And yet again, it has been forever since I've posted. I know it's completely cliche, but I am going to make an effort to be consistent with updates! Not much has changed since I wrote last. Life is very much the same, and yet very different simply because we are becoming more comfortable here.
The holidays were filled with lots of fun because we were able to be with family despite being so far away from other parts of it. For Thanksgiving Micah's sister Bethany and her family came down! It was a fun, much too quick trip, and filled with silly puzzles. Our car is too small to fit everyone so we had to take a couple two-trip adventures to get anywhere, and our oven is a glorified easy bake oven so cooking Thanksgiving dinner was quite humorous. Nevertheless, it was wonderful to share Italy with people so familiar, and with people who knew that it was an American holiday! It was also the first time we had company in our house, so although it was stressful trying to get things like a mattress for them, it was exciting to feel like our place was home.
For Christmas we switched it up and were able to spend about two weeks up with them at their house after we spent a weekend at a military resort in Germany for a 3-day marriage retreat through the post chapel. Again, it was wonderful to be with family so far away. I got my kid fill and it was exciting to be around kids at Christmas. It was a weird feeling for me though because it was my first Christmas that wasn't spent with my family. Even though I wasn't at home the year we got married, my family was still with me. So I missed our little traditions like making gingerbread and singing Christmas songs at the top of my lungs with my dad.
We came home a couple days before the New Year so that Micah could squeeze in a day of work, and then we headed off to Milan and Turin.
We took the train because everyime we drive we are in a huff by the time we find whatever hotel, park, and inevitably walk quite a ways. The trip to Bethany's house from the resort and this trip was the first time we took the nice train as opposed to the weird smelling one that stops every two minutes. Apparently there is assigned seating, but we could not figure it out. Oh, the adventures of traveling. Other than that it was a wonderfully quiet and pleasant train ride that allowed us both to do some reading. Since I remembered to bring our Rick Steve's book this time we were able to figure out how to take the metro in Milan to our hotel fairly easily. We also got lucky that the hotel was in a wonderful shopping area even though we were outside the historical part of the city. I always research before we go, but it doesn't always work out that nicely. Our hotel ended up being lovely though! I had gone to Milan as a child and all I remembered is the main duomo...it is just beautiful. We went and saw a couple other things through the city this time, but the duomo still remains the main event. It was a slow-paced trip which was absolutely wonderful. We really enjoy just walking around these cities and soaking it in, rather than rushing around trying to see a billion museums...mostly because most of the museums are in Italian anyway!
Turin was about two hours east of Milan by train, and we came in on New Years Eve. Again it worked out that we had an easy time finding our hotel and it was absolutely wonderful. It was a block from one of the main squares that houses the Royal Palace. Turin was another city I'd visited as a child, and the Royal Palace and it's armory were the things to stick out in my memory.
The thing about Turin was that I didn't think about the timing. I love to travel, but the planning I'm not so good at. In Italy, even big cities shut down on a holiday like New Years, rather than stay open to the swarms of people visiting. So the first night we wandered around for nearly two hours looking for dinner before eventually settling on McDonalds because it was the only thing open, and because by that time we were in a food delirium. We were so tired after that we went back to the room to rest up before exploring the city in the hype of midnight. Of course I was sick as a dog from eating McDonalds, and apparently crashed as soon as we got back to the room and told Micah in my sleep that I didn't want to go back out. So my poor sweet husband spent our first Italian New Year sitting in our hotel room. Needless to say I felt so bad!!! Anyway, the next day we were excited to see some of the many museums and historical sites that Turin has, only to realize that it was a Sunday, and in Italy everything closes on Sunday. By God's grace, we did get to see the armory which was what I really wanted Micah to see. So we walked around and soaked in the amazing architecture that abides in Turin! It really is wonderful and unique. When dinner finally came around we started walking around again before realizing the night before was going to repeat itself and resorting to ordering room service (a first for both of us cheapskates). The next day we walked around some more and found what I believe was a section of the old Turin wall that had a statue of Ceasar Augustus. The more exciting thing for me was that I have a distinct memory of taking a picture of that wall when I visited long ago.
So our Anniversary/New Years trip was wonderful, dissappointing, crazy, and relaxing. No matter how crazy the traveling gets it's fun to be tourists and feel like we're actually in Italy!
Micah is gone for training yet again. Although I in no way like it, I am starting to grow accustomed to it. I seem to transform into a whole different person. I am more connected now with FRG and am helping coordinate this huge new program for the unit. I just finished interviewing for a very part-time job in the post education center. I am taking Italian classes two days a week through post, and I'm hoping to take a cooking class sometime in the near future. I hate cooking but it would be such a waste to leave and not know how to make the dishes I know I'll crave! I've been participating in PWOC which is a ladies bible study group that meets at the chapel once a week. I was also introduced to a church this past week that although is not CIV, seems to have wonderful fellowship. I've been successfully going to the gym pretty much daily, and now usually say hello to at least five people that I know whenever I go on post. I now have more than two people calling me, and have been having something to be at everyday. I just extended my first invitation to hang out, rather than simply tagging along on other people's plan.
Slowly, but surely, this is becoming home. It is still lonely at times, and I still sleep on the couch when Micah is gone, but I can sleep now! God is definitely using our situation to grow me, and has been revealing to me why he has placed us here. I am praying that he continues to reveal his purpose and praying that I will have the heart to obey. Our God is in control, and he has repeatedly shown that to us, and it is a daily effort to let my life reflect the truth of that.