Roma-ma

I promised a nice long post about my weekend in Rome, so here it is. Okay, if it's not a long one, it's cause I'm tired. But based on what I have in mind to write about, I'm sure it will be a decent length.

So, on Day 1, we all woke up in the early hours (talkin 5ish here) on Thursday morning to catch our train to Rome. As zombies, we dragged our bags around town following our guide, Matt Doll. He is an incredibly intelligent person. His mind is full of so much information for the art which we've been seeing and talking about during this semester. His passion burns for it so much that it's impossible to be irritated or bored when he rants on and on about art history. So, while we were tired, we followed Matt like little ducklings and listened to a few lectures before he brought us to our hostel rooms. I don't want to brag here, but I don't want to be discrete either. I shared a room with 6 girls and we had a balcony that overlooked the Pantheon. There's a small piazza in front of the Pantheon, and we were directly above it looking down at crowds of people. We could hear live music and the flow of the center fountain perfectly, among many languages and conversations. I seriously don't know how I got to be so spoiled. I am grateful to be here, and so grateful for the people who made it possible for me to be here.

The weekend consisted of lots and lots of walking. This means I know my way around Rome a little. I feel important now. I have to say that it is EXTREMELY refreshing to move on from learning about frescos from the Renaissance onto paintings from the Baroque period. Baroque is way up my ally. I think I've fallen in love with Bernini and Caravaggio. There was a whole museum full of Caravaggio's paintings and just about every painting had my attention, some more than others. To see a fresco after that exhibit made me chuckle a little. I think I hate frescos. I've seen too, too many. But maybe we just need some time off. I might like frescos again someday. Matt asked us to do some sort of writing response for one of Caravaggio's paintings in the museum. I chose to write a poem about "Cattura di Cristo" (The Taking of Christ). I'll post my poem below with a picture of the painting. Julia happens to be a big fan of Caravaggio, and she happened to turn 21 this past weekend. What a wonderful birthday... in Rome... seeing one of her favorite artists' work. Amazing.

Yesterday we went to the Vatican. The inside is nothing like I ever expected. It is huge, it is marble ALL over. It is beautiful. The most beautiful thing inside the Vatican, by far, is the Pieta. Sarah took a picture of it when she was here last year. It's funny to think I stood where she stood almost exactly one year later. I must say, the Pieta moved me. I stared at it for a long time. I didn't want to look away.

Okay, we did so much over the weekend, but I feel like I've summed it up enough. If anything else comes to mind, I'll be sure to add it to this post. But at this point, my brain's a little fried. These excursions usually involve way too much information to retain, so it takes a few days to refresh my mind. But, all in all, I woke up in Rome today. That's pretty stinkin cool.

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The Taking of Christ

should a kiss ever be
associated with pain?
You calmly pull away.
the time was coming,
and You knew it was near,
for this dark and dreadful day.
in his face, there’s no regret
it’s still as the sea
when the skies don’t speak.
his eyes search for Yours
but You’re somewhere else
he slightly kisses your cheek.
the sounds of the soldiers
and yells of your brothers
crowd together and smother
Your shaken soul.
Christ, are you afraid?
would You rather it be another?
it’s time to give Yourself whole.
the light on Your face
doesn’t reveal contentment.
the lines on Your face
show fragility and fear.
Heavenly God, draw near
to Your Son
before He becomes
our sin.

Turtles

Matt Doll's son's were each given a turtle this past weekend. Ronan (about 4 years old) named his Spaceship, and Silas (about 6 years old) named his African Wild West. That's all I have to post about today. I'll probably have a nice, long post after this weekend. I'll be in Rome from early Thursday til Sunday afternoon. Psyched!

Renaissance Art History class is now History!

I just finished all my work due for my first class of this first month in Orvieto. I feel like a kite tied to a tree on the edge of a cliff on a sunny day. I hope you understand. This class was a little intense. My brain is fried. Now all I have to look forward to for the next three months is making art till my hands are aching. I am so excited for it! Today has been so liberating and relaxing knowing that I have no pressure to do anything. Plus, there's a festival going on in Orvieto tonight. I'm not really sure what it's for, but I do know that I'ma gonna be having a good time. Me, Julia, and Whitney have plans to go to a bar and listen to some live music. I've only heard live music twice for this whole first month we've been here! That's not enough! I love live music, so I'm looking forward to it.

I decided that I would make this post my first photo blog of this trip. I don't have a working camera right now, but I do have friends! So, I stole some pictures from people, just so you have something to look at. I know from experience that looking at pictures doesn't do a whole lot compared to actually being the one holding the camera. But I just hope it does enough to draw out for you guys at least a little of what I've been surrounded with for the past month. I hope to keep showing you pictures in the future, maybe even with my own photographs.

