Final day of class! ... or: photos from creepy things

Tomorrow is a holiday here in Italy - national day off work, I think - so today was the last class of the semester. I like not having to have Thursday classes because I've got four of them on that day! OK, I admit, I'm running out of steam on this whole school thing!

Yesterday we went to the Protestant Cemetery for my class with Professor Russell. Photos:







Virginia and I had to document the shots also:





In other news, I've found places to stay in Salzburg and Prague next week. I'll take 2 finals on Saturday and 2 on Tuesday and hop a plane out of here Wednesday morning to fly to London. Why London? you ask. Well, my friends, this is how the life of a ryanair-buget-student works! Don't you know London is on the way from Italy to Salzburg?

So what are accomodations for a on ryanair-budgets? If you guessed hostels, you are the weakest link, goodbye. Nope, the new addition to student travels is a website called "couchsurfing.com" For the record, could we keep this post away from my Mom until after I return? This might stretch the limits of her worry capacity!

After hearing about couchsurfing.com from several people recounting positive experiences, I've decided to give it a whirl. I composed a profile (www.couchsurfing.com/dani012988) and started searching. After successful contact with Karin in Salzburg (she is in her 30s with a son and daughter), I arranged to stay with her for 2 nights. Two other girls will be couch surfing at the same time, so I'll have loads of built-in friends! I found Ryan and Sarah, who are expats in Prague. Ryan's a writer, Sarah works for a glass company. They sound like a cool couple - they adopted a kitty they found in a puddle. Sarah offered to send her Mom's phone number so my Mom could call and get background info... Reminiscent of Jr. High sleepovers, as Sarah put it! While I was at it, I found a couple in Venice for Meg and me to stay with while we're backpacking around. Tom is a vegan and likes to stay up late. He does IT work and consulting. Azzurra is a fashion designer, loves meat, and goes to bed early. They speak a mixture of Russian and Italian in their home, but both are fluent in English too. I'm looking forward to getting to meet all these people! I pray that I'll be a blessing somehow in their life.

After being up until 4:30AM writing a paper last night (I am NOT an all-nighter kind of person!), I slept for 3 hours on my own very-comfortable couch this afternoon. I suppose I should head to bed now, since it's actually quite late. I wonder how that happened? Ahh well... I can sleep easily enough!

Life to-do list

I have a list (somewhere) of all the things I want to do in life. Well, OK, truth be told, I have multiple lists in multiple locations, none of which I can remember at the moment, with things I'd like to do or at least consider doing. My friend Vera encouraged me to write up my list several years ago. My friend Vera is a pretty neat-o lady, so I followed her advice. I wish I was more organized like her. (btw: is it "advice" or "advise"? I NEVER remember! But I hope that I have reason to hope because at one point I never could get "where" and "were" straight, or "their" and "there" and I think I've gotten those ironed out...)

Two things on my life to-do list, or at least two things that SHOULD have been on the list, I've accomplished since my last blog.

1) I gave someone (not a cow!) a shot. Virgina the architect with a broken ankle is on blood thinner. At least I think it was blood thinner, I didn't ask. I just stabbed! I'm on what is loosely referred to as "Virginia duty" this weekend... Meaning her roommates aren't home, so I'm available to do things like administer shots (!!) and take out the trash (or deligate that, at least) and make sure nothing terrible happens, to the best of my ability. For the most part, Virginia's exceptionally well-adept at caring for herself, despite that her bathroom is upstairs in a loft... She's got the scooting up and down the stairs on her bum mastered to an art form.

The second life to-do list accomplishment was what I would like to refer to as "spontaneous adventures" or "overcoming my incessant ability to try to plan everything" (well, OK, I'm not a TOTAL planner... but I do like to!) or, to be more specific, "go take an adventure." 2) Life to-do list that is now checked of: "Adventuring in Italy," aka: "Today I left my house without a sweater."

Seeing that yesterday was a holiday, and seeing that I'd worked long and hard hours on schoolwork and scholarships all week, and seeing how last weekend I don't think I had an ounce of free time other than lunch breaks when I checked my facebook, I took the day "off" yesterday. When I got up, without my alarm ringing, I spent several minutes thinking about what I wanted to do with my day. I finally decided against shopping or going on a class field trip, and opted instead to hop a bus up to the train station and buy a ticket for the first town in the provence of Roma that looked interesting. I'd planned to do this alone, but I was able to talk Ellen into going with me. Sometimes it's a lot more fun to do these adventuresome things with someone, so I was glad! When we got to Termini we decided on going to Ladispoli, which is a seaside town about 30 minutes or so outside of Rome. We pretty much spent the whole afternoon laying on the beach hoping to not get hit by soccer balls. It was really nice. Here's proof:





We almost missed our train because the platform was way at the back of the station. I decided I've been too lax in my running after sprinting through the station:




Photos from the International Student Government Conference last weekend:

My friend Kristen at a late-night meeting one of the nights last week.


