We had an adults group in last weekend where I was paired with a woman named Veronica. She was very independent and we had a really good time joking around throughout the weekend. She impressed me with her shopping skills...we had 2 hrs to spend on Henry Street in the city centre, which is an area with tons of shops and a mall, and we jumped right into it and didn't stop once for a break. We also went back to the Decorative Arts and History Museum with this group for part of the afternoon and out to the pub for a drink in the evening. Kate (a fellow volunteer from the States) and her member, Mary were in a room with us and Mary is this tiny little woman with lots of things to say. They asked for another pillow to sleep with so we went to the closet to grab them, and found a giant stuffed bear that was being stored there. We took it out and had a lot of laughs over the size comparison between this bear and Mary. Below is a picture of Veronica (on the right), Mary (on the left), and the bear propped up on a chair in the middle.
After the group, Jose, Claire, Kate and I packed up our bags and left for the airport at 4 in the morning for Rome. I won't go over the entire itinerary of the trip, but will highlight some of my favorite parts. First of all, I have to admit that I wasn't that excited about Rome. I mean, I was looking forward to seeing the city and the history that Rome has to offer, but I didn't have any expectations that it would be the best place to see. If I had the choice to go anywhere in the world to travel to, Rome would not exactly be at the top of my list. But I will admit that it exceeded my expectations. It was crazy to see things 'in the life' as Jose would say. On our first day we just kind of walked around and explored the city and as we were crossing a random street, Claire looked down the street and said, 'Hey guys, isn't that the Colosseum?!' We all looked and were so excited that in fact, we were in Rome. It was just kind of surreal to actually be there. That first day that were a lot of 'Ooohs' and 'Oh my goodness, look at that' because it really is a beautiful city that is so much older than you can ever imagine. There are random ruins and old pillars just dotted around the city like it's no big deal. Ok, so the highlights: The Vatican, The Colosseum, and the food.
On Sunday we walked to the Vatican from the hostel to see St. Peter's Basilica and the Pope. He gave an address to the humongous crowd that had gathered in the square in front of the Basilica. When he appeared at the window people cheered and he addressed different nations by translating his message into about 5 languages and after he announced each group, that group cheered as well. You can't even really see the guy, but he is the little white dot in the window in the picture below.
The Basilica was insanely ornate. The detail in every inch of the place was crazy...from the mosaic decorations that covered the entire dome, to the images from Biblical stories painted on the walls and ceiling. You walked in, smelled in incense burning (they burn the same kind at st. benedicts table, which was a really nice reminder of home) and felt like the tiniest person. If the people who designed and built the Basilica intended for you to be humbled by the majesty of the place the second you stepped foot in the door, they succeeded. The picture really does not do it justice.
Jose, Kate and I decided to climb the steps to the top of the dome of the Basilica (all 520 of them) to see the view from the top. It was so worthwhile, despite the narrow, slanted staircases that we had to climb and the crowds of people that were at the top.
Although St. Peter's Basilica is undeniably beautiful, we decided to check out smaller Churches if we passed by them, and I actually found them to be more meaningful for me. These 'normal' churches still had care put into every detail of the place. On the last night we were in Rome we stopped into a church (admittedly to get out of the rain) but ended up just sitting in the pews, listening to the organist play and being quiet for a bit as people went up to light candles for loved ones.
We visited the Vatican Museum on another day with the primary intention of seeing the Sistine Chapel. We stood in a line that stretched around 3 sides of a city block in the rain and deliberated leaving but in the end it was completely worth it. Kate and I got lucky by only paying half of the admission price because we had our student IDs with us and the line moved surprisingly quickly. The museum had sculptures and paintings that were hundreds and hundreds of years old. As we moved from room to room, we were so overwhelmed by the details...each room deserved to be in a museum, let alone the items on display!
Below is a picture of a practice form used to make a sculpture out of stone. It's made of straw, wire and clay and I kind of think it's more beautiful than a perfectly carved sculpture.
This next picture is also one of my favorites from the museum. Almost everything was made out of expensive materials or was intricately painted or had some sort of gold finishing on it. But this piece was made out of knotty, imperfect 2x6s and was a welcomed relief from all the unnatural beauty.
My pictures of the Sistine Chapel are not very great because flashes were not permitted. But once again, it was astounding to see the detail, created by just one guy who designed and painted simultaneously. I think it took Michelangelo somewhere around 5 years to complete but it looks like it could have taken a lifetime.
Another day was spent exploring the Palatine and the Colosseum. The Paletine was the beginning of Rome and has remains dating back to 1000 BC. In the middle of the city is this really large area with tall trees and greenery with these incredibly old ruins kind of nestled into hills and the ground. Being inside the Colosseum reminded me of Mr. Bataluk's history classes and our Spartan reinactments!
The last, and probably best part of the trip for me was the food. Ok, that sounds bad...but we ate so well! We had gelato every day and spent our evenings having late suppers and drinking the restaurant's house wine for a couple hours before returning to our hostel. It was really fun to just relax and laugh with Claire, Kate and Jose, all the while having delicious food. My favorites included really thin crust pizza, tiramisu, and handmade torteloni in a butter and sage sauce that I will never ever forget. It was kind of an overwhelming trip, and there was so much to take in and not very much time to really absorb it. But it was great to have the company of Jose, Claire and Kate, especially because Jose left just a few days after we got back.
Upon returning back to Dublin, Lennart and I went on a visit to Greystones to see a member named Collie at his home and then came back into the city centre to a pub to watch the football (soccer) match and have supper with a few other members.
Erin and I left on Thursday afternoon to take a bus down to Cork to pick up our members that were having their respite break with us that weekend. We stayed at a girl's house who had volunteered with CASA this past summer and met our two girls at the train station the next morning. I was paired with the most beautiful little 7 year old girl in the whole world, Jane and Erin was paired with a girl who is a close second (she would argue that Lauren is cuter though). Their parents dropped them off and we managed to carry their bags, our bags, and push both of the girls in wheelchairs onto the train.
Jane is severely intellectually and physically disabled, as well as blind, but literally is the cutest person ever. She was not very responsive to voices and could not speak herself, but got this huge smile on her face when there music playing, when I would go to unclip her from her chair to play with her on the floor, or when I would lay her down on the bed to change her. I think sometimes the member gets more out of the respite break than the caregiver does, but in this case I think her Mom and Dad really appreciated the break. I'm not sure if Jane got very much out of it, but I know that it was really needed for her parents. We went bowling on Friday evening and to the zoo on Saturday afternoon. All of the kids were really great, we had a couple that had a ton of energy and the others were perfectly happy napping on the couch during downtime. It was so easy to show love to Jane and on the train ride back to Cork, she slept in my arms and I was just about the happiest person in the world. We reluctantly gave Lauren and Jane back to their parents who met us at the station on Sunday and we headed back to Malahide. I took countless pictures of all the kids but I won't put all of them up here...just the cutest ones of Jane. I've put more pictures on facebook.
One of the other volunteers, Kate has a website where she posts pictures from her travels and her CASA work. She has put up lots of Rome pictures, so if you want to check them out, the link is: http://katherinee.tumblr.com.
Hope everyone is well! Appologies for the length of this post and if you became bored by the end of it!
Love,
Kate
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