This is Orvieto from a train. (by Julia Ham)

This is just my boring backyard. By boring, I mean the exact opposite. (by Julia Ham)

This is me with a flower in my ear, standing in the court yard of a Florentine monastery. (by Julieta Morales)

This is a view of Florence from Michelangelo's palace. No big deal. (by Julieta Morales)

Here are some of the people I live with. This was taken in Rome (The Colosseum is on the right) on the first weekend of the trip. It's weird to think how fast time passed and how I hardly knew these people when this photo was taken. (by Sean VandenBrink)

This one's for Sarah. I know it'll bring back some nostalgic feelings. 

This is the place where we eat lunch and dinner every day. La Locanda del Lupo. I know for a fact that I am going to miss this place and the people that serve us when this trip is over. I can already feel it in my chest. (by Sean VandenBrink)

P.S. - A copy of my sketch of David can now be found below.

Firenze e Arezzo

That means "Florence and Arezzo." That'll be why I haven't been present on the internets since Thursday. On Friday morning, our group took a train to Florence and spent the weekend there. I wish I could tell you exactly how many miles we walked, and how many hours we spent listening to Professor Skillen preach about the history of the countless frescoes we viewed. I might go as far to say that the educational part of the trip (which was 90% of the trip) was painful. By this morning, I thought if I had to look at another fresco, I might punch it. Thankfully, though, we started the day out by visiting a museum full of sculptures, so I was in a good mood by the time was saw the next frescoes. There's something about sculptures that captures me. I feel very connected to the 3D-ness, knowing that the artists wrapped their hands and practically their whole bodies around large chunks of stone to form an image with patience and precision. Let me not get carried away describing how much I love sculpting. I'll just start talking about when a few of my friends and I went to see the famous David sculpture by Michelangelo in our free time.

We had just walked around Florence for probably 6 hours and we were exhausted to the bone, but it was our one chance to wander off and see the masterpiece. When I got inside the museum, there were all kinds of sculptures lining the walls and hallways, with people everywhere. All I wanted to do was find David, I didn't care about anything else. No sculpture or painting would call my attention, my mission was David. So, I began walking, and started thinking to myself, "I am going to have to weave around people and artworks for like 20 minutes before I find him." I tried to follow the flow of people, assuming they were going toward the young hero. I turned a right turn around a corner and skimmed over sculptures and there, at the end of the hallway, standing tall with that sling over his shoulder, with a soft beam of light surrounding him, David took me completely off-guard. I literally jumped and stepped backward. He was much taller than I ever thought, and so much more peaceful than in photographs. He was beautiful. My friend Abby suggested we sit down and draw him, so with the little time that we had, I tried to sketch him in pen. I only got the upper right side of his body and some of his face. Here's a picture of my sketch:

Anyways, the weekend trip was mostly in Florence, and it was definitely memorable. We stayed in an old hostel. I ordered my first plate of real Italian gnocchi and it was oh, so delicious. Before I took my first bite, I said, "This is for you, grandmom!" Some other things that happened this weekend: I ate the biggest cone of gelato ever and then dreamed all night that I kept farting in public and couldn't stop, I got the BEST back massage of my entire life from my new friend Karen, I saw two pugs together and got sad cause I thought of the Stanley pugs (Daisy and Peaches), I soaked up some sun in the Piazza Grande in Arezzo (where "Life is Beautiful" was filmed), I accidentally scratched my aviator lenses on a stupid pillar, and I watched the sun set over Florence while standing on the stairs of a palace that Michelangelo designed.

So, this morning, I woke up in Florence. Our group stopped in Arezzo for a few hours before we went back to Orvieto. I think that I liked Arezzo much better than Florence. I wish we could have spent a night there, instead of only a few hours. But, I suppose I can always take my own weekend trip there. I think I will. It's a lot quieter (less touristy) and the town is more cozy.

Well, that's my weekend in a nutshell (trust me, a nutshell).

O Little Town of Orvieto

Today is a big day for the small town of Orvieto. It's snowing pretty heavily, and it's very rare for it to snow at all here. Though, to us, it isn't much snow, schools are called off and the electricity is struggling here and there. I've seen the lights flicker probably 5 times in the past hour. I just thought I'd share this interesting news. This is something to remember.

GLORY HALLELUJAH

THE POLICE FOUND LAURA'S BAGS. I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!!! (referring to the Bob Dylan post)

The bad news is that the laptop is gone for good, but Laura is relieved that her printed thesis is now back in her possession. This is a HUGE answer to prayers. Apparently someone found her bags on the side of the road somewhere and reported it. Amazing!

