Summer Vacation

As some of you may have noticed, I took a little hiatus from writing these silly little blogs during the summer.  After all, as one friend pointed out, the title isn't "Adventures in Fort Wayne" or "St. Louis" or even "Dayton", but "Adventures in ROME."  And, as you might have guessed, I wasn't in Rome for about six weeks.  But, now I am back to the Eternal City.  And while most Romans get out of Dodge and head to the sea during the month of August since it's so hot here, I on the other hand have returned right in the midst of the oven that is Rome.  In fact, I think I now know what a pizza feels like when its being cooked.

Replace me for the pizza, and that's what Rome feels like these days.

So, I'll begin with my feeble and brief attempt at my "What I did on Summer Vacation" essay.  After exams, I headed to Chicago and then Fort Wayne to spend some time with family and friends.  Here's a synopsis in pictures.

Time with the family in Chicago.

While in Chicago, Sean and I made a pretty good dinner one night.  I supplied the Italian antipasto, pasta, wine, gelato and Limoncello.  Bellissimo!

On top of the world, or at least the Sears Tower.

My kinda town.

We took an architecture tour along the Chicago River...

...and then took the "Sea Dog" for some speeding on Lake Michigan.

The action was a little slower-paced at Brendan's t-ball game.

And finally a Fort Wayne Tin Caps game, complete with fireworks to celebrate July 4th.  (Insert your own fireworks, please.)

 I then headed to the Marianist parish in St. Louis, Our Lady of the Pillar.  For about a month, I had a "pastoral experience," helping out wherever I could.  The running joke was that the pastor's car never looked so clean!  When not washing the community cars, I visited patients in the hospital, went to a nursing home, helped out at a wedding, preached at daily mass a few times (can I say I did that?), led morning Communion Services, served at Mass (if only Sr. Cyprian could see me now), and went on a few "ride alongs" with a funeral director (I know way more about headstones than I ever thought I would.)  I also did a lot of observing of the priests at the parish - it's amazing what you see when you approach something from a different angle (that angle being: I'm gonna have to do this in a few years.....YIKES!!!)  It was a very good experience - I learned a great deal and left with many things to think about. 

Our Lady of the Pillar.  Please ignore the date, this is an old picture, but it really is the parish.

I wasn't too good about taking pictures in St. Louis.  The last day I decided to take the view from the top of the hospital parking garage from which you can see the Arch in the distance.  However, it was cloudy that day.  So, imagine the Arch in the distance just to the left of the light pole.

After swinging back through Fort Wayne, mom and I then headed to Dayton for the Profession of Perpetual Vows of Marianist Sister Nicole.  It was a beautiful celebration with a veritable list of "who's who" in attendance.  What a surprise to see so many familiar faces from near and  far.  I was honored to sing in the choir, and if I can say so, I think it's the best I've ever heard the "Marianist Folks" choir sound. 

Sometime after mass and before the dancing began.

From Dayton, I headed back to good ole' Roma.  I am now living in one of the communities of the Italian Province which is connected with our high school here.  Daily, Bro. Joseph from India and I meet with one of the Italian Brothers to review, learn, and re-learn the Italian language.  So far so good.  I haven't forgotten too much, but then again I didn't know much to forget.  Of course, around the table, no one speaks English so it is definitely full immersion!  But don't worry, I'm still making time to get reacquainted with the city and the many gelaterias.  (More about some of these adventures, one which was Flyer-tastic, in a short while).

The school is built around a courtyard.

So for now, summer continues (classes don't start until October).  Hope all are doing well, and I'm trying to push some of this heat across the Atlantic.

Finally, the following video clip (thanks to Fiat) will give you a taste for the Italian transformation that is taking place within me as I channel my inner Italiano.

Ciao!