Classes, colds, and counting my blessings

Please forgive me for not writing sooner. Our first week of regular classes went wonderfully, but was quite long because I was sick for most of it! I picked up some kind of head cold that developed into feeling like the flu for about 24 hours, then changed back into a raffredore and stuck around for three or four miserable days. Ah congestion, how I loathe thee! I cannot count the ways!

By Thursday and Friday I was feeling fine but still sounded really nasally, much to the amusement of others. Then after a Saturday of only having the sniffles (no headache, no sinus tension, no sore throat), I started coughing every now and then in church on Sunday and couldn’t sing a single note – not matter how hard I tried! Later that afternoon and evening la mia golla (my throat) started hurting again and it is still hurting today, so we will see what tomorrow brings. I am really hoping I haven’t picked up a different something from the girls I am living with (who came down with similar but different raffredori at the end of last week). It’s funny, because I am still so thankful for this cold weather (no more zanzare!), but I would be enjoying it so much more if I wasn’t blowing my nose all the time. Hopefully, once my winter clothes get here (any day now!) I will be better equipped to fight off the germs I encounter daily on my bus :)

With classes starting, things have settled into more of a routine now, for which I’m glad. Every weekday morning I wake up at or around 6:30, get ready, eat breakfast with Fulvia at 7 (she usually has to leave pretty early for school), and then spend the remainder of my morning at home studying the Word. I leave the house at 8:15 and walk down to the bus stop where my friend Carly is waiting (she lives with a family in a set of apartments close to ours). The bus arrives quite faithfully at 8:24 and we get to school around 8:40-5 depending on the bus crowd that morning. It’s fun to know the regulars – you start to notice when they get on, when they get off, etc and if you’re like me you make up all these elaborate stories in your head about their lives and where they are going each day. It helps pass the time!

Excepting Mondays, when we start at 1 pm (!) and Fridays, when they start at 8:30 (…), school begins at 9 am when everyone goes to Italian class. After that, we all part ways and the schedules differ from one person to another. The best thing about our new schedule though is the way they arranged our classes to accommodate long weekends: on Fridays the last class ends at 1 pm (although I personally finish around 10) and, as I mentioned before, classes don’t resume until 1 pm on Mondays! It’s perfect for travel, just starting off the week slow if you’ve had a busy weekend. And now that I have an idea of what my academic week will look and feel like for the rest of the semester, I feel more at liberty to explore because I know when my big chunks of free time are (not to mention that these chunks are bigger than before, which is nice).

Classes are going very well. I am very happy with my placement level into the intermediate class because the pace has been perfect for me. There is plenty of review, which I certainly needed, but I am still kept on my toes and learning new things all the time. Creative Writing has been great so far; this weekend I spent hours and hours nit-picking over a one-page piece for today, and it felt so good to write again.

My other non-Italian class is called Education and Linguistics. Now I know you are probably thinking, what on earth is that? Basically, we are learning about the deaf community in Siena and in Italy and in the process with be better equipped for the service-learning project attached to the course. There are three people involved in the teaching of this class: Rita, a sociology professor from a university in Trieste (northern Italy) who has worked with and studied deafness from multiple aspects for years; Luigi, a deaf instructor who is teaching us Italian sign language; and Katie, a Siena School alum who is leading our service-learning project. We will be creating books specifically designed for deaf children learning to read, using what we have learned in Rita’s and Luigi’s classes to produce books that cater to the special needs of these children. It has been an absolutely fascinating experience so far, and I look forward to seeing where the project will take us!

I wish I could have taken all the classes that looked fun and interesting to me, but that would have been a bad idea for my mental and physical health (I would also have probably had to divide myself into three). The upside to my current schedule is that it allows me plenty of time to devote to the perusal of Siena – and of Boccaccio as well! While Dante is clearly the first literary love in Italia, Boccaccio and his Decameron are not far behind. I started studying him a bit last semester in my Chaucer class and am hoping to continue researching and use the Boccaccio/Chaucer connection topic for my senior thesis. When I expressed an interest in Boccaccio, Siena School helped me arrange an independent study with one of the Italian instructors (not mine). Her name is Claudia and I am guessing she is in her mid-twenties; she studied Boccaccio in school, so she is a perfect resource! Our focus is very narrow, which is great because it’s allowing me to delve very deeply into the original text. This week I’m working on translating the 5th tale from the 10th day of the Decameron – where Chaucer shamelessly ripped the plot for the Franklin’s Tale – from Old Italian to modern English. It’s been challenging, but I love it!

My Sienese history class (taught my by Italian teacher, Roberto) is by far the most challenging and, to be honest, frustrating class for me. I think it’s because the vocabulary is so different (history enough to discuss in one’s first language, let alone in another!) and because so far it has been more lecture style instead of interactive like our language class. We have language lunedi, martedi e giovedi, and history mercoledi e venerdi. The idea is that on language days we learn more about the grammatical elements of la lingua, and then on the history days we use the language as a tool, not a subject. So we’re still learning it those days, just in a practical sense. The listening comprehension level of that class goes way up because of the lofty vocabulary, and when we finish it feels like my head has just been through a wrestling match. Thankfully, like in our language classes, Roberto is always very patient! I know it will get better as the weeks go on and my Italian improves, but non vedo l’ora che ha fa (I can’t wait for it to do that)!

I didn’t end up taking Pilates in the community like I wanted because the class time did not mesh well with my academic schedule. That made me sad at first, but there are other things I can do instead. I have taken to wandering around Siena in the hopes of becoming better acquainted with her (and not getting lost as often), but my favorite activity is still sitting in the Piazza del Campo. I love going there on Saturdays and watching all the weddings. It blows my mind how many one can see in just one afternoon!

