Friday, July 24th:
No lecture today =)
Today we visited Pavia, Italy. We saw another abbey, but before anyone yawns and writes off old churches as boring, I have to say that this place was beyond cool.
First of all, the church was every adjective synonym for “amazing” you could think of: the place was painted and carved from top to bottom - my jaw literally dropped at the sight of such intricacy. It’s crazy to think that these people spent lifetimes working on this building. It’s truly inspiring. It was also cool to be in the presence of the duke of Milan and his wife’s tomb. Kind of eerie, but still pretty cool. But the best part about this trip was our tour guide - a monk that lived there. He was the sweetest, most adorable person I had ever met - very charismatic, it’s nice to see a monk with a sense of humor =) I wish I had gotten his name. He was the most peaceful human being; he was so kind to all of us. That’s me in the picture giving him a “high five for USA,” - he’s so cute.
Mr. Monk aka my New Best Friend said that there were monasteries in Vietnam after I told him where I was from (..definitely thought I was Indian…) and I was so inspired by his energy - some day, I want to be at such a level of peacefulness; to exude positive vibes to everyone that you meet; to have people want to be your best friend simply for making them feel comfortable and like themselves when they’re around you. It’s certainly humbling when you think about it, I have no doubt that what comes with something like that involves a great deal of discipline. But at least they have perfect weather, a serene setting, and a beautiful church to tend to each day =)
AND NOW ITS OFF TO FIRENZE!
