Storms

     Well it's been a bit longer than I intended since last writing, but things have been a little crazy in Rome over the last week.  Let's see...we began our prayer walks for the prostitutes and trafficked victims, classes are in full swing, I've started language appointments with one students and have others lined up, Kyra and I got stuck on the periphery of the city one day with her two little girls waiting on a bus for 2 hours that never came (typical), my documents for a permesso di soggiorno (like a yearly Italian green card) were finally accepted for processing, and more.  Really what defines the last week here though is the massive protest that many of the students I work with were involved in.

      What started out as a large but peaceful protest, like those that occurred globally last Saturday the 15th, became a huge, destructive event.  One of my Italian friends lives near the Colosseum, and he ventured out during the afternoon to check on his car since he heard several had been set aflame.  He couldn't even make it the few blocks away where he had parked, for angry militant protesters were clashing with the pacifists defending themselves and the carabinieri (police) who had to resort to tear gas and water cannons.  People were hurling stones first into bank windows, then into other people.  Francesco described it as "civil war."  Speculators think one reason the violence escalated to such a degree was in response to Berlusconi's confidence vote released the day before, so it will be interesting to see what follows.

The start of the 'Occupy' protest on October 15

One of the many awful pictures of the violence that ensued

       Classes this week were relatively normal, after talk of the protest and sharing different stories died down.  Everything shut down today though, because we had a torrential downpour this morning. Before I thought it sounded a little sad that Italians cancel appointments and don't go to work/school if the weather is bad, but that was evidence of how American I am.  We forget the effects of rain and wind since we get to drive everywhere, but when you're looking at a 30 min-hour and half commute via public transportation and walking to anywhere you want to go, it's a different story.  Our metro stop actually flooded earlier, like points all over the city, so we were all blessed with a rest day because there's literally no way to go anywhere.  While the rain was bad the main reason for flooding was that the drains are never cleaned so they clog up and take a while for water to go through, with how bureaucracy is here it's doubtful that a cleaning system will begin anytime soon.  

neighborhood of our studio and metro stop

     In order to add some levity to this post, I can tell you that Saturday night I finally got to fill my fried chicken fix.  Coming here I had a feeling that would be one of things I missed the most, and boy is that true.  Italian food is amazing, but no permanent substitution for Southern cooking! Kyra, one of the women on the team, and I cooked a southern dinner for a few of the girls here.  Since you can't find the same ingredients here as the US, and those you can find that were imported are much more expensive, it was quite a treat.  Also on the food note, at house church Monday I was telling a team member how I asked my mom to send peanut butter and goldfish (along with a huge list of other missed items) in her care package.  His response? "You know you're officially a missionary when you ask for pb and goldfish.  We've all done it."  Looks like even in the small things, I'm getting a fair taste of this kind of life!