The above quote is so fitting for this post that it’s almost frightening. Allow me to explain.

First, as I go through this semester I’ve been discovering things about myself that I never knew existed. Traveling does that to you, I suppose. You’re put into a new situation with CRAZY opportunities and you begin to find yourself through the experiences you have and people you meet along the way.

Second, as you begin to discover all the opportunities you begin to realize how much this world has given to you. This world has given you LIFE and POSSIBILITY. Every day I’m here I feel more and more called to give back to this wonderful place that has already given me so much. SO when the JForce announced that we would be having a service day I jumped at the chance to lose myself in the service of others.

Third, when Gandhi visited Rome he stayed at the house literally right outside our campus gates. In Monte Mario. Where we had a service day where we tried to lose ourselves in the service of others. It’s fate.

Let me tell you about this service day. After meeting up in the morning (and receiving our free shirts!) we set off for the park in Monte Mario. As we were heading out Cindy (our Associate Dean of Students) told us that instead of walking herself and the man facilitating the clean-up had offered to drive us up to the park. We were already thrilled that we didn’t have to walk to the park when we saw the car pull up that would be driving us there. We would be riding in a Jaguar to the park! Even I, who knows nothing about cars, was excited to cruise through the streets of Monte Mario in the back of a Jag.

After a much too short drive we arrived at the park, and began the cleanup, which entailed moving branches and brush off a path and out of the main part of the park so that the take-away crew could get to it. It was quite a sight seeing all the boys carrying huge logs while the girls dragged branches the size of small trees up the hill. By the end we were covered in dirt, sweaty, but somehow still smiling and laughing at how silly we all looked.

After the cleanup we were lead on a walking tour of the park, where we got to see amazing overlooks over the whole city of Rome. We could see the stadium, the Vatican (somehow no matter where you are you can always see it!), and even the Jewish Temple in the distance. It was absolutely stunning.

After the tour the fun continued with lunch! The men that showed us the mark barbequed up pork sandwiches for us which were DELICIOUS. Served up on fresh Italian bread it hit the spot after a morning of hard work. And they were more than happy to give us seconds (and in some cases thirds!) Just when we thought the morning couldn’t get any better or tastier they brought out a HUGE box of pastries and desserts from the Sicilian bakery in Piazza Balduina. So good! We even grabbed a few to eat on the ride back. Let me tell you I never thought I would find myself covered in mud sitting in the back of a Jaguar eating sweets. But in Rome absolutely anything is possible!

Think of the following set of words: Dark, narrow, dirty, dead end, dangerous, service entry, garbage, crime

What comes to mind?

Now think of this set of words: Delicious, commercial, community, laundry, colorful, bubble tea, hang out, worship

Do you think these two places could be one and the same? Yes and No.

The word is the same, but the reality is different in Vietnam than in America.  The place is an alley, and the former is commonly associated with America and the latter with Vietnam.

In Chicago, I wouldn’t think about spending more than 5 minutes in an alley alone.  Feelings of isolation come to mind, and a strong urge to run away, like a child in a dark basement.  On the other hand, in Vietnam, I look forward to my time in the alley by the guesthouse.  At first glance it is just a place to get cheap food, but a farther look will reveal a special community where children play, neighbors wave and sometimes bicker.

But, life in an alley, what a strange concept?

In fact, I would argue that many necessities we believe are apart of life are found in the one block distance of the alley.  I realized this when I decided to sit down at the Take Away Coffee Shop to observe and sketch the alley.  In the alley you will find many homes, and many businesses on the first floor.  I eat Banh Coun for breakfast in a Vietnamese family of sisters’ home restaurant almost every day.  Shelter and food are obvious necessities. Another one can be found in several “convenience stores.” WATER.  Other beverages such as: tea, coffee, fresh squeezed juice, and smoothies are sold as well.  Home tailored clothing and shoe stores, open on Saturday and Sunday, have reasonable prices.  The laundry lady is centrally located on the left hand side.  Those who are Buddhist can pray in the small pagoda, found past the entrance on the right hand side.  Children can go to school just outside of the alley and return home in the afternoon to play with friends.  Over holidays, households host parties.  When a death in the family occurs, the family will host a 2-5 day mourning period and welcome others to drink or spend time together.  If someone needs to venture into the city, the bus stop is right there.  All good things are found in alley 18.

