"In your heart, you know it is not the same to live without Him." - Papa Francesco
For me, the theme of this summer, aside from simplicity, has been to live each day with the Lord. I am constantly reminded of the abundance of His love. It is overwhelming even sometimes. I've had so many wonderful opportunities and met so many genuinely good people during my time here in Italy and with each passing difficulty, triumph, or failure, I've been captivated by the sense I have of His presence with me. In a country that is not my own surrounded mostly by people I didn't meet until I arrived here, I don't feel alone. Sure I have my moments occasionally but overall, I am struck by the reality of His being with me. And with each passing day my desire to dance and celebrate the wonders that this God works for me each day in the little things perhaps more so than in the big grows and grows and GROWS. I recently rediscovered a song that expresses this perfectly. It is call "Chasing You" by Jenn Johnson and I'd like to share it with you now.
The upbeat tempo gives a sense of the joyful way I sometimes want to recklessly abandon myself to a goofy, uncoordinated dance when confronted with the generosity of the Lord. And the lyrics...they literally speak for themselves. I do feel that I'm chasing the Lord in many ways. The more He showers me with His Goodness the more I want of it. "The more of You I see, the more it leaves me wanting. You're everything." A life with the Lord is a thrill, a crazy adventure, and each day, by the grace of God, I am learning to surrender more and more of myself to the love story that was always meant to be. I don't even know what else to say. I'm smiling so much right now that I can barely see out of my squinted eyes to type. God, You're everything....and You love me. Wow.
Event Recap
I don't know how much I stressed it in the last blog but the family I live with, the Tortosa's, are fantastic. Please pray for them - their presence blesses so many lives here and has definitely blessed mine. But anyways, with Marina and Bea especially, I have spent much time touring the neighboring towns or helping with various church activities.
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| Don Franco put this in the church bulletin my first week in town. |
"Risotto le Stelle"
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| We love Nutella! |
Sacro Monte
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| The first picture Marina took of me and Bea with my phone turned into 21 pictures because she did not know how to work my iphone |
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| A look at a couple of the centuries old chapels and the view from the top. |
The Hermitage of St. Catherine
Another trip we took landed us at the hermitage of St. Catherine which is a monastery carved out of the side of a mountain. This time we had to travel down to get to the site which is built right on the side of the largest lake in Varese: Lake Maggiore. The place was incredible and still houses cloistered monks who we heard chanting the Liturgy of the Hours. A neat story of the Hermitage is that one of the initial chapels was in danger of being crushed in a rock slide in the early 1800s. However, the rocks were stopped just before the chapel and held in place for about a century before finally falling and not causing any unrepairable damage.
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| Bea, Me, Maurizio (Bea's dad) at St. Catherine's Hermitage |
On Wednesday, July 16, Bea invited me to go to the graduation of some of her classmates. Bea goes to a university in Milan so we headed out on a train Wednesday morning to attend mass at the Duomo and tour the castle before heading to the graduations which were scheduled for the afternoon. The places we saw were beautiful and it was great to see Bea's daily route but best of all was that I got to reunite with friends from other places. Sarai, a good friend from Camerino, is now living in Milan. Seeing her brought back many good memories from my first month in Italy and filled me with a warm feeling of familiarity. Also, an Italian couple that had lived and studied in College Station recently moved back to Milan and I was able to see them as well. This gave me even more of a feeling of home and was exciting because I was able to speak with them in their language instead of mine.
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| Bea and me; Sarai and me; Andrea, me and, Lucia |
Another Mountain...
In an attempt to see all that I can, we take advantage of every sunny day here. So one day Marina, Bea, and I set out to the astronomical observatory to see the beautiful views from such a high altitude. We were only aloud to drive so high and ended up walking quite a bit that day but it was beautifully worth it. It is always nice to be up in the mountains with the fresh air marveling at the handiwork of the Creator. The area we were in was more or less wooded so I was very happy because that is one of my favorite landscapes.
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| Campi dei Fiori |
I think I've mentioned this before but we are very close to Switzerland here so to go is not very difficult. With that said, I haven't actually crossed the border yet, but I've seen it and been very close. Marina and I went on our own one morning after mass. She is such a blessing here. She takes such good care of me as if I were one of her own. I will definitely miss her when I leave.
