I'll be home for Christmas

"I'm dreaming tonight of a place I love, even more than I usually do.. And although I know it's a long road back, I promise you, I'll be home for Christmas. You can count on me. Please have snow and mistletoe and presents by the tree."

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There are 23 days until I go home for my winter break. Since the number 23 is my lucky number, I felt as though it is necessary to share my excitement for returning to the place I love most. I can say that now, you know, that Summersville is the place I love most. I've seen so many beautiful places, but for once in my life, I am able to say that my tiny town is where I would rather be.

No matter how far away you run, you'll always remember where you belong, and at the end of the day, it's important to know that it's okay to return to the place you started from. I've struggled with that concept my whole life. Growing up, I used to tell my mother how badly I wanted to get as far away from my hometown as possible and she always knew that one day I truly would. My life took me 4,345 miles before I realized that being in a town where everyone knows your name isn't so bad.

You are never aware of something's worth, until you don't have it anymore. I may not be cut out for the country life the way my family is, but this weekend during Thanksgiving, there is no place I would rather be than sitting in my grandmother's kitchen surrounded by food that she worked hard to prepare. Thanksgiving never meant much to me before now, but not being able to celebrate it made me remember everything that I loved most about it. The thing I love most about my grandmother is how soft her skin is. From all the Sunday's that I held her hand at church to the many times that I've kissed her cheek, her skin is what I think about when I try to paint a picture in my head of what Thanksgiving would be like from an outside perspective. That's what I'm doing. I'm on the outside looking in and as strange as you may find it to be, my grandmother's hands are what I remember most. They have prepared every Thanksgiving meal that I can think of, they've stirred mashed potatoes, set the table, and poured sweet tea into glass after glass for every dinner than I unknowingly took advantage of. I didn't realize just how much I would wish that I could hold my grandmother's hand as we prayed to bless the meal, or how much I wish I could take a slice of my mother's annual chocolate pie that I always hated. And as my eyes tear up thinking about how I can't race my brother to the dinner table, I understand what Thanksgiving was always meant to be about.

If you never get anything else out of these blogs, please listen to me when I tell you to enjoy what you have in your life. You may want more and it is okay to want more, but never for a second take for granted what you already have.

I haven't hugged my mother in 67 days. In over two months, I haven't seen my dogs, slept in my bed, seen my home, or laughed at my grandfather for watching reruns of Bonanza at a volume much louder than my grandmother would prefer. The day I left, I watched my grandfather cry more tears in 5 minutes that I had ever seen him cry in my entire life. He truly thought that in that moment, after I walked out the door, he may never have the chance to see me again. With his poor health, I came within inches of canceling everything and staying home. I even talked with my mother in a hospital parking garage a few weeks prior to my departure and asked her if I was about to make a mistake.

Leaving was not as easy as it may seem, but the reward has been worth the price. I'm 21 years old and have already lived a life beyond my wildest imagination. It's not every day that a girl from Summersville, Kentucky, a town with literally one gas station and no stoplights, has the ability to say that she followed her dream for 4,345 miles and never forgot how to find her way back. Someone told me a few weeks ago that my life should be a movie (probably one you'd find at the bottom of the 5 dollar movie bin at Walmart, but a movie nonetheless) and a part of me can agree to that. Movies are fictitious and usually have no grasp of realism... which is basically how I feel. None of this seems real to me, even after being here as long as I have been. I still feel like I'm going to wake up and the life I'm living will still be nothing more than an idea in my head.

My "little" brother and I circa Christmas 2010

I'm going home, my friends.
Before I confuse people, know that I'm not going to stay. I'm not leaving Spain early. I'm not dropping out. I'm not pregnant. I haven't been kicked out of my program, expelled from the university, or forced to leave my host family. My grades are perfect, my director's love me, and Granada is an overwhelmingly convenient place to live. The reason I'm going home is because I realized what is more important in my life... something much more valuable than my own dreams. . . . My family.

My grandfather has a countdown going. "Ca will be home in 25 days." "Ca only has 24 more days." "When Ca comes home I'll have to take her to get something good to eat." How could I ever choose to spend Christmas in Europe when I have people at home that miss me much more than Rome, Prague, or Berlin ever could? I can't put up a Christmas tree in Paris and London isn't going to feed me my grandmother's homemade lasagna. I could have spent Christmas in Dublin or Helsinki, but when it was all said and done, I chose Summersville. If you have to ask me why I chose a town that has no stoplights as the place where I wanted to spend Christmas, then you must have failed to read the beginning of this blog.

I have 23 days, 11 hours, 44 minutes, and 20 seconds from this moment before I get to walk through the airport in Louisville and see the people I love most standing there waiting for me. That, ladies and gentleman, will be worth more than anything Europe could ever give me.

When in Roma

Rome really wasn't built in a day.

The beauty of living in Europe is that you're a stepping stone away from many different remarkable cultures and sites just waiting for you to come and see them. I knew by moving to Spain, I would eventually make my way outside of its borders and experience more than what I bargained for, and the first stop on my list was Rome. We spend the majority of our school years learning about the Romans and how much of a role they played in terms of molding modern society. To be able to witness their ruins and see all that is left of them was absolutely incredible. That alone is enough reason to travel to Rome, but combined with good food, tasty wine, and fresco paintings... There is no greater decision than to spend a few days there.

From Spain to Rome in 15 seconds.

