New Zealand. Amsterdam. The States.

Last night I had a wonderful time hanging out with three other women who are currently living in Florence. It was supposed to be a planned "hang-out" time with some of the people who go to Florence Gospel Fellowship (a small church I found that reminds me of the little church we worked with in Phang Nga, Thailand) But, after waiting in front of the church doors for 45 minutes, we decided we would do something on our own. The reason we waited for so long was the fact that we were all on different times..I was thinking like an American who would only wait about 15 minutes top, while the others were thinking like Italians who would wait much longer because they are usually late anyway! Then we weren't sure who we were waiting on...would they be thinking like Americans or Italians? If they were the former then they would have come and gone already or just stood us up. If they were the later then we should wait as long as we could possibly stand, since there's no telling when they would show up. Do you see our dilemma?

After our wait we meandered over to the famous gelato, Vivoli. I had chocolate mousse, which was heavenly. Then we went up to one of the girl's apartments to chat over tea. (I felt very English in Italy with three people who were neither of those nationalities).

The more I meet people living over here, especially people in their 20s, I realize that it really isn't abnormal to move out of your homeland. Europeans, I think, are more at ease with this concept. Tinika, who is originally from Amsterdam, quit her job to move here to learn the language. She is at least in her late-20s and didn't think twice about the move. Now she speaks exceptional Italian (along with Dutch, German, and English) and is currently looking for a job to stay. Carrie, who is a New Zealander, is possibly in her early-30s and has lived in NYC, England, Germany, and Italy over the past decade (and also speaks multiple languages). She is going for her Doctorate and often lectures in Germany. I think she cycles through Cambridge, Germany, and Florence on a regular basis. And Mary, who is a fellow American, is here for her Master's in Art History. She studied abroad here for her BA and became an Au Pair after she graduated. She kind of has a long history with Italy-often coming back for months a time.

All this to say that I think we over in the "New Land" have the wrong idea about an "ordered" life. I feel that most of us have a phobia of not doing things in order-College, Career, Marriage, possibly another degree, Children, a loonnngggg gap in between, Retirement, then death. Who says it has to be like that? Being over here has really helped me see different lifestyles and attitudes about life. I've said this before, but I am always amazed by Europeans devotion to family and friends. They don't worry about career or money. On the contrary, most Italians are just making it by. Yet they believe in no higher being than themselves. It's a bit backwards really, and yet totally universal. Another proof that God is not "Christian" but Universal. Most Italians may not believe in God, but with their very actions and tendencies towards goodness and truth, they prove his existence without even knowing it.

PS: I got my absentee ballot! I'm voting abroad, yay! I hope all of you are voting as well, wherever you are. ;)