When I think more of the alley, I think of my suburban hometown.  Although an alley and an American suburb look different and are two vastly different sizes, they serve similar purposes.  When I expressed apprehension to eat in the alley back in August, my roommate, Oanh, gave me a little encouragement beyond “just DO IT.”  Oanh told me “the dirtier you eat, the healthier you are.”  I don’t know how much “healthier” I am, but I do enjoy the Vietnamese alley experience.   It is one of the quirks that makes my life Vietnam different than in Chicago.

Xin Chao,

Stephanie

As I promised, here is a photo depiction of our trip to Angkor Wat!

Day One- October 17, 2012

“I am in a surprisingly good mood despite the current situation. I have never been the one who likes to wait, especially in heat and overcrowding, but here I think I can make an exception.  Which is laughable, because even without my mental exception I have no choice.”

The above is a journal excerpt from my trip to Cambodia.  After 3 hours of driving through the Cambodian countryside on a journey to Phnom Penh, our bus was halted by a massive line of tuk tuks and mini vans filled with people.  They were all waiting for a pair of rotating ferry boats to cross the Mekong River.  At that moment, I could only think of the number of frustrating layovers I have experienced with airlines, angry because I felt I didn’t get what I paid for.  This situation was different, I wasn’t sitting in any mundane airport forced to watch subtitles on CNN while I listened to John Mayer over the loud speaker (no offense to John Mayer or CNN).  I was in Cambodia: wandering the streets during an unplanned stop, waving at smiling locals, watching water-buffalo graze in the distance, or reading Joel Brinkley’s exceptional book, Cambodia’s Curse: The Modern History of a Troubled Land.  Life was good.

Before coming to Southeast Asia, I pictured Cambodia as a paradise.  I was ignorant, and to be honest, any foreign country sounded like a paradise to me.  In reality, Cambodia does have a wonderful landscape, but it also has had a long history of war and economic struggles.  What is most surprising about my lack of knowledge on Cambodia, is that the conflict and genocide tied to the Khmer Rouge take over happened while my parents and grandparents were alive.  I suppose these events could have been overshadowed by the Vietnam War and issues that directly impacted the United States, or even the fact I had never taken a Southeast Asian class until this semester.  The trip to Phnom Penh was exciting and emotional.

1) Our group visited Toeul Slang Highshool and the Killing Fields (also a movie), both sites of mass killings during the late 1970’s by the Khmer Rouge.

2) We were given a lecture by a Cambodian economist who essentially spoke of more struggles than successes on the current political and economic state in Cambodia.

3) Visited the Peace Cafe, run by Center of the Dove ( a Jesuit Org.) that teaches life skills to those who are shut in and disabled in Cambodia (http://www.jesuit.org/2010/10/28/the-power-of-hope-a-jesuit-training-center-in-cambodia/) Besides selling coffee and hand made goods, the Center is also the leading producer of wheelchairs in the country.  These chairs are stable enough to last on gravel roads.

4. Our trip to Cambodia occurred during the mourning period and funeral for the late King, Norodom Sihanouk, who recently died in Bangkok.  On our first night in the city, we witnessed many Cambodian’s praying and lighting incense in front of the palace in his honor.  Black ribbons were worn across the country in remembrance.

Day Three- October 19, 2012

“Again, I am in a surprisingly good mood despite the current situation.  After all, I just saw a space ship.”

The above is also a journal excerpt from the Cambodia trip.  Surprisingly, our second bus, to Siem Reap, was delayed.  This time the bus broke down.  For two hours our group explored a village 1 and 1/2 hours outside of the city.  The space ship was located in a park, and I was more than willing to imagine the children on their way to the moon. It was sunset, and we took in the view while watching a man fish off of the bridge.  At 9 pm we made it to our hotel, ate, and rested for the long day ahead.

