UPDATE 2: Soccer, Internet Wars, Travel, Study, and General Insanity

Greetings from Citerna,

I have been trying to add more pics to the site but the internet being so slow makes it virtually impossible to do. I apologize and will continue to try. I also apologize for not writing sooner. The life of a student here is a bit crazy. So I will try to give you a quick synopsis of what has gone on for the past week.

WELCOME TO A BRAND NEW GAME: SOCCER
Now, for those of you who know me well, you know I am a huge American Football fan. I played it since I was in middle school and I love to watch and play whenever I can. I honestly would love to strap on some pads and play again but I am so out of shape it would be embarrassing.

Also, if you know me well, you know I am not a fan of soccer. I used to play it when I was a kid but I have not played since. Before I came to Italy, I thought soccer (or calcio in Italian) was one of the most ridiculous sports in the world. I am just being completely honest when I say I thought it was a bunch of people that couldn’t cut it in a real sport. Yes, I was close minded but I plead ignorance. Since we came to Italy, we have been surrounded by Calcio and I am thankful.

Every few days, we drive down the hill to the town of Monterchi and play Italy’s favorite game after class. During our first trip to Florence, Jonathan bought us jersey's in the three colors of the Florence team. Each person was given a jersey and the colored teams (Red, White, and Purple) would play against each other in a 7 vs. 7 game. I am on the white team. First to score would stay and the losing team would trade out with the waiting team. Sometimes we would play for 4 or 5 hours and not get back until dinner time. Since we started this tradition, I have gained so much more respect for the game. It is so much more than people kicking a ball around. It even gets rough (which, being a football player, I like) and can get you in shape if you play long enough.

One of my favorite memories is after we played the second time, a local guy (sorry, I did not catch his name) came to watch us play. Jonathan talked to him for a bit and then told us that the guy’s team wanted to challenge us American’s to a game later that night. I was up for anything. So we went and played against this team. The field in Monterchi is dirt with a bit of grass. The field they told us to go to was turf and fenced in. This change in field was new for us but it really did not phase us too much. We played the Italian team from Citerna. These 7 guys have been playing together since they were 6 years old. They grew up together and know how each other play. They even play on the local club team together. I thought we were going to get stomped by this team. After loosing 3 soccer balls to the darkness surrounding the field and the rough and tumble game we played against the Italians, 2 and a half hours later, we came out of the cage VICTORIOUS!!! 12-11. The game was a great game and we all got in to play.

This past Friday, we went down to Monterchi and played against each other again after class. We came out of Hotel Sobaria to the porch to get ready to leave. We looked out over the mountain and saw that a storm was building and coming our way. I thought they would cancel the game but Jonathan is one of those people that would not allow anything but God to come between him and playing the game. So we made the journey down the hill. We knew that the storm was about to hit but, not being from the area, we had no clue that the weather was going to be so bi-polar. We got to the field and White and Purple started to play until suddenly, the bottom fell out. We continued to play in the rain anyway and was having fun slipping and sliding until I started to get hit by something hard falling from the sky. IT WAS HAIL!!!!! Pea size hail had begun to fall and began pelting us on the field. When the hail size began to grow larger, Jonathan told us to get into the bus. We all climbed in and waited out the storm.

All of the sudden, a weird figure began to come towards the van and knock on the door. We couldn’t see that it was Andrea Kelly through the fogged up windows of the van. We had forgotten her at the Hotel and she walked all the way down from Citerna. She was soaked from head to toe and looked a bit like a drowned rat. It was quite amusing to tell the truth. After the rain went away, we resumed the game. By the end, everyone was muddied up but no one had anything on Nick (Warren) O’neal (Another Faulkner Crew Member). He played his position of Keeper hardcore for the Purple team. Both the goals had a huge batch of fresh mud on in front of it so whenever he would save the ball, he would dive into the mud. He was quite the spectacle to see him after we finished playing.

I'll keep you updated as we continue to play. Injury reports, trades, and contract signings will be in my next update. So stay tuned.

THE “STUDY” PORTION OF STUDY ABROAD: NOT THE MOST FUN WORD IN THE DICTIONARY

So, to tell the truth, we did not know how rough the whole “STUDY” portion of “STUDY ABROAD” was going to be. Honestly, the program should come with a warning label or something telling people if you do not know how to buckle down and focus on studying, you might not want to do this trip. It is so hard to be in class here because there are so many new things to discover. You want to go out and explore the city and see the sites. However, classes everyday make it hard to make trips outside of Citerna. Also, the fact of studying for each class makes it harder too. Now, I do admit we do get breaks from classes more then people back at home. Whenever we go on class trips, we usually have either an abbreviated schedule or just cancel classes all together. Those days are nice but when you do not get back until late at night, it is hard to study for your 7 am class the next morning or your online classes as well.

