End of August. I can't believe it. With each passing day, my time for departure draws closer and closer. I'm not really excited about that. But in spite of this not so fun fact, just in the past several days alone, I've had some wonderful experiences.
Last Sunday we threw a surprise Birthday party for our friend Valeska. She's also been living here for the past few months. It went beautifully. She was totally clueless and we'd been planning for like 2 weeks before. We waited until the afternoon when she went out to visit a friend and then the 3 of us, Tracey, her sister Tanya, and I threw everything together. We baked, cooked, boiled, set the table, broke out the candles and the nice china, even Christmas lights to illuminate the occasion. In 2 hours we turned the outdoor sitting area into a beautiful dinner setting and on top of that got cleaned up ourselves. All of Valeska' friends began to show up, each bringing their own special dish for the festivities. Everything was ready. And then Valeska drives up to behold the shocking site of her friends, old and new, awaiting her arrival with open arms and loud voices singing "Happy Birthday". It was quite the evening. Eating, dancing, socializing. Everyone dressed up and ready to have a great time. And to end it on the perfect note, the rest of us-some had left already- headed down to one of the guests' pool. Yes from dinner party to pool party. Music blasting the entire time. It was so much fun. And by the end of it Valeska exclaimed that this had been the best party she'd ever had.
That was alot for just one day, but some pretty cool things have happened since then. Afternoons sunbathing by the pool have almost become routine. Daily visits to Grom for some of the best gelato have been a must. We've gone out for dinner with friends and invited some over. Watched a few Disney classics and enjoyed some feel good movies as well. Apparently everyday is just another day to celebrate life. O we've worked too ofcourse, mowing, weeding, digging, sweeping, cleaning. But it seems that regardless of rather I'm working around the house or taking a dip in the pool with friends, I'm enjoying myself and thanking God for the gift that has been this summer. The best summer vacation of my life. Glad I've got a few weeks to go.

Hair

It's been a pretty cool last couple of days. Since I last wrote, we've gone out and picked and canned tomatoes, hosted a cookout and of course, gone to the beach. There's a few other things in there too. I've also attempted to do something I haven't done in 2 1/2 years- straighten my hair. Thats right. I've been rockin' the fro since February of my freshman year. Since then my hair has gone from boy short to full and fabulous. It's been natural (pretty much) since that fateful day that I decided to lop it all off and start afresh. So, what possessed me to suddenly want to turn back the hands of time? Relax. I wasn't gone put any chemicals in or or anything. Yep, instead I set out to perform the tedious task by hand with a flat iron. It might not sound too scary, but when you've got a head full of nothing but swirl and curl- course at that, its a different story. Anyway, thats the gist of it. But that's not the actual story. See, being the bright and frighteningly clever young lady that I am, I decided to straighten my hair on the wettest, rainiest day I've experienced yet here at La Rocca. Not to mention, air circulation around here is received "au naturale" aka by opening the windows. So not only is it all wet outside, but I'm doing my hair with the window wide open letting all the moisture come in. So it wasn't long before the sections of my hair I had so carefully straightened turned once again, into a poofy mass. And it didn't help that soon after I proceeded to take a shower. Yeah, real smart. Needless to say my first attempt at transforming my curly fro into long locks failed- miserably. Oh well, I suppose I'll try again. Stay tuned...

Well, its been a full 6 days since I last wrote. I am happy to say that I have fully recovered from my recent physical state. Since then, I've been making sure to take my multivitamins and drink plenty of water. Seems to be working so far.
With that said, its been quite the week. New guests have come and gone, and we've had some wonderful times with them. Ive been to the beach twice this week catching plenty of sun, waves and sand. O and not to mention, Ela -Tracey's daughter has returned from the States bringing her aunt Tanya along with her. The 3 of us now share Ela's room. So yes, its been a bit busy around here. But its been wonderful. The only thing about being super busy, going back and forth doing this and that is that, after a while you realize you haven't really had any downtime- time for just yourself and God. Now,believe me, everyday is like another encounter with Him especially in light of where Im living now and that with the guests who come, we end up hanging out like family and pouring God's word into each other. Everyday is Jesus day. But like I said, not much alone time. And after a while, at least with me anyway, it starts to show. Maybe it doesn't appear that way to those around me, but internally, my thoughts begin to go from being full of joy and peace to off the wall craziness. I can't hear God speaking to my heart so easily. I dont feel as welcoming to others or beautiful to myself. Basically, I turn into a mess.
Funny. Complicated as the problem sounds, the solution is so easy. Return to Him. Amazing how complicated we can make it seem. Maybe we feel as though we've neglected, even rejected our relationship with God and then precede to host our own pity party and list all the reasons why God should hate us and not want to talk to us anymore. I know Ive done it a thousand times in some form or another, yet every time the solution remains the same. God does not change, so his Heart does not change, so His desire does not change. He loves us, He wants us. Period. I'm not gonna lie. Sometimes in my mind this is so simple, its complicated. I don't and can't get it. But thats what it always comes down to. At last, in one final attempt at "getting my mind right" and getting back in tune with God, I just give up. Thats when things change. Thats when I change. And that makes all the difference.

