After eight whole months, I am back. Back to the Burgh.
To everyone out there, I am SO EXCITED to be back in Pittsburgh. Like, so excited. There are freshman to be poured into and Burghs to be led and relationships to deepen and friends to spend time with and a beautiful, amazing, perfect city to live in. It has been wonderful to be back in the city, to walk the streets, to breathe in the (not so) fresh city air. I’m almost completely settled in to my new apartment in Highland Park, with my amazing housemate Cici, and it has been a joy to experience a slice of adult life with her for the past week. And by adult life, I mean buying our own kitchen curtains and calling our rental company because we find out our laundry machine doesn’t actually function… it’s been quite an adventure so far. I finally have a familiar routine (waking up at 7am every day and driving 24 minutes to campus, what a commute), which has been helpful! It has been a challenging transition, though, without a doubt. It’s difficult to seamlessly transition anywhere after being gone for such a long time, and it has proven to be quite an emotional undertaking. It seems like I’ve been moving from place to place to place too much over the past year. Since the end of last fall semester, I have only stayed in one place for three months or less. What made this bearable, though, is that I never stopped following Christ. The supporting details of my life have been changing often, but my identity in Christ has stayed the same. And I’m excited to really live that out this fall, by serving those around me and those within the h2o community.
Today marks the beginning of the second week of classes, and I’m excited for this semester’s challenge! It is a little sad to be back in a lecture hall after my last classroom was the streets of Rome. But, I’ll survive. I’m taking three speech courses, which is absolutely amazing, considering my last course load was completely unrelated to my major! My classes this semester are Intro to Audiology, Anatomy & Physiology of Speech & Hearing, Phonetics, Global Sociology, Biostatistics II, and Becoming Global Citizens. It should be a fun semester!
So anyway, I miss Silver Bay. I miss the fresh air, the mountaintop views, and the crystal clear lake. Processing this past summer has not come easy to me, for the same reason that’s challenging my transition back to Duquesne. I can remember one instance, towards the end of the summer, where I noticed my mindset changing from wanting to be back, to not wanting to leave. I was sitting in the second to last LT service, listening to my own pastor from my own church. It was what I was longing for, to be back in Pittsburgh! It was what I wanted, to leave this place of stress and trials, to be back in the place where I really felt I would thrive again. But as I sat, and as I glanced around the room, at the the people I have come to love, I realized something.
I am going to miss these people.
I am going to miss this place.
I am going to miss this summer.
I was shocked to find myself suddenly not wanting to leave. No doubt the result of time spent in prayer, I finally felt surrounded by love, friends, and one of the most beautiful communities I’ve ever experienced. What I finally felt was the reason I came back after last summer, the community. My experience became less about me and my struggles I was going through, and became us. I left so many friends and memories behind, and it makes me sad that we had to part ways. It’s difficult to say goodbye to friends who live so far away. It is a blessing, though, to have such great friends that make the goodbyes so much harder! And I was certainly blessed to bring back so many amazing friends from the summer back with me to Pittsburgh. We had such a great Pitt/Duq crew! This crew has also got me doubly excited to see God’s plans for this this fall and our church unravel.
Our church.
We had our first party and kickoff service this past weekend, and I was blown away by how many new faces I saw and how many new freshman I was able to meet. I even met a Pitt freshman I wrote a letter to, inviting him to join h2o! I ask that you join me in prayer, that these new faces would be encourage to come back, week after week. I’m also praying that our church community would receive them well, just as I was received so well back on my first Sunday of college. We had our first Schenley Burgh meeting this past Thursday, and 27 people showed up! We did not have nearly enough chairs, but praise the Lord! And yesterday, Labor Day, we gathered in Moraine State Park for a day of sun, swimming, and fellowship. A huge group of people came, and it was an awesome to spend the first day off with the h2o family.
So, back to this summer.
Even through the thick of my worst days at the Bay, I was still encouraged by the way God was moving in my life. Whether it was through a rainbow, through my friends, or another way He revealed Himself to me, He was always there. Even when I wanted nothing but to go back home, to go back to Pittsburgh, to be in my h2o community again, God reminded me that I was there for a purpose. He provided opportunities to serve and grow, and people to serve and love. I’m still processing what this summer means for my life back here, but I will tell you one thing: I learned so much this summer. About myself, about who God is, about what community is, and so much else. Looking back, I realized that he was working in my life even more that I every could have known! This summer God really started working in my heart and breaking down walls surrounding my independence. One phrase echoed in my mind for the better part of this summer: vulnerability breeds community. And God provided a beautiful, loving community for me in which to be vulnerable. For that, I am thankful.
(A few pics from the last weeks of summer.)
Below is the highlight video from this summer, so you can see all the super cool people I spent my summer with 🙂
Things are good. I really love the Bay, I really love my friends, and I have felt loved back. And it is a good feeling! It’s been great to live loved for the past few weeks, even though some things have been a bit stressful. To be truthful, stress is a very large part of this summer. I have been challenged as a student, as a camp counselor, as a follower of Christ, and generally as an existing person. I am typically not a stressed person, and when I do get stressed, I spiral. So this summer has felt like one giant calamity and I am still stressed BUT. But, you guys, God is still good. Things are still good.
I will not dwell on the things that have caused some discomfort. I will continue to be challenged, and I will continue to rely on God for strength in these situations. The theme of this summer is being rooted, and through these stresses I have found myself learning much more about what it means to be rooted in God’s love. It is one thing to acknowledge His perfect and unfailing love, but it is an entirely different thing to truly grasp it. Ephesians 3 talks about Paul’s prayer about just this: the idea of being rooted in His love rather than just knowing it.
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
The past few weeks alone have been full of reflection, and I’m continually realizing how many things I try to find strength in that aren’t God. Like other people, my relationships, and myself. And time and time again I find myself lacking the strength I need. Hm. I think at the root of this pursuit of strength is how deeply I place my trust in God. Trusting God more is not something that happens quickly in my life, but it is something in which I have been continuously growing. Looking to Him for strength, asking Him to be my strength, is something that comes while placing my trust more deeply in Him.
Kids Camp has been overwhelmingly better than the last time I wrote about it. Being with the Woozles makes my heart sing, and I really love spending my morning with them. I got switched to Chippies in the afternoon, so I had to leave my precious Wee-Woozles, but some of the Chippies were Woozles last year and it’s been great to be their counselor again. Some days I can’t believe I get paid to spend my days with these kids. To be honest, I still hate some days. Like the days that one of my campers drops his shirt into the porta-potty, picks it out, and brings it back to the tent. And the days that campers bite other campers. And the beach days that last 7 minutes because it took way too long for the campers to change into their bathing suits. Those days I remind myself that it is a job and I am getting paid.
Now to the exciting things that I did in the past three weeks! My favorites: Diver’s Rock, a dance boat, a weekend trip home, and a trip to Montréal!
I have had some pretty spectacular weekends up here. A few weeks ago some of the VT LTers from last year came to visit, and it was an amazing thing to see them and spend time with them. We went to Diver’s Rock, Bolton Landing, Riley’s, and I slept up at Jabe’s Pond. Such a good weekend.
One Tuesday night was spent with a boatload of people on a dance boat, the Lac du Saint Sacrement. It was such a fun evening, filled with dancing and picture taking and sightseeing!!
I also took a trip home last weekend, for two reason: Yayoi Kusama and Hamilton. My mom and I had tickets to an infinity mirrors exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art, which was so cool! Hamilton was everything I wanted and more, and because I had attempted to avoid the soundtrack until I actually saw the show, I was really blown away. Knocked my socks clean off. I am so unbelievably amazed at the entire production, I really have no words. I can’t even imagine what it would’ve been like with the original cast! Also this weekend I got to see Bosley and Alison, two perfect friends from high school, and Chloe! I got breakfast with her family and sent her off to a mission trip in Peru. Overall, it was an amazing weekend and it was only made better by the fact that I slept in my own bed three nights in a row.
The weekend got less great when I flew back into Burlington. I was supposed to fly from Cleveland to Charlotte, and Charlotte to Burlington. My flight to CLT was only delayed 30 minutes, but I had a three-hour layover so I wasn’t worried about missing my connecting flight. I reconsidered after our second hour in the air and reconsidered even further when we landed in South Carolina to fill up the plane’s fuel tank. I ended up getting to Charlotte 20 minutes after my connecting flight left for Burlington, so I joined the other hundred people who missed their flight due to storms in the line for Customer Assistance. Where I stood for two hours. When I finally got to the desk she booked me a flight to Albany boarding immediately, so I sprinted to the next terminal only to find everyone still sitting at the gate. We began getting notifications that our flight was delayed. First it was 11:30. Then midnight. Then 12:15. Then 12:30. Then our plane was deemed “unfit to fly” so we moved gates. Then our crew clocked out. And at 1:00am, my flight was canceled. Yay! The attendants began rebooking everyone, and I was lucky enough to get a flight to Burlington the next day, flying through DC. The only problem was with all the delayed flights, all the hotels were completely full. So I slept in the airport and waited for my flight at 11am. I slept for approximately 1.5 hours, because those gate chairs are probably specifically designed to be uncomfortable for sleeping, so I wandered and bought a crossword book and finished said crossword book and sat in a rocking chair for seven hours. It was not my favorite day. Thankfully, my flights back went off without so much as a 15 minute delay. I finally landed in Burlington and finally made it back to the Bay.
