TIAMLFTA the USA #9: Seeing New Movies in Theaters

Sadly I did not make it to “The Other Guys” before I left the States, and I’m regretting it. Now I’ll have to wait for it to come out on DVD before I see it, unless I feel like watching it dubbed in Italian first. Same with “Eat, Pray, Love,” “A-Team,” and “Toy Story 3” (I know I’m a little late on that one—give me a break, I was in Ireland.) And don’t even remind me that I’m going to be missing the premieres of “The Social Network,” “Freakomonics,” and “Howl.” So much catching up to do come December.

I assume that it will be hard to transition back to standard, comfortable life in the USA when my time abroad is over. So, to help me get psyched about the Kansas January and term papers that await me in the spring I am starting a list of things I am looking forward to Stateside. Look for more “Things I am Most Looking Forward to About the USA,” or “TIAMLFTA the USA” (pronounced “tee-am-left-a”) for short, in the weeks and months to come!

Michelangelo and Faith in Humanity

Today we went to the Accademia Gallery near San Marco Square in Florence to see Michelangelo’s original sculpture of David. He completed this sculpture from a single piece of marble when he was only 23 years old, forever changing the history of art. The statue was erected to signify Florence’s independence as a city-state in 1504, depicting a young, strong, man preparing to attack the giant Goliath. Its equal had never been seen and it was immediately heralded as one of the masterpieces of the Renaissance. When someone asked Michelangelo how he was able to complete such a masterpiece he said that the man was imprisoned in the stone and he merely took away the pieces of stone that did not belong to the man inside. This tells you something about the kind of artist he was.

The people of the Renaissance saw the body as the image of the soul, therefore a beautiful body spoke to the integrity of the soul as well. Knowing this makes the image of David even more beautiful. Michelangelo was able to sculpt this masterpiece because he believed in the dignity of the human person, a dignity that he captured through his beautiful artistic interpretation of a young man.

Let me tell you, it was breathtaking. The detail was mesmerizing and when you consider the fact that it was executed in stone it becomes even more amazing.

But I was also enamored by a series of seemingly unfinished sculptures Michelangelo was working on for the tomb of the Pope, who died sooner than expected, causing the new Pope to drop Michelangelo’s funding before he completed all the sculptures. There were several of these statues, and they are known as the “Slave” series because the men are still imprisoned in the stone. Although Michelangelo could have finished these statues and sold them for a lot of money, he never did. When asked why he said that he couldn’t finish them, not because he lacked the skill, but because he had lost his faith in human dignity. Quick history lesson: Between the time that Michelangelo was 23 and when he was about 45, the artists and leaders in the Renaissance saw themselves being close to gods. Then everything started to fall apart. Michelangelo was starting to lose faith in the intellectual empire that had overreached its bounds. He was no longer able to sculpt the god-like attributes of David because he no longer looked at people the same way.

I found this very interesting because it shows both what humans are capable of, and what they are not. There is a need to recognize our humanity and maintain a sense of God if we are to maintain our belief in dignity. Just something to think about.

Learn more about the unfinished sculptures here or more about David here.

Peace.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="478" caption=""David" by Michelangelo"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="One of Michelangelo's "Slave" sculptures"][/caption]

Artist's Prayer

Perhaps I should have mentioned earlier that I am currently following a program called “The Artist’s Way” during my time here in Italy. For those of you that are unfamiliar with it, the Artist’s Way is a 12 week program to help “blocked creatives” (read: people who like colors and words better than numbers) to tap into their creative powers and fulfill their dreams of doing the creative work they’ve always wanted to. I am on Week 4 of this course currently and I am in love! It is not always fun, because it includes writing three longhand pages every morning, which necessitates waking up earlier than I absolutely HAVE to, which, in college, is never a preferable, but I can already see the growth in my artistic life that is coming from it.

Read more about The Artist’s Way here at their website. I highly recommend this program! Julia Cameron is truly a gifted teacher and an inspirational artist.

