Arrivederci Italy

This is my last post from Italy, in fact, I probably won’t actually post it on my blog until I get home, as I don’t currently have an internet connection. I am sitting in my hotel room in Florence, and will be flying out early tomorrow morning. I had a scary moment this afternoon at the train station when I arrived from Lucca. Apparently there was some sort of demonstration going on, but what I saw was the main entrance to the station roped off with police officers and soldiers standing guard. Something big was going on but I didn’t know what. In the numerous times I had been to the Santa Maria train station in Florence in the past couple of months, I had never seen it this abandoned. I wasn’t sure where I could go and felt like any wrong move might get me arrested. I kept my eyes down and tried not to make eye contact with the officers or draw attention to myself. Outside there was van after van of police officers arriving in riot gear, complete with shields. Between watching the news this past week and seeing all the rioting going on in Greece, and not speaking the language, I was starting to get a bit freaked out. I left the station as quickly as I could, laden down with three suitcases, and hung to the back of a crowd that was gathering, trying to figure out what was going on. A few minutes later, the street running in front of the station was blocked off by more police officers, and I could hear chanting coming from down the street. The protesters marched by and I could see that it was about a hundred college aged kids. Though I could not tell what the demonstration was about, it did turn out peaceful, at least the part that I witnessed.

Being in the middle of that and not having a clue what was going on made me feel incredibly vulnerable. It reminded me that I am a stranger in this country and the rules are different than where I come from. I can hang out here, and figure out what is going on around me little by little as I observe those around me, but suddenly I am thrust into a new situation and have no idea what the rules are. I am a little intimidated by the police and military presence here, because I’m not quite sure how the government and legal systems work. It’s funny, at home I have several family members and friends who are involved in law enforcement, and I don’t feel the same intimidation towards police officers there, but here, it can be a little overwhelming. I was reminded today that I am far from home, and although everything turned out fine, I’m not sure what I would have done if there actually was a riot. Will this stop me from traveling in the future… not a chance; it was just a bit of a wake-up call.

Like so many other things on this trip, I think this has helped change my outlook on things at home. I have been the stranger, the foreigner, and the person in front of you in line who can’t speak the language, who of course must be uneducated because their grammar is terrible when they do try to communicate. It’s funny really, I consider myself, and am usually considered by those around me to be an intelligent person. I can speak on most subjects, I have a college degree, and I handle business finances for a living. However when I am put into a situation where I can’t easily communicate, I suddenly feel like my IQ has dropped dramatically. People speak to me very slowly (and usually in an elevated voice) and I still don’t understand. If nothing else, this trip has definitely made me consider those around me more, and how I regard them.

So much has happened in the past six weeks, I am sure that I will still be processing for a while, but I am excited to see what other unexpected moments God has in mind for my life. Thank you for sharing this time with me, and stay tuned as I try to figure it all out.