Denied...again

As you know, I arrived back in Rome on Tuesday night. Despite the frigid temps and rain, I forced myself to go out on Wednesday to the grocery store as all I had in the house in terms of food was white rice, black beans, garlic salt, and coffee. And while I like all of those things, I thought they didn't really work in terms of a complete meal. So, I ventured out to the store and picked up a few things to get me through for a couple of days plus some supplies for at least one dinner for myself and the Doyles when they arrived. Well, due to weather issues in the States, the Doyles didn't arrive until yesterday. Needless to say, they were pretty tired when they got in and didn't want to go to the store. Then, today the weather was just nasty---cold and raining again. Once again, they didn't get to the store. But that was ok for the most part because I'd had enough sandwich makings that they could eat lunch and I'd made them pasta the night before. Dinner tonight though was a different story. Since they didn't have any food and they didn't want to go far because they were tired and it was, you guessed it, cold and rainy, they invited me to join them for Chinese at a place just down the street. I hadn't been out of the house since Thursday afternoon, so I joined them.

We've been, or at least I have, been going to this particular Chinese restaurant for 3+ years now. The people and the woman who runs the place know me by now. I wouldn't call those who work there or the lady particularly nice or warm people. They get you in, get your order, get your food, get your money, and get you out. They're not ones for conversation or niceties. At least not with us.

When other patrons, ie. Italians, come in the door, they're overly nice and accommodating. So accommodating that they always give the Italians these free appetizers that we've come to refer to as "elephant ears" because that's what they look like. They're these rice puff thingys in the shape of elephant ears and are served with sweet and sour sauce. In my 3+ years, I have only been the recipient of these twice. Twice. Now, it's not that big of a deal to me because I don't really like them, but it's the principle of the matter...the principle. So, when Sean, Joy, and I noticed that every table around us had these...and I mean every table...well, we weren't too happy. What's wrong with us that we don't get the same kind of service? We order in Italian. We speak to them in Italian. Why aren't we given free stuff? Joy and I were dying laughing at the situation because it seemed so ridiculous. Of course, I thought it was funny, but she was legitimately scandalized.

It may seem like a very minor issue, and it is, but c'mon...who doesn't like free stuff? What does a girl have to do to get free elephant ears!?

Not the end of the story...

When I wrote my previous post I was certain that my friend's brother wouldn't come thru for me. I had another hour until my flight would board and I didn't see how it would happen. So, I sat there in the terminal, wrote my blog, bought a magazine, and made one last trip to the bathroom. And that's when it happened.

As I was washing my hands I heard over the loudspeaker: "British Airways is paging London passenger Kristen S----. Please come to the desk to speak to an agent." What?! I quickly dried my hands and went to the desk where I was informed that Leon (my friend's brother!!) wanted me to go the Executive Club and speak with him. I made my way to the EC where I was greeted by Leon. Now, the funny thing is because I fly this route 4 times a year I was fairly certain I knew who Leon was without having ever met him. I mean, it's not as if British Airways has a ton of staff in Phoenix. I was right! The person I thought he was was indeed who he is. Aha! We greeted one another and he told me that he was working on getting me the best seat for my flight--woo hoo!!---and I had a couple of options. 1) He could upgrade me to World Traveller Plus which would give me an extra couple of inches in leg room and Business Class-type meals, or 2) he could put me in a row of four seats all to myself so that I could stretch out and sleep. What to do? I opted for #2 because my mom, grandma, and I had already gone to dinner, so the food wasn't that big of a deal to me.  So #2 it was. He then told me to please make myself comfortable in the EC. The manager of the club took me in and showed me around. She showed me the lounge where I could help myself to any of the snacks, sodas, beer, wine, teas, coffee, hot chocolate, hot apple cider...well, you get the picture. I could have whatever I want. So, I sat back with a hot mug of apple cider and a snack. My how the other half live!

My flight back to Rome was quite comfy as I had all of that extra space to myself. I was able to sleep (something that almost NEVER happens) and the flight literally flew by...pun intended.

So here I am back in Rome and thankful for the gift that God gave me in Leon and his generosity. It was a great experience and I am so grateful. Of course, I'm still holding out for first class...it will happen!

So close....

I fly between the US and Rome four times a year. That's a lot of time spent in a tiny (well, 747s are not tiny....but their seats and space sure are!) little plane. It takes me about an average of 15 hours to get from one city to the other. That's a lot of time in one space....a lot of time. So, naturally one of my goals has been to get upgraded to first class for free. How to do this? How! I've tried asking nicely...I've tried batting my eyes a bit and smiling a little wider (hey, I'm not above using my God-given charm to get an upgrade)...and I've tried just going to the edge of polite begging. All of this to no avail. And then...a ray of hope. A pocket of sunshine.