I have befriended an Italian girl, named Palmina, who works in a nearby art gallery and during the past few weeks I’ve been dropping by the shop to talk (in both English and Italian). On Friday we exchanged numbers and decided to start eating the occasional lunch or go out for coffee after she gets off work. She’s 27 and in the middle of what I think is probably the equivalent of a dissertation. All her friends from college seem to have moved on and I get the feeling that she’s really lonely. I am so glad I met her because 1) she’s been a pleasure to get to know and 2) it’s a great – and fun – way to improve my Italian conversation skills!

The Sansepolcro crew (minus the two littlest ones) came to visit me in Siena this past Saturday! They drove up for the day and so I got to show them around a bit, which was fun. Sara said that as they were walking up from the San Francesco parking lot along the side of the cathedral, Leonardo said that Siena was “una citta’ belissima” (a city most beautiful!). She found it particularly amusing since they hadn’t seen anything yet and were essentially walking up an alleyway :) Later that day Leonardo asked me which I liked better, Siena or Sansepolcro, and was quick to add that Siena was his favorite. I think his absolute favorite part was running around the Campo chasing pigeons. Sara’s favorite was definitely the book stores (we are a very bad influence on each other!) and I think Patrizio’s was the Campo as well (although he just enjoying sitting and watching Leonardo chase the pigeons, not chasing them himself).

It has been nice to have them nearby, and I have enjoyed visiting them every other weekend or so. Next weekend I am meeting Sara in Firenze to explore the city while she attends a conference Friday and Saturday. I am looking forward to seeing a bit of Firenze on my own instead of in a group like I did last summer. I will also get to see Dr. Webb, who is also attending the conference!

On Saturday afternoon we will return to Sansepolcro and then I am planning to stay there through Monday morning and try the train route back. There’s one that makes it back to Siena Monday around noon, but I have to make sure that I can get a bus back to school by 1 so I’m not late for class!

Today I am finally getting to meet the Casini’s, a local family with two little boys that I will be playing with once a week specifically so that they can pick up more English. It took a while for us to connect, and then last Monday, when we were supposed to me, I had to cancel on her because of my sick state. I am very much looking forward to meeting both her and the boys – more on them next week!

I think that’s all for now. For pictures of Siena School (and Siena), check out Picasa over the next couple days. Blogger has been putting up a fuss when I try to post pictures on here, so until I figure that out I will just upload them on the picasa site for you to enjoy there.

Much love … arrivederci!


Bekah

Settimana numero due a Siena ...

Ciao! I hope this post finds you warmer than I am! It's now week three in Siena and I'm already needing warm clothes. This past Friday the weather took a drastic plunge, going from the 80s to the 60s and 50s in mere hours. It's amazing what a good hard rain can do!

Week two of our language intensive classes was, appropriately, more difficult than the first, but it was easier in many ways as well. Various skills have been mastered (for instance, my bus route, the tricky lock on the front door, etc) so there is less stress in my non-academic life and thus, more room in my brain to focus on the Italian itself. Throughout the week we attended presentations of all the other classes (which begin this coming Monday) to give us a better idea of what each one will be like. I am still set on my choices of creative writing and an education and linguistics course, but there were plenty of other choices that tempted me to change my mind!

But the highlight of last week was definitely my return to Sansepolcro this weekend. Classes end at 12 on Fridays, so I caught a 12:30 bus from Siena to Arezzo and then another from Arezzo to Sansepolcro. I got most of my homework done in the first 45 minutes of the bus trip and arrived in Arezzo around 1:50. After buying tickets (more than I meant to - I'm set for the next three or four trips!), I ran over to a nearby bar and bought an amazing chocolate ice cream bar (double chocolate to be precise) and then went over to the bus stop to wait for the bus. On the ride over to Sansepolcro I met a small group of Irish ladies traveling together, and get this - they were from Cork (which I had the pleasure of visiting last summer)! We had fun chit-chatting about Ireland and Italy together as the bus careened through the hills around hairpin turns and near many a perilous edge.

Arriving in Sansepolcro again felt like coming home to an old friend. I stepped off the bus, said goodbye to the Irish ladies and then took off for Sara and Patrizio's house with a skip in my step. It only takes five minutes or so to get there, so before long I was walking up to the house, looking for signs of life. I could tell it must be naptime because the whole place had a sense of quiet stillness about it, but as I walked through the gate I heard someone shifting things around in the garage. I called out "Ciao!" and was happily greeted with a "Ciao Bekah!" from Patrizio which was followed by a big hug.

We ran upstairs and found Sara in the living room with Veronica - Sara gave me a big bear hug and Veronica flashed a radiant smile at me. It was so funny ... Sara and I kept giggling like little girls because we were so excited to be together again! That afternoon it poured and poured, bringing in the long awaited cold, but inside we were all glowing - it felt so good to be back with them again!

Leonardo and Ginevra napped a while longer, so that gave me plenty of time to cuddle Veronica and catch Sara and Patrizio up on everything Siena (and them plenty of time to catch me up on the latest developments at home - like Veronica's newest dental additions and Leonardo's first week of school). After another hour or so Ginevra woke up from her nap and there I was. Her immediate reaction was completely uncharacteristic - silence. She just stared at me with those big brown eyes and looked around like she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. It was so cute! But before long she was in my arms again, then pulling me around the house by my pinkie finger, pointing to things and talking in Ginevra-ese. It was "Battah" this and "Battah" that, and if I ever when out of eyesight, she immediately called out for me to make sure I hadn't disappeared again.

When Leonardo woke up he sneaked out to the living room doors and said, "How are you!" (note the punctuation there - it was not a question!). Then he hid and I had to go tackle him, and then, naturally, give him lots and lots of kisses (which, I am happy to report, were affectionately returned). We had a very sweet afternoon and evening together, and then that night Patrizio made us some killer pasta con pesto. It was magnifico ...

