A Week Back

I am not sure when it will hit me that I am back. For now, I am quite content with my position. It was difficult to do do certain communications abroad, so I have settled down with a renewed discipline to get stuff done. My list of to-do's that I have gotten done is quite impressive. Hopefully it will continue and kick into higher gear before I start work in June.

The most obvious thing to me is the fact I am not in a tourist town anymore. No more people walking too slow as I walk to class. In fact, in my times I have driven, I have been the slow one. I forgot that 15 mph over is legit. And the grass. Oh, the grass. My yard is so big! And green. I appreciate it so much after having no greenery besides parks a good walks away. The air is metallic. That is the best way to describe it...

The variety of birds is also something I noticed. Of course, I am well aware of the robins, sparrows and duck family in our neighborhood, but after seeing only pigeons for four months, it is nice to see other birds.

As time goes on, I think I will miss the easy transportation in Italy. The train system that gets me an hour away on eight euro. If we had that here, I could visit my college friends during the summer. Also, the food is different. The eggs are easier to crack over here (in Italy, they are brown and about 3 times as thick as the white ones here) and they taste a little plastic.

I do like being near all my resources for my books and easier access to printer and scanner. Those I realize are luxuries.

I want to ride the feeling of Italy as long as I can so I can use my plethora of resources before I get comfortable and lazy.

I may or may not post here again. Thanks to everyone who kept up and clicked my link! I may update my posts on spring break (those kinda got lost in 'drafts'...). I will update on Facebook when I post again.

An End

It is kind of weird to be writing now.

Approximately four months ago, I arrived in Florence, Italy, to experience studying abroad. I learned a lot of things about myself and about things in general. My classes have been the most taxing I have ever taken (probably because I took all three at the same time...), but they have also made me feel as though I learned new skills instead of just showing off the ones I already had.

The people I met here I will not be able to see again for a long time, if ever again. Tonight we said "good bye." Or "see you later." Some I wish I had gotten to know better, and I am happy and lucky to have fallen into such great company. Technology will help us to stay in contact, and maybe one day, I will see one or more in their hometowns.

In no way could I have known everything that was going to happen this semester. My bigger regrets are not sending postcards. I promised, and completely failed on that. I figured they would cost more, but two euros for the stamps was more than I thought I could budget. I did buy the postcards, though! Funny things are funny...

I am so happy for the adventures I did manage to get in. Little towns around Florence, Rome, the UK... Truly, I could not have expected more. I did the things I could with the way I am. Sometimes I did not go to places because I did not have the initiative to go myself without the guts to ask someone to go with me. Other times, I plain forgot and got into a lull of schoolwork that overwhelmed my brain and mental sanity.

So I did what I did with what I could as who I am.

And I cannot wait to come home and share my adventures.

Where Does Time Go?

Yeah...

These last few weeks have been mostly study and not abroad. Which is a shame, and also the reason I have not had the mind capacity to write in-depth blog play-by-plays. Some people voiced their concern over my lack of posts, so here is an 'I'm alive!' post.

Thanks to everyone who still checks the blog out even though I have failed to update--there is an overview option that documents how many views the posts had daily. It makes me so happy that you are willing to check up on my that often!

I realize I had never done a post on my art classes, but those are the lessons taking up most of my time. Certainly, they give you five and a half hours to work in the studio, but then to finish on time I need to work 10 hours out of class. Have three such classes, and I am running all over Florence trying to get to certain studios only open at certain times.

That will be my rant for now--only two weeks left! I will post more hopefully next week? Or a quick post on Pisa (where I went yesterday). Always the adventure, isn't it? (No, really, Pisa had several moments).

Thank you everyone again for your love!

Easter Mosh Pit

April 8, 2012


Bouna Pasqua! That's 'Happy Easter' here in Italy. I used it at the cash register, and the lady was really impressed and happy. After two months, I think they are finally accepting me instead of looking at me like, 'Great, an American...' Well, they are always helpful, just their eyes...


