Weekend in Tuscaloosa

It has been a very relaxing weekend seeing as it is Sunday now. I decided to take Friday off of class because on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I had felt more jittery about my test that I had on Thursday than I had ever in medical school. I was plenty prepared and definitely more prepared than a lot of people and I had a lot to be thankful in that regard. But I was just getting constant headaches and I just felt stressed overall.

I wanted to see Darwin so I decided it would be a good weekend to come and spend with him. I got down on Thursday night and we hung out and mostly just played video games. Friday was more of the same but it was good just to relax and catch up with him. I went to one of his classes with him and while I was in class I did a little bit of studying. It is pretty sad that we just had a test on Thursday, yet I am behind again on the work I need to do. Darwin talked to one of his old coaches at Alabama who is a mentor to him and told him some of the things that he needs to do to get ready to play professionally. He has done a lot of them already in getting a highlight tape ready to send off to coaches. But he is plagued by a shoulder injury that he had at the end of his season with the semi-pro team the Birmingham Wildfire. But he is seeing now I think the importance of getting back in the weight room and doing things that he can even with his shoulder hurting. He can't do a lot of stuff but I think he knows now that there are things he can do. Talking to him about all of this stuff started getting me thinking about "change" (more to come...).

Saturday came and let's just say it was a busy day in Tuscaloosa. I took a shower and waited for Darwin's girlfriend Caitlin to get ready so that we could head out to campus and hang out for a bit before they were going to go to the game. I was offered a ticket by one of my friends for $50, which was a great price since most of the tickets were going for $200 at this point, but somehow I still could not justify spending $50 on a ticket for a 3 hour football game that I could get a better view of from a television. I passed up on the ticket and they went to the game while I chose to go to the Ferguson Center, a kind of student union, and watch the game on a television there and do some work. It turned out to be a productive time and it gave me a little insight into some of the Alabama fans. The dining hall where I was sitting had a big projection screen that was playing the game and fans without tickets were packing it out to watch the game. They decided to turn the volume up so loud that I could hear the game perfectly even with the volume of the lecture I was listening to turned all the way up with earbud noise-cancelling headphones. They were not about to cancel this noise out. If some of those older individuals in there weren't hard of hearing before, they are now.

But one thing I noticed is just how invested some of these people are in Alabama football. It reminds me of the time Kristie and I went to the Braves vs Phillies baseball game and after the game there were fans from both sides bickering about their team being the better one (Phillies were obviously better, but the Braves had squeezed out a win in the game we were at). But I think I told Kristie that if one of these fans got into a fight and killed someone there in the name of the baseball team, that the baseball team would not claim that person. People are so quick to claim a team as being theirs, but would a team claim you? Coaches are quick to thank their fans after a game and that is great, they should. Collectively, fans are good things I think, but bother that coach for an autograph while he is out with his family eating dinner and that is a big no-no. I think fans as individuals don't mean anything to teams. However, when I played basketball our crowds were very small and I did appreciate each individual that was there because I knew them all there weren't that many haha. Anyways, I got off on a tangent there. I couldn't help but thinking throughout that game that if Alabama lost this game to LSU, there would be some serious problems in marriages and other aspects of family life. And it is crazy to me that people travel all around the nation watching these games and tailgating because it defines them. And I do understand why they do it. It is great to have something to live for and it is even better when that thing is successful and big and renown (Alabama football #3 in the nation, undefeated). But in the end it is still football right? I am sure those guys playing for Alabama do want to win a National Championship, but you know what, I bet they are either playing because they know they will play in the NFL one day and that is the end goal, or they are there getting a free education. As individuals they will not look back on their experience and think, "Those fans changed my life." Every Alabama game is packed out, it doesn't matter. And think about all the pressure on those players to do well. What if a fan told the quarterback for Alabama that if they didn't win that game, it might lead to the divorce of his wife? And that may be an extreme, but I don't doubt it.

All in all, it just strengthens my mind about sports. I love sports, don't get me wrong. It is awesome to see great talent and to see it practiced. But in the end is a huge distraction. Some of these people are not defining themselves by their work, better yet God; they are living for the next Saturday. It was funny that when I talked to Darwin about the game after it was finished, I told him that the Alabama fans shaking their "shakers" looked a lot like people saluting Hitler in the Olympics in Germany. At least these people have a sense of wanting to belong to something bigger outside of themselves. It's just severely plagued. But isn't that what all of our lives are plagued by? Trying to find something bigger outside of ourselves that usually is not God. Whether it be a sports team, work, or a relationship. But I can't just hammer these sports fan and think that I am perfect. He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone. I am sure that I elevate school to more than I should. I say that I keep things balanced and I don't care what grade I make on my test and I will be fine if I make a horrible grade, but what makes me any different from the fan who says they don't care if Alabama loses because they will be fine after. I think most of them would say they would be fine, but there would be great disappointment. Just like me doing poorly on a test.

It just gets me thinking a lot about what I elevate and what should be elevated. "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere." Is my day dominated by these things? Probably not. It is probably flooded with false judgments and anger and frustration and self-pity. I admit that God has changed me a lot and at least has brought these short-comings to light. I may fail in these things, but without failing, how can we improve? We may succeed in one thing, but life isn't about plateauing. Jesus was killed for the mindset of plateauing. Jesus was killed for us lacking the initiative to pursue God. But that means that at least I will have something to do for the rest of the my life. How is there ever a boring moment if there is always change to be had?