The rest of the weekend was really relaxed. It was fun to play with the kids again, talk with Sara, try to speak Italian with Patrizio, and walk around Sansepolcro again. Saturday I woke up around 6:30 (without an alarm! It's crazy ... my body just naturally wakes up early now) and got to feed Veronica her morning bottle. I love those quiet moments with her. Very sweet.

On Sunday Patrizio participated in a race in Citta di Castello - and came in 3rd! Then as we watched the award ceremony it began to pour again ... and I do mean POUR. We ran back to the car (with Sara, Leonardo and I sharing my very small umbrella) and took off for Sansepolcro and the delicious lunch waiting for us at Sara's parents' house. We arrived wet and hungry but happy to be there. Then after lunch it was time for me to head back to Arezzo to catch my bus back to Siena, so Sara, Patrizio and I all said "ciao for now!" and took off for the station.

I am planning to go back and see them again this weekend, but it was still sad to say goodbye! This week has been a bit long because it's our third week of language intensive classes, but I am still enjoying it very much. Next week will be fun though because all our new classes start - I can't wait, especially for the creative writing class.

Got to run - the school's closing soon and I need to gather my effects :) I tried to post pictures but blogger isn't behaving, but you should be able to view them on my picasa site - and some new videos of a couple of the kids too!

Ciao for now - love and baci.

Bekah

Safely - and very happily settled - in Siena!

Grazie mille for your patience! I have had a busy but wonderful first week in Siena and am itching to tell you about what I’ve been up to, so let me get right down to business … prepare yourself for another novel!

After a sad, early morning departure from Sansepolcro, I waved goodbye to Sara and Patrizio at the Arezzo train platform and then rode off toward Firenze and then on to Pisa. Miraculously, I made it to eat train change without any trouble (we were sure I would miss one because the changes were very quick and the trains are often late) and arrived in Pisa around 11:30. Before long I made my way to the arrival gate (it is an absolutely tiny airport) and began looking for Americans. It didn’t take me long to find them :)

There are 11 of us in total, but they were still waiting for two more to arrive when I walked up and introduced myself. Within the group there are two sets of three – Dan, Jamie, and Solomon and then Bryan, Pam, and Shaheen – who are from the same schools (Carlton College and Wheaton, respectively), but the rest of us are loners from a scattering of colleges in the west, northeast, mid-west – Alaine, Callie, Carly, and Jamila – and then I am here represent the southeast (it’s a big responsibility). I also got to meet Donatella (the current secretary), Lucia (Donatella’s replacement who takes over in October), and Elizabeth, a Siena School alum who graduated this past May and is staying with Siena School for the next year as a mentor for us (and then also for the students who come in the spring). The staff was extremely friendly and so evidently concerned for our well-being that any lingering reservations were immediately put to rest.

After the stragglers arrived, we all loaded onto a bus and rode to an agriturismo in the vicinity of Volterra (about an hour away). An agriturismo is the product of a working farm that converts itself into a bed and breakfast of sorts too.

We were surrounded by breathtaking views, were fed out of this world meals, had a pool at our disposal and a personable asino (donkey) for our amusement – it was so nice!

The days were devoted to relaxation, visits to the nearby towns of Lucca and Volterra (to see pictures of these towns, visit my Picasa site – the link is listed on the right hand sidebar of this page), along with orientation logistics, and for many, recovery from jetlag. The guys shared a room and then the girls were paired off in doubles. Jamila and I decided to room together because we had been emailing a bit over the summer and had bonded a bit more on the bus ride. She is a linguistics/German/art restoration major from New Mexico and we have enjoyed getting to know each other very well in a very short amount of time – a phenomenon that often occurs when close quarters and constant interaction are imposed on two near strangers!

Saturday afternoon (Aug. 30) we arrived in Siena around 5:30 and were immediately picked up by our host families. Fulvia, my Italian mamma in Siena, speaks almost no English, so there is no temptation to slip into my comfort zone linguistically! I am guessing she is probably in her late 50s, early 60s. During the year she teaches 4-5 year olds (she starts school again next week), so she has all sorts of patience to bestow upon my clumsy, accident prone, absentminded self! When I told her how much I appreciated her patience as I bumbled through my first try at pomodoro sauce, she reminded me of her occupation and smiled. Is she perfect for me or what?

After we arrived at the apartment she showed me around, gave me something to drink, and then let me unpack. She lives in a three-room flat that I just love. My room is comfortably sized and has a 10-footish ceiling. I have more storage space that I will ever need (assuming of course that I don’t go crazy with the amazing clothing stores here – just kidding, Dad!).

After I had finished with the clothes, I put the rest off and went into the kitchen and asked if I could help with dinner. We had a lovely time making spaghetti and insalata, and I now know how to make a wonderful batch of simple but delicious tomato sauce, handmade pesto, meatballs, and some practical kitchen skills (and all the people rejoiced!). Hopefully I will come back home able to repeat what I have learned in these months with her and Patrizio, yes?

My room is at the end of the hall but caddy corner to hers, and so while I was organizing the shelves in my room I talked to her (she was taking care of something in her room). I wanted to make sure she didn’t mind me talking her ear off, so I told her to tell me if I talked too much. She laughed and said she loved it, because the last student she had didn’t talk or interact hardly at all.

So far Fulvia and I have been able to converse very, very well; when I don’t understand something we just backtrack and work through the phrases together until the lightbulb comes on. She is divorced and her children are both grown and out of the house, so for the first week it was just her and me (two more American students from another program joined us this past Saturday). Fulvia’s daughter is in her mid to late thirties and lives about 10 minutes away in a tiny town called Uopini that branches off of Siena; she is married but has no children. Fulvia’s son currently lives in Firenze and I think he is in his thirties too, but I haven’t met him.

