Ciao Bella!

We have a lot to catch you up on as I happen to think we’ve been making good use of our last days in Florence. We have had a very busy but incredibly fun couple of weeks. Last Monday night we hosted Brett for supper and made risotto for him. (Brett is Cody’s friend from NWC who is currently teaching in Spain and vacationed in Italy for a week) After he left for the evening we both realized that we had a ton of work due the next day and finally behaved like real college students – stayed up until 2:30am to finish things we needed to get done. Cody had his watercolor portfolio due to be printed and I wanted to help him with it, but I also had my senior art show portfolio/show proposal/artist statement due the next day as well as the test portion of my classic photography final to study for. Eek! Fortunately, it was all completed on time and my test went decently.

(Hi, it’s Cody again) Tuesday I invited Brett to my cooking class, which worked out excellently: Brett got a free lunch, and it turned out to be one of the most extravagant sessions yet. Normally we just cook one, maybe two, entrees that fit with a lecture about Florentine history. Last week, however, was our last week of class, and so our chef let us make some requests. We were scheduled to bake a couple of different breads, and we asked for a typical Tuscan Christmas recipe, and then we also wanted another pasta dish that was easy. SO, we made bread: chef taught us a basic bread dough that we can use for pizza dough, flavored breads, and for focaccia (which we made). AND we made “Abbot’s Pears,” where you boil pears in red wine with sugar, cinnamon, and cloves, filling the room with “festive cheer,” according to the chef. The leftover wine is boiled down to a desert syrup; then we plated the pears with a basic custard, all artfully dressed with the syrup. It was so delicious I made them for Kait later in the week. THEN, we had a wine tasting of the Chianti Classico that our chef’s family produces, Badia a Coltibuono. I highly recommend it. LASTLY, we prepared a simple spaghetti tossed in olive oil with garlic, crushed red pepper, and parsley. Pretty incredible, and I think Brett had a ton of fun!

(Kait again) Wednesday was an Italian Holiday – Day of the Immaculate Conception. We soon discovered this is not a holiday for spending at home, eating with your family, but is possibly the equivalent to our Black Friday. We first caught up on some sleep then joined the crowds and accomplished some Christmas and souvenir shopping. We practiced our haggling skills and knocked 1 euro off of one purchase! haha. Then we came home and spent the evening water coloring some homemade wrapping paper to wrap our 1 euro store gifts for our exchange with the girls. We also made a few Christmas goodies to share with friends and classmates. Chocolate dipped pretzels, peanuts and Clementine slices turned out pretty well! It was a super fun day and a perfect brake from the busy preparation for finals.

Half of my Thursday fashion design class was busy preparing for the fashion show that would take place that night. Some of the girls are also in the sewing class and were showing dresses in the show that would be part of the farewell masquerade ball. This was a really exciting event I was sad to miss as being a part of a fashion show and attending a masquerade ball are two things I’ve always wanted to do. However two dreams were replaced by another equal as Cody bought us ballet tickets for Thursday night, long before we knew there was going to be a ball. And we were not disappointed to attend ;) We ate a nice supper together at home and Cody even made one of the fancy desserts he learned that week (wine pears = so delicious) and then we were off for a date at the lovely, Teatro Verdi. It was a wonderful ballet but we still feel we should look up the story line because we have several ideas about what could have been going on but we’re not yet sure if we are right… However it is so wonderful to experience the beautiful and universal language of Dance.

The fun was not over as we were invited to the girls for a session of sugar cookie baking, “The Holiday” watching, and Christmas gift exchange. Our gifts were fun, amusing as well as practical and it was a good time. We were all especially impressed with each other’s makeshift wrapping materials.

FINALS WEEK (cue dramatic organ chords!)
(Cody again) This has been a pretty crazy week for us. On the to-do list: finish souvenir shopping, see all the things we haven’t seen yet, study for finals, take finals, pack, clean the apartment, and fly home. Whew.

Monday started with Kait and I heading out for the Duomo, hoping to climb the dome for the view from the top. However, we did not have enough cash on us, so instead we went to the Duomo museum (which took Visa) and learned all about how the Duomo was constructed and furnished, and how it has changed over the centuries. I had a review for my Italian final at noon, and then I did some last-minute studying for my History of Christianity final at 3. That class has been a lot of fun, and the professor, the English nun, wished me many successes and good lucks as I left.

(Kait) I don’t have classes on Mondays so no finals that day for me, however the day was still jammed full of work that needed to be done. I spent the afternoon working on my fashion designs for my final portfolio which proved difficult as there must have been a marker thief in our midst because our marker selection quickly grew slimmer as the week went on. Many of the colors we were accustomed to using and planned to use had gone missing! Eventually on Wed., Valeria, our student assistant for the class decided to go out and buy us brand new markers so we could finish our projects! Crazy. So I did what I could that day then spent the rest of the afternoon in the dark room developing a last roll of film.