My Easter was definitely not what I had wanted to do. I was unable to attend the Holy Thursday service because my chat pal met with me. For Good Friday, I could not figure out what to do, so I just said a rosary. The church in our area did a cool procession, though, from Santa Felicita to Santo Spirito. I recognized the tune of the song they sung in Italian: 'Pan de Vida.' Yeah!


On Saturday, we had Jackie's Italian family over for Columbian food. Our friend John has Columbian ancestry, and Jackie had the idea to share some other cultures' food with the Palazzini's. It was good fun making it, though I tried to just stay out of the way. Both kitchens were in use, and I would have just been in the way. So I volunteered to take care of the dishes afterwards. Good deal, I think.


Well, it was a good night. The Palazzini's brought two traditional Easter gifts: a cake in the shape of a cross and a huge (really, huge!) chocolate egg! The egg was hollow inside and a plastic toy had been set in there. It is a basket with a ball. You press the button, then the ball goes up. You try to catch the ball as it comes back down. Of course the darn thing does not go straight up. In fact, it goes almost directly angular it seems. I failed completely then excused myself to get a head on the dishes.


My Italian apparently has gotten better, even if I do not feel confident in it. Jackie said she was impressed and the Palazzini's noticed it also. I'll take their word for it because I feel like I have 'FAIL' written all over my forehead whenever I speak!


Reading the interwebs, it was not easy to figure out when the mass for Easter at the Duomo was going to happen. I only recalled 10:15am from Don Mario, so I was shooting for that. It was threatening to rain, but that was not going to stop us!


So, Sunday, we left around 9:30am to get to the Duomo. Generally a 15 minute walk if you are taking no side-trips. Our trek takes us through Piazza della Signora (where the faux David is). A procession was going about. People dressed up in medieval clothing, horns blasting, and drums keeping time. The procession was headed towards the Duomo, but first it went to Piazza Republica. We went straight to the Duomo to get some spots to see the Scoppio Del Carro ("Explosion of the cart").

Now, Scoppio Del Carro is this really cool tradition where Florentines literally blow up a cart. Well, some fancy cart. And it is only fireworks, so they can reuse the cart each year. It is actually cool looking.


Well, we arrived at the Duomo, and a crowd had already formed. I had expected this, which is why I had wanted to leave earlier, but there was a miscommunication... Anyhow, for a short person like myself, it was a bit frustrating to be there because I literally could not see anything. Everyone with a camera or phone was reaching above the crowd to try to get a shot of the parade that had settled in the front of the cathedral. I did not want to be 'one of those people,' but I did not have a choice. So I did get a few pictures of the line up. A guy with a bald head kept on getting in the way and other people's cameras kept on making it into the shot. All part of the experience? I really was not impressed.

Lined up in front of Santa Maria del Fiore.

With the help of some kind friends and strangers, I did manage to get smashed within 10 feet of the blockage. Smashed is not being over-exagerating. Literally, we described it as a mosh pit. I was not happy. At all. Maybe because I was close to my time of month, or because I have never been that close to everyone in the universe at the same time, but I wanted to leave. Now. I wanted mass. I wanted to get on with Easter. I love Easter, and nothing had managed to go right for it so far. 


Then it rained.


Just before they were going to set the cart on fire, and my temperament getting more sour by the second, I felt the first drops. Expecting this, I brought out my hot pink umbrella. Soon there was a ceiling all around us of umbrellas. No water was going to get in today! Anyhow, along with myself, my roommates Leah and Makena took safety under it. An older man with his granddaughter also sought refuge. 


Strangely, I was relieved and happy for this predicament. I love rain, and the situation was so funny and odd that I could not help but feel lightened by it. I had fun with my imagination, dreaming of dancing on the walk beside the river and flipping my umbrella around (which was not possible at the moment due to the close courters).


That did not last for long. The rain went on about a half hour, and there is only so long you can keep yourself busy. My feet were hurting a bit because I wore my heels that went with my Easter dress. And the man who shared my umbrella was getting way too close to me. I could feel something close to my butt, as though he was contemplating a grope. My mood dive-bombed very fast.


