I'm Wimpy.

I had a very interesting conversation on Sunday.

Let me preface this story by telling you this: Lately I’ve been wondering what I will say to people when I return to the States. I know people will ask me what living here is like. They will ask me what the people are like. And I really don’t know what I will say. I feel like there is no way to explain this place in words and the only way you will ever really understand it is to spend time here yourself. I could show you a thousand pictures and you still wouldn’t totally get it. Looks can be deceiving. So, I really don’t know how I will explain this place.

But, to give you an idea of what this place is like, I’ll recount a conversation I had on Sunday with a young adult at the church I attend here. It’s an Evangelical church, not Catholic. But also very different from the Evangelical church I attend in the States. Most obviously being the fact that it’s all in Italian and I don’t really understand most of it. But I digress.

I’ve spoken to this woman several times before and she knows that I’m American and why I’m in Italy. She asks me on Sunday how long I’ve been here and I tell her that it has been two months. She wants to know what I think about Naples and if I’m enjoying living here. I want to be honest with her and tell her that some days it is really difficult to be here, but at the same time I don’t want to be rude. I politely tell her that I am enjoying it and she tells me that she knows things are really different here. And honestly, that is to put it mildly. Things are incredibly different here. But I won’t get into that now.

She has been to other parts of Italy and to Germany and the United States. She knows how very different Naples is. She has experienced it. She tells me that she feels God has called her to be in Naples, because if it were up to her she wouldn’t be here. And because she says this, I assume that she must not be from Naples, but another part of Italy. However, she tells me that she has lived in Naples her entire life.

This blew me away. She feels like she is called to stay in her hometown, a place she doesn’t want to be. She knows how difficult it is to live here. She’s done it her entire life. She told me that she has a deep sorrow for this city and for that reason she stays. She trusts that God will use her in this city.

The conversation was really encouraging to me and also convicted me big time. There are days that I am ready to pack up and go home. And I will be going home in a matter of months. But there are other people here who are in it for the long run. They have made their home here because they desire to serve God in this city and see the people of Naples come to know Him. Life is hard here, but that doesn’t deter them from following Christ. I am such a wimp.

So from this ramble you can take away two things:

1.     Pray for the team here. Pray for national believers. Pray for the church here.

2.     Follow Christ wherever He leads you. It may be the most difficult thing you have ever done, but it is worth it. If He has called you to be in a place, it is for a purpose. He is good and we can trust Him. He is always faithful. Find comfort in that and persevere. And let me know how I can pray for you.

And because I know you were expecting it after my last post: a funny story.

This isn’t recent, but it really needs to be shared. One night I was walking with Ellie towards a metro stop when I heard familiar music playing. At first I thought it was Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” But no. And then I see flashing blue and white lights coming up the road. And then I realize that I am hearing the Ghostbusters theme. And then I see the Ghostbusters logo on the side of a white station wagon with flashing blue and white lights with people wearing Ghostbusters gear inside. And that, my friends, is Naples. 

Serious About Coffee

I used to be a real bad coffee addict. Like REAL bad. But, I cut it down because it was an expensive habit to have. But then I came to Naples. And oops, I drink a lot of coffee every single day. Because it is the way of life here. And it is super good stuff. And it is okay because it is relatively cheap.

Ellie and I have been in language school for the past two weeks and there is a coffee bar right outside that has the best cappuccino in the world. Seriously, the best ever. I’ve been a really good girl the past two days and refrained from getting a cappuccino. Ellie, however, could not resist and went to get a coffee today. And this is the how she recounted the event to me:

Ellie: So I walk into the coffee bar and I’m like, “Oh dang, those pastries look good,” then I snap back and I’m like, “FOCUS!” I go up to the bar and I say in my best Italian accent, “Vorrei un cappuccino. (I’d like a cappuccino.)” And the lady was real friendly and I paid her. I threw away my receipt and then I had to dig it out of the trashcan because I forgot that you are supposed to put it on the bar to order your drink and the lady laughed at me. I put it on the counter with my tip of € 0,20 and I was meditating on how that is probably too much because I usually leave € 0,20 for two people. And the guy behind the bar was like, “cappuccino?” I say, “Si.” And he says, “Senza zùcchero ? (without sugar?)” And I say, Si.” And then he was like, “ghufia hjdsoig jgifhjaog.” And I say, “Hmmm?” And he says, “Something, something, dove tua amica? (Where is your friend?)” And I said, “Ohhhhhhhh, a scuola. (At school.)” And he said, “Ah, capito. (I understand.)” And the other guy behind the counter was just staring at me nodding his head and by the way they don’t wash the dishes very well.