I tell you all this to get to a point: One of this week’s exercises is to write an Artist Prayer, which I would like to share with all of you. This is my Artist’s Prayer, and you are welcome to use mine or create your own. Even outside the context of The Artist’s Way, I think this is a worthwhile exercise.

Dear Lord,

Help me to use my creativity to glorify you.

Free me from the doubt and fear that keeps me locked inside my own limitations and perceptions. Lead me to my passions, my mediums and my stories. Help me to see the beauty of your work so that I may also bring beauty to others. Bless me with patience and perseverance in faith, art, and life. Let me be your hands, your eyes, and your mouth in the world. Fill my heart with your love and your peace, despite my perceived successes or failures. Hold my hand as I take my daily leap of faith.

Thy will be done.

Amen.

Peace.

TIAMLFTA the USA #8: My Family

Sap time.

I miss my family. A lot.

If you’ve never done it, it’s hard being an ocean away from the people you love. Often it doesn’t seem different than living a city or and state away, but sometimes it really hits you how far away you really are. I am so thankful that I am here with such good and supportive friends who do their fair share to keep the edge off, but there’s still nothing like a hug from Dad, a good conversation with Mom, and a flying tackle from a little brother.

I assume that it will be hard to transition back to standard, comfortable life in the USA when my time abroad is over. So, to help me get psyched about the Kansas January and term papers that await me in the spring I am starting a list of things I am looking forward to Stateside. Look for more “Things I am Most Looking Forward to About the USA,” or “TIAMLFTA the USA” (pronounced “tee-am-left-a”) for short, in the weeks and months to come!

TIAMLFTA the USA #7: High Heels

I miss my high heels. I miss the ones with sheer red lace uppers, the boot ones that lace up the back, the green ones that are so ridiculously high and unusually colored that I have yet to find a reason to wear them. They are all beautiful, unique, and not currently residing somewhere that I can wear them. So when I hit the States again, despite snow and peril, I will be wearing my high heels, even if it’s just while I’m doing laundry in my pajamas.

I assume that it will be hard to transition back to standard, comfortable life in the USA when my time abroad is over. So, to help me get psyched about the Kansas January and term papers that await me in the spring I am starting a list of things I am looking forward to Stateside. Look for more “Things I am Most Looking Forward to About the USA,” or “TIAMLFTA the USA” (pronounced “tee-am-left-a”) for short, in the weeks and months to come!

TIAMLFTA the USA #6: A Closet

TIAMLFTA the USA #6: A Closet

Living out of a suitcase gets old. Really fast. REALLY fast. From the moment I lugged my bags from the flat in London to the Eurostar, I knew that I had found the number one downside of traveling: lugging all my junk around. And now that I’m finally at my destination in Italy, I realize how very few clothing options I really have. I already can’t wait to get back to my full size closet with all its impractical high heels, plaid shirts, cocktail dresses and teal corduroys (yes, I do have more than one pair). But in the mean time: shopping, anyone?

I assume that it will be hard to transition back to standard, comfortable life in the USA when my time abroad is over. So, to help me get psyched about the Kansas January and term papers that await me in the spring I am starting a list of things I am looking forward to Stateside. Look for more “Things I am Most Looking Forward to About the USA,” or “TIAMLFTA the USA” (pronounced “tee-am-left-a”) for short, in the weeks and months to come!

A Walk in the Hills

Today our Resident Assistant, Pietro, took a group of us on a hike through the woods and hills behind the Villa. It was absolutely beautiful and the views of Florence were wonderful. We walked through an olive grove when the olives are just beginning to ripen, and just behind it we stumbled upon a small chapel that had probably been deserted for at least forty or fifty years. In America we would have an entire tourist industry built around something like that, but here in Italy they’re running out of places to keep all the history straight, so little treasures like the chapel often fall into disrepair. I’m excited to explore these paths more and more as our time at the Villa goes on.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="540" caption="The hike up the hill"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="720" caption="Ripening olives"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="540" caption="The hidden chapel"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="720" caption="The view of Florence--I swear it was more amazing in person :)"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="720" caption="Pietro strolling home ahead of the crowd"][/caption]