Our president Eva at the same meeting. Yes, we know she's beautiful. She's from Bulgaria and was a model, she flies off to Paris on business every now and then. Usually she brings us chocolate or something good back.


The fabulous sign that Marco worked on. In front is Davide, in pink, and Gianluca. Standing is Alessandro, Anna, Marco, and moi.


Three of the stu gov ladies: Eva (Prez) on the left, Sonia (PR person) in the center, and Federica (Secretary) on the right, getting ready to have dinner with all the conference folks



The other night we had a big thunder and lightening storm (my fav!) and Ellen and Clara and I went out hula hooping in the piazza in the downpour until it started to hail on us.








The Arkansas students finished up this week, so we've been saying goodbye. Since our friend Taina works at Hard Rock Cafe, we went for dinner. My nachos were amazing!




Post-dinner Star Wars posing moment


And lastly, some randoms:

"Good morning sunshine!"


"Anticipation"

Holiday!

It's been so long since I posted (a week! GASP!) that I actually had to go back and read the last couple entries to catch up on what I've caught YOU up on, and what I still need to relate to you. Unfortunately, I got distracted and read a lot of entries, and now I don't have a lot of ambition to write a lot... sorry.

I know I promised pictures, but I'm going to tell you up front that I simply can't be bothered tonight to upload any. You'll have to wait!

This week has been Loooooooong. The conference last weekend was fun, but also a lot of work. I took notes for the whole conference to be sent out to various people who couldn't make it to the conference. I ended up typing transcription-style, which resulted in about 35 pages of typed notes over the weekend. I type fast, thank goodness!

The papers due this week happened. They always do. I haven't failed to turn a paper in on time yet, and I wasn't about to let it happen this time. Of course, I was up until 4AM last night, first writing an analysis of two of T.S. Eliot's poems, and then working on a scholarship application. Now that it's Thursday night, and tomorrow is a holiday on top of just being a Friday (Italy's independence day from Nazi control), I can breath before I commence writing my last two (!!!!) papers of the semester.

Summer is FAST approaching, and with it all the craziness that having no regular schedule will develop. Ahh well, it's a beautiful thing! Flexibility shows a good mental state of health, I hear.

Yeah, I'm sure I could write more, but my lack of sufficient sleep is causing my brain to shut down in a dreadful way. I even wrote a paragraph in one of my classes today about what it feels like to be me and be tired, because I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open... Sad. Thank goodness for Italian coffee!

Peace out!

Today I felt Roman...

... with my arms wrapped around the waist of a guy named Gianluca and zipping through the cobblestone streets of Trestevere with the wind in my face, a helmet squashing my hair, and a motorino buzzing under my seat. That's right, folks, today I took my FIRST motorino ride EVER. Such a Roman benchmark!!! I could quite easily become addicted!

I wore heels for the first time since Christmas (My friend Adam would be proud...), my head is throbbing from the pins that have been sticking into it all day, and laying propped against pillows in bed hasn't felt so wonderful in... so long ago that I don't remember!

The window is open near my head, and I'm reminded again of the seperate households with people whose lives bump into each other through the courtyard our apartments share. I can hear a piano tinking from someplace down below me, a conversation happening above me, and doves cooing across the way in their cage. It's somehow inspiring and thrilling and energizing to think of all the lives that are being lived, this very moment in history, that surround me. Like bubbles, we all kind of bump around and into each other. It's facinating!

I'm going to finish my paper before I sleep, so I'm off the internet for the night. Pictures to come after the International Student Government Conference ends this weekend... and maybe after I finish my 3 papers due next week! :-)

I've been browsing hostelworld.com

FYI, my deposit has been paid for the Sahara trekking adventure I will be undergoing with my sis and 2 friends, along with two nights in hostels in Marrakesh Morocco. I found it slightly amusing that the yahoo homepage listed Morocco as a good place to consider going to on vacation, due to the Dirham/Dollar conversion rate... better than the Euro/Dollar conversion rate anyhow!