My last exciting thing is my trip to Canada! The last time I went to Canada was when I was just a wee child and I’m so glad I made the time to go. Me and three other girls left right after work, made it quickly though customs thanks to a very nice (and cute) officer, and found our cute Airbnb in the heart of Montréal. We spent the night walking around, found poutine, had a Guinness for the first time in three months, and incorrectly pronounced a bunch of Canadian words. On Saturday we went to the Notre Dame Cathedral, walked around Old Montréal, ate good, boutique shopped. It was a really amazing time, and I love my friends and Canada and rooftop glasses of Rosé. On the way back to America, our customs officer told us we looked like we worked at a camp. Which was the best compliment he could’ve given us. To be fair, I was wearing a headband, a flannel, Chacos, and I was wearing an EMP shirt. So maybe it was obvious.
Au Revoir,
Ally
Song of the Week:
Honorary Songs of the Week:
Please Be My Strength – Gungor (because it is consistently my prayer)
Brooklyn in the Summer – Aloe Blacc (because it mentions Montréal and we all freaked out when we heard it in the car)
You’ll Be Back – Hamilton Cast (because it was playing in my head for the entire 28 hours spent at various airports)
It’s been a really really messed up week: seven days of torture, seven days of bitter.
–Hot Chelle Rae, “Tonight, Tonight”
On Sunday, after service, the Pittsburgh LT crew gathered all together for the first time since arriving to share how our experience has been so far. I was exited for Campus Connect, but as soon as I pondered the question “what surprised you this week”, I knew I was in for a rough time. The first thing that came to mind was that I was surprised by how much I was not enjoying my job. And as I sat there, listening to all the happy stories of friendship and laughter and the Lord providing literal cash, I could only think of how rough the past week had been and how much I was dreading going to work the next day. And boy, did I not know what I was in for.
The sun was already baking us by 8am. Monday had a high of 96 degrees, and the humidity made it feel like 110. We were all anticipating the high temps, but man, was this week hot. I told myself the next few days would be better, it was only Monday! Ahhhhhh wrong again.
I consider myself notorious for finding evidence of God’s love in rainbows, and after the first week filled with weariness and this Monday that completely stripped me of my strength to continue on, God placed a double rainbow right in front of me. I wasn’t the only one to see it, but if it’s cool with all of you, I’m gonna pretend it was just for me. So this was Monday, the beginning.
I really did try to keep that rainbow in my pocket. But y’all, I felt sluggish and dehydrated all week, no matter how many bottles of water I drank. The heat made the kids tired and cranky, and if I’m honest, it made me tired and cranky. The scorching heat, combined with twenty-something crazy kids, and exhaustion, and nonstop sweating, and general life drama, this week turned out to be one of The Worst™. The heat made me restless and so angry at the world, and seriously dizzy. I had headaches all day and it was as if I had never known the coolness of below-90 temps. I felt overwhelmed and overworked and just completely drained.
And then, on Thursday, God did it again.
A second double rainbow, all for me.
This week was so bad, this obvious reach from God was annoying. I didn’t want to accept this offer of love, and I was annoyed that He had let me have such a terrible week. But it was there, it was clear, and as I watched the colors become brighter and brighter, I couldn’t help but smile. Because I knew He saw my week, and He knew my struggles, and He knew my heart.
Despite being one of the worst, this week was not all bad. One of my favorite parts of this week happened on Thursday, when I got to talk to one of the staff members from my church in Pittsburgh, Michelle. She listened to my sorrows and spoke such words of encouragement! I didn’t realize how much I just needed to talk to someone this week. She helped me realize new goals for this summer and I felt weight lift off my shoulders, and maybe it was the realization that I was not going through this rough patch by myself. I have my friends, I have mentors, and I have God.
The week had still a few more redeemable qualities, like the Fourth of July! The American spirit drowned out the sound of six year old troublemakers for a few hours, and I’m sure the kids had a great time. Painting twenty faces was tiring, but all the kids were really excited to march in the parade and wave to their parents and chant “we are the woozles” for a full twenty minutes!! That night, everyone went to the annual Fourth of July party up in Ticonderoga to eat dessert and watch the fireworks, and it was a great time with super great friends. I got to talk to my best friend also on Thursday, for her birthday. And I can’t forget about those two double rainbows.
Friday was still rough, especially waking up with the worst spider bite (on my lip, of all places), but I was determined to stay the positive Ally I once knew myself to be. I asked God for a sense of humor, and patience, and help. And wouldn’t you know it, He provided! The afternoon beach day with the Woozles was as swell as could be, followed by a 3½ hour nap, followed by a worship night, followed by two hours of roller skating with the coolest kids around, followed by the most amazing Saturday.
Saturday consisted of driving to the western Adirondacks, hiking up the most beautiful Bald Mountain, relaxing on the Old Forge beach, eating a wonderfully creative dinner (creative was self-proclaimed, but I do agree), and finishing the day off with some delicious soft serve. I spent the day with Hannah and Becca, two of my most favorite people. It was restful, and wonderful, and perfect.
Guys, God is good. He desires to know us and He is full of loving kindness. There is a Hebrew word, “hesed”, that is often translated to just that, loving kindness. It describes the steadfast love of our Lord. It stands for love, grace, mercy, kindness. And though we may try to pull against it at times, like I found myself doing this week, there is no way we can break this love. When we run He chases after us, and desires to meet us in our weakness and neediness. He desires to wrap His arms around us and hold us close, when the world is a ball of stress and everything seems hopeless. When everything is going wrong, He is there. His love is strong, immovable, and secure. Like our Lord.
I am on the up-and-up, I feel loved by the King, and I am ready to take on the challenges of Camp: Week Three. Nothing can bring me down!
(Prepare to hear the word excited a lot, as always.)
I’ve been back at the Bay for about two weeks now, and the differences have been super exciting. I really do miss my friends that I made last year, but I’ve had a really great time meeting new people! Sunday was our first project day, so I finally got to see the group of students I’ll spend every Sunday morning with. My LifeGroup also met for the first time on Sunday, and I’m already super encouraged by the girls I’ve been blessed to lead this summer! Sunday was ALSO the first LT service, so things are finally starting to roll!!
Today is Friday, which means week one of my camp counselor job is officially over. It’s Day 5 and I am already exhausted, beaten down, and a little bit terrified of the campers coming next week, but nonetheless it’s been great to be under the tent with my woozles. But, real talk. If I’m going to be honest, this past week of camp not been so swell. I am the only counselor in the tent age groups that was here last year, meaning that other counselors come to me when they have a question or they’re unsure about something or they don’t know who changes into swimsuits first or whatever. This is totally fine, and I love that they feel like they can ask me, but with this responsibility also comes the stress of knowing how to seamlessly transition between activities… and know a bunch of camp songs… and have Super Patience™ with the troublemakers and the runners. It seems like I may be putting a lot on myself when I shouldn’t be, but I really want the kids to have fun and I really want the day to run smoothly. It also doesn’t help that I’m a real rule stickler and that doesn’t always go down well if I’m also tired and cranky. AHHH kids camp! I remind myself that it’s for this kids, and this is a job. It’s only day five and it’s been hard, but it’s only day five! Think of all the great things that can, and will, come out of this summer!!
We had a whole lot of troublemakers this week, and it was hard to stay patient at times. There were instances where I wanted to throw a woozle into the lake, for sure. But I remember why I love my job when the kids are singing repeat-after-me songs, and when we’re locked in the middle of a splash battle, and when I see the toothy grin of our camper of the week. It’s when the kids are smiling, having fun, and loving camp that I remember why I love this job.
As for my goals: centering my life around God is an ongoing goal, and one I’m working towards daily. We have a reading plan for Paul’s letters (which is very exciting) and that has helped get me into routine of daily reading and prayer. I think I have done a good job of keeping expectations at bay, which has been especially important when finding myself in such similar situations to last year. And lastly, loving others has come easy as I’ve been meeting new people throughout the week. But these past few days I have only been stretching my legs and testing the waters, without a doubt preparing for the intensity of this summer. I am excited to really jump in and pursue these goals, as I deepen my relationships with those around me. There is so much opportunity, and so much potential! I would only ask that you would pray I have the courage to pursue these opportunities God has set before me.
There is so much to do, and this week was only just the beginning!
I’m heading back to Silver Bay for two months of sun, fellowship, and growth! I’m beyond excited to be back in just one day, and I’m anticipating a summer filled with new friendships, new experiences, and a whole bunch of new memories. I’ll be a part of the LT program again, which is a leadership training program designed for college-age students looking to deepen their relationship with God and be transformed into people who impact their world by living out their faith. Check and check! I’m excited to go back and work in one of my favorite places, and relive some of my favorite experiences from last summer, including, but not limited to: Sunday services, cliff jumping, canoeing, swimming, nightly stargazing, spending every day with my favorite Woozle campers, Wednesday night services, spontaneous trips to Vermont, and long, sunny days spent giving it my all on the volleyball court or laying out on the ERC.
Instead, however, of focusing my energy on how to recreate the experience of last summer, I want to focus on new goals I have set for myself as the summer goes on. While I absolutely will enjoy reliving some things, I want this summer to be new. I don’t expect a carbon copy of my last LT, but I don’t want to keep comparing the events of the summer to things that happened last year. In short, I am anticipating (and praying for) a new, exciting experience.
