It's Finally Here!!!

So today I received my mission call for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have been called to serve in the Switzerland Geneva Mission speaking the French language. I will be leaving for the Provo Missionary Training Center on March 24 and will arrive in Switzerland about 2 months after that.

I really cannot express what it feels like right now. It hasn't totally sunk in yet, so I'm still getting used to the thought. I really can't put into words what's going through my mind right now. I really only have three for you right now: humility, happiness, and peace. I feel so humbled that the Lord would trust me with this privilege and opportunity. I really never thought I would be here. And now that I am, I am brought to my second word - happiness. I am SO happy to be spending the next couple years dedicated to preaching the true gospel of Christ. I believe it with everything that is within me, and I can't wait to share that with the people of Switzerland (or France, or Luxembourg, or even a little piece of Belgium). And I feel such peace with this assignment. I can't explain how much it just feels right. It fits. And I don't know how or why, but I've just felt peace since I saw that that's where I'm going. What a wonderful opportunity I have ahead of me. And I can't wait to get started. Too bad it's 5 months away. When I can articulate my words a little bit better, I will try again. But for now, I leave you with this. I hope you will pray for the spirit to be with me as I prepare for this incredible journey ahead. I love you all so much and thank you eternally for supporting me through my life. You are wonderful.

Chinese???

Here we are getting away from Italian food for the first time. That's right, Chinese food in Italy. I don't really recommend ever doing that though..... It wasn't too bad, but to us it tasted wonderful because all we've eaten for the last 2 months is panino after panino after pizza and after pasta. Like I said before - the 3 P's. I've calmed down on the gelato a bit, but in the beginning, not so much. I won't even tell you how many I've eaten - yes I have an active and growing count. Live it up, right? At least that's what I tell myself.
Anyways, we went into this kinda sketch Chinese food place, but we felt hopeful because it was run by actual Chinese people. It's just not the same when you hear them speaking Italian though. Kinda takes away from the ambience. Oh well, what can you expect. But it was just funny when they ushered us into this side room where there were table clothes over those huge freezers, you know the ones that people stick dead bodies in? Ok, bad description of the freezers, but I didn't know how else to describe them. Plus, it adds to the sketchiness of the place. So ate random Chinese food there. I was a little ticked when I saw that there was no orange chicken. What kind of Chinese food place doesn't have orange chicken? Oh I know! The kind that's in Italy. Oh ok, got it. Needless to say, I'll be having lots of food that's not Italian when I get home. Mainly MEXICAN!!!! Oh what I wouldn't give for a burrito or some fajitas, or really just anything with some pinto beans or guacamole or salsa. Anything Mexican. Oh how I miss you!!! I'm also excited for some Yard House when I get home. Mom, don't forget that we're going there. Preferably night 2 or 3 that I am home. Ok, just a little reminder. Thanks, Love you :D

The Papers Are In!!!

So my friends decided to celebrate with me the day that I turned in my mission papers. So we went to this restaurant called "Nonna Gina" - this cute little place all family run. I got this really super yummy gnocchi that was cheese stuffed. I didn't even know gnocchi could be cheese stuffed. But it had this really good nutmeg sauce on it. The Italians use so many more spices - they branch out more. We don't really use nutmeg that much. But it's super good in some things.

Anyways, I will try and edit this post a little bit more to put a couple more pictures of the day. It's so fun to think that my call is on its way to me. To my parents first and then to me. I like to think that the Lord's always known where I would go, but maybe that's not how it works. But I wonder if things that I've been through in my life have prepared me for just the place that I've been assigned. I guess we'll see. I'm so excited, but I can't think about it too much or I'll go crazy. I'm just an impatient person in general, so this is already killing me as it is. I'll let you know when that packet comes in the mail. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Go Ahead And Hate Me For Hating The Devil's Holiday

That's right, I said it. And I'll say it until I die. I hate Halloween. Go ahead and say that I'm not fun, or that I'm a grinch, whatever. I don't care. I just don't like it. And I don't really ever remember enjoying it. I don't really like getting super dressed up, so that doesn't help. Well, everybody thought I was lame because I didn't want to dress up, but I didn't really care. I went to the branch Halloween party and had just as much fun as anybody else.

