Girls' World

I live in an apartment with eleven girls. I spend most of my time with them. The few times I am not with them, I am with at least one of the seven Brown girls {the Browns are an incredible family of eleven who have adopted me as one of their own during my time here, more about them later}. I come from a family with five girls; six if you include my momma. To say that I live in a girls' world is an understatement. It can be challenging, especially while trying to get ready in the morning, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Today, most of the girls went out on a day trip with the Browns to Venice. I stayed back in order to work on homework and "Chuck Tracks" -- those of you who have gone through Calvary Bible College know what I mean -- so the house is especially quiet today. On one hand, I enjoy having some peace, but I would be kidding myself to say I don't feel a bit lonesome in the silence.

The town of Montebelluna is enchanting. I haven't been here long enough to understand the culture fully, but each day I discover another layer & fall more deeply in love. I love the country. I love the food. I love the architecture. I love the walking. But more than anything, I love the people. They are strange, they are confusing, they are entirely too bold {I've found that Italian guys love to holler at girls in passing}. I don't know why most of the people here do most of the things they do; but I think that is part of why I am so fascinated by this place. Adventure is in my bones; it pulses through my veins. The more of it I have, the more of it I want. Walking with God has never felt like more of an adventure than it does now. My thankfulness to the Lord grows stronger with every breath of Italian air.

I love my family in California -- they will always be my first 'home' -- but I find myself feeling more at home here every second. I haven't a clue what the Lord wants to do with my life, but my hands are open and my heart is ready; whether He desires I make this my home or not, I certainly shall make it a point to return as often as possible.

I discovered this little milk shack kind of a place yesterday. Some of us girls call it the "Milkeria" for lack of a better name. Most of you probably don't know just how much I love milk. It scares me sometimes, I swear I'm like a baby cow or something. Those of you who have had the "privilege" of hearing me rant about my obsession with milk will know just how extraordinarily excited I was to find this place. Essentially, it is a vending machine for fresh, hormone-free, squeezed that very day milk. IT TASTES SO SO SO SO SO GOOD. Sarah Brown {the mother of the Brown clan} said that fresh milk has been known to help people with blood sugar problems; in certain cases, it can remove the issue completely. I am not going to assume that my hypoglycemia will just vanish & set myself up for disappointment, but I will be checking my symptoms to see if it does make a difference. You'll all be hearing about it if it does. The best part about this milk is the price. In the states, a gallon of this kind of milk costs an upward of $8. Here, it costs LESS than the store-bought milk. The reusable 1-liter glass bottle cost me 50¢ and the refills cost 1 euro! I've hit the jackpot, guys.

On the topic of food, the produce here is very good and very inexpensive. My 25 euro a week food budget stretches comfortably {though I should cut back on my gelato and café visits a bit}. Usually the quality of a college student's diet decreases drastically when going off to school, but mine has done just the opposite. Even the "junk" food here is better for you then the stuff in the U.S. because there are very strict rules about preservatives and artificial additives. One of my apartment-mates, Alicia, was a cook for two years at the Murrieta Conference Center. Four of us gals - Bianca, Samantha, Alicia, and I - all pitch in and do dinners & occasional lunches together. With her cooking expertise, we are eating like {healthy} queens! I'm even trying out my hand in the culinary field a bit, I made some super yummy potatoes this afternoon with some spuds I picked up at the Saturday farmer's market this morning.

I promise I'll write soon with some more information & updates.

Buona Serata!
Em

Estera + Anna + I very serious about our milk at the Milkeria