The Mediterranean Sea

Not too much writing today, but I had to share some of my pictures from my first trip to the Mediterranean Sea! Our small group of students got up early (on a Saturday!) to catch the train so we could catch some rays on the beach and we had a blast! And, as you will see, it was beautiful. Anywhere that has beach and mountains in the same picture is alright in my book.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="720" caption="The Beach and the Mountains!"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="720" caption="The girls catching some sun by the water"][/caption]

TIAMLFTA the USA #5: Lemonade

TIAMLFTA the USA #5: Lemonade

There must be some close guarded American secret about making lemonade, because they have yet to figure it out—in Ireland, England, France or Italy at least. Lemonade is one of my favorite ways to beat the heat and a glass sounds mighty good right now.

I assume that it will be hard to transition back to standard, comfortable life in the USA when my time abroad is over. So, to help me get psyched about the Kansas January and term papers that await me in the spring I am starting a list of things I am looking forward to Stateside. Look for more “Things I am Most Looking Forward to About the USA,” or “TIAMLFTA the USA” (pronounced “tee-am-left-a”) for short, in the weeks and months to come!

Day 14: Arrival in Italy

I thought the adventure was over when we left Avignon.

Oh how very naïve I remain.

The trip to Florence was supposed to be composed of three trains. Yes, three. The first was about five minutes late, which was enough to get our hearts pounding because we only had thirty minutes between trains at the next station. The second came on time, but once we had boarded we waited over thirty minutes to leave because of an accident and there were numerous delays throughout the trip, which came to a total of about an hour delay. We were scheduled to have an hour and 13 minutes between the second and third train, so we were very nervous this time. But then we get to the station and our train to Florence doesn’t even show up on the departures monitor and it is supposed to leave in seven minutes. It turns out, there was no third train.

Through a series of events related to me several times in French, none of which I understood, our train had been cancelled and we were promised instead a bus that would take us to Florence.

Now John is 6’6” and even though the sleeping berths on trains are cramped, they are also horizontal. But, with no other choice, we dutifully waited for the bus. Keep in mind that this is at 9:30 at night. The bus came at 1:30 AM. Right.

There were literally only tow seats left on the bus and they were in the very back row of five seats. Luckily John got the middle, so he had some legroom, but it was still cramped and hot.

About twelve hours later we finally rolled into Florence. The first thing I did at Villa Morghen, where we are staying for the semester, was take a long, long shower.

Our initial nomadic travels are now over, but never fear! I will continue to post my comings and goings, perhaps not as frequently, but hopefully just as faithfully, as I have for the last two weeks. I am in the process of getting all moved in to my room here at the Villa (Hello no more suitcases!) and I will be happy to report on the first day of school tomorrow! Bon nuit!

(I’m going to have to get out of my habit of speaking French!)

TIAMLFTA the USA #4: Internet in English

I really want to send Google an email saying, please, I spoke English when I logged on to this account in the United States, why does my location suddenly make me bilingual? The French, the Italian… they’re not working so well for me. Even Wikipedia is in French… HELP ME!

I assume that it will be hard to transition back to standard, comfortable life in the USA when my time abroad is over. So, to help me get psyched about the Kansas January and term papers that await me in the spring I am starting a list of things I am looking forward to Stateside. Look for more “Things I am Most Looking Forward to About the USA,” or “TIAMLFTA the USA” (pronounced “tee-am-left-a”) for short, in the weeks and months to come!

Lessons Learned from Traveling Abroad

The semester hasn’t started yet, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t started learning. These first two weeks of traveling have been wonderful, but not without their share of ups and downs, as traveling always is. So here I have complied a list of little life lessons that have really been driven home for me in my time abroad so far:

1. Be open. I tried pigeon at dinner last night. Granted, I hated it, but I tried it. And now I never have to have pigeon again.