It was funny though because my friend Marci didn't really dress up either, but she put her scarf on her head and she totally looked like a gypsy. So we gave her a plastic cup and put a bunch of 1 euro cents in there and she went around begging. I have a bunch of awesome pictures of her, but I love this one of her counting her change. It makes me laugh every time.

Kaitlin, oh how I love you! She seriously surprises me everyday. I love hanging out with her, I always know I'll have a good time and I'll always be laughing. She was the girl from the WWII poster - "We Can Do It." And holy cow does she have the perfect arm for it. She's so stinkin' buff. She's hard core. I love it. I think she's probably the most consistent athlete. She exercises everyday. I wish I were that good. But I love her.

Guess who that is. Yeah... it was one of the Elders. A little bold for Italy, don't you think? He's funny though.

This was just one of the activities that we had at the party - shaving a balloon. That little boy in the picture doing it, is seriously so adorable. And it only makes him cuter when he starts going off in Italian. I wanted to wrap him up and put him in my pocket. I adored him.

This is just the front of the church location. It's a small location, but I love it. And it's perfect for their needs. They have a pretty small congregation - well minus us. And their primary (without our director's kids) consists of about 3 little ones. Maybe 4. Not sure. But I love the ward here. Everybody is really nice. But it was fun to have this little festa with the branch and just have a church activity. Haven't been to one of those in a while. So I enjoyed this Halloween. No big complaints from me this year. I still don't like it though. Just FYI.

Siena - How I Love Thee So Dearly.

Yeah I live here. No big deal. We got to go on top of this beautiful tower and overlook the whole city center. It's the tower of the oldest active bank in the world. Monte Dei Paschi Di Siena - a ridiculously beautiful building. I guess when you're a bank you can afford to have a beautiful building. But the view from the top of the tower was truly breathtaking. You don't get to see the city like that ever, really. I love stepping outside things like that sometimes and pinch yourself. It's moments like that where I say to myself. Oh yeah - I live here. Another reminder that I know how lucky I am - just going to throw that in here. It's funny because when we see beautiful views like that, we always say to the people in our group things like "Why are you taking a picture of that? That's not even that pretty?" or "Psh, why did we even come here, this is so ugly!" And we all just laugh because we all know how untrue that is. LOVE it.


And here's Marie and I at our beloved bus stop right by our house. Almost every day we await the number 10 bus that is usually always late - except of course on the days when we're running just a minute or two late and it decides to come on time. I love how many people they cram onto a bus. I also love that they don't think to just have 1 more bus come. Like instead of having a bus come every 30 minutes, add one bus, and have one come every 20 minutes. This bus would be less crowded that way. Marie and I decided that there's no way we're leaving Italy without a picture of our bus with all the people on it in the morning. It's awesome. I'm sure that people who live in New York or Chicago know what it's like to be crammed into some form of public transportation, but we don't really have that in good old Lake Elsinore. So it's new for me. There are many more things I could say about the bus system, but I will leave that for another time. Enjoy.

She Doesn't Know

Yes that's right. Your eyes do not deceive you. Here is Marie and I making a music video to possibly the worst song ever made. Marie plays the role of the "Sweet Spirit" and I play the role of the "Overly Dramatic Singer." The best part about this is that we didn't leave our room the entire time. We just used everything we could find inside the room. So here's a picture of Marie all geared up. Grab some popcorn, get comfy, and enjoy!

A Post For My Best Friend

To my love, Michelle Mariel Parker I
I love you more than you will ever know. It's been hard being away from you these past 2 months. I love how this is the longest we've ever been away from each other. And now I will not bring up the subject we always avoid ;) But I wanted to take this opportunity to show you the pictures I took for you. I was walking in this town called Monte Olivetto and I saw these pansies. Kinda ridiculous how a flower can almost make you cry. But I immediately brought out my camera and took some pictures for you. I wished I could have called you at that moment and told you about how they have pansies in Italy too, but I could not. So here are the pictures I took for you:



Before you know it, I will be home and we can have really lame sleep overs and we can make really yummy Italian food, stuff ourselves until we want to die, and then eat some ice cream. And then after our bellies are full and we've changed into our pajamas because our jeans won't fit anymore, we can paint our nails, put on some make up, and dance around the room to some Coldplay and Wicked and Lion King. How does that sound? Perfect! That's what I thought :D I LOVE YOU LITTLE MISSY!!! I'll see you on skype soon and we can further our plans. LOVE YOU!

