Life in Macerata

January 31, 2013

Everyone is Macerata always makes us feel at home. The other day the cook at our school made us a rose out of tomato on our plate at lunch.  So cute, just for the American girls. They do little things like this for us all the time, they take care of our room, and always ask us if we need anything. Everyone is so thoughtful and wonderful, kinda makes us want to stay here. 

It has been three weeks today since we were in America. I can't believe I am already in week three of teaching.... oh my gosh, half way done! It's crazy to think how fast time flys by!  We have met so  many wonderful people and new friends in Macerata. The other night we were invited to our friends house for an amazing Italian dinner. They welcomed us with wine, an adorable gift, and are so kind and fun. We are so blessed to have met them and look forward to getting to know them more. We are going shopping with them to the Prada factory on Monday!

Today, we took the day off of teaching so some teachers could take us on a bike ride through Macerata and the countryside. We had a lot of fun. There was a group of 7 of us that went. It ended up being more of bike fixing ride, then a bike ride. My seat and chain kept falling off the bike causing us to stop multiple times. Then Catherine's pedal went flying off while she was biking. We ended up having to stop at an auto repair center to get it fixed so we could make it back. Quite the adventure! It was nice to get away from the city and see parts of the country we haven't seen. It was farm land, beautiful, and very green. It was very nice of them to take us out and show us around. Something I will not forget. We also got to wear these super awesome Pinocchio helmets we borrowed from the school, so fun! 

My favorite Italian word to say is.. Allora... this means so, like, umm, well... Its just a fun filler word and I love to use it all the time!

This past weekend we stayed in Assisi. Assisi recap will be up soon, it has been my favorite part of my trip so far. 

On the streets of Loreto...

January 19, 2013

Loreto is a town about 40 minutes from here that is said to be proved that it is where they keep Marys house that she grew up in, its inside the Cathedral. Its basically the three walls and window of her house as a child. Loreto... google it.. its amazing. Its such a tribute to Mary! When you get off the train you have to take a bus up to town or you can walk. So we decided to save money and walk. The travel guide in town said if your are walking with a backpack you will be a "saint" by the time you reach the top. We walked up soooo many never ending stairs to the city. But whats cool is there are the stations of the cross on the way up and at the top of the hill there is Jesus on the cross. It was a huge reminder for me about carrying your crosses and how difficult it can be at times, but how much more difficult it was for Jesus to die for us. Super neat expirence. I found out later that every year people make the pilgramige there on foot from Macerata. The town of Loreto is small and beautiful. We went to mass in the Cathedral on Saturday night and Confession on Sunday. Just a neat experience there. So nice to hear the priest talk in English for confession! Its absolutly beautiful inside, numerous chapels and devotions to Mary and God.

On the streets of Loreto we had the best fast pizza, the best pastry, and the best cappucino we had tried since we had been in Italy. It was seriously so delish...! 

On the way back to Macerata (where we live) we met two girls on the train who were life saviors and made sure we made it back on the bus since the train was late. They were from the area and live in Macerata now for college. We got into discussions about faith and started asking about when daily masses in town were and they invited us to there group for prayer on Monday. There is mass at 7 pm if you want to go and then prayer at 730 and its about 15 mins long. It was so awesome to meet all the young Catholic adults in the area and to be so welcomed. They are all so wonderful, we are having such a great time getting to know them. The devotion they pray was in Italian but so beautiful! The small church I go to for daily mass is one of my favorites.

Macerata -My New Home!

January 14, 2013

Macerata, Italy
BEAUTIFUL--- SO BEAUTIFUL!! We arrived in Macerata in the late afternoon on Monday.  The town is smaller then most, but big in its own ways. I don't know how many people have asked me, "why out of every town would you go to Macerata" kind of funny that everyone thinks it isn't anything special when I am so excited about it.  The view of the city is incredible, there are lower and higher parts of the city that I love to just take in the beautiful green scenery (buildings and the countryside). Surrounding the square there are so many cafes, shops, churches, restaurants, and schools. 

After we arrived at Convitto (the school we live at) we immediately received a tour and started meeting some of the kindest people I have ever been privileged to meet. The staff at Convitto and the staff at Liceo Scientifico (the high school down the road that I teach at) are so welcoming and wonderful. They always go out of their way to make sure everything is okay for me and they always have a warm smile on their face. Most of the staff speak very little English, which makes it challenging at times to understand each other, but it also can be very entertaining.

I had my first day of class on Wednesday, two days after arriving in Macerata. It is  so much fun to get to know the students and see their reactions to my stories. My students are usually pretty happy when they see me walk in. In some classes I've even gotten applause. Now I'm guessing its because they just love my lectures.. and that its not that they are just happy to get to talk to someone verse writing and reading their English books. They are typical teenagers, always playing pranks on each other and goofing around. For the most part they respect me and listen to what I have to say and we have a lot of fun together.  I've told them how I think Italian drivers are crazy! I tell them about the way we scream when we cross the street, because we think they will run us over. Also let them know daily that they should be so grateful for how amazing their food is. Whenever I bring up food they always agree theirs is better, not sure if I should be offended or not, but Italian food is amazing. Another thing I always explain to them that I have learned is how fruit is a desert in Italy and in America you eat it whenever you want. I also have learned that you shouldn't put parmigiana on everything you eat.. whoops! (I still put it on what I want, despite the looks). I have 15 different classes a week. I work Monday through Thursday. I have class from 8 am to 4 pm  at the latest, depending on the day. My typical day in Macerata is school, break, church, and dinner. In my free time I explore the town, go to cafes/shops, and hang out with friends we have made here. We have met so many wonderful people! 

