Well, the Holidays are over, so we are back to real life here in Italy. For me, this is actually great!
I will be having a whole lot more time since I will no longer be in Italian class. This means I can catch up on blogging, reading, applying to graduated schools, writing postcards to friends, and wandering around Rome!!
Those long anticipated Italian lessons and quizzes will be headed your way soon, as well as pictures of further explorations of the eternal city.
In the meantime, please enjoy the following video...
"Il Coccodrillo Come Fa?" is my favorite Italian children's song. Do you know what it is saying???
Well, regardless of if you know what it means it is a pretty catchy tune, and kids all over Italy love it!
Enjoy!!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Natale a Roma
It's the most wonderful time of the year! Well at least it was a little more than a week ago when it was actually Christmas.
As the holidays approached, I found my self getting more and more homesick each day. Who would have thought? They say there is no place like home for the holidays. While, I was very far away from mine, I did get to experience what Christmas was like in the homes of others. Just like my family and all of us in the States, Italians have there own Holiday traditions. One of these is the construction an elaborate Nativity Scene that they build of literally the whole town of Bethlehem.
I spent the first part of the Christmas holidays in Napoli (Naples) where we celebrated with Alberto's family. We stayed at Lilli's parent's apartment because they were in Rome.
This is the view of the Mediterranean Sea from the window of my bedroom. It was Lilli's room when she was growing up.
Alberto's family have their big Christmas meal on Christmas Eve, and it involves sea food...lots and lots of seafood. I don't like seafood. There was shrimp salad, squid, octopus, tuna mousse, and thankfully regular pasta so I could at least eat something.
But, before we ate, we had to wait for Babo Natale to arrive. In case you have not heard of him before, he is simply the Italian Santa Claus. He came and brought everyone there gifts. Then, while we were eating, the youngest child in the family (who can talk) recites a poem that they memorized for Christmas.
The next morning, we got up and hurried back to Rome to celebrate Christmas with Lilli's family. We had a great Christmas lunch and then opened presents! I even got to skype with my family back in GA and we opened our stockings together!
Christmas here was a lot less stressful because Lilli's family is much smaller than Alberto's.
I got some really great things from my Italian family including tickets to see Madame Butterfly at the Opera House in Rome! I am super excited!!
Overall, Christmas was fine, but as we were driving back from Rome and I was reading and listening to Behold the Lamb Of God (this CD Christmas is now a staple for me, and the book is excellent as well), I was struck with how devoid of Christ Christmas is in Italy. Though they build these huge nativity scenes and they celebrate the Buon Natale or good birth, no one focuses on Jesus. I don't know why this surprised me since Italy is pretty much devoid of religion, but it did. There was no mention of the star shining in the sky, the young mother and her husband on their way to Bethlehem trying to find a room in the crowded city, or the scared shepherds keeping watch over there flocks. There was not any mention of the tiny baby born in a manger, the incarnate son of God come to take away the sins of the world. No one even suggested attending a Christmas mass. Apparently, in Italy, unlike in the US, there are not Christmas and Easter Christians. Christmas is just completely secularized, and well I guess I will find out what happens on Easter.
Needless to say, I was thankful that I had those two short hours in the car where I could at least remember why I was celebrating.
And as our celebrations come to an end, remember Italy. At Christmas we celebrate that nations who have long walked in darkness have beheld a glorious light, the light of Christ, the Wonderful Counselor, the Might God and Everlasting Father coming to earth. Italy needs this light, it is very dark here, and this has never been more clear to me than it was this Christmas.
As the holidays approached, I found my self getting more and more homesick each day. Who would have thought? They say there is no place like home for the holidays. While, I was very far away from mine, I did get to experience what Christmas was like in the homes of others. Just like my family and all of us in the States, Italians have there own Holiday traditions. One of these is the construction an elaborate Nativity Scene that they build of literally the whole town of Bethlehem.
I spent the first part of the Christmas holidays in Napoli (Naples) where we celebrated with Alberto's family. We stayed at Lilli's parent's apartment because they were in Rome.
This is the view of the Mediterranean Sea from the window of my bedroom. It was Lilli's room when she was growing up.
Kind of awesome.
Alberto's family have their big Christmas meal on Christmas Eve, and it involves sea food...lots and lots of seafood. I don't like seafood. There was shrimp salad, squid, octopus, tuna mousse, and thankfully regular pasta so I could at least eat something.
