a fully functioning family, and community.

over the past year i have really been challenged to figure out the true meaning of community.  i have been incredibly overwhelmed by my realization of the amount of influence that a community has on a person, both negatively and positively. 

on a daily basis i work with teenagers who, unfortunately, have been surrounded by community that continually drags them down and is ill functioning.  as a staff team, we are always encouraging our kids to reflect on their 'chosen family' (those who may not be blood related, but who you have invited to build into you as a person).  i often encourage them to describe what they feel are positive qualities that they look for in a family and how their 'dream family/community' would function. 

this past year has turned out to be a 'practice what you preach' type of year for me.  the very things that i am teaching, God has been challenging me to evaluate what i am continually throwing at my kids; what does a well functioning, positive community/family look like?  as i ponder this question, i become overwhelmed by the outcome of my search.  i truly feel that i am living in what i believe God would call a well functioning community. 

i have four best friends. yes, four of them.  most people when they hear me say that, they think i'm just like a typical elementary school kid who overuses the term 'best friend' and considers anyone who shares their snack with them to be their best friend; this is until i am able to explain our friendship. 

the five of us have known each other for years.  some of us have even been friends longer then we haven't been friends, we grew up together.  to top it off, we are all each others best friends.  our relationship flows into all area's life.  it is in this group of women where i have experienced the true meaning of community. 

1 Corinthians 12:20-26 reads; 

 'Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you."  The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."

In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.  And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care.  So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care.  So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity.  This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other.  If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all parts are glad.'

each one of us brings unique qualities to the group.  we all have different gifting's,  different abilities.  where one is weak, the other is strong.  when one experiences excitement,  the other four experience great joy on behalf of that person.  we have all had our moments of disbelief, struggle, sadness, disappointment, and confusion, and the others have stood in belief on behalf of the one struggling.  we know one another's potential and ability, which in turn causes us to always be challenging each other, not allowing us to settle for less then what we are capable of.  it is because of this balance, intimacy, and transparency, that we are able to fully function as a family, as a community, and as one body. 

sea of red.

Dubrovnik.

croatia is a perfect get away for all generations. it has the history and beautiful sites for the less rowdy crew, the laid back beach bum lifestyle for those who are looking to relax, and the crazy night life found on both the mainland and the near by islands.  as a good tourist should, i dabbled in a little of all three. 

i spent most of nights on the mainland in the city of split, the main port city. during the day i frequently took the short ferry to the surrounding islands where i would rent a scooter and zip around living the life of an islander.

i spent one brief night in the town of dubrovnik. i had first heard about the old, stunning city on my favorite guilty-pleasure tv show, the bachelorette, and knew I must pay this enchanted place a visit! the town feels like its straight out of the mid-evil times, you even have to walk over a drawbridge in order to get in! the weather was absolutely miserable as it poured rain for 95% of my stay, but i didn't let that stop me from getting a few pictures (see below).  

on my way back to split from dubrovnik you have to pass through bosnia so we stopped for a quick lunch break so we could all add yet another country to our 'been there' lists. the town we were in, unfortunately i don't know the name, was amazing. i would love to one day revisit bosnia and do some further exploring!

thats all for now folks. i'm on to my final stop on this wild adventure. a place i have always wanted to visit and cant believe i haven't until now... ENGLAND!!

(pictures are all out of order again, sorry!)

The Dubrovnik castle. Apparently it's on some tv series?

C of red. Dubrovnik. 

Freshest seafood I've ever had. 

Bosnia border crossing. 

The skinny and steep street that my apartment in Dubrovnik

was on. So many steps! 

Ferry to Brac island. 

Scootering around Brac island 

Dubrovnik. 

Drawbridge leading into the town of Dubrovnik. 

Bol beach which is apparently Croatias number one beach. It's pretty

but it's a peddle beach, which I personally am not into. 

The city of Split. 

The wall around the city of Dubrovnik 

The town of Sumartin, the same name as my mum! 

wine. water. wine. wine. water. wine.

italy has been a treat to visit. it took me a little while to get used to the italians way of life when it came to food a drink. being a backpacker, you always go for the cheaper option, in italy its always cheaper to drink wine over water. in fact, if you ever order anything but wine with, well any meal, you will soon be talked/forced into getting wine by your waiter. don't get me wrong, i love wine just as much as the next guy, but with the quantity i  was consuming i was at a great risk of not remembering any of my time while in italy. after a day or so of silliness, i had come to realize that I was going to have to splurge on water at the local convenience stores if i wanted to be able to see the sites and not just skip around town like a giddy school girl.

rome was a bit of a whirlwind experience. i only had one night, 2 full days, but for me that was long enough. i blitzed around and saw the classics like the coliseum, the vatican city, and a few other sites.  again, it was my first couple days in the country so it was a bit of a blur.

on to florence, a much smaller, and to me, a much more enjoyable city! florence is a city i could easily see myself living in. before coming to italy i had heard many mixed reviews on this city, but the second i got off the train i fell in love with it. i guess it just depends on what you are looking for. if you like wild parties and giant cities, the places that all north american tourist go, florence might come as a disappointment. but if you are looking for quaint small cities where there is still loads to see and surprisingly a ton of high end shopping, go to florence! while in florence, i visited the david, loads of authentic italian markets, duomo - cathedral of santa maria del , and many more other beautiful sites.

i also had the treat of falling asleep the the italian opera every night. my hostel was situated in the old opera house. the new opera house was just a paper thin wall away.  in fact there was a 3 inch gap at the top of the wall between the old and the new.  needless to say, i had backstage passes (aka my bed), for free.  it was incredibly loud, and most of the time i didn't know if i should just enjoy it, laugh my head off at the situation, or be mad because i couldn't sleep. i think at various points in my stay i experienced a little bit of all three.

