Integration.

Something I learned about myself:

Waking up early ain’t so bad after all. My whole life, my dad has set his alarm for before six am. Growing up I thought it was because he was a dad and that is just what dads do, as I got older I realized he must have been blessed with some extra-special genes where it is plausible to be a functioning (and happy) human being before six am. But as happens to all college students, I have been permanently tainted into thinking that anything before 8 am is tragically early. However, since Lent has begun, I have been waking up early and going to the different Station Churches. I have learned that I am capable of being awake and out the door by six am. This may not seem like that big of an accomplishment, but I have been proud of myself for waking up and making a consistent effort to make it out the door. It is still taking me at least twenty minutes to string coherent sentences together, but you have to start somewhere. . .

The Best Thing That I Ate:

Canoli. Now I don’t know if it was the company or what I ate here, but I was on cloud nine. Armaine came and visited for the weekend with a bunch of people from London, and it was such a dream to be able to see her! Before we went to the Papal Audience on Sunday, we stopped by my favorite ‘pasticceria’ to get some canolis. It was absolutely delicious, I ate mine in three whole bites. Whoops. The canoli was sweet, but nothing was sweeter than being able to share it with one of my favorite people in the city that I love so much.

I love everything about this picture. 

An Adventure I Went On:

These last several days have been blissfully uneventful. I think that means that I am growing more confident in settling into my life here, which is a huge blessing. Although I traversed around the city several times, and have been up before six am four of the last six days and eaten pizza on seven different occasions, it all feels so integrated. I thank God every day for the peace that He has given me, and the opportunity to bask in His glory, which is present in such a physical way here.

The Craziest/Most Interesting Thing That I Saw:

Sistine Chapel. Although the line to the Vatican Museums was over an hour long and filled with lots of tourists (for the record, I no longer refer to myself as a tourist) and people that kept intentionally blowing smoke in my face (obviously they all had a vendetta against me) it was SO worth it when we got inside. For as long as I can remember, I have heard people talk about the Sistine Chapel and how unbelievable it was. However, NOTHING could have prepared me for what I saw. From the second that I walked in, my mouth was wide open and my eyes were watering. I was quite the sight, but being in that space and seeing such beautiful artwork while reminding myself that it was all created for the greater glory of God took my breath away.

I didn't take this picture, but this took my breath away
when I saw it in real life. The hand of God is everywhere, and
I couldn't be more grateful that I am experiencing it every day.

The Lenten Edition.

Something I learned about myself:

I’ve never given Lent enough credit. I don’t know if being away from home is what has given me such a new perspective on everything, but for the first time I hope and pray that I am seeing it for what it really is, a time to unite with Christ in His suffering and grow closer to Him. I had such a wonderful Ash Wednesday, starting with early mass, continued on with a Papal Audience with the Holy Father and LOTS of weird looks from Italians (who apparently don’t receive ashes on their forehead. . .) Since I am the crazy foreigner, it was the obvious thing for them to do to take pictures of me and all stare blankly. Clearly the point of this Lenten season is not for me to complain about staring Italians (that is a post for another day), this entire day has been an opportunity for me to reflect on everything that has been given to me, and ways that I can humble myself and unite with Christ and His Church during this Lenten season with a better attitude. (Bright side? Since there is no diet coke here, no need for me to give it up  J).

The Best Thing That I Ate:

More like what I WILL eat. I have been so lucky, this last week my friend from school, Rebecca was here with her family for Cardinal Dolan’s consistory. For those of you who have spoken with me over the last few weeks, you know that every other word that comes out of my mouth is ‘peanut butter’. It just isn’t the same here, BUT because Rebecca is a wonderful and caring person, she dealt with my insanity and brought me goodies alllll the way from Minnesota. Not only was it such a blessing to see her, but I now have my very own taste of America! But, since it is Ash Wednesday and it is a day of fasting, I am going to wait until tomorrow. Just don’t be surprised if I sleep with peanut butter under my pillow. Completely normal. 

What do you mean it's weird to take pictures with food in photobooth. . .?
P.S. Note the ashes. . .

An Adventure I Went On:

Station Churches! I have decided that as a part of my Lenten obligation I am going to attend as many of the ‘Station Churches’ masses that are offered. This is a tradition that was started in Rome in the earlier centuries, and for English speakers there is mass offered every day at 7 am. Although it is a daunting thought waking up early and travelling to a different part of the city each day for mass, I know that it will be good for me on every level. The Ash Wednesday mass was beautiful, and superficially I was pleased as punch because I received the best ashes I’ve ever gotten. . .

