JOANNA MASON
Overseas Columnist
The month away from the Florence Villa was a maturing and growing experience for everyone. Reconnecting and readjusting to the comforts of home back at the villa was a refreshing experience for me after traveling with one suitcase for the entire month, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for days, and creating memories worthy of many pages of journals and scrapbooks.
After the first week of classes, Elizabeth Whatley, our program director, organized an optional group field trip to Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio. Both are charming medieval towns with Etruscan roots. In Orvieto we visited the magnificent Gothic Duomo and spent time walking along the original walls of the fortified city overlooking the countryside. However, one of the most remarkable parts of the trip took place during a game of “trust falls.” Amidst shouts of encouragement and giddy laughter, each person in our group stood on the edge of a stone platform and fell backwards into the arms of nine faithful and trustworthy volunteers. The three newcomers to the program Charney, Danny, and Elizabeth, participated and so did our director; although it took her a little longer to “trust” that we would catch her. The game demonstrates the amount of courage and faith falling into the arms of others can take, much like the decision to leave home to travel overseas and even going to a place that might not feel like home. Missing those who left, Daniel, Brittany, Heather, and Wes, and getting to know those who are new is all part of adapting to Florence’s Spring Program.
On Jan. 19, we boarded a train to Rome for a once-in-a-lifetime chance hear Pope John Paul II give mass at the Vatican City. There were an estimated 12,000 people in the papal audience: pilgrims waving colored bandanas, school children from France and Italy, Catholics from around the world and a handful of university student groups like us. Set in the enormous Paul VI Auditorium, the Pope and various religious leaders in the Catholic faith were seated on the stage. Behind the Pope’s podium was the enormous bronze sculpture of the Resurrection by P. Fazzini. In breakout periods the audience would participate by expressing their adoration for the Pope and the Catholic faith in a variety of ways: a brass band from Poland dressed in traditional costume played the Battle Hymn of the Republic (“Glory, Glory, Hallelujah”), choirs from Catholic churches sang in reverence to the Pope in beautiful arrangements, and even the American students contributed by offering a new rendition of the Conrad Birdie Fan Club Theme Song (“We love you Pope John Paul the second, oh yes we do…”).
The Pope’s proficiency in ceremony and competency in various languages reflects the grandiose influence and wisdom that give John Paul II the respect and devotion of so many. When the church official announced Pepperdine University to the Pope, the Florence Program stood up and John Paul II acknowledged our presence. At the end of the mass, with an effort to utter each word in clear English and resembling an angel, the aging pope, with such sweetness and sincerity, offered a warm welcome to those who spoke English. “Please join me when I wish you all a happy new year,” he said
Life in Florence for the spring term is off to a good start.
01-27-2005