Sleeping Torpor

Even though classes have started, my friends and I are trying to soak up the free time as much as possible. Our RA even told us that we’re going to miss the relaxation time once we’re a few weeks in, cause that’s when we really have to start acting like students. So, we’re taking her advice. Before we start writing our papers and “putting our thinking caps on,” we’re just going to be a lazy as possible. We go to cafes and bars a lot (cappuccinos are cheap!). Sometimes we take naps by windows with sunlight blanketing us like cats. Occasionally we have mini dance parties in Julia’s room. We recorded a few videos. You can’t see them. From time to time, a nice walk through the town is refreshing. It’s been a nice week of classes so far. I’m not so sure how focused I’ll be once I realize it’s time to write a paper. But, I’m sure I’ll be fine. I just really, really cannot wait until it’s time to draw, draw, draw, and sculpt, and paint. That all comes after this stinkin Renaissance Art class is over (three weeks). I can do it! This class isn’t that bad. It’s just the fat paper I have hanging over my head that I’m dreading. There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven; a time for writing papers, and a time for not doing that at all.

Bob Dylan is playing in the background

Today is one day out of few this far in the program where we have freedom to do whatever we want. Guess where I am. Caffe del Corso. Pathetic? A little. BUT I think I started out the day right. Julia and I went on our first run here in Orvieto. It was chilly, but so nice to weave around people and their dogs and look over the cliff at the large quilt of grass below us. Some blocks have rows of olive trees, some have clusters of bushes, some are just green, some have houses, some have towns, and cars are crawling around them like ants. After our much needed run (which I hope we can get the habit of doing daily) we went to a market and bought dried strawberries and dates. It's been a fresh, cool-aired day. Relaxing so far. There was one point within the last hour that wasn't exactly relaxing when Julia and I sat down on a bench to soak in the sun a little, and a group of Italian high school boys stopped and came over saying, "Can we take picture? You English? American, yes? I love you." Fun times.

Yesterday we travelled to Sienna to see some famous frescos in monasteries and museums. The day was kind of set on a bad note after the first stop, because we parked our vans on a mountain and walked a distance to a monastery and then walked back to find that someone broke a window on one of the vans. Laura, a girl from Orvieto who helps out with the program, had her purse stolen with all of her identification, along with her new Macbook which had her thesis on it. Her thesis is the reason she has been a little distant from our group, cause it obviously requires a lot of time. She didn't have her thesis backed up. It was devastating. A lot of us were in a strange fog for the rest of the day cause we kept thinking about it. I'm sure it would do her good if we all prayed for her. Poor girl.

Well, my plans for the rest of the day are up in the air, but if I do anything super exciting, you'll hear about it. I miss all you people back in the States.

Ja Rule

Last night I had a dream that I had to reconcile with Ja Rule because I accidentally killed his dad in a car accident. I walked up to him and his 'gang' and apologized, and he was like, "Naw, it's cool, it's ok." And I was like, "No, it's not ok" and I grabbed him and hugged him and we wept.

I don't understand dreams.

In other news, nothing real exciting has gone on in a while. We've just been getting accustomed to the class hours and such the past two days. I'm getting to know these people here pretty well and I feel like I'm getting cozy. This experience will be one to linger in my mind for years, I'm sure. I wish everyone could experience this.

By the way, everyone wish Ian Stanley a happy 24th birthday today!

Porcupine Tree

Today was the first day of class. We're learning about Renaissance art every Monday through Thursday, 3 hours a day for three weeks. I think I'm going to enjoy this class, just based on how today went. Dr. Skillen might feed us all kinds of information and fry our brains, but at least it's about something I'm interested in. And I have one question. Why are we so afraid to talk about Mary??? He talked a little about this in class, and I've been wondering this ever since Gordon had the art exhibit entitled Magnificat. Why do we (Protestants) beat around the bush about the woman who bore our Savior? God had to have chosen her for a reason, and why do we often sweep that under the carpet? Appreciation and respect don't have to turn into worship, if that's what we're afraid of. Think of Mary's song. Just read it. It's in Luke 1:46-55. I'll stop here before I try to type out my jumbled thoughts and then say something I'm not exactly sure I believe in, but I hope this provokes some thought for you like it does for me. I believe that there's no reason for us to hide Mary from Bible lessons in church or in our artistic expressions. She's an important model of a Christian if God chose her to carry, bear, and nurture His own flesh.

Okay, moving on. I titled this post "Porcupine Tree" because I heard it playing in this cafe that I'm currently sitting in - Caffe del Corso. I heard it last night while a group of us celebrated our friend Sean's 21st birthday. After making a fool of myself trying to order "Orvieto Vino Bianco Classico," I said to the guy behind the counter, "Musica... ehh, Porcupine Tree?" and then we were friends. He smiled and said, "You like?" I was like "Si, si!" even though I don't know them that well. I have to work on my Italian.

The past few days have consisted of important meetings/walks around town, lunch, and then me, Julia, and Whitney getting gelato, and then chilling out in the grass by the Duomo (the Orvieto Cathedral). One night, Julia and I sat in the sala (the main lounge for the students) by ourselves singing through the whole Fleet Foxes album til 12am. Life in Italy is splendid. But we need to cut back on the gelato a little. Can't do this everyday, heh heh.

By the way, I'm so addicted to Beach House right now. I preach about this band to people daily. Teen Dream might be the album that brings me back to Italy when this time has come and gone.