Ciao!

So I live in Italy now.

That sentence looks crazy weird. Like super crazy. I guess it is a little inaccurate. I mean, I didn’t like pack up and move all my things here. I’m only staying until June. But still, I like, live here. I have my own bed. In my own apartment. With my own kitchen. Crazy. Italy.

Day One: Freaking out.
Some thoughts of mine: Ummmm I don’t speak Italian. Oh gosh, I don’t speak Italian. I can’t understand people. I can’t communicate with people. I feel so dumb. I don’t know how this is going to work. I’m never going to learn Italian. Oh gosh. Oh gosh. Oh gosh.

Day Two: Hmmmmmm.
Some thoughts of mine: Wow, this place has the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had. Wow, this place has amazing fresh markets. Wow, these people are super nice. Oh gosh, I don’t speak Italian. Oh gosh. Oh gosh. Oh gosh.

Day Three: Buongiorno!
Some thoughts of mine: I’m still clueless but I can greet people in Italian and understand when they are greeting me. Hand gestures are helpful. Learning that ‘just going for it’ is key to learning the language. I must break out of my perfectionist mode. Making mistakes is okay.

Day Four: I think this is possible.

After the first few initial days of shock, I’m discovering that learning a new language takes lots of patience and lots of time and lots of practice. Seriously, I’m trying to learn very basic things. Like being able to count from 1-10. And being able to say “My name is...” and such. It’s a process, but it is totally possible for me to eventually have conversations here.

Can I just say that I love my roommate? I am sooo glad that we are here in Naples together. We are so alike that it’s creepy…in a good way. We ventured out to get hot chocolate and do some exploring on our own a few nights ago and it was so much fun. I’m so thankful that I have her with me on this adventure.

So I’m sure all of that leads to the question of why I’m currently in Italy.
Short answer: I’m working with the evangelical church.
If you want the long answer, you know how to get in touch with me. I’d be glad to talk to you about it.

Ellie and I attempted our first meal on our own a few nights ago. We had a pasta dish with pesto alla calabrese con peperoni.  Soooooo good. And we ate part of the largest bell pepper I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m sure the Italians would think we were weird for eating it raw. But it is probably in the top five best tasting things I’ve ever had. YUM.

I really don’t think I will ever eat anything here that isn’t amazing. The Italians know food. And for this, I am thankful.

Tower of TERROR (the Americas)

So...I walked like two miles to see this crazy thing. And decided it wasn't going to happen tonight. You see, I'm really afraid of heights. I do not like them...at all. BUT, I've gone to the top of what was formerly known as The Sears Tower in Chicago, IL and I've been out on THE EDGE at Eureka Tower in Melbourne, Australia. I figured, "Tower of the Americas, I can so take you." Well, not tonight. Tonight it made my legs shake just to look at it.

I put on my game face. But then I almost peed my pants. Tomorrow we will see if I am brave enough.

It rained pretty much all day. And this was my face. C'mon, San Antonio. Give me another sunny day.

Howdy from Texas!

Wow I'm in Texas. And it is sunny. And I am wearing summer time clothes in January. Can you say awesome?

I know. This sombrero is super attractive and I should totally buy it and wear it all the time.

Yep. Alamo. Yep. Crockett Hotel in back. It's like I'm on a field trip in 5th grade that never happened. And it's awesome.

Stay tuned for more photos...

louisville = true love

I'm going to miss it. Here are pictures:

So pretty, especially with the snow.

Okay, I'm not going to be lazy. I'm going to actually write. Here it goes.

I love, love, love my friends. I have been so blessed to know them. My old friends have stuck with me, even though I haven't always been the best friend. My new friends are so ready to accept me, flaws and all. It seems like I've known them my whole life, when it has only been a matter of months. I'm going to miss them all so much!

I should really be packing right now. I'm leaving for Texas in the morning for a week. Then I'll have two days before I leave for Europe. I don't even want to think about packing for that trip. Well, it's time to get busy. Dear coffee, please give me energy. Thanks. Bye.

Snow Day!

I think this rule should apply to blogs too. If it snows, I'm allowed to not blog. Although I should blog every chance I get as it will soon be very sporadic. Is that word? It looks weird.