Love,
Elizabeth Renee (Rose)

P.S. The middle one is my fave. Which one is yours?

Positano and My Host Family

Ok, so here's the town I REALLY wanted to see. Positano. And there is a reason why it is so famous. Hello, because it is absolutely beautiful. And I realize that I saw that all the time - but remember where I am people. That's right. One of the most beautiful places on earth. But I have discovered some not so beautiful parts of Italy - Salerno for one of them. Our host parents are from Salerno and took us there a couple weekends ago. Which was so incredibly generous of them, and we enjoyed it. But Salerno is deceivingly beautiful from far away. Close up, it is dirty and super sketchy. We didn't really like it at all (Marie and I, that is). But on the way home to Siena, we drove all the way up the coast from Salerno to Naples. It was a gorgeous drive. So we stopped in Positano - SO happy about that.

So there's the view and then here's a picture of Marie and I in front. Oh my word, I loved it. I was also thinking of "Only You" the whole time. "Four hundred dollars from the La Sirenuse Hotel in Positano? Where is Positano? Mexico? - ITly. My wife's in ITly? What's she doing in ITly? Who's in ITly?" Anyways, I was thinking of Daddy :D

Here's just a cute picture of a restaurant I would've really liked to eat at. Amazing view.

I saw this and I just HAD to take a picture of it :D It was a clothing store with the same name as Mom. I thought it might be fate telling me that Mom and Dad will once own a villa in Positano ;) ;) Hint, Hint! Yeah, that would be amazing.

So here are Alberto (15) and Giuseppe (12) - I seriously love them. I just adore Giuseppe, he is so cute. I think I'll try and record him talking some time. You would die, it's Italian. I love it.

Boys will be boys, I guess. Right?

Then here's Benny, Giuseppe, and Alberto. I LOVE this family. They are so kind to us and treat us so so well. I seriously feel so grateful to them for everything that they do for both Marie and I. They're so kind about everything. We really lucked out with the host family. We definitely got the best one :D

Cinqueterre

So how about some more beautiful beaches? I'm really ok with that! Me and 5 other friends went to Cinqueterre for the weekend and had an amazing time! We rented this little apartment for a few days and went on a hike, ate nice dinners, swam in the ocean - you know. No big deal :D So our apartment was the top floor of that full yellow building you see on the left side. It was beautiful.

And then here's the view out of the window. It was so incredibly beautiful. And one of the best parts was falling asleep with the windows open, hearing the water crashing on the shore. It made me think of home. So the town that we stayed in was called "Riomaggiore" - the first of the 5 towns that make up Cinqueterre (meaning "Five Lands"). It's also the smallest of the 5 towns - but we loved it! It was perfect.

So we got there on a Friday evening, spent some time in Riomaggiore, and then went into "Vernazza" (4th of 5th town). We took the train that goes between the towns and spent a little time in looking around before dinner. I found this sweatshirt in one of the shops there and kinda fell in love with it. It's super cute, I'm sure you can't tell how cute it is in this picture. But it has this really cute striped collar and a embroidered knot on the front that says "Cinqueterre Italia" - totally touristy, but I didn't really care because I loved it. So here's me on the beach in Vernazza posing my new sweater.

Then on Saturday we went on the hike that goes through all of the towns. It's a pretty challenging hike at some spots, but it was so so worth it. We all loved the hike, it was beautiful. The coolest thing was seeing all the old people on this hike. I have such respect for the elderly in Italy - they really amaze me daily. But anyways, there was this scooter in one of the towns that looked like it had been there for years, honestly. There were vines growing up in the tires. So we all took pictures on it. You could tell it was a tourist thing though because it was very strategically placed in order to have a beautiful view. Good work.

And then here's just a picture of my friend Allison and I. Mainly I just put it on because I like the picture and it's fun. Oh yeah, so then after the 5 1/2 hour hike (which was truly amazing) we were all sweaty and gross. So we ended up at the beach, put our stuff on the shore, and seriously ran into the ocean. It felt so so nice to be in that cool water after a long day of hiking. It was such a good day. The trip was really incredible, I'm really glad we got to go.