The International Student Government Conference is happening this weekend, which has included 2 evening meetings already this week in preparation, and tomorrow we'll have a lunch meeting and another evening meeting. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be completely consumed with the conference it looks like, which is particularly frustrating to me as I've got about 25 pages worth of papers to write before next Thursday. I'm 5 pages in on one paper, at least, hoping to have it finished up before the weekend. Wish me luck! I seem to have a ReALLLLLLY hard time concentrating on paper brainstorming and writing these days, and my reading is falling behind too... Ahh, the trials of spring!

I pulled out my calculator for this one

So begins another week. 23 days until the end of my finals. 548 hours until I'm homework free (for about 2 seconds, at which point I'll begin thinking about my thesis and the books I need to read in preparation for next fall semester). 32,880 minutes until I finish 450 minutes of intensive finals essay writing, performed in 150 minute intervals with two 30 minute breaks. If I think too much about all the things I need to accomplish in the next 3 1/2 weeks, I just get well stressed! (Editor's Note: Such uses of "well" indicate my conscious attempt to incorporate an accent and manner of speaking into my everyday use OTHER than the southern drawl I've UNconsciously absorbed!)

Toooooooooo many papers to write to keep blogging... Check out Proverbs 18:15.

Caress of Spring

Hi friends,

I know, I know, I haven't been posting regularly. I am not asking for you to forgive me, though, because a) it's been busy, b) I don't feel like I should HAVE to blog daily, and c) I actually feel better about NOT blogging daily. See, I can only do so many things EVERY day, in fact, I'm not very good at doing more than about 5 things on a consistent basis... things like "brush your teeth," "wash your face," "drink water," "read the Bible," "respond to emails," (etc) before I just loose track of all of it! So, you see, in my lack-of-blogging, I've been better at journaling, spending quality time in the Word, and responding to emails. It's a trade off, I realize, and there must be a balance somewhere... I'm just not a very balance-y kind of person! :-)

Anyhow, spring has come to Rome! I can smell spring. I know that sounds really weird, but there has always been a day each year when I wake up, walk outside, and I SMELL spring. It's a delicate, floral, fresh smell. Here it's a little tempered with the ever-present smells of exhaust and basil and garlic, but it's still there. Ahhh, how I love that smell! This afternoon I walked through narrow, maze-like streets over the helter-skelter cobblestones, just breathing in deeply... I hope heaven smells like spring and cut grass! But without making anyone sniffly or sneezy...

Ellen and I walked to Villa Borghese on Sunday night. It was fairly late, but we were together and there were still a couple people out walking dogs or strolling hand-in-hand. There is a lovely galleria in Villa Borghese (which is like a big park just north of the central historical part of Rome), housing priceless art stuff I haven't seen yet. In front of the house/mansion thing is a wide expanse of cut grass. We layed on the grass in the dark, looking up at the big dipper (they were the only stars I could see...), listening to the night sounds of the city... cars driving, birds and chirpy things in the bushes and trees, and semi-quiet. There's something magical about being in a big park in the middle of the city at nighttime. It's like being at the crux of nature and technology.

The evenings are warm here now. I walked home from my friend Virginia's house (NEWS FLASH: I got a call tonight informing me that Virginia had broken her ankle at the Cinque Terre this evening... I'll keep you updated!) with just my long-sleeve t-shirt and running slickees on... And it was downright MuGgY in the afternoon. I forgot how hot Rome can be - and we're just getting started!

It's becoming more and more difficult to focus on school with the wind-down of the year. Final papers, tests, and plans are coming together... Or need to be! I've been writing scholarship essays, filling out internship applications, catching up on novel theory reading for a presentation I gave yesterday, brainstorming paper topics, buying plane tickets, researching hostels, and searching for apartments. It's a crazy time! Pray for my fragmented brain - I have a hard time keeping track of details!

Here's some photos:

Future cafeteria for JCU



Ellen's lunch at the newly-discovered cafe


Funny faces with Ev

Sweetness and Sorrow of Hospitality

Joy and Nate made quite the positive impression in Rome this week. Of course, they were a huge hit for me, but being the myspace stalker I am, I'd figured as much! However, they also topped the charts in the week of Cass Trumbo, Taylor Wood, and Virigina Boyd, I believe. We've had multiple meals and hang-out time together. Ever gracious and willing to put up with hanger-on, Joy and Nate were super cool with all of it... including multiple nights to the wee and not-so-wee morning hours, the fact that their bedroom could also be called grand central train station of "The Refuge Camp" of my apartment, and unpredictability to the max! Nate was saying in the bus on the way to the train station that he felt like he and Joy had gotten the chance to enter into my life over the couple days they were here. I'm afraid it was a bit of a HECTIC part of my life! But, from my position, an incredibly fun part of life too!

