"Rome-ing Around" Part 1

I've been back from my week-long trip to Rome for a few days, but long and filled days they have been. Now, I finally have the chance to fill you in a little bit on my wonderous trip. =] Hopefully there will be a series of updates, fairly close together...so keep checking back this week!
So as you've heard several times now, I spent last week in Rome! (It never gets old saying it.) It was a lot of fun. Since I had been there before (for a grand total of 2 days? maybe 3), I quickly became the group of five's tour guide and event planner. It was a real challenge, but I enjoyed it for the most part. It definitely honed my map skills and stretched my ability to plan ahead. Personally, I find myself happy to just BE somewhere...and major events and sightseeing are good things, but not altogether the point of travelling. There is something to be said about being able to visit the same attraction 4 times, simply because it's your favorite and you want to absorb all you can of it. Hence, the group found themselves at the foot of Trevi Fountain several times. =]
One thing I also had to learn is how to feel out what the group, as a whole, wanted to do. This group was fairly flexible and would do "whatever", but there were also times when we'd go somewhere and all would be bored, tired, and dragging their feet. That meant naptime or some good quality sit-down time.
Another thing that caught my attention was the desire of the group to "eat cheap". The first three nights we stayed in an apartment above the Rome Nazarene Church. Those nights we went to the supermarket and bought food to cook at the apartment. We bought a big loaf of bread, parmasean cheese, pasta, sauce, and italian sausage. It was sooo delicious and a lot of fun to cook together. The next four nights we stayed in a hostel that had "free pasta dinners", which meant a small plate of pasta per person. So we ended up needing to supplement that many-a-time with the oh-so-amazing gelato found on just about ANY street corner in Italy. Mmm mm. The major difference in food preference for me, was McDonalds. I think we went to McDonalds almost 4 times. I ate the first time, but not the rest. I was hoping for Italian pizza, or pasta, or even a side-stand panini! I don't just want to see the city, I want to taste it. That's why the one night we chose to go out for dinner at a local restaurant, I was thrilled. Not only was the food incredible (I ordered brushchetta, pasta with a delicious red sauce, and tiramisu for dessert), but it was in my newly designated "favorite" part of Rome.
The Trastevere borders the Tiber River and by day is bustling with Italian people. It often gets overlooked by tourists because it's not labeled as a "main attraction", so as you stroll the streets there are obviously less lost and confused (usually English-speaking) people and more Italians who know the area like the back of their hand. The streets are narrower than normal and the architecture is "older" than in other places. There are little shops, cafes, and restaurants around every corner and each street reveals something more exciting than the last. The oldest church in Rome lies at the center of this area and stands proud with a bubbling fountain rising from the middle of the piazza. Everything about the Trastevere says "this is Rome", and I love it.

Alright, I must be off to elderly club. I must say, life in Romania has definitely "taken off" and the days continue to get more and more filled. To give you an example, since being back from Rome, we have not had a regular sit-down dinner together at home. We've been out and about every single night. Schedules are ever-changing and more adjustments are being made as life here constantly throws us new things to juggle. But it's good, very good. God has been faithful and ever-present through it all. It's amazing to watch the ways in which he works not only through us, but through other people to reach us and those around us. I guess I didn't realize just how much he would have to hold my hand through this, but hold my hand he has, and for that I am so thankful.

On that note, I'll leave you with a few pictures from the trip:
The colesseum. Always an incredible sight to see.

The Trevi Fountain. My favorite monument. =] And my favorite place to get gelato.

This is the fountain in the Republicca Piazza. We got to witness it's beauty almost every day.

An Acquired Taste

I have always associated acquired tastes exclusively with food. It's the onion or tomato that you hate when you're 5, but somehow magically enjoy when you hit the ripe old age of 13. Well folks, it isn't so. You can aquire a "taste" for other things in life too, and I have done just that. Last weekend I went on a retreat into the mountains of Romania to a place called Paltinis. It was absolutely beautiful. We stayed in a house high on a hill that overlooked other mountains. The fall colors radiated back at us from all directions and the air was cool and crisp. The fog would softly come and go, rolling in and out at an unpredictable rate. It was quiet (when you left the house full of 40 people to wander) and peaceful. I chose every opportunity I could to go for a walk and stroll down the winding road that led away from the house. Life there seemed so intertwined with nature that it was hard to separate the two. It's in this atmosphere that I learned to truly appreciate hymns. I've always enjoyed them, when they were few and far between. I have always loved them at Christmas and Easter time, but it was A-okay with me if that was all. But now, I can't seem to get enough of them. Each night a group of people would sit down in the "family room" of the house and sing in harmonious melodies the old hymns that they had grown up with. When I was not alongside them singing, I was listening as the sound carried throughout the entire house and drifted into every room. I think I was unconsciously learning to love them before the retreat as well, but the retreat definitely served as a climax and affirmation of my desire to know and sing more of them. I've come to the realization that many of the hymns hold so much more meaning and depth than the modern worship songs. Even the melodies and harmonies "offer" more. I feel like they do a better job of explaining God's magnificence, although nothing and no one can fully cover that. I know that not everyone agrees with that, and I can understand and accept that. But personally, I hope to learn more and more of these old hymns and continue to sing them when I come back to America as well. Like I said, I can't get enough of them.
Here are a few pictures from the weekend:
Elena, David, and Doreen. Only three of the Veritas staff who came.

