The Joys of Packing

     So I've officially established that I strongly dislike packing. The only good thing about it is that after it's done, you get to go somewhere. I think the reason I hate it so much is that I want to make sure I pack enough clothes, especially if I'm not sure what I will be doing, yet I have this irrational fear of overpacking. So as you can tell, this proves to be an issue. Then, after you pick out all your clothes and you think you are done, you have to go back and pack toiletries (which for girls includes makeup, hairdryer, jewelry...need I go on?). So naturally, what do I do instead of packing, write a blog about my dislike for it.

     But seriously, I know I'm only going to Massachusetts to visit the grandparents, but I still hate packing. This trip makes it even easier to pack too much because we are going to such a familiar place and we will be making the trip in an 18 hour drive instead of a 2 1/2 hour flight so we have a whole car and there is no need to limit what I bring to 50 lbs. But, for those of you that know my girl-scout/low-maintence/efficient-packing mom, you can see how it has been instilled in me to NOT OVERPACK. So now I have this fear of it. Plus, I don't want to be "that girl" that brings a ginormous suitcase. And lastly, I again like to be maybe too organized.

    Even more reason I have such a strong dislike for packing- lets remember what happened last time I tried to do this a month and a half ago:

Yup thats me, asleep in my closet. I know I had more of a reason to pack too much because I was going to be gone for 4 weeks. But, after I arrived in Italy, having packed for shorts and tank tops weather, Italy faced unseasonably cold weather. I froze. And to top it off, laundry was a bit difficult. 

    So, that's me ranting while I wait for my laundry to finish. Can't wait to visit my grandparent's house! Its one of my favorite places :) Plus, we get to go to Maine for a few days-so excited! O, and I get to escape this triple digit degree weather this weekend, good luck!

Legos and Floaties

Well, this week has been sooo exhausting yet refreshing at the same time. How is that possible?


I've finally gotten adjusted back into a routine at home. A routine that involves waking up by 8 every morning and falling asleep before 11 (even on the weekends). Idk why, but I've become a morning person thats for sure! I'm still in the process of unpacking (from moving home) and repacking to move back to Athens in August. Our basement has been a collection of furniture for the past 6 months and now, even more has been added to it since I moved back home for the summer. As my mom puts it, it looks like a bomb went off. And its even more of a headache because I like being really organized.


I started babysitting on Tuesday, which has been so great! They are the cutest kids, but exhausting! I forgot how much I like playing with legos. No joke, I sit around their nifty lego table for a solid 2 hours every day either playing legos with them or playing while I watch them play something else. I will probably always be remembered as the babysitter that played with legos over there. One morning, I took them to the pool for a couple hours. They are 1 and 4 years old so I definitely had to keep a watchful eye on one while the other was on my hip the entire time. Good thing they have floaties. And I love it that they love the water and they aren't afraid of it (I'm not being sarcastic, I really love it when kids love the water)! Their parents asked if I could teach the 4 year old how to swim when I go down there, but I don't know how they expect me to do that with the 1 year old on me the WHOLE time. Plus, I tried teaching a neighbor how to swim once. I can teach someone how to improve their strokes, just not how to swim. Its way different and harder than it looks. O, and there is a lifeguard at their pool- a lifeguard that I realized is probably 4 years younger than me. When did the lifeguards start getting younger, better yet 4 years younger, than me?


It's almost 11 on a Friday night and I'm about to fall asleep. I've become an old lady in the past week in a half!

Art "Paperettes"

     Well, that's it, I turned in my final paper for my maymester. For those that have been following and are interested in what works of art that I found interesting and wrote my papers on while I was in Italy, here they are:


Cortona:
Luca Signorelli Communion of the Apostles

Siena:

Back of Duccio di Buoninsegna Maestá (scenes from the Passion of Christ)

Florence:

Andrea del Castagno The Last Supper

Rome:

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Ecstasy of St. Teresa

Heading Home on a Jet Plane

       Right now, I am on what seems like the longest plane ride back over to the U.S. The flight to Europe, praise God, went by so quick (probably because I had a solid night’s sleep during it) and it just seems like this is taking forever and a day. So I calculated it up, if you count the time from which we left our hotel this morning to the time in which we should land in Atlanta, plus the time difference, we will have been traveling for 18 hours. Good thing we get to break up our flight somewhat with a layover in D.C.

       Speaking of D.C., I am so excited about landing back on American soil where people speak English, tap water is safe to drink, public restrooms are free, and Mexican food is close (I, along with everyone else, have been craving Mexican food so bad haha). As much as I have enjoyed the trip, I really like America.  

       So on this plane ride, come to find out, I am sitting next to a student at Berry College who is majoring in voice/music something, which is what my sister wants to do and a school she is considering. And, to make it even more of a small world, he knows some kids involved in Wesley at UGA and is really good friends at Berry with a girl in my neighborhood whom I have known for ever! Small world!

       Now, I get to process the past 4 weeks. God has taught me so much beyond the knowledge I learned in my 2 classes. He has taught huge lessons in judgment and patience (patience as always, what else is new). I am so grateful for them though because as difficult as it was at first, I just feel like I have made leaps and bounds in those areas due to this trip. For the next week, I get to catch up on sleep and not have anything to worry about till I babysit next Tuesday. Pool and sunshine, here I come! I need try and squeeze in a chiropractor appointment, especially after trying to sleep on this cramped plane.