So I left. I could not stand it. To heck with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, I needed to get out. Now. Too close. Too long. I closed my umbrella to find it had stopped raining hard. Once it was wrapped up, I began my escape. I repeated, "Scusa" so many times I felt like a broken record. An angry broken record. The crowd had grown far beyond the 20 feet I had known. it went down the streets now, also. Luckily, it was not as congested, so I made my way just fine once I got to a certain point.


Of course, the cart began to explode after I had almost made it out. I was not going back in. Not that I think anyone would have let me. So I headed to the side entrance of the Duomo where I would normally go through for mass. I was not sure how or when they were doing mass, but even if I came in late, I was going to make it.


The main doors, which are never open, were opened today for the people inside to see the exploding cart. It was really cool, though after only a minute, the only thing impressive about it was the smoke.


Mass started. The second reading was in English, so that was nice of them. I stood the whole time and knelt on the marble floor when required. It was just like any other mass. Though I think that was the Cardinal of Florence who did the mass. There were so many priests up there, and from my stop in the back, they all looked alike. I had not brought my stalker lens, so I only have little images of them.


After mass, I was feeling a little better. I walked around some back ways to burn off some steam. When I arrived back at the apartment, I found Jackie and our friend Kerry reheating the meal from the night before. They were listening to hymns on YouTube, getting in the Easter mood. Unfortunately, I was not in the mood, and did not want to be in the mood. I made my own leftovers because they seemed to have picked and choose the last of last nights and neither offered to share. Maybe it was my attitude towards the day that amplified this as annoying, but I did not say anything and ate everything chocolate in sight.


Nothing more to say about the day. I did some homework at a certain point and drew. Eventually, the music-picking on YouTube brightened my spirit a bit as I shared some of my favorite hymns and Christian rock songs.


Conclusion: I don't like being smooshed in with a lot of people. Give me mass or give me death. And chocolate cures everything.

Day 4 - Penny Lane and Liverpool

Day 4

Monday, March 19th, 2012

Penny Lane and All-Around Liverpool

Our first full day in Liverpool! Katie picked us up in the morning at the hostel. We walked to the center of the city to take a bus to the outskirts. All we had to do was wait until all the stores said "Penny Lane" then hop of the bus!

UK buses are so comfy! The buses in Scotland were furnished and also these ones in Liverpool. I could fall asleep for certain! The buses in Italy are plastic, few, and oddly positioned. Chances are, you will be standing!

It was another nice day for us--so lucky! Penny Lane was a bit run down, but the hype of The Beatles was there. Truth-be-told, we did not know what we were looking for. Apparently there was a mural dedicated to The Beatles somewhere on Penny Lane. Exploring time!

Penny Lane was not much. Just a street. Houses on each side and a long stretch of lawn. I was afraid we would not find anything interesting! It would not have been a waste of time, but it would have been anti-climatic.

Coolio for us, a community center was only a little further along. It was locked, so we were uncertain how to get in. At first we went gurilla and took photos of the place from the other side of the fence. Then I got smart and read a sign: "Buzz in to enter." Do not mind if I do!

The community center is a work-in-progress. The mural is the most finished part of the yard. A graphic designer was commissioned to design it, I think. It is really cool! I took pictures of "I love Ringo" and "I love John" because those are my faves. Check out the rest of the pics in the previous post!

A lady came out to greet us as we checked out the mural. She explained that this was a community center and that a lot of work has happened and will happen to it. An octopus garden was explained to us in one corner of the yard. Plants with ribbons on them were trees people have adopted. Overall, the place was really nice! I cannot wait for it to grow and become a hot stop for people to hang at!

Jackie's mother is a huge Beatle's fan, so she adopted a tree for her. They printed off and laminated a certificate for her for doing that! I bought a postcard. I wonder who I should send it to?

We got to write our names on this!

