Proud to be an American

Today has been a very different experience than most of this trip has been. We started out the day by going to the Florence Cemetery for American soldiers. It is a gift from Italy to the United States to honor the men and women who lost their lives fighting in World War II. In the immaculately kept lawns, there were rows and rows of crosses (and some headstones in the shape of the Star of David to commemorate the Jewish that lost their lives) with US and Italian flags on either side. It was a pretty humbling sight.

I was encouraged, and quite frankly a little shocked, to see a troop of Boy Scouts placing roses (like the one on the left) in front of some of the graves. I talked to one of the scout leaders and discovered that they are actually Americans living on a military base somewhere in Italy. The day before they came out and cleaned all the headstones. It was really encouraging to see scouts out and doing things for their country, even when they are living in a different one.

Robbie told us several stories about Italians who helped the American efforts during the war. He told us about how devastating it was the the Germans bombed all the bridges across the Arno River in Florence to prevent the Allies from crossing; all except for Ponte Vecchio, thankfully, because it was such an important cultural icon and historical monument. He also told us how at the villa we are currently staying in, a German tank got stuck between the wall and the fence, and the owners covered the tank with olive branches to prevent it from being seen and the villa being bombed and destroyed. The ping pong room (aka the dungeon) was also used as a bomb shelter during the war. It put things in perspective thinking about the very ground we are constantly walking is where tons of men, many that were as old as I am, lost their lives.

We attended the Memorial Day Ceremony, which was an incredible experience. There were lots of current and veteran military men and women, both American and Italian. The US Consul General in Florence gave a statement, along with several other people, a Jewish rabbi, and a pastor. It was really sobering to see everyone there together, two nations uniting and solemnly remembering the brave men and women that came before us. At the end of the ceremony when they played the National Anthem for each country as they raised the countries' flags from half mast. I can not remember the last time I had as many chill bumps coursing through my body, literally from my head to my toe. It was a really moving experience.

The ceremony and seeing all the graves really got me thinking about the true meaning of Memorial Day. Normally, while in the States, I just treat it as a day to sleep in and skip school. I don't think I have ever truly given an appropriate amount of thought to the sacrifice that some people made in order to secure our freedom and to attempt to make this world safe from tyranny and oppression. I feel like I need to make a stronger effort in the future to honor these true heroes instead of taking the day off for granted.

After the ceremony, we had a long "Taste of Italy" for lunch at the villa. We tasted lots of traditional and local specialty dishes, which was incredible. There was a lot of really good stuff there, even if it looked or smelled weird.

For dinner, however, we had a great American cookout with burgers, hot dogs, baked beans, potato salad, and coke. It was wonderful.

Today overall has been a large blending of cultures. A Taste of Italy, followed by an American cookout. A memorial service for American soldiers on Italian soil, organized and honored by Americans and Italians alike. It shows the great partnership that has formed between the two countries, and I feel like it is a great sign of appreciation for each other. I can't really describe it in elegant words right now, either because I am tired or it is just too hard for me to try and explain. It is just a really cool thought that we can be globally compassionate and form partnerships with people we once fought against.
Ciao!
Taylor

Scandicci Evangelica

Today we resumed a few of our classes that were put on hold due to Mission Impossible week. For our Italian class, we went to the Saturday Market in Scandicci and had to order something (that we were assigned) completely in Italian. It was a fun experiencing making our way through the market and seeing how many people buy their normal weekly groceries and stuff.

The afternoon was mainly dominated by this festival hosted by the evangelical churches in Scandicci. There was games, music, a movie, drama skits, and all sorts of cool stuff. Our group sang about 10 songs for everyone, and everyone really seemed to enjoy it.

Later, I was looking at a stand of engraved wood with bible verses with David Woodroof, the director of the Avanti Italia program who was translating some stuff for me. At one point in translating the bible verses, the man who made them brought over a young boy and told him to tell David his story about his conversation. Apparently this 10 year old boy used to be a beggar on the streets and he was a pest to everybody, he got beat up, yelled at, cried at night, and had terrible nightmares. Then this man found him and brought him into his home. About a month later the kid had another nightmare, and the man told him not to cry and told him that there is someone who loves him and is building a home for him for eternity. They prayed together and talked about Jesus, and the boy was led to know Christ.

I dont know if he was baptized, or how much he truly understands about the message of Christ, but it really touched me that a kid who was born into being a beggar is being exposed to the gospel and being led towards Christ.