The Lady Swoons...

Ahhh another day in Paradise. Unfortunately, all is not exactly well. Well, Im not well. Am I sick? Well I wouldn't exactly term it that way. I'll just put it bluntly. From time to time, due to lack of hydration or sugar or something like that, I will suffer from fainting spells. Yes. It can happen really at any given time but not without warning. Usually, I'll be going along just minding my own business, when suddenly I'm stricken with this sortof... odd feeling. Its difficult to describe. I just start to feel...funny. And the more I try to ignore it, the more my mind is plagued by this feeling that I can't seem to shake. Usually within about 10 minutes of this sudden stream of "funkiness", I know that something isn't right. I get all fidgety and my breathing often becomes irregular and my mind starts racing- Oh no... not this. What the Heck?! Now? Really?! Maybe its not, no but why do I feel this way? Where's the nearest exit? Drink some water. Calm down, you're ok, etc. and so on. And of course within a matter of minutes the apparently inevitable happens. I stand, try to walk , and then, like a lovely damsel whose been suddenly overwhelmed by the severity of the natural lighting and not enough air circulation through her girdle, I swoon and Thunk! hit the floor like a sack of rocks. Romantic? Yes. Fun? No. Actually its probably not all that romantic for a number of reasons, but anyway. Getting back to the point in this account. This is what happened to me about two nights ago at a church gathering. That particular time I was thankfully able to find a chair before kissing the tile floor. But wouldn't you know it, just as I spent all of the next day recovering and successfully make it to the next evening without alarm, I try to take a casual 10 step journey to the bathroom and Uh oh...THUNK! Didn't make it out of my own doorway- well after I fell I was at least halfway out. At any rate, once again I lay or sit- at this present moment, recovering. So, that's essentially the long and short of it. No, I did not go to the hospital though if it happens again, Im afraid I'll have no choice otherwise. That said, there's more to the story. I'll keep you posted.

Of Stone Carving and other things...

I can hardly believe its August. Already. Its been 6 months since I landed in Italia. Can't believe so much time has passed. I've learned so much. I've changed too. I know that once I set foot on American soil again and embrace the ones I haven't seen for what seems like so long, the world won't look the same. It won't be the same either. But I don't look to those moments with anxiety; I'm simply taking in the time I have here. Day by day, moment by moment. There's so many new things I am experiencing that I haven't before. Today, I started learning to sculpt from rock. It was an exciting, and quite invigorating experience. A lady Tracey knows is an artist and offered to show a few things to Nico and me seeing as we're both into the arts. So, today she came over and brought the materials for us to work with. Two big blocks of stone and carving tools. Showed us how to use the tools and get started and then, we hacked away. We're taking a more abstract approach, which means this little project could turn out to be anything. I don't really have any concrete objectives for my piece right now except well, movement and energy. I wonder what this hunk of rock will turn into. I know that I won't stop until I'm satisfied. Learned that about myself in a clay modeling class I took not too long ago. At any rate, it'll be a fun way of using up my energy and just experimenting. No pressure for a change.
Besides, the stone carving ventures, I'm also trying to do a bit of drawing as well. Although, I'm out of practice, way out of practice, its funny how I keep surprising myself. I haven't lost it after all- my artistic "skills". Now, to start painting. That's where my heart really is when it comes to art. But I'm sure I'll get to that as well while I'm here. Besides, art-making, I stay occupied throughout the days, spending countless hours with my head stuck in one of the 5 novels I'm attempting to read (haha), helping Tracy and Nico with the garden/vineyard work, watching movies, going to the beach, and spending time with amazing people. Life is a bit of a dream right now. I couldn't count all the blessings within this one summer alone if I tried. Until tomorrow, I'll just keeping taking in today.