Which brings me to change. Most of our studies now in Neurology have switched to behavioral aspects. Like how to we motivate people to change and how do we help them to change? I think it is one of the toughest things about medicine, because we can prescribe plans and medications as much as we want, but we can't make the people do it or take that. It comes from a deeper attitude and it comes form the personalities of each individual person. But the thing is we all have long-term goals. EVERYONE DOES. Whether it be me wanting to be a doctor or me wanting myself to be pure in my speech. Whether it be a person who wants to quit smoking or wants to lose 50 pounds. Those are long term goals. Not something that is going to happen overnight. But let's be honest, most of our plans for these long term goals go awry at some point along the way and we experience set backs. Whether it be me making a bad grade, or someone doing some binge eating in the middle of a diet, or someone binge smoking. We all have setbacks. But most of us usually have setbacks because we try and do everything at once instead of taking the small steps toward that long term goal. We want to lose weight so we try and change our diet DRAMATICALLY and then exercise 5 times a week when we aren't used to doing anything. That sets us up for immediate failure. It is all about setting little small goals. Cutting something out of our diet that we are used to having that we know is bad for us. For me when I lost a lot of weight that was switching to all diet drinks. Then maybe later after we have changed some of our diet then we will slowly implement a once a day walking plan. Then move it up to two days and so forth.

We try to do things all at once and we realize after we fail, that we ourselves are failures and it kills our drive to want to try again because we think we will fail again. But that is why it is SO important to set up small goals. Because as we succeed in those small things, it reinforces the idea in our heads that we are competent and we are capable of doing this. That it is possible.

For me, I want my thoughts and my speech to be pure. Granted that is one of the toughest things and probably something that is nearly impossible to do. "For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man able also to bridle his whole body." Basically, the Bible says that the tongue is incapable of being tamed. We cannot control it, which is evidence of our need to gossip when we don't even realize it. And then what about our thoughts, we can sometimes control our tongues, but if the motive is there in our head, do I think that God only hears what comes out of my mouth? No, He knows my thoughts before I even know that I have them. That is a long-term goal for myself. But how do I implement that into short-term goals. I think for me it starts with having the constant mindset when I look at people that each person was made in the likeness of God. "(The tongue) With it we bless our Lord and Father and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing." Whether that person I want to talk about is living the life they were meant to is not for me to judge or decide about. That person was individually formed by God. Each detail was made specifically. I should love God's detail about that person and that should drive my attitude toward them. Granted, so often that flies out the door when someone wrongs us or we are made to look in the wrong. We want to defend ourselves and we could care less what happens to that person. And that is my SETBACK. I will have those instances, but if I know they are in my way and that is what I face, I can better plan for how to attack those and keep on track when they come my way.

I think it is going to be a good week. Kristie comes home today and it will be great to see her again. New material ahead and I am feeling positive about change. Life makes more sense when we let God into the position he should be.

Saturday and Part of Sunday

We woke up on Saturday morning decently early and took showers and went down to breakfast. Eric was able to find us and told us that the Catacombs he was planning to take us to opened up at 4 so it was better to leave at 330. That was fine because we were planning on doing a lot that morning. We first headed to the Coliseum and were able to skip the long line because of our pass that we had bought and we walked to the top level first and glanced around. I read the tour book to Mom and then we went to the lower level and checked it out. It is amazing that such an old building has stood for thousands of years. Afterwards, we decided to head to Palatine Hill where the emperor’s palace was. We were able to recreate what some of the buildings looked like because we bought a book that showed what the buildings looked like now compared to what they looked like before. We felt like we were a little rushed for time so we didn’t spend as much time here, but headed to the Forum. We took a good bit of time here learning about all of the temples that were there. Very interesting.

Although I know these buildings are a huge part of our history, I still don’t get too much of a sense of awe of the buildings. Most of these buildings were built for false gods and whether they are huge or not, they were built for the wrong purposes. But very interesting nevertheless to learn about the history behind it all.

After this, the Mamertine Prison, where Peter and Paul were held at one time or another was close by. However, when we got there it was closed for repairs and renovation and so we weren’t able to go in. But I took some pictures of the outside of the building. We then headed up to the Victor Emmanuel monument and went to the top of the building and took some great pictures of Rome. It was a hefty fee to ride the elevator to the top but it definitely made for some great pictures. After we were done there we had some time to go grab something to eat so we headed back to the café across the way from our hotel and ordered a couple of pizzas. We had some time to go up to the room, so I went and took a small nap before we needed to leave to go find Eric.

We left around 320 to go find Eric near the Coliseum and when we found him we grabbed a taxi that took us to the north side of Rome where a St. Agnes church was located. This mausoleum where housed the sarcophagus of Castanza, the daughter of Constantine, who legalized Christianity in the 300s. Her and her mother were Christians and they probably had a big impact in Constantine legalizing Christianity. That mausoleum was closed because of a wedding though but they told us in an hour or so we could have a chance to go inside of it after the wedding was finished. So we headed for St. Agnes church, where her body was buried.

As you entered the church, there were many pieces of plaques that were headstones to the graves that were originally in the catacombs there. Eric took the time to tell us what many of the letters meant and some of the symbols and explained the history behind some of the Greek and Latin writing on these pieces of marble. It was very interesting. When we reached the actual church he told us more of the story of Agnes. That she was one of the first Christians at the age of 13, and she pledged that she would not get married. Her parents who were not Christians arranged for her a marriage and discovered from this that she was a Christian when she refused to get married. The authorities caught onto this as well and to punish her they sent her to a brothel that was located near an arch in some plaza (I forget its name). But it was interesting when he told us that the word fornicate comes from a root of the word fornix which has its root in the word arch. So this connects a lot of the history behind this word. Very interesting. But when Agnes was sent to the brothel, none of the soldiers had the heart to violate her because she was fervently praying. So the story goes that the authorities came and stripped off her clothes but in a miracle, her hair grew out to cover her body. They then beheaded her right there on the spot. Her head was housed in a church in Rome while her body was carried out to this church that we were in.

When we got into the church however, we discovered that the catacombs had closed that very day and were not going to open until late November due to renovations. What a bummer! But Eric took us around some more and told us some more history of the church that it was originally built in the 300s by Constantine but then it was destroyed at some point and the church that was there now was built in the 600s. We were able to go to the Crypt of St. Agnes, and she was also buried with her “milk-sister.” This girl was stoned at the foot of Agnes’ tomb shortly after Agnes’ death. Interesting story as well. All the details are not included here of course.

