Exploring Casentino Forest

Luglio 17, 2008
Days in Italy: 27
Known Bug-bites: i coin the term galaxy legs
Total Gelato Sessions: 21
Collective Fanta Consumed (mL): 14,640mL
Italy: 9:00 AM
America: 12:00 AM

"The world is so big."

So much profundity to Chelsea's simple utterance. We're told millions of people come by the Casentino forest every year, but Jesse our nature-walk guru assures us he never sees large tourism here. He's right. We're the only ones here. It feels like, for a few moments, we're the only people in the world. It's hard to explain, but I'm sure you already understand.

Along the 6 kilometer hike -which on an incline feels like a lot more than roughly 3 miles - I try to take in the green vastness and the vast greenness of my surroundings. It's crazy to think there are parts of this forest nobody has ever seen, and nobody ever will see. Crevices and cracks, tops of trees and sides of rocks, bits of dirt and moss no human will ever touch. Sometimes it's hard for me to understand that there are parts of this world not intended for mankind to claim.

That's what makes Chelsea's thought so insightful. The world is so big, so much bigger than we understand, so much bigger still that we can hardly understand how we don't understand. I mean, God created this in 6 days? If we can't even comprehend the world in front of us, how much less the secret ways of God?

Sure there are parts of this world man is not meant to know, but in all things God has a purpose. So what's the purpose of knowing that you can't know something? I wouldn't like to pretend like I knew the full answer, but I know that understanding how finite we are is one of the greatest lessons we can learn...and relearn. The hardest thing for a man to do is to accept that he's not God.

Dory ends up hurting her ankle pretty badly coming down the trail and laughs in pain. Dang, she really does laugh at everything but my jokes.

The Work We Do pt 2

Luglio 15, 2008
Days in Italy: 25
Known Bug-bites: ?? ...it's hard to figure out which ones are new.
Total Gelato Sessions: 21
Collective Fanta Consumed (mL): 12,140mL
Italy: 8:04 AM
America: 11:04 PM

The door abruptly opens to reveal a pensive Michele, gaze to the ground, and a glimpse of a cigarette butt flying in the air behind him. This is usually followed by more silence before he begins muttering something in broken English prefacing some ambiguous exercise he's about to have us do. But today is an exception...there's no preface. Only a small Italian man marking a circle with masking tape. The circle has two breaks, one entrance and one exit. Michele wants to work in neutrality. All we have to do is walk into the circle, stand before the class, and then walk out. Pardis is one of the first. She walks into the circle, and stands before the class.

"Just stay."

A familiar phrase that cues us to cease all movement, usually done as part of our group work leading into another exercise. This time, though, Pardis doesn't get the comfort of knowing everyone is facing another direction, invested in their own world. This time, all eyes are on Pardis. No big. We all came into this program head-high seasoned performers. No amateurs here. We all put in the years, the sweat, and paid our dues on the stage. I mean we certainly weren't going to be fazed by a little spotlight.

It's only a matter of minutes before Pardis begins to cry.

There's something about standing still in front of your peers in a classroom that is so utterly disarming.

"Just stay."

Easier said than done. Your body is trying to find some means of defense. There's an energy raging inside you, looking for an outlet, anywhere. Grip your hands? No. Cross your arms? No. Shift your gaze? No. Shuffle your feet? No. There is no taking away attention from you, the whole you. All you can do is remain, offer yourself with no pretense, no explanation, no punchline and hope that your audience accepts you for you.

"Just stay."

The sagely Nelly once said "sometimes the easiest things we take for granted, until they gone, to realize we even had it, f'real." Stuff of proverbs, no doubt, but this often reiterated concept of appreciation hardly ever prompts one to think about our motor abilities. What if you stood in front of a bunch of people without any physical means of retreating to your comfort zone? How afraid are we to be ourselves, our true selves, in front of others?

I'm starting to really see the genius of Michele's work. F'real.

Rome Trip

Luglio 11, 2008
Days in Italy: 21
Known Bug-bites: 38
Total Gelato Sessions: 21
Collective Fanta Consumed (mL): 12,470mL


After a week of physical training we decide to reward ourselves with a mandatory program field trip to Rome. Thinking ahead, I drop by the local supermarket (did I mention how it's a 20 minute walk to town?) and pick up some snacks, a few cans of Lemon Soda and a Fanta for the road. Backpack stuffed and ready most of us happily walk to the station while a few tired feet have begun the trend of calling a taxi. A fine three hour train ride from Arezzo allots us ample time to fill our heads with visions of giant statues, elaborate frescoes, and yes, more churches -- there are always more churches. As usual, I choose to have my vision unconsciously. We arrive and dig right in to the good stuff; pillars and sky-high domes and fountains galore.




