Living like an Italian

So I've lived in Italy for 2 months now. The people at the book store, cupcake shop and gelateria know my name and occasionally treat me for free because they love Americans around here. I get to wake up and go running along the coast of the Bay of Naples with a view of the volcano Vesuvius. I am living with a family who is beyond generous, fun and they have welcomed me into their family as one of their own children. I'm so blessed to be here and I'm cherishing everyday that I'm here. I'm still learning new things about the people, the country and the culture everyday. Here are a few things that I find are unique to Italy-

The thing about Italy is…

Italians actually do say “Mamma Mia!”

The sidewalk is a land mine field of dead soldiers- no one cleans up after their dogs

Nothing is really “illegal” but some things are just “frowned upon”

All food is healthy here- everything is fresh and local. Italians have no idea what preservatives and trans fats are. The food is incredible in the south especially. There are at least a hundred different kinds of chesses. Naples is in the Campania region, where the mozzarella is the best in the world! 

Everyone has their groceries delivered. Every morning after breakfast Flor calls the grocery store with a list and 20 minutes later we are stocked with food again- its like magic

Everything Italians say sounds really important, every sentence is full of passion even if they are talking about the weather

As if Italian wasnt confusing enough- each region has a different dialect. In Naples, Neapolitan is the dialect but not many people speak it. It is an official language that is similar to Italian but it is not taught in schools.

Carnevale costumes are more important than anything and Italians spend big euros to dress their children up

The police don’t do anything- there are 3 branches of the police here and their sole job is to look good in their uniforms

If Italians recognize that you know English they’ll shout the only English words they know at you, even if they don’t make sense

It’s a waste to buy local train and bus tickets, none of the locals do. But you better have a ticket on a regional train because I’ve seen someone get thrown off the train for not having one and it did not look like a fun time

American music is always popular and everyone loves it but no one knows what the lyrics mean

Gelato is like a religion- everything could be closed but the gelateria is always open. Always.

Pizza is taken very seriously. Naples is the birthplace of pizza and it lives up to it. The first pizza was made for Queen Margarita so plain cheese pizza is named after her.

Even the toughest looking men kiss eachother on the cheeks and hold arms while they walk and talk. Italians are so affectionate but no one gives hugs. I’m still bad at the greeting and always go for the wrong cheek first creating some awkward encounters.

The view from our balcony, the bay of Naples is a 5 minute walk away

Mamma Mia, I'm in Napoli!

My life has been one big Italian mess from the moment I arrived and its just starting to calm down. On Tuesday, Feb 4^th I left the castle gates in Thiene for good. It wasn’t a good situation to live in anymore and I didn’t agree with the way that the parents treated their children and me. Plus the 4-year-old boy liked to bite me and he drew blood. So I left -with no plans of what to do next. So, naturally, God had to step it up and provide for me and He did exactly that. I stayed with Randi and her precious host family and they welcomed me in with open arms and a couch more comfortable than the bed I had in the castle dungeon. I stayed at Marco and Chiara’s house for a week and arranged to move to Rome to stay with a family that my dad knew there. I also ditched half of my clothes because it wasn’t possible for me to manage two huge suitcases on the trains. I had to take two regional trains and then at Roma Termini catch an intercity train to St. Peters station where my new host mom would pick me up. My train was half an hour late to Rome and I knew my new host mom was waiting so I was rushed to say the least trying to figure out which platform to go to. I arrived at St. Peters and found my host mom and as we were loading my luggage into her car I froze. My backpack wasn’t there- it was still on the train that was now making its way down the tracks to the next stop- with my computer and PASSPORT inside. No big deal.

I just like to set up impossible situations so that God can show off how powerful and in control He is. Because He loves me and is my daddy who always protects me, He delivered my backpack safely back to me. I am a witness to his miracles. Guys, there is literally no other explanation- had the Lord of the universe not been with me I would’ve been at the mercy of the US embassy and in a world of chaos.