the longer i travel the more care free and laid back i become. i have realized that you of course need to be smart and aware of your surroundings, but it's a waste of energy to plan everything out in great detail. travel is much more fun when you are able to loosen up and be spontaneous. i had previously heard of a few small towns surrounding florence that were nice so i walked to the train station to see where I could get to the fastest. lovely siena was my destination!

siena, a precious little walled town is chalked full of brick buildings and cobblestone streets; heaven! it was a fun little adventure and a wonderful way to wrap up my stay in italy!

the coliseum.

entrance into the vatican city.

st. peters cathedral (vatican city)

st. peters again, from the front.

prayer room.

the body of one of the popes.  they have all the bodies of the past popes

preserved in st. peters cathedral.

no, halloween did not come early, these are the guards at st. peters.

inside the sistine chapel.

sistine chapel.

the beautiful ceiling in the vatican city museum.

a real mummy. kind of gross if you ask me (vatican city).

apparently this was michelangelo's fav statue. he liked the way the way the mans

body was curved.  i had a little laugh when i heard this, i personally think the

statue looks like a drama queen. 

spanish steps.

getting my climb on (spanish steps).

 

my first train in europe! a very enjoyable experience i must say.

florence!

this bridge is the only bridge that lasted through WWII. it is lined with

very expensive jewelry stores.

duomo

the david.

more beautiful doors. 

the streets of love siena.

i have a love hate relationship with this gelato, so tasty.

good thing i spend a lot of time walking.

so many small, 3 wheeled cars in italy.

the best food ever!

the most lovely place on earth.

cinque terre; where to start? no matter how much i rave about this place, no words will EVER do it justice. for months before my trip i looked up pictures of cinque terre online. my hope was that it would be half as beautiful as it was in the photo-shopped google images, needless to say, my expectations of these five villages was sky high. in no way did it disappoint, in fact it far exceeded my expectations. it's one thing to longingly gaze at pictures, but it's a million times better to be there and feel the unique culture in person. i still have troubles wrapping my head around the fact that this place exists, and that I was lucky enough to experience it. it is, hands down, the most amazing place i have ever been and i will certainly be back.

for those of you that don't know, cinque terre national park consists of 5 famous fishermen villages that line the northern coast of italy. they are about a 3-5 minute train ride apart.  there is also a hiking/walking trail along the coast that runs from town to town which i only had time to do about half of. here are a few pictures and a personal take on each town.

riomaggiore is the first town of the five villages in the national park of cinque terre. it feels like an authentic, non-touristy town. you tend to see a lot more, sweet little italian ladies in the streets of riomaggiore then you do rich american tourists. it seems to be a bit more run down then the rest of the towns, but again, that's just part of its lovely character. riomaggiore is where all the fishermen anchor their boats, mmmm, fresh seafood!

 

riomaggiore

manarola, town number two, seems to be one of the biggest villages. it's squished in between these two mountains so it's pretty long an narrow. it opens up to the sea where there's lots of big rocks to climb and sunbathe on. because if the big rocks just off the shore, the snorkeling is great. if you're looking to skip the beach and want a fun place to swim and climb, manarola is the place for you!

manarola peaking over the top of the mountain.  this picture was taken

on the hiking path between riomaggiore and manarola.

the walking /hiking path.  at times it is a leisurely stroll, and at times

you are praying that you wont fall off the cliff.

manarola.

daily laundry.

corniglia, town three, feels a little bit like going to grandmas house for tea, warm and quaint. it's the only town that takes a bit of a hike up a mountain to get to, but it's certainly worth it. it's completely surrounded by wineries and lush vegetation which makes it even more beautiful.  it appears to be far less touristy then the rest of the towns, probably because all the young, hungover folk don't want to climb.
i spent a couple hours adventuring off the main tourist streets taking a million pictures.  i stumbled upon a cute little pink house that i wanted to snap a photo of but i could see the owners inside so i had to devise a sneaky plan to get my photo. i was trying to hide around the corner, when sure enough an older gentlemen came barreling out onto the balcony yelling in italian. side-note: italians, especially the older generation, all speak with a lot of passion which in a story like this can easily be mistaken for anger. back to the story...  i quickly gathered my things as i was about to make a mad dash out of there when he yelled to me in english 'if you want a picture you must have coffee with me and my maria'. carlos and his wife, maria, have been married for 70 years and have 8 children.  we spend a lovely 3 hours sharing stories of italy and canada. i saw every picture ever taken of all 8 of their children and their 46 grandchildren. i also shared pictures of my family, friends, and life from home. carlos and maria; what a lovely couple who i will never forget. i hope that, i too, will someday be able to celebrate 70 years with the love of my life, what an accomplishment!

the stunning corniglia.

the little trolley system they have to get fruits and veggies up the mountain.

carlos and maria's house!

it overlooks a bunch of wineries and the ocean, absolutely stunning!

so much color, i love it!

the view while hiking up the mountain to corniglia. if you look
closely, you can see manarola off in the distance on the right.

vernazza, town four, is the most famous of all the towns. if you have ever googled 'cinque terre', the imagines that will most likely come up will be those of vernazza. it is the most wonderful place. it has a funky feeling to it. it's place you would go to have a nice late night meal or drinks with friends. vernazza is probably my favorite town out of the five, with corniglia following closely behind it.

at night the town looks just as lovely as it is all done up with twinkle lights!

the walking path. there is a fence here, but at time there isn't one. 

for those of us that are afraid of heights, this was a real test!

monterosso has a more laid back feel to it. personally, it's my least favorite out of towns, though it is still lovely. it has the longest beach and board walk out of all the towns. i would guess that if you are looking to laze by the water all day and not do much site seeing in town, this would be the place to do it.