On Sunday (Aug. 31) she took me on two road trips – first to a tiny walled town called Monteriggioni (of maybe 200 people) about twentyish minutes from her house. The whole place took maybe a half hour to walk up to, around, and back down! I was so enchanted I forgot to take pictures of the inside, but here is a shot of the outside walls:

Next she took me further out to see a castle outside Siena (it is privately owned, so we had to admire from a distance). She cracked me up, because everywhere we went she would pluck blackberries or herbs up and eat them, stow them, or give them to me to either taste or smell!

It reminded me of the time Patrizio stole plums from a nearby tree. Oh, but might I add that it was not just any tree, but a tree on property owned by their priest! As you can imagine, Sara and I gave him quite a bit of ribbing for stealing plums from a priest (as we sat in the kitchen eating his plunder) …

Anyway, on the way home from the castle sighting we stopped by Uopini to see her daughter. We walked over to a local blood drive where there was a little market of sorts, had some caffé and then looted a massive fig tree behind her daugter’s apartment. I, of course, was eaten alive by the zanzare (apparently, me + figgy fingers = irresistible), but we were able to pick a ton of figs – which have since been turned into marmellata. After the bag was satisfactorily full, we returned to the flat, had lunch around 1, and then both tried to read (but that turned into a nap for both parties). Then around 4, we headed out again to visit San Gimignano, a significantly larger walled hill town (but still smaller than Siena) known for its towers. It was about 45 minutes or more away from Siena, and it was just gorgeous. I have also posted these pictures up on my Picasa site, but here is a tiny sneak preview:

And then on lunedi, school commenced! The Siena School headquarters is in a villa (yes, a villa), so I feel like I am living in a dreamland. For the first three weeks we are only taking Italian language intensives, so we have class from 9-12 every weekday. As I said, there are 11 students in the program (plus two college graduates who are here as interns and taking language classes too), but we have differing levels of Italian so we are divided into three classes (I absolutely adore these tiny classes!).

I am in the middle one with four other students: only me and Tate (one of the interns) have studied Italian before, but the other three have significant backgrounds in foreign language so they are picking up Italian very quickly (for example, my friend Jamila was raised bilingual – Spanish/English – and has studied German and Portugese as well … I am insanely jealous!). Meanwhile, Tate and I are loving the review and helping the others move along at brisk pace. Our teacher, Roberto, is a Sienese local. He is very kind and patient with us, and, strangely enough, reminds me very much of Liam Neeson. Three hours sounds like a long time, but in reality it has been flying by (and we get a fifteen minute break).

Then from 12-2 we have a lunch break, which is just lovely. Jamila and I have been finding different places to eat around Siena (such as the Piazza del Campo or a nearby park) to get us out of the school and acclimated to the city. We have really enjoyed walking around and familiarizing ourselves with the hilly streets of this beautiful città.

In the afternoons we have had language/phonetics labs, meetings with members of the staff, history of Siena classes, and twice a tour around different parts of Siena. The Siena School (my program) has fulfilled and exceeded all of my expectations! They really have thought through everything and go to great lengths to make each student’s time in Siena a special experience that is tailored to his or her interests/talents. The school really loves helping students find their niche, because it offers yet another means of improving our knowledge of the language, the people, and the culture of Siena. For example, last week they helped me track down a dance studio. Classes start the first of October, and while their contemporary classes (modern) did not fit well with my schedule, I think I am going to be able to take a weekly pilates class!

They also helped me find a local church (protestant churches are few and far between, but we found a good one!) and I was able to attend the service yesterday. It is very, very small, but everyone was so friendly and welcoming and it was truly a blessing to be able to worship with fellow believers again (even though I couldn’t understand a lot of it!). After the service one of the older men ran up to the church office and got me an Italian/English Bible (it has French too, but my francese is extremely rusty due to shameful neglect!). I am really looking forward to being able to understand more of the sermon, but until then I will enjoy the weekly hymns (which I can understand, for the most part) and fellowship.

Our flat is about ten minutes outside central Siena (we live outside the walled portion of the town), so every morning I catch a bus and ride into town. Another Siena School student, Carly, lives in the area, so we have enjoyed having each other for company – and moral support – and we learned to maneuver through the bus system. We have also walked home once, and plan to do so on either a weekly or twice-a-week basis, depending on how tired we are (it took us over an hour, but it was a pleasant walk and helped orient us to our surroundings). While I am semi-jealous of the few students that live inside the city walls, ultimately I am glad that I live outside because it has forced me to learn how to use the buses and improved my knowledge of the city.

As mentioned before, I have my own room and so does Fulvia, and then the other two girls (a senior and a junior from BYU) are sharing the largest one. Their names are Shannon and Johanna and they are both very sweet (pictures to come!). We three ragazze share a bathroom, but so far it has been a very congenial and peaceful sharing of the space! They will be here until mid-November, but their school schedule differs a bit from mine. Because they are required to be back for Sunday morning services in Siena, their school gives them Fridays off to allow for weekend travel time. It sounds like they have many places they want to go, so I am guessing that most weekends it will just be me and Fulvia until Sunday afternoons. Of course, I will be going to Sansepolcro on some weekends, as well as making a few weekend trips myself, so Fulvia will have a few quiet weekends.

