...

Sorry for the lack of updates....it's my last week here in Bologna and tomorrow is my last full day here. :'( It's been a busy week as you can imagine.

I leave on Monday at 12:35pm and I'm not really looking forward to it. I'll expound on my thoughts soon but I just wanted to check in and say hello.  Tomorrow is my last meeting in Bologna.  Tomorrow is my last day here.........

Firenze

Here are some pictures from my time in Florence this past weekend.  I had a nice time despite it raining all day long on Sunday. I only had flip flops and my feet got soaked! 

I saw a lot of monumental buildings that were quite impressive.  But I have to say that I actually think Bologna has more charm and character as far as the architecture of the regular buildings go. There are more details, brighter and richer colors and textures here in Bologna than in Florence.  But Florence was enjoyable no doubt. Here's just a sample of pics I took with my phone: 

Took a walk with my hosts, Stefano & Linda, this river is
near their house.

At the Duomo.

Colorful building, shutters, & laundry! Walking from
the bus stop to the home I was staying at.

I climbed to the top of another tower! This was Giotto's
Bell Tower, right next to the Duomo (Cattedrale di
Santa Maria del Fiore). 414 steps, 276 feet tall. Building
started in 1334 and completed in 1359. WOW!

I have no idea what this drink was, but it was good and strong!
We met up with some friends for aperitivo. For the cost of a drink
(this one was 10 euros!) you have access to all you can eat
appetizer/tapas-like food. 

Earlier in the day I escaped out of the rain and into a cafe
that has  been open since 1844! This was a delicious tiramisu
and cream filled pastry. And a warm cappuccino.

My trusty umbrella (which has been with me on my travels
since 2006 when we went to the U.K.!) kept me mostly dry. 

some questions, answered

Here are some questions posed from my previous post:

are the girls staying in your place for the weekend while you're gone? 
** Yes, they will be at my apartment while I'm gone. I'll meet them on Sunday when I get back from Florence. 

how long did it take you to climb those stairs? 
**I don't recall - maybe only like 20 minutes or so. I wasn't rushing and I lingered at a few stopping points to take in the view through windows and holes.

do you know how many steps there were?
** It wasn't until I was half way up that I thought to myself that I should have counted the steps lol. Maybe Adrienne can google it for  us :)

do you feel like you're being interrogated? 
**No. 

are these too many questions? 
**No. Please ask more!! 

Here are a couple of pictures from the successful dinner at my house last night. We had arroz con pollo, chips, salsa, guacamole, followed by dessert of ice cream, and strawberries with balsamic vinegar, sugar, and whipped cream. You will say it sounds disgusting, but it was delicious! A new flavor combo I've never tasted and it was cool!

So Goofy! Just about to eat our delicious dinner!

From left: the other Nadia, Andrew & Melissa, Luke, Jamie,
Andrea, Kimmie, Zech. Andrea is the only native Italian in this
photo. Jamie is from North Carolina, Kimmie is from Georgia,
and the rest of the gang is from Kauai. 

They made me get in the pic. I love my new little family!

insert clever title here

I just wanted to post a few pics for you. I don't really have much to write about sorry ;). All I can tell you is about what plans are coming up.

I can tell you that today I went out in service, and then came home and cleaned up my apartment - After dragging out a vacuum and "sweeping" the floors, I finally found the broom I've been looking for this whole time, behind the door to the laundry room. Aye aye aye! Oh well, everything at least got finally tidy. Tonight I've invited some friends over to my apartment for dinner and hanging out. A sister who is here from North Carolina is going to make arroz con pollo (chicken & rice for you white people lol) and another sister, the "other Nadia" (her name is also Nadia, and it is really weird for both of us!) is going to make salsa and guacamole.

Also, tomorrow night, Friday, I am taking a train to Florence for the weekend. I'll be staying with a brother and sister for the weekend, who are friends of a brother (Patrick) in my hall back home. They have invited me to stay with them, and that's such a cool thing! Just think, who in their right mind would invite a perfect stranger (from another country, no less) into their home, feed them, host them, and not be worried that they will steal or murder them? And who would accept an invitation from some strangers in a foreign land, to stay in their home and not worry they will murder you or kidnap you? Only in Jehovah's organization is this possible, because of the unity and love we have for our fellow brothers.

