The Best Part Is The End

I don't really have anything to blog about. 

I could take pictures of my apartment, but that would require too much effort and I haven't had much coffee yet. And I also just spilled said coffee because I got a little too excited. 

I could tell you how good it feels to have my beloved Hummingbird (guitar) back in my life, but I think if I spent an entire blog post talking about how much I missed my guitar that would make me a little bit of a dork. 

I could tell you about my new roommate, Rufus Costello. He's a pomeranian who gives high fives. 

I could express my excitement on getting a washer and dryer delivered. Pretty sure getting excited about something like that makes me an official adult, which is a little bit weird to me. 

I could tell you about my new hairstyle, which is shorter and layered. I don't really like it, but there isn't much I can do about it now. I think it makes me look older, which wasn't the look I was going for. Allora...

Yep...pretty sure my blog is boring right now. It needs some pictures. And maybe some videos. OHHHHH. Wait for it...

New Home

I'm almost completely moved in to my new apartment in Louisville. Can I just say that God has been so very good to me? I went to Italy somewhat worried about how I would return to Louisville: finding a place to live, finding a job, being out of touch with friends, and on and on. I'm sort of a worrier. I know it's dumb. But now I'm back in Louisville in the perfect apartment for me, with a job, and with friends who haven't forgotten about me. I think the most important thing I learned while in Italy is that I really can trust God with my entire life. He really is faithful to take care of me. It seems like such an obvious thing but I am so thankful for how He has provided for me this year. Sooo many God-things in my life.

I'm still feeling pretty weird. It is overwhelming to be with a group of Americans. I didn't think it would affect me at all, but I'm afraid that I've lost my personality somehow in all of this. It could just be my perception, but I feel like I'm really quiet and withdrawn. I totally check out of conversations. I hate it but there is so much happening with my friends that I just can't relate with because I haven't been here. And vice versa, they have no idea what my life was like for the past five months. I guess it will just take time for things to feel normal again.

Anybody reading this who has dealt with re-entry before...got any tips?

Home Again. & Running.

I'm back home. It's weird and I don't really know what to think. I can pretend like the past five months didn't actually happen and it is easier to feel normal again. Or I can think about how amazing the past five months were and then I feel like I'm a foreigner living in the United States. It is very odd and I'm sure it doesn't make any sense. For now, we will just say I'm dealing with culture shock and leave it at that.

The topic I really want to talk about is running. Yeah, I know. Kala and running don't seem like a likely pair. But, a few years ago I was starting to make some real progress as a runner and then I got mononucleosis. And that sort of killed it. I've never gotten back in to the routine and now I am super out of shape. Soooo, I'm going to start running again. I figure by announcing it to the blog world I'll have to actually do it. If you stalk my blog, please hold me accountable to this.

I'm going to run a 5K. This Fall. Seriously.

So to all you runners out there: Give me your best advice. I don't know anything about running but I'd like to learn as much as possible. I'm starting on a schedule to work up to 3 miles, running only three days a week. But, I'm clueless. What kind of gear do I need? What kinds of food should I be eating? Is three days enough or should I be running more? What kind of shoes are best?

Help me!

Ciao Ciao!

i'm going to miss this place and these people. 

can't believe i'm leaving in one week. 

Bloggy McBloggerson

Wouldn't it be weird if my blog updated itself? Like if somehow this blog had the ability to follow me around for a week and make its own report? And wouldn't it be even weirder if the report was subjective? I wonder what my blog would think about me...

Since my blog can't do that, I'll have to update you on my life. For the past three days I have been in Rome. I saw the sights and I met with some people. Overall, it was a fun time, even when it rained for two days straight.

Rome is a weird place. There is sooooo much history there. And there are also sooooo many tourists there. Part of the time it felt like I was in Disney World. There are so many attractions and just people all over the place and you'll randomly here music and it seems all so very amusement park-ish. That part is pretty annoying. But if you can get past all of that and focus on the history, its pretty neat.

But Rome is definitely a different place than Naples. They might as well be in two different countries. Which goes to show that Italy is a very regional place.

In other news, my brother will be here on Thursday. And I am very excited!!!