It was a short tour without getting to see the catacombs but I learned so much about the history of the headstones and what many of them said. The catacombs are also very much misinterpreted by people. Catacombs were basically places where poor people had their bodies buried. It was illegal for people to be buried within the city walls, so they were buried outside of the city. The richer people were buried in mausoleums above-ground, while the poor were taken further out to catacombs and buried underground. These were not so-called “meeting places” for Christians or places where Christians were persecuted. The catacombs were places that both pagans and Christians were buried as we witnessed by many of the headstones. Some of the catacombs in the south side of Rome along the Appian Way were bought by certain priests to house specifically Christians.

It was so great getting to pick Eric’s brain about his knowledge about early Christianity since that is what he has been doing his Ph. D. in. I was confused with how the persecution of Christianity in Rome was being conducted. Come to find that Christians were not persecuted all the time, but usually by instruction of the Roman mob after it was particularly starting to bother Romans. Usually there were plenty of years between certain persecutions and the last persecution was around 315 or 320 ad.

We caught a bus back to the city and we had a good walk from the bus stop to where our hotel was with Eric. He told us some more history and informed of us of the place that Julius Caesar was actually murdered since he was not murdered within the actual Senate (the Forum). The Senate at that time was meeting across time at a certain building. I forget the name off the top of my head, but it was nice to get that cleared up since the tour guide book did not talk much about it.

We left Eric and it was very nice to have him as a guide. I feel bad that we didn’t get to do the tour before hand and I am sure that he was disappointed as well because we could tell from his notes that he had prepared thoroughly for the tour that we were taking today and a lot of the tour was going to encompass the catacombs. I still feel that I got my money’s worth with all the things I learned about the early Christians and how to interpret some of these marble plaques. If I was going into that church I would have just blown by those plaques and would have thought nothing of them, but I am glad that I learned a lot more than just the average tour today.

We headed back up to our room and we tried to decide what we would do. We both took a quick nap though because we were very tired. We were finally able to get up and decided that we would take a taxi to the Piazza Navonna and see the Fountain of the Four Rivers and we ended up finding a place to eat there right next to the fountain. There were many people in the Piazza taking pictures and playing music. The scene was lively and it was nice sitting at an outside table with a glass of wine and a pizza and enjoying the fountain. It was a little chilly that night but we had a nice heater beside us. After we had finished eating and had talked for a bit, we made the night walk that was listed in our guide book and headed toward the Pantheon. We saw the Pantheon from outside and took some pictures and then headed toward the Trevi Fountain. There were a ton of people there but we took some pictures. We decided to head back to the hotel and forego the Spanish steps because we both had to go to the bathroom so we grabbed a taxi. I decided to do some studying and listened to a lecture before I went to bed.

The following morning, the Italian clock had set back an hour because of their version of Daylight Savings Time and of course I set my phone alarm wrong so we woke up 2 hours before we were actually supposed to. I worked a little on covering Scripts from that lecture I listened to the night before and then we both took showers and headed to breakfast. Mom had asked me if I wanted to go to the catacombs in the south part of Rome located along the Appian Way, but I decided that it was way too much trouble to head all the way there and try and catch buses in certain directions. We knew that the Pope was supposed to make his Sunday appearance at noon. We thought we would try and go see that.

We headed out of our hotel and what a site it was on the Via de Fiori Imperiali. They had closed the entire street off because they were having street games this Sunday. The first game that we saw was older men tying these cloths to their arm and taking huge rolls of Parmesan cheese and heaving it and rolling it as far as possible. What a crazy sport! There were other funny sports that I really couldn’t explain that well going on all down the street. Looked like some form of tennis but using tambourines as the paddle. But we headed to the metro station and took a subway to the Vatican. A ton of people were arriving already and they were just getting done with mass. All of the African bishops and cardinals were there and had been there for the entire week. Usually on Sunday the Pope just makes an appearance out of his apartment window and prays. But today he did what he would usually do on Wednesday when he makes an appearance on his platform out front of the Basilica. He spoke in all different kinds of languages to greet the people around and it was very cool.

After we had seen him, we decided to just sit in the Square for awhile because we knew that all of these people were probably make their way back to the subway station. So I wrote a little of this blog and spent some time just taking the scene in. Once the crowds had cleared we made our way out and decided to drop by the Spanish Steps. I took a picture or two, but truly wasn't too captivated by it. I am sure they are more beautiful at night. We stopped in a few souvenir stores and then made our way to the Pantheon. We stopped by a famous Gelato shop near the Pantheon and it was a madhouse. You had to buy your ice cream first and use the receipt to get them to make it for you. So there were about 25 people fighting to get three workers to make their ice cream for them. For the most part I'm never a stickler about being cut in line, but sometimes you just have to stand your ground and use your size not to let anyone by.

We then went inside the Pantheon after finishing our ice cream, that was good but not as good as the place in Florence. It was cool inside, but there really wasn't a lot to look at inside. The dome was really cool that had been the model for many other domes and this building had been standing for very long. It is now sometimes used for church. Afterwards, we decided that we would head back near our hotel and watch some of those games on the street. But a leather shop caught our eye and we went in. I had been looking for a nice journal with possibly some Italian leather, but for some reason these briefcases/"man purses" caught my eye. I knew this store was legit because the person working there wouldn't let you touch anything. I wanted to look at some of the bags so she helped me go through some of them. I hadn't really bought any souvenirs at all, first of all because I'm not a big tshirt person and I usually only like to buy things that I will use. The bags were expensive but Mom said it could be a Christmas gift, so I went through a whole process of picking out the pros and cons of bags including the type of clips they had, whether they had a strap, color, size. I was very particular, but I found one I liked and I was pleased with the purchase. It is Wednesday now that I am writing this in the States, and I have transferred all my belongings from my backpack to it.