For another example of this hospitality, I am taking in 3 sisters tomorrow, to stay with me for a week or so. They are coming from Spain to visit some of the friends here. One of the sisters is the fleshly sister of a brother here, and they used to serve in Bologna before Spain. 2 or 3 other brothers will be coming with them, and will stay with some other friends. This will definitely be a busy, fun, and interesting weekend with new experiences and adventures.

Well, I guess I had a little more to say than I thought :). Here are some pics from my adventure climbing a giant ancient tower:

I climbed the tall tower highlighted with the pink box. 

The trek begins - up, up, and away!

More Stairs - these ones are spiral and remind me of the
Tower of London

...And even more stairs!

The last set of stairs before getting to the top!
They were very steep and more like a ladder.

View from the top! What a great reward for the climb!  The piazza in the
foreground is Piazza Maggiore, the main part of town. The hill in the far
background is near Casalecchio, where San Luca is located. My house
would be to the right of this picture. 

Looking to the North. I think...

Ok, people will be here soon, so I'll sign off this blog for today and will post more pictures soon! Keep checking on my tumblr, because I post my instagram pics to that page but they don't cross post here. :)

Ciao,

Nadia

a couple of observations

1. You can drink in public. Like, you can literally chug on a bottle of whiskey with no brown paper bag on the bus. Or you can walk down the street with a bottle of beer and drink it while you're walking around.

2. There are a lot more smelly people in Italy than in France. A LOT.

3. You can walk down a random street and turn the corner and there's an open air market, with vendors selling everything from artisan jewelry to cheap scarves or cheese and salami to candied nuts. It's pretty cool. Except for when it is raining and you wore your flip flops and didn't bring a jacket because you were just running to the grocery store and you didn't realize it was actually raining but thankfully you brought your umbrella and you look silly with your feet all wet so you don't really want to shop you just want to dry your toes.

4. Gelato is always a good idea.

5. I cannot watch netflix or hulu over here which is lame. I cannot even watch movies thru our satellite service because I'm not in the U.S. Oh well, I'd rather be in Italy anyways.

6. People do not really look at each other/greet each other like I thought they would. Maybe because this is a busier city, but I still found it surprising.

7. In order to take out the trash, I have to leave my building and walk down the street to a dumpster. Every so often, there are at least 3 dumpsters lined on the street, taking up valuable parking spots, and other containers for recyclable materials. I couldn't find the one for plastics, so I dumped it and felt really bad and hoped no one saw me. Don't judge me.

8. It may be because Italy is higher than S.D. in latitude, but it's almost 8pm and not even close to being dark. It was the same in France - you would think it was 7pm and it was 9pm. It's cool, but I bet in winter it gets dark at 4:30, which isn't cool at all.

9. I discovered Lambrussco, which is like prosecco (sparkling wine) only it's sparkling RED wine. It is delicious.

here are a few pictures of where I live (click to enlarge):

Canal just near my building. This side is
connected to my building. 

The other side of the canal that runs
next to my house. It's really pretty

Lots of arches in the city center. And shutters. 

My front door. #8. Do you like the welcome mat?
Thankfully I'm on the "1st" floor as there is no elevator.
Technically I'm on the second floor but they call it the 1st.

Directly to my left and then right you would see the canals.
My door is to the left of the arch over the road, the little
door in the corner. 

Close-up of the entrance to my building. Via Piella, 5.

When the day is just right

yesterday, saturday, was one of those days that packs everything necessary in life all into one amazing day.

On the bus on our way back to Bologna

The day started out in service with a sister who is originally from germany, her name is Aleksandra. She had a return visit/study she wanted to try and find home so we went to do that. We had to take the bus to Casalecchio, a nearby town outside of Bologna. We finally made it to the house of the study, which Aleksandra has had a very hard time finding - she was a great bible student, but has been in Sweden for some time, coming back and forth to Italy. We found a relative/friend at home and he informed us that she was now in Switzerland, for work. She would be returning later this month, but only for a few days before returning to Switzerland.

Cappuccino #1 of the day

We left the magazines for the bible student to read, and Aleksandra at least now knows when she can try and get in contact with the woman again. One difficult aspect of the ministry here is that there are a lot of people who end up having to move or leave for one reason or another (usually work related) and so if you find someone who has an interest in the Bible and you are able to have a good conversation, it may be difficult to keep in contact. I admired the sister I was with for the sacrifice and lengths she was willing to go in order to find her student at home. It took us the entire morning to travel to her home, with our bus and then walking to her home. After the visit, we found a nearby coffee shop for a much needed cappuccino. We then headed back to the city center of Bologna and it was about 1130am at this point.

