Italy Day 11

Journal Entry from June 13, 2010

I’m sitting on the plane back to Chicago right now. I already miss Italy sooo much. It was such an amazing place. I think what I miss the most is the people. I also think that’s what I enjoyed the most. The people were so amazingly caring and friendly. Don’t get me wrong, Napoli was beautiful, but it was dirty and life is very hard for them. Jobs are scarce, they don’t have a hope to hold onto, living is expensive, and while I thought that would make them bitter, it doesn’t. They still love and care for each other ten times more than any of us in America. Imagine whata the people of Napoli could do if they believed in Christ. You could bet that they would tell everyone they encounter because they care. They truly care- that’s where our problem is. I can tell you all day long that I care but do I go out everyday and try to tell everyone that I know and meet? No, I don’t. Therefore I don’t care as much as I should. The people in Italy were amazing. I wish that I could be just like them and I hope that one day I will be. I believe this is one thing God wanted to show me. I think he wanted me to see how much love and care we as humans can have and make me realize that i’m not doing my part. On this trip, I  also became aware of how spoiled we as Americans are. In Napoli there asn’t any air conditioning. I honestly didn’t mind. After about the second day, though, I was used to it. In America, we get hot, sit down, and turn on an air conditioner or fan. In Italy, you just deal with it. There was a day when it was 105 degrees and we were out all day. All you can do is stay shaded, if possible, keep hydrated, and go for a swim. It’s not like that in America. We are also spoiled because of our showers. It’s almost guaranteed that we will have a warm shower- and our showers are usually very roomy. In Napoli, the showers are barely big enough for you to get in and there’s no guarantee of warm water. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and go. We as Americans are spoiled with plumbing. In Napoli we had toilets but most of the time, no toilet paper. This is why we carried around handy dandy tissue. Sometimes you didn’t even have a toilet seat. Other times you would have to pay to use the bathroom adn for the amount of toilet paper you needed- per sheet. To top it all off, some parts of the city had the sewage go in a pipe like thing and  everyday the sewage truck would come and empty it in a kind of like a port-a-potty. In America, we always have toilet seats, toilet paper, and we don’t have to pay to go to the bathroom. The Italians have a much harder life than us and they are ten times happier and more content. Another thing I learned it Italy was about the Mafia. A friend we made told us all about how they were a part of the police forces and were everywhere. He told us about how they expected the locals to do as they say and help them. One night, there was even a shooting not far from our hostel- they were responsible for it. We do not have to liveour lives in fear like they do. It just amazes me that these people can live in fear every day and still be soo  happy.

The Italians are a beautiful people. They are loving, caring, and just happy. I hope that through this experience I can find a way to really shine my light as far as my attitude goes. I need to be Italian in a sense of my attitude. This trip has put many feelings in my heart. Right now, I am crying because I miss it sooo much and I just left. I don’t know what this means. I do hope, pray, and believe that God will send me back one day. I just hope it’s soon. God has put a huge desire on my heart to talk and witness and make friends with the Italians.

Still have 10 hrs and 30 minutes left on this ride. Hopefully it won’t be as long though. My  mind is going 100mph right now, thinking about my friends and family, my Italian friends, God, and myself. There are so many thoughts going on right now that I can not even begin to write them all down. I really hope that I can come back.

Just finished a pretty good movie on the plane. It was called City of Ember. Still over the ocean right now. I looked over and there is a lot of floating white things- not boats, I don’t think, but i’m not really sure what they are. My seat on the way back to Chicago is 29H. It is an aisle seat. There is an older Italian man siting beside me. He and I have tried to make conversation but it isn’t really working. He only speaks Italian and I basically only know English. This proves a point about the Italians though. They are so kind and friendly that me and this man are still trying to communicate and it’s been over four hours.

So, we finally arrived at the Chicago airport and our flight is delayed because of weather. There is a pretty ferocious thunderstorm going on… We were supposed to arrive in Memphis at 11:00 pm but it is just now 11 and we are getting on the plane. Of course, however, they get us buckled in and the plane turned on and ready before telling us to get off because there are technical difficulties with our plane. When we got off most of us there, just cried as we called home. None of us wanted to go home just yet, but now that we are in the states, we want somewhere familiar. I called home only to find out that Shelby, Brittany, and Hunter are there with Mom, Dad, Katie, and Dustin. That just made me cry more- knowing they are all there for me and I’m not. We wound up not getting to a hotel until 3 this morning (it’s now June 14) and we had to get up at 7:00 am so that we can find a way home.

Soo, there are no flights out until tomorrow, so we are taking a bus- 6 hour ride to Dyersburg where Mr. Wes (Papa Pia) will drive me and Amber to Jackson. Bus ride was good. We watched movies, slept, and talked the whole way. It is nice to be back though.