I love the Current. It has to be my favorite station on the planet. They play the best mix of stuff, and so many bands I love. I also love that you can send requests. And that the DJs are down to earth. Sooooooo many reasons. And it's Minnesota. Which I miss some. But the Current makes me feel connected. And example of the awesomeness playing in the last set or two:
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
_più forti le voci_
'Più forti le voci' - the strongest voices
So I've been really thinking a lot about/struggling with the whole 'in it not of it' concept recently, the way that Christians are supposed to be in this world, but belonging to another, from another. Yes, that makes us sound like aliens, but in a way we are. If you really look at it, our thinking goes against almost every worldly inclination. Instead of an eye for an eye, we are supposed to give thieves all of our belongings if they take one. Instead of hating those who hurt us, we are called to love. Instead of adorning ourselves with beautiful things outwardly, we are supposed to work on making ourselves more beautiful inwardly.
I've been seeing more of the contrast since I have been here in Italia. But it doesn't mean that I feel very separate. Sometimes it's crazy hard force my brain to stick to what I know, to the truth. It's a heck of a lot easier to listen to the world. For instance, with girls especially, it's easy to believe we are nothing without a boyfriend or without attention from guys. We see that message everywhere. We see a couple holding hands, looking happy. We believe that's what will make us happy too. We see tall, crazy skinny girls being photographed for commercials and ads. We believe that's the way we're supposed to be. We believe we need shiny cars, shiny rings, and giant houses. We need all A's, all good hair days, and shoes for every occasion.
I do enjoy all those things. I get pleasure out of so many things. But pleasure turns to inadequacy when my perspective shifts, and I feel like I need EVERYTHING. And then I feel crappy because I wasn't born a trilingual millionaire with a size 1 dress size and a permanently photoshopped face.
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30 is one of those verses I have to constantly repeat in my head some days.. over and over and over. Most days I really feel the weight of having the opposite be true in our culture. Charming and beautiful women get all the praise. A woman who fears the Lord? Well, she's just crazy.
One band I've been listening to more lately is Zoo Animal, a local MN band with lyrics and honesty I love so much. This song is one of their more known, 'Folded Hand' :
I love this song. It's so honest. Men leave a woman for women, but women want so desperately to be someone's woman. They leave their home, their family, the ones that love them, in search for what they think is love, and end up with just an empty house instead of a home, what their heart wanted all along. But how often do we believe that lie? so often! Anyway, I guess I've been confronted with it more here. Maybe it's just the people I see and the people I'm around. But I have to figure out what voices I'm going to listen to: God's or the world's.
Today was refreshing, finally, to be in the park, surrounded by gorgeous families. All of them were unique and dysfunctional and lovely. Kids had cotton candy (zucchero filato) stuck to their faces, and others were pouting about gelato. Parents were juggling diaper bags and cell phones. Laughter and smiles and bikes and rollerblades everywhere. Un-photoshopped. Beautiful. Real.
Now for bed. Soon I will post some of the AMMMAAAAAZING looking recipes I found in the apartment cookbook. It made my life. I'm excited. Probably too excited.
ciao,
~Angie
So I've been really thinking a lot about/struggling with the whole 'in it not of it' concept recently, the way that Christians are supposed to be in this world, but belonging to another, from another. Yes, that makes us sound like aliens, but in a way we are. If you really look at it, our thinking goes against almost every worldly inclination. Instead of an eye for an eye, we are supposed to give thieves all of our belongings if they take one. Instead of hating those who hurt us, we are called to love. Instead of adorning ourselves with beautiful things outwardly, we are supposed to work on making ourselves more beautiful inwardly.
I've been seeing more of the contrast since I have been here in Italia. But it doesn't mean that I feel very separate. Sometimes it's crazy hard force my brain to stick to what I know, to the truth. It's a heck of a lot easier to listen to the world. For instance, with girls especially, it's easy to believe we are nothing without a boyfriend or without attention from guys. We see that message everywhere. We see a couple holding hands, looking happy. We believe that's what will make us happy too. We see tall, crazy skinny girls being photographed for commercials and ads. We believe that's the way we're supposed to be. We believe we need shiny cars, shiny rings, and giant houses. We need all A's, all good hair days, and shoes for every occasion.
I do enjoy all those things. I get pleasure out of so many things. But pleasure turns to inadequacy when my perspective shifts, and I feel like I need EVERYTHING. And then I feel crappy because I wasn't born a trilingual millionaire with a size 1 dress size and a permanently photoshopped face.