After we left the leather shop we headed back and watched some of the games and then I went back to the hotel and dropped my bags off and we sat outside at the cafe and had some cokes and listened to the music. We then decided that since it was our last night we should try and find this restaurant that Eric had mentioned was really good. We headed out to where we had told us it was, which was about a 15-20 minute walk, but when we got there we couldn't find anything. I stopped at an Internet Cafe and wrote a few emails and then we headed back to the hotel to ask the guy working there if he could help us find it. He told us that the restaurant we were looking for was located there, but he tried calling it and no one answered so it may have been closed. But there was another restaurant with the same name that was not far from the the Forum so we he called them and they were open so we headed that way. It was a very nice restaurant, but the food was so delicious and ending up not costing us that much money. I was very impressed. And the Chianti that we had with the dinner was delicious. It definitely it saved my few of red wine on the trip because some of the house reds that we had on the trip just were not to my liking.

We headed back and did a little bit of packing and hit the sack and headed home the next morning.

Friday--Vatican City Day

The next morning we woke up around 630 and took showers and headed down to breakfast which was very good because they gave us vouchers for the bar next to us and we had cappuccino, a croissant and some bread with butter and jelly. Lots of bread. Then we had to rush back upstairs to our room and get our backpacks and we headed off the subway station. We packed onto the subway and headed to the Vatican. We had a little walk from the subway to the entrance of the Vatican Museum where we were supposed to meet our guide for Context Tours. I was a little skeptical of this Context Tours thing that Mom had reserved for us but she said that my Uncle John and his family had gone on the same tour when they visited the Vatican.

I was very surprised at the tour though. A Ph.D. student, whose name was Eric, who was doing his Ph.D. in early Christian studies up to the 6^th century A.D. led us on the tour. I imagine he was in his early 30s. He was a tall, skinny gentleman form Philadelphia and had been in Rome for 5 years doing his Ph.D. work. Another couple met us for the tour so it was just the 5 of us. We were able to skip the long line to get in because we had a reservation and we headed in. He was very knowledgeable about everything in the museum and picked things for us to see and explained it very well and answered all of our questions. It was a little more expensive than those big tour groups you see, but it was so intellectually stimulating. We toured the Painting Gallery and got a good sense of 12^th, 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th century art and how it had changed over the years which culminated in seeing some of Raphael’s works and how he had even changed his art style when he saw the work that Michaelangelo was doing at the same time in the Sistine Chapel.

We then took a tour through the sculptures and saw some of the ancient Roman statues that had been missing for so long including the Apollo Belvedere and the Lawcoone (killed the spelling, I know). One thing I thought really interesting was that many of these sculptures were found with missing limbs and people like Michaelangelo were commissioned to add the limbs back onto the statue and design them, but even Michaelangelo, who loved sculpting, would not take on this work. When we viewed these famous statues, we all reflected on a fact that I had been pondering for the past several days: Where are the Michaelangelo’s and Raphael’s of our day? Eric remarked that you don’t see people out here doing sketches of these statues like Michaelangelo and Raphael were doing in their time. We also came to the conclusion that it is very expensive to get a huge chunk of marble like this and do sculpting. But art has become so modern these days, that maybe it just isn’t worth it to some of these artists to take on some of the projects like these great artists did. It amazes me how all this work was done in the early 1500s and here we are 500 years later and we still stand in amazement at these of being the greatest works in history. Has there been a standstill in art? I know there are some famous artists out there, but let’s be honest, they don’t touch what these artists of the 1500s did.

We headed on and there were posters in a courtyard that explained the Sistine Chapel and so Eric spent a good chunk of time going over each of the earlier works that rounded the Sistine Chapel that had been done before Michaelangelo’s time and how they reflected the lives of Moses and Jesus but had parallels in the way they were painted to reflect much of the same objects. Then he explained each of Michaelangelo’s painting on the ceiling and how the first few in the middle told the story of Creation and then the Fall, and then three paintings having to do with Noah. Then these pictures were surrounded by prophets and prophetesses of the Bible. It told such a great story which culminated in the far wall with the Last Judgment by Michaelangelo. One of the things I was most amazed by was the fact that in some instances I couldn’t tell what the differences in painting and actual molding of the building. The paintings show columns that look like they are an actual part of the room and not a part of the painting. Of course the paintings are the most amazing thing, but these small details just leave me in wonder as well.

We spent a good while in there and I talked with Eric a bit about his religious beliefs and he told me that he had become Catholic four years ago shortly after he got to Rome. So he was able to answer some of the questions that I had about Catholicism but we didn’t get into it too much. One thing I found so disrespecting when we were in the Sistine Chapel is that the security make it obvious through posters in multiple translations that there is supposed to be no photography at all in the Sistine Chapel. But people are snapping away like it’s nobody’s business. I just don’t think these people have a true respect at what they are looking at. I took pictures of the poster that Eric explained to us in the courtyard but I kept my camera packed away in my backpack for this part of the tour. What a privilege it is to even be in this room where the Pope has mass and where the new Pope is elected every year. A privilege that many people obviously take for granted and try and take advantage of the system hoping that they can take that quick photo where no one will see them do it. Michaelangelo deserves reverence for this great work and I was more than happy to give it to him.

After that we headed out of the Sistine Chapel and to St. Peter’s Basilica, another great part of Vatican City. When we headed in there was so much beauty in this building with its long nave and huge dome, and such a beautiful altar. Just so much history in this place. I found myself asking more questions about Peter than I did about any of the Pope’s, but I found that I just kept having more questions about Catholicism.

We headed out of St. Peter’s and went into the Square and looked around a bit before Eric was about to part with us. The other couple left first but we had some questions for Eric. I really wanted to know where I could go in Rome to have an early Christian experience. He told us before that he does a tour once a week into some of the Catacombs that aren’t frequently visited because you have to know where you are going to get to them and they are not usually in tour books. We asked him if he would be interested or free to do a private tour with us sometime before we left on some of these sites and he told us that Saturday from 2-5 he could go with us there and tell us about the places. He didn’t give us a bad price for the tour, so we thought it would be a great idea to gain something from his wisdom about Early Christian meeting places and burial places in these Catacombs. I am very excited for this trip.

