my berfday

Antonello threw me a surprise birthday dinner for my 30th and I felt so blessed to share it with his family and a few friends. Some of our friends couldn't make it because of the flu that has been wandering around but it was wonderful none-the-less.

I worked a very long day on the 14th, from 11:30-7:00 pm that night, so I was pretty exhausted by the time Antonello picked me up from work. He drove me back home so I could rest a while and then get ready for our "date" together. I had no idea that he was planning this dinner so when I walked into the restaurant and saw little 'nonna' (grammy) standing there trying to hide, I knew something special was up.

It was a wonderful night full of amazing appetizers, wonderful pasta and bread, and champagne with strawberry/whip-cream cake to top it off.

sitting at the table together waiting for some food!!! I thought I had opened all my presents but his parents were saving this one for me as a surprise

I just couldn't believe my eyes....as I screamed "MAMMA MIA"

my own little oven....aahhhh....

(my place is pretty tiny, so this little oven is a piece of heaven for me and my kitchen)

my dude

one of the many beautiful walls that covered the entire restaurant

my birthday cake with fireworks on it :o)

the manly men

the beauties

All in all, it was a wonderful birthday and I loved every minute.

Now, I am trying to clean my house and pack my things before I head off to Seattle once again to spend some time with mom, friends and family for Christmas. Antonello has to stay in Napoli so I am venturing off, yet again, to fly cross-country. Whew...it takes a lot of mental and physical power to keep traveling back and forth.

The other night, Antonello surprised me (again) by calling me after I had an English private lesson at my house and told me to look down from my balcony. Well, that little sneaker was standing on my street smiling at me, telling me to get down there so we could walk to our favorite neighborhood pizzeria to pick up a couple pizzas. On the way back, it started to pour down rain and we were caught in it. It was way fun pretending like we were in a race to get the pizzas home and were literally racing through my narrow streets getting drenched. Fun times.

a new song

It has been awhile since my last post and so much has happened in the last 3 months. I found a wonderful job at a private school teaching English and even have a couple private lessons at my house during the week. It has provided a level of stability that I so desperately needed. I am finding my way around the city, and although the bus is still difficult to take, I am experiencing Napoli in such a different, beautiful light.

I am so so so looking forward to traveling back to the States for Christmas and having some time off of work, of a different country, of a different language, etc., but I will miss my love. :o)

There was a point, a wall, that I hit sometime in these last three months where I didn't think I could fall deeper in my culture shock, what am I doing, this isn't for me, I miss my comfortable life I used to have, HOLE. I fell into a hole that surrounded me and wouldn't let me go. I was feeling pretty horrible, to say the least, with all my different emotions/feelings/actions/words/thoughts and I prayed every day for some kind of release, for some kind of answer.

Isn't it usually true, that the way we come to a place of light is by going through all the darkness and climbing our way through those holes? Well, I've been doing alot of climbing and am coming to a place in my life where I can finally see how beautiful it is. Not because I'm living in Italy. Not because I'm engaged. Not because I'm living some sort of romantic movie because I'm not. I'm seeing how beautiful God is through all of this and that is a song worth singing.

I am grateful to live life among these Italians, with Antonello, with his family and now with my new work family. WOO-HOO for a new song!

time off

...taking some time off of blogging for awhile...

rest in peace

My aunt died at 7:17 on Sunday night. Her four children, my mother, and her 2 best friends of 45 years were by her side as she breathed her last. I am so thankful that she was surrounded by people who loved her so very much.

I was so blessed to be able to go home for a couple weeks to see her. We laughed together as we remembered when she bet me $5 at dinner one night to order like Jim Carrey and at Christmas one year, she asked me to count all the Christmas lights I saw on the houses as I went light-looking with my cousins one evening. I think I was about 6 or 7 at the time and when I came back to her house that night, I told her I counted about 1,000. It sounded like a HUGE number to me and I was so proud I counted all of them for her.

The funeral will be in a couple of weeks and as hard as it is for me to be so far away from my mom and the rest of my cousins, I am at peace because my aunt's body is finally at peace. It has been a rough road for her in life and I am thankful she is seated gently in God's mighty hand.