Davide, Francesca, GianLuca, and Lapo Cavallin
Thursday night Bea and I had supper at her uncle and aunts house. It was such a fun night filled with laughter and 2 cute boys: GianLuca and Lapo (the sons/cousins). We ate risotto and looked through their wedding album. The whole night happened in italian but amazing enough it wasn't that difficult. I understood almost everything now. It's still difficult to speak correctly and even when I have a "perfect" sentence in my head it comes out a bit warped and tongue-twisted. However, when I think less (almost not at all) I - believe it or not - actually speak better. Plus I felt very comfortable in this environment that was without judgement or expectation. I hope to see this family again before I leave. The father, Davide, really wants to meet my family which I would love but neither speak the other's language. We'll see...
Varese
Varese is the Province of the towns in this area meaning it is similar to a county seat. It is neighbors with Induno Olona, where I stay, so it is not too far away. Marina, Bea, and I went there one afternoon to check out the city center and the mall. It reminded me a bit of us Hallettsville folks heading off to Victoria to go shopping. The trip isn't quite as long but the mall gives the same feeling of disappointing but satisfactory. While we were there, Bea and I bought movie tickets because she heard me say that it was one of my favorite past times and that I really wanted to go to the movies in Italy. We watched Maleficent which I actually really liked. The cinematography was awesome and I felt transported into another world. Surprisingly, I understood it quite well and it wasn't as difficult as I had imagined. Unfortunately however I read a review before watching the movie that gave me a critical eye during it. The problem wasn't the movie itself but the message and the questions of the purpose of its release. For those who don't know, (Spoiler Alert) Maleficent is the prequel to Sleeping Beauty and recounts the story behind the villain who bears the same name as the film. The movie takes you through her life and gives reason behind why she becomes the villain of the story. The problem with this is that the movie does more than recount but seemingly justifies evil which brings up a rather interesting topic. In today's world is good and evil black and white like it used it be (when Disney first released Sleeping Beauty) or, as this movie suggests, is even the existence of evil becoming relative? I don't know the answer or the complete dialogue to this but I'd be interested to delve further into it. Maleficent even goes as far as to change the ending of Sleeping Beauty which for me was a bit heart wrenching and, after reading this article, disturbing. To read the article for yourself, click here. 
After the movie, we met up with Alessia to walk the city center and enjoy the shops that stay open extra long on Fridays. I was impressed at the selection and price ranges we found because it was very cute stuff for decently low prices. Unfortunately Bea didn't find the skirt she was looking for but we did find some awesome gelato that we devoured before heading home. I might not be buying much material items but I will definitely be bringing home a few (only...I hope) extra pounds home with me from all of the gelato and sweets I've been eating with Bea. That girl has a sweet tooth if I ever saw one and she sure can make a delicious torta (general word for cake). So blessed to have her! I'm experiencing sisterhood in a sense...and I love it!
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| Yogurt Cold Cake |
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| Stefano, Mattia, Elisa, Giorgia, Dani, and me |
Saturday I went to the Lake with some locals in a catholic co-fraternity. It was a great day of sun (a bit too much for me - ouch), water, guitars, cards, and blaring music with the windows down. On the ride home I was caught up by the beauty of life. Here we were cursing the winding roads with mountains on one side of us and a huge lake (called lake major) on the other. The sun was setting over the water and the wind was gently soothing my sun worn face. The music varied from italian Christian music to movie soundtracks like Mary Poppins and Grease. There was a moment that stopped me in my tracks when I couldn't help but marvel at how loved I was. Here I was sitting with three other girls who were singing at the top of their lungs and laughing with pure joy. And such little was necessary for that result: each other's presence, a little humility, and a lot of love for the Lord. I include this last ingredient because it was the common thread that brought us all together. The others wouldn't have none each other if it weren't for the fraternity that they joined in a desire to journey further with The Lord and I met them all after mass and through our mutual friendship with consecrated women (the Apostles). So, as the sun set over the water, I thought of all of these things and in a moment that I normally would have imagined my life was a movie, I chose to recognize its reality and be overwhelmed by the absolute beauty in that.