The View and The Food

So here's one of MANY reasons why I have no reason to complain about my life at all. Here's the view from my window that I get to look out every day. Rough life, right? Oh my word, it is so beautiful, pictures honestly can't even do it justice. It's kind of a shame actually.

There's a pretty big ledge outside our window, and so Marie and I went out there and sat on the ledge. So here's a picture of us with the beautiful landscape in the background, which I apologize because you can't see it very well. But believe me, it's there. But we LOVE our apartment and our room. We feel very very lucky.

Next up is the tiramisu that we made. Ok, so I normally don't like this dolce at ALL, but I LOVED it when we made it. Probably because it wasn't totally soaked in alcohol or any alcohol-like substance. And it wasn't in coffee either. It's some kind of mock coffee, but it's good. Well not by itself, but in the cake. Oh my word, I will make it for you, because it is good.

And this, ladies and gentleman, if you are lucky enough to have me make this for you, you will not be left wanting, let me just tell you. This is the best chicken dish I've ever eaten. And I know that I'm hamming it up because guaranteed it will not be as good when I make it as it is in this picture and when we ate it, but whatever - it's so dang good.

And here's just a view of the kitchen that we cook in. And there's Dando in the background. I've been attempting to get a good picture of him. I WILL succeed by the time I'm done with this class. That is for sure a goal of mine.

Best Gelato In The World

Sorry it's been so dang long since I last posted. The internet at my house doesn't let me upload pictures and the internet at the school is garbage. So I finally picked a good day to bring my computer to school and upload some old/new stuff. So here are Marie and I at the place that is famous for having the "Best Gelato In The World." And believe you me - it is definitely true!

Marie and I decided to splurge when getting the best gelato and get a medium. So here's us right before we took our first bites. We took videos of our reaction to the first bite of the best gelato, but I was lucky enough to get some pictures up here, so a video would have been stretching it.

So I got coconut and bacio - 2 of my absolute favorite flavors. And I had to get them again because I had to compare it to the other kinds of coconut and bacio that I've gotten before. P.S. Bacio means "kiss" in Italian and the flavor it chocolate hazelnut. Which only makes sense to me, because both chocolate hazelnut and kisses are divine. So here's me enjoying them thoroughly.

Now we're finished, only to be left wanting more. But also satisfied at the same time. Hence the smiling :D

And here's me always trying to be artsy and always failing. But this is just a picture to show the name of the place. We will forever hold a place in our hearts for that gelateria. Too bad San Gimingnano is about an hour away... Or maybe that's a good thing....

mylifeisaverage.com

Today I came across this website: mylifeisaverage.com. It's weird how sometimes the most random things can inspire you. As I read page after page of normal people relating funny or interesting stories of their life I remembered just how great life really is. Sometimes the littlest things are what make your day spectacular. That it's the combination of all the average things that make our lives interesting. So now I'm going to make an active effort to pick out all the good things in my everyday life and remember those. Today I spent a huge part of my day being upset about 2 or 3 things. Why? Why do I let some things effect me so much? Why would I let that alter the course of my whole day? In a strange way, this website changed my perspective on life. It showed me not to take life so seriously. Lately I've been so worried about 1 particular decision, that it's kinda taken over my life. I feel a lot better now. Thank you MLIA :D