I miss everyone back in Sansepolcro very much, but now that my return visit is only five days away the absence is not so bad. Sara and I have been texting and emailing throughout the week, and I got to talk to them on the phone at least twice. The first time was when I called to let them know I had made it to Pisa and then on to orientation in Volterra okay. Right before Sara and I hung up Patrizio got on the phone and, with the clamor of i bambini in the background, said, “Bekah, come back, please!” The humorous desperation in his voice was so funny. I got to talk to Leonardo a couple nights later when he was going to bed. Sara said that he had been crying a lot since I left, and that Ginevra keeps going into my room and saying, “Batta?” I can’t wait to see them again!

Surprisingly, I can’t say that I miss the States at all. Now, please, please, please don’t read this incorrectly – I miss the people, but not the place itself. I must admit though, I do feel shamefully disloyal to my homeland and the lack of “missing home” can be quite disconcerting at times! But honestly, if it weren’t for all of you that I hold dear back home, I wouldn’t ever want to leave (blushes). I told Jamila the other day that if I were an actress or singer and could change my name for the stage, it would most definitely be an Italian one (exactly which one is yet to be decided).

I can already tell that my Italian is going to improve by leaps and strides in no time at all. Within my first 24 hours I was shocked by how much surfaced from the depths, and now that I have completed my first week of language classes I understand even more. I have also seen just how much living with Sara e Patrizio really jumpstarted my listening comprehension – there is much (MUCH!) room for improvement, but I can follow most of what Fulvia says and respond with reasonable confidence (though it still involves much effort too!).

And now begins my second week in Siena. I will hopefully take more pictures of the actual city this week and post them this coming weekend. I wish had adequate time to embellish and tell you absolutely every delicious detail, but alas, I do not. So until my next posting (keep an eye out on Mondays), much love … arrivederci!

Bekah

A dopo, Sansepolcro!

Please forgive the delay in my posting. Last week was a difficult one for me and many loved ones back home, but God is still good and He has been abundantly faithful through this past storm. My friend Luke is with Him now, free from pain and relishing the presence of his King. It has been very hard to be away from my family, friends, and church body during this time, and then this past weekend I missed out on what sounded like a magnificent celebration of his life, which was equally hard. At this point, none of it feels real.

However, more than anything else I am simply thankful to have known Luke during his time on earth – and rejoicing in the knowledge that I will see him again in the next! Please keep praying for his family, friends, and our church family as they all continue to adjust to the gaping hole Luke has left behind.

Well tomorrow I have to bite the bullet and say goodbye to Sara, Patrizio, Leonardo, Ginevra, Veronica, and Sansepolcro – for the present, at least. It is bittersweet because the idea of Siena, including all its unknowns and the adventures that lie ahead, is very exciting – and yet, I know that I will miss the family (which I now regard as my own) quite terribly, and also that adjusting to the fast paced demands of academic life will be hard at first. Thankfully, Sansepolcro is just an hour’s bus ride away, so, assuming my homework load is manageable, I will be able to visit my “home away from home” on a regular basis! I keep telling Sara and Patrizio how much I am going to miss all the little things that we find trying, like Ginevra’s “NOOOOO!”’s and Leonardo’s under-the-table kicks, etc. Sara laughed and said, “Well if you are really missing them that much, we can just send you one while you are in Siena, no problem!”

Tomorrow morning Sara and Patrizio are taking me to Arezzo where I will be catching a train to Firenze and then another on to the Pisa airport where I will be meeting up with the other students. I have to leave pretty early in the morning, but what a blessing to not be jet-lagged like the rest! I will have to be extra nice to the ones that are. From there we will be staying in Pisa (or nearby anyway) for a couple days of orientation before heading on to Siena, on Saturday I believe. Then classes start on Monday – yikes!

I am not sure what my internet availability will be like for the next few days, but I will post again in Siena if not before. I would really appreciate your prayers as I move into this next phase of my time in Italy. Grazie mille! I have been so very blessed by my time in Sansepolcro, and while life in Siena will be far more demanding, I know God has great plans for my days there as well.

Thank you for listening, as always. Until Siena – arrivederci!

Bekah

Luke

Please be praying for my friend, Luke Johnston. I found out yesterday that he suffered a spinal injury and remains in critical condition at Duke. Here is more information, taken from his carepage:

"The Johnstons were at a picnic at the lake and Luke and Brock (age 9) were playing Frisbee. As Brock threw the Frisbee, it went over the water and Luke dove for it. Luke is a competitive swimmer and a lifeguard so Brock was not too worried when he did not immediately resurface. When a few minutes had passed, Brock went out to find him and pulled him to the shore where a bystander began doing CPR and Brock ran to the shelter to get his dad. Dave and another bystander (an ER nurse) took turns doing CPR for the 10 minutes it took for EMS to arrive. Luke was taken to Duke and placed on life support. He has sustained a significant brain injury and has dislocated the vertebrae between C2-C4. "

According to my mom, the doctors have said that if Luke survives, he will be a quadriplegic on a ventilator for life. His brain was also very oxygen deprived, and so they don't know yet if there is any hope of anything less than severe brain damage.

Right now I am praising God because Luke is still alive as of the last update (6 hours ago). The doctors didn't think he would live through Saturday night.

Please be in prayer particularly for his parents and his siblings - he is the oldest - as well as for my entire church body as they seek to support the family and glorify God through this. I would also appreciate your prayers as I struggle through it from a distance. Right now I am trying to rest in the knowledge of God's power and omniscience.


Many thanks,

Bekah

Packages, thunderclaps, too much espresso e un molto buono compleanno

And then another week went zooming by … ciao family, friends, and kindred spirits! I suddenly find myself a mere ten days away from leaving Sansepolcro – for another adventure in Italy, yes, but nonetheless, I am beginning to feel the pang. Thankfully, it looks like there will be rather frequent visits back, assuming that I can keep up with homework and such while doing so.

My morning view ...



