Touring Termoli

Thismorning Zio Enzo dropped my parents and I off in old town Termoli while grandma spent some bonding time with yet another younger sister. (My grandma is the oldest of 11.) We didn’t even want 5 meters and we stopped at a little pizzeria at 9:30 am for pizza. Mom and dad were living it up. I passed on the pizza but ended up eating most of dad’s piece anyways. Very typical sustenance sharing in the DiLalla family. We spent the next 2 hours walking through the narrow roads while dad snapped a few hundred pictures. So this is what traveling with dad is like with a digital camera. “Turn around. Smile. Look at me.” All of the picture taking made dad hungry…or was that the lack of pizza? Anyways, dad stopped in a quaint little deli and bought us a Panini and a beer. 5 minutes later, dad returned to the deli and bought another. Termoli is a great city to visit as it’s not really renowned for anything but it is beautiful, on the ocean and because of its unrecognized charm, a heavenly havarti and prosciutto-packed Panini goes for less than 2 Euros.

After our tanks were full we continued walking looking for the perfect spot on the beach to catch some rays. We then spent the next 2 hours splashing around in the Adriatic and soaking in the sun. It was very relaxing. We managed to peel ourselves off of the seaside and headed back to home base where simply delicious fettucini awaited us. Italian cuisine will ALWAYS be my favorite.

234 Kisses

Laura (L-ow-rra) Look another stazione!

Did you know that there are almost 20 train stations between the Torino Puorto Nuova and the Termoli train stations? Well there are. My grandma asked me to take a picture at every stop, so I did as the good little granddaughter that I am. J She spend the first 30 minutes or so just starring out the window and I wished for a moment that I could read her thoughts, to know how she was really feeling. She looked sad, deep in thought but I know she was also happy to be where she was- in her motherland, speaking in her mother tongue. The whole trip my grandma floated between Italian and English without even noticing it. The funny thing is that she would speak English to her non-English speaking family and Italian to my mom and me.

Less than an hour into our journey, my dad and grandma began to drift into and out of consciousness (mostly in) while my mom and I used the entire 9 hour train ride doing what we do best…talk. It was so nice to catch up, to eat (what is it with traveling and needing to eat?), to laugh (sometimes too loud and to the point of tears) and to just be together.

As we reached the Termoli Stazione, the waterworks started up again but this time only for my grandma. I could only be happy having the whole DiGenova clang (minus Zia Connie who was of course preparing a feast for us) there to pick us up. Again, kisses were shared all around. 38 altogether by the time the 4 of us double-check kissed each of our relatives. I just love the Italian culture!

Not to my surprise Zia Connie greeting us sporting her Canada apron, the table was fully extended and Angelina and Enrico were already there. 16 more kisses. Half way through the feast, the three brothers, Giovanni, Carmine and Pietro showed up. 24 more kisses. Spread the love! The night was spent eating, looking at pictures, story-telling (exaggerating), laughing, hand gesturing, speaking loudly and translating. When clock struck midnight 156 kisses were passed around and we headed to bed.

On the Road Again

Correction…On the Tracks Again. Today I started my 25 hour train journey to Termoli. Two hours from Wabern to Frankfurt and then my first sleeper train from Frankfurt to Milano. I was a little leery of traveling by myself but know that I would be sharing a cabin with ladies only calmed my nerves as well as knowing that people I loved were praying for me. “Squillos” from Patti let me know that she was thinking of me. As I boarded the train, a tall friendly black man showed me to my cabin. Two beds down but only one water bottle. I was on my own. There’s nothing like paying to sleep in a cabin of 4 and to have it all to oneself. I was surprised at the cleanliness, comfort and class of the cabin. It was like a mini hotel room minus the private toilet. The pictures will show the rest. I was happy that we decided to splurge on a sleeper cabin and that I didn’t have to sleep in a chair seeing that I was on my own and that I would be traveling for a 25 hour period. To my surprise, at 5:30 am, I was awoken by a light tap on the door, fresh coffee and breakfast. “Nein danke, I don’t want to buy anything.” I had packed granola and an apple. The reply: “There’s no charge. Breakfast is included.” This train rocks! Free breakfast! Lunch- granola and an apple.