A good friend of mine (who also happens to be joining me at the Bay this summer) recently posted a blog about her WIGS, or “wildly important goals” that she has set for herself. I thought it’d be a good idea to have some of my own goals written down, in the event that I need to re-ground myself. By posting these, I’m inviting you all to keep me accountable! I hope to pray through these daily and remind myself why I am spending my summer at Lake George. Hopefully, they keep me reminded daily of the purpose God has for me and the plan He has in mind for my summer, and to prioritize those things over my own plans.
The first, and arguably the most important: I want to center myself around the Word of God and continuously pursue a life lived for His glory. I pray that I stay diligent in daily reading and prayer! This goes for all seasons of my life, and especially one that has so much potential for missional outreach and personal growth.
The second, similar to my friend, is about intentionality. I want my intentions to be pure and God-centered, and I want to be intentional in my friendships and the way I carry myself around other people. I want to be a light and share that light with others, always!
The third is to keep my worldly expectations at bay and these goals close to heart. Last year I made the mistake of beginning the summer with unrealistic expectations in my head, and I wound up feeling disappointed in the way certain events of the summer had unfolded. For this reason, I want to discourage myself from trivial expectations while pursuing these set goals, in an attempt to keep myself grounded in truth while holding a spirit of discipline.
Lastly, but not leastly, is to love others well. This goes for the other members of the LT program as well as my coworkers as well as the Y guests. I think this also goes hand in hand with serving others, and to love and serve others in the way they are most receptive to is a language I would love to become fluent in.
There are a lot of things I’m not looking forward to dealing with again (like the insanely small dorm rooms and unfortunate shower situation), but they’re being drowned out by the happy memories of last summer and everything that I’m hoping to do this summer. Hopefully these goals will keep me in an eternal mindset and help me to rise above any challenge or hardship I will almost definitely encounter. Prayers are greatly appreciated as I embark on Part 2 of my LT adventure!!
I spent the last few days of Ohio living dog-sitting for my best friend and getting as much CLE/CVNP time as possible, not-so-quietly anticipating the drive to my summer home. I decided to break it into two parts, so I drove to Philadelphia last night. Today will be spent visiting a really great Rome friend (the one and only Deacon Josh) and attending his ordination ceremony!! I’m also planning to buy an ice cream, walk around Old City, and sit by the Delaware, in case you were wondering. The final trek to the Bay is quickly approaching, and I’m so unbelievably antsy! See you soon, New York!!
This semester has officially ended. I am officially done with my second year of college, and I am officially a junior!
It’s already been one month since I landed in America. Up until now, I’ve hesitated to look back through my pictures and posts because I know it’ll kick start the endless replaying of happy memories, which will bring some sadness. I have really enjoyed being home, and even though I haven’t really done anything yet, I’m glad I’m back. I’m not ready to miss Rome!
The last two weeks of campus living were filled with our last classes and our final exams, and naturally we were all pretty stressed. I tried not to let it get to me, and I tried to get out and see the city as much as I could, but the majority of those two weeks were spent studying at the convent. It was worth it in the end though, and it all finally finished!!
The last Tuesday morning was spent at the Vatican, and Liz Hung (different than speech Liz; I should mention there were two Liz’s and three Becca’s this semester, and I have officially mentioned all of them. Proud if you followed along) and I finally climbed the cupola at St. Peter’s! I was a little disappointed I wasn’t able to rub the toe of St. Peter in the Basilica, but at least I’ll have one new thing to do next time I’m in Rome. The view from the top was incredible, and it was SO worth the 551 steps. The Vatican became one of my favorite places this semester, and seeing it from this new perspective was absolutely amazing.
The farewell dinner that night was an emotional massacre, and I was a mess from the moment Michael Wright started speaking to the moment we left the restaurant. I’m not good with goodbyes, and it was especially hard to say goodbye to all the new friends I made that I won’t see for several months (!!) and all my professors who made this semester one of the best. This semester was filled with old friends and new friends to make memories with, all of whom I love so dearly. Saying goodbye is always the most difficult part of a semester well-spent.
I have to mention my seminarian friends, because I tell them I write about them in my blog (and I do) but they deserve a whole novel written about how great they are. It has been a real challenge to be so far away from h2o for a whole semester, and I was worried before coming that I wouldn’t be able to find any kind of faith community. I was excited to hear that we got our our spiritual team (or honestly whatever they’re called) so I could stay close with a community of believers. They ended up being an amazing prayer answered, and I am unbelievably thankful for everything they’ve done for me and the other students. They volunteered one or two days a week to pour into the students, and on several occasions I ended up sitting and talking for hours about mostly relevant faith-related questions. Sometimes we talked about Wawa for thirty minutes… I’m looking at you, Deacon Josh.
They took me in as a curious Protestant and they were so encouraging and so willing to answer any question I had, no matter how obscure or borderline insane it was.
I can’t put into words what this semester has meant to me, but it was one that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. I never imagined that I’d find a second home in a country so different from my own, but the directors and the ARDs and the nuns of the convent made this place a home. Everyone on this campus was kind and inviting, and did their absolute best to make us feel like we belonged. And they succeeded!
Seeing the convent after a long day was nothing short of a great relief, because we knew we were safe and welcome there. Even in our darkest time while pulling studying all-nighters and stressing out over papers and tests, the convent gave us a place to rest. The nuns gave us a place to sleep, kept us fed, and kept a smile on our faces. From the day we arrived, we’ve been met with unmatched kindness and hospitality. They even prayed for us daily!
The only sunset I ever took a picture of, outside the convent at the 906 bus stop.
On the day everyone (but me and two other girls) left, I had to say goodbye to every single student who came on this trip and watched as their busses left the courtyard, and I walked back teary-eyed, because this has been one of the best semesters and one of the best communities I’ve been in. The solidarity we all felt was unreal, because we were all in the same boat from the minute we touched down at the Fiumicino airport. Every one of us was experiencing the same foreign country and the same foreign culture, maybe not for the first time, but I think all of us were experiencing fear and excitement and a million other emotions all at the same time. It seems like I just met my roommate Emily yesterday, and now she’s a three-hour (very expensive) plane ride away, and everyone’s in a different state living their own lives, and it’s sad to think that we might not all be together in the same place ever again.
My own last day was bittersweet, and I’m so glad I got to spend it with two amazing people! We went to all of our favorite places, including Piazza del Popolo, the Spanish Steps, and Piazza Navona, and ate our last meals at L’Isola della Pizza and Old Bear. We had beautiful weather and beautiful Rome to explore one last time.
Honestly, it was one of my favorite days of the entire semester.
The flight back to New York the next day was long, and we were tired, but we made it to Liz’s house (finally!) in time for yummy potato soup: our first American meal! Liz and I went into the city the next day and walked around Times Square until our dinner reservation. After dinner was Mean Girls on Broadway, and it was such an amazing production!! I was blown away by the performance and it’s definitely secured its place in my top five favorite shows.
My flight the next day blew by, and most of the day was taken up by the drive to the airport and getting through security. The flight was only about two hours, and I finally made it to beautiful Cleveland around 8pm. Home at last!
Surprisingly, and despite doing literally nothing for the past month, I haven’t gone stir crazy. There’s a good chance I’ll be working soon, so I’m not going to let it happen! I still have a bunch of stuff to do for the honors college and LT, and I’m trying to keep myself busy. But these weeks have been for rest. Because I’m still tired.
Lately, though, I have been thinking a lot about what this semester has meant to me and my future, and why I haven’t been itching to go back (yet). It has been so good to be with my friends at home and my friends in Pittsburgh and hear about all the outreach that’s been happening, wherever or however it happened. It was encouraging to FaceTime during the semester and to hear about all the things that were happening back home and on campus, and I loved seeing the excitements of the life I left for three months. Don’t get me wrong – my semester in Rome was the most amazing experience! They say it’s not a semester in the life, it’s a life in a semester. Which is so true! But I’m okay to leave that life behind (while still holding it close) and pick up where I left off in January. So far, I have really enjoyed doing just that.
I know I’ve been going on and on (and on) about how amazing this semester was, but living in Rome was different, and oftentimes very stressful. It was hard to deal with the constant reminder that I was miles and miles away from my faith community in Pittsburgh, and it really wore me down. I value community, and while my classmates were an incredible one, they were only temporary. I live for the long-term, and what I have in Pittsburgh through h2o. These ideals gave rise to concerns about living apart from that for three months long before I left. I recently reread journal entries where I’d been dialoguing with myself and God about whether I should go, and I hadn’t convinced myself it was the right move until the day I had to pay my deposit. Basically, all my ramblings can be summed up into this:
Do I regret going? Absolutely not! Would I do it again? As part of a similar program, doubtful.
If there was an opportunity to spend a significant amount of time abroad to study speech or to take an ESL teaching position, maybe I’d give it some thought. Like, a year or three in Germany sounds like a good time. But since I don’t see that anywhere in my near future, I think I’ll stick to Pittsburgh. (And Brecksville, and Lake George.)
I don’t miss Rome with every fiber of my being just yet, and I’m counting that as a win. Right now, it kind of feels like a distant dream.
A few days ago, Becca and I hopped on a plane to Germany. Scratch that, we actually took a 12-hour overnight bus ride, and it was just as fun as it sounds. We got to the bus station around 8pm and we had a little trouble finding the right platform, because the bus station used the Italian word for Munich on the boards, which is Monaco, which is not something Becca and I (or anyone, for that matter) knew. It wasn’t until we paced the platforms for a good half an hour and ran into a half-German-half-British woman who filled us in on the new name. So, we grabbed our backpacks and Ritz crackers and buckled in to a really really long ride.