The sights and sites in Rome are great, though with dense tourism it feels a lot more like Las Vegas. English ringing in your ears and an ignorance to the culture takes you too far back home to really understand where exactly you are. I like it more when I'm the only ignoramus, thank you. Nonetheless I thank God for granting me a chance to have the culture right in front of me. The Pantheon, the Colosseum, countless monuments and historic ruins all before my eyes.


The food far surpasses expectation. Well most of it is mediocre overpriced tourist junk, but thanks to careful planning by one Ms. Emily Shorr I'm fortunate enough to eat at Alfredo's, where they invented Alfredo sauce. It's about 30 euro (45 dollars) for a dinky plate...but it's indescribably worth it. It's even indescribably worth having had to eat leftover sandwiches from last night the entire day before this meal.

And the gelato. Oh man, the gelato.

Blue Ice: #1 Gelateria in my book so far.

God is good; a conclusion I still find, even in my growing distaste for churches here. In my opinion the lavishly gaudy decor- everything from the tapestries and painting consuming every inch of wallspace to countless Virgin Mary statues to the solid gold rays beaming from the head a crucified Jesus, are more of a hindrance and distraction to worship than an aid. After about the ninth or tenth one my eyes started to get sore. But I know God is still good. His beauty is shown not in the spirituality of graven images - a concept I raise a furrowed brow to - but in the creativity of the art, in the complexity of its construction, and the passion of the men who built them.

Some local nuns direct us to Mamertime prison, the place where Peter and Paul were once imprisoned. This got me. I mean, you can throw as many images of the saints and statues of angels in long flowing garments and I can appreciate the artistry, but it does little for me in terms of my relationship with God. I don't feel moved by these things, as hard as I try. But this, man...I actually got to be in the same place Peter and Paul were. I never realized how much I had not acknowledged their existence as something more than a memory or bible passage until I had set foot into a space they once occupied. And of all places, a prison. Nothing more than a couple minutes pass before I notice how hot it is down here. My breaths get deeper and slower. Calling it a cage would make it seem more luxurious than it is. Cages are ventilated. There's no air flow here, only a small barred hole, which just so happens to be the only light source too.

Jana agrees, it's really hard to breathe here.

I don't even know how they went to the bathroom. On top of that, according to Ancient Roman law imprisonment isn't considered punishment. I can only imagine how they must have endured and what would happen to Peter and Paul when they left. The biggest blessing Italy has given me is to be able to make reality of pages in the Bible.

I still can't believe it. It's even better than meeting a celebrity.

Other than that, I find myself growing more deadened to the rich culture, something I have mixed feelings about. Irirregardless, the attractions are great final touches to a little collection I had been working on.

Rondine Photo Update

Luglio 7, 2008
Days in Italy: 17
Known Bug-bites: 41
Total Gelato Sessions:
Collective Fanta Consumed (mL): 10,970mL
Italy: 7:40PM
America: 10:40 AM

Took a hour-long bus to an international band concert in Rondine.




One car + too many people = shuttling.











Alvaro was right. I did end up finding some b-boys in Italy!



Made friends with them, and even got in a little bit of the (in)action!



I asked them why they named themselves Inaction crew, and Andrea (left) said "because we are always in action!" I let them know that that's not quite what inaction says. I think they decided to keep it anyway.

The Antique Fair

Luglio 6, 2008
Days in Italy: 16
Known Bug-bites: 45
Total Gelato Sessions: 7
Collective Fanta Consumed (mL): 10,640mL
Italy: 4:03 PM
America: 7:03 AM

I decide to take my first solo trip into town. It's funny, there really isn't much else to do, so any discrepancy between our recreation is merely what time someone wants to go. A simple enough variation, but one that left me surprisingly alone for a good part of the day. I just don't know how you miss 20 other roommates.



I check the antique fair and get some presents. for some people.



I guiltily answer the gelato call without my usual partner in crime - the crime being gluttony - and as I stroll the main street bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (thanks Cranium) someone comes and tries to rain on my parade.

