With, For, In Love

I was in a cemetery which is an odd place to be when visiting another city. But this wasn't an ordinary cemetery. It was called a statue garden where each grave had some form of a statue on it. No one famous is buried there but the statues are what makes the gigantic cemetery worth seeing. One of the thousands of statues really struck me. It's the statue pictured below. What drew my attention was that the wife lived for ten years after her husband died. I just imagined what her life would be like after that loss and how agonizing that time apart must have been. Grave in Milan Everyone knows Italians are loud and passionate. But what you discover here is that they are passionate about each other. Their relationships appear to be more intense, in the best way possible. They're very unapologetic about their affection. They kiss you on the cheek when they know you. They stroll down the cobblestone street with linked arms. People are even sitting on each other's lap...

Since Pandora doesn't work in Italy, I've been listening to a lot less music than usual. I don't drive here -praise God- so there is never any radio playing and I've given up walking with headphones. The lack of music has allowed me to appreciate another type of music: the music of life. So unbelievably happy I never realized how significant the sounds were in your daily life or how comforting they can be. I have come to associate sounds here with joy. When I hear the bus screech to a stop I get excited because I get to go somewhere [on an adventure]. When I hear the doors in the elevator open I know I'm finally home. When I hear children screaming in the apartment right by my room I smile because that's just the beauty of living in an apartment. The noise on the streets makes me laugh at how impatient everyone is while driving. People are either yelling or just talking loudly to each other all the time but I still can't understand them so I'...

If you know me you know I have my day planned, my week planned, and even the next ten years planned. Despite my best efforts, sometimes those plans just don't work out as beautifully as I thought they would. While my world use to seem like it was crumbling when that happened, I have learned to accept it in anticipation for the better plans ahead. The average costume at Carnevale This weekend my friend and I went to Venice, Verona, and Vicenza. It was such a wonderful trip filled with amazing moments. Carnevale was happening in Venice so we were able to see some amazing costumes and the city truly alive. We arrived at my Aunt and Uncle's home in Vicenza around 11:30 on Thursday. My friend and I unpacked and went downstairs to sit and get WiFi to tell people (Mom) we were safe. Hanging out in St. Mark's square As I was talking to her I just paroozed through my email. I got an email from International Justice Mission. They send me biweekly emails usually but I ...

I looked around the table at my friends and smiled. Everyone was talking to everyone. No one had a cell phone out and no one cared to. We were simply in the moment with each other. While skyping a friend back home, he told me that he realized what he wanted to do with his life. He said "I want to have people talking to each other again. I want to cut everything else out and get us back to before we were addicted to our cell phones." He knew this task would seemingly be impossible. But no one would have believed cell phones could be possible either. In Italy I have two cell phones. I have my iPhone which is great for taking pictures and communicating when in WiFi. I have another phone, a ghetto phone. This cell phone was probably the first one ever invented and cost around $1. I now remember why texting language was invented because it takes ten minutes just to type "Where are you now?" But I love that phone. It allows me to call my friends here and text them on...