The Craziest/Most Interesting Thing That I Saw:

Cardinal Dolan. I could just leave it at that because this man is such a rockstar (examples here and here). This man has been a huge blessing to Catholics across the country as we are fighting to defend religious liberty, and he has consistently reminded me what it means to remain steadfast in my beliefs as young Catholic woman.  So to be able to attend his first mass as a Cardinal was an amazing a once-in-a-lifetime experience. He said a beautiful and reverend mass, while maintaining more joy than I have ever seen encapsulated in one person. He humbly said that he would casually be waiting outside to talk to people so obviously Erin and I sought him out. What followed was one of the most positive and loving conversations I have ever had with someone complete with a hug. God is so good.  

Look at this joy that he radiates! 

I can think of few moments that were happier than this. 

Food Coma.

Hi everyone! I'm continually amazed at the beautiful weather and chances for growth that the Lord has given me here. What a life! 

And for you my Russian friend:

Привет всем! Я не перестаю удивляться прекрасной погодой ишансы на рост, чтобы Господь дал мне здесь. Что за жизнь!

Something I learned about myself:

It isn’t all about capturing the moment. Now don’t get me wrong, I love having my camera, I love taking pictures of all the beautiful things I have been able to witness here, and I l-o-v-e taking pictures with the wonderful people that the Lord has put in my life here. But, as I was walking today to go to the Angelus, I realized that I forgot my camera.  As I continued on walking (and ran into a large group of tourists . . .oops), I felt a sense of peace about not being able to document my little afternoon adventure. While I realize that it is important to capture the memories as they’re happening; there is also something to be said about just savoring the moments without the fear of documenting them. 

The Best Thing That I Ate:

More like what didn’t I eat . . .As you will read below, we went to a mozzarella farm this weekend located a few hours outside of Rome which was absolutely amazing. We sat down to lunch and there is NO WAY I could have prepared myself for what was about to happen. What started off as a platter with a few cheeses and fresh meat turned into MORE meat and cheese, vegetables, honey, BREAD—and that was just the first course! Then we got pasta (more yum) and a meat course. Now, I’m not a huge meat eater, but I am a carb eater so I loved the potatoes that came with it! Just when we thought we couldn’t eat any more, we got what we thought was our last course—fruit. We. Were. So. Wrong. We were slipping deeper and deeper into our food coma when they walked out with desserts. Obviously, I wasn’t going to let anything go to waste so I just had to eat all of the desserts that they offered me. And no meal would be complete without espresso . . .and Italian dessert liqueur. Oofta. Aren’t you full after hearing that?

Obviously, it is normal to hold a ball of
 mozzarella and take a picture with it. . .

This is what we thought was our first course, how wrong we were. 

I never know what I am eating, but it is almost always good. 

At this point, I was almost on the ground passed out from so much
food, but I mustered up my strength to finish this dessert. I know, such a champ. 

An Adventure I Went On:

Mozzarella farm. Our awesome program offered us a day trip to the countryside to go and visit a mozzarella farm! We got to tour the little factory where they make the homemade mozzarella, and the best part was hands down seeing the animals. Before I went into my food coma, we got to run around and pet/visit all the precious little animals. I kept on telling all the east-coasters that being on the farm reminded me of Minnesota, because of course we all live on farms. The scary thing? Some of them believed me . . .But all in all it was a wonderful day, it was such a blessing to be able to spend some time away from the city and spend some time with wonderful friends!

YUM! 

Just too cute for words.                                                      

Made a new friend. 

This puppy was so stinkin cute. Made me miss my dog.
But honestly, I chose this picture because I like my hair in it. . .          

The Craziest/Most Interesting Thing That I Saw:

St. Peter’s Square. Now, this place is always interesting, but today at the Angelus with the Holy Father it was PACKED. And not just really full, it was really full with aallllll kinds of people. Now, generally, when I am in situations like this I am on the prowl for other Americans. This usually manifests itself in me speaking VERY LOUDLY in English or talking VERY LOUDLY about how much I love America, in particular the Midwest. Usually this just results in weird looks from people that clearly aren’t from America or the Midwest, but still, it is worth a try . . .Anyways, there were people from ALL OVER in town for the Consistory, my friend Alyssa was right when she compared it to the ‘It’s a Small World’ ride at Disneyworld. The highlight though? Volunteering myself to take a picture of the group of twenty Indian priests with what looked to be a very important man. I may or may not have yelled “What a good looking group!” Inappropriate for a group of priests who I don't know? Maybe. 

The Great Italian Adventure!

We just got back last night from what I am calling the 'Great Italian Adventure'. Five cities in four days! It was exhausting but so rewarding. It started with masks and unreal celebrations in Venice and ended with beautiful snow dusted Tuscany! 

