A Week of Lessons from Venice: Day 1

Today started out a bit rough.  Still confused about the time difference, my body had a difficult time going to sleep, and though I awoke to my alarm I was so exhausted that I promptly fell back to sleep.  When my eyes adjusted fully I saw that it was 7:47am...I was LATE!  In a panic, I called Ruth to see which block we were on today and was very happy to learn that it was an "E" day.  Salvation!  I didn't have students until half passed nine!  Usually this would have put a damper on the entire day, but I was determined to make the best of a challenging start and was surprised to see that the rest of the day went smoothly and passed in a flash.  It's now just after 5:30pm and I am tasked with the one thing that will help me regain normalcy--I must stay awake until bedtime!  I guess there's no better time than the present to start on my blog entries about the lessons I learned in Venice.  I have a feeling that this is going to be a humbling experience, but here we go...

The day I left for Venice was a pretty tough day on my body as well, but I managed to make it through the school day, finish packing my suitcase, and joined up with the group of folks taking the bus to the airport.  As my other friends put on their matching t-shirts and headed off to Malaysia I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.  They were, after all, about to spend a week bonding in paradise.  But, when I considered how long I have wanted to travel to Venice to see the city AND take a mosaic class I was confident that I made the right choice in how to spend my first spring break abroad.  My flights went smoothly and before I knew it I was getting my passport stamped in Venezia!  I was relieved to see my mom waiting for me at baggage claim and even happier when my suitcase arrived.  We bought our bus tickets and walked outside to hunt for the express bus to Pizalle Roma.  As we rode I wondered if Venice would live up to my expectations.  Would it look the same as it did in movies?  Would I love it?  Be disappointed?

After arriving in Pizalle Roma it took us some time to figure out which direction to head in order to catch a water bus to our final destination.  Being stubborn, I knew I could figure this out.  Certainly it couldn't be too difficult to spot the canal and buy a ticket.  Mission accomplished, and before long we arrived at Domus Orsoni, the location of our hotel AND the mosaic class.  This place is truly priceless and if you didn't know the exact location, it would be easy to miss.  After several attempts at ringing what I thought was the bell an older lady living across the courtyard and an older gentleman walking by us pointed out that the top button was actually the bell and I had been pushing the intercom for the last several minutes and panicking because nobody answered (I was happy to learn I wasn't the only person to make this mistake!).  Once inside I was in awe!  The entry was really a gallery filled with beautiful mosaic pieces (you'll see these later) and our room was perfect for mom and I.  We made quick work of actually unpacking and then decided to make our way out into the city in an attempt to keep ourselves moving.

First stop, train station.  It was easy to locate and less than 10 minutes from our hotel.  From there we caught a vaporetto to take a cruise down the Grand Canal.  Watching boats and buildings pass by I was just enchanted by this city.  Everything is old, smudged, broken, and absolutely perfect!  

There is something that seems impossible about imagining a city built on the water, and yet here's proof!

First glimpses

We got off at the Accademia stop and decided to go see the Peggy Guggenheim collection--I'd heard from a colleague that she loved it and thought we would check it out.  Peggy certainly had eclectic tastes and although I am an art lover, there's only so much you can appreciate after five hours sleep and twenty hours of travel.  

Mom looking pretty awake after a long day of travel!

Outside Peggy's house/museum

I saw this on the wall in the courtyard and took a liking to it.

A Tree of Desires gifted by Yoko Ono...look at all of those wishes and desires.

My first exposure to what would be a week filled with many languages!

From there we headed back to the canal and started walking in the direction of San Marco.  I have a cloudy visual of what the islands of Venice look like and I'm not sure how this works exactly, but it seems that nearly every street eventually leads to San Marco.  Piazza San Marco was filled with people, pigeons, and souvenir stands.  Not exactly the picturesque setting one hopes for, but it was a reality of Venice.  By that time, we were getting hungry and we were already tired so that meant frustration wasn't far away.  We tried in vain for almost an hour to locate the Hard Rock Cafe (come on, I just wanted a salad!) and although we eventually found it here's where the major lesson of Day 1 comes in...sometimes I just need to ASK FOR HELP!

Have you seen the movie 28 Days with Sandra Bullock?  Her character is forced into rehab after ruining her sister's wedding and driving a limo into the side of someone's house.  As part of her treatment she is forced to wear a sign that says, "Ask me if I need help."  It's difficult to admit it, but I am a master of avoidance and, being a firstborn child, I want to do everything on my own.  I hate asking for help...and I usually won't do it until it is too late and I am overwhelmed and exasperated.  As I try to reconcile this truth about myself, I can only explain by saying that asking for help reveals weakness, imperfection, and allows others to think that I am not good enough.  I'm beginning to think that maybe I need one of those signs too.  Unfortunately I didn't really learn the first time, and this lesson was learned again and again throughout the week as I tried to navigate around Venice.  Now that I am back at home, I am making a concerted effort to recognize that I am not perfect, I do not have super powers, and sometimes I need to call on others to help see me through something...or give me directions when I am lost.  I can do this...and now I have a sign in my office to remind me.