Gretta Gone Global

Last weekend a group of us went to Lucca, a gorgeous city.   Very clean, very peaceful, with a wall around it that you can walk on.  Famous for olive oil and sweets. mmm.
Weekend before last we went to Siena, which is also gorgeous, but in a different way. It has rolling hills, with houses stacked on the slopes and a gentle haze over it all. That cathedral was so amazing. I just wanted to lay on the floor and admire the ceiling.
This weekend we go to Rome for two days. I am very excited! We are going to the Pantheon and the Vatican, among other things. I can’t wait…

So much has happened in so little time it feels like we have been here so much longer than just three weeks. Is that really all it has been?! Everything is still novel and exciting. Once that wears off and we have to buckle down to school, time will fly. Right now I am happy that the beauty still impresses me. Inevitably it becomes mundane after seeing it for weeks and months. Just keep reminding how amazing it really is to be here…

Classes are a drag sometimes, just because they keeps us from doing other things, but really, they are not that bad. Every class is pertinent to the world around me and actually it is great to be able to slowly understand my surroundings better. Italian history, art history, Italian language, and Italian cinema all expand my knowledge and comprehension of daily life in this country. I love it! The biggest drag is all of the reading, but even that is interesting once I start, then I hate to put it down! I hope the entire year of classes is this way. If it ever gets boring, I will not survive…

Finally I’m settled, for a year.  I will only have to move houses and take short trips.  No more intense packing.  No more long-term goodbyes.

Christmas felt completely different this year, even though I spent it with some of the same people. My host family from Frankfurt was here for 10 days. A whole ten days.

I love them to death, and I am eternally grateful for their generosity over the year I lived with them, but this visit reminded just how much like family they really are. You know what I mean… right?

I mean, in high school I used to get so upset with my parents that I would yell and sob. Or I would get so embarrassed by them that I just wanted to disappear. That’s part of being a family too.

The only thing with a host family is that you don’t have the unconditional love that real families do.

Now that I’m on the topic…
The first half of a year I was so afraid to do something terribly wrong and get sent away for it that I could never relax. They were just volunteers so if they got fed up with me they would just have to say the word and I would be history. I had seen it happen to other people.
The second half of the year I was so used to them that I almost wanted to be move. Not really, but that was when the other side of being a family kicked in. The little things start to bother one. The excitement had worn off. In marriage you would say that the honey moon stage was over.

In hind sight:
I understand how terrible it is for children who are adopted, especially if they have seen it happen before. Or for young married couples. Never let an immediate escape clause be part of a relationship. It sets it up for failure. Just stick it out. It’s after the grace period/ honey moon stage and the tough second stage that the lasting relationship begins. That’s why my host fam was invited to visit me.

Then I was in the Land of Christmas. The first home of Christmas trees, Advent wreaths, and cookies. Where traditions hold strong, where candles are real and even electric lights on trees resemble their waxen forefathers. Where 1000 year old nativity sets are not so rare. Where Christmas is much more than just one day out of the year…

Well, this year Christmas snuck up on me. I was so busy with my classes, my business, and my travels that I didn’t even realize what day it was until… well, ’til now. And now it is 2010. Wow.

The Christmas tree at home, the pies and the extended work hours at the bakery should have gotten my attention, but I was just so tired after work that all I wanted was a long winter’s nap. I already had visions of sugar cookies dancing in my head.

I guess what I needed was a lighted Weinachts Markt, some ice skating, and more cookie baking (not selling) to get me in the mood. Next year. Or should I say, THIS year.

God Bless.
Merry Christmas Season.
And a very Happy New Year.