Cost less than 10 euros for a plate
 of of gyros, greek salad
 (which included no lettuce,
and a brick of feta) and pita bread.

On the bus, another sister, Monica, called me and wanted to see if I was available to meet her up for service, as her group was done for the day. This was perfect, since Aleksandra had to stop once we got back to Bologna. I had hoped to have a longer day in the ministry, so I was glad that Monica thought to call me. We made plans to meet up for lunch in the city center. We ate at a delicious greek food ristorante, which was a nice change from pizza. :) 


After we ate, we did "informal" witnessing in the city center, basically looking for anyone that might speak English (here, that is usually Africans) and listen for English speakers. Just as we left the restaurant we heard 2 Asian girls speaking English and stopped to talk to them. Come to find out, they were from Oakland, California. Talk about a small world! That was a great start to our afternoon, the girls were nice to talk to and accepted the magazines. Hopefully that seed planted with them will grow and they will come to appreciate Jehovah and they will want to learn more about the Bible. 

Witnessing in the outdoor market

There was a nearby outdoor market, filled with clothes, shoes, belts, jewelry, and all kinds of other random items. We (and when I say we, I mostly mean Monica lol) spoke to quite a number of Africans who spoke English, and Monica was able to get some phone numbers so she could follow up on the interest. We met also a man who has been reading the Watchtower & Awake since he was a young boy. When I asked if he had ever studied with Witnesses, he said no because he has his own church. But he loves our magazines. I encouraged him to visit jw.org for more articles and videos that he might like and encouraged him to keep trying to learn about Jehovah. 

Cappuccino #2 of the day

After some time of walking around and talking to quite a few people, it was break time - another cafe nearby was beckoning us and we stopped for a quick cappuccino and croissant  (brioche in Italian) filled with Nutella which was delicious. After the snack break, we took the bus back to the kingdom hall for the afternoon service meeting. I was pretty tired at this point, is was almost 3:30 and I had been out since 9:30! But, I soldiered on and our next territory was some business territory near the main train station of the city. This time it was Monica, myself, and a brother named Nathaniel. I was able to speak to some of the business owners, mostly from Nigeria, and placed some magazines with them. Nathaniel was helpful in breaking the ice with the shop owners, and then I would present the magazines to them. The friends here like to tell the person they are speaking to that I am from California. That was impressive to the Asian girl Lilly from earlier, that I would come all the way from home to Bologna, not just for vacation, but to search for English speakers to teach them about the Bible. 

My service partners - Nathaniel & Monica

At about 530pm, Monica and I were tuckered out and left Nathaniel to take of the last couple of shops while we headed home. It takes Monica about 45 minutes to drive from Bologna to her home. The sacrifices of time, resources, and energy is beautiful to see and the blessings of Jehovah upon these ones is also evident by the enjoyable experiences in the ministry they have. 

So, today in the ministry I engaged in several avenues of preaching - none of which were door-to-door! It was a fun experience and I really enjoyed working with the 3 different service partners in one day. It was really encouraging to me. 

American Football in Bologna

Once I got home, it was time to chill for a little bit and unwind. After a shower and a snack of Cheerios, I studied my Watchtower lesson and then got a call for an invite to a football game. Now, I don't mean soccer football, I mean good ol' American pastime of football. Apparently the teams are horrible and the game is pretty amateur, but it is free and when you are a need greater or pioneer, you're up for free events. We took the bus to the game which started at 9pm. We made it by the second period (that's right, even the American announcer who spoke English referred to the quarter as the period) and tried to find the other brother that we were meeting up with but we couldn't find him. 

Myself and two others in our group of 6 ended up on a park bench waiting to find out what the plan was - someone went to go try and find the brother again - and nearby there was a snack stand and they were selling (microwave) popcorn which was delicious lol. After our snack, the three of us took a walk and it was really enjoyable. It's really amazing how Jehovah's people are an instant family - we know nothing about each other, we are really perfect strangers - and yet we had some great conversations and got to know each other better. In any other instance, none of us would probably be friends or try to get to know each other, but the truth brings us together and we are able to find common ground and bond with people we eagerly call our brothers and sisters. 