During the next 2 hour train ride, I listened to my first audio book and I’m hooked. Childhood memories of being read to came back. One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish, old fish, new fish… There’s just something about sitting in your dad’s lap being read to. Although Joyce Meyers, “Battle of the Mind” is a completely different style of book and I was certainly not sitting in my dad’s lap, it was comforting nonetheless. My “reading” was interrupted by an important announcement: Arresto seguente Torino Puorta Nuova. That’s my stop! I excitedly stuffed my iPod in my over-packed Canadian flag-bearing backpack and headed to the exit. Finally, I would be realizing the little girl’s dream inside of me- being in Italy with my Grandma. Minutes later, I was greeted with kisses from my mom, dad, grandma and of course Zio Mimmo and Zia Teresa. It was SO good to together. We picked up a few espressos and sat in a café while we waited for our train to Termoli. That’s right, so far I had only traveled 16 hours, 9 more to go. Grandma spend her last few hours with her youngest sibling Teresa reminiscing about the “old days” not necessarily the time they spent together since Teresa was only a baby when my grandma to Canada. As we boarded the train after more hugs and kisses, the tear ducts starting working in overdrive. First my grandma, then Teresa, followed by my mom and finally me. The men help themselves together but we all know Italian men are softies at heart, even those super macho Italian stallions. The reality is my grandma will probably never see her little sister again. Sad. The thought of having to say goodbye to my brother for the last time in person was all it took for me to not be able to control my ducts. It was a lost cost. I did my best to capture the moment through tear filled eyes. This trip was already worth the 16 hour train trip. I was sure that the next 9 hours to Termoli would also be more than worth it.

Mom wasn’t too impressed with having to pay to use the washroom especially at 80 EURO cents a pop (or should I say poop or pee?). So we used a traveling tourist tip: Line up one close behind the other, pay and push through. 40 cents a pee isn’t so bad.

Experience of a Lifetime…Once in a Lifetime?

So the day came where all of Dan’s training would pay off…Marathon Day! Dan woke up early to a beautifully sunny Dan and I’m sure the butterflies were flying just as fast in my stomach as in his. As his biggest fan, I too was feeling the excitement, the nervousness and the anticipation. After having his completed his morning routine and all was packed up, Dan and I along with three of our good friends, Enzo, Patti and Chrissi hopped into the CB-F bus and made our way to Kassel.

The roads were packed with people warming up as we entered the city of Kassel. The excitement was already building. After a time of prayer, we headed to the start line with breakfast, snacks and sunscreen in hand to find the perfect place to cheer Dan on. You can see that we had a nice little set up where we could enjoy a nice breakfast and even play a few games while we waited for Dan to make his first round. As the countdown hit zero thousands of red heart-shaped helium balloons were released into the sky and the runners were off! It wasn’t until about 4 minutes that we saw Dan run by as there were so many runners. It was such a great experience cheering on all of the runners. You could tell they were very thankful that we were there to support them, even though we were really only there for Dan, we cheered on every runner as they passed by.

Dan, as the proud Canadian he is, dressed in red and white and even sported a few Canadian stickers that were sent my Mark and Shelley. (Thanks guys!) On one arm was written “Phil 4:13” a reminder to Dan that he can do all things with God’s strength and on the other were his times so he could keep track of his pace. I also had a copy of his times so I had a better idea of when he would be running by and I could be ready with camera in hand. Dan has always been very punctual so I was not the least surprised when Dan ran by a few minutes earlier than expected.

Dan’s “Fabulous Four Fans”, we packed our things up and made our way to the finish line to encourage Dan in the last meters of his 42 km race. With noise makers and jumbo blue blow-up hands we cheered on the marathoners as they strived to pace the finish line. “ Ich seh ihm! Go Dan!” Dan was in sight and we screamed and yelled as he passed the finish line at three hours, fifty-four minutes and seventeen seconds. Dan’s goal was under just under 4 hours so he was very happy with his result.

As most crazy fans do, I ran passed the red tape and jumped the fence to go congratulate my hubby. I found Dan through the mass of people sitting on a bench drinking some water. “Way to go babe.” Snap. Snap. After victory pictures. But Dan was not really smiling. He was happy to be done. He was tired. He actually didn’t look that great. He looked flushed. After about 15 minutes, Dan decided that he better get checked out as he was feeling nauseous so off we went to the Red Cross tent. Only 5 minutes later, he was hooked up to an IV. I guess the 29 degree weather along with the continuous 4 hours of running sucked out a little more fluids than desirable. Dan thought he had enough to drink along the way but he didn’t quite get enough. He was dehydrated. After getting one liter of fluids replenished, the Red Cross team was beginning to pack up. So I thought we would be off too but not to the hospital! Dan’s blood pressure was really low (it normally is) and the doctor on duty refused to let Dan go home and ordered him to go to the nearest hospital for more tests. So the medical fiasco of our life continues. Dan and I were loaded into an ambulance and arrived 20 minutes later at the hospital. Dan was taken in immediately, chest shaved and heart monitor probes attached all over his body. No reason to panic or worry. I couldn’t understand much of the medical lingo that was going on, mostly because it was in German. Right! As the natural worrywart that I am, I was a little anxious to know what was going on. Thankfully 7 hours and a bunch of tests later, Dan was released with the advice to check in with his family doctor the next day to make sure that his white cell count went back down. Dan recovered well and was back running on the following Wednesday. I’m very proud of his accomplishment.