2. Maintain your habits. For me, things like having a routine before I go to bed, praying, and doing my journaling for the Artist’s Way helped keep me centered even while we were on the road.


3. Be thrifty, but also realize what is worth spending money on. Some of the tours we took in London and Paris were between 20-30 euro, but they were fast, easy, and stress-free, which becomes increasingly important the more time you spend abroad. I know that I would have regretted not going on them much more than I regret paying the 30 euro in the first place.


4. Being early to a train station/airport/event never hurt anyone. We were two and half hours early for our plane out of Kansas City, so we got bumped up to an earlier flight, making what could have been a very tight connection in Houston totally manageable. In Paris we got to the train station 3 hours early for our trip to Lourdes and that time was perfect for us to decompress and prepare ourselves to be in a new place.


5. Slow down when you need to. We didn’t do much in Montpelier, but it was well worth it to us both to slow down, eat a baguette, catch up on some blogging, and watch “The Ladykillers” in English. Traveling in a foreign country can be overwhelming and a bit scary at times, and it’s okay to take some much-needed refuge in some familiar comforts.


6. Teamwork should not be underestimated. There were many times that I could not have dealt with a situation without John. We each have very different strengths and we were able to put them together and face the obstacles in our way.


7. Take an obnoxious amount of photos. When you’re taking the trip of a lifetime, you want to remember it. But also be sure to spend some time looking out without a camera lens—you want to remember these things yourself too!

AVIGNON Days 11, 12, and 13

AVIGNON Days 11, 12, and 13

We got into Avignon around 6pm and the lodgings proved easy enough to find. We found some dinner, watched a movie in the hotel room and called it a night early because we were still really tired.

The remainder of our time in Avignon has been spent exploring the Palace of the Popes just down the main street of Avignon, relaxing in the palace gardens, taking in the views of the river and the city, and sampling the local cuisine—mostly grab and go baguette ham and cheese sandwiches, which are made with butter in France and are consequently nearly divine, and window shopping in Avignon’s extensive high street. I will miss the baguettes and croissants here, but I’m a carbs lady so no one’s surprised, I’m sure.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="720" caption="Palace of the Popes in Avignon"][/caption]

We also had an excellent meal on Sunday night at a small restaurant with all its tables outside on the square in front of the town Theatre. It was a warm, end-of-summer night and the atmosphere was so perfectly French. We enjoyed a delicious meal and we even got to try pigeon, which I bravely ordered as my first course. Unfortunately, we both hated it. But we can say we’ve tried it now!

Our time in Avignon has been very relaxing and the perfect way to spend our last few days before school starts. We are both ready, however to start the semester and, consequently, the next adventure. Italia, here we come!

MONTPELIER Days 10 and 11

MONTPELIER Days 10 and 11

Today’s is going to be a short post. The short version of the last two days is that we made it to Montpelier in the late afternoon after long train delays and too much time spent in train stations. We were hot and exhausted, but it took us quite awhile to find the hostel because someone *coughmecough* forgot to the look up directions from the train station before we left Lourdes. That night we were both suffered from some intense culture shock, so we decided to have McDonalds (I know, I know, but sometimes it’s nice to have something familiar) for dinner and watch a movie in English for a change of pace.

Saturday morning we stumbled upon an adorable market just down the street and we poked around there and a park just a little bit down the road for most of the morning. In the afternoon we grabbed some gelato and people watched in the square for a while. We had a train to catch to Avignon at 4pm so we made our way to the train station plenty early. Montpelier itself was kind of a wash, and in retrospect we would have rather spent another day in Lourdes. Montpelier looked like a very cute city, but it was mostly food and shopping focused, and not in ways that were in our budget. Oh, well, live and learn.

TIAMLFTA the USA #3: Public Bathrooms

I want to be able to go to the mall and use a bathroom without worrying about having exact change.