Afterwards we decided that we might try and do the Coliseum if we had time so we headed back near our hotel. By the time we got there, we were starving so we stopped off at a place to have some pizza and rest for a bit. By the time we were done eating we realized that we did not have enough time to do the Coliseum and The Forum so we decided to head to the St. Peter’s-in-Chains Church and then hit some of the Early Christian churches that Eric had circled in our tour guide book for us. I thought the St. Peter’s-in-Chains church was great. It had a Michaelangelo statue of Moses that was supposed to go on Pope Julius II’s tomb. And then the chains were really cool. I am not positive that they are real, but just knowing the stories of the Bible and relating it to these objects was inspiring to me.

Then we headed off to these smaller churches one of which was said to have been built upon a house that Peter stayed in when he first came to Rome and was persecuted. We stopped at two other churches before deciding that our legs were just about dead and it was time to head back for good. When we got back, we regrouped and tried to figure out what we were going to have time for throughout the rest of this trip. We thought about taking the Night Walk to the Pantheon and the Trive Fountain and the Spanish Steps, but decided that we were way too dead for that. We decided instead just to back to the place we had breakfast and get some dinner and call it a night. We had a good dinner, but better than the food was just the reflection on all that had happened today.

I realized how much respect I have for the Catholic Church. There is such tradition and such discipline and it does leave me in awe. And it does break my heart that there are many who follow Catholicism and work for their salvation. Catholicism is generally referred to as the “works Christianity” and Protestant religions are “faith Christianity.” But I believe it is such a perfect blend of the two that creates the relationship with Christ. Because if I could work at my faith and I could just say Hail Mary’s and pray on a Rosary and do Confession to get my faith and forgiveness through this, then why again did Christ have to die? I thought He had to die because there was NO WAY I could do this myself? But I also do not believe that a relationship with Christ comes just because I say I believe that Christ died for my sins and I am forgiven. I see now why God has been having me memorize James, and it is in preparation for my time here. James 2 says, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily good, and if one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one, you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” I will show you my faith by my works. I will show you that what I believe is backed up with how I act. We aren’t supposed to act a certain way or do certain things in order to gain salvation. Again, if this was the case, Christ died for no purpose. But my works and the spiritual practices that I work out are a reflection of the faith that I already have through Christ’s work.

Other aspects of Catholicism I cannot wrap my head around include Mary being perfect before she bore Jesus. I understand that she was blessed by Gabriel and told that she would have Jesus and I understand that in some sense it would be logical that a perfect being should be born to a perfect woman. But if a perfect woman was born, shouldn’t her mother be perfect as well? Where does the line stop? And I find it kind of interesting that beyond Elizabeth and John the Baptist being mostly the only family of Mary’s ever mentioned in the Bible, the line from Abraham to David to Jesus is through Joseph, Jesus’ father. Technically, however, Joseph had no biological connection with Jesus. I have no argument that Mary is special, but I do have trouble elevating her to the position that Catholics have placed her.

This leads me to my big revelation that is really the biggest I have had in many months. It is that I have a huge yearning for wisdom. I see so much knowledge out there. So much that I don’t know. There is so much that Eric knew that I would never be able to touch. In the back of my mind I just want this huge book on the Vatican and Catholicism so that I can know more. I don’t want to judge their beliefs. Like I said, I have so much reverence for what they believe and their traditions. I wish there was more of a common ground. But I realize that I waste so much of my time. I study a good bit, but I do get distracted when I study and I waste time on things like Facebook and chatting with people. I waste time going home and napping and watching television. I waste time just doing nothing. I want to read books like this in my “free time.” I want to learn foreign languages. I want to know more. What I found so crazy is that while I was in college, there was no way you could get me to take an Art History course. But here I am seeing all these paintings and just being totally captivated by the different time periods and how they differed in the smallest characteristics. I would never have taken an Ancient Rome History course, and here I am willing to pick up a 500 page book and read it cover to cover just to know some more about these historical figures I catch glimpses of in statue busts. Mom reminded me of a quote that says “Education is wasted on the young.” I am just several years too late. But now I understand why older individuals decide to go back and take night classes. I mean who cares what you make on the tests, because you probably won’t use it for any job, but what knowledge!!

But I know that wisdom and knowledge is given to those whom God knows will use it for the good of others. Solomon was not given wisdom for his own sake, but he was given wisdom so that when the Queen of Sheeba came wanting to know of his wisdom and knowledge, this pagan queen would praise God for witnessing such a spectacle. There are so many things that I waste my mind on. There is so much value in learning a foreign language in order to use it in my medical practice one day for the good of my patients. I know that God has given me great knowledge and great wisdom and a capacity to learn more in the medical field, but somehow I don’t believe that this is where it stops. Why do I feel this way if it is not for something more? I feel that I am at the “top of my studying game,” and maybe God wants me to take on a new task in the new time that I will create.

Other thoughts I have had throughout the day center around gaining control over my body. I don’t expect to look like all these great statues that I see everywhere in Rome, but a combined sense of the discipline of Catholics, the perfectness of the human body as presented by Michaelangelo, and the reverence to the temple that God has given me, leads me to believe that I must take better care of my body. Paul spoke of “beating your body into submission.” Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to start beating myself, but it is time to give up such petty things as biting my fingernails (I know, gross). It’s time to give up indulging on foods that are no good for me. I know these are many changes that I am trying to make in my life: getting rid of all my comfort time, and then trying to live an even healthier life [I’ve kept 20 pounds off since dating Kristie ;)].

I am thankful for the experience today. I am thankful for the great things that I learned about the Vatican, but even more about what God showed me about myself. We are all capable of great things. What we choose to do with our time and how we act are a direct reflection of who we are. “You will know a tree by its fruit.” If I keep wasting a little time here and there, what does that say about me? I told Mom that I wanted my life to count for something. She reminded me that no matter who I treat, a person’s doctor always has an impact on someone’s life. But that is plenty of years away. What am I doing now to make an impact? Should I be volunteering more in the free clinic on Wednesdays? Should I be finding more ways to help out the poor and giving of myself? I always tell myself that I don’t have time to do these activities when Saturday clinics roll around, but I usually just get caught sleeping in. I want to study harder and work harder so that my time is well spent. We will see how that plays out when I get back to the States. I am anxious to see how God is going to push me from here on out. I know I cannot do these things if He is not backing me up, but I feel He is pushing me now. Regardless, I am fired up and ready to make more of my life.