The Internet Is My Quasi-Friend

I've been waiting to update my blog for when I can post some pictures... but I'm not exactly sure when that will be. Marie and I are among the lucky ones in the whole group that actually have internet at our house. And it works great, except for that for some reason it won't let us post pictures to our blog. So the only other place where we can try it is at the school. Except for that the school's internet is completely unreliable. Especially since all the other girls are on it because that's the only place they can get it for free. There's internet cafes, but who really wants to pay a euro or euro fifty to use the internet. So all you get are my lame words to read for now.
This last weekend we went to Cinqueterre. There are many words to describe, but the 1 that's screaming in my mind is GORGEOUS! Oh my word, it was beautiful! We went on this incredible hike in between all the towns (ok, so I almost just started talking in Italian, which I guess is a good thing). Anyways, the hike took us about 5 1/2 hours. That was including rest time, eating lunch, and of course, taking a million pictures. Which I will post (hopefully soon) with some more explanation of our amazing 2-ish days there.
Right now I'm putting off Italian homework that I never seem to really understand. I'm in a class that's kinda over my head and I'm trying to stay above water, but sometimes I just get so frustrated. But I'm working on it. So usually what I do is, do all I can do before I want to die and then get to school 30 minutes early and work on it with my genius friend Annie. She seriously is amazing, I love her. She saves my life daily. And she's hilarious, so that always brightens my day. I love how Heavenly Father totally places people in your life for several reasons. She is definitely one of those people. So thank you!
This last week has been really challenging. I've been super homesick. Which I didn't really think I would suffer from just because I'm in Italy. But this experience has made me realize many things, one of them being just HOW much I love my family. I always knew, but I guess after spending an entire summer of hanging out with just the fam, I'm really missing them all. A ton. But I know that I am in one of the most amazing places in the world and I shouldn't be sad. Which it's not like I'm moping around or anything, but I guess what I'm trying to say is: Mia famiglia, I miss you TONS!!! So always remember that :D I'll hopefully post something new soon. LOVE YOU!!!!

"I'm Sorry. This Is Way of Life"

Today most definitely deserves a post. It has for sure been a long day, and though I should be asleep right now, I am here. Writing on my blog. Hmm.... Well anyway! We had our first cooking class today - oh my word, I LOVE it! It was so so much fun to work with a professional Italian chef, in a big kitchen, cooking a 4 course meal. The chef's name is Redondo, though they call him "Dondo" for short. He is quite an attractive man and very talented. So that only adds to the fun of the class :D So this was our menu today, and yes we made everything from scratch:

Insalata Catarina - mixed greens with dry ricotta cheese, picorino cheese, baked bread pieces, and a vinegarette
Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with Tomatoes - exactly what it sounds like
Veal in Lemon - breaded veal cooked in a lemon sauce served with grilled pumpkin
Biscotti - almond and pine nut biscotti with vanilla and lemon and orange zest

The first 2 hours we all got to go around the kitchen and pitch in with all the different recipes - which was nice, because if we were assigned to one recipe, we would have no idea how to do the other things. And then the 3rd hour, we got to eat everything we made. And I'm just going to go ahead and say it - it was delicious! Especially the ravioli. That was my favorite one. It was a lot of fun. If my internet wasn't a little challenged, there would be some pictures up on this post.

When we got home from school, we saw that our host dad Benny had come back from his business trip. We knew this because he went down to Southern Italy and there was TONS of fish in the kitchen (the South is pretty well known for their fish). We have already discovered that he likes to bring lots of things back home from his trip. So we had 2 huge boxes of fish that were according to him "just swimming in the sea this morning," 1 box of clams, 1 box of another clam-like thing, and 2 boxes full of mozzarella cheese. I was very displeased to find out that all the nasty shellfish, or whatever you call it that was sitting on the table was still alive. I was... ok when I thought it was dead, but then I got a little freaked out. And of course Benny loved it that I was afraid of the fish, so he was definitely making the most out of that. I got a little closer to a dead fish's eye than I ever wanted to. And he just got out the scissors and de-gutted them right there in the kitchen sink. So he looks at me with this disgusted look on my face, smiles and says to me, "I'm sorry. This is way of life." We all just laughed for a minute and he kept cutting up those fish.

Ok so holy cow, do they love their cheese! Well, it's more like they love the mozzarella cheese from the south. They refuse to buy it here, so that's why it must all be eaten at dinner. There is no option. You must eat an entire ball of mozzarella cheese, because "it will not be here for very much longer." Marie and I tried to share one and they just ended cutting another one in half and giving them to us. There's no telling Italians no. It's not a word they understand in this situation. They also don't understand the word "full." After Marie and I shoveled this food into our mouths and we were about ready to explode, they bring out the dolce. I'm talking huge pastries. There were 7 of them and they cut 3 of them in half and give them to Marie and I. We told them that we weren't hungry for dessert. But again - no is not an answer. So then we said we would share. But that wasn't an option either. So with quivering lips once more, I open my mouth and stick this sugary substance in my mouth. And what do I think I taste? Oh yeah, I'm 98% sure that it's soaked in alcohol. So I try the other one, and yup. I think that one's got it too, and oh, yup! That one too! So here Marie and I are sitting in front of a plate full of alcoholic pastries that they INSIST we eat. I tried giving it back about 17 times, but didn't so much work out. So I'm thinking, ok... maybe this isn't alcohol and it's just some taste I've never had before. So I take another bite of one of them and I literally gag. I really almost threw up at the dinner table. Because not only was I STUFFED, but it was nasty alcohol! I took one more bite of another one and almost gagged again. It's so hard because if you don't eat what they give you, it is very offensive to them. So I'm trying to figure out how not to eat this and not to offend them. But those 2 things don't go together. But I thought that throwing up at the dinner table was a little bit more offensive than giving back dessert. So I just put the plate in front of Benny, and for the next minute and a half, he's waving the pastry in front of my face telling me to eat it. I just covered my mouth with my hand and politely declined. They gave me a look, but oh well. I was literally sick.