In case you haven’t been to Europe, be warned: You must pay to pee.

The fares usually range from 20 to 50 euro cents but still, most require exact change, and if you don’t have it, not restroom for you. When I get back the States, I’m going to go to the mall just to use the bathroom, and feel thoroughly at home.

I assume that it will be hard to transition back to standard, comfortable life in the USA when my time abroad is over. So, to help me get psyched about the Kansas January and term papers that await me in the spring I am starting a list of things I am looking forward to Stateside. Look for more “Things I am Most Looking Forward to About the USA,” or “TIAMLFTA the USA” (pronounced “tee-am-left-a”) for short, in the weeks and months to come!

LOURDES Days 9 and 10

LOURDES Days 9 and 10: The Lourdes Grotto

We got into Lourdes around 7:30am this morning, the 9^th, tired and ready to find our hotel. We figured we wouldn’t be able to check in for a while, but we were pleasantly surprised to find out that we could check in right away!

We had lunch at an adorable café on Grotto Blvd, just a few storefronts down from our hotel. After a walk through the souvenir shops, some gift and water container buying, and an ill-fated run-in with an Internet café (I spoke English, the proprietor spoke French, the computer spoke Italian, you do the math) we made our way down to the Grotto.

At the entrance to the Grotto at Lourdes there is a large stone crucifix surrounded by smaller crosses brought by pilgrimages from all over the world. There was one near the front from a parish I attended once while I was in Dublin!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="Crosses in front of the churches"][/caption]

There are two large churches, one on the ground level and one on top of the that, over the grotto, and numerous smaller churches and chapels around. Most masses were offered in French, Spanish, Italian, and English, but there were small pilgrimages that spoke other languages and had masses said in that language as well.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="The bottom level is one church and the top is another"][/caption]

The highlight of the evening, besides filling all our bottles with the Lourdes spring water, was the candlelit Rosary and procession that happened just after dark. If I were good with numbers perhaps I could estimate how many people there were, but I’m just going to say there were A LOT of people. And they do this, from what we could gather, EVERY NIGHT. It was one of the most amazing spiritual experiences of my life. Most of it was in other languages, but I mumbled generally through the French Hail Mary’s, joined in proudly in the English ones, and sang my heart out on the “Ave Maria” at the end of each decade, because we all knew the same Latin. We weren’t actually in the procession because we missed the memo on getting the candles during the day, but at one point we made our way up the ramp to the front of the higher church were would could see out over all of the procession. It was a beautiful sight.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="453" caption="Lit Candles at Loudes"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="Candle Lit Procession from the in front of the high church"][/caption]

We didn’t have much time in Lourdes on Friday morning, but we did make it back to the Grotto to say a few prayers, refill our water bottles, and take a walk along the river before going back to the hotel for our bags and making our way to the train station.

TIAMLFTA the USA #2: Elevators

Elevators that can fit more than one person. Elevators that don’t cause you to contort in order to fit inside with your luggage. Elevators that have doors that open automatically, not ones that you have to push open manually while still contorted under said luggage. I’m not always a fan of the American “bigger is better” mentality, but when it comes to elevators, I would have to agree.

I assume that it will be hard to transition back to standard, comfortable life in the USA when my time abroad is over. So, to help me get psyched about the Kansas January and term papers that await me in the spring I am starting a list of things I am looking forward to Stateside. Look for more “Things I am Most Looking Forward to About the USA,” or “TIAMLFTA the USA” (pronounced “tee-am-left-a”) for short, in the weeks and months to come!

Une Petite Advice on Travel in Paris

Une Petite Advice on Travel in Paris

1. Avoid the metro. If you need further reason to heed this advice, read the post from yesterday about Versailles.


2. Get a map and walk! Paris is not only very accessible, but beautiful. We certainly had some of our most enjoyable experiences when we walking from place to place and happened to stumble on to some treasure or other: a park, bookstore, or quaint pedestrian avenue.


