Mornings

Backing up to posts written without benefit of internet access.....

Mornings
Being anything but a morning person, these early morning wake-up calls are among the most difficult part of travel for me. I have learned that I am not the only one who was a bit afraid to miss a wake up call since almost half of the students packed fairly quickly after our return to the hotel on Tuesday, and proceeded to do things like play cards, talk and recall their various experiences, and give each other foot massages. (What servants, eh?) I expect them to fall asleep at some point....my expectations may be too high, however....so we shall see...in the morning.

A lot of the kids seem to be on my floor at the Rome hotel, which also has very limited space for gathering, so it is nice to be able to allow them to have their room doors open and hear them gathering together, in the halls and such. This has been a  really great group of kids to travel with. I can not speak highly enough of their ability to get along, not only with each other, but to welcome and enjoy the group of students from Cornerstone. Most of the time you would not have known that they were from two different schools. They each have their group of friends, of course...but it has been neat to see them get to know others better. I hope new friendships are being formed because travel helps you to see people in a new light...differently than in the course of a school day.

I had already planned to stay awake and do my sleeping on the plane, planning instead to catch up on blogging...for as long as my fingers can take it on the ipad. Italy (or 'IT-lee) is such an interesting place. They really run at their own pace and it really does not matter what we think the pace, or service for that matter, should be. I purchased internet service so I could sit on my moderately comfortable bed (that might be stretching it a bit) and blog....but the service did not work in my room. It worked until I passed through the doorway of my room, but not inside my room. So for much of this post I am sitting on the floor in the hallway outside my room. Kids interject funny stories as I type, so I keep proofing...there is no telling what this might end up saying! Occasionally I get reminders that I "COULD' go downstairs and be more comfortable. Hmmm...are they trying to get rid of me?  Do they not understand that I quite enjoy their company?

My reflection on mornings is that each morning brings us a whole new day. No matter what happened the day before, each new morning will bring new adventures, new opportunities, and the chance to do things 'better.' While we may have to live with the consequences of decisions we made 'in the past', we still have the opportunity to do it better with each new day. We have a few suggestions of things they might do in Italy to make things better each new day, but that is not really our job. When traveling, we are supposed to be embracing THEIR culture, not trying to change them to our culture. We often forget that. I will do another post about rooms and service at Hotel Eurpoa. In hind site, we might find it funny...now that we can put things into perspective.

"Numbbums"  Have you ever heard of that? It is when you sit on a marble floor too long and the stinging is from numbness from where you are sitting. I am going to take a stretch break and move to the couch downstairs........more posts to follow!

If I doze off.....I guess someone will wake me up by....morning!