Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thanksgiving
Operation First Thanksgiving Away From Home = Success!Thanksgiving at the Villa: going to class, baking pies (apple, pecan, and pumpkin), playing football in the park (joined by some Italian teenagers who ended up being BETTER than us), trading little notes on why we're thankful for each other, eating an American meal (with amazing sweet potato casserole), taking food to the homeless on the cold streets of Florence, and ending with a coffee house (basically a talent show in which students showcased musical pieces, poetry, and etc). We also all gathered before dinner for a time of prayer, and talked about what we were thankful for. It was pretty emotional. People teared up as they expressed their appreciation to be spending Thanksgiving with such a great group of people. Indeed, we have all become like one big family, and though it was the first Thanksgiving away from home for most, no one even had time to feel homesick.
I hope all your Thanksgivings were filled with praise, love, and blessings!
See you in about 10 days! :)
Liz
“Jesus is most beautiful when we are most broken.” --Britt Merick
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
3 Cheers for London!
Kicked off our last travel weekend with a trip to merry old England. (Ironically, our plane left only a few hours after we completed our Humanities test on the history of the UK!) It was bustling and beautiful and cold as we traveled around to all the sights - Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the various bridges - and made use of their infamous subway system and double decker buses. We watched the new Harry Potter movie and also managed to acquire some of the very last tickets to the Saturday afternoon showing of Wicked. (Both were absolutely amazing.) We also visited the real Diagon Alley and ate some of Harry's treacle tart by the train station. What a magical weekend indeed ;)
"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." --Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Switzerland!
"...and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt
Two weekends ago I traveled with a friend to Switzerland; and let me just say, there are no words to describe the incredible beauty of the Swiss Alps. We stayed in the quaint little town of Zermatt, located right at the base of the Matterhorn. (Literally - we walked outside our hostel, looked up, and there it was!) We explored the town all day Friday and skied all day Saturday. The weather was cold and crisp and the snow and leaves were breathtakingly gorgeous.
It was quite an adventure navigating when neither of us speaks a word of French or German. But somehow we managed, and experienced the best skiing and most fantastical views of our lives. And don't worry - I remembered to bring home some chocolate :)
Love and blessings,
Liz
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Time For Catching Up Already!
"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." --Oscar Wilde
Oct. 8 - 16
This semester, our educational fieldtrip was to Sicily, the largest island on the Mediterranean sea, located just off the southern coast of Italy. The first three days consisted of doing volunteer work with an anti-mafia organization in Corleone. We stayed at the organization's HQ, going out during the day to help farmers who had recently reacquired land stolen from them by the Mafia in previous years. We also traveled around to different museums and churches and even got to visit the house of Peppino Impastato, a political activist who spoke out against the Mafia and was killed in 1978. It was truly fascinating, learning about the Mafia's history of manipulation and control over that area.
The rest of the week we traveled around the different provinces, staying at different hotels and resorts, walking through beautiful towns, swimming the different seas, and visiting many famous landmarks. We got to walk through the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento and host a dance party in the disco of our resort. We completed the week by hiking to the top of Mt. Etna, Europe's largest active volcano, where we practically froze our butts off due to the wind and snow. All in all, a fantastic week!
Naples, Pompeii, and Ischia
Oct 29 - 31
Fieldtrip #2 was to the ruins of the ancient Italian city of Pompeii, destroyed in AD 79 by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. We got to walk through the city and see the preserved buildings and bodies. It was like going back in time! We also hiked up the volcano itself and got a panoramic view of the surrounding country. For the latter part of the trip we sailed out to the island of Ischia, where we spent an entire day at Poseidon resort, going into all the different-temperature hot pools. It was the perfect way to relax after so much traveling! A very fun and beautiful experience.
Dublin, Ireland
Nov 2 - 7
This past week was our "long weekend", in which we had Wednesday through Sunday off. I traveled with 9 other friends to Ireland, and it was by far everyone's favorite trip yet! We had a BLAST touring the city, shopping, pub-hopping, visiting castles, and drinking the drink Ireland is known for - authentic Guiness. It was nice being somewhere so like home, where they speak English and have hamburger restaurants and normal stores and STARBUCKS! I got to have my first white chocolate peppermint mocha and carmel frappucino in 2 months!!! And I got to go to the movies cuz guess what - they're in English there! ;) We stayed in a world famous youth hostel in the center of the city, which was fantastic, and got to enjoy all the pre-Christmas preparations throughout the famous and beautiful Grafton Street. We also took a bus tour up the northern coast and explored a haunted old castle. It was cold and rainy the whole time, but somehow our spirits still soared (thank God for rain boots). All in all, a week full of great fun, great food, and great friends. It did, however, make me very homesick. The Irish were some of the nicest folks I've ever met and I loved being able to really communicate with people again.
Aah! Home in a month!
Much love.
xoxoxoxo
Liz
"God is giving you little miracles all the time. The more you look for them, the more you will see." -Anonymous
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