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30 is one of those verses I have to constantly repeat in my head some days.. over and over and over. Most days I really feel the weight of having the opposite be true in our culture. Charming and beautiful women get all the praise. A woman who fears the Lord? Well, she's just crazy.
One band I've been listening to more lately is Zoo Animal, a local MN band with lyrics and honesty I love so much. This song is one of their more known, 'Folded Hand' :
"Some men leave a woman for women / But women want to be a woman / Those men don’t understand / we’ll keep you in our folded hands / we’ll keep you in our folded hands //
Some girls leave a home for a house / But houses want to be a home /Those girls don’t understand / we’ll keep you in our folded hands / we’ll keep you in our folded hands / we’ll keep you in our folded hands.“
I love this song. It's so honest. Men leave a woman for women, but women want so desperately to be someone's woman. They leave their home, their family, the ones that love them, in search for what they think is love, and end up with just an empty house instead of a home, what their heart wanted all along. But how often do we believe that lie? so often! Anyway, I guess I've been confronted with it more here. Maybe it's just the people I see and the people I'm around. But I have to figure out what voices I'm going to listen to: God's or the world's.
Today was refreshing, finally, to be in the park, surrounded by gorgeous families. All of them were unique and dysfunctional and lovely. Kids had cotton candy (zucchero filato) stuck to their faces, and others were pouting about gelato. Parents were juggling diaper bags and cell phones. Laughter and smiles and bikes and rollerblades everywhere. Un-photoshopped. Beautiful. Real.
Now for bed. Soon I will post some of the AMMMAAAAAZING looking recipes I found in the apartment cookbook. It made my life. I'm excited. Probably too excited.
ciao,
~Angie
Saturday, September 25, 2010
_favorite things parte tre_
The Piazza. Italy is filled with piazzas. (Piazze in italiano?) Basically, they are just squares: big open spaces within surrounding buildings. Many have fountains or statues or benches…or nothing at all. All of this came originally from Pienza, and the piazza in front of the church there alongside the pope’s palace. Anyway, the piazza was a brilliant idea. Rome is full of them. Actually, you need to know your piazza’s in order to get anywhere in Roma. The streets resemble a distorted spider web, and piazzas and landmarks are what most people go by as far as directions. In Torino streets are orthogonal which makes street names much more useful, but piazzas are still really awesome. The big piazzas along Via Roma in the super-shopping district and Piazza Castello by Palazzo Madama are the biggest ones near us. On weekends (or even during weekdays) you can see various events in every piazza. On Sunday I ran into a protest, a drag show, a concert, and a kids’ bungee/trampoline set up, all within two or three piazzas. And it’s very common to come across farmer’s markets or other markets in the different piazzas. Piazza Madama Christina is crazy on Saturdays with the huge market. So exciting though. I love it.
 |
| the piazza in Pienza! |
How confused I get when I hear native English speakers. It’s SO FUNNY! Because it’s so unexpected. The other day we were walking behind a group of three people, two women and one man. I was talking about something random, but as soon as I said anything the one woman turned around and gave me the strangest look. But then the man with here started speaking in English…with an American accent, and I totally understood. I’m sure we gave them the same look when they started talking. It’s really unexpected to hear someone speak your language here. Almost like, “What are you doing here?” Sometimes it’s really comforting though. I loved the two British ladies I heard on the way home tonight. One said something along the lines of, “Shall we look for the car then?” with a nice thick posh British accent. Cute.
The names. Everyone’s name sound so attractive here. Marina (Mari for short), Evelina (Eve), Giorgio, Gianni, Giovanni, Giulia, Marco, Matteo, Umberto, Roberto, Benedetta, Cesare, Mauro, Stefano, Francesco, Emilio... they all sound so great! Just by the name you instantly want to meet them. So interesting. Might have to put an Italian name or two in the database of baby names for later (much later…ahaha).
Friday, September 24, 2010
_favorite things parte due_
These are a few more of my favorite things since I've been in Italia.
Caffé. I absolutely love the culture of caffé here. Cappuccino o caffé latte in the morning (which I may or may not get a chance to have) and espresso around 11 or after lunch. I love that we can just walk up to the bar (the café) and get a fresh tasty espresso for 75 centissimi. And a cappuccino for 90. I wish I could bring back the cheap coffee prices with me when I go home. Actually, they aren’t always cheap. It’s around 1,20 for a cappuccino at a normal bar, but the campus bar has cheaper everything. And prices can get much more expensive if you sit down anywhere. Up to 4,00 euro if you are in a touristy area, like in the Campo of Siena or a fancier bar. You pay for service. But anyway, I love that people will take a short break, get an espresso, take their minds off their work and enjoy a little flavor in the middle of the day. Oh, and it’s real coffee. None of that watery American crap.
