It is Thursday the seventeenth of September and we just finished our first day of classes. I have not been able to write with all of the adventures we’ve been going on taking up all of my time these days. But let me try to explain how awesome the last ten days have been.
On the seventh I brought my bags to the airport and met up with all of my friends from school. We wandered around Rome visiting the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, and the Trevi Fountain, just to name a few. For dinner about nine of us went to a small restaurant behind the Pantheon and met the owner, Michaelangelo, who brought us out free glasses of “Sexy Wine.” It was some kind of sparkling white wine with strawberries and raspberries in it. Simply put it was delicious. The following day we visited the Jesuit house, the Cathedral of Saint Ignatius, and headed off on a bus to Naples. In Naples we boarded a ferry to Palermo. The accommodations were tiny. The showers were not built for Americans of my size. That evening we stayed up playing some card games, sipping on lemon granite (gruh-nee-tay), which was basically a delicious Italian slushee. Our wake up call was for five o’clock in the morning. All of the students dragged themselves to the main deck and we watched as we pulled into the harbor in Palermo. It was gorgeous watching the sun rise off the coast of Sicily. Our running joke – which probably isn’t so funny – was that all of our planes had gone down over the Atlantic and we were in heaven. We’re still saying that while we’re in Florence.
In Palermo we had guided tours through the city visiting the third largest opera house in Europe, Teatro Massimo, the Duomo of Monreale, and a nature and bird reserve known as “Lo Zingaro.” Here at the reserve we had a chance to go for a swim, and swim we did. Thirty minutes into our beach time rain began to pour down on us. Naturally, I stayed and swam with about seven other friends. The hail started getting intense so we headed for shelter in one of the natural caves on the side of the little bay. We huddled together in there for a few moments, saw lightning outside and decided to head in. but my friend Paul and I couldn’t go in just yet. We climbed up on a big rock and did a front flip into the ocean. Ok, now we could go in.
From Palermo we traveled to Selinunte and Segesta where we visited the ruins of some pretty extraordinary ruins. Never too tired, we took a short bus ride up the coast and crashed down on a delicious buffet with fresh tomatoes, sardines, mozzarella, bruschetta, octopus, and best of all, canoli! Not only did we get amazing food, but we were right on the water where ten of us swam out to a rock that was only covered by about an inch of water. We played king of the rock and you can guess who won that one. That’s right, this guy! I deemed myself King Doom, and all had to bow before me.
Anyways, we kept on going to the next hotel which was an actual castle in Agrigento. While in Agrigento we visited il Valle dei Templi, or Valley of the Temples. These were really neat as they had thousand year old olive trees still producing olives, and the temples were still in exquisite shape. I decided to pick a prickly pear and try one. I just had to. Then, I had to deal with all of the little slivers in my fingers. I guess there’s a price to pay for being adventurous.
The school saved the best hotel for last. It was a four star hotel in Santa Tecla (Acireale) complete with ocean view balconies, a beautiful lobby, ocean front property, and an infinity pool that went out towards the Mediterranean. We all had to pick our jaws up off the floor. That evening, I knew what I had to do: start a dance party by the pool. We enjoyed a delicious buffet meal and as we were walking from the buffet we could hear bass booming from outside. The hotel had hired a DJ for the night and I went straight for the dance floor. In no time every student and the entire faculty were down either enjoying each other’s company or in the party dancing. After about 2 hours of dancing I became a little too sweaty and had to cool down, and with a pool right there what better way to cool down than a dip? Emily Yu and I both jumped in with our clothes on and were told to get out by some of the school faculty, but the hotel owners were loving every second of this party and taking pictures of us having the greatest times of our lives. About two hours of dancing later, everyone was in the pool and we weren’t getting in trouble. All in all, we danced for about six hours nonstop. I’ve heard from multiple sources that this was one of the best nights they’ve had at Gonzaga and I’m with them. It was so much fun! After two more days of touring (hiking Mt. Etna, Europe’s tallest active volcano, visiting the small town of Taormina, getting free scuba lessons, and lounging out by the pool) we were off to Florence.
