Greetings from Citerna,
I have been trying to add more pics to the site but the internet being so slow makes it virtually impossible to do. I apologize and will continue to try. I also apologize for not writing sooner. The life of a student here is a bit crazy. So I will try to give you a quick synopsis of what has gone on for the past week.
WELCOME TO A BRAND NEW GAME: SOCCER
Now, for those of you who know me well, you know I am a huge American Football fan. I played it since I was in middle school and I love to watch and play whenever I can. I honestly would love to strap on some pads and play again but I am so out of shape it would be embarrassing.
Also, if you know me well, you know I am not a fan of soccer. I used to play it when I was a kid but I have not played since. Before I came to Italy, I thought soccer (or calcio in Italian) was one of the most ridiculous sports in the world. I am just being completely honest when I say I thought it was a bunch of people that couldn’t cut it in a real sport. Yes, I was close minded but I plead ignorance. Since we came to Italy, we have been surrounded by Calcio and I am thankful.
Every few days, we drive down the hill to the town of Monterchi and play Italy’s favorite game after class. During our first trip to Florence, Jonathan bought us jersey's in the three colors of the Florence team. Each person was given a jersey and the colored teams (Red, White, and Purple) would play against each other in a 7 vs. 7 game. I am on the white team. First to score would stay and the losing team would trade out with the waiting team. Sometimes we would play for 4 or 5 hours and not get back until dinner time. Since we started this tradition, I have gained so much more respect for the game. It is so much more than people kicking a ball around. It even gets rough (which, being a football player, I like) and can get you in shape if you play long enough.
One of my favorite memories is after we played the second time, a local guy (sorry, I did not catch his name) came to watch us play. Jonathan talked to him for a bit and then told us that the guy’s team wanted to challenge us American’s to a game later that night. I was up for anything. So we went and played against this team. The field in Monterchi is dirt with a bit of grass. The field they told us to go to was turf and fenced in. This change in field was new for us but it really did not phase us too much. We played the Italian team from Citerna. These 7 guys have been playing together since they were 6 years old. They grew up together and know how each other play. They even play on the local club team together. I thought we were going to get stomped by this team. After loosing 3 soccer balls to the darkness surrounding the field and the rough and tumble game we played against the Italians, 2 and a half hours later, we came out of the cage VICTORIOUS!!! 12-11. The game was a great game and we all got in to play.
This past Friday, we went down to Monterchi and played against each other again after class. We came out of Hotel Sobaria to the porch to get ready to leave. We looked out over the mountain and saw that a storm was building and coming our way. I thought they would cancel the game but Jonathan is one of those people that would not allow anything but God to come between him and playing the game. So we made the journey down the hill. We knew that the storm was about to hit but, not being from the area, we had no clue that the weather was going to be so bi-polar. We got to the field and White and Purple started to play until suddenly, the bottom fell out. We continued to play in the rain anyway and was having fun slipping and sliding until I started to get hit by something hard falling from the sky. IT WAS HAIL!!!!! Pea size hail had begun to fall and began pelting us on the field. When the hail size began to grow larger, Jonathan told us to get into the bus. We all climbed in and waited out the storm.
All of the sudden, a weird figure began to come towards the van and knock on the door. We couldn’t see that it was Andrea Kelly through the fogged up windows of the van. We had forgotten her at the Hotel and she walked all the way down from Citerna. She was soaked from head to toe and looked a bit like a drowned rat. It was quite amusing to tell the truth. After the rain went away, we resumed the game. By the end, everyone was muddied up but no one had anything on Nick (Warren) O’neal (Another Faulkner Crew Member). He played his position of Keeper hardcore for the Purple team. Both the goals had a huge batch of fresh mud on in front of it so whenever he would save the ball, he would dive into the mud. He was quite the spectacle to see him after we finished playing.
I'll keep you updated as we continue to play. Injury reports, trades, and contract signings will be in my next update. So stay tuned.
THE “STUDY” PORTION OF STUDY ABROAD: NOT THE MOST FUN WORD IN THE DICTIONARY
So, to tell the truth, we did not know how rough the whole “STUDY” portion of “STUDY ABROAD” was going to be. Honestly, the program should come with a warning label or something telling people if you do not know how to buckle down and focus on studying, you might not want to do this trip. It is so hard to be in class here because there are so many new things to discover. You want to go out and explore the city and see the sites. However, classes everyday make it hard to make trips outside of Citerna. Also, the fact of studying for each class makes it harder too. Now, I do admit we do get breaks from classes more then people back at home. Whenever we go on class trips, we usually have either an abbreviated schedule or just cancel classes all together. Those days are nice but when you do not get back until late at night, it is hard to study for your 7 am class the next morning or your online classes as well.
Most of us have found remedies for this dilemma through going into town and studying or studying out on the porch of Sobaria. The scenery is beautiful and the locals walking by make you feel like you were on campus studying outside. Others have banded together to study and have made success that way. As for me, I do both. Currently I am helping teach Leah Introduction to New Testament Greek while she is here. I am sort of her T.A. (TEACHERS ASSISTANT) for the class since I was the only one to survive intro last year. We usually go study on the porch. So do not worry parents. We are studying and turning in our work. We are doing fine with school. It is just a bit rough.