I tried to explain to Sara and Patrizio just how much I was going to miss the everyday chaos that comes like clockwork at mealtimes (and pops up all over the place in between), but in the end, they will never really know just how much I love every minute with them and the kids – even the crazy ones. I just love these kids!

It has been another busy week, but a happy one. On lunedi I finally got my long-awaited package from home, full of things (books in particular) that had been left behind in deference to weight limitations. My poor parents had quite the time getting it to me! The customs form required every last detail of the contents, there was a huge list of no-nos (including shoes and perfume, two things in particular I had counted on being mailable), and then charges on both the sending and receiving ends. Crazy. I was particularly sad about the shoes, because my Birkenstocks were one of the pairs that got left, and they are pretty much all I wear in cooler weather. Guess I will have to buy another pair while I am over here – quite a shame, yes?

Anyway, back to the package. I think I scared the poor delivery woman with my excitement. See, I was home alone that morning because everyone else was out running errands and such, but I was napping, so when the buzzer rang, I didn’t react the first time. Then came a second buzz, and I stumbled out of bed to the door to see who was there. Once I saw the delivery truck, I about fell down the stairs in my haste to get to the gate! She needed ID, and there was a ten euro charge for delivery (which, thankfully, I had in cash!), so I ran back up the stairs to grab my wallet. But eventually, the heavy box was in my possession and I was running upstairs for the last time to unearth my treasures. It felt like my birthday! You know it’s bad when you are giggling ridiculously while all alone, just you and a box. But I was just so excited!

Inside were basic things like extra toothpaste, sweet things like Mentos, useful things like my external hardrive, fun things like toys for the kids, and things that make your heart skip a beat, like books and a beautiful new watch set in EST (which, I still haven’t changed, by the way). I think I was most excited about the books, with the watch being a very close second.

The enclosed titles included: Cyrano de Bergerac, The Man Who Was Thursday, A Room with a View (which I devoured in about a day), and a guide to Tuscany and Umbria. Inside I also found Orgoglio e Pregiudizio (which Patrizio is now reading), and For Women Only (which Sara is now reading).

For Women Only is basically a guidebook to the male mind written in a language women can understand. I wish you could have seen Patrizio’s face when he picked it up and read the cover. “What is this?” he said, laughing because he had a pretty good idea of its contents based on the subtitle (“What you need to know about the inner lives of men”). When Sara and I explained it further to him, he smirked and said, “But why do you need to read this? You can just ask me!” You can imagine our mutual response to this suggestion … yeah right!

Oh, and one more happy note about the package – for some reason they were not supposed to include personal letters inside, which made me sad. However, unbeknownst to my family (at least, I think it was unbeknownst), I had slipped a couple early birthday cards I received before I left inside a couple of the books. So I got some momentos after all!

On giovedi Sara and I started watching The Holiday while the kids napped. We were able to finish it on venerdi afternoon and she absolutely loved it! I think it was a lot easier for her to follow than Pride and Prejudice. I mean, not only were the conversations slower, but there were far fewer multisyllabic words and only a handful of British dialects to decipher! We are going to watch Jane Eyre next.

The other day Sara made my day by revealing that she was just as sad about me leaving as I am. We were in the kitchen talking as Veronica finished up the last of her morning latte while Leonardo and Ginevra were out biking with Patrizio. Both of us were relishing the quiet, commenting on how peaceful it was, and she brought up the fact that school would be starting shortly after I leave and then it would just be her and Veronica most mornings – soon every morning would be quiet like this one! She said she had been thinking about it one morning, and then she was hit with just how much she was going to miss having me here to keep her company. That blessed me to hear! I mean, it is one thing to assume another person is enjoying your company and quite another to be told how much they will miss you!

One particularly happy piece of news has to do with the weather, which I find kind of humorous since the weather is generally thought of as a dull topic people turn to when they can’t think of anything else to say (not at all the case here!). We got quite a bit of rain on venerdi throughout the day and again at night, and to our delight, the temperature has dropped significantly as a result. We were all relieved: Sara and I because of the likelihood that our battle with the zarzare might be lessened, and Patrizio because his guardino has been dying a slow, painful death due to the lack of rain (it seems his indigenous rain dances finally did the trick). So in the end, all parties were satisfied by the glorious rainfall (except, momentarily, the kids, because they were frightened out of the senses during naptime when a huge clap of thunder woke them up and caused a minor scene of hysteria).

That night we watched Ratatouille, in italiano of course, because it is one of Patrizio’s favorites (those of you who have seen it will know why). When I went to bed that night, the temperature had dropped to the point that I needed to sleep in sweats and a long sleeve shirt to be comfortable – I loved it! I kept one of my windows open, so when it started raining in the middle of the night I fell back to sleep with the sound of rain lulling me to dreamland. It was just fantastic after weeks of hot nights, something you can’t truly appreciate until you have been without AC for a month!

Check out this picture: Patrizio cooked a marvelous turkey earlier this week, and they had quite the time with the drumsticks afterwards! You can’t really tell, but Ginevra is actually about to brain Leonardo with hers …

(You would never guess that behind that innocent little face lies the plotting capabilities of an impish genius, now would you?!)

However I did not sleep that well last night, not due to the weather, which was still cool and delicious, but because I had a small cup of espresso after cena (dinner), which was pretty stupid of me. Usually I just have one after pranzo (lunch), but the rain has brought in some nice cool weather so it sounded really good last night when Patrizio made some. The result? Not tired at all when I was trying to fall asleep last night. Oops. So I exercised, thinking that might make me tired. Again, stupid Bekah, just not thinking (Dad, I forgot to take my stupid pill yesterday morning – and I am running low, so please send more via airmail). My little workout gave me more energy and I was less tired than ever. Perfetto. I am not sure when I fell asleep, but I ended up waking up multiple times through the night and for good around 6 this morning. That’s the last time I enjoy an after dinner coffee!

