Whirlwind Italy--Last Day

A cold has been going around here lately. Emily and I got stuck with it last week, it hit Pastor on Saturday night, and some of our students have had it too. Well, I got hit extra hard this weekend. Saturday and Sunday I had a bad sore throat and then on Monday I woke up with no voice! I still haven't found it. So on day two of being mute, I finally have the chance and the energy to finish this Italy story (which has dragged on for far too long--my profound apologies). It's the perfect chance since I can't teach. This is the only "talking" I can do right now. lol Just picture that! Me...not being able to talk....lol

So the next morning came and Emily and I packed up. Our plan was to pack everything up, leave it at the hostel, explore until lunch time, grab a bite to eat, pick up our luggage, then head to the train station to go back to Bari so we could catch the ferry back. Our ferry tickets were once again for the overnight ferry.

Our day went as planned. We got all of our stuff together and headed back out into Naples. We followed the same route as the day before, which led us to the National Archaeological Museum. This time, it was open. :) So we paid the admission, got a locker for our coats and purses, checked our umbrellas (it was rainy, again) and started exploring.

The museum had a lot of stuff, though it was smaller than we expected. For everything we had been told about the place we kind of expected it to be massive. It wasn't, but it wasn't small either. It was still interesting. It also seemed like some exhibits were closed for whatever reason, but we had anticipated that just a little bit since we knew we were visiting during the off-season.

Despite that, we got to see all sorts of things found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Mostly everything in the museum was from one of those two cities. We saw tons of marble statues and busts. There were many of the gods, of course, but there were also some that depicted children or wealthy adults, though none who were named so it's pretty safe to say they didn't depict real people. Some of them were just absolutely gigantic! They were two or even three times the size of a real life person. I couldn't believe it! How do you make something that big and still have the proportions be correct? How long did it take to make them? What if you made a mistake?

There were some absolutely incredible mosaics, too! I love mosaics because I do not have that kind of vision at all. I know they laid them out beforehand, but I can't think how to do that. I don't know how to make a picture in my head become a picture in reality. My stick people don't even turn out the way I see them in my imagination, let alone a whole wall mosaic! lol Some of them were made with teensy-weensy tiles which made them seem extra intricate to me. And the way they know how to place lighter colors or darker colors in certain areas to create shading and imitate shadows is a complete mystery to me. That's probably why I admire such art--I have no idea how it's done so it simply amazes me.

We also saw plenty of paintings. The thing that struck me about the paintings is that they survived in such a preserved condition that they were still able to be restored and transported for display in a museum. Keep in mind, the eruption happened in 79 A.D. That's a long time ago!

There was also a "Secret Room" that was only for adults. That being said, you can probably guess what was there. Nothing horrible or anything like that. It was just the room where the more sexual art was displayed. Naked paintings and statues and things like that. It wasn't any worse than such paintings at any other art museum. In fact, I'm pretty sure the Art Institute in Chicago would be considered way more risque than the small room which housed these works. The part about this room that was a little strange though was the emphasis that was placed on the male form. Much of the art emphasized the phallus by either enlarging it or making it the sole item in a sculpture or other piece.

When we read about this, we found out that there was a reason for this. During that time, the phallus was considered a symbol of good luck. People placed these shapes/symbols in the houses or over their doors with one that was almost like a sconce in that it came out from the wall. Also, people wore this symbol for good luck. We saw chains and bracelets with this symbol that were even small enough for babies to wear. Overall, it was actually a very interesting history lesson and a good look into the trends and superstitions of the time. Though Emily and I were both thankful that good luck symbols have changed since then. lol We'll settle for a four leaf clover or a rabbit's foot. ;)

We saw exhibits of coins and jewelry from that time in addition to everyday items like vases, jugs, jars, dishes, cooking utensils, measuring scales, pots, and tables. There was a miniature replica of the city that was built to scale. Even this made it look like a large city.

But the coolest thing of all was a special exhibit that had just opened there and it was the first time this exhibit was showing. Guess what it was called? The Gladiator. I was so excited!!! As if seeing a real arena hadn't been exciting enough for me, I saw items that were actually used by gladiators in real competition. Real gladiators. Equipment used to fight and defend against human or beast in front of thousands of people. Worn by courageous men. There were spear tips, small swards, large knives, a shield, leg protection, and many different styles of helmets. The helmets, as it turns out, had different designs based on where the gladiator was from, where he was fighting, how successful he was, and whether he fought beast or human battles. Some were a simple design, others had intricate moldings. They also had the big horns that were blown before the competitions to announce the start and to call the gladiators into the stadium. It was awesome!!! I know that if I had lived during that time, I would've loved these competitions. They would've captured my attention, my competitive streak, and my admiration.

After the museum, we spent some time in the gift shop where they had tons of books. I bought two. :) Good thing I like to read! Then we got our stuff out of the lockers, planned our next stop and headed out.