“I almost wonder how this place looked 9 centuries ago,” Jack said to me on our excursion to Angkor Wat and surrounding temples.  It was a time warp.  Everything was handmade and carved from stone.  The magnitude and beauty of the Hindu and Buddhist temples were unreal.  It was a perfect fusion of nature and man.  I will include photos in their own post (you won’t believe the trees I saw!)

The trip to Cambodia is something that makes the Vietnam program exceptional, and for some, could possibly be a reason to join the program at all. As our coordinator Chris shared, no group experience to Cambodia is the same.  So if any of you go in the future, I am sure it will exceed any expectation I have set now.

The days are counting down, I am off to choose my classes for the Spring!

Xin Chao,

Stephanie

After 2 months of sweltering heat, non-stop street noise and urban landscape, we decided it was time to head north to the Central Highlands for cooler weather and fresh air.

Da Lat is a small, peaceful French-inspired town in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. It is supposed to be 8-11 hours by bus from Saigon but thanks to the most terrifying mountainside bus ride of my life (in which I fell off my seat and still have a bruise thanks to the erratic driving) our driver got us there in 6. We were immediately taken with this town, it was cold! Cold in Vietnam! So cold in fact, we all wore North Face jackets to keep warm! This is a big deal coming from a city that requires at least 3 showers a day just to stand the heat. And everywhere we looked, it was green. The town is extremely charming and was once the honeymoon choice of Vietnamese. On our first day we took a cable car across a massive valley to a monastery on a lake. After spending the day admiring the massive buddha statues and lakefront, we headed back across the valley for our favorite part of vacation–ice cream.

On our second day there, we decided to climb to the peak of Lang Biang mountain outside of town. The current group is fairly outdoorsy and the smaller group we went went are all hikers. But nothing prepared us for the hike ahead. The combination of humidity in the jungle, the straight up the side of a mountain “path” and the altitude made this the most difficult hike any of us had ever undertaken. But my god, the views from the top were worth every bit of it.

Da Lat was also very, very different from the culture that we had experienced in Saigon. There are several minority tribes living in and around Da Lat making for a very interesting mix of people. From the hiking to the people, Da Lat fully exceeded my expectations. If you find yourself looking for an escape from the city, Da Lat is perfect.

To see pictures that won’t post here, please go to:

Let me start off this post by saying how incredibly blessed I am. Not only am I studying in Rome, not only do I have all these incredible professors, not only do I get to travel to places I’ve only dreamed about (or pinned to my “Places to See Board” on Pinterest) I am also lucky enough to have incredible support from my friends, family, and most of all my parents. My parents have given me the gift of an amazing education, which allowed me the opportunity to study abroad in Rome. On top of that, my parents helped me earn every dime that I’m spending here in Rome. Without them, this semester, this LIFE, wouldn’t be possible.

For that reason I was so incredibly excited that they were able to come to Rome and visit me for a week. Hearing SLA Gina announce “Mary Mantia your parents are here” in Mensa was, although slightly embarrassing as the entire room burst into applause, also the most wonderful words to hear.

I spent the beginning of the week showing them Monte Mario and introducing them to “my” Rome. I took them to Simply (that might have been a selfish motive), to the restaurant near Piazza Navona to get pear pasta, to Trastevere to try my favorite suppli, and showed them what the life of a “typical American college student studying in Rome” was like. I even brought them to watch our Calcio game (thankfully we won in a last minute goal)!

After getting through a week of crazy classes my parents and I set off for Bagni di Lucca and Riolo. Why these places? Well let me tell you.

I am half Italian (25% Sicilian 25% Tuscan) on my father’s side, making him 100% Italian. My Tuscan side of the family comes from a town called Riolo, above Bagni di Lucca, which is right by Lucca. Since I was a child I’ve heard of my family speak of this mysterious villa in Riolo, that we apparently still had a claim to. It wasn’t until I was older that members of my family went back to the house, reclaimed it as our own, fixed it up, and made it into an incredible Tuscan villa. For the last few years or so I’ve heard these great stories of members of my family going to the villa, drinking brandy at the Bar Italia in Bagni di Lucca, and enjoying our actual homeland. I had only hoped that one day I would be lucky enough to see it.