I only woke up about six times throughout the entire bus ride, and considering I didn’t think I’d sleep at all, I’m counting it as a win. The sixth time I woke up it was bright out, and we were just beginning to pass through Innsbruck. It was a really special thing to wake up to beautiful mountains, and I knew Becca would appreciate them too, so I woke her up (sorry if you wanted to sleep Becca) and we marveled at the mountains together.
A few hours after that we arrived at the bus station in Munich, we finally stretched our legs, and we walked twenty minutes to our cute Munich Airbnb. No one was home, and they had left a key for us, so we freshened up and got ready for our first day out in Germany. At this point, it was around 10am, so we had the whole day ahead of us. We figured out the U-Bahn (side note: this was everything my middle and high school self dreamed of. I was taking the U-Bahn and going to Bäckerei and living my Deutsch Aktuell dream. Honestly, it felt like everything in my life had been leading up to this trip, and spoiler alert, Germany did not disappoint) as soon as possible and made it into Marienplatz to do some exploring. We walked into the square and of course, just like the Colosseum and the Eiffel Tower, the Rathaus-Glockenspiel was right in front of us. No warning, it was just right there. We got there just in time to see the figures moving in the glockenspiel, and we joined the mass of tourists to watch for a few minutes.
(I also really didn’t take very many pictures on this trip, whoops. But look at the glockenspiel!!)
We walked around Marienplatz and the surrounding area, where we walked into a market (Viktualienmarkt, to be exact) and we found a few things for gifts. There was one tent that we particularly liked, because they had samples of all their sauces and toppings, and naturally I went on a tasting frenzy. Becca and I ended up buying a jar of bärlauch, which is a wild garlic that’s native to Europe and Asia. It’s supposedly their most popular product, and the guy working the stand gave us a discount for trying to pronounce it. Becca and I both took German for five years and that “ch” is still a killer.
We walked around after for a bit, and we decided on Ratskeller for a late lunch. It’s right underneath the Rathaus, which translates to town hall, and we all know keller translates to cellar, so it seems to be appropriately named. I finally got the dinner (late lunch) I’ve been dreaming about, with sausage, caramelized onions, roasted potatoes, and beer.
Our waiter was also the best person in the world, and he gave us suggestions and maps and even performed a beer-based magic trick. Excuse my use of this word, but Becca and I were literally shook. It was a really fun dinner when it didn’t even need to be. :’)
We hung around Marienplatz for a little while after that and took more pictures of the pretty town hall, naturally.
(This time it was evening so the sunset lit the buildings very nicely. Obviously had to take a few pictures.)
For dinner we went to the Hofbräuhaus, and that night was one of my favorite experiences of the trip. We walked in and were immediately overwhelmed with the smell of beer and togetherness, and lucky for us, it seemed like we picked the busiest days to go. We walked around for a bunch of minutes before asking two guys on a whim if we could sit at their table. There was definitely space, but we found out later that they basically claimed that table for every other Friday night and it was pretty exclusive. They had already given some of their table away, and it was just two small girls, so they allowed us to sit. It was actually really great, because we had a crazy multicultural night. The two guys who let us sit at their super exclusive table were Munich born and raised, so we had that authentic German experience. The two guys on the other side of us spoke perfect English, so we were a little bit surprised to find out they were from Sweden! We had great conversation all night and drank a lot of bier (bierburps were plentiful, whoops) and overall, had a really unforgettable night. The German guy on my left made fun of me because apparently the sausage I ate had a casing on it that normal German people don’t eat but it’s fine, everything’s fine, I’m still alive. We finally said goodbye to our new Facebook friends and did a little Hofbräuhaus souvenir shopping. I bought myself a stein, which has proven to be very useful in everyday life!! (Side story: I’ve been using Hofbräuhaus München coaster at my house since the beginning of time, so I took a whole bunch to replenish the stash that my dad began like thirty years ago. The Demchak family now has an insane amount of Hofbräuhaus München coasters. Multigenerational Hofbräuhaus München coasters!!)
The next day was entirely dedicated to seeing Schloss Neuschwanstein, so we grabbed a breakfast pasty from a shop by our Airbnb and made the trek down to Schwangau. We walked through the cute town and stopped to admire the Alpsee. We took a whole bunch of pictures and took in the view. There were snow-capped mountains just beyond the lake, and you know how I love snow-capped mountains.
We got lunch at a touristy place in Schwangau, and we sat in the hot sun for what seemed like ages. We were blessed with amazing weather all weekend, and we didn’t even see a single cloud, but I don’t think either of us were ready to face hot weather in early April. The hot weather is also why we decided to bus up to the castle instead of walking.
Schloss Hohenschwangau! Pronouncing all these beautiful German names was one of my favorite parts of the weekend, without a doubt. 😉
Seeing Neuschwanstein in person was incredible. It looked just like it does in all the pictures, and it looks the same as it did in my eighth grade report on it. I’ve been looking forward to seeing this castle for so long, and I was so excited to finally see it!! The bridge to see the castle was really narrow and filled with people, but we managed to find a spot to take pictures. We also put on our adventure caps and climbed up a steep path to get an even better view of the castle. This was a little nerve-wracking, as I had left my adventure shoes in Rome. Despite the lack of chacos on my feet, we made it to the top and took in the view. It was kind of reminiscent of being on the skywalk in the Alps, but a little more terrifying because there was no fence to keep us from falling into the deep ravine below. No sense in worrying now though, considering I made it out of Germany alive!! It was all so worth it.
We didn’t end up going inside the castle, mostly because it was money we didn’t want to spend and we were looking forward to spending another evening in Munich. So, we took the train back to the city and did just that! Saturday night was really exciting because after dinner at Ruff’s Burgers (where I ate the handsomest burger) per a recommendation, we got spaghettieis!! I’m going to be completely honestly with all of you, finally eating spaghettieis in Germany was the pinnacle of my existence. Not actually, but you have to know how much hype spaghettieis got all throughout high school and how excited I was to experience it. In case you’re not familiar with what spaghettieis actually is, it’s typically vanilla ice cream (the “eis” in spaghettieis) that’s topped with a red fruit sauce and white chocolate to look like spaghetti (the “spaghetti” in spaghettieis). It was amazing. It really was.
The night got really exciting after that, because we met up with my good friend from high school!! Dara’s been studying in Florence all semester and we’ve kept missing each other. Becca and I went to back to Hofbräuhaus that night to join Dara and Charlie (another one from high school) and three of Charlie’s air force friends. It was such a fun night, and we definitely did not shatter a beer glass. Definitely did not. It was so much fun to see Dara and catch up, and see Charlie and meet his three friends. By the time we said goodbye it was nearly two in the morning, so we were pretty wiped out.
Becca has relatives in Munich, so on Sunday morning we met up with them and they took us around the city! We saw so much: all the buildings with a history, the parks, the plazas, and everything in between. We spent most of the day in the Englischer Garten, which was so beautiful. There’s a bridge over the Eisbach River where a huge wave allows people to surf, which was the coolest thing to watch! We walked all throughout the park, and had our final German meal at a biergarten. And ice cream for dessert, natürlich.
It was so unbelievably amazing to experience Germany for a few days, and it was 100% my favorite place that I’ve visited. If I somehow end up living in a European country in the future, it will most definitely be Germany. It was only made sweeter by the fact that I got to actually speak German to a few people, although not that much because everyone spoke English. Everyone was so kind, and we had so many great conversations with so many people. It was my favorite experience, hands down. I am so in love with everything that Germany is.
Auf wiedersehen,
Anja
(My German name that I will most definitely still respond to)
I am so glad I decided to stay in Rome this weekend.
The festivities began Wednesday morning, on the very last station church of the Lent season. Mass was held at Santa Maria Maggiore, which is the same church that began Maura and I’s station church adventures! In my humble opinion, it’s one of the most beautifully decorated churches in Rome. NONE of the seminarians were there to join us, so we were a little disappointed, but it was obviously still worth the early morning!
That night we had our Bible study, and Deacon Dan gave a talk about the importance of faith when working and serving in heath care settings. It was really cool to hear about our profession from that perspective, because it’s really not something we learn in the classroom.
On Holy Thursday we still had class with Liz Lev, but we were the only school in the entire nation to still have class, so it was a more relaxed day. She took us on our own little pilgrimmage to a church that I can’t remember the name of, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, and San Lorenzo. She told us not to take notes and simply experience the churches, and that’s just what we did! The first church housed the Scala Sancta, the Holy Stairs are. They are said to be the stairs that Jesus climbed as he was going to be judged by Pontius Pilate, and they were brought to Rome by St. Helena. Santa Croce in Gerusalemme was my favorite, because it has several relics of the Crucifixion, including a reconstruction of the Shroud of Turin. They had nails, thorns, the finger of St. Thomas, and the headboard of Jesus, among others. The idea of relic veneration is still fairly foreign to me, but it was so cool to see these things in person and see how the people around me were interacting with them. The third church, San Lorenzo, was bombed in 1943 during WWII and has since undergone several reconstructions, which she told us is the reason we don’t study it in class. Despite being only a shell of the original structure, I loved hearing about the history and seeing the beautiful crypt of Pope Pius IX. Our class was over after we visited those three churches, and as we stepped out into the warm, sunny spring day, every last shred of seasonal depression completely vanished. Spring has sprung!