So the plans of hanging out with some of our friends from the program kind of died. We ended up just playing Wii with the family and having a great time with them. Which I would have rather done anyways. So feeling sick ended up working out really well for Marie and I! Always an adventure, and I love it :D

3 P's and a G: Pasta, Pizza, Paninis, and Gelato

Yup. That is pretty much what we live off of here. In Siena, that's pretty much all you can get - well, if you don't want to pay more than 10,00 Euro. So we opt for the 2,00 Euro piece of pizza :D We're trying to work on a system where we bring lunch without having to store anything in the fridge of our host parents. We just don't want to impose on their lives more than we already are. But we'll figure it out. But I'm not going to lie, I love grabbing a slice and sitting in the Campo and playing "Tourist or Not?" It's just fun to pick out all the tourists with their lanyards, translators, and video cameras. And yes, we know that we are visitors as well, but yeah. We think it's different. I just love the Italian culture. Where you just have a huge piazza and everybody goes there to eat and laugh and just enjoy each others company. Though I am getting used to the idea of having siesta time, we survive.
So our host family is absolutely amazing. They consist of: Benny (dad), Anna (mom), Alberto ('lil bro #1), and Giuseppe ('lil bro #2). They are all very sweet and always willing to help us with our horrible, broken up Italian. We really are trying so so hard, and I'm pretty sure we're getting better. But it does not sound good. Our family had a couple girls from BYU living with them last year and they LOVED those girls. They have a picture of them hanging in their office and one of the girls even called while we were at dinner the other night. So we kinda have a lot to live up to. Especially since they didn't speak ANY Italian before they came and then apparently were speaking like Italians when they left. So we feel a little pressured, but we're trying.
Holy cow, so we were at dinner a few nights ago with our host mom and she was saying how there was a latin dance party near our apartment the next night and asked us if we wanted to go. So we said sure, because why not? So we leave with Anna and we're thinking it's going to be this fun, hip party. But instead we show up and it's a dance floor flooded with senior citizens. All 3 of us start laughing. And then not 5 minutes after we got there, this tiny, drunk old man approaches me and starts going off in Italian. I finally got him to slow down and found out we was asking me to dance with him. So I said ok and he took me out there. I thought, ok, cute 80-year-old Italian man - sure. What's the harm? Well the only problem is he was exactly chest height on me and he kept trying to pull me closer! It was SO awkward. Of course I look over at Marie and Anna and they're DYING laughing. So I just laugh my way through this dance just hoping it will end. And with my limited, LIMITED Italian, I try to make small talk. And when I say small talk, I really mean that I just asked him what his name was. Anything else he said, I didn't really understand. It was very mumbled, and I guess he just didn't understand that I didn't speak much Italian. Even when I'm saying "non capito, non capito" over and over again. Well after the dance, Bruno (yes, that was his name) gets the death grip on my hand and tells me that I have to stay for another dance. I kept trying and trying to get away, but like I said - death grip. So the music starts and he just starts dancing again. And of course, again, Marie and Anna are laughing at me. Oh, but it doesn't end at the end of this dance. He makes me stay yet ANOTHER dance. He kept trying to wait for a slow song. But you better believe that I did NOT want to slow dance with this guy. And I most definitely did not want a fourth dance with him. Three was for sure enough. Too much, but oh well. Finally after the dance I basically had to run away. I found Anna and Marie (still dying laughing) and we left the senior citizen shindig. It was fun though because it was a fun bonding moment with Anna. She is seriously adorable, I love her.
Well I think that's enough writing without any pictures. I'm sorry I don't have more right now. The internet at the house doesn't let me upload pictures, so I have to do it at school. And the internet there is extremely bipolar. You're all lucky you got any pictures. But school is good, and hopefully my Italian will improve. Otherwise, I will just die. But also, from now on, my posts should be much more regular. But I hope you're all doing well. LOVE YOU!