Let me just say that the entire weekended exceeded my already high expectations. Bagni di Lucca, for one thing, is a beautiful tiny town where it seems every body knows your name. With a river cutting through the town every view is breathtaking, and looks like a scene out of “Under the Tuscan Sun.”

After spending a quiet day in Bagni di Lucca, eating and drinking our way through the town, we relaxed at our hotel and prepared for the next day. Because Saturday was the day we had been looking forward to for quite some time.

Saturday morning we met up with friends of of family members (Michael and my Uncle Danny, who come to Riolo often) who then drove us up to Riolo from Bagni di Lucca to see the family villa.

It. Was. Beautiful. This is the house that my great great great grandmother was born in, where my originally family line worked and played and grew. I couldn’t get any closer to my homeland than I was at that moment. From the grapes growing off the balcony, to the original bed frame, to every niche and corner it was perfect. I was overcome with this feeling of home in the middle of a country I’m not even a citizen of. I wish I could more eloquently describe what it felt like to be there but in this moments words fail. It’s a feeling I will never forget, and will treasure until I once again find myself at the Villa (which trust me, will be as soon as possible).

After that incredibly emotional experience we headed back down to Bagni di Lucca, to enjoy the town along with more food (like wild boar!). I remember thinking as I sat with my parents talking over a couple of drinks and cigars about how ridiculous and amazing my life is in this moment. The only thing missing from the picture was my brother, who I’m sure will one day be back there with us. Life truly does not get better than this.

I’m sure that the title of the blog surprises you. Who wouldn’t want to walk around St. Peter’s Square before the sun is out? But that’s what we found out when we arrived at The Vatican at 5:30am, in anticipation for the Papal Audience!

We were on a mission. We are in Rome, living right next door to our dear pal Benny and we wanted to be in the front row for the audience. Want isn’t even a strong enough of a word. The front row was our destiny.

After a quick conversation with some Swiss Guards about where the entrance would be (who knew that they were so friendly!) we set up camp in a walkway right outside the square, and assumed our “homeless Catholic college students” roles. Sleeping in shifts as the wonderful guys that were with us kept watch over us and our items we suddenly found ourselves in the front of a huge line of tourists, locals, nuns, and a choir singing in Polish. As soon as they opened the gates we rushed the square like a football team charging the field. We pushed. We shoved. We made a few sacrifices along the way. But when we breathlessly made our way to the front and darted into the seats next to the barrier it was all worth it. WE WERE IN THE FRONT ROW!

And let me tell you, the front row is the way to see a Papal Audience. We didn’t need the zoom on our cameras he was right in front of us! As the Pope passed us in the Pope mobile we all began to tear up. Here we were, a bunch of die hard Catholic students, studying in Rome, with the Pope less than 10 feet in front of us. We were absolutely overwhelmed.

The audience was beautiful, with readings in all different languages, a blessing, and shout outs to every group in attendance (the JFRC group was the 2nd loudest, after the Polish choir!) We left the audience feeling blessed (literally!) and so grateful for this semester and every amazing opportunity that it has given to us (thus far!)

My dear followers! I am SO sorry for my lack of posts this month! With midterms and traveling and the general excitement of Rome I completely slacked on keeping you up to date. Mi dispiace (I’m sorry)! I’m going to go wayyyyyyyy back, to the last weekend of September, for this blog, as I tell you about my travels to BARCELONA!

The last weekend of September I went to Barcelona with Fernando and Theresa, after booking this trip way back in June (so needless to say I was looking forward to it!) As soon as we got there we hit the town, and it felt like we didn’t sleep until the plane back to Rome!
(Sidenote: I found out the hard way that when traveling between EU countries they don’t stamp your passport! How disappointing! Who doesn’t want more stamps??)

We started our day on Friday by seeing La Ramblas (how fitting for traveling Loyola RAMBLERS), a famous street in Barcelona with shops, vendors, and a direct path through the city. As we walked down we quite literally stumbled upon this HUGE open air market (I believe the St. Joseph market). We went in and tried all kinds of fruit, candy, meat, fish, everything we could get our hands on. For a foodie like me it was paradise!

