the day that Dr. Mark & Dr. Larry did their lectures was an adventurous day as far as lecture days go. Mark covered a topic that became very interesting after a few minutes into the presentation. Larry took us outside and we did a hands on activities, group learning. our group was blindfolded and we were arranged around a rope. while blind folded we had to arrange ourselves in a square. we did pretty good actually. we only had a little bit of slack left in the rope.
today we had 2 guest speakers. an italian man who is married to an american woman & an american woman who is with an italian man. i learned some very interesting and valuable things from both of them.
then we went to the expensive mall. not my kinda thing but i didn't want to be alone!!!! had fun making fun of people paying outragious prices though!!!!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
May 19
well it was an outing day so we went to Lake Trasimeno and Assisi. the lake was WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i could have stayed there all day. the town was so quiet and peaceful!!! i loved observing the lake-watching the ducks and the waves. right on the shore was the sidewalk there were these big rocks. in some places we could even climb out onto them. i was completely content sitting on the shore watching the underwater weeds flowing with the waves. it was mesmerizing!!!!
the area we were there were not many shops open but the ones that were-were very nice. i found many things that i LOVED but i was good and only got 3 things and gelato (Cafe and chocolate) and a bottle of water. i got a present for a friend, a small st. Francis, and a magnet that says in italian "warning/beware of dog" and it has a cute little puppy on it!
every since i learned about St. Francis i have had a fascination with him. i have never researched him-bad move on my part-but i know that every picture/figure i see of him he is surrounded by animals. there is a statue of him in front of my veterinarians office and i asked why it was their. i was told that he watched over and protected animals. from that moment on i was fascinated! i ALWAYS talk to animals!!!!!!!!!
seeing his tomb was a moment and feeling i will never forget. the feeling is hard to describe. what upset me most were the people who stood in front of his tomb all smiley and taking pictures. to me it was not a fun "publicity" moment. yes i took pictures but with no flash and not for any other reason than for remembrance and to show my family and friends. this is a feeling i need to work out in my head! Jill felt the same way about it which comforts me.
hiking all the way up the top of Rocca was definitely an adventure!! the view was well worth the pain and frustration of the horrible walk up there!!!!!!
one point Spencer, Jill, and myself went for a walk to mcdonalds because we had 1 1/2 hours before time to leave. we got about 1/3 of the way and said No way!!!! we found a short cut on the way back though. it was a horrible vertical hill but it was better than almost being run over by crazy italian drivers!!! there was a fountain along the way. i got very excited because my water bottle was empty and i was dying of thirst. to my great disappointment it was non-drinkable water. Not only was it not drinkable but it was disgusting, nasty with a pair of Armani mens underwear in the bottom of the fountain and they looked like they had been their a while!!! NASTY
finally sitting down on the bus was such a huge relief!!!!!! i kind of passed out on the bus for a while which was extremely nice!!! the heat headache is still killing me though
the area we were there were not many shops open but the ones that were-were very nice. i found many things that i LOVED but i was good and only got 3 things and gelato (Cafe and chocolate) and a bottle of water. i got a present for a friend, a small st. Francis, and a magnet that says in italian "warning/beware of dog" and it has a cute little puppy on it!
every since i learned about St. Francis i have had a fascination with him. i have never researched him-bad move on my part-but i know that every picture/figure i see of him he is surrounded by animals. there is a statue of him in front of my veterinarians office and i asked why it was their. i was told that he watched over and protected animals. from that moment on i was fascinated! i ALWAYS talk to animals!!!!!!!!!
seeing his tomb was a moment and feeling i will never forget. the feeling is hard to describe. what upset me most were the people who stood in front of his tomb all smiley and taking pictures. to me it was not a fun "publicity" moment. yes i took pictures but with no flash and not for any other reason than for remembrance and to show my family and friends. this is a feeling i need to work out in my head! Jill felt the same way about it which comforts me.
hiking all the way up the top of Rocca was definitely an adventure!! the view was well worth the pain and frustration of the horrible walk up there!!!!!!
one point Spencer, Jill, and myself went for a walk to mcdonalds because we had 1 1/2 hours before time to leave. we got about 1/3 of the way and said No way!!!! we found a short cut on the way back though. it was a horrible vertical hill but it was better than almost being run over by crazy italian drivers!!! there was a fountain along the way. i got very excited because my water bottle was empty and i was dying of thirst. to my great disappointment it was non-drinkable water. Not only was it not drinkable but it was disgusting, nasty with a pair of Armani mens underwear in the bottom of the fountain and they looked like they had been their a while!!! NASTY
finally sitting down on the bus was such a huge relief!!!!!! i kind of passed out on the bus for a while which was extremely nice!!! the heat headache is still killing me though
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Florence
having walked around all day in Florence i have only 2 things to say- WOW and OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my feet are Killing me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! walking around all day in flats that have NO padding whatsoever on Hard stone is not a good thing to do.