Relaxation Was Key

So we arrived in Minori with a chance to relax and enjoy being in Italy. It was SO nice. The town is just little and I'm pretty sure everybody who lived there is old. I love how everybody stays out late. We went for walks around the town every night and there was always something going on. There were always kids running around or riding bikes or playing "calcio" (soccer). It was so fun to see the whole town come alive. And across from our hotel there was always old people dancing in this little bar-like thing. It was so cute.

Ok, so one morning there was a little market and so we went and checked it out. There was just really cheap clothes and fresh veggies and fruit. But it was fun because the whole street was just lined with vans open full of all their stuff trying to make a buck.

One day we went took a 10 minute boat ride to Amalfi and took a tour of the cathedral there. It was really beautiful, but the best part was when most of our group left, but we decided to stay a little bit longer and we ended up in the middle of a wedding. We're sitting in the pews and then in walk some bridesmaids getting all set up for the guests to come in. So they open these huge doors to the church and all these people walk in. This man told us that we can stay, but that we had to sit in the back. So we just sat and watched the whole thing. It was cool because he was from England, so almost all of the ceremony was in English. She was from there though, so that's why they had it there. But yeah, it was a cool experience though. Definitely made me appreciate temple weddings though. I love my church :D

Here's just a lame picture of my sandals on the beach in Amalfi. Those 15 dollar sandals were one of the best purchases! They've taken me everywhere! I wore them every day in Greece and almost every day the first week of my trip. It was so dang hot in Rome! It was pretty hot in Minori and Amalfi, but nothing compared to Rome. It was miserable at some moments. But yes, I love these sandals.

And then here's just a picture of Marie and I eating yet another panini on the beach. This one was pretty good. Not the best I've had, but I liked it. She let me borrow some sunglasses because I forgot mine and the sun was kinda killing me. She's a sweetie :D I just love her.

Oh Look! There's Another Building Destroyed By Molten Lava!

So we went to Herculaneum and Pompeii. I hadn't been to Herculaneum before so that was interesting. Apparently is was the spot for all the Richie Rich's of Italy. It was a lot smaller than Pompeii, but we don't really know how big it is because a part of the ancient city is still under the city that they built on top of it. It would be kinda weird to live there and to know that there was a destroyed city underneath you. Also, I just would not want to live there because Vesuvius is still an active volcano. So... that just doesn't seem safe. Because you know, Herculaneum was completely wiped out before. I'm sure it's fine, but still. I wouldn't like it very much. Anyway, here is Allison, Marie, and I taking a picture together. Again :D

This is Allison and I inside the Men's Bath! Ooh!! Mainly us being lame :D Lame fact is that the men's baths were bigger and more ornate than the women's baths. Which I know men ruled the world back in 79 B.C. but I just thought women would like the decoration a little bit more. Whatever.

Here's Marie and I. Mainly I just like this picture of us 2. I think we both look cute. And I just love her. So.

Here's a picture of Marie with a shirt that survived the eruption of Vesuvius. Kind of a miracle it's still in such great shape. Kept the color pretty well :D

I saw this on one of the gates. Obviously not from modern days because they spoke Latin back then, but I just really liked it.

And here's our director, Aaron and his adorable family. His wife is Marianne, his son is Christoper, his older daughter is Claire, and their 7 month old baby is Anna. Marianne is such a trooper. We call her wonder-mom because she's doing this with a brand new baby. Fortunately Anna is beautiful and quite the angel. She hardly cries (well at least that we hear) and she sleeps a lot. And they always tell us what a good baby she is. So we believe them :D But we love their family. And it's really nice to have a little family here because makes us feel closer to our families - if that makes any sense. But they're really great :D

After that, we headed to the Amalfi coast - Minori was the destination.