Basically, you know you drink a lot of coffee when the barista notices that you aren’t showing up. Guess that means I’ll have to go visit him tomorrow and enjoy the best cappuccino in the world. Obviously, con zùcchero (with sugar).

Sunshine!

English Dinosaurs

Earlier this week I had the strangest experience of my life: my first day of language school. I don’t know if I can even accurately describe how strange it was for me. I was sitting in a room with lots of strangers from all over the world. I heard a Ukrainian and a Dutch woman have a conversation in English. I spoke with a man from Berlin. I met other Americans living in Naples. Belgium, Brazil, Japan, the UK, New Zealand, Uganda, and many other countries were represented. It was such a weird feeling to be in that room and hear so many different accents.

I had my first real conversation in Italian this week as well. It wasn’t about anything important, but it was a big deal for me. I mean, the grammar structure was probably terrible, but hey, it was a conversation. The fact that I can now sometimes understand what people are saying to me is huge. Unless you have experienced it yourself, you have no idea how frustrating it is to not be able to understand anyone.

I love love love love love teaching ESL. I am falling in love with these kids. They opened up a lot more this week and weren’t as nervous. They are the cutest things ever and I want to take them all home with me. And I didn’t think I’d ever enjoy teaching. I tried the education route while in college and I did not like teaching in public schools.  But I really like teaching these kids. I get excited when they understand what I’m showing them. And I love that they like the same things I do: Hello Kitty, Hannah Montana, and cake.

Life in Naples sure is interesting. I really don’t even know how to put my feelings into words. I tried to describe my feelings through a drawing and I really wish I had a scanner so that you could see the beautiful piece of art I created (note: sarcasm). Instead, I’ll just describe it to you: I drew a landscape scene with grass, a pink and orange sun, a red dinosaur, and an astronaut planting an Italian flag. All familiar things, but not necessarily as they should be and definitely not where they should be. That is what life in Naples is like. It’s so right, but a lot of the time things are way different and usually don’t make sense, but it works.

Don’t worry. If you don’t get it, then I described it accurately.

I speaka da English

Way back in the day (like a year and a half ago) I took a class in college about teaching English as a second language (ESL). I thought it was a cool concept and something I could definitely see myself interested in doing, but I tucked that thought away because I couldn’t foresee any opportunities to teach ESL. I mean, I’m from Kentucky. All we gots are a bunch of white Americanos.

Now I find myself in Naples and guess what…people don’t really speak English here. But they’d like to learn. And that is where my first opportunity to teach ESL comes into play. The first day I was so nervous. Probably as nervous as the kids were, just because I had no idea what to do. Thankfully Shannon did the teaching and I was able to take everything in and see how exactly things would work.

Fun fact: I’ve always said that I don’t enjoy working with kids. Every time I’ve ever worked for a church or church organization of some sort, I’ve always avoided anything to do with kids. My brother and I are close in age and I really just wasn’t around a lot of younger kids when I was growing up. So the idea of working with kids just worries me a little bit. However, every time I have worked with a church or church organization, I have worked with kids. And I have loved it. I don’t know why I always think, “No way,” when I have always without a doubt loved it. For some reason it just never clicks in my head that it is something I actually enjoy doing until after I’m already doing it. I hope this explanation makes sense.

Long story short, I’m really enjoying teaching these kids ESL. They are so much fun to get to know, even through the language barrier. I am learning that a smile can mean so much more than words. And a laugh needs no translation. I love getting to practice the few Italian phrases I know with the moms and their appreciation of my effort to speak their language. I’m really excited to see where this goes. I am definitely loving every minute of it.

Now some practical things: I could really use some help with ESL. We like to encourage the kids by putting stickers on the work they complete that say things like, “Good Job, Great, Fantastic,” etc. The problem is, we are going to run out of stickers pretty soon. And we can’t exactly run out and buy English stickers. So if there is any way you could send us stickers, it would be like Christmas to us. Send me an e-mail if you could provide something to help us with: kalaglass08@gmail.com

Some other items we could use: Little things to hand to the kids in English, pencils, bible verse cards, vocabulary flash cards, anything neat you can think of! We teach between 20-25 kids so that gives you an idea of how much of each item we would need. Seriously, it would mean the world to me if you could help out in any way!

We start language school next week, plus we will still be teaching ESL in the afternoons. We’re going to be really busy! So pray for us!