A restful weekend

Terribly inconsistent with this thing. Anyway, life has been good. This weekend I was finally able to return to Piemonte for a long awaited visit. How I miss that place. Anyway, at the beginning it was supposed to be this big event. There was to be a Hillsong Concert in Torino. We were going to get this big group together- friends of Tracey's and people from the bible study I attend here in Milano- have a big picnic and then as a massive group all head over to Torino for an awesome night of praise and worship. Well it didn't turn out that way. Out of all the people I invited, only one came. Everyone I told really wanted to go but for some reason, it just seemed to be the wrong weekend. And then my friend Veronica messaged me saying she would like to come.
And with the way things turned out, I guess it was meant to be. We planned to catch the 2:15 train on Friday afternoon. We were both to meet around 1:45 at Centrale Station, purchase our tickets, hop on the train and reach Casale Monferrato by 4:00 at which time Tracey would be there to pick us. However, it didn't really work out that way. Turns out, we both ended up missing the train. Took me forever to get my ticket and by the time I did, the 2:15 had already left and the next one wouldnt be leaving until 3:15. So I bascially waited around the station for an extra hour, at this point absolutely clueless as to where Veronica was. Well, turns out Veronica hadn't come to the station yet. She'd gone to a meeting that was apparently so interesting, she forget the time. It was already like 2pm when she looked up at the clock. Long story a little bit shorter, we both ended up getting on the same train and were able to meet up in the middle of the train ride. Well, we didn't reach Casale until 6:30. But it worked out anyway. On the way there, we were finally able to have a real conversation for the first time. We'd spoken before, but really hadn't had the opportunity to get to know each other. The more we talked the more it seemed we had in common. Especially with our walks with God and what he had been teaching us recently. It just seemed it was meant to be.
We got to the concert and had an absolute blast. Even ran into a few friends I didn't realize were going to be there. The next two days were pretty mellow; the fireplace going, sipping hot tea while curled up with a good book, awesome conversations about God and what he's doing in our lives. I also showed Veronica around the area a bit. Unfortunately it was really cloudy so we weren't able to really get a good view of the surrounding countryside, but it was still beautiful. It was the perfect weekend of rest and recuperation. I was none too pleased to return to Milano, but no worries. I shall be returning to Piemonte very soon.

Lately...

I've been meaning to do this for the past few days. But its me again. As I stated in my last entry, I've officially started classes. They're going well- the parts that I can understand anyway. But I can honestly say that I understand Italian better now than I did before I started my classes only like 2 weeks ago. Now thats progress people. What else is new? Well not a whole lot. Meeting new people and making a few friends. Life is good. The weather has taken a noticeable shift to the cooler side. Fall is here and I couldn't be more excited. I love the briskness of everything and that innate desire to have something warm and sweet to drink. I can't tell you how many nostalgic moments I've had just walking around the city. Visions of Thanksgivings past, mom's homemade sweet-potato pie and crunchy brown leaves sweeping across the sidewalk. Oh yes, I do love Autumn. And to make things even better, next weekend I finally get to return back to my beloved Piemonte. I can't wait to see how the rolling countryside has transformed since I last laid eyes on it. So that's something I have to look forward to. For this weekend though, I think I'll just take it easy. Maybe, I'll tour the city, try out a few new cafes, do a little window-shopping. Perfect way to spend the brisk Autumn days.

The Beginning of the Final Season

Ecco! It's been nearly a week that I've started classes. Officially 3 days. And tomorrow is the last for the week. I must say it has been both challenging and interesting, fascinating and surprising. With each day I am learning to intentionally and purposefully embrace what is in front of me. I am learning to entrust my every moment and every experience to God. "Lord, whatever comes, whatever I face, I will face it with You. I trust You. I will not worry or doubt. I know that You are for me and that something wonderful is going to happen today." In just these few days alone, sure I've had awkward moments, even hours where I'm pretty much clueless. But I just dive in and search for the good, the hopeful, the informative, the exciting in it. And I Find It! Today, one of my professors, unexpectedly had me stand up and introduced me to the whole class. Letting everyone know that I am, obviously, not Italian, but am an American student and well whatever else she said. I don't really know. At any rate, I felt extremely awkward and all that I could do as I stood there with hunched shoulders was utter a very quiet and timid "Ciao". But, it was okay. The day before, in two of my courses, a few of the students sitting beside or near me found out that I was an American and noticed how, well lost apparently, that I was that they offered their assistance. They themselves began speaking what English they knew and one girl even translated some of the lecture for me. So, here I am running into all these little blessings. It makes even the most challenging times somehow meaningful and hopeful. Not to mention, though it's difficult for me to dictate what the professors are saying, I can understand, albeit vaguely, and here particular words or expressions and write them down.
Anyway, all this to say that, something wonderful awaits me this semester. For this last leg of my journey. I already feel the growth and additional transformation. And I am expectant. Every season contains its own distinctive Beauty. I am determined to find "la Bellezza" in this one.

On a rainy afternoon

Ok. Totally should've written prior to today. But whatever. So. Today was my first day of classes. Finally! I've been waiting for weeks to get his thing started. Unfortunately, I didn't make it today. That's right. Didn't even make it out the door this morning. Why? Good question. Well, essentially, Im feeling a little under the weather and it's pouring rain outside. On top of that, two of the classes I picked were essentially the same and I as advised to take only one of them. And that would be the class I decided not to attend today. So, it sortof works out. And seeing as they don't really do attendance here and plus the fact that you don't even register for classes, makes it a bit easier to miss the first time around. What did I do instead? Well, after sleeping nearly until noon- ugh I hate it when I do that- I decided I needed some breakfast er...lunch. Well, I wasn't too much of a blob today that I couldn't do a little cooking. I made French Toast! Pretty much I had this baguette that was going stale- which apparently is the best kind of bread for making French toast and decided it was perfect for the ingredients. Had some milk, a few eggs, sugar, and even some butter. So, within about 15 minutes I wiped up myself a batch of homemade french toast. Unfortunately, they don't exactly have maple syrup around these parts or this country rather, and I hadn't bought any honey. So, I sliced up a banana, busted out the jar of Skippy Peanut Butter and went to town! It was quite gratifying. Although there's still nothing like a spill of warm sugary sweet syrup, I must say. But in any case, my appetite was appeased. What's the rest of the day looking like? Well, besides wet, I don't really know. Suppose I'll enjoy some "me" time. Perhaps I'll read a book.