5/7/14 -- Road Trip Preparations

Dear Caitlin,

Hello!  Since you have specifically requested blogging for this road trip, I will be writing this first letter to you.  You see, bringing a computer and editing photos on the go can be quite difficult in the middle of nowhere in the desert, but letters can be written from any location. A wonderful reality of letters!  So this trip will be recorded in letters to dear friends and family from both Aidan and I, and they will then be compiled on the internet and completed with pictures when we find some time on a rainy day after our trip is complete.

We will be heading off tomorrow morning (I think Aidan wants to leave earlier than I want to get up, but I’m sure we will figure it out and I can always sleep on the drive!).  The day has been spent running round to various stores to get last minute items and food.  We’ve been to REI at least twice (the sales guy thinks we are regulars) and may stop in Colorado Springs on the way out once more tomorrow.  But we are getting close!  And have made quite a mess of the living room…

Gear staging area

The only things left on the agenda are to write down directions, pack the car with the gear, and make chocolate chip cookies! (Because obviously that is the most important item to bring on any road trip.)  We are getting excited!

I keep having issues because most of my camping experience is in Alaska, where the sun doesn’t set, it will probably be below freezing at night, and as soon as you step out of your car you will be swarmed by mosquitoes.  It is a good thing Aidan keeps reminding me that it is hot in the desert, there are no bugs, and we will DEFINITELY need a headlight/lantern as the sun will surely set in this area of the country.  This will be something new to me…

I think that is about all of our notable preparations thus far.  I look forward to sharing our adventures with you and the rest of the world soon!  I think it will be a pretty great trip.  I’m sure there are things we have overlooked or forgotten, and they will probably make for funny stories down the road (literally). 

For now I am thankful to be out of school for the summer where we won’t have to worry about physics anymore.  I hope you are having a great time in Maine and are able to spend some time outside!

Looking forward to seeing you come fall.  Take care, and God bless!

Your friend,

Emily

Dear Emily (in 2024)

I haven’t blogged much this semester.  School gets busy you know.  But anyway, I took an English class (maybe that’s where all of my writing efforts were focused.  Yeah, let’s go with that!) and we primarily focused on rhetorical situation and audience, something I hadn’t really thought much about prior.  Turns out that it’s pretty important, and also my subconscious has done a descent job considering it even while I remain naïve.  So, our first assignment of the semester was a discussion board post introducing ourselves.  We were told to include personal academic and non-academic interests, to reflect on a quote from the syllabus, and to discuss the dynamics between professional and academic environments and how we navigate those two arenas as coop students.  Afterwards we were asked to repeat the assignment using a new rhetorical context.  I chose to write a letter to my future self.

I am posting this letter to my future self here, so that 10 years from now I will be more likely to stumble upon it here rather than in my Northeastern Spring 2014 English folder on my computer (because why on earth would I revisit that 10 years from now?)  Here goes!

Dear Emily (in 2024),

I am a junior in college and majoring in biology and environmental science, but I am considering switching fields into theology. What did you think I should do?  (I realize you have an advantage over me here, as you have already made that decision, but what could it hurt to ask?)  Co-op has been great in helping me discover what I don’t want to do… But so far my future is still in a cloud of mist (hopefully that mist has parted for you at least a little bit).  Anyway, at present I am aware of two things.  1) I do not want to work in a lab.  And 2) I like to play outside.  (Do I ever more back to Alaska???)

As you can tell, I am in the wandering stages of life.  I am not-so-patiently waiting on some epiphany to point me in the right direction and open the magic curtain with a TA-DAH!!!  But so far the opened curtain has only revealed the daily weather (I supposed this in itself is a good thing, as without that open curtain I would not have known to put on a raincoat this morning… but I doubt you are very interested in the weather of 10 years ago so I will try to avoid that topic from here on out – one would hope there are more interesting things to talk about with my future self anyway, without digressing to the weather). 

At present I am trying to determine the role that ministry plays in my life.  I am aware of the mission “to make disciples of every nation…” but I don’t yet understand how that will physically play out in my life (your life?  Our lives…?) I suppose this is where the rift is developing between biology and myself.  (In case you don’t remember, our 12 year old self was determined she was going to be a geneticist – our 22 year old self isn’t so sure…)  So my task now is to figure out how we will make the transition from an academic career in biology to a professional career in ministry.  The cool thing is I think those could over lap a bit, I’m just still working on figuring out that process… Any tips?  (I really wish you would hurry up and write me back).

So I am a student, and you are a professional.  Co-op has tried to mold me into a professional, but so far it has been unsuccessful.  Perhaps you have had better luck.  I think for me this academic stage is more about testing things out and making up my mind, whereas when I am you and a real professional hopefully I will have already settled into a field.  I’m not saying you can’t explore a bit and change your mind if you need to (please don’t be stuck in a career that I dislike), but I would hope there is at least a little more consistency and direction in your life.  My job is to acquire the skill set in academics that you will apply to society professionally.  Sound like a plan?  We make a good team!