We then continued our way through the city, seeing the sea side, random huge Picasso sculptures, and various churches along the way (Like Santa Maria by the Sea!) We then found ourselves at the Cathedral, which was absolutely breathtaking. Huge in both height and width with a dark gothic interior and high vaulting arches it was any Catholic’s dream.

After the Cathedral we went to the Picasso Museum. If you ever find yourself in Barcelona this must be on your to-do list. The museum walks you through his life, showing you how his works evolved as he grew and learned, until finally developing into the style we all know him for. Standing in the city where he worked seeing all these paintings I’ve only ever seen in art books was indescribably. Also, the area around the Picasso museum has all these fabulous shops with bowls and whatnot that reflect the Picasso style. I ended buying the cutest little bowl there, which has now become my Rome cereal bowl!

On the topic of food, we then began the best part of our journey: eating our way through the city. We had a fabulous lunch of tapas and sangria at some tiny place by the Picasso museum. After going back to the hostel and napping till about 9:00pm (they eat so late there!) we ventured out again, this time eating a fabulous place in a piazza (which I believe they call a placa? We debated over this for quite some time) right off of La Ramblas. We ordered the “classic” tapas plate, and found ourselves with FRESH seafood, veggies, Catalonian bread (which they’re famous for) and fantastic fried foods. Taking in the atmosphere and enjoying tapas in Spain…does it get any better than that?

After a night of Spanish nightlife and a good night’s sleep we found ourselves traveling to La at Sagrada Família. La Sagrada Familia is this HUGE church that’s designed by Gaudi and has been under construction since the late 19^th century (the interior was just finished in 2010!) The church is adorned with a variety of architectural types, and is absolutely overwhelming when you look at it. It’s incredibly tall, and yet the top two tiers aren’t even constructed yet! The inside is mesmerizing, with vaults, and stained glass, and crazy designs that I’ve never seen anywhere else. We found ourselves wandering around in it for over an hour, just trying to take it all in. Under the church they also have a museum type galleria, explaining how the construction was started and the history of La Sagrada Familia thus far. We could have spent a full day there, it was that overwhelming.

From there we made our way to the National Museum of Catalonian Art. Before going to Barcelona one must know that they consider themselves Catalonian, not Spanish, and that their culture and even dialect is completely different than the rest of the country (hence the name of this post, as that’s how they pronounce Barcelona!) To this day there is still a movement to break Barcelona away from Spain and claim their Catalonian independence. So, knowing how much pride they take in their culture, the museum just highlighted their achievements through the ages. The museum also sits at the top of the city, and when you walk out the front you are greeted with a sweeping view over all of Barcelona. It may have been rainy but it was still an amazing view!

After another night of tapas and Spanish life we left for the airport (at around 3am to catch our 5am flight!) Overall the weekend was a crazy whirlwind, but absolutely one of the most fun trips I’ve taken since being here!