End of Florence and Beginning of Rome

Wednesday it rained all day so decided it would be best to stay in and get some studying done in the morning. Mom went out by herself while I took a late shower and got down to the lobby of the hotel by about 12. I studied there for 2 hours before I decided I needed a change of scenery so I went back up to my room quickly to write Mom a not before I headed to that McDonald’s I had frequented and did some studying again. I got through a whole day and a half of lecture so I felt pretty accomplished. Mom came and got me probably around 4 o clock or so and I went out with her. It was still kind of raining but we headed back near the Duomo and walked to this shop that she had seen that sold these wax stamps that I was interested in getting. We found one that had my initials so we got that and we got a few other odds and ends there. Then we headed off to the Ponte Vecchio. The Ponte Vecchio is a famous bridge in Florence where basically there are a lot of people that make jewelry. I hate to downplay the magnificence of it, but I just wasn’t truly captivated by it. I know there is a ton of history behind it, and there is probably more beauty in the architecture than I give it credit for, but to me it is just shops for those who want the “bling.” If anything it gives me some introspection into my own life and the crap that I buy a lot of the time. I may not buy gaudy jewelry, but I buy movies and video games and other crap that won’t improve my life the least little bit. And then I remember those poor ladies a couple blocks back who kneel in the pouring rain in the wet streets with their heads to the street, not even looking at what someone might put in their box. And some of that jewelry costs thousands of Euros. Guess it was good for me in those respects, whether those women are actually poor or not. A little perspective is always good.

After that we stopped at the Gelato place again and got an ice cream and headed back in the direction of the hotel. I covered another lecture that night and we went to bed. The next day we were going to leave for Rome. We woke up and it was still kind of raining that morning. We headed off to the train station around 930 and got our tickets for a 1030 train headed to Rome. We grabbed a cappuccino at the cafeteria there and took a seat until it was time for us to go to our train. We boarded our train, and it just so happens that they put us on the party train. The car we were in was full of Italian kids headed to Rome. And they were all just bouncing around from seat to seat the entire time. Mom and I were seated directly across from each other and two of them were sitting next to them. Two of the students were actually sitting in our seats when we got on the train and I felt lucky that I conveyed to them that they were sitting in our seats. I just put my iPod in and told Mom to do the same and just tried to block it out for the entire time. I did take some glimpses out the window at the Italian countryside which was beautiful. It was very difficult not to be irritated with these kids though as they were constantly in our personal space and even had a speaker set hooked up to their iPod blaring music for the entire car to see. Girlfriends were all over their boyfriends in seats right next to ours. Some boys were obviously wearing mascara and some had pink earrings. I couldn’t honestly say they were homosexual but I also couldn’t help but think, “What do these boys father’s teach them?” I mean they could possibly not have fathers or their fathers don’t care or any other number of reasons. But it just reinforces the idea in my head that when I do have sons, I will raise them to be MEN. They will not be sissys with mascara and that wouldn’t know what it meant to stand up to someone. Makes me question what some of these kids will do one day as a profession. I tried as hard as I could not to judge though it was very hard not to, but I did try and pray for them also that somehow they would find their way.

We got to Rome and had to almost charge our way onto the subway. Those things were SOOOOO packed. But we made it on with our luggage and then went through the process of getting lost on the way to find our hotel. But despite the rain in Rome, we still found the place and got checked in. We both were exhausted from the entire trip so we ended up laying down for a little while and taking a nap and seeing if the rain quit before deciding what to do. Once we got up we decided it was best to maybe try a museum. We headed toward the National Museum and saw a lot of Ancient Roman statues and got a good Emperor history lesson from the tour guide book. I have always heard names like Julius Caesar and Augustus and Brutus, etc, but I could never place them in a time period and this tour of the museum really helped me with that. After we were done there we headed back to the hotel where we were going to try and find a place to eat for the night.

We ventured down a backstreet and found a nice place with outside seating and candles. We ordered an appetizer of meats and cheese that was okay and then we both had pastas. Mom had the carbonara and I had a pasta with mushroom which was cooked in olive oil I’m guessing. It was good though and I had a glass of white wine which was also very refreshing. We headed back to the hotel and had a decently early night since we had to get up early in order to meet our guide at the Vatican for our tour at 9.

How many steps does it take to get to the top of 2 huge Florence towers?

So today didn't start out as early as we had planned. We had originally set the alarm for 6 before we went to bed, but due to lack of me going to bed at a decent hour we set it back for 7. However, when the alarm went off at 7, the snooze button was pressed many times and I think I eventually got Mom to get out of bed and go take a shower by 830. Breakfast ended at 10 and I made it barely in time after I had my shower.

Breakfast consisted of some times of oats cereal and some terrible eggs, but a great croissant. Add some chocolate spread to it with a cappuccino and I was good to go for the day. We headed out towards the Duomo where there was another church nearby where we were going to buy our tickets for the Uffizi tomorrow. However, we got there and found out that we could get tickets for today and so we jumped on the opportunity. We had a couple hours to kill before our appointment at the Uffizi Museum so we headed back to the Duomo where we read in the tour book for awhile about the Duomo and the Baptistry right next to it. There is also a huge bell tower there as well. We went inside the Duomo there and there wasn't much of a line and it was free. Inside, you could see the huge dome and the mural painted on the dome. There was not much else inside the church there though. We still had some time when we exited so I decided that it would be worth my time and worth the pictures to hike to the top of the bell tower and take some pictures. It was 416 steps to the top and it was a steep hike. I got up there quickly however and spent about 10-15 minutes taking pictures. I made the hike down and counted the steps then.

Afterwards, we headed down to the Uffizi so we would have plenty of time to make our appointment. We hung out in the Square there for awhile and got something to drink and then headed in. There were a ton of people there so it was great we got our tickets ahead of time though it cost a little bit more. We checked our bags at the front desk and headed up. We toured for about an hour and a half and saw a lot of famous paintings by Michaelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo di Vinci and some other Boticelli paintings. Sorry if I murder some of these names. Afterwards we stopped at the bar there and had an espresso before we went to collect our bags and head out. I really enjoyed reading the tour guide and learning some about these paintings and what the painters wanted to convey.