Afterwards, I bought the following verse:

"Io so che il mio redentore vive." -Giobbe 19:25
"I know that my redeemer lives." -Job 19:25

Ti voglio bene,
Taylor

Spiritual Workout

Before about an hour ago, I didn't have much to talk about other than 'I had a yummy pastry and coffee at Bar Mario" or "I took a wonderful nap on a swing outside in the Tuscan springtime" or "we had a cool hour long language exchange with some Italians at the library (which was actually pretty fun and a good experience)."

However, I was convinced to participate in a P90-X workout. I should have known what I was getting myself into. We did the entire thing (minus the bonus round), and by the end I was feeling muscles I forgot existed. The entire thing just reminded me of one thing: I am out of shape.

I've never been a big workout buff. Sure, in high school I was in decent shape because I was constantly working out doing marching drumline stuff, but I have never been a hit-the-gym lets-keep-a-regular-workout-routine kinda guy. Yes, I am aware that I just used too many hyphens to connect words, but you get the idea.

However, from doing tonight's workout, it made me realize that physically straining activities like that would be much easier if I did it more on a regular basis. If I did a little bit each day, my muscles would adapt and grow and strengthen, and then it wouldn't be as tough to do the difficult things.

Then, as I was showering and regretting my workout, it hit me. Thats exactly like our spiritual life.

Its not something we can just assume we are strong with, and never exercise it or stretch it and grow it. It is something that we have to constantly develop, constant work at, constantly sweat and fight for. Is it easy? Well, no, of course it isn't. Is the reward worth all the effort. Absolutely.

Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 9:

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

I am spiritually out of shape. And recently, I have not been willing to put the work into making myself stronger. I keep assuming that it will just happen one day, that one day *poof* I will magically be more mature. Thats not the way this works. In fact, the more I put it off, the weaker I become, and the harder I am going to have to work later.

I need to start today. Right now. I need to work myself out daily, envelop myself in the Word, pray, and actually put some faith in God. One of my bible teachers loved to say "Little faith, little prayer," and I believe thats very true. My sad excuse for a prayer life shows how much faith I am actually putting in God and how much more I am relying on myself and other humans. I can't think of anything more foolish. God is the only one that will never let me down, why put my faith in anything else?

Something I learned on a little "man retreat" this past semester has also stuck with me. Think about how much time you spend with your boyfriend/girlfriend/other friends/family/etc. You make every opportunity to spend as much time with them as possible, because you love them, right? Then how does it make sense that we (well, I can only speak for myself here) spend less time with the one who loves us more than any human will ever be capable of? Why would I not devote at least twice as much time to the very one who is responsible for my existence, and to the one who made it possible for me, a sinner, to ever consider being in the presence of the Lord?

I am grateful to be loved by such a powerful, merciful God. And I am grateful I serve a God who gives second chances. My God is mighty to save.

Hopefully, I can become more devoted, more faithful, and more willing to undergo a regular spiritual workout to become the man of God I am called to be.

Ti amo con l'amor di Gesu,

Taylor

The Power of Music

Today we went with some Italian students from an art school (high school level) in Florence to hike some trails in Scandicci. We helped the groups that are in charge of the trails pick up trash, trim the overgrowth, and repaint the trail markers. It was a great time to just walk through and enjoy God's great creation as well as get to interact with Italians and another culture.

Crossing a culture (and especially language) barrier is always difficult. Its uncomfortable. It is much easier to stick to your group of American friends with you, which I am sad to admit is what I did for the most part (although I did interact with and talk to several students, I just didn't do as much as I feel I should have). They are limited in their knowledge of English, and we are even more limited in our knowledge of Italian.

However, there is one thing i have found that seems to cross and mesh cultures easier than many other things. That thing is music. In our Italian class, we have been learning several Italian songs. We all complained and thought they were just dumb and pointless to learn them. However, when we were on the trail today, I noticed one girl in our group started singing one of the Italian songs. At once, the Italian's eyes lit up in recognition and chimed in and sang along. Although we have few things we can really say in a conversation, we are able to connect to one another and share experiences through music. The group of girls singing helped teach each other songs in each other's languages. I believe the English songs that were sung were "Barbie Girl" and "Single Ladies". Interesting choices, but it was fun and I saw connections and bonds being made that otherwise may not have happened.