So here I am, trying to unpack and get to know this beautiful city I will be calling home for the next eight months. I’ll keep you all updated on my adventures!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Arrival to Rome
September 7th, 2009
As I awoke this morning, I had no idea it was only three A.M. and I had passed out last night at only five P.M. The last thing I could remember was reading Voyage of the Dawn Treader, assigned for my philosophy class. When the reality that I had slept for ten hours and was not about to fall back to sleep set in, I thought I was doomed. What could I do for five hours before the breakfast buffet opened that would simultaneously keep my mind off my growling stomach and keep me from going crazy? Naturally, I attempted to watch TV. It was broken. I then tried to sleep again. Not happening. I looked back on my journey yesterday – all of my bags made the connections, I watched about six movies on the plane, slept a bit – nothing exciting. All in all, about 30 minutes passed and just when I thought I’d lose it a brilliant idea crossed my mind. “Why don’t you try reading your book, dummy.” It was a revelation. I laid back for a solid five hours, reading without interruption. When I finished the last word I realized the breakfast buffet was open so I hopped into a pair of jeans, threw a shirt on, and spiraled down the four flights of stairs. I was just about to ask the front desk where the buffet was when the other man being helped said my name.
“Is there something wrong? I’m Spencer Townley,” I inquired.
“Ah, very nice to meet you,” the man offered his hand, “I’m Dr. Burke.”
It was the dean of the Florence program, thank God and not Interpol or some crazy assassin – I’ve been watching the Bourne series too much.
We spoke for a moment, he pointed me in the direction of the buffet, and as I stepped in the peach colored room, lined with fruits, cereals, hams, cheeses, breads, and juices, I nearly lost my breath. I was so happy to see real food for the first tim in what seemed to be ages! I calmed myself so as not to end up overeating and feeling like hell. As I sat down with my plate of fruit and ham, Dr. Burke walked in and introduced me to his wife and they joined me for breakfast. Conversation was at first light. Then I found after admitting my desire to work for the State Department, that at our orientation on the eighteenth, the consul general at the American Embassy will be present! And, Dr. Burke mentioned, it would be a great time to meet and talk with some of the employees.
Overall, life is good here in Rome. Friends are on their way, my belly is full, and we are about to embark on our grandest adventure yet!
As I awoke this morning, I had no idea it was only three A.M. and I had passed out last night at only five P.M. The last thing I could remember was reading Voyage of the Dawn Treader, assigned for my philosophy class. When the reality that I had slept for ten hours and was not about to fall back to sleep set in, I thought I was doomed. What could I do for five hours before the breakfast buffet opened that would simultaneously keep my mind off my growling stomach and keep me from going crazy? Naturally, I attempted to watch TV. It was broken. I then tried to sleep again. Not happening. I looked back on my journey yesterday – all of my bags made the connections, I watched about six movies on the plane, slept a bit – nothing exciting. All in all, about 30 minutes passed and just when I thought I’d lose it a brilliant idea crossed my mind. “Why don’t you try reading your book, dummy.” It was a revelation. I laid back for a solid five hours, reading without interruption. When I finished the last word I realized the breakfast buffet was open so I hopped into a pair of jeans, threw a shirt on, and spiraled down the four flights of stairs. I was just about to ask the front desk where the buffet was when the other man being helped said my name.
“Is there something wrong? I’m Spencer Townley,” I inquired.
“Ah, very nice to meet you,” the man offered his hand, “I’m Dr. Burke.”
It was the dean of the Florence program, thank God and not Interpol or some crazy assassin – I’ve been watching the Bourne series too much.
We spoke for a moment, he pointed me in the direction of the buffet, and as I stepped in the peach colored room, lined with fruits, cereals, hams, cheeses, breads, and juices, I nearly lost my breath. I was so happy to see real food for the first tim in what seemed to be ages! I calmed myself so as not to end up overeating and feeling like hell. As I sat down with my plate of fruit and ham, Dr. Burke walked in and introduced me to his wife and they joined me for breakfast. Conversation was at first light. Then I found after admitting my desire to work for the State Department, that at our orientation on the eighteenth, the consul general at the American Embassy will be present! And, Dr. Burke mentioned, it would be a great time to meet and talk with some of the employees.
Overall, life is good here in Rome. Friends are on their way, my belly is full, and we are about to embark on our grandest adventure yet!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Summer Goal - Completed!