Once we got out of the Uffizi we decided we had enough time to hike to the Accademia and try and see Michaelangelo's David. However, when we got there the line was very long so we decided it was better worth our time to go spend it elsewhere. We headed back to the Duomo and I decided to make the hike up to the top of the dome. It was 461 steps this time to the top and the steps were much closer together. I had to walk on my toes most of the time just to keep from falling off of the steps. However, the pictures were beautiful and I was able to take some pictures of a guy drawing a scene of Florence which I thought looked really cool. Although it may be creepy I was taking a picture of someone else. Oh well.

Once I got down Mom and I headed for a Gelato place that the guide book said was one of the best in Florence. And they were definitely right. I got a cone with one dark chocolate scoop and one hazelnut scoop. It was delicious. The dark chocolate was actually kind of bitter like actual dark chocolate. It was amazing that they made the ice cream like that. I pride myself on my love for ice cream so it has been great to just taste good ice cream all the time. Wish ice cream was like this in the States.

After we got our ice cream we headed for the Duomo museum where there is a Michaelangelo statue called the Pisea (sp?). You can basically reach out and touch it (I didn't however) and it is just crazy to be so close to a sculpture that the most famous sculptor in history did. Crazy stuff. After the museum we decided we had enough time to head for the Accademia and try and see if the line had died down so we could see the David. The line was nonexistent and so we got in quickly and took the tour according to the guide book. The David was awesome. It is a huge 17 foot statue with just such great detail. Michaelangelo said that when he sculpted, he sculpted when he felt the Holy Spirit come over him. He would not sculpt otherwise. Sometimes he would sculpt for days on end with no sleep just because of what the Spirit was leading him to do. I hope one day I can do that with my work. That I can seriously work when it is time to work and work as the Spirit leads me. Very inspiring.

The Museum was closing so we had to get out so we decided to try and find a place for dinner. We found a place nearby in the guidebook and headed there. There was no wait as it was still early. We ordered an appetizer that was some type of goat cheese, liver pate, a mushroom and tomato topping for bread and then these fried ham balls and then an omelet with white truffle sauce on top. Very good. Then we had a fettucini with bolognese sauce that was very very good. I enjoyed that a lot. Then there was also a basic salad and then a steak with potatoes. Mom and I split a bottle of red wine and I probably had too much considering I am a super lightweight.

We made it back from the restaurant though. Mom had mentioned going back to the Duomo to see it lit up at night and maybe getting another ice cream cone, but I started walking in that direction and decided that it was probably best for my walking that we just go ahead and go back to the hotel. Too much walking, plus over 2000 extra steps in the vertical direction plus a half bottle of wine was not too good for much more walking.

It was a fabulous day with seeing so much of Florence. Tomorrow we will wrap up some of the things we haven't seen and hopefully sleep in a little bit as well.

Why would anyone come to Pisa if the Tower didn't lean?

We got into Florence pretty late last night. We got confused getting on the train in Venice because we couldn't figure out if we had seat assignments or not, but we finally deciphered the ticket and figured out what car and seat we were in. I did some verse memorization and was able to charge my computer a little bit on the train ride. Also did a little bit of sleeping and watched a strange man steal people's seats while they were up. It was kind of comical.

But we got to Florence and it was probably around 930 pm and we struggled to find our hotel until we finally got out a map and located the correct street. We got to the hotel and checked in and it is a nice hotel. Not much of a view (a white wall 5 feet in front of us), but it does have Internet so I can post on here a good bit. Once we had gotten our stuff unloaded we decided that we needed something to eat. By the time we made it back out to the street though, the local restaurant that I thought would be good to get some pizza was closed, so McDonalds in the train station was really our only option. I ordered a number 4 which was basically a burger with tomato and cheese and lettuce and mayo, and they informed us that we could have a Big Mac or a Chicken Sandwich. I took the Big Mac. So much for a choice.

By the time we made it back to the hotel with the food, most of it was cold. But oh well; I was starving. After we finished eating, I checked a few emails and we headed to bed. Mom decided it was best that I got some sleep since I have been burning the candle at both ends since about three days before we left due to several tests I had.

Woke up the next morning around 11 to a nice cold. My sinuses were aching and had a little nasal congestion. I took some DayQuil that Mom had, but my vast knowledge of viral colds tells me that I can only help the symtpoms. Just have to let it run its course. I took a shower and this shower was surprisingly big for an Italian shower. In Venice, I could barely turn in a circle, better yet try and reach down to clean my feet. We got dressed and Mom had decided that we would go to Pisa today.

We headed off the train station but made a quick pit stop at a grocery store that was in between our hotel and the train station. We picked up a loaf of bread, a couple bananas, a chocolate bar and a couple drinks and headed to the train station. Mom got in the long line for train tickets and the train that we needed to take was going to leave in 15 minutes. I thought it might be a good idea if I tried to operate the automatic electronic ticketing machines where there was barely a line. I went over there while she stayed in line and told her that I would see if I could work it. Although I do think myself technologically talented, I could not with confidence buy the ticket, so I left Mom to buy the ticket hoping we would have enough time to make it to the train before it left.

We did make it to the train fine and this train did not have assigned seating so that was less confusing. We then ate our food and enjoyed the one hour train ride to Pisa. However, our joy would cease as the ticket collector guy came and saw our ticket and saw that we had not "validated" our ticket. To those who are not familiar with ticket validation, Mom and I have come to the conclusion that it is just a way to get 5 more Euros from stupid tourists. You are supposed to take a ticket that you just bought and slide it into some yellow machine located in the most remote spots of the station and it stamps it with a time. The collector saw we had not validated us and wrote us a ticket. Lame.

