Archive for the 'vacation' Category

Rounding Out the Year

Published by Matt on September 20, 2007 in news, trips and vacation. 2 Comments

Well, since it’s been a few days, I probably should temper my last post’s nostalgic sentiment with info on what’s coming up for our final three months here. The first item of good news is that we successfully renewed our immigration papers and health insurance, so we can stay legally! Though what I am not looking forward to is canceling our phone service. ugh.

We have a few trips lined up to go visit places and people we haven’t managed to see. The biggest one is church in Catania, who are really wonderful and it’s a shame we haven’t been down to visit them there yet. They come to many of the conventions and youth camp, etc. which is how we know them.

Lauren’s family is coming to visit in a few weeks, which is exciting. It’s always fun to share what we are doing and play tour guides to wherever we are at the moment. Unfortunately for them (and us as we have less of an excuse to go now), they are leaving right before the largest chocolate festival in Italy–maybe Europe–which take place in Perugia. For shame.

Our biggest challenge coming up is planning for a youth retreat this December. We have done two previously, and God has been benevolent enough to let each be good times despite ourselves…(actually they were very nice!) We definitely need all of the guidance we can get to wrap up our time with the youth in that retreat, and to say goodbye while keeping the focus where it needs to be. More details about that later though…

And now we’re gone for a few days to Paris, a trip that has been at least a year and a half in the making. 40 euro plane tickets are great.

Summer and Vacation

Published by Lauren on June 8, 2006 in convengo, news, scent, summer, trip and vacation. 4 Comments

And now it’s summer which seems absolutely unreal. Not only is it still cool spring weather, but I seriously couldn’t tell you where the weeks, no really I’d have to say months, have gone. Notable fact for the moment, there are an insane number of three to four day weekends in Italy from the beginning of the month of April till the beginning of June…..like 6 really….4 of which are in April. And I didn’t know about a singal one of them till three days before. Which means every week or so I said… “what you mean it’s festa?”

Now everyone has begun thinking of going to the beach on the weekends… by July all the moms who don’t work will be there for the weeks and everyone will visit them on weekends…then in August everyone will be on vacation. I’ve decided I kind of like the system. Though being gone from your own house for so long seems tiring but I guess it isn’t really gone from their own house since they all have houses in the mountains or on the beach that are actually their houses. Second notable fact, I think in general italian houses are smaller but that they tend to have more then one as a general rule…which means they kind of even out with us, unless we have a monstrosity.

I’m just getting back into the swing of things again because Matt and I just got back from traveling last Wednesday late in the night. We started out going to a convegno in Rome, at a camp ontop of the mountains outside of it actually, which was great….more exciting than we expected though since our car broke down…. the italians have decided WE’RE OK!!!! it’s so cool really…. before this it’s mostly been…well your here and well… but at the convengo they decided we were even worth talking to … which really is such a blessing … because they appreciate us at Avanti as a concept tons…they love the thought of us as far as that goes it seems…the reality though of who we are, each individual person who comes and is apart of their lives for a shortwhile is different though, and for good reason. Avanti has earned their trust, judgement, respect or otherwise and is attached to a series of old memories. We, ourselves, individually, on the other hand are an unknown young and probably on the dense side though well meaning american until we prove otherwise. So Being OK!! is a big step a wonderful one, one that means budding friendships and the ability to actually converse in their world. And I thank God hartily that it has happened not just with the Florence church ( whom I love so dearly just so everyone knows! they are incredible, awesome, human and yes, quarrelsome, but they are so dear to me!)

After the convengo Matt and I went early the next morning to catch a plane to get to the United States. The visit went really well….I love being with my family! My sister is learning to drive, my mom is looking for the next play to do with her drama class, my dad broke his foot playing soccer, my brother is beginning what looks kind of like an actual business making wooden Animai cartoon swords for people who want to look cool a comic conventions, and the dogs and cats are up to their old mischief! I love just hanging out with them all….but I missed here alot, I missed the people I’m attached to at the moment the watching them grow and be from week to week (same for my garden here!! the radishes were to big to eat when we got back). Partially that is just me… being a visitor, is hard on me from the been longer than a week to less then four weeks slot…I don’t have stuff to do I am required to sit and relax which makes me ansy after I’ve gotten all my sleep back in that first week (by 4 weeks I’ll have made up enough new projects to keep me fully satisfied).

The smell of Italy when we got back astounded me. It was the same smell that I had left, but when I walked out of the bus I realized that I had missed it. Now it is again different because the jasimine are all in bloom, wafting tantalizing enchantments through the streets. I read a book last week that talked of the US being surprisingly void of smells and scents. I don’t know if that is true. I realized though that it is certainly devoid of one scent, the scent of Italy.

Plans: Albania … for the month of July!