I miss Italy

This is my second Monday back at work after returning from Italy. The first Monday back I was still in the haze of jet lag and not really zeroed in on anything. How can I begin to list the things I miss already.

Not their breakfast, really - we do that a lot better, but the coffee, definitely. It just seems like our coffee has no flavor. I don't really know how they brew it but the richness of the flavor without the bitterness you get here in a stronger cup of coffee is distinct.

The slow way they start their days - like a flower opening up as the sun rises rather than the Jack-in-the-box approach we have here in the US. I realize they aren't very productive in comparison to us but maybe somewhere in between the two approaches to life would make more sense. Is it even possible to change our society here just a little bit? Maybe Gen Y can do (Lindsay? Jordan?). But then again, maybe that's what led to the fall of the Roman Empire - lack of ambition and productivity!

The aromas that hit you throughout the day - foods, people, earth, wine, coffee - some are good and some not so good but it certainly keeps the sense of smell sharp. Everything here is "sanitized and deoderized". I am sitting in my office and I can't smell a single distinct aroma.

The sights - the old buildings with character and stories hidden behind each door, the countryside, so much of it still undeveloped, the people - with more liveliness in their faces, at least most of them anyway, and more color and sense of style in their dress. Granted, in Colorado the sights can be pretty spectacular with the sun setting over the mountains but it is too new to have the richness of character that was present in Europe.

So that's why I miss Italy.

Fresh Produce

The Italians really know how to enjoy food. Everything we ate for the two weeks we were there was so fresh and amazing. They just don't serve things that aren't fresh. Opening a can is an afront to their senses. The tomatoes seemed more flavorful. The wine lighter and less proned to causing a hardcore "buzz". And I don't believe I have ever tasted a better cantelope in my life. Pasta, Panzanella, Salami, Cheeses, Bread, Truffles, Seafood - nothing compares here in the US. I have decided its because so little of our food is "real" - unalterated by genetic engineering to produce longevity but reduce taste. Look at this produce stand - it all looks so amazing. The colors are brighter than anything I saw today at Whole Foods and that's the best produce place I have found in town. Even our local "farmer's market" today had tomoatoes with a lable from Canada. Oh I am longing for the luscious foods of Italy and I've only been home one week.

Ciao

Being Grateful and serving others

In America so many of us are blessed with abundance. Even much of the poor by comparison are not living at a standard that would compare to the dispair in other countries of the world. I am reading Three Cups of Tea which is the story of how one person can make a difference. Greg Mortenson, after a failed attempt at K2 in Pakistan, ends up in a village where they nurse him back to health. The people in the village lead very simple lives farming the land but they have no school so they and there children cannot read. Greg works to raise funds and ultimately build a school for them in their village, Korphe. These are people who are incredibly grateful for everything they have and everything that they receive. We are often not grateful for anythng we have and it never seems to be enough. I am curious as to why people with so little in material possessions can be so grateful and we who have so much can think that its never enough. How have we allowed ourselves to evolve to this level of dissatisfaction. I want so much to feel the sense of appreciation and gratefulness that these simple people have. I want to serve other people in a way that I have never done in my life. It must be much more fulfilling to serve others than to serve one's self and the insatiable need for more.

Below is a link to a blog from an Iraqi living in New York. The site has links to numerous Iraqi blogs. We really need to figure out how to help these people in additional ways to the armed conflict. They need our help. There is a link to a youtube video about refugees in Jordan. There are over 800,000 Iraqi refugees now in Jordan. The entire country's population is just over 5 Million before the refugee influx. That is a tremendous surge in population for a tiny country such as Jordan. They need our help.

http://healingiraq.blogspot.com

American History

This week we traveled to Philadelphia and Washington, DC to tour some of America's history with the kids. We saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Rosses House, the foundation of Washington's House, The Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, National Cathedral, WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. I was surprised by how moved I was at the National Archives viewing what are referred to as the "Charters of Freedom". It is truly amazing what these men did at the founding of our country and how enduring these charters have been. Most countries around the world would not have survived the uncertainty of the close count in the 2000 presidential election. When Washington passed on the power of the Presidency to Adams at the end of his terms in a peaceful and orderly fashion he set in motion the foundation of one of the many things that makes our country so great.

Sadly, so many people in America today take our freedom for granted. We don't truly appreciate the sacrifices that those before us have made in order to protect and preserve our freeedom. Especially the very freedom of speech that is used from time to time to tear them down or speak ill of our institutions of Congress, the Presidency and the Courts. We aren't perfect but we are free. Very few people of world enjoy the freedoms that we take for granted here in America.

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration_zoom_1.html

On the wall of the Korean War Memorial it says, "Freedom is not Free". We should never forget this.