Time Flies when You're Having Fun

It's been 2 and a half months since my last post, and I'm finally back for another one! I am currently back in Tuscany after spending the greater part of Christmas break in Berlin, Prague, and Vienna. A lot has happened in the past few months, and here is an update of the highlights:

- SPAIN: For our Long Weekend (a 5 day break in the semester), several friends and I went to Spain (first Madrid and then Barcelona). We enjoyed walking around Plaza del Sol, visiting the royal palace, locating artwork we learned about in Humanities class in El Prado Museum, and other sightseeing in Madrid, and in Barcelona we saw Gaudi's famous architecture, walked through Park Guell, saw a Flamenco show, and ate Spanish churros.

- FLORENCE: In the Pepperdine Villa, we had a big Thanksgiving dinner together, and a Christmas dinner too. We all have so much fun together and get along really well. This is a fabulous group to spend the year with, and they are the best family I could ask for while I'm away from my actual family :)

- SWITZERLAND: On Thanksgiving weekend I went to Interlaken and Bern (Switzerland) with my friend Joelle. Interlaken is one of the world's extreme sport capitols, so Joelle went paragliding, and then came with me to watch me go canyon jumping...it was possibly the most frightening and thrilling thing I've ever done. We also went to a Swiss chocolate tasting, and walked around the lakes (Inter_Laken = Between_Lakes). It was probably one of the most naturally beautiful places I have ever been.

- ISCHIA: Almost everyone in our house went to Pompeii and the island of Ischia (a neighbor island of Capri) for an optional field trip the weekend before midterms. All expenses were paid for by the school, and we got several awesome tours of historical landmarks, ancient ruins, cities, etc. But the best part was a whole day spent at Poseidon Thermal Baths on Ischia. The premises included a private Mediterranean beach and 22 thermal springs and pools ranging from 15 to 40 degrees, the use of which are supposed to promote wellness, health, and relaxation. We could not believe this spa day in paradise was just another weekend of school!

- GERMANY: In Berlin, Germany, I stood where the wall used to be, halfway in East Berlin and half in West Berlin. I also saw historical/political monuments such as the Brandenburg Gate, Victory Column, and Reichstag.

- PRAGUE: During Christmas break I visited Prague in the Czech Republic, and walked around the grounds of the Prague Castle: the biggest castle in the world, where the Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors, and presidents of Czechoslovakia and Czech Republic have had their offices. The architecture here in the Castle District was breathtaking, and it was a great atmosphere for the holidays, with lots of Christmas markets, Christmas trees and pretty lights. Oh, and I also had a mini-emergency in Prague...I left my folder in the back of a taxi, and this folder contained ALL of my tickets, information, contact names and numbers, and everything else I needed for the rest of my Christmas break travelling, and we were staying at an apartment in Prague, with no printer...luckily, I was able to pay at a hotel across the street to look up and print out what I needed!

- VIENNA: I spent Christmas this year in Vienna, my first Christmas away from my family. I missed them (and home and friends) SO much, but the homesickness was mitigated by wonderful friends and plenty of Christmas cheer. I was staying at an apartment that one of my friends found with her parents, who are Filipino. We celebrated in the traditional Filipino way, eating a big dinner on Christmas Eve, then eating again and opening gifts (my friend got everyone something small) at midnight. We even had a Christmas tree :) Christmas day we slept, ate, slept some more, and went out and walked around a bit. Though there was no snow, Vienna was still beautiful; we enjoyed the Christmas markets there, as well as the Schonbrunn Palace grounds ("Schonbrunn Palace with its surrounding buildings and the huge park is one of the most significant cultural monuments in Austria. The castle was built to rival French Versailles in Baroque beauty and importance....In earlier times it served as summer residence to various Hapsburg rulers" - aboutvienna.org).

- SCHOOL: I also got my first B. It was a B+ in Humanities...that class and I did not get along very well. This was a pretty big milestone in my life! Also, I was in a media class first semester (called Storytelling Through Media) and my group actually made a short movie, which I got to act in, as well as produce.

- LIFE: I think I have been growing and changing much more than I expected to. From being totally independent in my travel plans and money budgeting, to having to navigate subway lines in a foreign language and locate hostels and apartments in foreign places I have never been before, I have had to become a very different person from the girl who just relies on her parents to do everything on vacations and trips. I was thrown into this situation right when I arrived in Italy, so the person I am now is really all the people in my Villa know me as, and all I know of myself here in this place. I am interested to see how much I notice a difference in myself when I go back to my old environment at home.