(Editor's Note: Mrs. Williams, it was my PLEASURE to have Nate and Joy here this week! It's been a huge blessing, and one of the highlights of this semester! What a wonderful daughter and son-in-law you have - thanks for sharing them!)

After only seeing the Yettons late at night on Thursday, it was fun to spend the whole day with them yesterday again. We had one of those much-needed lazy days... After being up until 3:30 or so, we slept in and made "fried mush" for breakfast, which was really lunch! Shopping, more wandering around, linguini with a garlic clam sauce on the Spanish steps, we finished the day planning to attend the Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio concert at Capitoline hill. (I've added their myspace page as a link to the right - check 'em out!) Due to unfortunate circumstances, we only caught the last couple songs, but they were awesome!

It was another late night of visiting, this time also watching a movie. I, unfortunately, heard the song I wanted to hear in the movie and decided Virginia's lap was as good a place as any to sleep on! I got to hear it again when I woke up with the credits rolling.

This morning we had crepes to top off the last of Nate and Joy's visit, then we all escorted them to the train station. I hate goodbyes (Juliet says, "Parting is such sweet sorrow" and frankly, I don't even have to be in love to agree!). The whole I-know-I'm-going-to-have-to-say-goodbye part is the worst, though. Once you actually say it, you can walk away and go be sad for a bit, though! As it is, I'm sitting in my all-too-quiet apartment (I don't even hear the opera recording/guy going from my open window), thinking of all the things I probably should be doing rather than blogging, and mentally deciding to take a nap instead... Dangerous!

Here's a couple photos:


Clara's Dad, Charlie, and Nate on Thursday night at our wine-tasting/live-music party.



Hilary, me, and Virginia enjoyed the festivities



Listening to Charlie's coffee song



Joy's acoustic performance of "Genesis"



Sitting on the Spanish Steps - take one...




Sitting on the Spanish Steps - take two!



illy coffee and Joy: a sure recipe for laughter!



Amanda and me freezing out tootsies off pre-concert



Craziness incarnation!




Video footage from the concert:
A video of the concert we went to last night!

"Hey, let's roam in Rome!"

I love living in Rome! You get to be a tourist in your home city while making fun of tourists and knowing you look just as touristy as they do... It's a very interesting way of life!

First, I'd like to take a moment and mention that running in Rome as the sun is coming up and flooding the city with it's amber glow is quite delightful. I highly recommend it. At least once in your life, because I don't know if it'll ever happen in my life again!

Alright, as for the rest of my day, I met my soon-to-become new friends Nate and Joy at the train station this morning, and hauled them home. I'm hoping that a couple days of hanging out with them will help me become a better light-packer. You wouldn't have thought they're traveling all over Europe for 6 weeks - they look like they're taking a walk in the park. I was amazed!

I had to peace out after some good talk-time and be a responsible student and head to class. Afterwards, though, we did as Nate suggested and roamed around Rome a bit. We did what has become "the loop" - Tiber, to Circo Massimo, to the Colosseum, to the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument, to Santa Maria in something A, to the Pantheon, to the Trevi fountain. It's been a BLAST having them here! They're like cool older sibling-friends... And they're both huggers! I love being around people who are touch-y!

Here's some pictures from our day:


Joy and Clara bond over hula hooping


Nate needed food... and not just any food, PIZZA!


Squeezed into the self-portrait


Illy coffee! Whoo-hoo


Pantheon floor shot


Funny moment at the Fonta de Trevi


Della Palma Gelato

Spring break!!!

Oh friends, oh friends! What a week! I think it was quite possibly the best spring break week so far. I hadn't realized how much I was CRAVING some extended amounts of time with other Jesus-freaks. Or, maybe I realized I was craving it, but didn't realize how GREAT it was going to be to experience it in reality!

Here's some photos! Don't laugh at the fact that practically all of them have ME in them... I had to fulfill my "Look, I've been here: here's proof!" urges! :-)

Stop # 1 was Belfast, Northern Ireland

So what do 20-something guys do on a Friday night in Northern Ireland? Go to the amusements and play DDR, of course!



I think spring has come to Belfast! Although you never would have guessed it by the weather because it was FREEEEEEEEZing!



