Autmnal Equinox

(Sorry it's taken me a while to post this...I didn't get a good chance to articulate what I wanted to say this week so I change the post date to the date I actually started writing this...not the day I finally posted it -- Sunday.)


The autmnal equinox is when the sun crosses the celestial equator and day and night are both equal in length. This occurs on September 22. It is the astronomic event that marks the beginning of Fall.

I only know this fact because Monday we began our actual classes--after two-weeks of intensive Italian courses, and this is one of the first things we learned in my Astronomy class. The timing was way too ironic.

I knew something was different about this past Saturday--September 22. I had been in Italy for over two weeks, and I started to feel a little different. Saturday our director scheduled a wonderful event for us, so most of the Villa stayed here for the weekend instead of traveling around Europe. We went grape picking at a vineyard in the Tuscan countryside. The bus left at 7:30 AM, so we all got up early with the same sort of excitement that you get when you are preparing for a vacation. But, something was different for me. Yes, I was excited, but in a weird way. Something was a little off. It was that time of year, and I was in Italy...

The vineyard was in a word...beautiful. The sloping terrain of Tuscany allows for views of vineyards and olive tree groves for miles around. All 50 us glove-clad, bucket-carrying, scissors-in-hands students took out a good portion of the vineyard: 3-5 rows in about an hour and a half. The grapes glistened in the morning dew, the thud of grapes hit the bottom of the bucket with the sporadic tempo of African bongos, and some of the leaves had turned a beautiful mixture of red and gold. Followed by a tuscan country-style picnic with fresh meats and cheeses, pasta salad, sun-dried tomatoes (my favorite), and a whole spread to accompany. It was harvest time, and I felt so alive...sort of.

Then I realized what was missing: Fall. Fall is my favorite season and it elicits so many wonderful memories for me. Going to the fair, visiting Gatlinburg with my family to see the leaves change the mountains into warm earth tones, trick-or-treating, Alabama football, Thanksgiving Day with family, warm clothes, hot chocolate, campfires, and so many other things that i love. And if the moon can control the tides, I'm considering that this equinox may have affected the way I'm feeling as well.

See, I think I have myself figured out. No matter how hard I try to not let my surroundings affect my mood or overall outlook on life, I can't help it. I always have to be surrounded by new and different things so that I don't get fed up with the monotony of being in one place. Maybe that was part of the reason I went to Pepperdine--a change of scenery and a new lifestyle to enjoy. I have the sneaking suspicion that I am a wanderer--an adventurer--a traveler...and I don't think I'll ever be satisfied staying in one place for too long.

But along with this urge to travel, I'm so thankful that it's helped me to realize something else: an appreciation for home. That is in fact what I feel is one of the most important parts of travel and getting out of one's comfort zone. You appreciate the people, places, beliefs, and culture that have shaped who you are today. And that feeling is all the more in the South, where travel outside of the region makes one fully understand why we have the "Southern Hospitality" reputation. In fact, this could be the thesis statement of why this blog is called "Southern World Traveler"--it will hopefully be the intertwining of two things that are important to me and very much a part of who I am.

But, I am in Italy and along with the things I miss, there are new things to replace them. For example...Alabama football? Try a Florence vs. Rome soccer game that I attended Wednesday night (it's called Calcio here, not football like the rest of Europe)...where the hostility between the teams was more intense than an Alabama/Auburn game. I know it's hard to believe, but at least at the Alabama/Auburn games they don't have the equivalent of what the locals call the "Lion's Den." It's a three-story high cage with barbed wire at the top which surrounds the visiting team's section. And fans from both sides were still trying to throw bottles over the top of it--to the dismay of the riot police. Forget Rama-Jama-Yellahama....the stadium had surround-sound provided by the fans from both teams...shouting and singing what I'm guessing would be the American equivalent of bad-mouthing some opposing fan's mother. And of course, there were several flocks of birds that decided to visit the stadium...if you follow me.

To sum up my feelings, I guess the main thing I hope to come out of this year with is better knowledge of what I want out of life. By seeing more of what the world has to offer, I think my discernment about what's important to me and what I appreciate will be so much clearer. I am a wanderer--an adventurer--a traveler...and I'm standing at a crossroads.

Jeremiah 6:16a
This is what the LORD says: 
       "Stand at the crossroads and look; 
       ask for the ancient paths, 
       ask where the good way is, and walk in it, 
       and you will find rest for your souls.

(a new favorite verse of mine.)

Appreciating home--a little north of Rome,
Blake