An old church that we walked to the first afternoon. The inside was beautiful too. Very ornate and intricate.

The view from the top of the mountain that some of us climbed. It was hard-but so worth it!

Alright, so by now you are probably wondering WHO was this retreat with? Well, it was a retreat for all Veritas staff and volunteers. So the American students who are studying abroad came as well because they are mainly working with Veritas while here. If you want more info on Veritas there is a link for it under "Romania Connections". It was a wonderful opportunity for me to get to know people who I had seen all over town, but never formally met. It felt like another big step into getting invited into the "family" of Veritas. And a warm welcome it was!

In other news: I am leaving for Rome, Italy tomorrow at 8 in the morning!

How is that possible?!

Visual Stimuli =]

Alright so it's not exactly "tomorrow", but it works.
First we have the elderly club trip.

One of the old fortifed churches.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxon_villages_with_fortified_churches_in_Transylvania)

Break time. This picture just cracks me up.
The "monastary" chapel. It was fairly new because apparently the old one burnt down a number of years ago. The old one was all wooden and this one was all concrete.
Cute little german lady who asked us, "Sprekenzi doitch?" Ummm, no. "Romaneste" No. "Ahhh, engleza." Da! Alright, so maybe you had to be there, but it was funny. She let us climb to the top of the tower there. It was beautiful!

Okay, moving on to random pictures from around town. Sometimes when I'm walking I feel the need to go on a photoshoot of sorts. It's a lot of fun and every now and then I get a good one.

This is part of the "old fortified wall". Pigeons are everywhere here. In fact, lots of people keep them as pets.
Funky night time picture of the German stairs.

The next three are just plain random. =]

For those who are wondering (including my mom =] ), I have had no lice since two days ago! Wooohoo. Thanks for all your prayers, they were answered!

Hmm. There are other things to say-but no time now. So until next time!

Mice,Lice, and all things Nice.

Life has been rather interesting the past two weeks despite my inability to share it with you all for so long. =] There have been a few new developments in my life that could be considered "worth talking about." We'll start at the top of the list.
I almost wish we had trained the cat that temporarily lived under my bed to be a house cat because now I am sharing my room with the little creatures we all know and love: mice. They must think that I enjoy their company because there is nothing for them in my room. So one or two will come out at night and scurry across my things, just loudly enough to wake me up. I have the perfect picture of one of my little friends, but I'll have to share it with you some other time (my computer is still rather nonfunctional).
Next on the list is lice. This is a first time experience for me, but it's an unwelcome first. I have a case of head lice. I'm going to try to "Nix" it and get rid of them today. Two weeks ago my head started itching and we looked, but saw nothing. It got really bad yesterday and when I took a shower I saw them. *Shudder* It's pretty much gross. I guess prayer that the nix works the first time would be much appreciated. No prayer too small, right?
And of course, last on the list: All things nice. Don't let the last two things fool you. I've had my fair share of good and fun times in the past two weeks too. One of my favorites was going on an "excursion" last Monday with the elderly. All 3 of the local elderly clubs combined, rented a tour bus, and took the day to travel south of Sighisoara. We stopped several times in these small historical towns that had old fortified churches. They were beautiful. On one of the stops we (Kristen, Kris, and I) convinced David (the elderly club leader) to climb to the top of one of the towers with us. In all reality it didn't take much convincing and the view was tremendous from the top. The main attraction that day was a "monastary." It was on the very top of one of the high hills near the mountains of Făgăraş. Sadly, it was hazy that day so we couldn't see the mountains...but it was still beautiful. Once we got there, I noticed that there weren't any monks around. I listened to a nun preach for about 40 minutes (remember, this is all in Romanian) and she explained the history of the place. I caught maybe 3% of what she was saying. After that they served us a wonderful meal of ciorba (Romanian soup-type stuff), bread, gras de porc (pork fat), and grapes. And yes, I tried the pork fat. It's definitely...different. Upon leaving after the meal, the English speakers of the group were enlightened with the fact that it was a convent! =] Haha. They don't have two separate words for those institutes in Romanian. That cleared a lot up for me.
That day was not only a lot of fun, but it occurred to me how valuable the relationships with those people are to me. God is really beginning to grow them and show me that the time spent with them is high-quality. One of my favorite things about elderly club is that it's two solid hours every day of learning about the culture and language of Romania. And elderly club remains to be pretty much the only "constant" of the past two weeks. Day to day life here always brings something new, which is good...but it's nice to have a constant too. =]
That's about all I have time to write now, but I hope to post some "picture leftovers" tomorrow. So check back to see those!

Temporarily "Out of Business"

Just a little note:
Alright, so I've been temporarily not able to update (as is obvious) because my computer was down. I'm not sure what I did to it, but apparently I hurt it. Poor Lappy. So now I've got it back, but the internet is down and there's other minor problems. So it takes a lot more effort to try and get a blog entry up. No worries though, I will get one to you this week if possible.