I'm back!!!

Consistency and discipline!! Two things I very much lack and wish I had!!!! As you may have noticed I stopped posting from Italy about half way through my trip! Yeah I journaled plenty of things just never shared them with you!!... ( I will post some more pictures!) BUT ANYHOW.... part of my new years resolution is to be a consistent and disciplined person! Yes that means writing here too!!! I am having a goal of a post a week! nothing too terribly hard but something that I will have to do!! SO WISH ME LUCK!!

Just when you thought you were completely alone...

old post from italy!

So one of the hardest things on this trip is that I could not find a church. At first I did not know where there was a Evangelical Church or if there even was, then I was like...oh I'll be fine...I have podcasts and I'm reading my Bible(sometimes...not enough at the time! Dad yes you were right I didn't have a good set goal and nothing was getting done) I knew I wanted to read Isaiah and Jeremiah BUT REALLY!! that is not enough... an entire summer...I need a challenge...not something that I can put off because I have time!! So after getting lost, putting it off, not looking that hard...and worrying too much about explaining to my friends that I was skipping beach trips to go to church...I was already being made fun of for certain things I said and thought! You would think after living in Onyx for the past 3 years I would understand very clearly the importance of Christian fellowship! I have just got comfortable and taken advantage of other Christians always being there! ANYWAY...sometimes I am fascinated how stupid I can be...you'd think I would know better... I do know better I'm just stupid sometimes! 
SO with the help of my wonderful father...I found an Assemblies of God Church. It is so cute!!! It's in a strip-mall type thing. And for the past 2 Sundays there have been about 40-50 people... including kids.Very small, very crowded, a very intimate church! It was really great. Different but really great!
Deuteronomy 31:8
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Vacay in Verona!!!... Va Bene!!

So in between 4 weeks of class... and another 4 weeks of class!...We got a week off! And being the good little opera singer... I went to Verona to see as much opera as I could in one week!! The Arena is AMAZING! I have never seen such a specticle!!! Everything was larger then life... sets, costumes and lighting... it was crazy! I saw Aida, Carmen and Turandot! It was absolutly wonderful! It was also fun seeing those particular operas because...
Aida is the classic opera of the Arena, they do it every year, its tradition... and just seeing it in that space was crazy. Its such a large opera that you want it to be performed in a large spectacular place.
Carmen...ah carmen... its my favorite! I want to be Carmen. There is something about her character, her arias and her air that make me want to sing!!! Bizet is incredible!!!!!!!!!! I'm such a fan of romantic opera... passion, freedom, love and death!!!!....I sound like a Bohemien... :) ...va bene!! Oh and I went to the stagedoor and met the singers that night. Andrew Richards was playing Don Josè that night, I met him, his wife and his daughter! They were so sweet! I told him I want his job, and he said ' Yeah, I have a sweet job!'
Then we have Turandot!... which is another grand spectical! And Nessun Dorma may be the most cliche tenor aria ever... BUT ITS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!! And at the end of the opera when the chorus comes back with the reprive right after Turandot reveils the name of the unknown prince as "LOVE"....So amazingly beautiful... I cried!

Verona is definatly incredible!! I love it!!! In my top 5 favorite cities!!!! It was a place where I was perfectly content to just sit in a piazza and soak it all in!!! I saw my friend Marco while I was there...He goes to UO but he is from Verona. He showed me around and took me to some of his favorite local places. It was great to see a friend from home!


PICS TO FOLLOW

ROMA WEEKEND... this is like a week and a half old sorry!!

SO...What a week! As always I am hard at work in school! But when I'm not in the classroom we are on excursions. We go to different beaches..this last week we went to a Cantina(winery)... Very cool! I was a bit disapointed that they didn't still press the grapes with their feet in a big vat! But it was pretty amazing! I went to Roma for the weekend to see Christian and Diego... our friends that Alice and I met the last time we were there... Alice and Diego are dating now!  So we had to go! ;)  We stayed in a cute BB that Diego got for us...it was lovely.  And  as before we went all over  Roma during the days and hung out the the guys when they got off work at night. We saw the Pantheon... Raphel's grave was beautiful. And we went to the Castle of Saint Angello... a prison that they kept people that oposed the church. It was very interesting! As you can see I went to Trevi Fountain again... Love that place! I am really having a blast here...I am taking a stone sculpture class... from a guy who literaly wrote the book on stone sculpture! Its kinda really crazy and fun. When I'm done wtih my project I'll post pics! 

