Living in the Moment: Week 4 (GL 350)

     Somebody pinch me. First of all, it's still hard to believe that I'm in Italy. Secondly, it's mind-boggling that we have just finished our fourth week here in Rome, and we're already halfway through this program. I'm still so grateful to be experiencing everything we have been doing so far and I try to embrace every moment. This past month can be summed up in a song that Aimee Jones and I have been singing since we've been here: "Living in the Moment" by Jason Mraz. It's a great song that we use to inspire us as we are studying here in beautiful Italy. 

A view of the Pantheon on Piazza della Rotonda

     "Work is pleasure and pleasure is work. I find Rome a good place to work." This quote found in Muriel Spark's "My Rome" is relatable to my time here because I find that even though we are studying here, it is highly enjoyable and I don't complain about the work we have to do here. We read about the places we are going to, we discuss Italian health care and we have find different places to just have class in Rome. This alone makes it so much more exciting and if every one of my classes were like this back in North Canton, I'd be set. But, I guess we can't have it great all the time, after all. This Tuesday, Aimee and I had to give the rest of the class a tour of Piazza Navona and Piazza della Rotonda. This included the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, Sant'Agnese in Agone, Santa Maria sopra Minerva and the Pantheon.

     Alice Steinbach in "The Smiles of Rome"writes about a few things that I can relate to perfectly. She describes her feelings of homesickness first of all. I miss my family, my dogs, cat, my friends and "the comfort of routine" as Steinbach says, but at the same time, I'm in absolutely no rush to leave Italy. I know that my family and everything else will be there when I return home and I also know that they are proud of me and wish for me to experience the best of this trip. "I yearned to...lie in bed, waiting for the soft thud that signals the arrival of my cat." I can particularly relate to this sentence because my cat would sleep with me before I left for Italy, which was a comfort that I loved and can't wait to return to when I come home in December. 

Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence

     The fourth week ended with our group weekend trip to Florence. This trip has been the best weekend so far in Italy, and I find it so hard to believe that they just keep getting better. Florence had many great things to offer including a market down several streets with stands selling everything from various leather items (which Florence is known for) to scarves and souvenirs, the massive cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (which we attended mass on Sunday), the Accademia (which houses the spectacular statue of David by Michelangelo, which felt like meeting a celebrity), exciting night life, and fantastic food. It was a great weekend and I can't wait to not only see what Sorrento and Pompeii are like, but I look forward to this next month here in Italy. 

For now, I will be sure to keep living in the moment. 

So I just let go of what I know I don't know
And I know I'll only do this by
Living in the moment
Living our life
Easy and breezy
With peace in my mind
With peace in my heart
Peace in my soul
Wherever I'm going, I'm already home