Music has always spoken to me. Now I understand that it is so much more than the enjoyment of a melody or some nicely written lyrics. It is about an experience. It is about connecting with something greater than yourself, and through that, you can share that experience with another person and share your connection, even if it is in a different language.

Ciao!
Taylor

Cooking School

Today (after an accidental 3 hour nap), I got to go with a small group to the Giglio Cooking School in Florence. We made an entire Italian meal from scratch, and then got to enjoy the fruits of our labor in a great meal. Our menu was:

-Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli

-Cut Beefsteak with Rosemary and Rucola

-Roasted Potatoes

-Tiramisu

Oh. My. Word. It was one of the best meals of my life, and I only had to pay 25 Euro for the meal, lesson, apron, the whole deal. It would easily cost that much to get all that food in a restaurant, so it was more than worth it. We made everything from scratch. We made the dough, rolled out and made the pasta, stuffed and formed the ravioli, cut and seasoned and roasted the potatoes, whipped the cream and soaked the Lady's fingers for the Tiramisu, cooked the beefsteak in a sauce we made.

Legit. I'll edit this and add a picture later once I steal someone else's pictures (I didn't bring my camera). It was a great experience and I am extremely glad I got to do it.

Ciao!

Taylor

Arezzo & Uffizi

Monday, we had a group assignment called 'Mission Impossible.' They essentially gave us a list of 50 pictures we had to take in our given city and a train ticket to get there and back. Our town was Arezzo, which is another city in Tuscany. We divided and conquered the picture taking really quickly and finished in about a quarter of the time we were expected to, which gave us more time to explore the city on our own. In our free time, some of us went to a museum that is in and of Giorgio Vasari's house, which was really cool. Apparently he painted some cool frescos on the ceiling of his own house, which were amazing. Its always really humbling to walk in the rooms where a world renowned artist once lived, thrived, and painted.

We were also able to go in several churches, some of which had absolutely nobody in there. These churches had beautiful architecture, art, and sculptures in them just like all the others, but for some reason they were off the beaten path and off the main tourist radar. Those were some of my favorite moments on the trip, going into a huge, deserted church and just resting and meditating for a while.

Also in Arezzo is the Piazza Grande, where a few scenes from 'Life is Beautiful' were shot. So evidently it is pretty famous, and regardless of its fame, it was beautiful.


On Tuesday, I got to go to the Uffizi Museum, one of the most prestigious art museums in the world. We had an assigment, so we only had enough time to look at certain pieces, but I have a pass where I can go back anytime for free, which I plan on utilizing. There were some pretty famous pieces there, and art by tons of famous artists. The really cool thing about it is that the art is arranged in chronological order, so you can see how art styles and focus changes throughout different stylistic periods and time periods.

After going through the museum, we went with Ermenita (an Albanian girl who is a student at University of Florence working with Avanti Italia that we've been hanging out with some) to see the University of Florence. We ate lunch in the cafeteria, which blows away any in the states that I've been to, toured a small part of campus, hung out in a park outside, and went to the student center. It was interesting to learn how different the schooling system in Italy is from the US.

Ciao!
Taylor

San Gimingnano and Siena

Saturday we got up early and travelled to San Gimignano. Its an old Medieval style city with a great view of the Tuscan countryside. It was known for its towers, of which its once had 72. Only 14 have survived, but the tallest of them is 54 meters tall. The skyline of the city looks like skyscrapers of a modern city, which is incredible when you consider the time period they were built it.

Siena was pretty incredible. The main piazza, Il Campo, is named the 3rd most beautiful piazza in the world. It is also where the famous horse race takes place. Youtube "Palio di Siena" sometime when you get a chance. Its a crazy race around the piazza where the jockeys have no saddles, they go opposite the normal direction, they have whips, but they can only use them on other jockeys and not the horses, and its just 3 laps long. People cram into the piazza in the center to watch, and the celebration goes on for months afterward. I will hopefully have the opportunity to go to the race later on (July 2 I believe), and im really looking forward to that.

On Sunday, we attended a church in Florence, and the service was half in Italian, half in English. It was good to be able to interact with other Christians in another language and praise God together. We sang songs in both english and italian, which was really cool. Its a little harder to follow sheet music when you have to follow notes and words that you dont know or can barely pronounce, but it was fun and uplifting. They also used wine instead of grape juice. I'll be honest, it tasted horrible. So, just so you other 'Church of Christers' know, we aren't missing out on anything during communion. In fact, I feel like we are fortunate.