Thank you for all of your prayers.

death

My aunt is dying of cancer.

It feels so strange to type those words. Everytime I think about it, my mind sees her laying in bed, with her weak body and bald head surrounded by her four children that are watching their mother die. Before future weddings. Before more grandchildren. My heart breaks to think of it, to picture her, to picture my cousins, to picture my already broken family, and to picture my own mom...and can't imagine having to go through the same thing with her.

So many feelings are racing through my already crowded heart. I fly home this Friday for two weeks to be with my mom and to spend time with my aunt. I don't know if there will be a funeral that I am going to have to attend while I am home; I am just praying/begging/hoping for some kind of unity/peace/reconciliation within my family during this time, through our grief and sorrow.

She is scared to die...and is just waiting for it to happen. What a lonely place to be in. I'm sitting here at my computer, crying, writing this blog in Italy, and feeling how extremely far away, physically, I am from her. I can only cry out and ask God to cover her, my cousins, and her brother and sisters with His tender touch and comfort.

Would you join me?

climbing mountains

Antonello, his best friend, Fabio and I, all went for a beautiful hike up Mount Vesuvius this past Saturday. It was absolutely spectacular...on so many levels. Here are some of the amazing sculptures we saw on our drive up to the hiking point.

Here is Antonello on the way up the mountain. The whole time I just kept thinking, this is an active volcano, not that I think it would erupt or anything, but just the fact of how much force and power it had and has. From my studies on Pompeii, which was the city that was buried under the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius, this area of Napoli is the most dangerous and most highly monitored area because of how active this mountain has been and how incredibly dense the population is here. It was awesome to look out on the Bay of Napoli and see where I live, right on the waterfront. :0)

The hike was pretty steep all the way to the top. And when I say 'top', I mean the outer rim of the volcano because after the eruption of 79 AD and another in 1948...the 'top' is a hole now.

Here I am standing in front of the "mouth" of the volcano...it was really special for me because only a couple months before, I was studying about Pompeii and about Mount Vesuvius and all the characteristics of the eruption and then to see the actual evidence left over...remarkable.

the "mouth"

aerial view of Mount Vesuvius - the outer rim is where we were able to walk around!

It was an incredible day. After we hiked up, I spent a little time just looking out over the bay and foggy mountain tops and felt quiet. Not only was it quiet up on the mountain, but also quiet in my soul. I love being outside and part of God's beautiful world.

My project now, besides studying for my online TEFL certification to teach english, is printing on these old tiles for some of the faithful servants who work at the Old Mill Camp (Vecchio Mulino) where Antonello volunteered this summer for an English camp. I love being able to use my artsy side! :0)

A+ day

Antonello, his family, and I all went to a beautiful beach last Friday, just south of Rome and had a wonderful day playing in the water, kicking around the soccer ball, eating delicious food and.....getting burned. Oh, that part. That definitely wasn't wonderful or is it wonderful to look at my cooked body even today...on Monday.

I know, I know. Didn't you wear sunscreen Sarah? You have such white, delicate skin!! And the answer is YES, I put on so so so much sunscreen but I'm telling you, the sun that day was cookin' everyone. Antonello's shoulders took a beating, and even his aunt and uncle who came along got burnt as well.

On Saturday, I spent all day in bed with a 101 degree temperature feeling like fried chicken...horrible. The good news is that even though I can still see/feel the effects of that hot Friday, I am feeling so much better. I even slept for 6 hours straight last night without having to get up, get some ice, go to the bathroom, drink some water, & pray over my aloe vera bottle.

Today has been quite joyful to say the least. I did both loads of laundry I needed to get done, hung all my clothes out to dry, went to the grocery store and bought some yummy fruit, eggs and stuff to make home-made pasta sauce, made a delicious lunch with penne pasta and marinara with fresh basil and parm cheese, studied for my online TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) certificate, am now updating my blog and later, after my afternoon caffe', study this beautiful language I am surrounded by daily.

Grade for the day: A+