Not so alone in Rome

As I was on my way to Rome on Sunday I was thinking, °Great I am going to Rome sick and alone". Not the greatest way to be in a city only dreamt about and seen on the television. Yet, my cold has subsided, gratefully! The hostel I choose is not that bad afterall. I was a little nervous about that for sure. One never knows how clean or dirty a place will be nor how "dirty or clean° the people will be. The first night just as I arrived a free dinner was being served in the next door restarant. Nice! A girl from Brazil walked with me over there and we both realized we had just arrived and were both alone. We enjoyed pasta together and talked. She spoke great English. What a way to be introduced to not really being alone in Rome.

I signed up for the walking tour which was free except for a tip. Our guide, Will, is in pre-tirement as he says. He is from Oklahoma and has been in and out of Europe for the past 4 years. I have to say, that sounds really tempting. If I did not have such a strong compulsion towards ministry I would probably be someone who pre-tired to live in Europe. I do not care to pre-tire because of a vocation that seems to keep tug on me. Wills whole mindset is so against the tide and if he could figure out that God wants his whole life, I think he is the type of guy who could make a big difference.

So this walking tour. It was a four hour tour. We were six in number plus Will. What a great group of people we were. Three girls from Argentina! A couple from China and then two of us from the USA. I love the international people I get to talk to and hang out with. Definately for me it is this aspect of traveling that surpasses even the great things I get to see.

Together we saw the Pantheon, the Forum, Trevi Fountain and the Colloseum. Wow what a group of monuments. The Forum was a huge area full of ruins and it seems that the ruins are overlaped from different time periods. It just felt so surreal. I could not do justice in writting to what I saw. The Colloseum was my favorite. It was bigger than I thought it would be. And they guide said that it was not even the biggest for its day. There were others that help more people but are no longer °alive°.

I had a few hours to myself and just meandered through the old palace are. Then I went to a gelati place. Wow, geloti or geloto...whatever it is called is wonderful. I sat down next to a couple from England. They could be my parents and have kids my age. They went on and on about how strong I must be to be traveling on my own. I guess so I said. However, I have met so many others just like me! They worried more or my parents than they did for me. Ha. I guess they know what my parents must be feeling as I am gallevanting around the world alone but not so alone. This couple helped me realize why Americans do not travel to other countries as much as Europians. I guess the answer is really obvious. It is distance. It only took a two hour flight to get from England to Italy. That is nothing in terms of flight time in the USA. I could get from Sacramento to Denver in that time. Also here in Europe you can fly so darn cheaply! I do not understand how in Europe you can fly for like 30 dollars and in the US the cheapest flight is maybe 99 dollars. How does this work? It makes me wonder if it is a regulations thing. Does the US have stricter regulations?

In the evening I went out with the girls from Argentina. We wanted to see the Trevi Fountain at night. Wow, it is beautiful. I so enjoyed hanging out with these girls. They give me hope too. I understand so much Spanish. Man, it is so cool to her them talking and to know what they are saying. That is such a different experience. I have been in Korea for more than 2 years and I still can not do that with Korea. ALthough I have renewed desire to try to learn some Korean. Hearing the Spanish and recognizing I really do know how to learn a language is so darn encourging. Maybe Korean is just really hard for an English speaker.

On our journey together we stopped into a random store with a salesmen who was playing praise music. I asked if He is a Christian. He is. He told me about his church and how he became a CHristian recently. He is from Brazil and became a CHristian once he started working in Rome. TOngiht I am going to a prayer meeting with his church because it is really close to the hostel I am staying at. Yeah! I so look forward to meeting Christians who live here. How cool.

Last night I slept in a room full of Hungarians. Oh my gosh! There was 5 of them and in our room we have 6 beds. You can say it was a challenge! They were basically partying in the room. THankfully they were no drinking. (at least I do not think they were) They had music blarring. I kept out for a while. THey were really nice to talk to. They were glad that I was not french. I have no idea why. After 11pm I finally asked if they could be a little bit quieter. I asked nicely. They were really cool about it thankfully. It was so odd to be the only one not in their group. Definately this was not the best scenario for an alone traveler!

Today, Tuesday, I woke up super early for me. (before 7am) I was at the Vatican by 8 30am because I was hoping to dodge lines. Today there were very short lines. I got to go right in! Yeah. I went throught he Vatican museums which were pretty great. I had an audio guide so I know a little about what I was seeing. I opted out of the organized tour which is expensive! I was so glad I did too because there were just so few people doing a self guided tour for me was the great. I could go at my own pace. The Sistine Chapel was so not what I expected it to be. I had no idea how extensive the artwork out be. I have only ever seen the creation part where God is touching Adams finger. I had heard of the Last Judgement but had no idea what it was nor how huge it would be. It was like a football field. Well, if not that big it was close. I got to sit for like 20 minutes with my eyes lifted to the ceiling. I have only heard stories of people shoulder to shoulder moving through the chapel. SO, to be able to just sit there and look and look was outstanding. What a gift. I can say I have really seen the Sisten Chapel. Again, I had no idea that a whole chapel would be painted by a single man. No wonder it has world fame. Wow! After the chapel I went and saw where they have the Pope carriages. Ha. Dad, I took pictures with you in mind. They had a Pope Toyota Land Cruiser. No way! I just can not picture it! Later I saw St. Peters Bassilica. Again, an amazing church with out of this world art work. One must see it for themselves. I just sat there for a while and took in as much as I could. I went in to the prayer area. A guard stopped me to tell me, NO, this area is only for prayer!. Ha. I guess the camera around my neck gave the impression I do not pray. Ha. It was so cool to meet God there. It just does not seem right to go to St. Peters Bassilica without entering into some sort of worship!

I walked around Rome like a mad women today. I found a gelati place. I found the Spanish steps. I found the ST. Ignatious Church. That was cool. The churches sure are wonderful. They are so ornate it puts our churches to shame. ALthough maybe it went overboard!

My feet are tired, my body is tired and I have seen all the Rome I care to see. Maybe that is bad...there is so much more...but that must be saved for another day. TOday was good being alone. I am so torn. A part of me loves this traveling a lone stuff. However, there are times when I definately wish I was with a friend or family member. I am realizing traveling is only secondly, for me, about what you do and what you see. First and foremost, for me, it is about people. IT is the people I am meeting that are making this trip. WIthout the people it is just a whole bunch of history that is cool but it is history alone. The people give me an idea of the world at present!

Tomorrow I am off to some random monastery which a girl I met at Taize told me about. They support themselves by growing foods organically. Supposedly they have a slight tie with Taize.

More to come. But not until Sunday.