McDonald's - Eating outside in the historical city center

By the time we finally find the rest of our group and the game is now over (Bologna lost by the way) we head back on the bus into the city center, to probably the only place that is open at this time of night -- McDonald's. Although it was quite late (after midnite, close to 1) McD's was a hustling, bustling place. After a snack and some more goofiness, we all headed home. Thankfully my place is in the city center, and so I was able to get home first (no Mother, I didn't walk by myself, and yes, we all made sure everyone was safe and sound lol) and snuggly into bed. 

He was so excited for his 1/4 pounder with cheese.
I'm actually scared at how scared my fake scared face is.
This brother is originally from Hawaii. 

Service, personal study, good association, good food, being outdoors in the sunshine - - - it was every good thing we should enjoy all stuffed into one packed day. It was a nice balance to be able do what Jehovah asks of us (preaching work), buy out time for personal study, and also enjoy wholesome recreation with friends. This never happens at home lol but hopefully I can build some better habits while I'm here so I can be more balanced at home - buying out more opportunities for spiritual things which truly brings me the most happiness. 















Sorry this was such a long post for literally one day's events, but it was quite an eventful day! My mom asked me to post some pictures of my neighborhood where I live, but since I just typed out this long entry, I'm going to take a break and try to find a grocery store that is open (lots of stores, even grocery stores, are closed on Sunday) and get some groceries for the week. 

If you've made it this far, congratulations - your brain has completed its reading exercise for the entire day lol. 

ciao, 
x nadia x

Here are just a few pics to tide you over until a proper post :) 

I went on a bible study today, then a territory in nearby Ozanno, a small town. I have never done intercom witnessing before, but all of the residential buildings here are basically apartments and the only way to contact the residents is to be buzzed into the building by a resident. So, to make first contact you must speak to them via intercom. I was nervous but we were able to accomplish our task. We did have a bit of trouble reading the map to find the various possible English speaking apartments in town, but we were able to make our way. 

On my way to service today (walking) at a
round-a-bout there was this ancient arch and partial ruins of something.
 I was dodging traffic so I didn’t get to explore what it was any further

Waiting to meet up with a sister for a bible study,

 I found a nice little bench nestled among 

some wildflowers. #secretgarden

Last night I was invited to a sister's house for dinner - we had American cheeseburgers, chips and salsa, beer, and great company. I could get used to this.

There are no Starbucks in Italy. 

I don't mind it much except for when I'm in the mood for something iced (don't expect to find ice here either) or would like a Passion Iced Tea. 

Soda is expensive. You can spend 1 euro on a half-size can of coke, and up to 3 euros on a smaller than the standard 20ish oz bottle of coke here. 

Pizza, on the other hand, is very inexpensive, you can get a square (sold usually by the square at pizzerias - made into a round pizza when it's made to order from a restaurant or cafe) of pizza for around 1.40 euros. 

Here are some pictures of food from Paris & Italy: 

Gelato at the Pantheon in Rome...

...and seaside in Venice

Delicious pastries in a patisserie in Paris - near Vanves flea market

Tarte aux fraises - Raspberry tart - same bakery in Paris as above

These are actually chocolate shoes!!! In Paris I don't know where lol

Comes in fashionable, eatable styles for the whole family! All chocolate!

Mom's (and I admit, mine too) favorite treat in Paris

Skype

I also wanted to mention that if you are on skype, add me! I'd love to chat :) 

search: vintagechika
or vintagechika@hotmail.com

New blog home

It has been really easy to share pics from my trip thus far on my tumblr, but it is not as easy for people to comment or ask questions, so I'm moving my blog here. Also, you can subscribe to email updates at the bottom of the page which I find quite helpful. I'm going to tell you a little of what we've been up to this past week in Bologna. I won't get too deep into details because there is just too much to talk about, but going forward I'll try to include more observations and details.

I sent my sister into the wild blue yonder this morning, back home to San Diego. Now the real journey begins. The first two weeks of this trip has mostly been tourist-oriented. The first week in Paris was absolutely amazing and I really didn't think I would love Paris as much as I did. We were able to take a Bible tour at the Louvre with a pioneer sister who is from Canada, and now living in Paris. We were not able to make it to an English meeting in Paris because they were having a zone visit, and it was not going to be translated into English. That was a bummer, but I'm glad we at least got to meet the sister at the museum.

This first week in Bologna has been really fun, exciting, and exhausting. Since Jez was only here for one week, we did mostly touristy things. We went to Venice, Rome, and Prato - which is about 10 minutes by train from Florence. 