The Spanish Steps Are My Friend

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. I have internet at my host family's house (so so lucky) but for some reason it won't let me upload any pictures to the site. I don't know what the deal is. But whatever.
Well here is my roommate, Marie and I eating our first gelato of the trip. First of MANY. She got me hooked on the coconut gelato. I'm not a huge coconut fan, but for some reason, it's so dang good that I get it almost every time. So, the Italians have this unwritten rule that you're allowed one gelato a day. But no more than that. And it almost seems like no less. But don't worry, I haven't followed that rule. As much as I would love to, I feel like it would not be good for my mid-section :D I just think it's so funny because it's not like people in the U.S. eat ice cream every day. If somebody did that, it would be bad news bears for the scale. But since everybody walks everywhere, it's pretty much no big deal. But yeah, gelato is amazing. And Marie and I do love our gelato :D

Here is the view from the our hotel room. It was absolutely beautiful. All day long. And then one night we went up on the roof. That was really cool because then we could see all around us. Our hotel was a little *ba-wow-wow* (ghetto) but it was nice enough. The view made up for it. The only thing that was REALLY annoying was that on top of the 12 bug bites I got in Mykonos, I got 5 more at the hotel. 2 of which blistered!! I didn't even know bug bites could blister. They were so nasty! And even when I popped the blister, it kept coming back. Ok, I realize that sounds really gross and maybe you don't want to read it. But it's what happened. So I wrote it :D But Laura Elaine Carter and Courtney Ruth Jones, I kept thinking of you because I kept saying "You wanna see my blistah?!" in a really sweet accent :D I miss you guys tons and tons. But anyways, now my bug bites just look like I have sqamous cell carcinoma. So yeah. It's really a great sight.

The next picture is of 2 of my favorite people here. Granted I love absolutely everyone here, I just love these 2 girls. The girl on the left is my friend Allison and the girl on the right is my roommate, Marie. We have so so much fun together and we laugh a lot. It's fun because I think we have similar senses of humor and I kind of love it.

Here is a group of us "gladiator-ing" at the Colosseum. From left to right: Me (obviously), Julia, Allison, Natalia, and Brooke. Love all these girls. Julia is from Chicago, Allison is from LA, Natalia is from Provo, and Brooke is from Carlsbad. It's fun talking to Brooke because we know a lot of the same spots in San Diego because I lived near Carlsbad this summer. I love how I love everyone here. We all get along really well and just have a good time whenever we're together.

I took this picture for 3 reasons. 1. It's just really cute because we were in Rome 2. Because it looked really cool on this wall and mainly 3. Jesse, David, and I had a funny moment dealing with this phrase in the car the other week and I thought of them. I love you both :D

So I'm so used to having my phone telling me the time. So I didn't bring a watch. But the problem is... I don't have a phone right now. So Marie and I kept asking people, "Umm... what time is it?" And I don't know if it was getting annoying to people or not, but mainly I was just getting annoyed with asking. So we set out on a mission. Operation: Find A Cheap Watch. Every thing here is so dang expensive and I was not really willing to pay a lot of money on something to just tell me the time. So I set a limit of 20 Euro. Which doesn't sound like a lot, except keep in mind that the Euro is 1.5 the U.S. dollar. So It's more like 30 Dollars. So even that is stretching it. (P.S. You have to kinda forget about the exchange rate here. Otherwise you will just want to cry every time you buy a piece of pizza). Well we were wandering on some street vendors and what should we come upon, but some watches!! And guess for how much! 3 EURO!!! Yup, 3. So I bought 2 just in case one of them decides act like it's worth 3 Euro and die on me a week later. So this is the picture of Marie and I with our brand new watches. P.S. the watches are still working. We kinda consider that a miracle. So if it brakes, we won't be overly disappointed.

Ok, so here I am in front of the coolest church of life. It was amazing!!! It is a church where the designs on the walls and ceilings are human bones. Ok, it sounds really morbid and weird, but it was incredibly amazing. And you know me, I'm a nerd. So I loved it. It's kinda hard to describe how it looks and I wasn't allowed to take pictures. But for example. The ceiling decoration was a design with collar bones and mandibles and the walls had lines made of humerus-es and fibulas. It really was so cool, I wish you all could have seen it. But yes, I know I'm weird.

Well that was my trip to Rome and next we headed to the Amalfi coast.