Biking II

Biking Videos

Today we took a bike trip all around Roma and got to see some non-tourist, authentic pastures and farms. I'm going to try to put up some videos, but to sum it up, we almost died of exhaustion, and Lynn almost died literally, but we are all back (to the best of my knowledge).

Lately I've been doing a lot of worrying about the luggage that I still don't have, the food that could be making me sick, etc, but I was assured by this verse last night..."Therefore I say to you, do not worry

about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about
your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the
body more than clothing?Look at the birds of the air, for they
neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father
feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

Il Colosseo

Today we went back to Il Colosseo. Yesterday we balled Calcio with some Italians. So as we play, the ball will occasionally go off and hit pedestrians, who don't get mad, but simply smile and kick the ball back to us with more foot coordination than I have. Here even the little old ladies have more game than me. This kind of thing doesn't fly in the US. Afterwards, I found out that it was actually illegal to play soccer in public places. Whatevs

As you can probably tell, we've been exploring Rome for the past few days, sketching a lot. Most people are very friendly, and my Italian is improving daily. I was about to sit down to sketch when I saw some high school kids playing soccer in la Piazza del Popolo, so I decided to chat with them and kick the ball around. Many of the girls came up to introduce themselves and they were excited to hear about how warm Los Angeles was and were eager to look at my barren sketchbook. The other day we also ran into some guys playing a crude form of volleyball with a 10ft high net and yes, thats the coliseum in the background.

Photos by Adam G

The Villa in the middle is our studio this semester, its cool I guess.

Rough Landing, Warm Embrace

My trip to Italy began the day before I left with a reminder that sometimes the most beautiful things exist right in our own backyard. On Thursday, the day before my flight, I got lunch with two very good friends at La Province on San Vicente and afterwards walked to a local farmers market in the VA by my house. At the end of the market was a road that I had never taken that runs behind my neighborhood adjacent to the VA. In front of us lay a beautiful unkempt garden of overgrown landscape, lit by rays of light filtered between enormous trees on a hill. I felt like I had mistakenly unlocked a secret world within feet of my house, but hidden behind an ivy fence. As with many things in my life, I could see God showing me that sometimes the most beautiful discoveries are found where we begin our journey.

As I left the garden I got a call from a friend who was flying on the same airline as I would a day after. He told me that his British Airways flight had been cancelled and that the whole system was in chaos due to bad weather in London. Looking back at his call, I realized that this was a foreshadowing of things to come. My flight to London would be delayed as well, causing me to rebook my transfer to Milan (which was cancelled). With the new flights scheduled I said goodbye to my parents and got in the security line. We scheduled a 10 hr flight to London, giving me an hour to catch my next flight to Milan, however I would find that since my first flight was late, I would miss the transfer and instead fly to Zurich on Swiss air and from Zurich to Milan, arriving at 11:30 without the luggage I checked. By then the trains had stopped running, and I didn't even have a change of clothes or a suitable jacket for the 30 degree weather. The time was 1:00 am and I was still in line to make a claim that my baggage was lost, when a nice man offered to let me borrow his phone.

In my most uncertain hour, God was preparing to show me the beauty of Grace and unconditional love. Waiting to meet me on the other side of the sliding doors at the Milan Airport was Mr. and Ms. Balian, family relatives who instantly became my guardian angels. They had waited at the airport since 4 in the afternoon (when my flight was originally scheduled to land) and 9 hrs later embraced me upon my arrival. The trains had stopped running, it was raining outside, I had no European money, no working phone, but my new family drove me to their home and let me sleep in their house. They abundantly gave me anything I needed (since my luggage was probably still in London). After breakfast the next morning, they took me to see their vibrant and picturesque city of Varese. Upon our return they had prepared a wonderful lunch. Later that day they drove me to Como, with a bag of snacks, a sweater and a thick coat for me to borrow, until my luggage arrives. Insisting on making sure that I was safe, they accompanied me to my room where I found my friend Adam who had overcome similar obstacles to reach our destination.

I was overwhelmed with love for this family whom I had only met once before. They embraced me like a son and took the chaos of my arrival and turned it into a beautiful experience. When I had nothing, they tended to my every need. Their unconditional love for me reflected a greater truth that I am still discovering, that God loves us, not for what we've done, but for who He is. That is the beauty of Grace.