Cereal, St. Paul and Swiss Guards

Something I learned about myself:

Swiss Guards make me giddy. Monday night as I was passing one of the side entrances to the Vatican, I noticed a swiss guard and he nodded at me. I thought that was good and of course couldn’t stop thinking about it for the next few hours. Then as my friend and I were walking back from Praise and Worship at the seminary, I saw not one but TWO of these Swiss guards. I of course acknowledged this as the perfect opportunity to institute my ‘make a Swiss guard fall in love with me’ plan, took a chance and shot a wave in their direction. What followed from that moment: 1. The world stopped turning. 2.  Everything was in slow motion. 3. They waved, smiled, and saluted me. 4. I sprinted away half screaming, half not breathing. Since then the world has started moving again, but it hasn’t stopped me from reliving that moment a few times in my mind.

This wasn't him, but you get the idea.  I was obviously keeping it cool and didn't take a picture. 

The Best Thing That I Ate:

Okay, before you judge me and think “Wow, I am so glad that Lauren is in Rome and taking advantage of the cuisine by eating cereal alone in her room. . .”, let me explain. The food here is delicious and I have had more pasta/red wine/gelato (gelato twice today, actually) but after meal after meal of pasta/pizza, I needed a break. Luckily this cereal hit the spot. For those of you who are concerned, I also ate approximately ten breadsticks dipped in nutella. Dining at it’s finest.

Sometimes, simple is good. 

An Adventure I Went On:

Today my whole class met at one of the Papal Basilicas—St. Paul Outside the Walls. All I have to say is wow. For me this felt adventurous because we switched lines on the metro and we were headed out from the center of the city where I have been spending a lot of my time. Once I got there, it was such a humbling thing to be standing around and in such a spiritually significant place, and par for the course I was teary eyed. Our program director, Zio David as I call him, is one of the most intelligent people I have ever known and I have learned so much from him. (Largely because I stand at the front of the group and loudly ask questions about every single thing that I see). I am going to try to get back there next Saturday, partly because there is a big prayer service for the Week for Christian Unity, and partially because a little birdie told me there will be priests with British accents there. . .

        

This city has so much to offer, and I am amazed everyday at all the beautiful places I get to visit. 

The Craziest/Most Interesting Thing That I Saw:

I have learned to not be surprised by what people do around me, but I have to say that I was a little caught off guard today when I was at mass and a woman walked in right as we were starting with a bag (pronounced baaaaaaeeg, in case any of you miss me saying it like that) of groceries. I have to admit, in my state of hunger I was initially curious about what was in the bag, but then I was marveling at the fact that she was confident enough to just waltz right up to the front of the Church, groceries and all. I think this action says a lot about how comfortable people are with their faith here--it all seems so seamless.