Rollercoaster. Sun. Cheesy.

This week has been literally all over the place. I know the whole "life is a rollercoaster" analogy is highly overused but it's probably because it's generally true. The week went by quickly, which I actually think is indicative of my feeling more adapted and a little less homesick overall- especially in comparison to my first week here which was full of really great things and really hard things and probably the longest week of my life. But here I am! Loving the people I've met and little by little overcoming obstacles!

Bologna is absolutely beautiful today. It is incredible how big of a difference the sun makes! I feel like I am just now appreciating the sun for its heat- I was always aware and grateful for the light it brings but not so aware of the heat it generates... until I was transplanted into a comparatively freezing place and made strikingly aware of my surroundings. So, if you haven't noticed yet, the sun not only gives us light but also heat. I'm aware that I kind of sound like a 5-year-old, of course the sun generates heat or we wouldn't even be able to live here, but maybe, just maybe, I'm not the only one who hasn't ever fully appreciated the fact that the sun gives us heat. So now we can appreciate that together! Now that I think about it, the way that the Son of God loves us relates a lot to the way the sun works. Yes, Jesus provides light- so necessary in the midst of the darkness we live in, in our sin and selfishness and brokenness. He sheds light on what is true and good. But he also provides warmth. He responds to our physical needs and emotional needs, and is also the King of being warm- in the sense that we use it to describe people so positively. And I believe that the Lord knows that I love sunlight, He's allowed me to really appreciate it more fully now, so I'm going to go ahead and take the sun today- with its light and its warmth- as a gift.

This was our second week of the Intensive Language Program, only one week left! And then our classes at the University of Bologna start, excited and a little nervous about that. During class we went to another museum and also got to see the first building of the university- a couple of us went back to study in the library there after and it was so sweet. The tables are long and wooden, the ceiling completely covered in carvings and paintings and basically feel smarter just by sitting there. It is very cool to get to be a part of such a rich tradition! This week I also got to spend time with an Italian student  named Anna who goes to the church I go to. She is so great and so welcoming, I had so much fun talking with her and having her help me with my italian! She taught me this phrase, "Quando il gato non c'è, i topi ballano", which means "When the cat is away, the mice dance!". So fun. I taught her the early bird catches the worm, except I had to try to describe and act out the worm because who knows how to say worm in italian? Explaining to a couple of Italians what the word "cheesy" means in reference to a movie or a story was also pretty hilarious. I didn't realize there were so many things that I say that are regional. And a lot of times when I don't know the word I'm try to use, I just guess how you would say it- this technique has varied results... sometimes I end up saying a word that exists but that is not the word I want it to be- by far the most confusing, and often the funniest, mistake to make- or I'm just inventing a word or, and too rarely, I actually guess right. Note: Do not take yourself too seriously when living in a foreign country and learning to speak their language. And be courageous. These are things I remind myself daily! That and gelato is always a good idea.

Grateful again for hope, joy and love so freely offered to me by the Lord. And know that I love and I miss all of you so much! If you just read this you should send me a message with an update on your life, I'm kind of dying to know how it's going!