Angels and Demons

       So today, we had 7 churches plus a very famous fountain on our agenda. We started off with Santa Maria del Popolo. One of the coolest things about today was looking at what we saw and fitting it in to the movie Angels and Demons. If you have seen it, Santa Maria del Popolo was the “earth” church (the fountain yesterday being “water”, and St. Peter’s being “wind”). Later, we saw the “fire” sculpture which was really cool.

(Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa)

       The last thing we saw today was the Trevi Fountain. Its funny, I have noticed anymore when I am told to make a wish is that I catch myself saying a prayer instead. Even when it comes to blowing out birthday candles, or 11:11 too! I didn't intentionally do this at first, it just subconsciously happened. But now, it forces me to realize who is really in control of my life, hence the prayer instead of a wish.

       Tonight, we enjoyed our last night all together. It is crazy to know that we have only known each other for 4 weeks, when it seems like I have known some for much longer.

As promised, Funny Dr. Zuraw quotes:

1)    “We have 12 minutes to make a 20 minute walk so high knees”

2)    Amy and I are one of very few who are at the bus stop with Dr. Zuraw while the rest are still 2-3 minutes behind, “What do those idiots think they are going to do when the bus comes?”

3)    “Walk quickly, don’t look at anything, walk quickly.”

4)    “Don't die” as we cross a very busy intersection

5)    Students joking about the façade on a church, not realizing who is in front of them “don’t take a picture, its 19^th century” Dr. Zuraw: “Actually its 15^th century, but nice try”

6)    “I’ve been coming to Rome every year for the past 4 decades and I have never thrown a coin in the Trevi fountain. Take note of that.” An hour later when we arrive back at the hotel, “did you throw a coin in?” “Yes, sorry Dr. Zuraw.” When in Rome.

7)    “If you guess my favorite gelato flavor, you get an A.” Later, come to find out: “I can’t eat gelato anymore” Great.
8) "That is the American Embassy. That is where you go if you get your passport stolen. But go through those doors, not those. If you go through those doors, you might be greeted with a gun in your face."

Ancient Rome

            Remember how I started yesterday’s post of how it was a long and exhausting day? I take that back. Today has been a looong and exhausting day.

            Today was almost entirely devoted to Ancient Rome. We had a guest professor from school give us the tour, which was really good! It is so crazy to see how Rome has been around since antiquity and has all these different eras that have been built one on top of another. As a friend of mine put it, “you look around and see for the most part a modern city and turn around and say ‘o, hey colosseum’” The only thing that was a little frustrating though is that I know NOTHING about ancient Rome. I don't even remember/ know what was taught in world history in high school because, well that is a whole other story.

            After lunch, we made our way to the pantheon, which was also really cool. On our way to the Piazza Novena, our professors made us go into a famous gelato shop and get some. I think they are starting to catch on to our max. 50 minute attention span. That, or we are doing a pretty horrible job at hiding our exhaustion. After, we went to the piazza and saw Bernini’s fountain of the 4 rivers. Angels and Demons anyone?

            When we got back to the hotel, all 34 of us just about crashed for a much needed nap. Everyone was very exciting (insert sarcasm here) at dinner. 

Vatican City

       Today has been a long an exhausting day, but very, very good. We started our first full day in Rome at the Vatican, something I was sooo looking forward to seeing. And let me tell you, St. Peters did not disappoint. When we finally got to St. Peters square in the morning, it took me a while to realize what I was looking at. I don’t know if it was the fact that it was early in the morning or that I didn't really have any expectations of what I was going to see. Amazingly, we got through security very quick (a reason for which we will later find out) and made our way into the church. Absolutely incredible. We tried to make our way up to the crossing of the church to look at some sculptures but come to find out, there was a special mass going on which forced us to stay back.

       After lunch, we went back to the Vatican museum, which is where basically everything else important is in Vatican City. We spent about 3 hours there, which wore us out, including Dr. Zuraw, which is a major feat. We actually saw her sit down! When we finally got to the Sistine Chapel at the end of our day, we were so exhausted that our (or at least my) priority when we got in was to find a seat. Once that happened, and I just couldn't help but stare in amazement, it was just beautiful!

       For dinner, Amy and I had the opportunity to meet up with a friend, which was so good! Aimee is studying abroad in Spain for 6 weeks and came to Rome with a couple friends for their long weekend. I was kind of unsure at first if it was going to be able to happen because our lack of communication methods (we have no wifi at our hotel, which basically means no form of internet for us for 4 days), but it worked out which was great! It was soo good to see a familiar face :). And she is just wonderful!

Villa Borghese

       This morning we left for Orvieto, another Tuscan hill town a little bit bigger than Cortona. As apart of our art class, we toured the Cathedral there, which was again gorgeous from the outside, much like the cathedral in Siena.

       After lunch, we left for Rome and started off there by going to the Villa Borghese. We saw more art from High Renaissance and Baroque periods, which was a nice change of pace from the art we have been seeing from 200-400 years earlier. In my opinion, it is all much better and I like the artists (Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Bernini) better :).

       We finally got to our hotel, which is far from the center of town (a little bit of a bummer). And here I am in bed early. Tomorrow we spend all day at the Vatican and St. Peters!

Btw- I am making another list of funny Dr. Zuraw quotes, so be on the look out.