Most of us have found remedies for this dilemma through going into town and studying or studying out on the porch of Sobaria. The scenery is beautiful and the locals walking by make you feel like you were on campus studying outside. Others have banded together to study and have made success that way. As for me, I do both. Currently I am helping teach Leah Introduction to New Testament Greek while she is here. I am sort of her T.A. (TEACHERS ASSISTANT) for the class since I was the only one to survive intro last year. We usually go study on the porch. So do not worry parents. We are studying and turning in our work. We are doing fine with school. It is just a bit rough.

INTERNET: THE BATTLE FOR THE BEST CONNECTION

Ok, if you want to see the war of the century, you need to look no further than the halls of Hotel Sobaria. Since we Americans come from a land where internet is fast and stable, a lot of us have been trying to get the best connection to the wireless network here in Sobaria. Why? Because the internet is slow. VERY SLOW (that is if you compare it to what we are used to back in the states). Imagine having the capabilities of wireless with the speed of dial-up. (YOU SEE THE PROBLEM????) This slow connection makes it hard to download pictures/videos to the net/ blog/ Facebook/ MySpace, makes it hard to Skype back home so we can talk to our families, hard to download the files that are due for our online classes, buy plane tickets for free travel etc. It is especially slow when the porch of Sobaria turns into a Facebook Fiesta/ Internet Café every night.

There is a lot of complaining about the connection to the internet here in the hotel. However, I find myself grateful that we even have the internet. This summer, I worked at a church that had no wireless or dial-up connections (SHOCKING, HUH???) Whenever I had to look something up, I had to use the internet on my blackberry. NO FUN!!!! Jonathan was telling us that we are the stars of the internet world here in Citerna because we are the only ones with a Wireless Network with in miles of here. Some people in town would come to the hotel just to use the connection for a bit. So whenever people complain, I just remind them of the fact that we could have no Internet. Parents, thank Jonathan when you get a chance that we can even communicate on the internet. He set it up so we can use it and that it is SEMI- fast. Be thankful.


THE FUN PART OF “STUDY ABROAD”: OUR TRAVELS

Over the time I have not written, we have done some traveling.

Wednesday the Tenth, we made and all day trip to Siena and San Gimignano. Siena is a town right outside of Florence. Back in the times of the Renaissance, towns acted like their own countries. They had their kings and leaders and battled other towns to try to take more land. Siena and Florence have been rival cities ever since then. Even though Florence took them over in 1555, the rivalry still remains between the cities in sports and other events. The city itself is made up of Seventeen Contrades, or Burrows. Each Contrade has its own flag and colors and the people that make them up show a lot of pride for their individual contrade. The Contrade pride truly comes out on July 2nd and August 16 the dates when the Palio di Siena is held. The Palio is a traditional medieval horse race that is run around the Piazza del Campo each year. This event is attended by large crowds, and is widely televised. The Seventeen Contrade vie for the trophy: a painted flag, or Palio bearing an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Ten of the seventeen run in each Palio: seven run by right (having not run in the previous year's corresponding Palio) and three drawn by lot from the remaining ten. A horse is assigned to each by lot. Though often a brutal and dangerous competition for horse and rider alike, the city thrives on the pride this competition brings. The city is Beautiful. I have some pictures of the city from the Torre del Mangia. I'll try to post them.

Later that day, we went to a smaller town called San Gimignano. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance era, it was a stopping point for Catholic pilgrims on their way to Rome and the Vatican, as it sits on the medieval Via Francigena. The city's development also was improved by the trade of agricultural products from the fertile neighboring hills. The city flourished until 1348, when the plague that affected all of Europe, compelled it to submit to Florence. The Plague stunted the growth and today it is said that San Gimignano is a Renaissance Town “stuck in time”. The town has many towers that were used as defensive measure. They were great for people to hide in and to make their enemies have to fight up the tower to get them. They were also great for pouring hot tar on to enemies as well. Each tower was owned by a wealthy family and the families would battle each other for the tallest towers, making a statement of the power they had over the town. San Gimignano is also home to arguably the worlds best Gelato (Ice Cream). They local Gelatoria has won the Gelato World Championships 3 years running and is a crowd favorite.

