THE STUDENT SIDE OF THINGS: A report and review of the week

Greetings from Citerna, Italy: one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Once again, I apologize for not writing sooner. As soon as we hit the ground in Rome, we have been on the run. It has been a crazy week since we left America and it has been INCREDIBLE!!!! Allow me to tell you of our travels so far.

Day 1 and 2: The Beginning of a Beautiful Journey (Tuesday, September 2^nd – Wednesday, September 3^rd, 2008)

At 12:00 pm, I left my home and headed to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta to catch my flight to Rome later that afternoon. My father drove me to the airport and my mother met up with us on the concourse a bit later. We sat in the airport concourse gently talking about nothing while waiting patiently on my flight taking off in a few hours. You could tell that my parents were excited for me but wanted to selfishly keep me home. I felt loved as we talked about my plans for free travel and about what I needed to do when I got to Rome. Finally, the time came for me to board. It was a time of fear for me because I didn’t know what would await me on my journey. I almost felt like Odysseus in the Odyssey, beginning my journey that would be told for generations (not by the world but by my family). Exciting, yes, however still very scary.

Getting on the plane almost became a tragedy for me. I said good bye to my family and I got on the airplane when my zone loaded. When I got past the Gate agent at the top of the jet way, I showed him my passport and my ticket and got on the plane like I have always done on my international travels. I got to my seat near the front of the plane and I began to get situated. I put my bags down and having a window seat, I had to cross over a gentleman already sitting. I put my computer in my seat and my HUGE hiking Kelty ® backpack in the overhead compartment. I began to unpack things I would need for the flight (Books, I-Pod, etc.) when the realization hit that I COULD NOT FIND MY PASSPORT. A feeling of sheer terror at the thought of my trip that I worked so hard for ending before it ever began fell over me. I searched franticly through all my bags for my passport and probably walked up and down the jet way three or four times looking for my passport. I knew I had to have it to get on the plane so I knew it had to be near me somewhere. The airline workers noticed my distress and asked me what was wrong. When I told them I couldn’t find my passport, they had everyone searching for it frantically. The gentleman to my side started checking around himself to make sure he did not have it either. It was one of the scariest times of my life. I began praying to God that I could find my passport. That my trip would be successful and that some how, some way, I would be able to find one of the most important documents I could ever have for international travel.

A few minutes later, the gentleman sitting in front of me found my passport in his seat and held it up. I WAS SO RELIEVED!!!!! I thanked him with every fiber of my being and thanked all of those who searched for it for their help. I remember sitting down in my seat, slightly embarrassed, soaked in sweat, my heart beating 1000 beats per second, thanking God that I found my key to Europe. I could finally relax and know that this point is where God wants me.

The flight took off about an hour late, but I did not care. I was on the plane. I was on my way, with my passport, for the journey of a lifetime. My mom continually reminded me that I might never get to see these places again in my lifetime so make it count. I prayed that I would make this trip count and that I would get to see things that I could tell my children about and that I would be blessed to be apart of this program.

The flight to Rome was very smooth and very sleepless. Even being under the influence of Benadryl, I only got a few hours of sleep. The flight was about ten hours long and I just remember staying up and watching movies whenever I wasn’t eating or sleeping.

At about 8:30 AM (2:30 EST) on Wednesday, September 3rd, I arrived at Leonardo Di’Vinci Airport in Rome Italy. I got off the plane and finally got my luggage and met up with the Faulkner Group at the airport. We met up with Jonathan Edwards, the leader of our group and he directed us to the buses so we could get to our new home CITERNA!!! The city of Citerna is a little town nestled in the mountains right on the border line between the provinces of Umbria and Tuscany. It took forever to get to but when we arrived, we were greeted by Freed-Hardeman Professor, Jim Gardner. We unpacked in our rooms and rested until the Freed group arrived. We ate dinner as a family and began to meet each other.

Day 3: Orientation and Welcome!!!! (September 4^th, 2008)

The day started out with waking up to the local rooster crowing at day break. WAY TOO EARLY FOR US!!! The group met for breakfast and went to our orientation class for the semester. The professors introduced themselves and talked to us about making this trip count. We also held our first classes of our semester.

Allow me to explain how our classes work. Classes are an hour and twenty min long unless specified. Each student has odd day and even day classes. On the overall schedule, all the class days are numbered 1-40. Whenever a class day is odd numbered, students will attend odd classes and whenever a class day is even numbered … You get the idea. Anyway, we has odd day classes throughout the late morning and afternoon.

After dinner, we had our Benvenuti party. We met downstairs in the classroom and played games to get used to the idea of living with each other for the next few months. If you think that Faulkner is small, try living with the same 50 people twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. You see the same people every day. It can get real interesting. We played guess who, a game in which each person writes an interesting fact about themselves and everyone guesses who it is. We also played musical chairs and then we broke up for the night.

Day 4: Meeting the Town: Even Class Days and Citerna Fun!!! (September 5^th, 2008)

Nothing really exciting happened today. The only real exciting thing that happened was our meeting some of the local teenagers of Citerna. We have gained many friends within the city. People in Italy are INCREDIBLE to strangers that they see are trying to learn the language and culture of their country. I have never met more accepting people in my life. While we were exploring the town, we met a girl named Linda. She lives in Citerna and is fifteen. She speaks almost perfect English and has acted as a translator between us and the people of Citerna. She has introduced us to most of the teenagers in Citerna and has helped us form relationships with them. We have found that Italians listen to a lot of American music and this connection has acted like a bridge to close the translation gap.

Day 5: OUR FIRST TRIP: CORTONA!!!! (September 7, 2008)

After our classes ended at about 3:00 on Saturday, we took our first trip out of Citerna as a group to the town of Cortona. This name may look familiar to you readers out there. The city of Cortona is the setting for the movie and book Under the Tuscan Sun. The group was given time to explorer the town and marketplaces and take in the beauty of this Tuscan Paradise. Below are some pictures of our trip:

Day 6: SUNDAY: FLORENCE AND THE UFFIZI MUSEUM

Sunday started EXTREMELY early for all of us this past Lord’s Day. The whole group had to be on a bus at 6:30 AM to go to the town of ARREZO. From Arrezo, we took the train to Santa Maria Novela Station in the great city of FLORENCE. From the station, we took another bus and a strenuous walk to the Locali Di Riunione della Chiesa di Cristo (the Local Congregation of Florence). Jonathan and some members of the church that spoke English and Italian lead the services for the morning and we enjoyed great fellowship with our Italian brothers and sisters in Christ.

After the worship service, we changed clothes and made a mad dash to a bus stop so we could get to the other side of the city where the Uffizi Museum awaited us. The museum holds some of the most famous paintings known to man: La Primavera, The Birth of Venus, etc. We spent a few hours looking at the wonderful art in the museum and then departed to enjoy the rest of our time in the city of Florence. Below is a few pictures and videos of the sights and sounds of one of Italy’s most Exquisite cities. Enjoy:

Conclusion:

Our first week has been exciting. We have a long way to go but we are doing well. We are tired, but doing well. I will try to update the blog once a week. Love y'all and PRAY HARD.

In and because of Him,
Your brother in Christ
KC
Συνέκδημος υμων
(THE FELLOW TRAVELER OF YOU)