Roma, day 1

I'm sitting on my bed! Finally a bed that I can call my own for the next three months--finally a PLACE I can call home for the next three months!

I loved traveling for the past ten days and seeing so much country. We covered a lot! Not only did we walk all of London, we saw the beautiful English country side from our train from London to Holyhead. From there, we were able to see a lot of Ireland: Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Cork, and Cobh! What a beautiful country. Having the opportunity to travel wherever and whenever we wanted was so worth it! The luxury of the traveler on his own is that he can travel to the places he wants to go without restriction. He sets a time for himself to explore beyond the tourist attractions to the heart of the country--to the heart of the people. He is able to observe how others live! Another part of our journeys that I enjoyed is not having an idea of time, apart from having to get to trains and buses. Other than that, time meant nothing. There is so much freedom in not being constricted by time, which I have learned from the English and Irish. They know how to enjoy a break and enjoy people!

This is where I must pause to defer the topic, somewhat, to a conversation Maggie and I had about this on one of our many long bus rides. The idea of investing ourselves in another person can sometimes be a very scary thought. The reason why so many relationships fail (and not just marriages) is because people either don't want to or don't know how to truly invest himself in a relationship. Why? The root lies in fear. Fear of being misunderstood--or even more, the fear of not being accepted. One fails to open up and truly express himself--his opinions--because of this very thing which holds him back. To see how so many in England and Ireland loved the company of others opened my eyes to what I see lacking, at large, in the U.S.: genuine relationships and really getting to know a person--the deep stuff the everyone likes to avoid. I fail at this myself on so many levels, but this is something that I really want to work on!

Today's trip to Rome has carried with it many new experiences. Each place we go is a different experience. The scenery is different, the language is different, and the people are different, as witnessed today on arriving at the Da Vinci airport. The Roman people are definitely more loud and flamboyant people. Being accustomed to the lovely hospitality of the Irish made Italians seem rude. But, I'm not judging them yet considering this is only my first day. I do have to say, no matter if they are, I love experiencing the differences. I like to take everything in and, if I can, learn from the different cultures and how they interact. I want to extend my constricted view of the world so as to be open to what lies beyond what I know!

I have already said this to a lot of people inquiring about my trip thus far, but I cannot emphasize how much traveling must be experienced by each person in order for him to understand the importance of stepping outside oneself to view the world in a different light, and hopefully with an open heart. It is a process of growth. As my RD of the campus I'm staying at said: "Because you are away from all that you are used to and totally taken out of your normal situation, it is such an opportunity for enormous growth and a deeper transformative conversion. So take advantage of the opportunities that you have to open the door to the Lord and let Him form your soul." I plan on taking full advantage of the three months I have left--to view, with an open heart, the world in which I live. I can only hope that it will prove to be a truly transformative experience, after which I can say that I have no regrets. The growth that I hope to experience is something that could be so subtle that I don't even see it in myself, or the conversion might be one so deep that I'll look back on myself in three months time and see a different person. The idea of not knowing what lies ahead for me is exciting. One might fear the idea of not knowing, but I look at it as a period to work on relying on God to lead me on paths that I never could have imagined. And, that is why traveling is so much more than just viewing new places, it's the journey, not necessarily the destination.

I have learned so much thus far, which makes me excited for what is to come!
Buona Notte