One thing I sincerely hope from the bottom of my heart is that you always continue to explore.  Remember when we climbed up that big rock in Denali?  Or when we went to Costa Rica and camped in the rainforest?  Or __________  (you fill in the blank, you know more about us than I do!)  I think T.S. Eliot called it pretty good “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know that place for the first time.”  I guess that is what you and I are always doing; as you venture into the world and find your place in society you continue to see me in a new light.  Bruner commented, “Knowing is a process, not a product.”  Even after 22 years I still can’t fully answer the fundamental question ‘Who am I?’  As I get to know Emily better, I can still wonder who she is, she isn’t finished yet.  Do you have a better idea at 32?  I guess I’ll just have to wait and find out.

Love, 

Emily (in 2014)

3/6/14 -- The final day in ROME

Note: Most of this last day is written post facto.  Things got busy back at school and blogging was pushed to the back burner.  However now that I am done (with school for the semester) I will finally catch up!  At this point this post is primarily for my own edification so that 30 years from now I can look back and see that I actually did learn things.  I will do my best to remember what happened and the significance of the buildings and art that we saw, at least to preserve what I still remember at this point.  I suppose worst-case scenario I have to go back and learn it again!

As beautiful as this city is and as amazing as this trip has been, I am kind of thankful it is winding down.  It has been a wonderful trip, I have learned so much, and today was no exception!  We began the morning at the Vatican Museum.  We had a guide that brought us through the rooms and highlighted certain artifacts of interest.  I enjoyed jumping a little deeper into some of the pieces, however there were other places where I would have liked to spend more time.  The museum is huge!  No doubt more that can be learned there in just one day.

Museum enterance

View of St. Peter's Basilica

The scene on the left depicts Peter's crucifixion, upside down
on the cross.  The scene on the right depicts Paul's death,
beheaded because he was a Roman citizen.  The three gashes
in the ground are where his head bounced, resulting in springs
of water bursting from the earth.

A tapestry of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper"

Raphael

We talked a bit about pain and suffering, and the
messages the church had for the people.  This is
Saint Erasmus.  He is the saint of intestinal ailments.
People used to eat red string to signify eating his
intestines to cure them of their pains.

A view of St. Peter's Basilica and a replica of the
golden orb on top.  The "Sphere Within a Sphere"
represents the complexities of the world and how
easily it can be torn apart.

A statue of Mithra... in the animal room... in the Vatican Museum.

Hercules!  This one has a fun story.  It was found buried.
I guess way back when, people were worshipping Hercules
quite a bit (it makes sense, since he can bring strength to
armies and such).  But then there was a big lightening storm,
which they interpreted as a sign that Zeus was mad at them
because he was being ignored.  So the people built some
statues of Zeus to appease him, and wanted to destroy the
Hercules statues to show that their loyalty to Zeus was still
important.  However the people knew that destroying the
Hercules statue might upset Hercules, which they didn't
want to do, so they just buried him instead.

Egyptian statues

The map room was my favorite!  I could have spent more time here...

The pictures on the ceiling corresponded to
the maps on the walls.  This one is an image
of the Road to Emmaus.  And if I had been paying
better attention I might remember how it related
to the map pictured above.

I'm in Italy!

This was the first in a series of images that display Constantine's
conversion to Christianity.  In this image he is preparing for
battle, and sees a sign from YHWH in the sky.  He knows
that if he followsYHWH he will win the battle, and if he
wins then he will continue to worship YHWH.

The battle...

They won!  And Constantine is baptized (except in reality he
wasn't baptized till his death bed when he had run out of options).

This is a scene of the transfer of power from the Roman Empire
to the Papacy.  Quite a historical moment, and monumental for
the rest of Rome's future.

On the ceiling, this image depicts Christianity's
raising power, and the triumph of Jesus over pagan
gods and goddesses.  Mercury (Hermes) lays broken
on the ground.

This piece and the one below it are both Raphael works.
This one, "School of Athens," depicts an age of knowledge,
with famous philosophers and groups of thinkers
separately debating matters.

This second piece is juxtaposed to the former, with the
Christian church and social uniformity a pervasive theme.
(I don't remember as much as I should here...)

Found some more maps!

We also got to walk through the Sistine Chapel.  No pictures here, as is appropriate because it wouldn’t do it justice. 

After the tour we had the rest of the day free.  Zoe and I went to Piazza del Popolo in search of a cannoli and coffee and a spot in the sun.  It was a beautiful afternoon!

Obelisk in the center of the square

A view of the beautiful city

Such a perfect little park.  Definitely need to come back here
and lay in the sun :)

Aaaaand we found what we were looking for!

I could be a professional bubble blower...

After a busy day, it was so nice to sit and relax and enjoy some delicious food as we explored Piazza Navona.

Zoe and Chris in front of a fountain

Enjoying one last delicious gelato :)

The pantheon

While we were here, our class participated in a scavenger hunt.  My group (Zeus) did not find any of the clues… But I thought the idea was a good one!

Can you figure any out?

One of our first nights back at the hotel, when we should have been researching the answers to these clues, we instead searched for all of the best gelato and coffee places around Rome (clearly we had our priorities set).  Here is what we came up with.

Wow what a trip!  I am so thankful that I was able to visit this beautiful city. Can’t wait to come back!