That evening we had a Mass for Holy Thursday, which was given by Father Haffner. He is our Beginnings of Christianity professor, and he is my absolute favorite! He’s from Oxford, he also teaches classes at the North American College (where the seminarians go), and he is probably the nicest man I have ever met. After the mass we all headed out to catch the 906 for dinner at Old Bear. We were all late, thanks to the 906 literally just not coming for 45 minutes, but we got there eventually and met up with Jeff, Zack, and Deacon Dan! I sat next to Jeff and our table had some really great conversation, and we were served white wine, eggplant lasagna, and Nutella mousse. Yuuuum. Directly after dinner we had the church crawl, which is the reason we all had dinner together, because they were going to lead us to seven different churches. I wish I could tell you which churches we visited, but I didn’t keep track and the seminarians are notoriously terrible at answering emails. It was cool though, because before we went in Deacon Dan would give us suggestions of what to pray for. For example, he encouraged us to pray for our mothers when we went in a church dedicated to the patron saint of mothers!
(Maddie, Liz, and I in our leather jackets, pre-church crawl!)
Update, two weeks after Easter: I got an email back! We went to:
St. Augustine (where St. Monica is buried), where we prayed for our mothers
St. Agnes (place of martyrdom and resting place of St. Agnes), where we prayed for young people
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart – a Dominican church, where we prayed for all preachers (I think?)
St. Andrew in the Valley, where we prayed for our religious leaders
The Most Holy Trinity of Pilgrims (small note: it’s the church of the pilgrims, not the Trinity of the pilgrims. The Italian is Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini), where we prayed for all pilgrims during Holy Week
St. Cecilia (place of martyrdom and resting place of St. Cecilia, where we prayed for those who love music
St. Mary of the Garden, where the seminarians left us to decide, since it was the last one.
(Thanks Deacon Dan for taking the time to send me all this info!!)
It was really cool to walk through the city at night, going into each church, because the streets were filled with tourists and Romans just like us.
Good Friday was super restful. I got brunch with a few friends, and I got real American pancakes! We all got smoothies and relished in the fact that our breakfast wasn’t bread and Nutella, for once.
Becca and I stayed in the city all day to walk around, eat gelato, and get dinner. That night there was celebration of the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum, and even though it was all in Italian, it was an amazing experience. We got candles with tissue paper flowers, which served to catch the wax and provide the area with a warm glow. Papa Francesco was there to preside over the celebration, and we were surrounded by people all listening to the same retelling of Jesus’ death on the cross. It whole celebration was so incredibly beautiful!! The celebration has been held at the Colosseum because one Pope decided it should be a place to remember and honor the lives of the martyrs who died there. That’s also why there’s a cross inside, fun fact! We got little booklets that detailed each station, and the prayers that went along with each. Becca and I got really good at reciting the Lord’s Prayer in Latin! (Or should I say, Pater Noster). There was also a little fire mishap, because as I was trying to get the clumps of wax off my candle (my first mistake), the flame got too close to the tissue paper and set it ablaze. I had this giant ball of fire in my hand and I really didn’t know what to do with it, so I just stared at it. I heard someone say “ground” so I drop it immediately, probably right before it started literally burning my hand off. It’s fine, though, because right after that happened, several others’ lost their candles in a fiery blaze. Needless to say, my candle was not the only one on the ground after we left that night.
The next morning was an early one as well, and a group of students left to spend the day in Tivoli at 07:30. I was thinking of not going to Tivoli, but my brain woke me up at 07:15, so I figured it was divine intervention and that I should probably go. So I got ready in fifteen minutes and headed to the busses outside, and we drove 45 minutes to see the Villa D’Este. It rained all morning, but from underneath our umbrellas we saw the most incredible gardens and fountains and statues! We took pictures with each other, I took pictures of flowers, we took pictures of funny-looking statues, and I complained about the previously undiscovered hole in my shoe (sorry to everyone who had to hear about my wet sock all morning).
We got back on the busses and drove another 45 minutes to Castel-Gandolfo, which is the summer home of the Pope! It’s a beautiful little town, right on Lake Albano. We had a three-course lunch of an eggplant and ricotta antipasti, two kinds of delicious pasta, and berry pie for dessert. After lunch we were set free to explore the town, so we walked through the streets, we looked in stores, we got cappuccinos, and 30 minutes later we reconvened to head home. The day’s weather was so adverse it was almost comical; it literally started hailing as we left the restaurant. But it was a good day seeing things I’d never even think to see, and I’m really glad I’m getting to see more parts of Italy.
(Us at lunch! We love fancy lunches!!)
After we got back I really needed to get shoes for easter, considering the ones I planned on wearing now were soaking wet due to an unfortunate sole malfunction (??), so I made my way to this funky store right next to EuroSpin. It’s the weirdest store I’ve ever been to, and it sells everything under the sun. It’s basically a really low-end Target, or Walmart, but without food. They have a nice selection of cheap shoes, so I got a pair for 11 euros (nice!). I was there and I was feeling fancy so I also bought another pair of pink heels for Easter, to match my outfit better. I promise they were comfortable when I put them on in the store. I promise. The walk back to campus was a little miserable, because it had started down pouring while I was in the store, and I didn’t bring my umbrella. There were also huge puddles on the side of the road, so whenever cars passed me I got drenched… on the bright side, there’s little chance I’ll leave the convent without my umbrella ever again.
The next day was EASTER! RESURRECTION SUNDAY!!
I want to share something a really good friend of mine posted about experiencing Easter in Rome, and it reflects beautifully how we’ve experienced Rome thus far.
It is incredible to think about everything this city connects to when it comes to the Easter story, the death and the resurrection of Jesus. Rome had a hand in so much of the Easter story.
It was a Roman that sentenced Jesus to death, a Roman cross that became the instrument used for this death, and a Roman who proclaimed that he truly was the Son of God. Jesus’ tomb was fortified by a large stone, a Roman seal. A Roman guard was placed outside to ensure that nothing happened to the body of the innocent man who seemingly divided the empire. Rome itself became a guarantee that nothing would happen to the body. And after three days, Rome would announce the original Resurrection Sunday.
What had started as the quenching of a supposed rebellion had become the establishment of a super-natural kingdom that spread throughout the earthly empire. The more Rome tried to silence it, the more it spread and the louder it became. The more it was persecuted, the more it prospered. Rome today is a city that remembers the past, the rising and fall of one of the most influential empires. As it shows mankind’s capabilities, it even more so shows the inevitable fall of every empire and anything of this world. But there is a kingdom that rises above, a kingdom that will know no end.
Though I wish I could be home spending this day with my family, I’m grateful to have experienced Resurrection Sunday walking in the footsteps that so many Christians did before me. My time in this city has taught me so much, especially when it comes to the beginnings of the faith I’ve practiced since I was young. I can’t express how thankful I am for the opportunity I’ve been given to be here.
Happy Easter everyone!!
– Becca Schaefer
I got to attend Easter Mass with the Pope, which was more exciting than I ever though possible! The whole mass was in Italian and Latin (with short excerpts of languages thrown in), and it was great to be able to read the translation as the Pope spoke. I honestly got goosebumps at the end of the mass when he said “Buona Pasqua”, which means Happy Easter in Italian, and every one of the 80,000 people in St. Peter’s Square yelled back to him. 80,000 people together, celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord. How incredible!!
As the Pope rode through the crowds in his Popemobile, I was only expecting to catch a glimpse of him. St. Peter’s Square was a labyrinth with all the fencing set up, but this man took the time to go down every length of space he could to see every civilian he could!
It was a really special experience, because the woman in front of me (in the purple coat) shook hands with the Pope, then proceeded to shake hands with every single person around her, including me! It was incredible to see someone so overcome with joy and excitement, all because of the Pope!! It was really cool just to be sitting in front of St. Peter’s Basilica!!
Maura and I got invited to Professor Lev’s Easter party, so as soon as Mass was over we made our way to her house. (After stopping to ogle at the armed forces marching around St. Peter’s Square, of course.) We also stopped at a florist to pick up some tulips, and finally made it to her house. I changed into my new heels and we took the elevator up into an abyss of uncertainty. (Side note about my shoe situation: I started the day with my heels on, but as the line was picking up speed I changed into flats in case I had to run. Great timing, because as soon as people got through security, they started sprinting to get a seat inside the square. I ran with my friend Kacie and we thankfully got some of the last seats before people were redirected to standing room. Thank God for flats, honestly, because I would not have survived running on the cobblestone in those trash heels. Long live ballet flats!!) Maura and I were freaking out, because we were two of four Duquesne students invited to this shindig, and we had no idea what to expect. I don’t know about Maura, but I’ve never been to an adult party where the invitation said to expect “fun drinks and interesting conversation”. Like, what?? I am a sophomore in college studying speech, I probably don’t have anything interesting thing to say to a bunch of very accomplished art historians… We ended up getting there really early (not earlier than the party started, but we were earlier than most, whoops) and the first half hour or so was a little bit awkward. We met one of our professor’s husband’s friends, who is a junior studying classics in Rome. We were seriously all so awkward at first, but by the end of the party we were laughing like old friends and exchanging snaps and whatsapps. We also met the director of Duquesne in Dublin, who is one of the nicest people I have ever met! She saved Maura and I from being giant balls of awkwardness!! After we got over that hump of awkwardness and we started actually talking to people, the party was really fun! We had some super interesting conversations! Much to our chagrin, Maura and I did not spend four hours talking about classics and art history. We talked about our favorite places in Rome, restaurants, language, and a whole bunch of other things. We laughed a whole bunch about things I can’t remember, we drank a whole lot of champagne punch, and we enjoyed ourselves to the fullest. It was such a good time!