Next, comes the cheap awesome chocolate. I love this cheap extra dark chocolate I get at the LIDL supermercato. 81% cacao. MMMmmm. So dark I have to let it melt in my mouth a little bit to taste any sweetness. I love it. One piece is perfetto. I’ve tried some of the other candies and treats and things here too. Kinder is super popular (or at least super available) and makes so much more than eggs. The Kinder ‘Bueno’ is super tasty; it’s a segmented chocolate bar with cream filling inside and a little crunch to it. Sweet, but good. Ferrero makes similar things (they are owned by the same) and usually it’s a little better ..in my opinion. But still, I would trade all the super sweets for a small piece of ultra-dark chocolate.
Our drying rack. Ok, that sounds like a really random thing. But I oddly appreciate our drying rack a lot. It’s built into the cupboard above the sink, so your dishes are out of the way and just drain into the sink. Brilliant. It’s only awkward in the way it opens, but other than that I love the idea. Oh, and I love balconies. All apartments should have a balcony. And door/windows. I love feeling fresh, crisp morning air. Or crisp night air for that matter. And most windows open out onto courtyards or something similar, making for private(ish) quiet areas. I like the whole small apartment complex idea. Where you have the large exterior door, then an open space for parking/courtyard and then different stairwells of the apartment. Not all of them are like that here, but it just feels so… private and cozy? I don’t’ know if that is really a good way to describe it.
Drying racks. Again, I like the clotheslines out the balcony of our apartment. Clothes always smell so good when they are air-dried outside. Though…I wish we had a roof over our porch in that case. Everything was soaked the one morning when our forecast wasn’t quite as accurate as we’d hoped. Oops.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
_these are a few of my favorite things_
For the next couple days I shall post about the 'new' things in Italy that make me ridiculously happy :) So here are some new favorite things:
Some of these things are definitely not new, some are old and found again. I love the smell of the green and the cool and the leaves falling when I exit the Palazzo of the school. It’s this amazing mix of warmth and freshness and nature. If only I could repeat that feeling and that smell all the time.
 |
| part of my walk to school! |
Ah! Also with this, I was told today/yesterday that I am one of the easier Americans to understand. Apparently I am able to communicate beyond that awkward language boundary alright! My favorite was today when Marina’s old friend Roberto visited, and we were all talking and he told me “I speak English very beautifully and fluently.” Haha. Well, I’m glad I’m fluent in my mother-tongue. YES. But really, it was a nice compliment. Sometimes I don’t feel like I speak very eloquently, but apparently my English isn’t as bumbling as I thought!
And for food. My favorite new foods are the ‘granola cookies’ Sarah and Kateri and I have been devouring these past couple weeks. I think they are called “Grancereale” and kind of taste like NutriGrain bars in a round cookie format. They are pretty fantastic. Especially since they have around 11% of your daily fiber, and little sugar, and make me feel much better about eating them J But actually, my new favorite thing is dipping them into espresso. MMMmmmm. It makes this nice warm tasty snack, keeps me awake, and the coffee brings out just the right flavors in the cookie – and not too sweet like American biscotti. Anyway, it’s my happy indulgence :)Tuesday, September 21, 2010
_a scuola a piedi_
So this is how I walk to school each day! It's a short walk, and has good people watching :) I thought I would try a time lapse, and I'm hoping to make a much cleaner, better one in the future when I'm not just taking pictures on the fly. But this is what Torino looks like at 8:30 am on a Tuesday.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
_currently_
 |
| My chandelier in my bedroom Yes, a chandelier. Yes, random. |
I'm looking through pictures from today and also from the last part of the Central trip. Sometimes I can't even believe I've been the places I've been. Sometimes I can't believe I've been here for over a month. Sometimes God blows me away. Sometimes he feels really distant, like I left him back in America. But then he drifts back, my heart realizing he was there all along. In the little moments and the big events. In the wind and the silence, the warm and the welcoming. I feel.... graced and thankful.
(PS. ...currently listening to Zoo Animal. Perfect fit. Example :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPkbtFV8wfw&NR=1)
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