And that night at home, Marina and I had a kind of mother daughter moment. With supper finished, we were talking when all of a sudden I felt that something small was poking my foot. Sure enough there was a small piece of glass in the curvature between my toe and foot sole. In the italian that I could muster during my new found pain, I managed to get my point across and Marina immediately jumped into action. She beckoned me to the bathroom where I sat down and grimaced as she fished out the seemingly microscopic cause of my seemingly world-ending pain! And in the split of a second it was all over having not hurt as bad as my mind imagined (which always seems to be the case doesn't it?).
Sundays with the Tortosa's
Every Sunday the paternal grandparents come over for lunch. Grandma cooks delicious food and They bring it over to the house. I had a conversation with Grandpa today. We talked about baseball and how he likes watching American baseball because he can see the passion in the players. He went on to explain how he had played soccer when young and was pretty good but didn't have the intensity and competitiveness of other players. He said he was too nice and therefore if he had wanted to try he wouldn't have made it in the sport in the long run. He then shared that his wife (Grandma) is the more intense type who'll share her opinions and feelings rather then shrug them off. This got us talking about how women notice everything and men almost nothing. He used the example of his wife noticing if his shirt was dirty or if they were missing something when leaving the house. He told me that when a woman gets married she becomes the director. It was really sweet the whole time though because when he wasn't looking me straight in the eye, he was looking lovingly at his wife. It was a beautiful view of marriage. The love that Grandpa had for the reality of the woman he married with all of her intensity and surely sometimes annoying observation skills. (Yes, this conversation happened all in italian.) I will miss seeing that cute couple!
Went to the real Switzerland today! It's only about 15 minutes away (if even) and seems the same because it's italian Switzerland with writing in italian and similar looking buildings but I noticed the difference when we got out of the car and walked downtown. I feel odd saying this but I don't know how else to explain how I felt: Switzerland is strange. The entertainment on the streets and the ridiculous pricing of things at the mall. But it was cool to go even though they didn't even stop us to check my passport.
Then Bea and I watched a movie after supper called, in Italian, Nata per Vincere (Born to Win) which is the movie Raise Your Voice (Hilary Duff) in italian. The singing remained in English however. It was great though because it was not a difficult transition for me from English singing to italian dialogue. Sometimes I didn't even notice it until I got excited at the fact that I didn't notice it! Small victories each day!
I've also noticed that I've been staying up later than is normal for me back in the States but I think I finally know why. When I get tired and head to bed (surely because I spent all day concentrating on speaking and comprehending a different language), I allow myself to listen to a bit of music or YouTube in English. It seems that I get a second when during my first song in English because before I know it an hour or two go by and I'm awake at 1 in the morning. Like tonight. Haha! Oh the reality of life in a foreign country!
Thank you Lord for showering me with Your generosity! Every day I fall more in love and disbelief at the fact that I can be loved this much. (00:57 in my bed - Induno).
Campeggio
Tomorrow I head off to the Alps for 8 days in nature with over 50 kids ranging from the ages of 15-17, adult cooks, a handful of others my age, and a priest. It's going to be epic! All I know for sure is that we have a hike (good weather pending) every other day and mass every day (Whoop!). The camping ground is set up with tents for sleeping and a common area for games and such. Bea won't be with me for the first few days as she has some business to attend to here in Induno. So until she arrives on Saturday, I will be without my "sister-like" friend. As sad as that is, I have met some great people through her that will be there and it will be good for me to stretch my wings a bit and speak for myself more (literally). However, I am already excited for her arrival! With that sad, I must head off to bed because the camping trip starts off early tomorrow morning. But don't worry about me. Thanks to Bea's thorough list-making and particular tastes, I have just about everything that you could think of and more that I could possibly need these next 8 days. Let's just put it this way: the suitcase and hiking pack I am taking with me for this week in the relatively nearby mountains is at least if not over double the amount I brought in total to Italy for my over 2 month long trip across the ocean. Thank goodness this family has a lot of extras and likes sharing! Mountains here I come! Lord show me Your majesty! (23:04 my room - Induno).
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| La vita e' bella! |
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