This past Saturday, we made another visit to Florence. The group had much more free time to explore the city. However, rain did put a damper on things for a bit. A group of us went to the Duomo, one of the most Beautiful and largest cathedrals in the world. We went inside to explore. After we met with the group and went to Galleria dell'Accademia to see the works of the great Michelangelo, including the world famous THE DAVID. This statue is considered one of the greatest sculptures ever conceived by man. After this stop, our group made our way to a view point that’s name escapes me at the moment, but I think it is called Michelangelo Square. It is on top of a hill and gives you one of the most incredible views of the city. We also enjoyed what Jonathan thinks is the best Gelato in the world up there as well.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Either Tomorrow or Wednesday, we will be leaving for Rome and spending three nights there. I will update you as soon as possible about our trip. Also, the 24th - 28th is our first free travel days. I am going with a group to Sevelle, Cordoba, Madrid and Barcelona, Spain. I'll update you as soon as I can on our trip and will try to get other students to write a synopsis of their trips.

Conclusion:
This is all I have for now. I hope all is well where you are. Continue to pray for our continued safety. The week has been crazy but we are still going strong. Love y'all and PRAY HARD!!!!


In and because of Him,
Your brother in Christ
KC
Συνέκδημος υμων
(THE FELLOW TRAVELER OF YOU)

Update 1: A report and review of the week

Greetings from Citerna, Italy: one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Once again, I apologize for not writing sooner. As soon as we hit the ground in Rome, we have been on the run. It has been a crazy week since we left America and it has been INCREDIBLE!!!! Allow me to tell you of our travels so far.

Day 1 and 2: The Beginning of a Beautiful Journey (Tuesday, September 2^nd – Wednesday, September 3^rd, 2008)

At 12:00 pm, I left my home and headed to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta to catch my flight to Rome later that afternoon. My father drove me to the airport and my mother met up with us on the concourse a bit later. We sat in the airport concourse gently talking about nothing while waiting patiently on my flight taking off in a few hours. You could tell that my parents were excited for me but wanted to selfishly keep me home. I felt loved as we talked about my plans for free travel and about what I needed to do when I got to Rome. Finally, the time came for me to board. It was a time of fear for me because I didn’t know what would await me on my journey. I almost felt like Odysseus in the Odyssey, beginning my journey that would be told for generations (not by the world but by my family). Exciting, yes, however still very scary.

Getting on the plane almost became a tragedy for me. I said good bye to my family and I got on the airplane when my zone loaded. When I got past the Gate agent at the top of the jet way, I showed him my passport and my ticket and got on the plane like I have always done on my international travels. I got to my seat near the front of the plane and I began to get situated. I put my bags down and having a window seat, I had to cross over a gentleman already sitting. I put my computer in my seat and my HUGE hiking Kelty ® backpack in the overhead compartment. I began to unpack things I would need for the flight (Books, I-Pod, etc.) when the realization hit that I COULD NOT FIND MY PASSPORT. A feeling of sheer terror at the thought of my trip that I worked so hard for ending before it ever began fell over me. I searched franticly through all my bags for my passport and probably walked up and down the jet way three or four times looking for my passport. I knew I had to have it to get on the plane so I knew it had to be near me somewhere. The airline workers noticed my distress and asked me what was wrong. When I told them I couldn’t find my passport, they had everyone searching for it frantically. The gentleman to my side started checking around himself to make sure he did not have it either. It was one of the scariest times of my life. I began praying to God that I could find my passport. That my trip would be successful and that some how, some way, I would be able to find one of the most important documents I could ever have for international travel.

A few minutes later, the gentleman sitting in front of me found my passport in his seat and held it up. I WAS SO RELIEVED!!!!! I thanked him with every fiber of my being and thanked all of those who searched for it for their help. I remember sitting down in my seat, slightly embarrassed, soaked in sweat, my heart beating 1000 beats per second, thanking God that I found my key to Europe. I could finally relax and know that this point is where God wants me.

The flight took off about an hour late, but I did not care. I was on the plane. I was on my way, with my passport, for the journey of a lifetime. My mom continually reminded me that I might never get to see these places again in my lifetime so make it count. I prayed that I would make this trip count and that I would get to see things that I could tell my children about and that I would be blessed to be apart of this program.

The flight to Rome was very smooth and very sleepless. Even being under the influence of Benadryl, I only got a few hours of sleep. The flight was about ten hours long and I just remember staying up and watching movies whenever I wasn’t eating or sleeping.

