One week of classes: complete!

What a thrilling and exhausting week it has been, and the weekend has not even yet begun! As the week of classes comes to a close, here is a recap of some of what I’ve experienced this week.

Drawing class: We began Monday morning talking about the syllabus, expectations for the course, etc and were sent out Monday afternoon with the assignment: make a drawing. It was a little open-ended for my taste and very perplexing given my (lack of) history with drawing or any art classes for that matter. I gave it my best shot, taking on a landscape with the guidance of Holly, a dear friend and also an art major! (By the way, thanks for the great selection of art supplies, Mom! It seems you thought of everything J). The critique of this first drawing brought laughter and amusement to both my professor and my peers—all in a loving way of course! In class we drew figures of a display of the city, made entirely out of cardboard shapes replicating some of the main buildings in Orvieto as well as other pieces thrown into the mix, just to keep things challenging! We worked on perspective, angles, markings and finally, contrast of light and dark. This process was extremely difficult for me and was my first experience drawing for any length of time (I may be wrong, but I think it made my arms sore!). I really had to work to draw exactly what I saw instead of what I thought should be in front of me, given my knowledge of the way geometric figures work! Outside of the classroom, our homework assignments focused on getting out into the city—learning its textures, locations and how the light plays off the buildings. I am getting to know this city in ways I never expected! I’ve had a lot of frustrating moments with the art of drawing, but I think I am improving as fast as I can and learning to really work hard at it. My appreciation for good art has also grown exponentially! I don’t know how all you art majors do it…

Church service: Wednesday night we attended a local Catholic praise and worship service. I was surprised to find out that it is a fairly charismatic congregation—a description I’m not used to hearing about the Catholic churches back in the US. Worship was lead by the director of our program, an Orvietani, Alessandro. There were a few instrumentalists, a few singers and a priest who changed into and out of his robe throughout the service, at one point wearing his jeans, sweater and a single lapel (looked like a scarf!) from his uniform (Dad, I paid attention to this for you!). About 15 from Gordon attended the service, so we probably made up a little less than half of the group at the beginning but more people joined towards the end of the service. I tried to follow along with the Italian words through a songbook, but mostly listened to the voices around me and was just as blessed by that. Throughout the services there were times for silence, for leading the group in prayer, for individual prayer and some people were even singing in tongues—I didn’t realize this at first because it didn’t sound that different from Italian, but the voices were angelic. The priest brought around a symbol of the Eukarist (a gold sun with the crucifix in the middle) and blessed each group gathered in the room. The service was beautiful and though I didn’t always realize what was going on around me it was a much-needed time to sit, absorb, reflect and encounter God. I am really looking forward to learning more about the Catholic church and liturgy in Italy.

Everyday Life: We’ve had such beautiful weather this week and I am praying that it continues to become warmer and brighter! No matter what’s going on outside, it is freezing inside all of the buildings so I find myself putting on and taking off my layers all day long. Walking between class, the restaurant where we eat, Internet cafes, locations for drawing, etc we must walk a few miles a day and so far I’m really enjoying that time. Everything truly shuts down in the middle of the day after lunch and its amazing to watch as the townspeople (and tourists) of Orvieto pour out into the streets again around five o’clock. I’m really enjoying getting to know everyone in the program; we’re from all over the country in both our hometowns and colleges, and about half of us are from Gordon. We’ve had one Italian class so far, just to learn major phrases. I’m trying to work up the confidence to speak with people in town and even use the language among my friends in the program, but I keep speaking Spanish by accident! The language issue will be a process and a struggle to overcome—but no worries, I can successfully order a cappuccino and a gelato! Each meal we eat in the restaurant is a magnificent surprise. Typically we start with a pasta dish for lunch, followed by a second course of meat and vegetables. Dinner is usually a lighter meal, sometimes with a pastry or fruit for dessert. Everything we eat is fresh, pure and I’m pretty sure we hit each of the major food groups throughout the day. Meals are filled with good conversation and much laughter and I’m learning to eat slowly and enjoy every bite. I really could get used to this lifestyle…

Well, I guess that’s all for now friends! Thanks for all your prayers and support. Ciao! J