Croatian Weekend
KUNA
During the first weekend of October I decided to take a trip to Croatia. I do not think as a person or even as a student traveling abroad I would have ever imagined myself going to this country. However, the only thing in my way of Croatia was an extremely long bus ride. The tour group left at around 5:30pm in Rome and arrived in Croatia at around 9:30am the next day.
As I write this post on the bus back, it was worth it!  I took sleeping pills for the first time on the way there and man are those things weird. I would be knocked out for three hours then awake for ten minutes then knocked out for another two hours. Due to the sleeping pills I missed the sunrise in Croatia. I was disappointed that I missed it but three hours later I woke up coming down the MTNS to the city of Split. Split, Croatia is the second largest city in Croatia, and Croatia itself has only been a country for twenty years. This relatively new country used to be apart of Yugoslavia. It has the equivalent population of Minnesota. In Croatia they have their own currency called the Kuna. For 1 us dollar you get about 5.75 Kuna.
I went to the beach all day in Split and for lunch I had Braised chicken for a total of 40 Kuna, this also included a giant bowl of mashed potatoes. Water on the other hand was 15 Kuna; so apparently just do not stay hydrated in Croatia.
On Saturday it was arranged that the tour group get on a boat and go island hopping. We went to on island off the coast of Croatia called Brac. On this island we made two stops, the tiny towns were amazing and left un touched by the tourism that plagues most of Europe. We got to swim at our own private beach as a group and I went for a long swim to catch the view at the end of the bay. That night I went out to dinner with a group of friends in a town just north of Split called Trogir. This was an amazing town surrounded completely by water. To enter the city you must cross a wood bridge. Once your foot leaves the bridge you step back into history into the age of the Diocletian. There was a grand Diocletian palace, with an amazing church in the center of the palace walls. We ate dinner outside on the sea, and in front of us were 5 story yachts with all of the crew hanging out outside of them.
Firenze – Florence
The weekend of the October 12th to October 14th I went to Florence, IT. It might just be my favorite place in Italy to this date. I finally was smart and consulted the books in the library to see if there was a travel book on Florence or on Italy. Lucky for me, there was 8 books specifically on Florence to choose from. The one I chose worked out perfectly as it guided me to neighborhoods, bakeries, and gelato places, cities that as a normal tourist would never have thought of to go. On Friday I explored Florence main central district. I went inside and outside the Duomo, which is a fascinating work of Architecture and human accomplishment. I also went to the top of the tower directly to the south of the Duomo and climbed the 424 stairs to the top. The view from the tower was breathtaking and I was able to see all of medieval Florence in it entirety. It was a 360-degree of Florence from the tower and I did not want go back down the 424 steps. For the rest of the day I spent it going to the small town of Fiesole in the hills of north Florence. From this vantage point the view was absolutely breathtaking, looking over olive groves down the hill to the beautiful city of Florence was amazing. Also in Fiesole are the ruins of an old Roman village built at the time of Augustus’s rule.
Saturday I explored Florence more and went to a great panino shop called Pino’s. This is the name of the owner and the shop, where on the menu you can order what is called the Fantasy. The fantasy is your choice of whatever ingredient you want on a panino. I got Tuscan Salami, Fennel Salami, Hot Salami, Parmesan Cheese cut straight of the wedge and fresh ball of mozzarella sliced up and it all comes together on the Panini press and served to you on a wood plate. I went to that same place three times. Also on Saturday I went to the Piazza Michelangelo that has the best view of Florence within the city walls of Florence. To cap the night off I met up with some friends and went to Gusta pizza which is wood fired pizza place, where you order and then get a takeaway box to eat on the steps of the piazza nearby. Finally we all finished the Italian way, I got Gelato and this time I watched an Italian women get gelato and she ordered what is called a Briesole. To explain this simply it is a sweet roll cut in half, and then you are allowed to pick three flavors of Gelato and all of this is only for 3 euro. Most of the time when you get gelato it is a very small portion meant to be consumed very slowly. However, when I received my Briesole it was massive and covered my whole face when held in front of it. I got the flavors of crema, stratictella – which is not simply vanilla and chocolate chips, it is actually more milk and sugar based, and on the bottom layer was chocolate mouse. My friends and I ate this on the ridge two bridges west of the Ponte Vecchio. The Ponte Vecchio is the only bridge I have ever seen in my life that has houses on it. Additionally it is the only bridge in Florence to survive the German retreat in World War II and within the first floor of the houses are the fanciest jewelry stores in Italy. When these stores are closed the storefronts look like the outside of treasure chest.
Sunday topped off with more exploration of the hills of Florence and also a band from the Netherlands entertaining whoever stopped by in the Piazza from the time of 4 to 5:30PM. Soon after I walked down the 100-shop street that most people who visit Florence do not even know is nearby. This is street is just outside the original city walls and is filled with shops, pastry shops, small pizzerias and on a Sunday night when normally everything is closed and it was even on this street, it was chuck full of Italians. One pastry shop had the biggest buffet I have ever seen and it was all fresh pastries and small appetizers. Also there were two huge posters taped to the ground and kids were allowed to draw with markers whatever they felt like meanwhile the parents chatted amongst each other and enjoyed a pleasant evening. I was the only person on the 10-block street that did not speak Italian or was not Italian. It was an amazing experience and I am now hoping to find this same kind of street within Rome.

That is all for now, off to study for a few midterms
Ciao!
Steve O