Later on Sunday, I went to the open market in Le Begnese and I had an INCREDIBLE Nutella filled crepe. And then we went to the Bible School in Scandicci run by Harding people and Avanti Italia, and we had a good ole' American cookout with hot dogs and hamburgers. It was great.

This coming week is called 'Mission Impossible' week, which is packed full of activities and things to do. So it will probably be a little crazy, but hopefully I'll find some time to give an update somewhere in there.

Ciao!
Taylor

Comune di Scandicci

Today, we had the opportunity to interact some more with the community of Scandicci. We went to the Comune di Scandicci cultural exchange, and got to hang out with people our age (and some older) for several hours. We had friendly competition in volleyball, basketball, and soccer, had fun little dances like the cha cha slide and some Italian dances, as well as just talking - in english and italian - with new people. We ate a nice meal together, and presented awards to the winning team from each sport (as you can expect, we only won in basketball).

I had the opportunity to meet Lorenzo Guiducci and talk to him for a while. He has grown up in Scandicci and will be attending Harding in the US starting in the fall so that he can improve his English and hopefully one day become a literary translator from Italian to English. He is also studying Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian, which blows my mind. It was really cool to talk to him, and hopefully we can help each other out in the fall with learning each other's languages.

I'm really enjoying learning Italian, although I wish I had started learning it sooner so I could interact more while over here. But hopefully I will be able to put myself in situations - even if it is out of my comfort zone - where I can pick up more of the language and how to communicate with people. But as it is, I may try and continue my Italian education when I get back to the States. We'll see how things go.

Ciao!
Taylor

Benvenuto in Firenze

Today, we visited Firenze for the first time as a group. It. Was. Mind-blowing.

We walked around the city and briefly hit all the highlights of the town, and it took all day to do it. There were so many incredible buildings and pieces of history. I know I missed a lot of the information, but we will go back to many of the sites and learn more about them in depth.

The building that stood out the most, obviously, was the Duomo. You may not be able to figure out why, but if you check out these pics, if you think about it real hard, you might be able to figure it out.


ok. apparently I am terrible at blogging, because I can't figure out how to fix the format of this to where it doesn't look ridiculous. So I will just keep going and pretend that its all ok.

Overall, today was awesome, and got me extremely excited for going to Florence and learning more details about it.


And for those of you who wanted to see the Villa, I finally have pictures of that as well. I'll post one here, but check back in a few days for some on Facebook or something. I'll try and post them when I find time.














(As someone so kindly pointed out, I foolishly misspelled 'chaio'. so i will get it right this time)

Ciao!
Taylor

Getting settled in

Well, my first weekend in Italia is behind me. Its been so crazy, I haven't really found much free time to sit down and write about anything. But I have loved every bit of it, and I am even more excited about the summer ahead of me.

The Villa (built in the 1400s) is pretty incredible. Its sort of a maze to get around, but this place feels like home already. It sits on a hill overlooking Scandicci and Firenze (Florence), and it is gated off. We have a fair sized backyard with olive trees, hammocks, roses galore, and a basketball/volleyball court. Inside, there are a lot of residence rooms upstairs, a computer room, a loft for studying and such, and a "dungeon" with a ping pong table. In the dungeon is a painted mural on the walls and ceiling archiving each group that comes through here, which we will get to add one of our own at the end of the semester.

I am working here doing like a million jobs it seems. I am an RA (Resident Assistant), which basically means I lock up the Villa at night, check to see everyone is here, and all around do whatever work needs to be done by the directors. On top of that, I am supervisor of the other student jobs, I do "maintenance", which is just cleaning and restocking a few things, and I do dishes occasionally. Hopefully all the money I make from it will make it all worth it.

I apologize for (1) the long pause before my first real post and (2) the fact that I haven't put any pictures up. I promise pictures will come, but it rained all day Saturday, and i just didn't get around to taking many today. But once I have some, They will be posted.

Chaio for now!
Taylor

First (ever) Blog Post

Buon Giorno! So, I'm not really sure what to do with a blog... This is the first time I've ventured into the world of blogging. But, I figured it would be the easiest way to keep friends and family at home updated with my travels abroad. Lets just hope I can actually keep up with it...

So, first things first, here is my (tentative) schedule for the first month of traveling overseas:













You're welcome Mom.

I leave Thursday from Birmingham, and Friday I should arrive safe and sound in Pisa, Italy (Lord willing). From there, let the adventure begin!

Peace and Blessings,
Taylor