Thankful for the Weekend

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Hello Blog People,

    Just a little life update from over here in Florence. I wanted to tell you about my week last week and the fun little weekend trip I took. 

    Last week was a very chill week. We only had 3 days of classes, and one of our teachers was out so we didn't even have all our classes. It was nice to have a little bit of a break before an actual break lol. In those three days...

- I went on a little roommate outing with Fabi and Patricia. We went to McDonalds instead of eating la Mensa one night and it was really good. It just felt nice to spend time with them outside of the room. 

- On Tuesday I barely had any classes, so I took myself on a little date day. I went to a local market that's a few tram stops down in Dalmazia, looking for a few Christmas presents. Then I took the tram to another market, the biggest one in Florence, in an area that I had never been to before. This market was HUGE and was located in a park along the Arno. I walked for a while and didn't even make it to the end. There as clothing and jewelry and food and tons of other random tents. I bought a few gifts for people back home. Then it started to rain, so I walked back to the tram. However, the tram wasn't working. So I decided to take an electric bike and ride back to the city center. I'm not going to lie, it was a little scary. I am still unsure of where bikes are allowed to be, so I just rode on the road. It wasn't a very long ride, and there weren't]] any close calls. Plus it was only 3 euros. But it was a little adventure. 

    Once I got to the city center, I found a little cafe and ate lunch there (I wasn't going to make it back to campus in time). I ate some French toast with bananas, strawberries, and a sort-of caramel sauce on it. It was alright. I loved the vibe of the cafe, so I would go there again. I just wouldn't get that French toast. After that, I went back to campus and talked to my fam for a bit. 

- It was Fabi's birthday on Tuesday. She turned 21! So she had a party that night for a group of our friends. The set up was beautiful, and she had a beautiful cake that was assembled by some of the girls in the dorm. I'm happy to say that she had a very good birthday. 


    On Thanksgiving day, I slept in for a while. Then I went down to la Mensa and I helped set up for our Thanksgiving dinner that evening. I folded napkins, decorated the room, and helped make the playlist. The dinner that night was SO GOOD. The smell of the turkey made me miss home a little bit. But it was nice to have food that reminded me of home, and knowing my family would be eating similar things helped me be a little less homesick. I also sat by some of my friends, and it was really nice. I'm so blessed to have such good people around me while I'm here. 

    Another thing I loved is that apparently, there's a tradition here where Chef Ray puts the turkey on a cart and pushes it all around la Mensa before anyone is able to eat. He just takes the turkey for a little stroll, and it made us laugh. After the dinner, a small group of us went to Geleteria Medici, one of my favorite gelato places, for some Thanksgiving gelato. The group was a little random, but it was a really good time. Then I got back to the dorm and called my family. I got to talk to some of my extended family who I haven't seen since June, and it was nice to say hi to them. 


    Now for the weekend. On Friday, around 12, a small group of volunteers, students, and theology students left to go to Grosetto, a small town about 2 hours south of Florence. We were attending FPE (Forum Permanente per l'Evangelizzazione) (AKA: an Adventist evangelism conference). I attended with Yasmine, a fellow ACA student, and Miranda, a volunteer who used to live in WI. The whole conference was talking about public evangelism and how we can do that, and yes, it was all in Italian. So you can imagine I paid A TON of attention ;) All the people from Villa Aurora were mainly there to help out however we were needed. We helped with check-in on the first day. We handed out bookmarks, candy, and bracelets. We sat at a booth to sell hoodies for a while. We kinda just helped wherever we were needed.  

    I didn't do a lot, honestly. I ate good food. I took a few naps. I went on a little walk around sunset on Sabbath and the sky was beautiful! I honestly just got to rest, and I think I really needed it. 

    There were some stressful times though. There were two instances where I had to speak in Italian in front of a bunch of Italians. The first time was in a little breakout group, where we had to introduce ourselves and explain a picture we drew/words we wrote. That was scary, cause it was a lot of words, but it was in a smaller setting so it turned out alright. I did it, and I was proud. The second time I went up on stage with all the people from Villa Aurora and had to introduce myself and what I did at Villa. THAT was scary, even though it was only 2 sentences. All my love for public speaking goes out the window when it's in a different language. I could tell my voice was shaky and quiet, and I think I said everything correctly. I let out a big sigh of relief as soon as we were off that stage. 

    We left Grosetto around 2-ish on Sunday. As happy as I was to get away for the weekend, I was ready to head back. But first, Miranda convinced the driver, Michele, to take us to the ocean, since we were so close. And I'm so glad she did. We got there a little before the sun started to set, and the sky was gorgeous. It was cold, but I eventually took off my coat and just walked around in my hoodie. I ran also the waves and just stared off into the open water. The sky was so many colors, it was just beautiful. I couldn't help but think of God as I looked out, and just how beautiful He made the world. The way that he paints the sky every evening is just magnificent. Pictures can never capture just how beautiful something like that is in real life. It also solidified in me that I want to live near water someday. We spent some time on the beach, kicking sand, running along the waves, and taking pictures. It was really really nice, and I felt so happy. We watched the sunset and then headed back to the school. 

    It was nice to have a chill weekend, to just relax and rest for a while. I'm counting down the days til I come home, and even though I have to get through finals first, I'm really looking forward to it. Anyway, thanks for reading :)

Ciao,

            Ellie

God is so good!

a little cold

Villa Aurora

Miranda and Me








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