I'm sure much more has happened that I can't recall right now, but I've been having fun and time is flying! One semester is already over, and in just over 3 months, I will be leaving this place I have come to love and returning home. I can't wait to be home, but in the meantime I have much more exploring and learning to do! If you stuck with me for this entire post, which was probably way too long and boring at parts, thank you! :)

Fighting the Mafia in Sicily

Finally home (at the Villa) after nine days in Sicily! On Friday, October 7th, I dragged myself out of bed at 4am to pack for a Sicilian excursion. At 6:00, four other students and I were picked up and taken to the airport for our flight to Palermo, Sicily. Before even boarding the plane, the adventures began. When it was my turn to step up to the ticket counter, I was prepared with a passport...but not my passport. It was only then that I found out that another girl (who was in Venice for the weekend) and I had switched passports accidentally a few weeks back. Thankfully, I had a copy of my passport, birth certificate, and drivers license and was able to continue on to Palermo with my group.
In Palermo, the five of us from Pepperdine (along with 2 Italians about our age) took a bus to Corleone, which is where we stayed through Monday, volunteering with an organization called ARCI (Associazione Ricreativa e Culturale Italiana). We were taken to a "cooperativa"in Corleone, which has been tasked with cultivating fields taken from the Mafia in Sicily and producing food which is then sold, then proceeds going back to the general public. Our job was supposed to be helping in the tomato and almond fields, but because of the excessive rain, the plans changed. Several days were spent touring Corleone and learning about the mafia and its history in Sicily. This was probably the first time we experienced true culture shock, because we were thrown out of our Pepperdine bubble and into a house full of Sicilians - Sicilians who smoked indoors, didn't know our language, and seemed to get too close to our personal bubbles for comfort. We also felt like we had very little control over or say in what we were doing - we were at the mercy of our hosts. For example, one day they packed us into the car and drove us through the countryside for an hour, ending up back in Palermo. We got out of the van, followed our driver through the street and up a smoky staircase of a building, and entered the studio of a local tv news station. Without hesitating a moment to explain or ensure our personal comfort, they herded us into a small space behind the anchorman. An anchorman who is wanted by the mafia. Appearing with him wasn't enough though; we were featured throughout the entire newscast, and each read a small script in Italian (we didn't understand it, but hopefully it wasn't anything serious enough to get on the mafia's hit list!).

The one day that we were actually able to work in Corleone was disgusting, to say the least. We were tasked with cleaning out a small seed/wheat-processing 'plant' (a very small 3-room building) complete with a few machines, lots of unidentified pest poop, and both living and dead mice. We did our best, but I really hope they don't use that building for processing food anytime soon.

We had many other unforgettable experiences during our time with Project Serve in Corleone, including post-dinner tango dance lessons with another volunteer worker (29-year-old Mariano, a native of Argentina), indulging in famous Sicilian cannolis, and driving right past the residences of the previous Mafia King's relatives, who housed him and served as exchange and meet-up points for the Mafiosi. On our last night, the mayor of Corleone and the members of the Coopertiva presented all five of us with certificates of Corleone citizenship. We felt very undeserving, but honored.

After what seemed like much longer than 4 days, the five of us headed back to Palermo, where we joyfully reunited with the rest of the Pepperdine group and spent 5 (much more touristy) days seeing the sights in other parts of Sicily. These sights included Mediterranean beaches, old churches, ancient Greek temples, an ancient Greek amphitheater overlooking one of the most beautiful spots in the world (or so they say), and Mt. Etna - the tallest active volcano in Europe (and had a snowball fight while on it).

What a crazy nine days! Classes today were a reality check, but only three more days before the next weekend! Next stop, Lucca :)

Humor in the Sistine Chapel

I learned something interesting (actually, a few things) in my Humanities class today:

As you (should) all know, Michelangelo was tasked by Pope Julius II with painting the ceiling and one wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome; most people look at his masterpiece with awe and respect for his skill and the depicted holiness of his work, but a closer look reveals a more defiant and satirical Michelangelo.

Take a look at the picture below. It is a portrait of Pope Julius II, who instructed Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo had not been a painter up to this point, but a sculptor. When Pope Julius II asked Michelangelo to take on this task, he was very stubborn in not wanting to do it, and, after he gave in and it was all said and done 3 years later, he signed his work with "Michelangelo the Sculptor" to make sure he had the last say and to remind Pope Julius of his unwillingness and of his true vocation as a sculptor. Not only was Michelangelo a bit resentful of being somewhat forced into the Sistine Chapel job, but he was also bitter toward the church for some reason or another. He and a female artist friend of his were a part of a Catholic/Renaissance Reformation movement during his time, even though Catholics were not supposed to have anything to do with the paganism of the Renaissance. For these two reasons combined (his resentment toward Pope Julius II and the church in general), Michelangelo incorporated insults and personal jabs into his painting. As I mentioned above, this picture is of Pope Julius II and seems pretty innocent, but if you look behind him you see two young boy figures. The boy farther back has his arm around the one in the front, and his thumb is slightly sticking out between his index and middle fingers. This is the 16th Century equivalent of giving someone the middle finger...Michelangelo painted an image of a kid flipping off the Pope!