Christian and I :)

Geppetto's Workshop

Roommates... Kiren and Nicole... Love these Ladies!

Alice and Kevin... on our way to the Winery

The Pantheon

We found SUSHI!!! So good!!!

This is Everyday Life?

I think one of the most AMAZING things about this place is that I feel like i'm in a postcard...ALL the time! Everything is crazy and beautiful, its kind of overwhelming!
SO i've deffinatly had some really interesting experiences since I have been here... the other day my roommate and I went out for pizza only to return to our apartment and realize that the pizza that we ordered had french fries on it!! We found out its kinda popular... you can even get french fries and hotdogs if you want! Pizza Americana... our country leave very odd impressions of people... they think that we eat hotdogs and frech fries all the time!!!!
I've been to the beach about 5 times now...yeah we go all the time! It's beautiful! soft white sand and clear blue water!! And of course sparsly dressed Italian men...hitting on us!!! Bah! it gets really anoying! But I practice my Italian! I now know how to blow off men in 2 languages! :)
I saw of the biggest parties EVER!!! Le Notte Bianca was on Satuday... it basicly a huge party throughout the city, celebrating the arts... so there are street vendors, concerts in every piazza, artists out painting and selling everything...it's CRAZY! it goes on all night..and everyone is out till at least sunrise!!
It was kinda perfect... at around 2am during Notte Bianca fireworks started going off...a guy came out dressed as spiderman!!...The perfect start to the 4th of Gulio!!!! Spending Independance Day in a foreign country is pretty crazy! oh and on top of that one of my friends in the program is from the England!... we gave her such a hard time(she's a good sport) But so we did the most American thing that we could find in Lecce... MCDONALDS!!!! This was the first time I have eaten there in like FOREVER!!! To me, Caffe Yumm is fast food!!... But never has a Big Mac and Coke tasted SO GOOD!!! Molto bene...sono molto contento!!!!!



 

Oh we got trouble!!! Right here in Lecce!

So I am pretty sure I have gone threw almost every strife and frustration that you pray not to happen on this trip! The loans have been a pain and finalcial aid has been little help! But I am here!... well but wait my hotel in Roma gave my passport to the wrong person... so for 2 days I thought that it was gone forever...but it was found and is getting returned to me next week. And when I got to Lecce... they hadn't recived my emails about arival so they didn't have my apartment ready so I slept on a friends couch. Then there was a problem with the first apartment that I moved into so I have moved twice.Oh and in the last 4 days I have gotten majorly lost 3 time... which if you know me NEVER HAPPENS!...i'm talking like wander in circles for about an hour lost!! Bah!!!!! But as we say here in Italia... Tutti bene!! It's all good!!!

ROMA

Italy Day 1-


Denver

So... Dad, Mikah, Miyah and I left for DIA last night... well this morning at midnight! got to the airport at about 7 this morning. I tried to sleep in the car but yesterday I had the most nervous stomach... It was really weird! So I haven't eaten much since yesterday... and my stomach still feels rather queezy! But I'll get over it! We ate at Village Inn this morning... its about the quality of a Perkins or Sharries...AKA..YUCK!!!! But whatev I ate like the fruit off of MIkah's plate! SO now I am sitting in DIA rather bored and very tired/hungry... I don't feel like spending money.

Toranto, Canada

Well, Canada...EH!!! I'm now sitting at a grill waiting for them to take my order... I'm finally HUNGRY!...and willing to spend money on that hunger! OH good news... I got a Canadian stamp in my passport! I was so mad that I didnt get one the last time I was in Canada... well now I have one! The flight was pretty good I watched some newer Mel Gipson movie... something of darkness... pretty good! kinda gory and predictable but interesting!... So this WiFi is driving me nuts I havent been able to get it to work all day!! BAH! That's ok... Whatever! I think I'm going to go find my gate and sleep for a bit!!