At one point in the party I was sitting next to Nora, and all of a sudden she turns to me and says, “hey, do any of you know who Newt Gingrich is?” And I said kind of yes, because I knew generally of his republican political-ness, and she says “because he just walked in the door”. That’s right everyone, cha girl is moving in some pretty high circles. My favorite part of the part was not when Mr. Speaker walked in the door, but when my professor introduced me to the US Ambassador to the Holy See, Callista Gingrich!
Easter Monday is a national holiday in Italy, so we had no classes. I took advantage of this first by sleeping in, then by getting brunch at Ginger (again)! It was nice to have a long weekend so not think about school for a bit, and to relax. It’s popular to picnic on Easter Monday, and it seemed like everyone was out and about and enjoying the nice weather. Let me tell ya, it feels so great to leave my jacket at the convent when I go out!
Seriously, we’re not complaining about the abundance of pasta and pizza, but we do get excited when we get to eat things without carbs!! Açaí bowls and smoothies get us every time.
Becca and I have a trip to Germany coming up this weekend, and we could not be more excited. Germany was first on my list of places to visit this semester, and I am OVER THE MOON that I’m finally going! I may have mentioned we both took German in high school, so we’ll finally be in a country where the road signs make sense.
It’s crazy to think we have less than a month of Rome living left.
These past two weekends have been so much fun. Seriously, so much fun. Lucky for me, both of them were educational, so I’ve been feeling very enriched with knowledge!
The first weekend was my one credit class, Modern Art in Rome. We had class for a few hours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and we have a few projects to finish by Easter Weekend. The weekend consisted of walking through different Italian neighborhoods (we took the A Line all the way to Porta Furba, and I know that means nothing to most of you, but it’s like, really far away from campus), eating gelato, taking pictures of street art, and more walking. It was really interesting to see all the street art scattered everywhere throughout the city, and how wide the range was. Some of it was legal, most of it was not, some art covered entire buildings, some art was commissioned for beautification. All of it held a story, or a message, or a feeling. We visited museums, and we got to visit the apartment of a modern artist! The weekend was made so much better by the fact that I got a credit for roaming Rome and looking at art. Seems like a good deal to me, I’d do it again.
Before I get into that weekend, I’ll tell you about Wednesday morning. The station church was San Paolo fuori de Mura, or St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. Maura and I were super excited about this church because of it’s reputation, but our problem was the location. It’s outside the city walls (hence the name), so it took some time to get there. I booked a taxi for 06:00 and set my alarm for 05:15 the night before. Unfortunately, I fell asleep while picking the song to wake up to, and I never actually set it (this is not the first time this has happened)… So, I wake up to my phone ringing, I answer, and all I hear is loud Italian and I really don’t know how to respond and I’m still groggy from literally just waking up and so all I say is “English” and he kinda stops, and then says “address!!” really loudly so I say Via Nazareth 400 but he doesn’t understand me and keeps saying “what number” and I keep telling him 400 because I don’t know how to say 400 in Italian so this guy is yelling at me because he’s probably driving around aimlessly and I’m hopping around my room trying to put tights on yelling 400 into my phone at six am all the while receiving frantic texts from Maura because she’s been waiting for 15 minutes in the lobby but I can’t tell her what my deal is because the taxi driver still doesn’t know where to go SO to make this long story short, it was a stressful morning. It may have been the worst wake-up call ever. But it’s fine. I hung up and literally called another taxi, who got us to the metro station, which then got us to San Paolo with time to spare. Exactly three minutes to spare!
Anyway, the morning was really great after that, and I really enjoyed seeing the church. The mosaic is beautiful, and probably my favorite that I’ve seen. Which is saying a lot, because I’ve seen many a mosaic in my day. There’s also mosaics of every single pope since Peter, including Pope Frances, which is pretty cool! The church is built on Paul’s burial site, and inside the church are the chains that were said to have held him prisoner in Rome. So, pretty cool. Maura and I were also invited to a breakfast at the neighboring seminary, so we had bread and coffee with Deacon Josh. We met the two other seminarians who sat next to us, one from Liverpool and one from New South Wales!
That morning we also got to meet our Italian partners, who are high schoolers that will be completing a project with us for Intercultural Awareness. My partner’s name is Francesco and he’s very nice! There’s a very tangible awkwardness, though, because I don’t speak any Italian and his English isn’t the best. Our interactions have made me thankful for google translate and an even deeper appreciation for bilinguals.
We also had our Caput Mundi class in the forum, which was amazing, as always.
So, that weekend was our Modern Art class. It was taught by Fabio Benicasa, who is one of the Italian professors on campus and also happens to be one of the coolest, most laid-back people I have ever met. He took us around the city, showing us the coolest and most obscure things, stopping every so often to share some knowledge nuggets and have us take pictures.
On Friday, we visited the Ostiense district in Rome. Our first stop was an underpass where graffiti was legalized, so we got to see some cool art. Art in these places was often higher quality, because the artists had more time to create it. (They weren’t running from the police.) We also saw an entire building covered with murals, and even though it’s illegal, the police did not bother the artist for three years while he completed his work. It’s very well respected in the neighborhood, so it’s stayed untouched and beautiful since it’s creation.
(Fabio asked us to take a selfie with our favorite character on the wall, of course I chose the astronaut)
We got gelato at a really nice place in Ostiense and for lunch we went to Eataly, a gigantic market/restaurant/store and we got pasta with buffalo mozzarella. This was the first time I consciously ate buffalo mozzarella, and I have to say, it isn’t my favorite. We walked around a little bit after lunch, and then met up with the other modern class at MACRO (Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma, a modern art museum). Fabio works at MACRO, so we got a behind-the-scenes tour of the rooms where artists will create exhibits. There was no art that we actually saw in the museum, but it was really interesting to hear about what goes into planning and creating an exhibit. After the MACRO, we had one more stop, which was the studio apartment of a young artist. He invited the bunch of us to his work space, where we saw completed, half-completed, and just-started works of art. He showed us his mood boards and explained how and why he got into modern art. It was a really cool experience to see that kind of thing first hand, and as soon as the visit was over, class ended. It was a long day but we got to see so much, and everything was so interesting. Our assignment that night was to watch a documentary on street art called “Exit Through the Gift Shop”. It’s directed by Banksy, and it’s about this guy Thierry who started filming street artists and eventually became one himself, called Mr. Brainwash. I actaully fell alsepp during the film so I’m really not entirely sure the details, but when I woke up everyone hated Thierry, and I think he turned out to be a bit of a dirtbag.
The next day we went to an area called Tor Marancia, and we walked through a neighborhood with each building painted by a different artist. Each mural was unique and beautiful, and created such a personality for the neighborhood.
Our next stop for the day was the Museo dell’Altro e dell’Altrove di Metropoliz, or MAAM (Museum of the Other and the Elsewhere of Metropoliz). This was the weirdest place I’ve ever been to, and it doubled as a refugee/squatter home for about 200 residents. The art inside was abstract, and it made you think and made you uncomfortable. There were a few things I did enjoy looking at, but mostly I wanted to leave… especially because our professor prefaced our visit with “so, a bunch of rats and cats might be running around”. We did take some group pictures, though. Those were nice.
Sunday was our last class, and we walked and walked and walked. We went to one of Fabio’s favorite restaurants in Pigneto, and ended the day with more walking! We got to see so much of the city and the city’s art, and I’m actually really glad that I took this class!! I earned a credit for sightseeing and taking pictures, basically. It was a good weekend!
Our second and final academic excursion was to Southern Italy, and we went to Capri, Paestum, Campagna, and Pompeii. We left early on Friday morning to arrive in Naples around noon, then took a ferry past Mount Vesuvius to the beautiful island of Capri! We only had a few hours to spend on the island, so we made priorities: lunch, lemon soap, limoncello, and hand-made waffle cones. And maybe if we had time, some sightseeing! We did everything on our list, and we had a really few hours walking around and taking it all in.
We had lunch with a beautiful view, overlooking the city down below and the Tyrrhenian Sea. The gelateria served hand-made waffle cones, and the gelato itself was some of the best I had! (If I was going by just the cone, this place would make my top three gelaterias.) I loved being right on the water, and hopefully one day I’ll go back to Capri and spend more than three hours there!!
(We found postcards that actually resembled the Capri we saw! The weather was didn’t match, but we still counted it as a super win.)
Our next stop was a buffalo mozzarella farm, which was seriously so much fun! We got to see where the water buffalos lived and did their thing, and then we got to try some super fresh buffalo mozzarella and spend our money on some buffalo goods. Everyone got gelato or a cappuccino, and I heard really great things about both. I got pudding, which was probably the best pudding I’ve even eaten. We took pictures with the buffalos and explored the farm, and it was so cool to see. (In all honestly though, I don’t like buffalo mozzarella. It’s kinda gross.) Other people also bought buffalo leather purses, which were super luxurious.
After the mozzarella farm we explored the town of Paestum, which is the site of several ancient Greek temples. There were three that we got to see, and one we got to go into! It was really great to see temples so different from Roman temples for a change. Plus, the architecture is super incredible. My Caput Mundi professor was my tour guide, and so the whole day was very informational (my favorite)!!