I made the acquaintance of a guy whose brother works for British Airways (I typically fly the BA flight between London and Phoenix because it's a great flight and a good airline). So, I asked this gentleman somewhat jokingly...maybe 99% serious and 1% jokingly...if he could ask his brother how I could get upgraded to first class. Well, he asked his brother and he said that if the flight wasn't full.....he could upgrade me. WHAT?!!? Shut up! (Insert Elaine Benes push here) Can we talk about how excited I was at the possibility of this? Anyways, my friend sent his brother all of my information and said he'd be in touch. So, I waited, and waited, and waited....and when I didn't hear anything I just figured the matter was forgotten. Then, last night I received a text from my friend telling me that he didn't forget me, but that he hadn't heard from his brother, but that he'd remind his brother and I would probably see him when I checked in for my flight. There was still hope! And that's how I went to bed last night...with hope and dreams of not being cramped, but being able to lie all the way down in my own little pod while flight attendants catered to my every whim! Whoa...let's not go overboard.

So, I arrived at the airport (buoyed by hope), went the check-in counter, and saw.....all women. Yep. The brother wasn't there. Still, I hoped that there would be some sort of note on my record. I approached the check-in desk, handed the woman my passport, and waited with bated breath as she looked at my passport intently....could it be?? No. She said nothing about an upgrade. So, I asked her if there was a chance for one. Yes, she said. YES! For $300, she said. Noooooo!!! I'm not about to pay $300.

Now, I know that you were hoping for a happy ugraded ending to this story, but alas...it's not meant to be....yet. :0 I fully intend, and hope, to be upgraded sometime....somehow....someway.

Prepping for departure...

It's Saturday night and I am getting ready to head back to Rome on Monday for the spring 2013 semester. (How in the world did I manage to drain my bank account in just 30 days?!) Once again, this will be a semester of transition as I prepare to say goodbye to my colleagues as they complete their two year contract. Still, there is a lot to look forward to---getting to know new students, travel (plans already include a return to Spain, but this time small towns outside of Madrid; a trip to France; and perhaps Ireland or Scotland with the folks), my parents' visit at the end of the semester, and time with Sean and Joy in the months of May and June before we return to the States.

I have a feeling that the Lord has big plans for my life this year. I don't know what those include---new relationships??, new adventures??, fluency in Italian?? (please!!!)---but I know that I am excited to see what He does in my life.

I've said it before (and I have no doubt that I'll say it again in January of 2014), but I want to do better at posting to this blog as I travel along with Jesus and what He has for me in Rome, Italy, and Europe.

So.....here we go!!

Getting into the holiday mood...Viennese style

The Rathaus Market

As I've said, I have a list of places that I wanted to hit up before I left Europe. Vienna was one of those cities....especially for the Christmas markets. I decided early on in the semester that this was the year I was going to hit up the Vienna market. So, I bought my ticket in September and waited, and waited, and waited. The last weekend of November finally arrived and I made my way (along with 6 of my female students and my friend BethAnn) to Vienna. I was not disappointed.

We arrived in Vienna in the late afternoon, but by the time we got to our hotel (an hour at the most) it was dark! So, we dropped our stuff off and headed out to our first market at the town hall. Oh wow! How incredibly beautiful. It was a feast for the eyes! There were thousands of lights throughout the trees in a variety of shapes and colors. There were hundreds of stalls in front of the town hall selling hot drinks, sweet treats, yummy sausages, Christmas gifts, and Christmas decorations. Where to begin? A hot beverage of course. Each of the markets (and there were a lot of them!) had their own mugs. You can either "rent" the mug for €2.50 or you can keep it and then buy either hot spiced wine, hot chocolate, hot punch, and lots of other offerings. So, we got our drinks and started our shopping. The markets were part heaven and hell for me....so much to buy and so little money! ;)

 

Basically, the weekend was a non-stop shopping extravaganza. We went from market to market....spending. :)


In between the markets, we managed to see a couple of Vienna's biggest churches, the Hofburg palace, and other historical buildings. We also managed to enjoy some yummy schnitzel, strudel, and, of course, Sacher Torte. On our last day, Beth Ann and I popped into Cafe Sacher, the birthplace of the Sacher Torte. From the outside, it looked as if the place would be way too expensive as it was swathed in a deep claret velvet, gilded mirrors, and crystal chandeliers. To our surprise, it was completely reasonable. So, we got a seat, had some soup, and then indulged in Vienna's famous torte. Yuuummmm.....

It was a fabulous weekend and I really enjoyed Vienna. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to get into the Christmas spirit in Vienna. It was magic personified and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. 

Rapid rundown

Ok, so I don't know about you, but this semester was the fastest of my life. No joke. It seems like I just boarded a plane bound for Rome and now I'm home for Christmas. I'm excited to be home, don't get me wrong, but this past semester was fabulous and I was/am sad to see it end. So, let's take a moment to reflect on some of the highlights of these last 3 months, shall we?