Anyway...I'm off to Louisville to see some friends this weekend. I'm about to take off for five months so I'm going to soak up as much friend time as I can this weekend. And I'll be going to Sojourn Community Church on Sunday which I am soooo happy about!

Haircut!

This is the longest my hair has ever been in my life. I had short hair for several years and I hated it so much. The long hair has been here for while and it's driving me nuts!!! I'm contemplating going short again. Probably not going to happen. But it is a thought in my head. I'm definitely getting it cut. I'm about to leave the country for five months and there is no way I can handle this mane of hair plus however many more inches grow during that time.

Also, I finally got all my grades for the semester. Finished my first semester of grad school with all A's. Yay! It was not easy, but I'm certain that I received a lot of grace.

Before:

After:

I should probably take a better picture but I'm too lazy. My hair is way shorter than I expected. It hits right at my shoulders which I know is technically not short. But listen, my hair was crazy long. But I like it this way. And it feels way better. It's a winner!

And someone else also wanted their picture taken.

Shop 'Til You Drop

I only got a few hours of sleep last night because my legs were aching so bad. I swear I walked a million miles yesterday at two different malls. Serious shopping. I don't think I've been this hardcore for years. Thankfully I had a list. It was still an entire day of going from store to store, but I was able to get everything accomplished. Some of my favorite purchases: a new laptop bag and my second pair of Toms.

I also went to Starbucks twice. I'm currently staying with my parents who live in an extremely small town. There are no coffee places. The nearest Starbucks is about 30 minutes away. I'm a serious coffee drinker. I'm totally fine with drinking coffee from my coffee maker, but I'm not going to lie. I love me some coffee drinks. Lattes. Mochas. YUM. I was desperate for a mocha so I went to McDonald's. I frequented a McDonald's in Australia back in the day with a McCafe. It was delightful. And cheaper than Starbucks. So I thought this McCafe would be just as good. WRONG. I got the most disgusting drink ever. It was basically hot water with dissolved whipped cream and a glob of chocolate syrup sitting in the bottom of the cup. Nasty. So yesterday's two visits to Starbucks were very special to my heart.

I'm about to watch the movie Panic Room. Am I the only one who just now realized that Kristen Stewart is in it?

Day 3. I was craving a Mountain Dew this afternoon. I resisted. Go me.

Eating At The Table Is Bad

My family is super laid back. So much so that we eat all of our meals by ourselves whenever we want, wherever we want. Which is often in the living room in front of the television. I don't know about most other households, but I have a feeling that this is a pretty common way of observing meal time.

Last night we sat at the table together. It will probably be the only time in 2010 that it will happen, mostly because my brother and I no longer live at home. Times when the entire family is together is becoming more and more rare. Though eating together at the table was fun and enjoyable, it isn't so great for the waist line. When the food is right in front of me, I tend to eat a lot more. I just kept loading up my plate, unable to resist the gravitational pull of another scoop of goodness. I'm in need of working on self-control.

After dinner we watched my brother play a video game. Sounds thrilling, I know. But seriously, it was. It's called Uncharted and if you ever watch the game in progress you will swear you're watching a movie. It has amazing graphics and the best story line I've ever seen in a video game. Or maybe we're all just super dorks.

We also watched 500 Days of Summer. It was super weird but had an awesome soundtrack. I will probably never watch it again.

First day without a soft drink. Mild headache. Not tempted even once. Success.

In With The New...

2010. So very weird. I hate saying twenty ten. It feels weird, like time is going by super fast and I'm getting old. Nevertheless, 2010 is here.

There are plenty of things I should probably attempt to work on this new year. But I really only have three that I'm determined to accomplish.

1. Quit soft-drinking. I've done it before and felt soooo much better. The first few days will be painful. After day three, I will be victorious over the headaches and be feeling super awesome. Worth it.

2. Devote myself to devotion time. Some call it their "quiet time." I call it studying God's Word. It should be an everyday thing. I know I will fail at this, but it is still my goal.

3. Blog. I've started a million blogs and failed every single time. I hope I can commit this time to posting on a regular basis. At least making an effort. We'll see how it goes.

Twenty-Ten is going to be a great year. Exciting things are happening. A great journey is ahead of me. Stay tuned.