Last weekend I participated and COMPLETED my first triathlon! This event was the culmination of all the blood, sweat, and tears that I have poured into the gym this summer. Ok, so maybe just sweat, but you get the point.
At the beginning of this summer I felt as though I should have some kind of a goal to keep in mind while working out. It started simply as a desire to be able to run again, as my physical therapist said it would not be wise to run with all of my back issues from last summer. As my biking and swimming routines seemed to get easier, my thought process changed to a race mentality. I wanted to complete something – to have a sense of accomplishment. I started looking at triathlon distances, found the sprint distance triathlons, and thought that a good goal to set for the summer would be an in-gym sprint distance triathlon. I thought that I could just try and do these distances at one point on the different machines available in the gym, but my competitive side took over and thought, I want to be faster than other people.
Continuing my training, I found different sprint distance triathlons around Washington and I decided to head north to the Lake Samish Triathlon. My gym routines became more and more vigorous as I approached that 8th day in August and I began to get nervous. Everyday I went to the gym with the intention to get the competitive edge and beat someone else. That big number 8 loomed ahead and I couldn’t wait to get going on that first triathlon.
Finally, the morning of the 8th arrived and I woke up at 4:45 AM. I greeted the day with good friends Dylan, Lindsey, and Vanny in the van rockin’ our way up to Bellingham. The morning was gray and as we arrived at the lake, the water looked black and freezing. The four of us sort of wandered around for a couple hours and people watched until I had to start getting ready. I set up my transition station and stretched out. The first couple of waves of people headed out and I finally waded into what were surprisingly warm waters. “This is it,” I thought. “This is everything I’ve worked so hard for all summer. Don’t let down, just-” And before I could even finish my thought, they signaled the start of my wave.
I dove into the waters and started swimming as fast as I could and soon realized why so many had suggested staying to the outside. I was being passed and everyone was kicking me in the face. A couple of heels to the nose later, I got a pace going and did my best to stick to that.
The shore was indeed a welcoming site. I hopped out of the water with sore arms and ran to the transition station where I changed under a towel (interesting and difficult not to flash the spectators) and got my bike. Soon I was off to the biking part where it took me 8 miles to realize I had only been in the second of three gears the whole time. I switched and started going faster. As I re
ached the end of the biking course (two laps around the lake) I saw a sign that read dismount area. Naturally I slowed down, but as I had been cruising between 20 and 25 mph, I was still going fairly fast. I jumped off the bike where the sign was to the frightening realization of my speed and numb feet; I nearly collapsed. I was somehow able to keep my cool and ran to the transition station to store my bike and head off to the run.
The run was by far the most difficult. I started and only got 100 yard
s before I had to walk. The run was an out and back course with a lot of hills and the first quarter I walked more than I ran due to side-aches and sore legs. The second quarter I was able to run more than walk, but still didn’t feel like I was making good time. Once I reached the hydration station though, I decided to run all the way back. Most of the run back all I could think was “left, right, left, right…” This mantra was all that got me through – especially all of the hills! The last part of the run was up and over a hill and knowing I was almost there I started to push myself as hard as I could. I reached the peak of the hill and saw a guy in a bright yellow livestrong jersey about 80 yards in front of me. Lance Armstrong was not about to beat me and every last drop of reserve fuel went into my legs as I sprinted the last tenth of a mile. I passe
d Lance and saw the FINISH line, and ran right through. I nearly collapsed as the girl cut my timer off my leg and I walked over to the grass.
I was finished!!! In the end, my times were as follows: 400 yard swim - 12:53, transition one – 3:27, 14.75 mile bike 1:00:32, transition 2 – 1:06, and finally 5k run – 37:02.
At the beginning of this summer I felt as though I should have some kind of a goal to keep in mind while working out. It started simply as a desire to be able to run again, as my physical therapist said it would not be wise to run with all of my back issues from last summer. As my biking and swimming routines seemed to get easier, my thought process changed to a race mentality. I wanted to complete something – to have a sense of accomplishment. I started looking at triathlon distances, found the sprint distance triathlons, and thought that a good goal to set for the summer would be an in-gym sprint distance triathlon. I thought that I could just try and do these distances at one point on the different machines available in the gym, but my competitive side took over and thought, I want to be faster than other people.
