giorno sette

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Hey Fam!

Today has been a pretty relaxing day. Hand-crafted, I might add.

Amy and I decided to come back to the hotel before the rest of the group and call it a day a little early. We started our day by doing lectures with the group and visiting 4 different churches. We saw the Church of Santa Constanza, Church of St. Agnes, Church of St. Mary Major, and the Cathedral of Rome.

I was having a rough day today. Not a bad day, just not super stoked to be learning about the history of an ancient Italian church. I started the day off feeling extremely homesick. Plus, we were so tired because we got back so late last night and had to get up so early this morning. And the fact that I’m not an art history major makes it hard for me to appreciate these things the way the rest of the group does. It got to the point where the 4 churches we saw today looked just like the 28 churches we’ve seen in the last week. They were all blending together and I was losing my interest. I couldn’t focus on the information being provided and I was missing that umph to get me through the day. The churches were beautiful, I’m not going to take away from that. Every building, inside and out, is incredible and is so beautiful to see. But today, all I wanted to do was appreciate the beauty. I couldn’t handle hearing one more date, about one more Pope, or one more style of architecture.

I am so absolutely grateful to be here and I am having the time of my life! But with the crazy week I just had and the crazy weeks that are ahead, I felt exhausted and intimidated. After class and lectures were over, everyone decided they wanted to go see the Christian Catacombs. It was about 1:30, and Amy and I just wanted to go back to the hotel. Apparently Amy had been feeling the exact same way as me today, too. We were both just feeling homesick and really overwhelmed. We wanted to be able to just have a relaxing day to take a nap, catch up on our rest, get our reports done, go for a run, and hang around the hotel. We were in desperate need of a break. Plus, the catacombs cost 10 Euros (which is like 15-20 American Dollars), you can’t take pictures there, and it’s a very narrow, claustrophobic, column of tombs… All in all, we weren’t too interested. So, to the dismay of the rest of the group, we called it a day early and came back to the hotel.

Honestly, it was the best decision I ever made. It has felt so nice to just sit and relax and take a break from going 90 miles an hour. Everyone kept trying to convince us to come by saying, “You’re only in Italy once, you want to make it good, take advantage of every opportunity!” But, in reality, I am only in Italy once! And I do want to enjoy it… Sometimes it requires just as much relaxation as it does sight-seeing to enjoy a trip. And I was getting to the point where I was burned out. I definitely needed a break to relax and enjoy my time here at a slower pace. I’m so glad we called it a day early! We’ve just been hanging out at the hotel and laying out in the sun on our top-floor deck. It’s paradise! I think we need these moments every now and then! We’re having long days of sight-seeing and lecturing the rest of the week from 7am to 4pm, so we certainly needed to get some down-time so we wouldn’t end up so burned out and overwhelmed again.

With all the churches we’ve visited, I’ve seen my fair share of monks and nuns. I absolutely love observing different cultures. I love people-watching here! To me, I’m taking away just as much from this trip by observing the people as I am by seeing the famous historic works of art. The monks and nuns and their lifestyle fascinate me. It’s so crazy to compare their religion to ours and the difference between how we show our devotion. I was thinking today about how weird it is to think of our vastly different outlooks on worship and devotion. To them, they show their devotion to God by vowing to never be married. In our religion, the greatest act of devotion is to find an eternal companion and be sealed to them in His temple. It’s funny to compare those differences and realize how unique everyone’s belief are. In our church, marriage is the greatest act of devotion, but to them it’s sacrificing that privilege that proves how devoted you are to Christ! It made me so grateful to be a member of the LDS faith, because I’d much rather spend my life with an eternal companion than all alone in a long frumpy black cloak! I don’t think I’d ever prove my devotion if it meant vowing to never be married! I can hardly wait to take part in showing my devotion to God in the way we were raised in our church by getting married and starting a family!

Families just seem to be one of the many differences between Italy and Utah. It doesn’t seem to be quite as family oriented as Happy Valley. Families and children aren’t the priority here that they are back at home. I’ve probably seen 5 kids in the entire time I’ve been here and at least 3 of them were on vacation with their American families! The greatest thing about coming on these adventures away from home is all the things I become so thankful for that I took for granted. I learn so many life lessons through these risks and journeys and I always come home with a greater appreciation for my blessed life in Utah (or even Portland) with all of you!

I’m going to write in my journal and then go for a run to the Vatican before dinner. Holy crap, I can’t believe I just said that. How awesome is my life?! :) There’s so much more motivation to run when there’s exploring to be done!

I miss you all. Really. I’m starting to get pretty homesick. Apparently you guys are pretty great and I must enjoy your company… Cause I’m having a hard time being away from home!

Love Always,

Wit