September: 
         --Students arrived
         --Friends Lisa and Ben visited. Since they'd both been to Rome before, I was able to show them a piece of "my" Rome. I love showing off this incredible city!

October:
         --Went to Bologna and Ravenna with two friends and one of my students. Let's just say that the trip to Bologna was well....never ending. We took the train to Bologna only to have it hit something in a tunnel about 45 minutes outside of Rome and stopped. And there we sat for 3 hours. Yes, three HOURS. Without any information or anything. Well, except for the free soda we got. Then, they turned the train around and sent us back to Rome only to put us back on a slow train. All in all, we arrived in Bologna much later than we'd expected. Since it was closing in on 6:30 by the time we were able to get out to see anything, most everything, ie. churches, museums, etc, was closing for the day. So, we spent our time at Tony's eating the most amazing Bolognese of my life. Of course, we were in Bologna, so I wouldn't expect anything less!

The next day my friends returned to Rome and my student and I forged ahead to Ravenna to check out the mosaics. Can I just say WOW?? Absolutely, positively unbelievable! They were so gorgeous and I am still floored by what people were able to create out of tiny pieces of glass.

We had a great time exploring the tiny town, and not just because there was an international bread festival that weekend! No, the churches were breathtaking. Of course, this wouldn't be Italy without some sort of hiccup...as we discovered the next day when we went to board our train to Bologna in order to catch our train back to Rome. There was a large line of people in the train station; much too large for a normal Sunday. We got in line...and that's when I heard the word I hate: Scopiero. Strike. Yep, Trenitalia personnel were on strike. What does this mean? No trains; at least no regional trains. What to do? What to do! The man at the counter, thankfully, was very nice and rather helpful. He told us that there may (or may not be) a train later in the afternoon. So, we waited. And finally, and with much thanksgiving, we boarded the train bound for Bologna and arrived back in Rome 3 hours late. It was a great weekend....just not a good weekend for train travel.
--My cousin, Brooke, arrived for her first European adventure! We spent some time together in Rome, Florence, and then she went to Venice by herself for a couple of days before we went to...Barcelona! I first visited Spain in 2000 while my sister was studying in Granada and Barcelona was the only major Spanish city left on my list. So, we headed to Barcelona with Sean and Joy for 4 days.

La Sagrada Familia

What an incredible city! It was filled with so much to see, do, and eat! The architecture (muchas gracias, Gaudi!) was not to be believed. Seriously, I don't understand the imagination or gift behind Gaudi's genius. So, so, so cool!

My favorite thing, though, was the day that we saw the Barcelonans (is that even a word?!) gather together in front of the Cathedral and dance the Sardana. It was so cool! Here's how this works: an orchestra plays whatever music it is that one plays to do the Sardana, then one by one people begin to gather in a circle and dance.


November: (I don't even know where November went!!)
--Venice: As always, the 10th weekend of the semester found us in Venezia. I never get tired of that city and wandering around. I discovered some new gems on my own, and Joy, Sean, and I went to the island of Torcello to look at some beautiful mosaics.

--Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving remains one of my favorite days with students. We celebrated a week late as we were in Venice over Thanksgiving. Still, we wanted the students to have a piece of home. As always, I ordered our turkey about two weeks ahead from the butcher. I asked for a 12 kilo turkey (about 24 pounds) and as always, they gave me a 30 pound, 8 ounce turkey. Ahhh! That's too big for the oven bag! You should have seen the eyes of all of the nonne (Italian grandmothers) in the butcher shop. I thought they'd pop out of their heads! They couldn't believe that I was cooking an entire turkey or that we would eat the whole thing. As always, students signed up for parts of the meal to make/help out with. We had a ton of food, but it was all soooo good...and eaten quickly. One of my students made the most incredible apple pies! They even had fun dough shapes on the top of the pie. She has some made pie making skills. We spent the rest of the evening putting up our Christmas tree and decorations, and watching Elf. Once again, it was a memorable evening.
--Vienna: Well, this weekend getaway deserves its own post....

Where in the world is Kristen?

You may be asking yourself, or maybe not, where in the world has Kristen been? Well, quite literally: Rome, Pompei, Florence, Bologna, Ravenna, Barcelona, Venice, and Vienna.

However, I have mostly been in Rome with my amazing students. I have been so blessed this semester with a truly unique and incredible group of young people. While there have always been students that I have enjoyed immensely and to this day miss a lot, this is the first group that I have worked with in my 11 years in higher education that truly got along all of the time, encouraged one another, spent time with each other, and felt like a cohesive group. What a tremendous blessing! Even now I am listening to their laughter in the halls as they prepare for their final presentations. So, that's where I've been....hanging out with them. That's not to say that I haven't been active in, around, and out of Rome...cause I have. I will post a couple of blogs in the next couple of days about places I've been and things I've been experiencing...so keep an eye out!