to Assisi last week and spent several hours praying and weeping into the wee hours of the morning.
Sorrow lasted for the night, as the Word says, but God brought joy and comfort for the group as we left to tour the ancient ruins of Ostia and then headed for the island of Capri. I may have purchased a first class ticket and ended up sitting on the floor next to the toilet because the AC in our train car ran out, but the journey was well worth it. We stayed in a villa with hammocks and a pool nearby. On Saturday, we took a private tour of the islands blue, green and white grottos and lounged around on a private sail boat for three hours. Talk about the life!
That night, we hung out by the pool, played cards, ate at an amazing restaraunt (a cheap and delicious pizza marinara is my new favorite meal), went to a discoteque where it was such a treat to have two chivalrous guys in our group taking care of us girls, and then walked home under the stars along the coast.
On Sunday, we were able to take a chair lift overviewing the island before we left to tour Pompeii. Pompeii was overwhelming and we just decided to rent one audio guide for me to listen to and fill the rest of the group in on the House of the Faun, the Stadium and the theatre. Our train ride, once again, held some interesting adventure as we became part of a outrageous mob that were heading to a soccer game. Lets just say that Italian men have very little respect for girls these days. Our fast dinner stop in the Alamentari for risotto and kinder chocolates left us giddy in Rome and laughing all of the way home to the Center.

Valentina´s Villa

You may remember some references to my friend Valentina that works at the local gelato shop. She speaks amazing English, has a beautiful demeanor and serves us the most gelato for our money. I asked if she would like to hang out sometime, so we went and got a coke last week and started talking about family. We wanted to hang out again, so she came and picked me up today and we went to her house and then to Perugia.

This girl is fascinating. There are so many little things that the we have in common such as loving to cook, travel, and our reactions to situations. I felt like I was living out a movie scene when she took me to her villa where she lives with her grandmother and mom. I had never seen the inside of an Italian home so it was really exciting to drive up into the hills and then enter her huge villa. The inside was decked out in dark wood and had three stories. Her mom, picture perfect, was inside cooking. She took me to Perugia where we walked miles uphill just to grab a granita drink and overlook the city. She amazes me because she didn´t need shopping or touristy stuff to entertain us. She just loves to walk and imagine the lives of the ancient people who once wandered these streets. Valentina, as I came to find out, was a model in Malta and Milan, plays the guitar, is an incredible artist, and made straight A´s in all English taught classes before she even knew the language.

Back at her villa, we wandered around their many acred backyard and ate fresh lemons, blackberries, and sweet peas before wandering through the strawberry fields and looking at the rabbits and chickens. Their family has olive groves that are harvested in November and pressed for fine olive oil to be exported. The women made a fabulous meal for me, huge and delicious. We had a ¨homegrown¨chicken, roasted and baked zuchinni, fresh cucumbers from the garden, tortillas with thyme, a fresh salad with oil and vinegar. Her family did not speak English, but Valentina was kind enough to translate all of my thank yous and ¨this is a dream¨s. She was so sweet to pack me up a bag and carton full of the gelato from the shop. I eagerly brought this back to anxious mouths at the center which devoured the sweets while I told the stories. This day, though it began in frustration and exhaustion, has turned out to be a day that has defined my time in Italy...new experiences, conversations about family and the Lord, and fufilled dreams of life´s simple pleasures.