We walked back the way we came because it had good window shopping. :) Plus, it led straight to where we wanted to go. We headed back to the Plaza Plebiscito because we wanted some daylight pictures there. The ones from the night before were good, but we wanted some in the day too. Plus, one corner of the plaza led right to the sea bay with awesome views across the bay to Mt. Vesuvius. Obviously the first thoughts in our head were about photo opportunities. lol We got the pictures as it started to sprinkle and then headed to lunch where we had to stop at the place that had delivered such amazing pizza just a few days earlier. We ate in the tented area outside to keep out of the rain and we ordered a Margarita Pizza to split. We also had a little chat with the table next to us. It was a mother and son who were from Colorado. They were on a cruise that was stopped in Naples for a day. It was nice to chat with new people and catch up on life in the States a bit. The son was studying to be a teacher so he had a few questions for us about how we ended up where we were. It was a perfect opportunity to share our story and mission.

After that deliciously authentic Italian lunch we went back to the hostel to get our bags. By now it was raining rather heavily so we decided to take a taxi to the train station. The walk was easy but a little long and we didn't want to get wet because it would've meant being wet for the rest of our travels, most likely.

We got our train without any problems, made it to Bari, and we were both hungry. Remember what we'd seen in Bari but had only taken pictures of? That's right--McDonald's. :) We stopped. It was quick and cheap. lol (Have you noticed that theme at all during this trip? lol) Then we had extra time before our ferry left so we walked, with our luggage, through the shopping area of town. Again, it was excellent window shopping. And it gave us a chance to stand and stretch our legs again before being stuck on the ferry all night. We weren't sure how to get to the port from the train station or how far it was, but luckily, train stations are an easy place to catch a taxi. So we got to the ferry, ate a snack, and boarded the boat.

Fortunately, this boat was much newer, much nice, and practically empty. We had real seats this time. They were like bus seats or airplane seats in a big room with a few TVs. There were about 100 of them in there and only 4 people. Emily and I didn't have anyone bothering us on that trip. It still rocked a bit, but that didn't bother either of us. We talked and laughed for awhile, Emily did some word searches while I read, and we slept. The only bad part was that in the morning, I saw someone puke into a bag. Ewww. That made me a little nauseous for the last hour, but I knew it was only because I was grossed out.

The boat docked, we got off, walked a little ways to the entrance to the main highway and caught a fergon to Tirana. A fergon is basically a glorified minivan. It's not quite a huge 15 passenger van, but it's not quite a minibus either. It holds about 12 people and isn't as expensive as a taxi, but is more expensive than a bus, but makes better timing. It was a good way to go. So we made it back safe and sound by 10am.

You know what happened after that. We began planning for classes, they began, and I've been working every since. And, might I add, loving every minute of it. :) It really is a blast to teach these kids because every day makes me motivated. I see when things click and it's exciting to me that they've understood! And if they don't quite catch on as quickly, it's a fun challenge for me to think of a fun and exciting way to explain it to them again, a different way, for the next lesson. Some of my classes are really starting to catch on to things, too! I'm so proud of them for how hard they work at it! :)

Activity Nights have been getting record attendance, which is good, but makes it difficult because we have such a small space and with that many people, there's no room to move or do anything really active. lol But they love to sing and learn knew songs and that can be done with a big group or a small group. The other day, when they learned about U.S. National Parks, they saw pictures, learned new things, and then I taught them The Bear Song. You know, the one that goes, "The other day (the other day), I saw a bear (I saw a bear)." And so on, and so on. They had a ton of fun with that one. My kids even asked if we could sing it again in class. lol I promised them we could. But, then, I lost my voice. That made talking, singing, and teaching out of the question yesterday and today. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to be understood so I can get back at it.

Other than that, things are going quite well here. We even have two girls, both age 13, who are interested in taking some classes with Agron. See, once a week Agron gives a devotion after each class. They were learning about the baptism of Jesus the other week and then that weekend at church, we had communion. After the MMM group had a meeting that day, two of the girls who come to church pretty regularly asked me what that was that we get when we go up there. So I got to explain it to them a little bit and then they wanted to know who could have it. I told them that people who were members of the church--people who'd been baptized and confirmed--could have it. So I asked them if they'd been baptized. They said no, but explained to me that other people in their families were. Anyway, it was a good conversation that led into asking them if they'd be interested in learning more about the church and getting baptized. They said yes! :)

Of course I relayed this information to Pastor and Agron and they've begun making plans to start another course like the one they used when Olsa, Neda, and Ledio started. They were around that same age so the same materials would be appropriate. There are also two other girls we want to talk to about it a bit. It's so exciting! Keep this in your prayers, please!

To finish up the Italy details, here are the pictures from our first day of explorations in Naples, followed by our second day of explorations and finished off by the trip to the museum on our last day. :)