Continuing my training, I found different sprint distance triathlons around Washington and I decided to head north to the Lake Samish Triathlon. My gym routines became more and more vigorous as I approached that 8th day in August and I began to get nervous. Everyday I went to the gym with the intention to get the competitive edge and beat someone else. That big number 8 loomed ahead and I couldn’t wait to get going on that first triathlon.
Finally, the morning of the 8th arrived and I woke up at 4:45 AM. I greeted the day with good friends Dylan, Lindsey, and Vanny in the van rockin’ our way up to Bellingham. The morning was gray and as we arrived at the lake, the water looked black and freezing. The four of us sort of wandered around for a couple hours and people watched until I had to start getting ready. I set up my transition station and stretched out. The first couple of waves of people headed out and I finally waded into what were surprisingly warm waters. “This is it,” I thought. “This is everything I’ve worked so hard for all summer. Don’t let down, just-” And before I could even finish my thought, they signaled the start of my wave.
I dove into the waters and started swimming as fast as I could and soon realized why so many had suggested staying to the outside. I was being passed and everyone was kicking me in the face. A couple of heels to the nose later, I got a pace going and did my best to stick to that.
The shore was indeed a welcoming site. I hopped out of the water with sore arms and ran to the transition station where I changed under a towel (interesting and difficult not to flash the spectators) and got my bike. Soon I was off to the biking part where it took me 8 miles to realize I had only been in the second of three gears the whole time. I switched and started going faster. As I re
ached the end of the biking course (two laps around the lake) I saw a sign that read dismount area. Naturally I slowed down, but as I had been cruising between 20 and 25 mph, I was still going fairly fast. I jumped off the bike where the sign was to the frightening realization of my speed and numb feet; I nearly collapsed. I was somehow able to keep my cool and ran to the transition station to store my bike and head off to the run.The run was by far the most difficult. I started and only got 100 yard
s before I had to walk. The run was an out and back course with a lot of hills and the first quarter I walked more than I ran due to side-aches and sore legs. The second quarter I was able to run more than walk, but still didn’t feel like I was making good time. Once I reached the hydration station though, I decided to run all the way back. Most of the run back all I could think was “left, right, left, right…” This mantra was all that got me through – especially all of the hills! The last part of the run was up and over a hill and knowing I was almost there I started to push myself as hard as I could. I reached the peak of the hill and saw a guy in a bright yellow livestrong jersey about 80 yards in front of me. Lance Armstrong was not about to beat me and every last drop of reserve fuel went into my legs as I sprinted the last tenth of a mile. I passe
d Lance and saw the FINISH line, and ran right through. I nearly collapsed as the girl cut my timer off my leg and I walked over to the grass.I was finished!!! In the end, my times were as follows: 400 yard swim - 12:53, transition one – 3:27, 14.75 mile bike 1:00:32, transition 2 – 1:06, and finally 5k run – 37:02.
I finished in a grand total of one hour, fifty five minutes, and two seconds! I was hoping for just less than two hours and reached that goal and felt great!
Next year’s triathlon should be even faster.
Next year’s triathlon should be even faster.Thursday, August 6, 2009
Less Than One Month!!!
It’s funny how fast time can be – we’ve almost reached the end of summer! All of my life I have waited in anticipation, almost to the point of dancing like I have to use the restroom, until summer would come and relieve all the pressures life can hurl at us. I knew this year it would be different. Between waiting to hear about my acceptance to the program and getting everything ready for my long awaited departure such as my visa (it came back yesterday! I’m legally allowed to live in Italy now!), electronics (just got a new camera!), and travel supplies (tested the new backpack with Dad going up the Summerland Trail on Mount Rainier), it has been a summer full of things to do.