But, before we ate, we had to wait for Babo Natale to arrive. In case you have not heard of him before, he is simply the Italian Santa Claus. He came and brought everyone there gifts. Then, while we were eating, the youngest child in the family (who can talk) recites a poem that they memorized for Christmas.
The next morning, we got up and hurried back to Rome to celebrate Christmas with Lilli's family. We had a great Christmas lunch and then opened presents! I even got to skype with my family back in GA and we opened our stockings together!
Christmas here was a lot less stressful because Lilli's family is much smaller than Alberto's.
I got some really great things from my Italian family including tickets to see Madame Butterfly at the Opera House in Rome! I am super excited!!
Overall, Christmas was fine, but as we were driving back from Rome and I was reading and listening to Behold the Lamb Of God (this CD Christmas is now a staple for me, and the book is excellent as well), I was struck with how devoid of Christ Christmas is in Italy. Though they build these huge nativity scenes and they celebrate the Buon Natale or good birth, no one focuses on Jesus. I don't know why this surprised me since Italy is pretty much devoid of religion, but it did. There was no mention of the star shining in the sky, the young mother and her husband on their way to Bethlehem trying to find a room in the crowded city, or the scared shepherds keeping watch over there flocks. There was not any mention of the tiny baby born in a manger, the incarnate son of God come to take away the sins of the world. No one even suggested attending a Christmas mass. Apparently, in Italy, unlike in the US, there are not Christmas and Easter Christians. Christmas is just completely secularized, and well I guess I will find out what happens on Easter.
Needless to say, I was thankful that I had those two short hours in the car where I could at least remember why I was celebrating.
And as our celebrations come to an end, remember Italy. At Christmas we celebrate that nations who have long walked in darkness have beheld a glorious light, the light of Christ, the Wonderful Counselor, the Might God and Everlasting Father coming to earth. Italy needs this light, it is very dark here, and this has never been more clear to me than it was this Christmas.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Buon Anno!!!!
Hello!
The road in front of the Colosseo and all the way down to Piazza Venezia was full of people, except for places like these where people would just throw in fire works!
Is anyone still there?? Are you still reading??
I can't believe how long it's been since I posted. Clearly, I am not the best at keeping up this blog! Many people have pointed this out to me, so in order to satisfy their requests...a new post for a new year.
Happy New Year! Or as we say here in Rome, Buon Anno! Can you believe it is 2012? I sure cannot. Where has all the time gone? I feel as though I am constantly marveling at how quickly it disappears. Here we are facing another year. The end of 2011 was certainly full of surprises for me, and I am relatively certain that 2012 holds many more!
Here are a few pics from my celebration here in Roma! I went out with some friends, and we watched fireworks right next to the Colosseo. We had a blast, but I am exhausted...5 a.m. is not an appropriate time to be going to bed! But, I guess I only get one New Year's Eve in Rome!
The road in front of the Colosseo and all the way down to Piazza Venezia was full of people, except for places like these where people would just throw in fire works!
How amazing is this!
The streets were littered with confetti and broken bottles. I would not want the job of cleaning that up!
No we move on to the New Year's resolutions. I never really make them, because I know I will never really keep them. But since, I am in a new place, maybe I will have a new resolve to keep them.
So here is the list...
1. Post at least once a week on my blog
2. Read 30 books...I read about 24 in 2011 and I really do not think that is enough.
3. See more of the world
4. Become conversationally fluent in Italian
5. Run...there are lots of places to run in Rome, and I just need to get out there and do it, at least 3 times a week. If I don't, I will likely come home from Rome twice the size I was when I left.
6. Learn how to make my own pasta
7. Visit a place in Rome I have not been at least 2 a week.
8. Find a way to eat healthy in Italy
It is not very long, but I am not really ambitious when it comes to New Year's resolutions. However, I think setting goals is important. Most importantly, as I look to the year ahead, I look back and can see how richly blessed I am. Sometimes, I do not see these blessing. I focus on the negatives, and start to throw a small private pity party when I think that my life is not what I thought it would be. Therefore, my number one New year's resolution is to live by Psalm 16:5 because it is so true in my life: "The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance."
What are your New Year's resolutions?? Should I add anything to this list??
Let me know!
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