Beginning of September

I have not been updating the blog nearly as much as I should I am so sorry! I’m finding it hard to find a block of time to actually sit down and write everything I want to. So where did I leave off?

 Settling in here in Trieste has been going fairly smoothly. I still do not feel like I have experienced any culture shock at all. The little things I was worried about have not been hard to adjust to at all, like the time difference, a 24-hour clock, using Euros instead of dollars, ect. The language really is still the hardest thing for me. Church is actually the biggest help with that right now though. Even this week they did the sermon in Italian and English, so that was really helpful. I am picking up words and phrases here and there, but I couldn’t hold a conversation if my life depended on it hah! It is just much harder to pick up than I thought, because I work with English speaking people, my kids at school speak English, my roommate speaks English…so really the only Italian I interact with is when going to the grocery store, gelato, restaurants, things like that.

 Really the hardest part of moving overseas has been how much I miss the PEOPLE back in America. I really do not miss the US AT ALL actually…the only thing I am longing for is the people L So if everyone could just move over here with me, haha my life would be PERFECT!!

 Let’s see-last weekend was very busy…on Saturday Carrie, another teacher at IST and me, went to Slovenia, which little did we know is absolutely GORGEOUS. She has a European friend that does tours throughout Europe, so he invited her to join in on this wine tasting in Slovenia for free. So we tagged along for the day with a group of old Danish people and got an incredible tour of the biggest wine manufacturer is Slovenia, Vinakoper. We stopped in Isola for lunch…had an incredible seafood feast! Then, we went to Piran for the rest of the day and Claus (Carrie’s friend that lead the tour) gave us a personal tour through the city! He lead us up to this city wall, the highest point in the city, where we saw some incredible views, then he took us to this hidden wine bar off the beaten path, then we sat in Piazza Tartini for a while enjoying some music and the beautiful day. It was an incredible day!!

 The next day a group of us took a day trip to Venice…I LOVE that I can do things like that because I live in ITALY!! Trieste really is an incredible location, because its so far north, we can travel to so many places in such a short amount of time! Venice was incredible though, I LOVE that city…for many reasons J We went there for the Regatta Storica, a boat racing festival, but we walked around for most of the day enjoying the city, having a nice long lunch…followed by gelato of course! (which oh my goodness, this is NOT good for me to live in a city that is known for its ice cream….its not even ice cream though its better than ice cream!!! Im trying to limit myself to a few times a week, hmmmm however so far that has not been very successful J) Venice was incredible though…I really would love to go back again in low season when there are not so many people though. GREAT day J

 Then this past week was the first week of school! My gosh they have long school days at IST though…the kids are there 8:30-4:00, and that’s with very little time for specials. So add an hour commute both ways (we take the bus or walk to the tram, which is a 30 min ride, then we have a 10 minuet walk to the school) and with staying after to school to run sometimes…its makes for a VERY long day. I really am going to have to build up endurance; I was absolutely exhausted everyday when we finally got back to the house at 7pm. But I am in third grade this year; there are 2 third grade classes with 18 kids in each, so I am splitting my time between two teachers. I’ll be in charge of teaching history; since there are 3 of us, we are able to really spread the workload out, which is really nice and means more time to be able to enjoy the city and traveling! My kids are adorable though, I have never had a class of more beautiful children….ahhh and they all have the cutest little accents!!! Its so great! I really do LOVE the way you can teach here, no standardized tests…and we can actually do art projects and have time to read stories!!! Its great, makes me remember the teacher I really want to be J Although they do things veryyyy differently here, so that is going to take a lot of getting used to. But already it has been such an opportunity for learning and seeing new ways of doing things.

 And this Thursday I leave to come HOME!!!!!! I could not be more excited to come back for the wedding…I am literally going home for 48 hours, so I am going to be incredibly exhausted…but it will be MORE than worth it! Yayaya!!! I am so excited!!!! Ill try to write again soon. We already are planning on going to Croatia the weekend after I come home…so I will have much to write about! There is possible talk of Oktoberfest too…so we will see. I love living abroadJ If only everyone could just come live here with me, I’d be the happiest girl in the world!! J

First week

So I have finally been in Italy for about a week now, and I love it already! Things are much better than I ever expected, considering how nervous I was before I left.  God has been so GOOD, answering so many prayers and really giving me a peace ever since I got here.