Before I go on to tell of all the great things I have been able to do this summer and all of the future adventures I will elaborate on, I would like to take a moment and explain when my journey to Italy all began. In the summer between seventh and eighth grade my dad and I went on one of our annual camping trips, this time up to Banff, Canada. As we were crossing Eastern Washington Dad thought it would be a cool idea to stop by some Jesuit school with a funny sounding name. I thought that this would be a complete waste of time because I felt like I had the rest of my life to figure out where to go to school, and that was way too far off in the distance! Anyways, as we pulled up and started on the tour (where I was indeed the youngest by a few years), our tour guide was telling us about the study abroad program in Italy that he had just returned from. Needless to say I was jazzed about this program and decided then and there that I was going to attend that little private Jesuit school with a funny name, Gonzaga University. I never really thought of attending other schools because the more I got to know about GU, the more I loved it. But always in the back of my mind I knew the real reason I would go there was to experience Gonzaga-in-Florence or GIF as it is so often referred to. Now here we are only one month away from my departure, from a dream I grasped on to in seventh grade and refused to let go of.
One of the major things I had to do this summer was make money and lots of it. I searched for a job all of my spring break and turned up with nothing. I then got a tip about a job working for King County and went after it. Low and behold, I landed the job helping youth find work experience through the county. I’ve met a lot of great people through this work experience and it’s helped me reach some financial goals I had at the beginning of the summer.
Another huge thing for me this summer has been the gym. I decided near the beginning of the summer that I would attempt a triathlon. Nearly every single day I finished with work and would spend about two hours swimming, biking, or running, but most days it was some kind of combination of the three. Through this rigorous exercise routine I have lost weight, improved endurance, and nearly reached my goal. I will be participating in the Lake Samish Triathlon in Bellingham where I will swim 400 yards, bike 14.75 miles, and run a 5k (about 3.5 miles). I’m super nervous, but I will let you know how it goes on Saturday when I finish!
To conclude, I’m just really, really, REALLY excited about ending this summer. I’m giddy when I think of all the fun my classmates and I are about to have and all the lessons in school and in life that I will learn, or be forced to learn. But until that plane takes off on September fifth at 1:50 PM, in service from Seattle/Tacoma International Airport to Charles de Gaulle and eventually to Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome, I have to take things one day at a time.
Before I go on to tell of all the great things I have been able to do this summer and all of the future adventures I will elaborate on, I would like to take a moment and explain when my journey to Italy all began. In the summer between seventh and eighth grade my dad and I went on one of our annual camping trips, this time up to Banff, Canada. As we were crossing Eastern Washington Dad thought it would be a cool idea to stop by some Jesuit school with a funny sounding name. I thought that this would be a complete waste of time because I felt like I had the rest of my life to figure out where to go to school, and that was way too far off in the distance! Anyways, as we pulled up and started on the tour (where I was indeed the youngest by a few years), our tour guide was telling us about the study abroad program in Italy that he had just returned from. Needless to say I was jazzed about this program and decided then and there that I was going to attend that little private Jesuit school with a funny name, Gonzaga University. I never really thought of attending other schools because the more I got to know about GU, the more I loved it. But always in the back of my mind I knew the real reason I would go there was to experience Gonzaga-in-Florence or GIF as it is so often referred to. Now here we are only one month away from my departure, from a dream I grasped on to in seventh grade and refused to let go of.
One of the major things I had to do this summer was make money and lots of it. I searched for a job all of my spring break and turned up with nothing. I then got a tip about a job working for King County and went after it. Low and behold, I landed the job helping youth find work experience through the county. I’ve met a lot of great people through this work experience and it’s helped me reach some financial goals I had at the beginning of the summer.
Another huge thing for me this summer has been the gym. I decided near the beginning of the summer that I would attempt a triathlon. Nearly every single day I finished with work and would spend about two hours swimming, biking, or running, but most days it was some kind of combination of the three. Through this rigorous exercise routine I have lost weight, improved endurance, and nearly reached my goal. I will be participating in the Lake Samish Triathlon in Bellingham where I will swim 400 yards, bike 14.75 miles, and run a 5k (about 3.5 miles). I’m super nervous, but I will let you know how it goes on Saturday when I finish!
To conclude, I’m just really, really, REALLY excited about ending this summer. I’m giddy when I think of all the fun my classmates and I are about to have and all the lessons in school and in life that I will learn, or be forced to learn. But until that plane takes off on September fifth at 1:50 PM, in service from Seattle/Tacoma International Airport to Charles de Gaulle and eventually to Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome, I have to take things one day at a time.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
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