We ended the day in the small town of Campagna. We visited a Holocaust Museum that had a completely different atmosphere than any other I’ve experienced. The museum shared the story of Giovanni Palatucci, who saved the lives of countless Jews. There was a concentration camp in Campagna, but it was different from most because no one ever died there. We heard a story that the Jews who were hiding in the mountains surrounding Campagna saw a bomb dropped on the town, and even though they risked being sent to death camps, they came back to help the Italians that had imprisoned them. It was an emotional experience for many, and we took our time walking through the halls of the museum.
That night we had a fancy dinner at our hotel, and we were all told to wear our Sunday best. The speechies in Rome finally took a picture together!
The next day we had the morning to learn about and explore Pompeii!! I’ve noticed that none of my mental images of places have been even been remotely correct, and the same thing is true about my visit to Pompeii. I don’t think I’ve ever seen pictures or anything, because it was nothing like I expected. Honestly, though, I don’t really know what I expected. It was a lot bigger than I thought! It was so cool to be walking through history and seeing the same buildings that the Pompeiians in 79 saw. It was the coolest experience, especially because we had a guided tour, so we learned all about the city in addition to actually seeing the ancient ruins. We also got to see the famous casts of the bodies, which are pretty chilling.
It’s been quite the whirlwind of school and work and Rome since coming back after spring break, and it’s crazy to think the semester is more than half over. It still seems like I just got here. I’ve been so many places and seen so many things, and there’s still so much I haven’t done! I haven’t even been inside the Colosseum! Or the Borghese Gallery! I haven’t even seen the Sistine Chapel!!
It’s really hard to believe I only a few more weeks in this place.
Last week I went to Budapest, Paris, and Barcelona. My spring break was filled with beautiful sights, yummy food, long days, good friends, and good times. It was the spring break I dreamed of, exploring Europe and living touristy for ten days! Traveling to three cities was ambitious, and we may be sleep deprived (scratch that, definitely sleep deprived), it was the best ten days I could have asked for.
First stop was Budapest! My great-grandparents immigrated to America from Hungary, making me about a quarter Hungarian and a distant hunky. As I’ve discovered, this is not enough to draw up intense nationalistic feelings while in Hungary. I did, however, have an amazing time seeing the sights and experiencing Budapest. We arrived Thursday night, and had three full days to spend exploring. We walked, we roamed, we ice skated, we relaxed, and we ate good. I also now know three words in Hungarian!
The first day we walked around the city for most of the day, stopping at a gourmet bagel place for lunch and the mall to buy a hat. It was very very cold, and I forgot my Switzerland hat :(. We bought groceries for dinner, and made made fajitas with chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, peppers, spices, and rice. I’m so proud of us, it was seriously so delicious. We spent the night at our Airbnb, which was the cutest little place! We made popcorn, watched a movie (The Fundamentals of Caring, if you’re wondering, amazing movie, 12/10 recommend), and recovered from the day.
Friday started with an Airbnb breakfast, with Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries and bananas, and granola. That day was a little more exciting, and we went to the Széchenyi Baths! It was so great to relax for an hour and soak in the thermal water. We went to the outdoor pool, so the water felt great in the 2 degree cold!!
This was the largest medicinal bath in Europe, and the bath culture has been flourishing here since Roman times!! There’s quite a history surrounding our experience, and it was so great to spend the morning here. After the baths, we walked around the park area by Hero’s square, swung on some swings, and hopped in a taxi back to the area by our Airbnb. The day before we had passed by a hummus bar, and all we could think of was going back, so we made our way and ordered the most incredible spread of Mediterranean food. I got the house chicken with couscous and falafel, and we all shared a plate of hummus and a GIANT bowl of pita.
It was delicious. Not Hungarian cuisine, but we really couldn’t pass up a place called the Hummus Bar.
That night we had a wine tasting cruise planned, so we headed back to the apartment to put our fanciest outfits. I was in charge of unlocking the door, which is not usually a problem. But somehow, because of my superhuman strength, I broke the key in half and the skinny part got stuck in the lock. Honestly still not sure how that happened. I freaked out a little because I’ve never broken a key, but it ended up not being a huge deal. I choose to believe that it’s because of my incredible strength, that’s the only logical explanation. We got the key out of the lock (thanks Becca) and got ready for the Danube cruise! Our place was pretty close so we bundled up and walked through the snowy streets to the river. The cruise took us up to Margaret Island and back, and we got to see the prettiest and biggest monuments and buildings on the Buda AND Pest side. My personal favorite was the Parliament building, which was lit up gold and shining so brightly!!
The Parliament Building was definitely the main event. We tasted seven Hungarian wines, and we had a really good time on the Vino (the very appropriate name of the boat).
We spent our last day walking, and we saw all the most important sights. We walked across the bridge to Matthias Church and the Fisherman’s Bastion, got a little lost, and saw the city from the most amazing perspective.
The next thing on our Budapest list was ice skating by Hero’s Square! This place was the biggest ice rink in Europe, and it was magical. It’s bigger than you’d imagine, which made it more fun that I’d imagine! It was really crowded and the ice desperately needed a zamboni, but it was a beautiful, brisk night and I had the time of my life skating with my friends. I really love ice skating, and it definitely made the cold weather a little more bearable. I fell at the very end, which is always what happens, because I get too ambitious and try to do spins. Still haven’t mastered spins, still unsure why I keep trying.
We wanted to get something traditional for our last night, so we each got goulash soup and chicken paprikash. I was nervous for the latter, because out of all the food my mom made in my childhood, paprikash was my least favorite. But I figured I should have some Hungarian food while in Hungary, and it turned out to be amazingly delicious.
That morning we had to say goodbye to our darling, wonderful-smelling Airbnb (because someone had already booked Sunday night), so after dinner we made our way to Pal’s Hostel for our last night. I was honestly expecting four cots in a barren room, so I was pleasantly surprised to find an apartment fit with a living room and kitchenette! I’ve never stayed in a hostel, and I’m aware that an apartement is not the typical hostel, but it was a good first experience!
Breakfast for our last morning was pancakes, and mine was filled with pistachio cream and topped with house-made white chocolate sauce and marzipan. Words cannot describe!!!! We had walked past this place a few times before, and I am so glad everyone else was in the mood for pancakes, because it was absolutely amazing!
We walked around St. Stephen’s Square one last time before calling a taxi to the airport. We sat for two hours or so before sprinting to our gate at the last minute, because of course we had to continue with our bad airport habits!! Also, still confused why every flight doesn’t include complimentary water.
Now I’m sitting in a Parisian apartment writing about my weekend in Budapest, because that’s a thing that I do. I spend a weekend in Budapest, and then fly to Paris.
Budapest is a beautiful city. Vaguely reminiscent of Pittsburgh, in the weirdest way, but that only made me love it even more.
Arrival in Paris went infinitely better than the flight to Budapest, as we were not stuck at the airport until 2am. We took a train into the city and found our cozy little Airbnb a short distance from the Seine, halfway between the Louvre and Notre Dame. Airbnbs in Paris are real heckin’ expensive, so our place was small. Especially for five people. But I’ll use the word cozy, because I was in Paris and I really can’t complain!!
Tuesday morning we woke up early to take a train to Versailles. We stood in line to enter at 9:30 when it opened, which turned out to be a really great idea, considering the line was CRAZY long when we left a few hours later. All morning we explored the Château de Versailles, and saw the King’s Grand Apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, and the gardens.
The tickets came with a free guided tour, so we could learn about the history of everything we were seeing. It was really cool to see and hear about where the royalty would have audiences and eat and sleep and live their life. We looked a little ridiculous with our guides/phones up to our ear the entire time, but it was totally worth it!
We stayed in Versailles for lunch and found a cute place for crepes! (We ate an abundance of crepes while in France. Like, way too many crepes.)
We were all super anxious to see the Eiffel Tower (for all you French speakers out there, le Tour Eiffel) so when we got back to Paris we went straight to see it. It was just like the Colosseum, in the sense that when you exit the Metro it’s just there. Like, you leave the subway station and it’s right there in front of you. Right there. I was the first one out, and after getting over the initial shock of actually being in the presence of the Eiffel Tower, it was pretty great to see everyone’s reactions when they came up the stairs to meet it. Crazy! We walked around for quite some time underneath the tower before exploring the area to find the best view.
Later that day we went to see the Arc de Triomphe and walked down Avenue des Champs-Élysées. We bought macaroons at Ladurée (best macaroons ever) and spent the rest of the day just walking around.
We eventually ran into Paris Fashion Week, which was kind of crazy, because all of a sudden there were hoards of paparazzi and cameras flashing and fancy-looking people so we stuck around a little bit and snapped a few pictures of people who are probably famous. (If you’re paparazzi, they’re for sale ;).). We saw Rami Malek, who is actually very high on my list of favorite actors, and it’s safe to say i freaked out a little bit. Like, a lot. To the point where a guy with a camera told me to calm down! I’m not gonna calm down man, this is your job!! I don’t leave my house every day thinking I’m going to casually bump into one of my favorite actors!!!!!
That’s my man
The rest of the day was surprisingly unfilled with casual celebrity encounters, but exciting nonetheless. We stayed in the city to see the Eiffel tower light up, and it was THE BEST. It was magical, to say the least. Now I’ve got one-up on Thomas Rhett.