3. If you don’t want to walk, consider renting a bicycle. We didn’t actually try this, but our friendly Parisian walking guide in the Latin Quarter told us that the rental bikes on the streets were the best way to get around the city in his opinion. It is only one euro for 24 hours, but the catch is that you have to drop off your bike every thirty minutes, but you can exchange it for a new one if you want to. But he also made it a point to mention that thirty minutes of biking can get you quite a long way in Paris, and there are bike rental stations everywhere that make it convenient to use a bike and return it.


4. See the Eiffel Tower at night. Cliché? Perhaps. Worth it? Definitely. The whole tower is illuminated after dark, but for five minutes at the beginning of each hour the tower is also illuminated with twinkling lights. So cool.


5. Go on a free walking tour. This was a surprising discovery. First of all, absolutely do not pay for a walking tour in Paris! There are so many free options! There are several hardcore endurance tours, like the six hour tour of Versailles, or the three hour tour of all of downtown Paris, but there are also 60-90 minute versions, one of which we took advantage of. If you are planning a trip to Paris be sure and look them up before you go. On that note…


6. Explore the Latin Quarter. If you’re a book lover, Shakespeare and Co. on the River Seine is a must see. The Latin Quarter is also just a generally adorable place, and is a wonderful way to experience the lifestyle of Parisians, especially students. It has many wonderful parks, restaurants, and sights, including the University of Paris, where the one and only Saint Thomas Aquinas taught back in the day.


7. Be aware, the water in restaurants is not free. Drinks are almost as expensive as meals in Paris. John and I ordered water at one restaurant and were startled to get the bill and realize we had been charged seven euros for the bottle. It almost would have been cheaper for us both to get wine! We ended up just skipping the drinks at meals entirely for the duration of our stay in Paris, and refilling the water bottles we carried as often as we could.

PARIS Day 8: Versailles

PARIS Day 8: Versailles

It was inevitable. In two weeks of traveling abroad, there was bound to be a day straight from transportation hell. That day was today.

Let me begin by stating: AVOID THE METRO IN PARIS.

For quick, between this station and that station transport, it’s not all bad, but when you are trying to get somewhere far away *coughcoughVersaillescough* it is probably the worst way you could take.

This could easily turn in to a rant, so I will restrain myself. Basically, it was a bad day due to the subway: the tickets, the stairs, the rush hours, the signs, the incomprehensibility of it all. John and I both have intermediate familiarity with the French language, and it wasn’t much help. Our consensus was that the system doesn’t make sense, no matter what language you speak.

We bought round trip tickets to Versailles at Gare du Nord, the train station where the Eurostar comes in. Best case scenerio we had to change trains on the way there at Saint-Michel. Before we even left Gare du Nord one or both of our tickets had stopped working, we ended up on the wrong platform twice, and we had wasted close to an hour. Then, at Saint-Michel, we couldn’t find the right platform, and when we did, the tickets stopped working again. John got through the gate, but I got denied so John opened the door to come back, and a frustrated Parisian, also with a not-working ticket, walked in the “out” door, and we followed. Finally in Versailles, the palace was beautiful, but man, it almost wasn’t worth the hassle.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604" caption="Church at Versailles"][/caption]

The ride back was even worse, but I’ll save you the gory details. Just know that it involved rush hour. 5:30 PM rush hour. It was packed, about 150 degrees Farenheit, and we had to change trains, TWICE. You fill in the blanks.

THEN to top it all off, we still had to get to a different train station for our overnight train to Lourdes, our next destination. This subway ride involved 6 pieces of luggage and about 35 flights of stairs. Again, I’ll let you fill in the blanks.

In defense of the subway, we have used it successful three times before this disastrous incident. But it seems like you ALWAYS have to change trains at least once to get anywhere worthwhile, and the tickets were always a bit tricky to use.

The story does have a happy ending though. We made it to the train station in plenty of time, and we dug down deep enough to laugh about the whole thing. Here’s to a better day tomorrow at Lourdes!