My second day in Rome I was wandering around the city feeling a little homesick when I see Dan DeMerchant and a group from Link Year walk up the stairs from the metro! Divine appointment? I think so. There are 50 metro stations in Rome so the fact that I randomly came across them is more than a coincidence. 
After 10 days of living in Rome it was time for me to move again. One of my friends from home, Lindsay Gardner, is an au pair in Naples and hooked me up with an awesome family down here. I made the move and have been here for a week with a family that lives in a beautiful part right along the coast. The mom, Marina, and the dad, Marco, are so great. They are some of the most relaxed and generous people I’ve ever met! On my first night here Marina told me that I was now her oldest child and to tell her if I needed anything at all! They have two kids: Marta -10 and Umberto- 8. They know a little bit of English but I’m having fun teaching them new words and they’re having fun laughing at my attempts at Italian. They’re both crazy and fun! I love spending time with this family.

The Lord has finally given me a place to settle in and feel at home. This is the first place that I have actually unpacked all of my bags and organized my things. Although these last two months have been hectic, challenging and have almost broken me, I know the Lord was pushing me to stand up for myself and fight for what I want. I had to face some hard conversations and confrontations. I had to be vulnerable and ask for help sometimes from complete strangers. But the entire time I could feel the Holy Spirit guiding me and the Prince of Peace holding my heart. I was by myself but never alone. 

"I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me."- Psalm 16:8

"If the only challenges we face are those that life has thrown at us, then we are merely living life in reaction only- we are not pushing ourselves and directing our destiny. Our greatest challenges should be those we give ourselves to reach our full potential." - Brendon Burchard 

Travelers Heart

As I sat there listening to Mantas spill out his life story to me I couldn’t stop laughing; partly because of his accent and the continuous flow of silly sounding curses and partly because of the fact that I had just met a total stranger for coffee.

Mantas is 23, originally from Lithuania but grew up in Ireland. He’s an artist who has been hitchhiking and couchsurfing his way through Europe for the past 6 months. He walked into the café wearing a Russian hat that now looked like a wet puppy from the drizzle of rain outside and he sported a thin little mustache. He immediately gave me a hug and within five minutes he asked if I was on laughing gas, saying, “Our lungs are going to break!”

After we ordered cioccolata calda (thick hot chocolate) and he insisted we share he told me how his journey began and how he ended up in Italy.

With the intention of only being gone for 2 weeks he hitchhiked to Greece to meet up with some friends to go bungee jumping. Then hopped over to Gavdos Island, the most southern point in Europe, where you can see the sun rise on one horizon and set on the opposite at the same time. After spending 2 months there he caught a boat to Turkey on his 3rd attempt. From there he was on his way to Lithuania to meet his parents for holiday but he got "held up by the epicness of Bulgaria for a month". Then, Romania, Hungry, a little bot of Austria and Poland where his cousins found him on the road and picked him up, which he said was a "legendarily emotional moment" for him!

I wanted to know more but he insisted I share my story before he continued. He listened intently until I finished my unimpressive adventures in comparison and then said, “Yes, you have a travelers heart.”

We walked around Vicenza in the rain sharing my umbrella. “Sheize, you’re terrible at holding the umbrella,” he told me so I hit him with the umbrella and ran away. We joked back and forth like old friends. He told me about his family and his art. We stopped to take a picture and he asked a random girl to take it for us. He wanted a good picture so he proceeded to show the girl exactly how to take it, making her bend down to get an artsy angle. He laughed at me for smiling in the picture.

He walked me to the train station so I could catch my train back to Thiene and we said our goodbyes. He gave me a hug and I wished him luck on the rest of his adventure. It was a rather emotional departure considering we had only met a few hours ago. He opened his arms for another hug, picked me up and swung me around telling me to lift my feet up like they do in the movies.

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When we’re little we are all taught “stranger danger” and to stay away from them. But at what age does that wear off? When are we taught to go outside of our comfort zone to meet the other people around us? I feel like I’ve always been hesitant of people I didn’t know and always assumed the worst but The Lord is changing my heart and opening my eyes to see that every person has such a cool story to tell if we’re willing to listen. We should realize that the world isn’t such a scary place. I believe more and more that the good far outweighs the bad.

Part of trusting God is trusting him to keep you safe and being faithful to follow that small voice in your head urging you to smile or say something to the person sitting next to you on the train. They may be rude or mean but at least you tried. Or they may be crazy, Mantas’ kind of crazy that teaches you more about life and inspires you. I don’t want to miss out on those crazy people. 

Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for a future that only He can see. _ Corrie ten Boom

Buon compleanno

I never would have imagined I would be spending my 20^th birthday in Italy and it has exceeded all of my expectations. Although I got to do some pretty exciting things, what made my birthday so special was whom I spent it with.  Randi Jones is another au pair that lives about an hour away and about a week before my birthday we met up in Vicenza, a larger city that is right in the middle of our two towns. We have only spent 3 days together exploring, laughing and making fools of ourselves but those 3 days have been such a blessing. My prayers for finding good community here have been answered and once again the Lord has exceeded my expectations.

On my birthday, her host family took me to Lake Garda with them! I caught the train to Vicenza early that morning and they picked me up from the train station. As soon as I stepped in the car the children and mom, Chiara, started singing Happy Birthday and they gave me cards that they had made for me. As small as it may seem, this made my heart so happy! We spent the rest of the day walking around the beautiful lake, eating lunch and gelato and then playing in the park for a few hours. I’m sure Randi and I looked ridiculous on the teeter-totter but it was too fun to pass up. I hope I never pass up an opportunity for fear of looking ridiculous, even if it is only on a playground.

When I got back to the castle, yeah- its still pretty cool that I come home to a castle, I played Monopoly with the kids and shortly after we ate dinner. My host mom is an amazing cook and I’ve loved all of the meals so far. We mostly eat pasta or rice and sometimes with meat but never too much sauce. Most nights we just have fruit for dessert but I was so surprised when the room grew dark and flaming candles walked towards the table. They made me a chocolate mousse dessert topped with trick candles!  It was absolutely delicious and so thoughtful! After, Francesca announced that my real surprise was tickets to go to the theatre that night in Vicenza. So Francesca, Maria Teresa (9 years old) and I drove to Vicenza to watch a modern dance performance. It was impressive, but very confusing. Baskets of oranges were thrown on the stage as the couple danced around them. It was closer to a mix of yoga and Hunter and I’s version of a “nerd fight” than actual dancing.

I had a fantastic birthday and I can't wait to see where I’ll end up for my 21^st!

When I am weak, He is Strong

(written on January 8th)

I am about to board my international flight to London and then onto Venice. The reality is just starting to hit me that I will actually be in Italy for 6 months. It sounds like such a long time as I say goodbye to friends and family but then I reflect on the fact that from the perspective of eternity it is merely a blink. What will this incredible adventure mean when it’s over? I don’t want a single moment to pass me by. My very best friend, Kaitlyn, reminded me of this last night as I was worrying about having too much free time while I’m there. She spoke right to my heart, saying “Go over there and fall back in love with life. Take in the details, smell the roses that you would normally pass by, listen to people laugh. But most of all fall in love with yourself and your surroundings.” Whoa, that’s exactly what I needed to hear. Kaitlyn has been my rock for as long as I can remember; every one of my childhood memories includes her-most likely her being a diva. Our friendship is the coolest connection that I’ve ever had and I can’t help but think that isn’t by accident. Kaitlyn and I have been through a lot together and her life is a miracle. God created us for this kind of community.  How great is our God that he knows exactly what we are troubled with and calms our fears and blesses us with rich friendship!

“A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24

(written on January 11th)

I am now with my family in Thiene, Italy about an hour from Venice. The last 48 hours have been more difficult than I would have ever imagined. In an effort to be transparent I want to not only share with you the wonderful things that are surely yet to come, but also share the low points and struggles. Although my new host family is very nice, my heart is back home with my mom and brother. No one will ever come close to replacing them in my heart and I have truly come to understand that my home is wherever they are. At the moment, 6 months feels like an eternity away and my heart gets so heavy when I think of the time that separates us. The hardest time for me is at night when the house is quiet and I am begging for sleep to come.

Today- Saturday, January 11^th, the family took me to Verona to explore the city. It was wonderful, I had such a good time with the family and I am much more comfortable around them now. I got to see the old coliseum in Verona, explore all of the shops and even have my first Italian gelato! Also, I got to visit the house and balcony of Juliette from Shakespeare! I know that these difficult days will end soon and I know that the Lord will steady me through them. There is nothing more powerful than prayer and support and encouragement from friends.

My mom shared this quote with me this morning and it made me stop and laugh and it gave me a little bit of comfort.

“On particularly rough days when I’m sure I can’t possibly endure, I remind myself that my track record for getting through bad days so far is 100% and that’s pretty good.” 

Ciao!