I meandered in bed until 7:45 or so, then made my way to the kitchen where the happy noises of hungry little Falaschis were erupting. And what did I find? Everyone (minus Patrizio, who was wrapping up a night shift at the hospital) gathered around the table (which is never the case at breakfast) as Leonardo shouted “Buon compleanno!” and shoved a big birthday bag in my face as Sara scolded him in Italian and told him to let me sit down first. It melted my heart! Meanwhile, Ginevra had started wailing at the top of her lungs because she wanted a biscotto, Leonardo was still demanding that the present be opened (as he began pulling out the contents himself), and Veronica started singing in baby talk (high pitched squeals). Poor Sara! Between the two of us we put out all fires, pacified all whims, and settled down to eat and enjoy the beginning of my birthday. They gave me a beautiful scarf and Le pagine della nostra vita (literally translated: “The pages of our life,” which is the Italian version of Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook), which should be considerably easier than my first attempt – trying to read Jane Austen in italiano! Another present (which they had already given me) was a bottle of my favorite perfume, which had been left behind because of weight and then not permitted in the package my parents sent. I have already been putting that gift to use on a daily basis!

Later this morning we all went to church, which turned out to be quite the trial for me (in the best of senses and not in any way you might suppose). See, one major difference in Italian churches (at least, in the ones I have visited) is that there are no nursery services – all the children are in the sanctuary with the adults. Now, knowing that, and adding to it what I have told you about my little comrades, can you guess how I was tried?

Think about all the times you have had to fight to maintain composure – either in a church service, at a funeral, wedding, whatever – and you will have a pretty good idea of how badly I wanted to laugh at loud, but couldn’t. Ginevra sat in her stroller for about ten minutes (which amazed me), and then Leonardo started talking to her and it was all over – she leaned back to look at me and started squealing my name (as it echoed throughout the highly echoey cathedral), then started saying “Ciao!” to the old man across the aisle from her. She also walked over to him and started digging in his pants, searching for his keys, and squealed again when she found them.

Meanwhile, Leonardo, bored of crawling in and out of the pews and asking impertinent questions in normal volume (versus the whispers his nonna replied with), decided to seek amusement and answers elsewhere. He stepped out of our row, walked up to the man behind us and asked, “Finito?” I about died! It was just too funny, and I was already tired, which was not a good combination. Thankfully, I was not the only one who found them amusing, and to my relief I also succeeded in making it through the service without snorting (as is my propensity when I am very tickled by something). I think what saved me what the thought of a snort echoing through the service and everyone turning to stare and frown in astonished disapproval before kicking out the irreverent snorter and returning to the service. At such times, an overactive imagination like mine really comes in handy!

After the service we strolled down to Sansepolcro, Sara trying to keep Leonardo off various walls and fences, Patrizio trying to pacify Ginevra as she rode on the back of his bike, and me happily pushing an equally happy Veronica as she cooed in the stroller below me. Despite the predictions of rain, it turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous day, complete with Carolina blue skies, warm rays of sunlight, fresh summer breezes, and full cotton candy clouds. It was a nice way to stretch our legs after the service – just a brief little interlude around the town before heading back up to the house for pranzo.

And what a pranzo it was! Patrizio went all out for my birthday, serving us a knockout plate of four-cheese gnocchi that was easily one of the best pasta plates I have had in my entire life. This was followed by corn on the cob North Carolina style, something they had gotten special for my birthday (Italians don’t really eat corn that much, and pretty much never on the cob). And then came the grand finale: freshly cut pineapple rings swimming in homemade sweet cream coupled with a delightful little cream pastries that Patrizio had picked up at the local pastry shop earlier that morning (followed by a cup of espresso for the adults, of course!). I was positively stuffed, but oh so happy. I wish I could send each of you a plate of his gnocchi – there really is no comparison, and I am afraid our version of the dish pales shamefully to this homemade goodness.

Lunch pretty much did us all in – Ginevra and Veronica went down for naps, Sara read to Leonardo before adding him to the company of sleepers, Patrizio picked up the newspaper, and I came to compose this little love letter to you all. The house is relishing one of those rare moments when all is very, very quiet!

Now technically, I am not officially twenty-one yet. In fact, I still have a couple hours to go because I was born at 2:22 p.m. EST – which translates to 8:22 this evening. But technicalities aside, I have had a very happy first day being ventuno. Oh, and Michael Phelps went and rewrote history when he won an eighth gold medal in honor of my special day … how cool is that? Thanks, Mike!

And now I am off to enjoy what is sure to be an absolutely extraordinary birthday dinner with the fam. Have a wonderful week and enjoy the rest of the Olympics!

A dopo,

Bekah

Pools, lakes, rains, pizzas e Olympics!

We have had another happy week here in Sansepolcro. Un giorno alla piscina (a day at the pool), una sera al lagho (an evening at the lake), Orgoglio e Pregiudizio (Pride and Prejudice in Italian), i gioci olimpici (the Olympic games!), pioggia (rain), and as always, lots of really good food.

Lunedi was a longer day, or afternoon really, because it was one of those days when Patrizio worked a post-lunch to evening shift. Before he left, he told Sara and me that all he wanted to do when he got home was put the kids in bed and finish watching Orgoglio e Pregiudizio, a sentiment Sara and I couldn’t have agreed with more. It was a long afternoon and evening, but we survived! Sara’s parents joined us for dinner and helped with the kids a bit, but we were still pretty much spent by the time Patrizio got home. But then at long last the kids were asleep and the film was resumed and loved by all (okay, I don’t think it is fair to say that Patrizio loved it, but he certainly didn’t detest it either).