 My apartment is incredible though, BRAND NEW…which I was not expecting at all!! Me and my roommate Allie, who I really get along with and is great, each have our own room, then the place has a huge living room and balcony. It is missing some American luxuries such as air conditioning, a dish washer, and a dryer…but I am excited about living this way for a year! We really lucked out though, and the school is spoiling us (I guess last year they had some problems with the apartments, so they made sure that did not happen again). Trieste is a great city though, much more city like than I expected. The people are very nice though, it is an older population; however, the language barrier is very difficult, so I will definitely be trying to learn Italian as fast as possible. I have barley seen any Americans though, if even one, so it is not a very touristy town which I love!

 There are about 12 Teaching Associates working at IST this year, 2 boys and the rest girls, and I am actually one of the youngest ones. Everyone is very fun though, most all of the new hires being from the East Coast…but we are all sticking together, which has made things a lot easier. The whole staff at IST is really great though, very helpful and welcoming! Things are very different here, education wise, much more laid back and not structured, so that will definitely take some time to get used to….but it will be so good for me to loosen up a bit J Italians as a whole really have a different lifestyle, which has been interesting to experience- much more laid back, relaxed, not in such a hurry all the time, not as focused on efficiency as Americans. It seems as though at any time you see so many people at a bar/café enjoying wine or gelato in the middle of a “work day”…I’m wondering what these people do for a living! Meals last 3 hours, if someone says something starts at 9 it usually does not begin until 10, and a lot of time is spent just hanging around enjoying each others’ company. So all of this is great…and for most of you who know me, know this will be a change…asI like my plans and things on time hah. But its going to be a great learning experience and I know I will come back happily changed and more relaxed!

 We have spent the first week mostly settling in and exploring the city, trying to find our bearings. Our apartment is pretty much all set up, electricity and internet are finally ON (the first 3 days we had neither, so that was an experience!). The apartment is very stark, as we don’t have too many resources to decorate with (nor want to spend the money hah), but we are trying to make it as homey as we can. The group of interns has been hanging out- cooking dinner at the boy’s apartment, swimming in the Adriatic Sea and eating dinner at a pizzeria along the water (my favorite things so far!), and getting drinks at bars in the piazza. Even as I right this, I cannot believe this is my life…cannot believe I get the opportunity to live in such a beautiful country, I am so so blessed.

 GREAT NEWS though….I found a church…and other Christians! This is so so encouraging, as a lot of you know this was one of my biggest concerns and prayers ever since I accepted the job. One of the directors at IST is actually a pastor too, so him and another teacher at the school attend this church (her husband came over to Italy to help with the church). One day I overheard conversation they were having with another New Hire (who I also found out is a Christian!) and asked about the church. They invited me to go this past Sunday and were so so welcoming!! The church is a tiny congregation that meets in a small bulinding close to my house….but its GREAT! Most of the people there speak some English, so that was encouraging…however the sermon and most of the service is all in Italian, so that will definitely be challenging. For this reason, please be praying that I can pick up the language quickly. The church itself is so neat though…the first hour we worshiped with guitar and a jimbe J, after each song anyone had the chance to pick the next song or pray or speak…it was so neat to see worship like this! Then we took communion and the pastor spoke (in Italian, but I caught a few words here and there and could read in my bible). I am really excited about getting more plugged in and hopefully being able to understanding more and more each week. But God has proven his faithfulness YET AGAIN, and I am SO excited to know I have found fellowship and a church to plug into…I would not be able to survive this year without it.

 It looks as though God is doing big things at the school this year…lots of new staff and changes being implemented, so I cannot wait to see how he works this year! I am transitioning fairly well…I just had my first day of really hard homesickness and missing people today. I know there is much more hard to come too, but I also know I am EXACTLY where I am suppose to be right now J I already CANNOT WAIT to come back in 3 weeks for Matt and Jessica’s wedding!!! But I wish so badly EVERYONE could come visit….really anytime if anyone would like a vacation to Italy come on out! We have 2 extra beds and a couch!! Love you all very very much J