You know your American when you walk into the Cafeteria and they immediately bring you you own pot of coffee, since your the only one that drinks it.  

I thought I was addicted to American coffee and that was good.. oh noo... Italian coffee, espressos, cappuccinos .... wow, can I just saw wow... you can see by all my pictures that I may have a slight problem and a bit of a bigger addiction...

When in Rome...

January 10-11, 2013

We left Minnesota at 11 am on Thursday and began the flights to Italy. While on the plane we met a young guy stewardess from Britain, with an English accent (we made him repeat words over and over just to hear him speak). We were on a mission to kick off our trip with some wine so we asked him if we could have some. He came back with three bottles to choose from.  I of course asked if I could have all three, since it was such a tough choice between them all. He agreed then came back with three for Catherine as well! It defiantly made the international flight a lot easier on us. I thought we would get some sleep since we had so much time to kill, but we were far to ecstatic to let that happen! 

After a day of flights we finally arrived in Rome. We were in Italy and so excited!! On the plane we met an American girl that will be studying abroad in Rome. All of us ended up waiting for a hour for our luggage, not realizing we were at the wrong luggage shoot. Whoops, first lesson in a foreign country, ask multiple questions to make sure you have the right answer. 

We took a bus from the airport to our hotel, The Cressy Hotel. The first impression of Rome; busy, loud, lots of people, incredible structures, and beautiful. We checked in and got ready to go out on our first night in Rome. We hadn't slept in over 30 hours, but we were so excited to be there so we just had to go check out the city.  We went to dinner at this family Italian restaurant, oh my golly, first Italian meal.. the food was amazing!! We started to talk to the girl next to us and ended up becoming friends with her and some other locals. They gave us the low down on where we should go and more of what we can expect in Rome, which was so nice. We look forward to visiting them all again when we go back to Rome in March.

Saturday morning we headed out to the city in Rome. On the bus we met a group of nice American students that had just got back from a cruise. The students were kind enough to give us a quick run down of what to do. After taking their advice and getting our "TIM" cell phones, which don't always work, we started exploring the beautiful city. The architecture is incredible! We walked around Rome all day, stopping in all of the little shops, meeting the owners, and checking out ALL of the cute cafe's. We went to the Piazza Nova, a beautiful fountain in the square, where artists sold their paintings. We went to the Pantheon, an ancient building that was originally a temple for gods then Christians took over and now it is dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs. Outside of the Pantheon, we ended up meeting and becoming friends with a group of 7 american girls from California. The girls are all so sweet and we traveled the city with them the remainder of the day. We all saw the Spanish Steps, the view was incredible. I was talking to artists at the top of the Spanish Steps and one told me we were friends and he wanted to give me a gift to remember him and Rome. He then had me sit down and began to draw a "character" version of me. It was so sweet of him and I will always remember our conversation. We also saw the Trevi Fountain and made our wish, so magical. All of us girls went to dinner and around the town that night as well. 

Oh and for some reason Italians, and I mean almost everyone I've met that tries to say my name.. loves saying my name... whenever I say my name is Melissa, they look at me, pause, then they go "oh ME--LEee-SA" and repeat it at least 2 or 3 times over and over.  Its pretty funny, we just laugh every time. So Mom and Dad, you did a job naming me I guess.

"Culture Shock" definitely set in right away. We had major JET-LEG on Sunday so we slept most of the day. After we woke up we went to our first Italian mass and dinner afterwards. Mass was beautiful. On the way back we met some more locals and visited with them, just taking in the atmosphere and learning about their culture. It is so much fun to see their perspective on life and how different, but similar it is. The churches are incredible, the beauty of them is just breathtaking,  I can't even comprehend it.  

In Rome I learned when its okay for you say Ciao (hello) and when you should use other phrases to say Hi to people you know. I learned that there coffees are small and that when you know someone you kiss them on the check, something I am still getting use to here. 

On Monday we found the train station and set off to Macerata. I was so excited to get to our new city, I couldn't wait!

Goodbye America... Hello Europe!

January 10, 2013

I have always had a desire to travel Europe and hoped someday I would get the opportunity. When the opportunity came up to be able to go I could not wait to leave! This is the time in my life where I am not tied down and I can do things I have always dreamed of doing. I am so excited to be able to travel. I'm excited to learn about a completely new world/culture and to see all the beautiful (not only the land, sights, churches) but the people and how they live.  I cant wait to learn about their personal lives, to be enriched in a culture that is so different, and to live in constant change.  I will kick off my adventures in Rome, then live in Macerata for six weeks (while traveling to different cities in Italy every weekend), then travel Spain, Ireland, France, Greece, and back to America in April.

I am so blessed to be able to take this time off of work to just travel and to explore cities all day long going where I please. I offer this all to Christ, with Him all things are possible.