"Chino...ey, chino...chino!"

Just turn your gaze and keep walking. It doesn't bother you. It doesn't bother you right? Okay. No big deal. It's cool. The need to reassure myself so thoroughly is not a good sign. And, just when I thought I had finally gotten over it...I actually had.

Meeting The David.

Luglio 5, 2008
Days in Italy: 15

What are you thinking, David?

Michelangelo knows.

Soon you'll be the fearless victor, the prayer warrior, the boy who lived. Soon you'll be the interpreter of dreams and author of psalms. Soon you'll be the skillful musician, "prudent in speech, and a man of good presence." Soon everyone will know you as King David, a man after God's own heart.

But not right now. Right now you're having second thoughts. Right now you're thinking this Goliath fellow is a lot taller than you expected, and that maybe you shouldn't have taken off all that armor. Right now the sun suddenly feels hotter and your legs feel heavier. Right now you're wondering if five stones and a sling was a good choice. Right now you're hoping maybe it was all a misunderstanding with the Philistines. Right now maybe you're looking for a sign telling you to turn back.

Soon you'll overcome your fears, and they will know "the LORD is with him." But right now, in this one moment, you're scared.

As for me, right now I'm realizing that it happens to all of us, even you.

"Then David said to the Philistine, 'You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.'"
-1 Samuel 16:45-47

July 4th...Italiano

Luglio 4, 2008
Days in Italy: 14
Known Bug-bites: 43...stabilizing
Total Gelato Sessions: 10
Collective Fanta Consumed (mL): 5490
America: 12:18 AM
Italia: 9:18 AM

I used to think that true acting was always inside-out. To become something, you have to first think as that something and the rest will follow. But Mikalay wants us to work chiefly on the body.

"Don't think about the inside."

He wants us to isolate parts of the body, contort them, changing rhythms and volumes. If only Marlo were here.

"Ready, steady, play" he says.

His little phrases are pretty endearing. I find myself able to deliver the movement he asks for. Right there, it's then I see more of God's sovereignty revealed. I had long been in a place that resented the years I spent chasing dance and neglecting my first love - artistically speaking. I thought it was a mistake. How silly I was to not trust in God's plan. All the choices I've made, pursuing hip hop, even my affinity for the sub-style called locking, have played an exceptional role allowing me to be in tune with my body right in this moment.

Clearly a success.

America: 4:45AM Italiano
Italia: 1:45PM Italiano

Jennie and Jon-O decide anything sounds more exciting when you add Italiano at the end.

America: 10:32 AM
Italia: 7:32PM

The hills are alive...with...loud American voices.

The tables on the other hand, fill with Filipino food. Riccardo and his crew drop some knowledge and taste on these unexpecting eaters, with some home goods.

Goods is appropriate. One good would not suffice.

Not only is it worlds of comfort to sate my withdrawal for unadulterated greasemeat, but seeing how much my classmates/friends/housemates/appendages are enjoying the food and fun is pretty awesome too. Judy Garland couldn't ask for anything more. I can't eith--Magic Mic? No way!

My mistake, it's Magic Mic Xtreme. And they set the judging on professional level. And the highest scorer gets a mystery prize. Game on. Italiano.

Dory sets the bar with her rendition of Four Non-blondes (I don't think I have to cite the song; it's their only one). The girls join in and succeed it with a slew of female anthems, everything from "You're So Vain" to "One Hand In My Pocket." They all love it, and I love them all for that (but not for the girl power, though...nor the mic-hogging). I get so comfortable with these people I end up singing my heart out. Yes, Mer, forrealzies.

We karaoke for so long I literally have to manually remove the mic from Aaryn's addicted hands. She isn't happy. She also isn't sober.

America: 5:20PM
Italia: 2:20AM

New levels of tired. Notice the drifting in and out of consciousness.

miss april mara: ooo. and when you come back you'll be in irvine or walnut?
julianthecoolian: no
julianthecoolian: iv' brrndrlntr d
julianthecoolian: that was my response to you
julianthecoolian: i'm so tired right now
julianthecoolian: we had a bbq get togther
julianthecoolian: will the filino ktched staff
julianthecoolian: and had fillfect nfe!
julianthecoolian: that last comment was alont of crazy talk
miss april mara: i know hahahah
miss april mara: i was trying to decipher. but to no avail haha

Best. Italian july 4th. Ever. Italiano.