Something I learned about myself:

No matter where I have been this semester so far, there has been nothing more comforting than stepping foot into various churches. It has been a crazy month and a half here, I have travelled across Italy and even ventured out into Europe. I have gotten lost, there have been ups and downs, but so much of what the Lord has given me has been through what I have experienced visiting different sacred spaces. I have learned a lot about how rich the Church’s history is, but also about how constant Holy Mother Church has been throughout the ages. I especially felt this this weekend when I was travelling throughout Italy where I was able to pray where St. Catherine of Siena lived, light a candle for my parents in the Cathedral of Arezzo and prayed in the chapel dedicated to the Eucharistic miracle as witnessed by Peter of Prague. Read about that here, it is an amazing story. Not only was I struck in awe of with gratitude of God’s beauty, but also struck with gratitude for the opportunities for prayer in some of the most beautiful spaces on earth. Each time that I get a glance of the areas where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved, I am overcome with even more gratitude for the Lord’s full presence.

St. Catherine of Siena, Pray for Us!

Lighting candles has become such a tangible blessing for me
as I am constantly seeking to remember my loved ones in prayer.

Absolutely breathtaking. 

The Best Thing That I Ate:

This has to be one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. Right up there with choosing a college and deciding what pair of socks to wear today. But, since I was in beautiful Tuscany this weekend, I have to go with Ribollita. Now I don’t pride myself on being adventurous, but I knew that I had to try something local. I was not brave enough to try the pheasant or rabbit (bleh), but my soup had beets and beans in it so I consider that brave! This was the perfect meal to eat on a cold day with some delicious local red wine and great conversation. As I’m writing this, my mouth is almost watering because it was a b-o-r-i-n-g night here complete with a nutella sandwich and pumpkin seeds. You can’t win them all. . .

This picture was obviously taken before I became
classy and learned how to hold my vino glass. 

An Adventure I Went On:

On Monday night I went to a wine tasting at a castle on the side of a mountain. I still can’t believe that those words just came out of my mouth (hands?). As a part of our great Italian adventure, we were able to Monday night climbing a mountain and spending a wonderful evening in an unheated castle—that’s what the wine was for. I learned how to be classier—I’m sure all of you knew that you are supposed to hold wine by the stem in an effort to not prematurely heat it up,  but I did not. Also, I have devised yet another plan, this one involves finding a man who’s family owns a castle/vineyard on the side of a mountain in Italy. . .

Another day, Another castle. 

Fun fact: I decided to buy the wine that we sampled
so I can have a classy wine tasting when my parents
are here in a month.

I mean honestly people, how beautiful is this?!

The Craziest/Most Interesting Thing That I Saw:

Venice. Let’s just say that the par for normalcy in Venice is walking around wearing a mask and holding a Styrofoam cup of hot wine (vin brule). That should at least give you some sort of an idea of what I was dealing with there this weekend! We left early Saturday morning for a whirlwind day trip to Venice. We got in around noon and I was instantly in awe of the canal-filled city. It was packed with people there to celebrate Carnivale. We ate a delicious lunch, spent the afternoon exploring the city, walking down by the water and of course buying masks and drinking hot wine! The energy was absolutely electric, and the city made for some pretty good people watching.

We obviously fit right in.

I almost feel weird posting a picture of myself about to
go to sleep on the internet. Keyword: Almost. 

On Top of the World.

Something I learned about myself:

Being awkward is okay. . .and unavoidable. A few favorites from the day:

--To the man who I accidentally completely threw myself on today, I promise the metro causes me to lose my balance a lot.

--To the nun ho I almost ran straight into because I was. . .eerrrr. . .distracted.

--To the French seminarians who almost saw me WIPE OUT in St. Peter’s square, I’m sorry, it’s just that I really wanted to talk to you in French. . .

Seems that a lot of these awkward samplings include me running into people in formation. . .Next time I am judged, I’m just going to say that I was too busy praying for vocations.

The Best Thing That I Ate:

Foccacia! If I only learn how to say one thing this semester, it will be ‘vorrai focaccia, per favore’. Well, and ‘vino bianco, per favore’. Elise and I went to this wonderful restaurant on Monday night, and we ordered this focaccia as a delicious appetizer. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy. That’s a lie, but it was really good. Like you almost want to lick your plate in the middle of the restaurant good. Don’t worry, I refrained myself, we were also a little busy getting free dessert from our waiter. Who knew I could be charming?

  Foccacia and wine. I'm a happy girl.                          

An Adventure I Went On:

Hold on. . . I’m still. . .catching. . .my breath. . .Okay, phew. On Monday when we had our day off due to the rescheduled Tuscany trip, Elise, Nora and I decided that we were feeling adventurous and wanted to climb to the top of St. Peter’s dome. For the mere price of five euros (seven if you are taking the elevator), you can climb the hundreds and hundreds of steps up to the top. First, you stop INSIDE the basilica where you can look down on St. Peter’s basilica. . .