Florence was beautiful!!! i am so glad we are going back because we did not even get all the way to Uffizi Gallery. i am excited to see it!!!
i got scarves, limonchello (?), a little a bit of this and a little bit of that. oh and of course gellato!!!!!!! (ice cream)
the cathedrals were AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how was that even possible?! the architecture is so precise and detailed. my thoughts automatically went to How did humans make this? What kind of methods did they use? How many people people died making it? Under what circumstances was it created? How much blood shed occurred?
the statue of david is so big!!!!!!!!!! and oddly disproportionate. he has huge hands and feet but they seem oddly out of place. he was however breath taking! how long did it take him to make it? and this is so a Courtney thought but he spent time on the genital area but one would think that it would be............more egotistic.
the market was nice but so many of the shops have the same stuff. but if you pay attention something will be a little bit cheaper a few booths down. I have to stop myself from shopping!!!!!! basically everything i got was for someone else. my family or my love.
Italian food is so bad for my health!!! i cannot STOP EATING!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tonight at dinner we had menastronie, salad, bread, and pizza. and when i say pizza i mean the real deal!!! it was delicious!!!!!!!!!!!
i cannot think of anything else to say about today except but my feet are hurting horribly bad! i can barely walk on them!!!! good thing i am use to pain. but some pain, pain pills will not touch-which sucks!!! and the time i start to rhyme it is time for me to stop!!!!!
my feet are Killing me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! walking around all day in flats that have NO padding whatsoever on Hard stone is not a good thing to do.
Florence was beautiful!!! i am so glad we are going back because we did not even get all the way to Uffizi Gallery. i am excited to see it!!!
i got scarves, limonchello (?), a little a bit of this and a little bit of that. oh and of course gellato!!!!!!! (ice cream)
the cathedrals were AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how was that even possible?! the architecture is so precise and detailed. my thoughts automatically went to How did humans make this? What kind of methods did they use? How many people people died making it? Under what circumstances was it created? How much blood shed occurred?
the statue of david is so big!!!!!!!!!! and oddly disproportionate. he has huge hands and feet but they seem oddly out of place. he was however breath taking! how long did it take him to make it? and this is so a Courtney thought but he spent time on the genital area but one would think that it would be............more egotistic.
the market was nice but so many of the shops have the same stuff. but if you pay attention something will be a little bit cheaper a few booths down. I have to stop myself from shopping!!!!!! basically everything i got was for someone else. my family or my love.
Italian food is so bad for my health!!! i cannot STOP EATING!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tonight at dinner we had menastronie, salad, bread, and pizza. and when i say pizza i mean the real deal!!! it was delicious!!!!!!!!!!!
i cannot think of anything else to say about today except but my feet are hurting horribly bad! i can barely walk on them!!!! good thing i am use to pain. but some pain, pain pills will not touch-which sucks!!! and the time i start to rhyme it is time for me to stop!!!!!
Monday, May 16, 2011
May 16, 2011
lectures were good today. extremely interesting. i feel bad because for most of it i was so close to falling asleep! HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i am excited about going to an Italian mental hospital in Florence tomorrow. should be extremely interesting! i have no idea what to even expect. my first random thoughts go to 1970's padded rooms, straight jackets, and EXT. horrible but that's what i think of.
it sounds good.
mostly excited about the statue of david!!!! just seeing the ancient sights will be overwhelming!!!
it sounds good.
mostly excited about the statue of david!!!! just seeing the ancient sights will be overwhelming!!!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Pisa & Lucca
went to Pisa and Lucca today.
Pisa was amazing!!!!!
walking around the outside wall and then all of a sudden you see this huge ancient marble monument and it absolutely took my breath away!
of course on our first outing it would rain! and not only rain but RAIN!!!!! each building has its own amazing aspect to it. i continually thought how could human hands make these beautiful monuments?!
actually seeing the leaning tower up close.................it's amazing that someone could conceptualize and built such a building.
