The Past 3 Days

Sorry, it’s been a while since I posted, but I just didn’t find the time to write. So now here's an extra long post ;o)

Wednesday was one of the hardest days here. I didn’t want to get out of bed, or my pajamas, or the house. So I stayed inside all day. I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns, did some English lesson planning, and worked with the girls for a little bit. Monica had asked if I was okay, and I just about cried, because it made me think about everyone and how much I wanted to be back home with those I love. Monica is very encouraging and continues to ask if there is anything she can do. I’m appreciative of everything she does already … She wants me to get out of the house more because I’m young and there’s plenty to see. I hope that we can get out more together in the coming months.

Thursday was so much better! I got up, ate breakfast, and enjoyed time inside the house. It was a little breezy outside, so reading on the porch didn’t last too long. Monica and the girls came home for lunch and afterwards, I had an English lesson with the girls while Monica was away at the gym. The lesson was just over the letters and the sounds the letters make. Nicole noted that unlike Italian, where you read the words just as they are written, with English, you must consider rules and all the exceptions to the rules :oP She’s a smart girl and picks up really fast. We are starting to have longer conversations. I French braided her hair in the afternoon. It looked very cute!!

In the evening, Monica had a meeting with her work at the cinema (in an upstairs meeting room). She offered that I could come and sit in a movie for an hour or so. I decided instead of watching part of a movie I wouldn’t be able to understand anyway, I would sit outside on a couch and read. I’m reading The Pursuit of Holiness and it is challenging me and encouraging me in my walk. The author talks about how God gives us provisions for resisting temptation and fleeing from sin, but it is our own responsibility to pursue righteousness through the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of every believer.

After the meeting, Monica, Nicole, Greta, Monica’s mom, and I went to a party for a couple who recently got married at the end of September in the northern part of Italy. The groom’s family and friends are living in this area and many of them could not attend the wedding, so this was like a second reception. The bride looked beautiful in her crème colored wedding dress … It was very different looking, like it was made of different pieces of fabric wrapping around and coming together to make her gown. I don’t know how to explain it. The party was at a club/restaurant on the beach. It is an exclusive club … There was a bouncer at the front door! He had a bald head and his arms crossed, just like you see in the movies :o) We had a lot of finger food … fried zucchini, fried mozzarella, some fried sweet things, pork or prosciutto sandwiches, steak on a stick, and fried fish (literally, the entire fish with eyeballs, bones, scales, and I think the brain was in there too!). It was the famous fish from San Benedetto, so I had to try it :o)

Today was a good day!! I got up fairly early because I had to go back to the police station to pick up my Declaration of Presence papers. The sun was out and it was perfect weather for a bike ride :oD There were quite a few people in the police station, and so strange that they didn’t all look Italian (even though I don’t think one can look Italian, except by fashion) … there were a couple families that were Middle Eastern and a young boy that was Asian, but they were all speaking Italian! I was the only one in there that didn’t speak Italian. That made it difficult trying to tell the woman behind the counter what I needed. I gave it a shot, hoping she would remember me from last week. I handed her my passport and tried to explain what I needed, but she flipped through my passport looking for an Italian stamp and when she only saw my Amsterdam stamp, she dug out an application for the Declaration of Presence. Haha! I said no no! I got out my phone, called Monica, and asked if she would tell the lady what I needed. It was a quick conversation, and the lady pulled out a file folder with my name on it … I felt so special that the police station in San Benedetto has a file just for me!! :oD She gave me my paper and I’m all set!!

I decided to spend the rest of the morning on a bike ride. The market was set up again, but I’m going to go back with Tatina next week and she will guide me to the better deals. So off it was to the beach!! I wore my flip flops today so I could put my feet in the water. It wasn’t too cold, so I walked along the water, listened to music, and soaked up the sun :o) I continued the bike ride for a little longer after my walk. I’m needing to work on my coordination :oP Going in and out of traffic is not as easy as it looks. Sometimes cars are very close together, people cross the street right in front of you, or you have to stop quickly because someone has pulled out in front of you lol. It’s quite an exciting ride through the streets of San Benedetto!!

Monica and the girls were not home for lunch today, so I gathered up some random things for lunch (cheese, a pear, gelato, and some leftover tuna with pasta). While eating and after lunch, I looked through some wedding things … There’s so much to think about, but I’m so excited!! Monica came home from spinning and we peeled some beans. They are from this area, and they have a pink and white color to them; their beans inside have the same coloring. Monica took the girls to the inside swimming pool in the city just down the road. That gave me more time to read and do wedding things, and get this blog typed up :o)

Sergio made it home tonight for the weekend. He said it was a busy and hard week since it was the end of the month. I’m looking forward to the weekend with the family. This evening after dinner, Monica and I went to see a movie without Sergio and the girls. It was a really cute movie we saw!!

Thank you for your prayers!!

Grace and peace,

Jodi