It was absolutely hysterical to note the differences in their responses and reactions throughout the film in comparison to the first viewing. They both laughed a lot more, Sara sighed and “awwwed” a lot more, and Patrizio kept making noises of realization and comprehension (“ohhhhh” or “ha senso!”). It was interesting to watch a favorite movie with different voices too, and to my surprise (and theirs) the subtitles didn’t match up with the dialogue much of the time. Sara and I agreed that the original voices (particularly of Lizzie and Darcy) were infinitely superior, but were impressed by the voices of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, which were cast quite well indeed.

On martedi (Tuesday), Sara e io took the kids – minus Veronica – to the local piscine (pool). As we walked through the front gate, Sara immediately began forewarning me that it wasn’t a very good pool, but as you probably know from experience, “good” is a very subjective word. So there I was expecting something close to dreadful, and I walk in and see a very large and well-kept outdoor facility, not unlike many pools I have seen back home. There were two huge slides (and I mean huge – think water park size), a diving well with two large boards, a nice baby pool (which is where Sara and I spent much of the time chasing Ginevra), and a large, shaded area reserved for tables and chairs.

All in all, it seemed much like American swim clubs, but there was one major difference that was impossible to overlook – and that was the amount of skin displayed by its inhabitants, both male and female! It was very distracting at first, and the funny thing was that my own considerably more conservative swimwear seemed equally novel to them. Thankfully, I had plenty of distraction from said distraction in the form of little Gigia because she was all over the place – in and out, here and there, running away one minute and then crying for me the next. I am never ever bored by Ginevra!

That evening we had another amazing dinner of pollo, zucchine, pane di Toscana, vino ... and it was just wonderful! Patrizio had an old friend over to join us, a guy named Alessio that Leonardo just adored. After dinner I fed Veronica her evening latte and was thrilled to discover she was in a particularly cuddly mood that night. She is the sweetest little thing! Here's a picture of her getting a bath in the sink earlier this week:

The next day (mercoledi), we made another excursion to a large body of water, this time minus Veronica and Ginevra. Sara, Patrizio, Leonardo e io met up with couple friends at a nearby lake to picnic, swim, and enjoy the gorgeous views at hand.

Of course, as it would happen, after over a month of no rain, the night we chose to visit il lagho happened to be the evening a thunderstorm erupted (only thirty minutes after we arrived too!). Patrizio and his friends went swimming despite the foreboding sky and were able to get in a decent swim before we had to make a run for the van.

The picnic, however, was nixed and moved to a different location – Sara e Patrizio’s backyard, under the protection of the canopy. On the way to the house, Sara brought up the question of gelato, which, though it meant an extra trip, was deemed necessary by the females in the car, so Patrizio graciously complied (as he jokingly chanted “Mrs. Darcy” at us). The twenty-first century "As you wish," if you will.

A lovely non-picnic of sorts ensued, with good food, plenty of gelato, and lots of laughter (accompanied by funny stories in both italiano and inglese. I had met both of the friends before at other dinners hosted by Sara and Patrizio, and they both happened to speak English fluently, which was nice. I know it must be a relief to Sara to have extra translators every now and then!

Giovedi evening was one of my favorites so far. It was just the six of us, and we ordered pizza then ate out in the back yard. Italian pizza really is the best! Then, after we were all stuffed with the wonderfulness that is pizza in Tuscany, we all walked down to the center of Sansepolcro and participated in the local passeggiata, an evening walk and social time Italians often take advantage of in the evenings. Leonardo of course rode around the piazza on his bike, Ginevra ran around talking to herself as Patrizio chased her, and Sara and I strolled around leisurely with Veronica tucked away in the stroller. Then to top it off, we also bought gelato and ate it on the front steps of the cattedrale.

Afterwards, I stayed in town and went to a jazz concert being held outdoors in one of the piazzas. The music was just wonderful because they played beautifully together - sax, trumpet, pianoforte, bass, and drums. It was late evening so the temperature was cool and the air breezy, plus, the sound carried nicely through the cobblestone streets. I loved it!

The rest of the week has been equally enjoyable, though less eventful. The usual everyday chaos that I love. Check out the decor on the entryway mirror ...

We’ve been playing around the house, watching the Olympics, battling zanzare, enjoying the cooler weather brought about by an all out storm we had on Friday afternoon, and of course, eating more excellent food and enjoying the company of more friends. Friday night I was plagued by a loud, green bug that decided to join me for bed, but of course this happened right after Sara e Patrizio had gone to bed so I was on my own. After three futile attempts at smashing the brute with my book, I gave up – climbed in bed, turned out the light, and pulled the covers over me with my eyes tightly shut. When I checked on his whereabouts the next day, I discovered – to my horror – not the probably harmless green bug (which had since disappeared), but a huge, brown spider. The next word out of my mouth? “PATRIZIO!” Not knowing the word for spider, I had to run to Sara and find out in order to describe my attacker. Il ragno. A spider is un ragno in italiano. So then I was equipped to run around yelling, "Io detesto i ragni!"

I really have loved watching the Olympics here, even though the majority of the events I have seen have involved Italians and not always Americans. I also can’t understand a lot of what they say, but that has provided valuable learning opportunities, so I’m not complaining! For example, the afternoon of the opening ceremony, Sara was busy tutoring a high schooler in the kitchen and the kids were asleep, so it was up to Patrizio to explain a lot of what was being said. We each had an italiano-inglese dictionary in hand and the globe pulled out in front of us for frequent reference. It was hilarious!

I hope you all are doing well and that it is not too hot. We were pretty miserable until the rain came, but now the weather is perfetto.

Well, that’s all I have for now! Much love and molti baci.

A dopo,

Bekah