We got off the train and Mom knew of a Pizzeria that was very good and she remembered it from her childhood. However, we ended up not being able to find it. So instead we got on with our walk and followed our map to the Duomo and the Leaning Tower. We were able to take some streets that did not have cars on them but lots of places to shop so that was cool. We stopped at a shop to have a cappuccino and then headed on. We came upon the complex and they were both beautiful buildings. For those that do not know what the Duomo is, it is the church in which the Leaning Tower is its belltower.

Mom and I spent some time talking about how it was very interesting that if the Leaning Tower had never decided to "lean" then there was not much reason for people to come to Pisa. The Duomo is an amazing building and very beautiful, but there are churches in plenty other places in Florence and Venice and other parts of Italy. And of course everyone is obsessed with the Tower and pays little attention to the church. The grasses in the complex are so green and there are signs everywhere saying Keep Off the Grass, but tourists obviously are quick to violate these rules so they can do the typical tourist picture of "Holding Up the Tower." I decided to pass on that pose.

Mom and I found the ticket office and bought the 2 Euro each tickets for the Duomo and I coughed up the 15 Euros to walk up the Tower. I could understand if they charged us to take an elevator, but we are the ones doing the work, you think it would be cheaper. Anyways, we read the Rick Steve's tour book of aspects of the Duomo and it made looking inside the Duomo much more enjoyable. Saw an amazingly built pulpit and mosaics and a lantern in which Galileo had observed the actions of pendulums. Then my appointment had come to go up in the Tower.

They let 30 people go every 30 minutes to the top. I figured half way up the Tower that I wanted to know how many steps it was, but it was too late to count so I pledged to do it on the way down. The steps to the top were in a spiral staircase with a low bridge, so I spent most of my time crouched over. We got to the top where there are four or five bells and then I took a smaller staircase to the very top where I took some picture of the Duomo and the surrounding Italian countryside. It was very beautiful. We got to spend about 10-15 minutes at the top and then we made our way down. I counted from the top to the bottom there were 306 steps. Due to old tennis shoes, I almost slipped when I was going down one of the spiral staircases. Luckily it wasn't a slip near the outside railings.

Mom and I left the complex after that and viewed a couple more daring tourists brave enough to get on the grass. It wasn't 10 feet past the complex before we heard the shrill whistle of the police getting onto the people for being on the grass. It was quite amusing how quickly the people scattered. We headed back in the direction of the train station by a different route. We stopped at a place along the way to get a slice of pizza that was delicious.

The pizza here actually seems kind of healthy. It is a thin crust pizza with a very thin slice of cheese and the tomato sauce is not very thick. It is surprisingly packed with flavor though. After we finished the pizza, we walked awhile longer before we found a Gelato that we had read about in the tour book that is known for selling some of the best Gelato in Pisa. We both got a cone for very cheap and headed to the train station.

We had our tickets already so we spied one of the yellow "validator" boxes and got the tickets stamped. Surprisingly enough, no collector came through on this ride. I wanted to make sure that they saw we had stamped it this time. Slept some more on this train ride and was very exhausted when we got back. We headed straight to the hotel and rested for a few minutes. Mom asked me if I felt like going out to a nearby church and even going to the Ponte Vecchio which was a good 20-30 minutes away but I did not think I had it in me. Besides I thought this would be a good time for me to go to a nearby McDonalds, where there were plenty of tables that I would not be kicked off of and do some studying. I convinced Mom that this was the best idea so I headed in that direction.

I know it may seem lame to most to study while you are in Italy, but since I will be getting back on the Monday that school starts back and missing the first day of class back, I would be a week behind if I did not cover the material that we did last week. So there is plenty for me to do on this trip and I just cannot take a week off. I got through a whole day's lecture though and headed back to the hotel. I uploaded some of my photos from the day and added some pictures onto the blogs that I had done previously.

I am fixing to talk to Kristie for a bit on Facebook and then I am headed to bed. Tomorrow we will go and get our tickets for the Accademia and the Uffizi museums that you usually have to get tickets ahead of time for. It is disappointing that they do not allow photography inside the museum because I wanted photographs of some of those paintings. Oh well. Guess I can do without. I am sure we will do a ton of walking tomorrow, so I hope that my body has picked up on this cold and started to get rid of it. Hope to have great stories for tomorrow!!

Venice Train Station

Mom and I got to the train station in Venice way too early. But that is okay because we didn’t have much more to see in the side of city we were in. I think we saw St. Mark’s Square about 50 times and the Rialto 49 times so I think we hit the main points. You know I enjoy being here a lot. But it isn’t because of all the museums and the sights. Granted Saint Mark’s Basilica is beautiful and the canals are awesome and the lack of cars is quite a feat. But I enjoy just sitting and listening to music and just reflecting on life in light of all the people I see.

I am sitting outside the train station right now at 523 pm local time on Sunday, while Mom goes and tries to find some kind of supermarket. Another very interesting thing about Venice is that along with never seeing cars, you will never see a laptop or a computer. I did pass by a Internet café last night and there were computers there, but you never see anyone else anywhere working on a computer. In fact, it is quite interesting that as we speak, I am on the outside steps of the train station and people that walk past me are slyly looking to the side at my laptop. I wonder if they even sell laptops in Venice. Mom said that earlier when I was typing there was a man that kept walking around me and thought that my laptop was the coolest thing he had ever seen.

It is definitely getting colder again. The sun has gone behind the buildings so the temperature has dropped a good 10-15 degrees. I really should have packed a warmer jacket. I did, however, pick up a Venice toboggan at a souvenir vendor this morning and it definitely made me a more enjoyable person. I think my ears affect my entire body temperature. When those things get cold, I’m done!

As we speak, there are some weird people starting to set up something with a drum and some flags. And there are 9 cops around. I am really kinda scared as to what is going on. The flag is yellow and red and so are the balloons that they are carrying. Maybe they are supporting something. Hope the cops know that the weird kid with the laptop is not with them. Even though they are less than 6 feet away. And they just popped a balloon…not cool. I jumped 10 feet off the ground. No one better start shooting here. Luckily I am thinking about packing up shop and heading to the platform to make sure that we can get in line to get a seat on the train.