A government building designed by an OCD architect. 6 floors and 6 columns for the 6 regions of N. Ireland. 365 feet long and 365 windows for 365 days of the year.



70 foot tall peace-keeping fence between Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods



Tourist photo by the Giant's Causeway sign. Google it - it was interesting!



Sitting on the basalt columns at the Giant's Causeway



With my beautiful and gracious host, Gail, on the beach by Port Stuart



Stop # 2(a): London, England

I flew into London on Easter Sunday with plans to meet my friend Tom. It was SNOWING as I landed. But despite the cold weather, it was still a fun day and it was actually pretty sunny once the snow stopped!


No stop in London is complete without the funky-perspective photos by Big Ben!



By the Aslan lions in Trafalgar square.



The gate to China-town. We bought yam-pastries at a shop. It was purple and... interesting.



Speakers corner - spreading the love, man! Stuart was a pretty cool guy.



This bookshop made us think of our friend Nate Watkins. I miss him. I think Tom misses him too. We wanted a photo to express our love for him.



At "the Tate" - this was my "help! Earthquake!" face...



Feeling pretty cool on the Millenium Bridge. nIIIIce!



Tube escalator shot... of course!



Stop #2(b): Leicester, England (pronounced "Less-ter"... oh yes, I found that out the hard way!)

Tom told me he REALLY didn't mind shopping at charity shops... despite the fact that he looked desperately bored the whole time! So he amused himself by looking for interesting shirts... This one caught his eye because his girlfriend, Caitlyn, is a Cali girl!



Trying to pull off an "American" look... With a European slant!


Stop #3: Aix-en-Provence, France

I flew into Marseille and caught a late night bus to Aix and met my friend Brittany. Brittany and her Mom came and stayed at my apartment last month. We had a pretty chill day - I got to sleep in, which was much needed, and then we did a little wandering around and an art project. I have a lovely notebook that was FUN to create... I'd forgotten how enjoyable it is to just work on little crafty projects!


Ritzy Aix with the lovely Brittany modeling French coolness



Another funny sunglasses self-portrait.



Stop #4: La Granja, Spain. North of Madrid. I visited family friends who work at a camp. Their wood stove and the smell of wood smoke was one of my favorite details of the trip! We spent half a day in Segovia, checking out the castle and the town in general.



The castle at Segovia



Segovia Cathedral and castle in the distance. Lovely!



Segovia has beautiful designs and patterns on the walls. I have a whole ton of pictures of my favorite ones... I'll spare you the pain of looking at all of them, though!



With the page-boy at the Castle... What a handsome lad!



Moorish influence at the castle.



Formal gardens at the King's palace in La Granja.



Taylor and Lena Yost, the last 2 of the Yost kids at home. It was fun to have "siblings" for two days!


And that is the quick photo tour of my trip! Many wonderful conversations over tea or coffee. Several cooking adventures and driving adventures and hiking adventures and lots of hugs and laughs and music. I'm so, so, SO thankful for each of the individuals that hosted me and all of the people that I came into contact with... I don't think I can accurately describe how much I was blessed by the time they spent with me. And all the people that I sort of just "bumped into," from Northern Ireland to Spain, no matter how short or long our time together was, I felt the love of Jesus through EACH person in so many different ways. It really was precious to me to sit back and see how God just blessed my socks off all week! Thank you!!!

As far as verses, I've been reading in Philippians the past couple nights. Just in the opening part, 1:3, I was struck by a new realization. The NLT says "May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace." For some reason I'd never really connected the fact that peace - TRUE peace - comes directly from God. It isn't man-made, and it isn't a by-product of technology or science or intelligence. The only way we as individuals can experience peace, and in turn whole communities, regions, and nations experience peace, is when God gives it. In my journal I wrote that I don't think it's a "mandatory" gift from God either. Granted, those who know their future is secure because of what Jesus did DO experience a type of peace all the time... but having peace on a larger scale seems like something that God expressely gives, not just because it's a lack of war. Isn't it our NATURE, after all, as a fallen race, to fight? It comes with the territory. So peace on a large scale - among people in a nation or among several nations, or among a good portion of the world - is actually quite outstanding! God is working in so many ways, even just blessing us with a lack of strife right outside our front door every morning.

Also on this line was reminder that the peace I felt on my trip doesn't have to be limited to being in the UK or France or Spain. It is wherever I am, because if I'm there, God is there. That's been a comforting thought!

OK, I have company coming in tomorrow (Yay!) so I'm off to bed. Good night!