In Venice (Tuesday) , we were only there for a few hours because we got a late start that day, and had to be back in Bologna early in the evening so we could make it to the meeting that night. Venice was really pretty, but also full of tourists. I would like to go back and explore it more one day. We did make it to the meeting that night, which was a much needed refreshment, not only spiritually, but for our ears & brain lol. It was nice to hear English and turn off the translation department in our brains. We met a lot of the friends, and everyone was very welcoming. The singing was beautiful - very loud and wonderful! 

Thursday, we had planned to go to Florence for the morning and afternoon, and then meet our friends from the States, Paul & Claire, in Prato, where they live. Again, we got a bit of a late start, and when we got to the train station, all of the trains to Florence were sold out until later in the evening. It was a bank holiday, so that might have been why so many more people were travelling. We found a commuter train to Prato, but it put our arrival right when we were to meet up with P&C. So, unfortunately, we missed out on going to Florence that day. We met up with P&C and went out in service with them and learned about the ministry and congregation there. We talked to a woman named Sarah, and Claire placed a brochure with her. After walking around the city center, and stopping for a macchiato in between ;), we went back to their house where Claire made a very delicious dinner of meatballs, pasta, zucchini, and salad. It was the first hearty meal we had since we arrived in Italy. It was really encouraging to talk to Paul & Claire, and they encouraged us to be zealous and keep seeking opportunities to share the good news about God's kingdom with others. 

Friday & Saturday, Jez and I went to Rome. It was on and off raining while we were there, but it wasn't too bad. Friday we saw the Colosseum, ancient Roman ruins, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the arch of Constantine, the arch of Titus, and other famous landmarks and buildings. We walked a LOT in Rome and it was tiring. Our hotel had a rooftop patio, so for dinner, we picked up some pizza (sold by weight, we chose a few different flavors) and some beer, and headed up to the patio to eat overlooking the lit-up skyline. 

 Saturday, we decided to soak up some local color and headed to an area in Rome called Trastavere, near the Tiber River, which cuts through the city. We had seen so many major sights the day before so a leisurely stroll through cobblestone streets was just what we needed. We made our way back towards the train station across the city and stopped at the Spanish Steps, another famous landmark. There were beautiful bright flowers cascading down the steps and a fountain at the base. 

Sunday, we had the meeting. We planned to go out in service after the meeting, but Jez's feet were really banged up from Rome - she had twisted her foot back in Paris, and the swelling still had not gone down. Walking around the city and on the wobbly cobblestone (which does quite hurt your feet and ankles after a while when there is no "grout" between stones due to erosion) had done a number on both our feet, so instead of walking some more, we headed back to the apartment to rest until the evening. Mossimo, the coordinator of the congregation, had invited us to meet up with the friends for gelato later that night. 

We met up with the group of brothers and sisters and headed for the gelati (gelati being the plural of gelato). Both Jez and I got chocolate and salted caramel, which were heavenly! We went to a nearby little park (really just some trees and benches) and ate and hung out. There was a sister and here daughter who were visiting from Australia, and they were both adorable and really fun to talk to. Everyone was having a great time and the conversations were animated and lively. After a while, the group broke up and some people went home. We hadn't eaten dinner yet (it was about 930 pm now) and were going to just get (more lol) pizza on the way home, but a group was going to go eat so we joined. We ate at a wonderful trattoria (or ristorante...I don't recall and I still haven't figured out the exact difference lol). Jez got a pizza with bacon, asparagus, and an egg on top (which sounds weird and gross but was AHMAZING!) and i got black tortellini in a cream sauce with truffle oil. What makes the tortellini black you might wonder? Well, the answer is squid ink. That's right. It was also delicious and not like anything I've tasted before, which was fun. The squid ink gives the pasta a slightly marine flavor to it, but it is not overwhelmingly fishy at all. It was really great. We didn't leave the restaurant until about 1230 am! We walked back towards our apartment and got to bed about 1am. Party animals ;)

That brings us to today. Jez is on her way home :( and now I'm by myself. Now the real interesting, personal part of this journey for me begins. My goals are to go out in the ministry as much as I can and spend more time on personal study so I can draw closer to Jehovah and become a stronger, more zealous Christian. 

Now that I'll have more time on my hands, I hope to add more posts. I'm not as eloquent a writer as my dear sister Jez, but I'll try ;)

Ciao,

Nadia