I’m writing now, as I sit on a balcony overlooking the valley at sunset. The sun noticeably begins its dependence at 9 p.m. here. The moon is already out and the sun says its goodbye before disappearing behind the mountains. It’s very gradual and vey beautiful as you watch the atmospheric perspective of the mountains become hazier and eventually blend in with the night sky as the light is taken from the day. I’m eating a dripping juicy peach that’s near going bad – purple in color. It’s one of those that dad would say is perfect. All is quiet at JDK as everyone is out to dinner, and I actually have time to think. I let the breeze flow through my hair, watching the valley in my 180 degree panoramic view. I can hear sounds other than the constant cacophony of voices that I normally hear meshed in with the bells, dogs barking and birds. I feel like I am constantly distracted. I almost wanted to hand write this because when I get on the computer I get caught up in a slur of websites, and to dos and I get out a rough rendition of my thoughts. My writing isn’t focused, organized or beautifully written. I kind of like the honest flow that I get but tonight I’m going to write slowly and think. I’m thnking about how, here, at a place and time that has been set aside in my mind for personal growth, rest, rejuvination, has turned into an attack of inspiration, knowledge, curiosity, and tons of things to do, all constantly being thrown at me. It’s like an overindulgence of Italy. It’s not la dolce vita that I had expected... far less reads in the hammock, time to just be and be in Tuscany. Yes, I do things like go on long hikes and see breath-taking scenery, but it’s always with other people and they’re always talking. My generation doesn’t understand the beauty of silence too much – often we just talk to hear ourselves talk and talk to fill silence that we deem “awkward.” Since I can’t go for a long drive, walk down Milledge, sit on the dock, or light my candles and sit in the cloud (my bed), I’ve chosen this spot and its wonderful.
Today has been a day that stops all time. It’s been a day that probably should have been filled by crossing off to-dos, but every day is spent doing that. Every day of my life is spent “accomplishing”, and I’m realizing now that there’s always going to be something still to do. No matter how hard or quickly I work, how many things I get done, (and I’ve gotten pretty dang good at it)… if I don’t make a conscious conserted effort to “be still and know that I am God” or self-reflect, relax, etc. it’s just not going to happen, is it?
I think it’s really important to stay in tune. It’s important to regroup and to have reflection, to get back to the heart of things. It’s good to take a step back and survey the big picture. With a life that throws so much my way, I have to make very pointed choices in which ways I should spend my time. Every small choice we make has a consequence, and a lot of choices inform other ones later. I’ve realized that this week just choosing one or two times to do art and not go for a run has snowballed into not working out in a week and eating much less healthy. When you say yes to something, you are simultaneously saying no to a multitude of other options. I need to learn the art of setting aside time to reflect at the end of the day, and to get up and decide how to start my day with the importance of who I am and what I stand for in mind.
So back to today being a day that stops all time. I woke up at 10am. Not going to lie, I was still in fits of laughter from last night. I woke all the roomies up histerically laughing over my lost flipflop and we slowly made our way down to breakfast. I then lounged in bed, reading and napping until lunch. It was glorious. After lunch a group of girls headed to the pool. It was the perfect balance of sunny but not too hot with a light breeze. The epitome of enjoyable summer weather – so we decided on a classic summer day. Most study abroad programs are known to be a joke, classes don’t matter too much and it’s all easy a’s. Not the case here AT ALL. We all work our butts off all the time and the teachers see that and grade us hard still. That means we’ve had next to no time to do normal summer activities like lounge at the pool or go to a beach. All of our free time is spent going out, exercising, reading or getting other things done, but never really relaxing. Our day at the pool was delicious. The pool is on a mountain peak with a beautiful view. It’s a nice walk through the park to get there, and they play fun music – it’s cortona’s town pool so many of the locals go there, andddd I discovered a sand volleyball court! Closest to vacation I’ve gotten yet. Afterwards we walked into town and I finally got to eat at Tuchers – Lanny Webb’s favorite spot. I’m really expanding my horizons food wise because I’ve learned to love veggie pizza and lasagna. I still hate cabbage but now really enjoy green beans, zucchini, peas (a little), rockets, avocado and spinach. I’ve increased my love of tomatoes, cucumbers and onions as well. We got chocolate cake for desert and watched the evening ritual of everyone coming out in the town to socialize. It was a street-side spot on the main drag and everyone said their hellos as they passed. Very quaint.
This relaxing day hit the spot because life lately has been crazy. Yesterday we celebrated Cortona Day – UGA’s version of celebrating the 4th of July on the 2nd. We woke up early and those of us that didn’t fly off to Barcelona or London for the weekend all competed in the first annual scavenger hunt. We searched the town for 23 pictures, and it took 4 hours and a lot of local help but my team, “Pope Problems” won 3rd place and got gift cards to Molesinni’s! Everyone that participated got a large free gelato cone from Cocoa’s though, and we all got to see a lot of the town, so no complaining. For dinner UGA invited a few special Cortonese guests that are friends of the program and threw a big party with unlimited alcohol, a DJ and Tonino’s catered food. We had boar with the head still on, a huge array of desserts and lots of other food. I do have to admit that it didn’t truly feel like the 4th without hotdogs, handburgers and baked beans L I missed the lake and the fam a bit but we got watermelon, mimosas, sparklers and glow sticks so it got better. There were tents and 4th of july decorations everywhere. The teachers, families, cortonese and all the students all drank, ate and danced together. It was such a unique experience us all being together in a social setting. The rather large group slowly made its way to town for an epic night. I split a bottle of wine on the city wall under the stars, was inducted into the Belgium boy scouts and had many other adventures throughout the course of the night. (got home at 4am and the dinner had started at 6:30).
The whirlwind of my week has also included a lot of time spend experimenting in the wet studio with inclusions in my paper, and I’m learning extra bindings outside of class so that I can make my own graphically designed and printed book for my next project which is a place piece. (I’ll write about that tomorrow after I sit in my assigned entrance spot for 2 hours and observe during class). I visited an old church museum for art history and met Noni from Agali (Mr. Mead, Kellie’s teachers old friend who is hopefully going to cook us dinner or take us to the opera). I decided to skip out on the Prada outlet today, so I’m online shopping for a vintage chanel that I’ll probably end up buying from Agora’s and a silver quilted kate spade (mom will laugh about this one). I’m probably going to go finish harry potter and go to sleep.
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