INTERNET: THE BATTLE FOR THE BEST CONNECTION
Ok, if you want to see the war of the century, you need to look no further than the halls of Hotel Sobaria. Since we Americans come from a land where internet is fast and stable, a lot of us have been trying to get the best connection to the wireless network here in Sobaria. Why? Because the internet is slow. VERY SLOW (that is if you compare it to what we are used to back in the states). Imagine having the capabilities of wireless with the speed of dial-up. (YOU SEE THE PROBLEM????) This slow connection makes it hard to download pictures/videos to the net/ blog/ Facebook/ MySpace, makes it hard to Skype back home so we can talk to our families, hard to download the files that are due for our online classes, buy plane tickets for free travel etc. It is especially slow when the porch of Sobaria turns into a Facebook Fiesta/ Internet Café every night.
There is a lot of complaining about the connection to the internet here in the hotel. However, I find myself grateful that we even have the internet. This summer, I worked at a church that had no wireless or dial-up connections (SHOCKING, HUH???) Whenever I had to look something up, I had to use the internet on my blackberry. NO FUN!!!! Jonathan was telling us that we are the stars of the internet world here in Citerna because we are the only ones with a Wireless Network with in miles of here. Some people in town would come to the hotel just to use the connection for a bit. So whenever people complain, I just remind them of the fact that we could have no Internet. Parents, thank Jonathan when you get a chance that we can even communicate on the internet. He set it up so we can use it and that it is SEMI- fast. Be thankful.
THE FUN PART OF “STUDY ABROAD”: OUR TRAVELS
Over the time I have not written, we have done some traveling.
Wednesday the Tenth, we made and all day trip to Siena and San Gimignano. Siena is a town right outside of Florence. Back in the times of the Renaissance, towns acted like their own countries. They had their kings and leaders and battled other towns to try to take more land. Siena and Florence have been rival cities ever since then. Even though Florence took them over in 1555, the rivalry still remains between the cities in sports and other events. The city itself is made up of Seventeen Contrades, or Burrows. Each Contrade has its own flag and colors and the people that make them up show a lot of pride for their individual contrade. The Contrade pride truly comes out on July 2nd and August 16 the dates when the Palio di Siena is held. The Palio is a traditional medieval horse race that is run around the Piazza del Campo each year. This event is attended by large crowds, and is widely televised. The Seventeen Contrade vie for the trophy: a painted flag, or Palio bearing an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Ten of the seventeen run in each Palio: seven run by right (having not run in the previous year's corresponding Palio) and three drawn by lot from the remaining ten. A horse is assigned to each by lot. Though often a brutal and dangerous competition for horse and rider alike, the city thrives on the pride this competition brings. The city is Beautiful. I have some pictures of the city from the Torre del Mangia. I'll try to post them.
Later that day, we went to a smaller town called San Gimignano. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance era, it was a stopping point for Catholic pilgrims on their way to Rome and the Vatican, as it sits on the medieval Via Francigena. The city's development also was improved by the trade of agricultural products from the fertile neighboring hills. The city flourished until 1348, when the plague that affected all of Europe, compelled it to submit to Florence. The Plague stunted the growth and today it is said that San Gimignano is a Renaissance Town “stuck in time”. The town has many towers that were used as defensive measure. They were great for people to hide in and to make their enemies have to fight up the tower to get them. They were also great for pouring hot tar on to enemies as well. Each tower was owned by a wealthy family and the families would battle each other for the tallest towers, making a statement of the power they had over the town. San Gimignano is also home to arguably the worlds best Gelato (Ice Cream). They local Gelatoria has won the Gelato World Championships 3 years running and is a crowd favorite.
This past Saturday, we made another visit to Florence. The group had much more free time to explore the city. However, rain did put a damper on things for a bit. A group of us went to the Duomo, one of the most Beautiful and largest cathedrals in the world. We went inside to explore. After we met with the group and went to Galleria dell'Accademia to see the works of the great Michelangelo, including the world famous THE DAVID. This statue is considered one of the greatest sculptures ever conceived by man. After this stop, our group made our way to a view point that’s name escapes me at the moment, but I think it is called Michelangelo Square. It is on top of a hill and gives you one of the most incredible views of the city. We also enjoyed what Jonathan thinks is the best Gelato in the world up there as well.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Either Tomorrow or Wednesday, we will be leaving for Rome and spending three nights there. I will update you as soon as possible about our trip. Also, the 24th - 28th is our first free travel days. I am going with a group to Sevelle, Cordoba, Madrid and Barcelona, Spain. I'll update you as soon as I can on our trip and will try to get other students to write a synopsis of their trips.
Conclusion:
This is all I have for now. I hope all is well where you are. Continue to pray for our continued safety. The week has been crazy but we are still going strong. Love y'all and PRAY HARD!!!!
In and because of Him,
Your brother in Christ
KC
Συνέκδημος υμων
(THE FELLOW TRAVELER OF YOU)
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