That night we wanted to find a place to go after dinner, and we settled on a cute jazz club near the Seine. We didn’t think there was anything special about it, other than it being a cute jazz club in Paris, so we didn’t give it much thought until we saw that a few scenes from La La Land were filmed there! We were at the La La Land club! It was one of the most fun nights of the trip, and honestly, this semester. There was a live band and an open dance floor, filled with cute couples, old and young, dancing the night away. As soon as the band started playing “Another Day of Sun”, we all had to get up and dance. And it was so much fun!!! I broke out some of my dusty swing dance skills from over the summer, and we had a blast. Seriously, if you’re ever in Paris, I 100% recommend checking out Le Caveau de la Huchette!!!!
(I was also so excited that I didn’t take literally any pictures except for the sign outside.)
The next morning we were tourists yet again, and we visited the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Louvre. I really enjoyed walking through Notre Dame, especially now with all of my knowledge of Christian churches. It was also incredible to see the architecture of a Gothic church, because it’s so different from the churches we visit in class. I love stained-glass windows, and Notre Dame really knocked my socks off.
The Louvre was everything I’d hoped it’d be, and since I was really only hoping to see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, I did not leave disappointed. We roamed around the Egyptian exhibit of the museum (because the Egyptian exhibit is always the coolest exhibit) and we got too see a whole lot of sarcophagi. And a mummy!! We were also a little tired of seeing Greek and Roman art every other day of the semester, so we thought we’d go a different route. We saw all the highlights, including the Winged Victory of Samothrace. I’m no art history buff (no matter how much I’d like to be) and I guarantee I know the names of approximately three things in the entire museum, but it was still a really cool experience, and I loved walking through the Egyptian exhibit and the hall of paintings where the Mona Lisa is.
The rest of the day consisted of walking around, eating crepes, another key fiasco (buckle up: I promised Liz and Becca that they could leave their stuff at my Airbnb while we all went to the Louvre, because they had to check out and fly to Budapest that day. So I went back to meet them with the keys, ready to unlock the door, which is normally no problem. But as I’ve found, my brain does not respond well to keys and locks. So I put the right key in the lock, it didn’t work, so I tried the other wrong key, and it wouldn’t come back out. The key got stuck in the lock for 45 MINUTES and we were all calm on the outside but FREAKIN out on the inside because Becca and Liz had a flight to catch! So we tried yanking it out and picking the lock with a bobby pin, which didn’t work. They made the mistake of letting me try the bobby pin and I literally got the bobby pin stuck in the lock. With the key. So I called the locksmith and used my French to ask if they spoke English, which they made it very clear that they did not, and so I just kinda prayed that this key would be miraculously freed from the lock. Thank God Jonah was there, and he finally got the key out. Becca and Liz made their flight no problem, and the moral of the story is I’m never touching a key again!!) and some more really great sights. I ate an entire baguette, which made me pretty much like a French citizen. Even more so after buying it in French! I said to the lady “deux baguettes” and when she pointed to the baguettes, I said “oui”. You don’t have to tell me you’re impressed, I know you are.
As for the stereotype that the French don’t like Americans, I didn’t have any bad experience. Granted, I was in Paris, where I imagine they are very used to speaking English with the tourists. There were minor instances (like on the phone with the French locksmith) where I did get scoffed at for being American, though I was hardly offended because je ne parle pas Français.
The flight to Barcelona was at 06:55, meaning we had to leave our cozy Airbnb (darn) around 3 in the morning. So, we didn’t get much sleep. But we’re used to it, and we ended up knocked out on the plane anyway. It was nice to get to Spain so early, because we had the whole day to explore the city (or so we thought)! We dropped our things off at our very spacious and multi-room Airbnb (yay Barcelona) and walked to a nearby place for lunch. It was an interesting meal, very Spanish in the sense that it was tapas and paella, but we were the only ones in the restaurant and the woman who took our order really liked coming over and talking to us. It was a very personal experience, and it honestly felt more like a home-cooked meal. The food was really good, and the lady was so so nice, and we figured we just hadn’t figured out the Barcelona restaurant scene… it was here that we discovered our love of patatas bravas and tapas in general, so it was certainly not wasted time. We really love patatas bravas.
We ended up not exploring the whole day, because as soon as we got to our Airbnb after lunch, we all fell asleep. For like, four hours. We all needed that. We woke up starving so we took the metro to the shore and found a really cute place to eat. I got sausage and beans with garlic aioli (so good), because I really dislike shellfish, but the other four girls got seafood paella. It was honestly a terrifying experience because everything still had a shell and eyes and none of us really knew how to eat shellfish. We all toasted with a clam though, and I joined in because I’m close the ocean and even though it was not my favorite thing, now I can say I had a clam in Barcelona (worth it???). It’s all for the experience!!!
(Guess which one is which!)
The next day was our touristy day, and we made plans to visit Park Güell and La Sagrada Familia. We needed to kill some time before entering the park, so we found a place in the area to have tapas and mimosas, of course, because what else would you have for lunch in Barcelona?? We tried more tapas here, and fell in love with the sausage! And the patatas bravas, obviously.
After lunch we made our way back to Park Güell and spent a few hours walking around and taking in the sights. It was really beautiful, and I had such an amazing time seeing the beautiful tiles and mosaics and incredible architecture of this place. It has amazing views of Barcelona, with the ocean in the distance, and it was sunny and warm and absolutely amazing. The afternoon was accompanied with upbeat music from street performers and a slight breeze in the air, and I’m seriously trying to oversell how great this day was. I was over the moon to finally experience some warm weather!
After Park Güell we made our way to Las Ramblas, the main street in Barcelona with the shops and restaurants and where Ed Sheeran met whomever he wanted to meet, and we went to La Boqueria. It’s a heckin’ HUGE market right on Las Ramblas, and it was amazing. Hannah was freaking out because she kept finding things that reminded her of Argentina, which was super sweet! (Side note: Spain is very different from Latin America, so I sadly wasn’t experiencing any Costa Rica nostalgia.) I bought some watermelon juice because it’s basically #summer, and we bought empanadas (which did actually remind me a little of my Costa Rica trip) and ice cream! I loved walking through the market, and it completely reminded me of the West Side Market. The food being sold was naturally a little different, but the feeling was the same and I loved looking at all the really appetizing looking food. I kept my distance from the seafood section, because wow, did it smell like seafood.
After we bopped around Las Ramblas for a little while and went in a few shops (and bought some souvenirs), we headed to La Sagrada Familia. We didn’t dance around it but we did explore the whole thing and it was breathtaking. The peaks were so high it was impossible to get the whole church in one picture, and if you were up close you had to break your neck just to see whole whole thing. It’s seriously massive, and the interior was just as amazing as the exterior. It was unlike any church I had ever seen, and I’m honestly still amazed with the architecture. There were stained glass windows on the walls of all different colors, and the setting sun illumated the church in a warm orange and red glow. It was beautiful and impressive and unlike honestly anything I’d ever seen. It was designed by Gaudí, who also designed Park Güell, so it was cool to see his work twice in one day!
That night we went back to Las Ramblas for dinner, and after awkwardly drinking a pitcher of sangria at a smoker restaurant, we quietly left and found a nicer, smoke-free establishment. I got chicken and veggie paella, and it was amazingly delicious! That night was rough, I won’t lie, because the 22-days had caught up with me and I could not keep my eyes open. The rest of the group wanted to go dancing that night, and I wanted to join them, but we made the collective decision to send me home because I was honestly falling in and out of consciousness. So two of us went back the Airbnb and slept like rocks. Like actual rocks. It was a good decision, for sure, because the next day I could actually hold my head up at meals!! (Who’d’ve thought sleep could be effective??)
The next day was our BEACH DAY. And it was the best day, not that I’m surprised (there’s a reason “beach day, best day” was my Friday motto over the summer). We started the day with brunch at the most Insta-worthy joint, called Brunch and Cake. Seriously, look this place up and tell me it’s not the most Insta-worthy looking food you’ve every seen. So Insta-worthy we didn’t even feel bad about taking an insane amount of pictures of our food before we started eating. I got a house made pumpkin burger with sweet potatoes, cheese, strawberry, hummus, and greens on a handcrafted pretzel. To drink, a smoothie with banana, coconut milk, raw cocoa, almond butter, dates, and vegan protein. So good.
We got our brunch so we needed our cake, and when we went to ask how much the cupcakes were, they gave us one for free! They’re apparently supposed to be one per table, but we got more than one per table ;). We saved them for a beach snack and made our way to Barceloneta Beach! The beach itself was pretty crowded, but after buying a tapestry to sit on (after bargaining for it, like I’m gonna pay 20 euros for that) we found a spot and sat for a few hours. It was too cold to go swimming, but that didn’t stop Hannah and I from running into the surf! It was actually so cold my legs felt like pins and needles for the next twenty minutes… but it was worth it. It was windy but sunny and warm and it was so nice to lay and soak up the sun. It was the perfect day to end spring break, completely relaxing.
I found out later that my (second) favorite skier, Joss Christensen, was at Barceloneta on the same day, at the same time, in the same place. And I didn’t see him! He must’ve been sitting less than 50 yards from me, but it’s fine, at least I can say now that I was there at the same time he was!!! (Not quite as exciting, but I’ll take it.)
That night we went to our final dinner, and surprise, we got tapas and paella! It was delicious, as always, and we ended the day with some funky ice cream from next door.
The next morning we boarded our flight at 06:35, and made it back safe and sound to our Rome home. Just like that, spring break was over.
What a trip!
Szeretettel, avec amour, con amor,
Ally
PS – this is such a long post and if you got through the whole thing, you are amazing.
PPS – I promise I’ve been looking for stamps to send postcards and letters, but Italian mail is one thing I haven’t yet mastered…
Allison Julia 