Random Thoughts

Dear Blogosphere:

I don’t know if that is even the right word. Is it just Blogsphere? ‘Cause that looks weird. It must be Blogosphere. And if it isn’t, NON TI PREOCCUPARE!!!! Va bene? Okay.

I don’t really know what to blog about, so I’m just going to make some italicized points.

It is now May. That is really strange. I have been living in Naples since the last week of January. Wow.

I’m twenty-four years old. I realize that is not old, but from my shoes, it seems old. I mean, it is the oldest I’ve ever been. Haha. When Jon Foreman was twenty-four he was writing amazing songs. I need to get started on that.

My brother is coming to Naples in like two and a half weeks. You have no idea how excited this makes me. I can’t wait to show him around this crazy place.

In basically one month and one week, I will say goodbye to Italy and hello to Belgium. I’m excited to see Hands On friends and hear about their experiences living in Europe. I’ll be real sad to say goodbye to Italy though. It’s a weird emotional roller coaster. I’m beyond excited to see my family and friends again, but I know I will miss this time of my life in Italy.

It is so much more than I could have ever expected or dreamed of. It has been a really hard time, but I have learned and grown so much from it. It is as if I’m starting to see the “real” world for the very first time. America is nice, but it is comfortable and easy for me to live there. Living in Naples has given me the opportunity to look at the world through the lens of a different culture. I’ll just say that appearances aren’t always what they seem. Life is truly a difficult thing sometimes and without the hope of Christ, I don’t know how people do it.

It is heartbreaking to sit on the train and look at all the people around you and realize that you are probably the only person on the train who knows Christ as Lord. And even more heartbreaking to realize how big this city is and how few believers there are. There are over four million people in Naples. Less than one percent are evangelical believers.

When I told people that I was coming to Italy, I got a lot of really mixed responses. Some people told me to enjoy my vacation. Others were confused as to why I was going to a country to work with the church when everyone there was Catholic and already believers. To that I say this – even if every practicing Catholic were truly a believer in Christ alone, the number of practicing Catholics in Naples is extremely low. I think about ninety percent claim to be Catholic, but anywhere from ten to four percent of that are practicing. And let’s get real, Catholicism is not Biblical Christianity. If that offends you, then talk to me about it. Biblical Christianity means trusting in Christ alone for salvation. And that’s not what Catholicism is about.

And this blog entry turned into much more than I expected. The end.

Birthday in Italy!

Reasons why my 24^th birthday was anything but normal:

1.     I woke up and I was in Italy.

2.     I spent most of the day in Italy with Americans.

3.     I had my wish fulfilled of a Hello Kitty themed birthday. Cortney made me the best birthday cake of all time. Equal parts flour and sugar. An entire block of butter. An entire block of cream cheese. Plus glorious strawberries. It was amazing. Oh, and we had tacos for lunch. Win!

4.     I was surprised when I showed up to teach English to the kids and they had some very nice pink daises for me, complete with a drawing of me and a birthday cake. And they sang Happy Birthday to me and were extremely well behaved and no one cried. It was a great English lesson with some really sweet kids.

5.     I went to my favorite café in Naples, Azar Café, with Cortney and Ellie to enjoy the 3 C’s (coffee, Coke, chocolate). At night Azar has a million white lights on the trees and wall surrounding the outside seating area. It makes me feel like I’m in California. And now the weather is nice enough to be able to sit outside and take it all in.

6.     I went to dinner with my neighbors and their family. It was also one of the ESL mother’s birthdays. Of course, everyone is related here in some way because family is super important so they tend to stick together pretty closely. We went to a steak house and I ate a lot of food. So much so that I was sick the next day. But dang was it good. It was definitely a night to remember and one that takes up several pages in my journal.

7.     Two packages arrived for me! One from my sweet friend Emily and one from my parents. Talk about perfect timing! And I received a ton of very nice emails from friends and family. You guys have no idea how happy it makes me to hear from you. I miss you!

So basically I had the most random birthday of my life and one that I will surely never forget. I thought I was going to be all sad because I’m away from family. And I do wish I could have spent time with them. But I had a fantastic day with my Italian/American family here in Naples. I will never forget my 24^th birthday!