Napoli

Well we have arrived at Naples. On our way here we stopped to see some of the catacombs where the ancient Christians were buried. They did not allow us to take pictures in the catacombs, but this was my favorite thing that we have done thus far on the trip. The catacombs were burial places of the early Christians in the 2^nd-5^th centuries. While most poor people who died were thrown into pits and forgotten, many of the early Christians were buried in the catacombs. This burial custom is highly significant. It displayed that those who were wealthy in the early church would give to the poor Christians in order to give them a proper burial. In a similar way, the catacombs reflect a theology of resurrection, symbolizing that the believers had a hope that those who died would pass on into eternity. Walking through the catacombs was so intense. There are over 500,000 tombs in the catacomb that we walked through, and that is only one. As we journeyed through, I couldn’t help but marvel at all these ancient graves that symbolized so many Christians who gave their lived thousands of years ago for the same God. Who am I that I might walk in their footsteps? That is the kind of thing that brings you to a hush. After the catacombs we all had a Eucharist service and praised God together in a cathedral right there at the tombs. It was truly amazing.

After this we drove down to Naples, which is where we are currently. Naples is a costal city, and our hostile is on the beach!! We have had some great opportunities to rest and recuperate from such a hectic week in Rome.

Today we were able to go to an Italian church here and we got to stay afterwards and eat some amazing Italians. These are the two ladies that we sat with.

I would write their names except they were so Italian that I can’t remember them. This was really our first experience of true Italian culture, and it was awesome. There were about 100 of us in this room together, and all of the people all know eachother. The eating atmosphere is a loud mixture of laughs, yelling, feasting, sharing food, sharing stories, laughing, singing and an overall abundance of goodness. I ate more today than I think I have ever eaten in one sitting. Everyone shares their food and it is all one big crazy family. It was a joy to be a part of.

After our abundant meal, we all retired to the beach for some much needed R & R. One of the other cultural experiences that we had the privilege to partake in was a fanciful tradition that goes back to the time of cavemen and the loin-cloth. It is the tradition of the speedo. America is pitifully behind in its cultural understanding of style, comfort, and overall attractiveness of swimming attire. Needless to say, we wasted no time in adapting to our surroundings, and even managed to convince our teacher to adorn a nicely colored lavender speedo. Yes indeed, that is our history professor with a doctorate, which clearly communicates to the world that the speedo is a rich and much needed tradition.

Unfortunately our upper thighs have not been exposed to the same amount of sun that the locals enjoy, but soon we will be browner than Hasselhoff. If I have learned one thing since being in Europe it is: Speedos=success.