At about 8:30 AM (2:30 EST) on Wednesday, September 3rd, I arrived at Leonardo Di’Vinci Airport in Rome Italy. I got off the plane and finally got my luggage and met up with the Faulkner Group at the airport. We met up with Jonathan Edwards, the leader of our group and he directed us to the buses so we could get to our new home CITERNA!!! The city of Citerna is a little town nestled in the mountains right on the border line between the provinces of Umbria and Tuscany. It took forever to get to but when we arrived, we were greeted by Freed-Hardeman Professor, Jim Gardner. We unpacked in our rooms and rested until the Freed group arrived. We ate dinner as a family and began to meet each other.

Day 3: Orientation and Welcome!!!! (September 4^th, 2008)

The day started out with waking up to the local rooster crowing at day break. WAY TOO EARLY FOR US!!! The group met for breakfast and went to our orientation class for the semester. The professors introduced themselves and talked to us about making this trip count. We also held our first classes of our semester.

Allow me to explain how our classes work. Classes are an hour and twenty min long unless specified. Each student has odd day and even day classes. On the overall schedule, all the class days are numbered 1-40. Whenever a class day is odd numbered, students will attend odd classes and whenever a class day is even numbered … You get the idea. Anyway, we has odd day classes throughout the late morning and afternoon.

After dinner, we had our Benvenuti party. We met downstairs in the classroom and played games to get used to the idea of living with each other for the next few months. If you think that Faulkner is small, try living with the same 50 people twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. You see the same people every day. It can get real interesting. We played guess who, a game in which each person writes an interesting fact about themselves and everyone guesses who it is. We also played musical chairs and then we broke up for the night.

Day 4: Meeting the Town: Even Class Days and Citerna Fun!!! (September 5^th, 2008)

Nothing really exciting happened today. The only real exciting thing that happened was our meeting some of the local teenagers of Citerna. We have gained many friends within the city. People in Italy are INCREDIBLE to strangers that they see are trying to learn the language and culture of their country. I have never met more accepting people in my life. While we were exploring the town, we met a girl named Linda. She lives in Citerna and is fifteen. She speaks almost perfect English and has acted as a translator between us and the people of Citerna. She has introduced us to most of the teenagers in Citerna and has helped us form relationships with them. We have found that Italians listen to a lot of American music and this connection has acted like a bridge to close the translation gap.

Day 5: OUR FIRST TRIP: CORTONA!!!! (September 7, 2008)

After our classes ended at about 3:00 on Saturday, we took our first trip out of Citerna as a group to the town of Cortona. This name may look familiar to you readers out there. The city of Cortona is the setting for the movie and book Under the Tuscan Sun. The group was given time to explorer the town and marketplaces and take in the beauty of this Tuscan Paradise. Below are some pictures of our trip:

DAY 6: SUNDAY: FLORENCE AND THE UFFIZI MUSEUM

Sunday started EXTREMELY early for all of us this past Lord’s Day. The whole group had to be on a bus at 6:30 AM to go to the town of ARREZO. From Arrezo, we took the train to Santa Maria Novela Station in the great city of FLORENCE. From the station, we took another bus and a strenuous walk to the Locali Di Riunione della Chiesa di Cristo (the Local Congregation of Florence). Jonathan and some members of the church that spoke English and Italian lead the services for the morning and we enjoyed great fellowship with our Italian brothers and sisters in Christ.

After the worship service, we changed clothes and made a mad dash to a bus stop so we could get to the other side of the city where the Uffizi Museum awaited us. The museum holds some of the most famous paintings known to man: La Primavera, The Birth of Venus, etc. We spent a few hours looking at the wonderful art in the museum and then departed to enjoy the rest of our time in the city of Florence. Below is a few pictures and videos of the sights and sounds of one of Italy’s most Exquisite cities. Enjoy:

Conclusion:

Our first week has been exciting. We have a long way to go but we are doing well. We are tired, but doing well. I will try to update the blog once a week. Love y'all and PRAY HARD.

In and because of Him,
Your brother in Christ
KC
Συνέκδημος υμων
(THE FELLOW TRAVELER OF YOU)

WE ARE HERE!!!!!!!!!

Greetings from Citerna, Italy.

We have finally made it. The Faulkner crew that is. The rest of the group, the Freed Crew, is still on there way and will not be here for a few more hours. The group is tired but we are well. Pictures of the group and the BEAUTIFUL Hotel Sobaria will be added within the next few days. I hope this note finds you all well.

Love and peace be to you all,
In and because of Him,

Συνέκδημος υμων