(Cody) Tuesday I had my cooking final: the first half was a written portion (I wrote a book for each of the essay questions, so I was the last one finished and everyone had to wait for me…oops), and a practical portion. We split into four groups of two or three and each prepared risotto alla fiorentina, a dish that I have come to love, and have prepared at home probably four or five times. My group brought our finished plate to the chef: he shifted it around on the plate to test its consistency, then smelled it, and finally tasted a couple bites and said, “Good. Not too salty, a bit al dente, but Good.” Then I had my watercolor final, which consisted of me sitting around staring at a wall for two hours so I could have my ten-minute private consultation with my professor. He asked me again what my major in the States was, and I told him, “Religion.” He told me that he could tell, I guess because my work has a spiritual quality??? Anyway, he told me that he has enjoyed watching me work, and that I take my work very seriously. After the private consultations, we were supposed to look at everyone’s digital portfolios together. The lamp was burning out on the projector, so the reds and oranges in everyone’s work didn’t show up, which was disappointing, and then, for some reason, my portfolio wasn’t even on his flash drive, so I didn’t get to share mine. I was really bummed, but over-all I’m happy to see that class end so successfully. I’m proud of the work I’ve done, and I think my skills have definitely improved.

(Kait) Tuesday was not so bad for me yet as we only had final critique in photography and I had 10 pictures ready (2 more than what was required) I was pretty excited about this outcome because I actually had more trouble getting a hang of all this than I expected. So it was really great for me to have so many pictures turn out decently for my final. Then I had my review class for my Italian final.

(Cody) Wednesday Kait and I finally climbed the Duomo. It was a really cool thing to do last because it was a chance to see everything one last time without having to walk all the way there, and we could recognize all the important buildings after being here for four months. Afterward, I went to take my Italian final. This whole semester Italian has been cause for complaint because my professor teaches at a very advanced level. She insists on conducting 90% of the material in Italian, going so far as to write the grammar lesson in Italian on the board. The past week or so has been nearly impossible for my classmates and I. The day of the final came, and everyone was terrified. We did a Secret Santa exchange together before the test, which was a lot of fun, but the test was just as hard as everyone had anticipated. I feel pretty good about my performance, though.

(Kait) After our awesome Duomo hike, my fashion design portfolio was sent to the presses but I would have to wait until the next day to see the outcome as all the printers in the school were backed up with all the other classes that needed to print. Then I took my cooking final which was stressful to study for as there is a ton of information per region and the regions have so much in common. Cecilia is also very specific but gives little to no indication of what she might ask on the test. The test went pretty well and I studied hard so I can’t be too upset about the outcome, I’m not sure what else I could have done to prepare more! Then we split into two groups of 3 and were asked to prepare my favorite recipe from the semester! A sort of pumpkin filled, fresh ravioli! Yea! Overall the preparation went well and when the time came to plate our dish and present it to Cecilia it was actually pretty nerve-wracking for the 3 of us to stand before her and wait for her response to our cooking. She was happy to give us an A-, commenting that the pasta was just a little too thick around the edges. She had the same response for the other group so the whole class was pretty pleased. At this point we cleaned up and headed out for an aperitivo together at a place of Cecilia’s choosing. We planned this time out together a few weeks ago since we missed last week’s class due to the holiday and we all love the class so much we wanted to have a “make up” day. Turns out she choose a sort of Enoteca for Castello di Verazzano. This pleased me very much and yet again, I had to have a glass of their excellent wine. Our waiter was very chatty with Cecilia and we discovered that he was one of the first wine professors for Apicius when the culinary school was first started. And he was quite the Showman of a character. He practically gave us the whole Castello tour while pouring the wine by very fancy “wine service” standards. Then we had a couple different appetizer courses instead of the typical buffet, both dishes were super delicious and well-balanced in flavor according to good Italian cuisine. It was really the most fantastic place to go. I loved it. Then Ceclia told us she loved our class and paid for all of us - which we were completely not expecting. She said it was nothing and that it would have been a little more difficult for her other class of 14 students. ;) (our class is only 6). We had nearly teary goodbyes with hugs as we ended the evening, heading off in different directions. I am going to miss Ceclia.

Thursday I was only about 45 minutes at my fashion design class while Marco looked at all of our finished portfolios with profuse compliments. I was very happy with how mine turned out. Then we had a group picture and I was back home again.

(Cody) Today (Thursday) I had the day off, as I’m finished with my finals. I got up with Kait, made her oatmeal, and then I made the bed and did dishes before she came home from her fashion design final. We set out to finish a couple more items on our to-do list: finish souvenir shopping, and see the Medici Chapel behind San Lorenzo. The Medici chapel is another state museum, so instead of paying 18 euros to go see it, we got in free with our magical museum passes! Hurray! It was really beautiful, especially the New Sacristy. The New Sacristy was built by Michelangelo after the church of San Lorenzo had been finished. The whole room was blue and white marble, very beautiful, with the tombs of Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano, and Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, and another famous Medici. Afterward we wandered around the San Lorenzo market one last time and bought the last of our souvenirs; we also spent a little time in the Central Market, one of my favorite places in Florence this semester.