Lucca was fabulous!!! a walled city. the walls were ancient with beautiful moss covering them. the streets were so neat!!! getting lost was not a problem because if you hit a wall just follow it until you find an exit.
cannot wait to visit florence
Pisa was amazing!!!!!
walking around the outside wall and then all of a sudden you see this huge ancient marble monument and it absolutely took my breath away!
of course on our first outing it would rain! and not only rain but RAIN!!!!! each building has its own amazing aspect to it. i continually thought how could human hands make these beautiful monuments?!
actually seeing the leaning tower up close.................it's amazing that someone could conceptualize and built such a building.
Lucca was fabulous!!! a walled city. the walls were ancient with beautiful moss covering them. the streets were so neat!!! getting lost was not a problem because if you hit a wall just follow it until you find an exit.
cannot wait to visit florence
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
SO CLOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IT'S SO CLOSE!!!!!!!!!!!
feels so odd for some reason. i suppose it is because SO much has happened to me in such a short amount of time!
the tornado early Thursday/late Wednesday night April 27/28 was so extremely close to destroying my home and my family. a dear friend of mine lost her home. Praise God that they are unharmed!!!!!
it hits so close to home when devastation you are use to seeing on the news and thinking "oh those poor people!!!" and that it could happen to you but rationalizing that it will not-and then you wake up one morning and see all of this death all around you.................i cannot look out of a window in my house without being reminded of it!!!!
being a very emotional human being with a destructive neurological disease, i am touched in a different form and way when i see a tree that had been snapped!!!
in my yard there was a Huge absolutely beautiful over 100 year old poplar tree that was just pushed over with no effort. i loved that tree so much!!!! i remember seeing the base of it for the first time and thinking just how old that absolutely beautiful tree was and all that has happened around it in its lifetime........now it is laying in my yard on top of a crushed "camper" trailer and on the bed of my dad's truck.
it's hard to be excited about experiencing Italy when everyone and everything around me has been changed forever!!!!!
oh and then having to beg for money to go so i can eat and blessedly have souvenirs from this experience hurts as well!!!
it's hard to save what little money you make when you cannot even afford to live!!!! and yet i am leaving the country! it's so hard for me to rationalize in my mind!!!!!!!!!!
any ideas or mental helps will be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
until we see each other in Roma-courtney*
feels so odd for some reason. i suppose it is because SO much has happened to me in such a short amount of time!
the tornado early Thursday/late Wednesday night April 27/28 was so extremely close to destroying my home and my family. a dear friend of mine lost her home. Praise God that they are unharmed!!!!!
it hits so close to home when devastation you are use to seeing on the news and thinking "oh those poor people!!!" and that it could happen to you but rationalizing that it will not-and then you wake up one morning and see all of this death all around you.................i cannot look out of a window in my house without being reminded of it!!!!
being a very emotional human being with a destructive neurological disease, i am touched in a different form and way when i see a tree that had been snapped!!!
in my yard there was a Huge absolutely beautiful over 100 year old poplar tree that was just pushed over with no effort. i loved that tree so much!!!! i remember seeing the base of it for the first time and thinking just how old that absolutely beautiful tree was and all that has happened around it in its lifetime........now it is laying in my yard on top of a crushed "camper" trailer and on the bed of my dad's truck.
it's hard to be excited about experiencing Italy when everyone and everything around me has been changed forever!!!!!
oh and then having to beg for money to go so i can eat and blessedly have souvenirs from this experience hurts as well!!!
it's hard to save what little money you make when you cannot even afford to live!!!! and yet i am leaving the country! it's so hard for me to rationalize in my mind!!!!!!!!!!
any ideas or mental helps will be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
until we see each other in Roma-courtney*
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Scared
For some reason on Easter Sunday an overwhelming wave of fear washed over me. out of nowhere i said "16 days!!!"
my sister had no idea what i was talking about.
such a short period of time!!!!!!!
there is no reason for me to be scared!
except for being out of the country on my own with not enough money of course
but that's nothing to worry or be scared about so what am i worrying about?
the main dilemma on my mind right now is getting this semester over! i am so tired of this semester!!!!!
i am not the only one either!
apparently a lot of people have it!
i am mentally, physically, and emotionally FRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!
extremely tired and i have SO much to do
my sister had no idea what i was talking about.
such a short period of time!!!!!!!
there is no reason for me to be scared!
except for being out of the country on my own with not enough money of course
but that's nothing to worry or be scared about so what am i worrying about?
the main dilemma on my mind right now is getting this semester over! i am so tired of this semester!!!!!
i am not the only one either!
apparently a lot of people have it!
i am mentally, physically, and emotionally FRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!
extremely tired and i have SO much to do
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