Michelangelo's wall painting is called The Final Judgment. Notice a general theme? Take a close look at the photo below and see if you find this painting appropriate for a holy church building. Michelangelo was gay, which explains all sexual scenes and the images of males kissing that he painted on this wall of the Sistine Chapel. It also explains his acute fascination with the human body (the male body in particular), and his painting of lots of nude male bodies on the wall. There are female bodies too, but they tend to be very muscular and male-like, rather than the more typical softer/slimmer female bodies. Our professor described the painting as "a convention of body builders."

Hopefully I'll make a trip to Rome soon, and see for myself the result of Michelangelo's frustration, defiance, and sexual desires painted for all to see on the walls of this very serious and straitlaced religious building :)

A Close Call in Monterosso

After completing our circa 13 mile hike, we arrived in the 5th city of Monterosso ready to swim and eat dinner. But before finding a place to relax, we decided we should figure out where the ferry was and at which times it departed (we were planning to take the ferry from Monterosso to a city a few miles up the coast, Levanto, where we would then take the train back to Florence). We still had a few hours before our train left from Levanto, but decided to go check out the ferry first thing anyway. A few girls in my group were up ahead, and they rounded a corner, only to rush back moments later yelling at us to run, or we would miss the ferry - the last one for the night was about to leave! We were exhausted but we ran to the ferry and  jumped on right before it took off. Once we arrived in Levanto, we swam in the Mediterranean and had a great sit-down dinner, then went to the train station...but that's a whole different story.......

Back from Cinque!!

My trip was absolutely amazing - blessing upon blessing - everything went smoothly, it was a beautiful day, our group got along great, and we navigated the train station multiple times without getting (completely) lost.

First Travel Weekend: Cinque Terre!

This is the city we are training to tomorrow morning, the southernmost of the 5 'Cinque Terre' cities

Pictures from the Specola

The human head from the side...The little yellow ball-shaped things next to the ear and mouth are salivary glands.



This is the only inaccurate display in the museum: in the 1700s, people believed that, instead of starting out with the embryo and fetus, babies were just tiny but complete human bodies and they simply grew larger while in the uterus:





The body senza skin:




*All pictures taken from Google Images

Anatomy-Paper-Turned-Blog-Post

The Specola, a museum quietly boasting "deep ties with history [and collection pieces that] can be traced back to the Medici Family [...] is known for its collection of wax anatomical models from the 18^th century. It is the oldest scientific Museum of Europe" (https://webmail1.pepperdine.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=df3624466b4f4c1d97f78476ac1e4092&URL=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fLa_Specola), and on Thursday I visited and toured this historical site. I was amazed at the anatomical accuracy and detail that all the figures had, being created back in the 1700s. The Specola is home to a wide-ranging display, including models of birthing cats, egg development and growth inside of chickens, human body parts, miniature 3-D still-shot scenes of people suffering from the Black Plague, and full human cadavers at various phases of dissection. The concept that was most clear and striking to me upon viewing these displays was the intricacy and detail of the body and all of its cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems having to work together for countless crucial systems to function correctly. From nerves firing properly, to the brain responding, and then all the body parts working to carry out the brain’s command, and all the little steps along the way, my belief in God as Sovereign Creator was strongly reinforced.

I was also struck by the realization of how large and superficial (close to the skin) our arteries are, especially in the pelvic area before tucking into the femoral muscles. I always envisioned arteries, veins, and nerves as abstract, microscopic tubes that were just floating around in the body, but these vessels form a massive network, spider-webbing all around, over, and through our bones, muscles and organs. Seeing these huge arteries just lying vulnerably on top of bone was a shock to me and made me think about the frailty of human life – very unlike the contemporary idea of humans as indestructible and totally self-dependent.

A third concept that interested me, similarly to the veins, arteries, and nerves, was that salivary glands are actually fairly large and visible with the naked eye. In general, this was a realization for me that the body is not messy and impossible to comprehend, but rather very orderly and logical. Each of the little parts that I can read about in my textbook, such as a salivary gland, is real and tangible, not an infinitesimal part requiring imagination to visualize, or a name used to explain a theory about what functions happen in the body.

Going along with this idea, I found the partially-dissected foot model particularly interesting. The toes (still covered with skin) seemed to belong to a living human, complete with the sense of personality and character that tend to go along with each person’s hands and feet, and yet, on that same model, the rest of the foot revealed the anatomical, scientific view with the skin cut away, as you might find in a textbook. I have never seen anything like this model, where accurate and detailed science is paired inexpressibly with such a real sense of humanity.

For this same reason, my other favorite was the room with the dioramas of people suffering from the Black Plague. These dioramas contained so much feeling and humanity, a real sense of pain and suffering from an emotional and personal viewpoint, along with the scientific facts of what was occurring. I could have stood there looking at those four displays for hours, which again alerts me to God’s care and complexity in creating us as emotional, spiritual, intellectual, physical beings – all interconnected to make us who we are.