Make A Wish

When I came to Italy, I had a list of places that I wanted to see and only two days to see them in. There was the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, Trajan's Forum, the Vatican, St. Peter's Square, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Plaza of the Republic, and Santa Maria Maggiore. That's a pretty lengthy list for someone that doesn't know their way around the city and can't speak Italian, but luckily for me, I have the navigational prowess of Magellan. I completed that list with time to spare.

The Trevi Fountain was one of the first sites that I visited. The legend says to throw three coins over your left shoulder (one at a time) and make a wish for each coin. Being the superstitious gal that I am, I spent days leading up to Rome  trying to decide what my wishes would be. The Trevi is just as beautiful as you could imagine. Despite the large number of people crowding around it, it was relatively easy to make your way down to the water. I read somewhere that about 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day. That's 3,000 wishes from hopeful people from all over the world. 

Though I have more to say about the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon was one of my favorite places in Rome. The famous painter, Raphael, is buried there. If you are familiar with Renaissance art, then maybe you are familiar with the Ninja Turtles. The Pantheon does not get enough credit. It's overshadowed by the Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum. The building is remarkably preserved for a temple that was built in 126 AD. The Italians have kept it well maintained. I was truly impressed. They also had a book that people could sign and I definitely represented Summersville, Kentucky. I know where I'm from.

Leave the gun, take the cannoli!

Ten points to whoever knows what movie that is from. 

Italy is home of some of the best cuisines in the world, and I don't know of anyone that doesn't occasionally like to treat themselves to some perfectly prepared pasta. Luckily for me, walking across Rome for miles and miles balanced out my calorie counter. Not that I was really counting anyway. Why worry about calories when you have pizza, lasagna, ravioli, spaghetti, ice cream, gnocchi, and cannoli's waiting for you to bite into it? 

I'm sure most of you are wanting to ask me the same question. Some of you even have..

Was the food as good in Italy as it is in the United States?

First of all, I think that whole concept of "is it better" is a myth. The only thing that makes food in Italy taste better than the food in the United States is the fact that you are eating it in Italy. Your tastebuds are blinded by the cultural experience and base the quality of the food on the location that you're eating it in. I hate to ruin so many rose-colored glasses, but the US has done well when it comes to mimicking the Italians. If you sat in a cafe in your hometown, turned on 'That's Amore,' and closed your eyes for a minute with the smell of spaghetti under your nose... You'd practically be in Italy. 

The only thing that I ate in Italy that the United States will never master is gnocchi. I'm obsessed with gnocchi. If you have never ate or heard of this dish, please do yourself a favor and go have a plate. Gnocchi, pronounced no-key, is one of my all time favorites. I tried to make it once in the states and failed miserably. My mother can vividly remember the mess I made out of her kitchen and I'll never forget the sour face that she made as she tried to eat it without making me feel bad. Though my gnocchi was salty enough to kill someone, the authentic Italian version made me want to kiss my waiter.

Have you ever seen The Godfather? If you have, you should have understood the quote in my header and will appreciate the fact that I finally was able to enjoy a Sicilian cannoli. After searching for a place that sold them, I managed to find a pastry shop near the Trevi Fountain. If you've never ate a cannoli, it is a tube shaped pastry filled with ricotta cheese. The taste is absolutely incredible and added to my much needed Italian experience.  I sat along the outer wall overlooking the Trevi Fountain and enjoyed my cannoli while Noah and I contemplated which site we were going to see next.

Are you not Entertained?

The Roman legacy is spread across the city, lying in ruins that looks more like puzzle pieces. You have to put each piece together in order to get a visual of what Rome was truly built to look like before it collapsed. A lot of people will not be as fascinated by the ruins as I was, but people who appreciate history would be enjoy seeing fragments of the past. Trajan's Forum was also a nice site to visit. Trajan was a Roman emperor that was born in modern day Andalusia, which is the state in Spain that I live in. 

Never go to Rome without going to the Vatican. Seeing the Sistine Chapel was one of the many highlights of my trip. Every art class that I have ever taken has mentioned Michelangelo's ceiling at least once, maybe even twice. It is one of the most recognizable paintings in the world and seeing a photo online doesn't hold a candle to seeing the real thing for yourself. I stood and stared at The Creation of Man for what felt like hours, enjoying every second that I could because I know I'll probably never see it again. 

I stood in the center of St. Peter's Square, I signed my name in the Pantheon, and I drank a fair amount of holy water on my two day excursion. There was nothing more rewarding than knowing that I fulfilled my dream of going to Italy. Being only 21 years old, I've been blessed with an incredible life. I've done so many things that most people only dream of doing and there isn't a day that goes by that I'm not thankful for this incredible adventure. This experience is overwhelming and I'm humbled by the amount of support that I get daily from people back home. You have no idea how much your kind words mean to me.

The best advice I will ever give you is to travel. Throw caution in the wind and go see the beautiful world that God created. There is no greater feeling than losing yourself in another culture and becoming consumed by new experiences. Most people take life for granted. They say they'll get around to traveling without ever taking the initiative to go. Now is just as good of a time as any. Take your family, go with some friends, or even go alone if you have to. The purpose is to feast your eyes on something you've never seen before. Spin a globe and pick a place, or search deep into the back of your mind for that one country you've always dreamed of visiting. You are not guaranteed that tomorrow will ever come, so use every waking second to move one step closer to fulfilling your dreams. The world is yours.

I wish you were here. Xoxo