RainCheck 10/21/23

My time in Italy has been so full of adventure. The program that I am here with is the Accademia dell’arte, and they plan wonderful experiences and things to keep us on our feet and moving. On September 21st, we were all excited to take our trip to La Verna, a beautiful sanctuary high up in the national park of Cassentino forests, where St. Francis received a message from God. On the morning of our trip, we were told it was raining badly at La Verna, and eventually, the trip was rescheduled. I was very excited about this trip, so I was disappointed that it had to be rescheduled. Our guest artist of the week could see the disappointment on all of our faces so she quickly came up with an idea. What was so frustrating for me was that the sky where we were was completely clear, but La Verna was far away, and it was a different situation there. Our guest artist asked if we would like to go on a hike. Being from Florida, where the ground is really flat, I am not a big hiker… so I was kinda scared at the thought of a hike in the mountains of Italy, but I didn’t let fear stop me. I know that I have the support of my peers in the program with me. Some of us are used to hiking and high elevation, and for some of us, it is completely foreign to us. I find myself seeing that in so many things we do because we are from all parts of the world, and we all have different experiences. I have always grown so much and from this experience, and it was only within the first month. The hike we went on was just a short walk from the villa, and it was beautiful, so high up in the sky and soooo peaceful. Because we have been here for a while now and have had to walk up and down so many hills the hike was very doable! Our guest artist encouraged us to walk silently and hear the nature around us. Even though we didn’t get to do what we planned, this experience would be something that I never forget!