I am not one for museums, and my tolerance for them usually lasts about as long as my patience with shopping (not long at all), but The Specola captured my attention and stands out in my mind as a timelessly thought-provoking eye-opener to the wonder of Creator God.

Psalm 86:17

"Give me a sign of your goodness...for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me."


God's goodness was so apparent today, in the serenity of the quaint and picturesque countryside vineyard, picking grapes under the Tuscan sun; in the smile of new friends and the fellowship with preexisting ones; in the simple pleasure of good food and great conversation; and in the blessing of being able to have this whole experience. 


Even though there are always people here, it's easy to feel lonely and miss friends and family from home, but God has been just as faithful in providing friends and comfort during all the ups and downs that I have already had here as He was at home in Washington. 


The ten days here in Florence so far have been so much fun, but today was an especially blessed day of group bonding and enjoyment of God's creation and the company of one another. We left around 8:30 this morning and drove 30ish minutes out to the countryside, to a small family-owned vineyard. There was no big factory or hired workers, just a home with a garage-sized building that houses the 'wine-processor'/other equipment. We walked the rows of grapes and picked (and ate) for a few hours, and then were able to watch the grapes be de-stemmed, squeezed, and the juice flow through a smallish hose right across the patio to the 'garage/shed' where it is then put into barrels and aged for 15 years. We stayed there until the late afternoon, and then a group of us went out for pizza at a local place (followed by gelato, naturally), and went for a walk - around 10:00pm it was finally cool enough to walk outside without breaking a sweat :)

Travel plans were made today as well, and I am excited for my upcoming trips: Cinque Terre next weekend, the Amalfi Coast the weekend after that, followed by a weekend in Venice. The next weekend is the 'Educational Field Trip' to Sicily, then I'm going to London with a group of people, and then the whole house goes to Pompeii for an optional field trip (all expenses paid). I love Europe!!!!

Wait...We're Here for School??

Well, today was a shock to the system as we began our first day of class this morning (after spending the past five days touring Italy and eating gelato). This whole week is "Intensive Italian," meaning that we spend the week reviewing/re-learning all the Italian we should know. We sit in the classroom for 2 hours in the morning, then go out into Florence for a 2 hour "Uscita" ('going out') which is hands-on learning (such as being made to ask Italian strangers for directions, order food in Italian, navigate through a libreria [bookstore] and find certain books, etc.), and end the school day with 2 more hours in the classroom. This is the routine Monday through Friday this week, and the regular class schedule begins next Monday. Nothing too exciting happened today, except that I got to meet up with Becca Thompson (who is studying in Italy for a semester) this morning and go for a run with her through a park in Florence. I wish I had more to write about so that I could procrastinate doing homework a while longer, but unfortunately I do not...ciao!

Photos from Fiesole, Siena, and San Gimignano

 A group of us girls at Fiesole, next to a cute little restaurant

The huge cathedral in Siena

St. Catherine's cathedral in Siena, showing the Contrade flags next to holy relics

Italian pizza!

Fiesole, Siena, and San Gimignano

The past few days have been pretty busy with trips to visit different towns and cities nearby. Yesterday we went to Fiesole, which is an old Etruscan city (Etruscans were pre-Roman Empire). We walked through a little museum and then went up to a church which used to be a monastery.
Today we first visited Siena and then went to San Gimignano. Both were similar with winding streets, small shops, and beautiful old buildings. Sienna is famous for its horse race (The Palio di Siena) held twice yearly, in July and August. Each of the horses represent one of the seventeen Contrades (or city wards) in Siena. The Contrade of the winning horse (in August) celebrates their victory all year until the next race, because the race is a huge source of pride. When we visited a cathedral in Siena we noticed the flags of the different Contrades lining the walls, hanging next to an image of Jesus on the cross and various relics - the importance of Roman Catholicism coupled with State in Italy is pretty clear! We then moved on to San Gimignano and captured some more beautiful shots of old Italian cityscape, and, most importantly, tried our first Italian pizza! Sooo good!!!
Tonight we are working on planning our trip to Cinque Terre on our first weekend of free travel....stress levels are running high...wish me luck!!

Arrivo in Firenze, Italia

Ciao tutti! Above is a picture taken last night of the sun setting over the Arno River. So far our time in Florence has been spent taking bus and walking tours, moving into our rooms, and emitting gallons of sweat - it is SO hot and humid here! Tonight we walked to get gelato, see the train station (so confusing!) and visit the Duomo di Firenze. Some interesting facts about life here: pedestrians do not have the right-of-way....street signs are posted on the sides of buildings rather than directly on the street corner....gelato is delicious! More to come soon, tutto il mio amore!