(Kait) Now I’m pretty much waiting around to take my last final in Italian to end my college career. Crazy. Cody and I were comment how we apparently like to do things in extremes. Last year we were engaged AND finishing our final year at Northwestern. Then we get married AND study abroad. Then we finish our time in Italy AND our college careers. So much to take in!! But it’s been amazing. We are sure to be asked many questions about favorite experiences, hardest times etc. But this is all going to take so much time to process! (But please by all means, ask away, it would be good to challenge us with such questions and get us thinking about everything). We are eager to move on to other things and reunite with a certain normalcy, but it will be interesting to note in time, which things we find we miss about being here in Italy. I wonder what those things will be…. It might surprise us what we miss. It was interesting to fulfill a dream. It was almost disappointing during the time it took me to first get over my "star struck" feelings then any of the visions or presuppositions I had in my head that turned out to be untrue or just not quite "right." It's not that Italy was disappointing, I was just disappointed that I was not COMPLETELY LOVING it like I thought I would. But I think that's called an adjustment period, with a bit of culture shock - the hard part about living in a different country. Once we started to figure things out and I began to see everything for what it really is, I learned to love it, and Florence/Italy grew into/has BECOME one of my favorite places in the world. I Love it here, it is now familiar and beautiful, a wonderful dream, a blessing from God and the first home Cody and I had together. Ciao Bella, I am sad to go.

One interesting thing about learning to live in a different country is that you get a glimpse of what would be considered “normal” in the life of someone growing up as one of its citizens. I’m not sure how to explain what I mean, other than just to point out a few things that Cody and I consider “normal” to eat, to use, or to have around because of where or how we grew up in our country - we have a pretty random list of things we’re looking forward to upon returning, apart from the people and places we love and call home:

- pickles
- winter coats, hooded sweatshirts - our winter wardrobe in general
- apple cider
- clearly marked, distinct buildings with big signs out in front
- stoves that turn on with dials
- Italian salad dressing, yup.
- the U.S. dollar
- carpeted floors
- full-sized or queen-sized beds
- the lack of much street noise after dark
- Normal police and ambulance sirens that aren’t frequently heard
- clothes dryers
- bags of shredded cheese – CHEDDAR cheese! :D
- public drinking fountains
- “insant” foods, specifically oatmeal and hot chocolate packets
- a snowy December….

You might be wondering what we are up to when we return. Well, we are very excited to spend Christmas reunited with our families and friends. I am hoping to find a retail job, plus any other random, odd job I can find. Unfortunately, I was not able to land the graphic design internship I applied for, but that’s another story. But we are very happy to announce that Cody has a part-time internship with my home church, First Reformed in Sibley! We are very excited for his opportunity for ministry there. I’m hoping to get involved in a praise team again and possibly help Mom with power point for some services. We are also excited about going on a mission trip with most of Cody’s family to Haiti for a week in January! We will be living with my parents in the “basement apartment” we’ll call it ;) until we move to Holland, MI upon Cody’s acceptance to Western Seminary, which we will find out about mid-January. We have many exciting plans and unknowns ahead of us that we are looking forward to. We want to say a big thank you to everyone who took the time to read about us and pray for us while we are here and we ask for your continued prayers as we travel home this Saturday the 18th. We’ve been experiencing packing, traveling, and customs jitters already so please pray for a smooth and safe journey for us and for our friends.

(Cody) Here we are already: the end. And the beginning. Once again, another moment of transition this year. Kait and I have finished our finals, fairly successfully, but not without a fair deal of stress. We’re half-packed, and we’re beginning to throw away the things we no longer need. We have officially seen everything that we came to see. We’ve purchased the last of our souvenirs, with one euro and sixty-three cents left in foreign currency (just enough for one last gelato!).

I don’t think I really understood that I’m going to be leaving until we climbed the Duomo for one last look out over Florence, and I saw it all beneath me: all the streets I’d walked through for four months, all the monuments and churches and palaces that we’d visited. I’m usually much more focused on what’s coming next, so this past week I’ve been holding back an inordinate amount of excitement about going home and having Christmas with my families. Now, though, I’m starting to look back – something Kait’s teaching me more about – and I am definitely going to miss this time in my life. Kait and I have been joking that someday we’re going to wake up with a gaggle of kids, two respectable jobs that ask way too much of us, and all kinds of financial and social responsibilities eating up our sanity, and we’ll look at each other and think, “Remember that time when we lived in Florence, and all we had was each other?”

We are so extremely blessed to have had this opportunity. I can’t express how much this will mean to me someday, and I wish I had journaled more while we’ve been here. I want to appreciate this chapter of my life, but I am also still incredibly excited about the next chapter that I’m starting. I’m looking ahead to a pastoral internship in Sibley, and then seminary next fall. God’s up to some crazy-cool stuff in my life, and I’m so ready to see what’s next.

Thanks, Blessings and Merry Christmas to you all,
Love Always,
Kait & Cody Raak