Day 2

ROMA

So we got here! Alice and I made it! now take into account that both of us traveled for an insane amount of time and then were expected to find each other and the shuttle driver in a rather large airport. The hunt took some time... but we made it! Alice's mother was sweet enough to book us a hotel that is pretty cute and close to quite a few things! After we got settled and freshed up we went in surch of the Colossium! That took a bit of time but we only got "lost" once. On our way we went to the tomb of the unknown soilder, which is basiclly a very large war memorial... it was beautiful. All around this area there are ruins... it is amazing. We walked the streets just to gauk at everything... Alice has been here before and she still stood there with her mouth open. It's so amazing!

Oh funny story... so we were walking towards the Coloseum and we got stopped by this street performer dressed in all white... and he wanted us to take pictures with us. He didn't charge so we went ahead, but it was so funny because he kept commenting to Alice how beautiful I was and that he wanted to keep me, and right after we took the picture he said in his broken English that he wanted to keep me and then he tried to kiss me on the mouth! I turned out of it and laughed it off and we kept walking... It was pretty hilarious.

The greatest thing today was the Colussium! All day we had walked streets that were drenched in history, yet this one was different... It was less then two thousand years ago that if I had walked into that stadium it would have been a walk to my own grusom death! I thought about all the stories I knew of people fighting and or dying in that place. I thought of the people that walked there...Ceasars, Gladiators and especially the martyrs. I saw man's great power... in ruins. I really could not help but stand with my mouth open wide, in reverent awe! It was magnificent!

Our tickets to the Collosium cover the Forum too but it was closed when we got there... we will probably go tomorrow. But it was pretty funny, while we were looking for the entrence to the Forum, we accidently walked into some random people's wedding...they were getting married in the cappela by the Colisium... we didn't mean but the entrance to the church was near the form and we saw all these people going that direction... it was embarising but not... no one really cared or even noticed.

SO last night I met this guy at a pub that we ate dinner at, his name is Christian. He's from Romania!!  He is pretty amazing. We are going to see him and dis friend Diego tommorrow.
 
Day 3
 
Alice and I have barely slept! But today is the Cappela Sistina! It is pretty crazy... we have walked everywhere! Our hotel is in a great spot! So today we walked to Vatican City! Went to St Peter's Bassilica, it was breath taking!! I saw other countless works of art! The only ones that even are really worth mentioning are Michaelangelo's Madona... WOW!!!! The other statues in the Bassilica dont even compare... this was amazing!! Oh and Raphel's School of Athens!! It never computed in my brain how big it is!!! It was spectacular!!! and of course, Cappela Sistina! It was amazing, awesome, mind blowing! You stand there with your mouth open! I was too overwhelmed to cry... It was pure beauty! I could not speak! This goes down in history as a favorite place... EVER!!!!
 

We did meet up with Chirstian and Diego in the evening. We walked everywhere! The spanish steps... think Roman Holiday with Audrey Heptburn!!!... Yeah that place!! And Trevi Fountain! It was amazing! Christian said that if you throw a coin in... over your left shoulder... I would return to Roma... because all wishes in that foutain come true... I threw in two coins... So I can come back at least two more times! :)

I'm off to ITALIA!!!

For those of you that don't know... for the next few months I will be in Italy for a study abroad. SO instead of my randomness about whatever... this blog will be an update of what I am doing... complete with pictures!! The pictures are really just to make you insanely jealous!! :) So this is IT!!! I'm off!

A Day of Memories

Today I remember my papa, Gerald W. Wood. He served in the US Navy in the Korean Conflict, and was the most amazing man of God I have ever known. It is 2 months to the day since his death and I have not seen my family since about a week before his death. It was actually such a God thing, I just happen to go home unexpectedly for spring break...that was the last time I saw him. I kissed him on the head and said that I loved him and I would see him when I see him. I spent today at my friends house, hanging out with a bunch of girls, being as distracted as possible...then I looked at my phone..my mom had sent this pic of my family visiting Papa's grave today. I was about to jump in a river with my friends and I stood there and almost lost it!!! Only my roommate knew what was going on, and I tried to stifle back the tears that filled my eyes... and just kept going! This grieving thing is awful... I just want to go home so I have family to grieve with me and cry with me!!