Our next task was to get back in town for lunch. We figured all the buses eventually converged on the city center, so we took the first bus that came our way. As good as that theory was, though, this bus took us all around Liverpool. We were seeing more of Liverpool than Katie had! Eventually, we got off and transferred to a more reliable bus to the city center. It was really cool, though, seeing so much of the city.

For lunch, we went to the cafeteria on Katie's campus. Because we were late, her friends had already eaten and gotten off to class. The food was really good! You will not go hungry. I always have to remember that chips means french fries...

Out again! We checked out a contemporary church, then an Anglican one. We did not go inside, but the outsides were cool!

We saw more of Liverpool walking. All over town we found these crazy sculptures of a sheep and a banana. Apparently it is a social commentary about genetic modification and such. Every sculpture is painted different. It reminds me of the polar bears, globes, and dogs Racine has had in the past. De Pere has the butterflies and other insects, also.

Katie had to take us to a church that had been blown out in WWII. The structure was in tact, but the roof and the stained glass windows had been blown out. It really was amazing to look at. I tried to get as many artsy shots as possible. It was too good an opportunity for awesomeness to pass up!

By this time, we had walked a lot. Our last stop was to be the museums on the docks. It was getting late, so we would not be able to spend a lot of time on the docks. The sky had gotten cloudy. I really loved looking at it.

We could only spend time in the Maritime Museum. It had stuff about the Titanic and other famous ships that had ported in Liverpool. The history of maritime is very extensive and cool! I learned a lot of fun facts from it.

I enjoyed the large anchor outside the museum.

For the rest of the day until the evening we hung in Katie's apartment making grill cheese sandwiches and enjoying tea. I have not had grill cheese sandwiches since I came abroad--I love them! Oh, it was so nice to have them. Funny how the little things make you so happy.

Our evening was spent listening to a colleague's music class concert. Brian is an underclassman at SNC and friend of Katie's. He was part of a class that had the participants form groups, practice arranging and playing songs. There were three groups. Brian's was the last group to play. It reminded me of the Knight Owl entertainment back home. It was so much fun! Everyone did an awesome job. If I ever get pictures of the performance, I will be sure to put them up!

After that, it was late and we were tired from all the exercise. We said good night and parted ways. I figured I could get us back to the hostel, no problem. I told Katie I would call her, though, if we got lost!

All that's left to say is we crashed at the hostel. Tomorrow was a plane ride to Dublin! 

Day 4 - Liverpool Photos part 2

Day 4

Monday, March 19th, 2012

Pennylane and All-Around Liverpool

We found a community center in memory of The Beatles.
How could we get in, though?

This would be how!

The gate to get in!

I <3 Ringo!

Some kids had made octopi and hung them on a gazebo.

Eventually there will be an octopus garden here! 

A school started this mosaic and the community finished it!

My name on the wall! (Mikaela waz h3r3).
They take a picture of it once a year and paint it over.

Jackie writes her and her mother's names.

This church was significant to the Beatles.

I forget why...

Back in town, we check out some more sights.

Cool bench is cool.

Where The Beatles played!

A modern church.

Random architecture shots.

Too cool to pass up.

These crazy sculptures are all over Liverpool.
It is a sheep and a banana mix. Why?
As a statement on genetics.
They are all painted differently like the butterflies in De Pere
or the polar bears/dogs/globes in Racine.

Nifty sculpture in the middle of the sidewalk.

An Anglican church.

A shot of the sky because I can never seem to get
it in otherwise!

The moat below the church.
Probably not the moat, but I call it that.

The graveyard next to the church. All the stones
are so old!

Some are broken...

Entrance to the graveyard/moat.

They are trying to hard to bloom!

Chinatown, anyone?

A Banksy! He is an infamous British street artist.

Katie took us to see this church.

All the windows were blown out by a WWII bomb!

To the river!

We checked out the Maritime Museum quickly before it closed.

Our first hostel!

Nice and clean.

Look at my bag. Look at the locker.
It fits.
After much persuasion.