Adventures at Anorak 21

Last week, Dan and I along with 10 other students from the bible school had the privilege of spending 3 days at Anorak 21 enduring an "Erlebnis Kamp". It was basically a survival/adventure camp. The goal was not only to work through team activities, trust and face fears but to acquire some great team building ideas and to learn how to create learning experiences for teen, youth and young adult work. Before I go into some details, I must say this was a GREAT experience. It wasn't all comfortable and fun but it makes you learn a lot about yourself and requires you to reflect upon how you present certain activities to the group you are working with.

We learned a variety of warm-up games using different materials such as ropes, clothespins, slack lines and crates. Who knew 12 people could balance on a single milk crate. We certainly got "close" as a group. Team building challenges showed to be challenging at times. Leaders emerged and followers followed happily along with what was said and those in the middle stirred the pot. My mom always said I was a pot-stirrer. I just can't keep my mouth shut sometimes when I see leaders not letting others get a word in edgewise. Luckily, I was not the only one. Besides the few mild confrontations, the team building activities did just that. We succeed in most challenges yet, failed to get a marble from point A to B using 12 pieces of PVC pipe, never mind the task of three simultaneously. Mind you that was our last task and muscles were sore, bodies tired and patience running low.

A few highlights...

Rock climbing:

It was my first time and I was surprised at how well I did. It was most of our first times "kletter"ing and we were all surprised that we all made it to the top. After a half a dozen times to the top, we trusted each other to help us safely to the bottom without much fear so Lütt, the leader of the camp, decided it was time to take the next "Risiko". Blindfolds on, new treks, we began to climb completely blind. "Rechts! Links! Den blau!" Wait a minute, telling a blind person the colour of the next grips to grab doesn't really help does it? Back to right and left. I was amazed when I made it almost to the top completely blindfolded. I am sure I would have made it up all the way had my arms not been so spent. Next time, I will be sure to put my leg strength to use so as to not exhaust my arms. Dan, on the other hand, was like Spiderman climbing up the walls and repelling off the wall with great force. He wasn't the only one. All the boys wanted to be like Spiderman. This was definitely up their alley. All I can say is "Vertically Inclined" here we come. Who's with us?

Bible Story Adventures:

As a group we got to use all of the gear we learned how to use to make fun activities to reinforce a bible story for kids. We used slack lines, pulley's, climbing gear, ropes, trees, crates and lots of imagination. Dan's group told the story of David fleeing from Saul through the window. As an activity they rigged up a pulley system using 2 trees, lots of rope using knot techniques learned previously in the day and a climbing belt. The kid would pull himself up to the "window" and then escape out of it by gliding down the rope.

My group told the story of Peter getting out of the boat and walking to Jesus on the water. We used a slack line threaded through a crate to act as a boat. We then had "Peter" sit in the boat equipped with a climbing belt and "Jesus", played by two people, guided "Peter" across the sea. It took a few tries to get the boat stable enough to "stay afloat" but we succeeded.

Geocaching:

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches". We were split up into teams of 4 and at 10 pm we were driven to a mysterious place in the woods. We had no idea where we were since our eyes were closed the whole way there. I started getting car sick on the way to our drop-off destination as I later found out we were trekking it up old logging roads. So we get dropped off with our GPS system that tells us which way our geocache is (It's basically a digital compass), one head lamp, one key chain flashlight and one half dead flashlight. You know the ones that only light about 2 feet ahead of you with an orange glow. Oh ya we had 2 pocket knives, a bottle of water, a bag of popcorn and one brotchen. You know, just in case we didn't make it back. What?!? The goal was to find the first cache, where we would enter our next coordinates and then we needed to find our next cache. I won't lie, I was scared. Sarah and I linked arms 90% of the time just to fight off the fear. Our team didn't manage to find the first geocache. After 40 minutes we called our leader and he gave us the coordinates. Two hours of field crossing and what I'm sure was trespassing later, we made it to the second destination which was home sweet home. At 1:15am, I couldn't wait to strip out of the wet clothes and get to bed even though we had a very fun time.