The Friend Card

Many times, SO MANY TIMES, I am dealt the card no girl wants. I dread it, but it is inevitable to happen. A word that should never have a bad connotation, feels like static on my ears but rings loud in the empty space in my heart. That's right... it's the FRIEND card. Not that being friends with guys is a bad thing... NO I love guys friends. But when some situation goes from..."I'm not sure, I think he likes me... I defiantly think I like him... everything he does is really ambiguous." to "we are JUST friends" there is always a bit of disappointment. And when this situation is repeated a few times...You like/ think you like him... but he doesn't like you... that way... it's just plain depressing. I want to be friends before anything happens romantically..YES... but, it feels like every guy that you could possibly like or have any feelings for... really only thinks of you as a friend. And, like I said, being friends is not bad at all, BUT COME ON. There has to be someone that can reciprocate my feelings!! IS THERE?? This hand of cards I keep getting dealt is discouraging. Speaking of cards...I'm reminded of the childrens card game "Old Maid"...You remember that game... where you have to get rid of all the cards in your had and you don't want to get stuck with the "old maid" card. That is what I feel like!!! I am playing this game of cards and I'm winning, feeling really confident and OUCH!!... There it is... in the end I am handed the card of perpetual singleness! I know I am young! And I know that this one just didn't work out and that God has an amazing guy for me... but I'm just discouraged.

There is a sacredness in tears

I wrote this about a month ago when my Grandfather passed away...

Last night one of the most influential people of my life passed away.

Papa, I loved waking up and knowing that you were in your study, reading your Bible, I loved knowing that you would measure your Bran Flakes, milk and orange juice for breakfast, and your Chili at lunch. I loved that you always watched Jeopardy and I was proud when you always knew more then the people on the show. Whether in gardening, carving or helping you with your paper route, you taught me how to find love and beauty in diligent, hard work. I was always astonished at your consistent hunger for the Word of God. You always challenged me spiritually, in reading, memorization and you always wanted to know what I had learned. You always wanted me to learn all I could and do my best for the Lord. I went halfway across the world to Africa and I met countless people that had been blessed and touched by your teachings. Thank you so much for always loving and encouraging me in everything I do.  I miss so much already, but I know that I will see you soon. I love you Papa!

A Joyful Noise

As a musician in the professional and academic world, a church worship setting can feel like just another gig. You smile and gladly take complements from people strait to the head! I have to check myself so very often to make sure I'm worshiping my Creator and not the sound of my own instrument! For me this means I have to just stop singing!  The  next biggest thing for me is when I let my educated musical snobbery get in the way of me worshiping! Its plain annoying that I get distracted when someone hits a wrong chord...or even worse, when a guitar is out of tune!...or maybe I don't like the sound balence/the mix... or I just don't like the way someone's voice sounds! It's infuriateing!! There have been numerous occasions when I have to stop and push the ignore button on the music and just worship God! I hope this doesn't sound like I can never REALLY worship... its just those times where my flesh gets in the way of what God really has in store for me in the worship time. My Dad has been one of the greatest comforts in this struggle for me...We have the same problem... today I came across this article that he wrote...

 http://jerrywoodmusic.com/5.html

He talks about this worship service that would turn the stomach of many musicians, my dad was mortified!...and God said "HOW DARE YOU!" It wasn't about the musical quality it was about the SPIRITUAL quality!
 I am not saying that a musically trained or talented person should not care about the quality he or she can produce because worship is a church setting and God will love us anyway!... No!! Proverbs says we are to bring the first fruits of our crop to present to God!!... That means the best we have...We are worshiping the CREATOR OF ALL THINGS!!!... I want to be my best... but for Him and His glory!!! Not my own!!!
...But this isn't the point
The point is that Satan can use my own educated musical knowledge (something that God has blessed me with) against me!!! The Bible said to make a JOYFUL NOISE unto the Lord!!!... It never said only make the most musically pleasing noises to the Lord!!! NO! It just says that I should be joyful and praise my wonderfully amazing God!!!!!!!!



Psalm 150

 1 Praise the LORD.
       Praise God in his sanctuary;
       praise him in his mighty heavens.

 2 Praise him for his acts of power;
       praise him for his surpassing greatness.

 3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
       praise him with the harp and lyre,

 4 praise him with tambourine and dancing,
       praise him with the strings and flute,

 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
       praise him with resounding cymbals.

 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
       Praise the LORD.