The view from UNDER the dome. So cool. 

It took getting over my bitterness at the slanted stairwell to remember
that I was climbing a dome and of course the walls are slanted. . .

. . .and then you go up a little farther and are outside the basilica looking out at some of the most breathtaking views you will ever see. Looking out onto this city that I have grown to love so much, I was so in awe of all the blessings that the Lord has given me. His hand is everywhere in this city, and the physical manifestations of His glory are everywhere. And for that, I am both humbled and grateful. 

Such an amazing view. 

It was windy. And sunny. Hence the face.                                           

The Craziest/Most Interesting Thing That I Saw:

These people. I don’t have a whole lot of things to say. . .But these gems showed up to Pope Benedict’s papal audience. At first I was just confused why there were people dressed in renaissance clothes to see the Pope, but turns out they were there from Venice and here to show him their Carnivale-ness. I still found it a bit odd though—the highlight of the night was when one of them shook the hand of a Swiss Guard and the look on his face was priceless.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Or in this case, fifty thousand. 

BONUS: Because I love you all, and because the apostolic blessing that the Pope gives at the end of his audience extends to friends and family, I thought I would share it with you. You are all in my prayers, especially during these precious moments with the Holy Father. (Disclaimer: To the person in Russia who is reading my blog, I don't know you, but you are still in my prayers. . .)

                                   

Snowpocalypse?

I feel weird ‘apologizing’ for not posting mid-week. Because that would imply that there are people other than my parents (love you guys!) checking this. But in my defense, my week was crazy last week and any post would have been a jibberish post with me talking about my Italian final, the Swiss Guard that saluted me (AGAIN!!!!) and if I am being honest, probably reaching to eat another spoonful of nutella.

Something I learned about myself:

Sometimes, you just gotta go with the flow. We were scheduled to go to Tuscany this weekend as a program and I was really looking forward to it. But as Rome was hit with a ‘snowstorm’ aka two inches of snow, our plans quickly got derailed. The night before we were scheduled to leave, I stayed up late-ish cleaning and packing because my midwestern sensibility told me there was NO WAY our trip would ever be cancelled. Imagine my surprise when I woke up to an email saying that we weren’t going to be able to go! Usually I am very high-strung and like a set schedule, but this time I just decided to go back to bed and let it be. Everything always works out, and we will be going to Tuscany next weekend—you know you’re blessed when the ‘worst case scenario’ is having to stay in Rome for another weekend . . .

This was the amount of snow that was on the ground
on Friday when everyone was freaking out. Note all the
umbreallas. Me? I was on my way to my Italian final
(P.S. It's socially acceptable to drink wine during finals here. . .)

The Best Thing That I Ate:

Nutella. Now, you would think that with all of the wonderful food that they have here in Rome, I would appreciate it enough to label something other than nutella as the best thing that I ate. BUT, since I have been abroad, I have come to really appreciate consistency. And let’s just say that my relationship with nutella has been one of the most consistent things that I’ve had. When I come back from a rough day, it is always there to console me in the form of a nutella sandwich (or straight from the spoon). I promise that I haven’t completely lost my mind, it’s just that nutella is really good.

That is exactly what it looks like. A spoonful of nutella. 

An Adventure I Went On:

Angelus with the Pope! Anything that involves the Pope is going to be an adventure because it always involves several things: 1. Tears. 2. Sheer gratitude. 3. Squealing. When I found out that I was going to have a free weekend, I knew that it would be the perfect opportunity to go to pray the Angelus with our Holy Father. St. Peter’s was at 50% capacity with only 100,000 people. Well, what do I know but that is my best guess. Pope Benedict couldn’t be more precious if he tried, and my favorite part was when he said (I’m paraphrasing) “Welcome to all zee English speaking Pilgrims!” I obviously squealed very loudly. And then almost slipped on some ice. But that’s a story for another day.

So, so wonderful. 

St. Peter's covered in snow!! 

The Craziest/Most Interesting Thing That I Saw:

Snow on the streets on my way home! 

SNOW! When it started to snow on Friday morning, I didn’t really think anything of it (I am from MinneSNOWta after all), and I honestly just found it odd that there were people running around everywhere screaming and taking pictures. However, over the course of the weekend, I have come to realize that this is the first major snowfall they have had since 1985!! So I guess I kind of understand why everyone was going insane. Despite the fact that the Roman government has no infrastructure in place to deal with snow, we were able to enjoy it—I’m convinced that every city is beautiful with a layer of snow on it, Rome certainly is no exception.

I thought I was SO artistic.