Genuine Bits and Pieces

Invest your faith in genuine things.

If I could forget all else that this summer has taught me yet still hold on to that teaching and have it remain relevant from this point on, I would do so. Genuine people, genuine moments, allow your effort to go there.

Two months, an adventure of a lifetime, now distancing itself in the rearview mirror of my mind. With all of my friends gone, I spent the last two days in Florence alone, allotted ample time to reflect on this journey. The city was quiet. Oddly quiet for a town accustom to its noisy inhabitants over the summer months. I took time to myself to watch the sunset over the Arno river and think.

Pacing through the past experiences in my mind, I found that memories were made due to the people rather than the places. My adventures never started with, “When I was by myself...” rather, “Alec and I... Michelle and I... Tyler and I... Christine and I... etc.”. Rarely, even when I was surrounded with awe-inspiring beauty and natural wonders, was the fond memory a result of the geographic location, rather the people that I was fortunate enough to share the experience with. However, I find it sobering to think about the fluidity of these new-found relationships. We’ve laughed, told stories, shared passions and struggles, yet, in a blink, we are no longer together. Although the “I’ll see you soon”s and the “We’ll visit each other”s are plentiful, the somber reality is that, with a nation between the majority of my friends, many of these goodbyes are final. You may hear this and think it bleak, as did I when I was first came to the realization. Yet, let me show you how my views have changed.

“Bits and pieces, bits and pieces.

People.

People important to you,

People unimportant to you cross your life, touch it with love and move on.

There are people who leave you and you breathe a sigh of relief and wonder why you ever came into contact with them.

There are people who leave you, and you breathe a sigh of remorse and wonder why they had to go and leave such a gaping hole.

Children leave parents, friends leave friends. Acquaintances move on. People change homes.

People grow apart. Enemies hate and move on. Friends love and move on.

You think of the many people who have moved in and out of your hazy memory.

You look at those present and wonder.

I believe in God's master plan in our lives.

God moves people in and out of each other's lives, and each leaves a mark on the other.

You find you are made up of bits and pieces of all who have ever touched your life.

You are more because of them, and would be less if they had not touched you.

Pray that you accept the bits and pieces in humility and wonder, and never question and never regret.

Bits and pieces, bits and pieces”  -Lois Cheney

This poem by Lois Cheney sums up my new perspective on fleeting relationships in a more articulate way than I could hope to accomplish. Don’t be sad because people you love have to leave, know that because they were a part of your life, they have built you in some way. They will always be a part of you.

Before I walked out of the airport in Portland, I was in an embrace with good friends and an American flag was thrust over my shoulders. I was humbled. Soon I was in Thurston where the day revolved around smack talk, basketball, and pool time. All things that make the Ybarra clan run in its seamless, dysfunctional manner. The night concluded around a crackling fire in my back yard, surrounded by treasured friends, many of which I’ve known for more than 5 years. Again, I was humbled. The next day I traveled through Corvallis and on up to Beaverton to move into my new home for the summer. Once more, I found myself surrounded by those I hold dear. And again, I was humbled.

I have been humbled. I have been humbled by the genuine people I have had the honor to meet and call friends. I have been humbled by the fact that these people, these amazingly talented, incredibly admirable people, take time for me. It may not sound like much, but really, it’s the world. The fact that these commendable individuals will give up part of their day in order to make time for me is one of the most cherished things I have in my life.

“Friendship is one of the greatest gifts a human being can receive. It is a bond beyond common goals, common interests, or common histories. It is a bond stronger than sexual union can create, deeper than a shared fate can solidify, and even more intimate than the bonds of marriage or community. Friendship is being with the other in joy and sorrow, even when we cannot increase the joy or decrease the sorrow. It is a unity of souls that gives nobility and sincerity to love. Friendship makes all of life shine brightly. Blessed are those who lay down their lives for their friends.”  -Henri Nouwen

For those of you who have done simple things in my life, thank you. For all of you who have walked in and out of my life, or are still a part of it today, thank you. I will do my best to always cherish the genuine things in life. Please know that you have all done your part in building me into who I am. You have all contributed your bit and your piece. Thank you.

With genuine love and appreciation,

Rhett

The Home Stretch

The studies finished in Florence so I embarked on an equally exciting adventure for the following two weeks. Classes finished, I said goodbyes to all but one, and he came with me to Paris, Barcelona, London, and we just finished in Amsterdam. An adventure of a lifetime, memories at every turn, but all good things must come to and end. I'll save you the sentimental blog post for my final addition and focus rather on my shenanigans in Amsterdam for this post.

I was taken aback by the beauty of the city. You hear many things about Amsterdam, but it's breathtaking architecture and astounding canal systems aren't usually aren't at the top of that list. The city, was such a wonderful mix. Bikes, boats, nature, and the odd assemblence of people all set it apart from any place I had visited before.

Alec, whom I've been traveling with, booked our hostel no more than 2 minutes away from the red light district of Amsterdam. This made it our civic duty to at least visit... I was pretty surprised by what I saw, but I won't go into detail. Google it if you're really interested.

Of course, everyone then asks if I visited a "coffee shop" in Amsterdam. I sure did. You can see that in the attatched picture. For some reason Alec's Americano wouldn't light though.

Someone stated, "Amsterdam is not a city of sin, it's a city of freedom. Yet, give most people freedom and they find sin".

We did do something educational I might add. The morning that we were heading back to Florence, we woke up bright and early to tour the Ann Frank house. If you are in any way interested in history associated with Nazi Germany, I highly recommend this stop. I was unaware of the story of Ann Frank, and still found myself holding back tears as I made my way through the hallways of their hideout. It was a impactful experience that I also had the pleasure of sharing with Chad Nathanson, who just happened to be in Amsterdam at the same time. Making connections pays huge dividends. Every city I visited on my trip, I knew at least one other person that would be there at the same time. I find it humbling that I literally have friends all over the world.

Oh, and we did the Hieneken experience tour while we were there because... How can you not?

One day back in Florence, then 4am hits and Alec is catching a taxi to make his flight as I watch from the sidewalk with our other roommate Donald. Simultaneous goodbyes, fighting back the lumps in our throats, we all preceded to part ways from each other over the next few hours.

Then it was just me... Everyone I've studied with, everyone I've met here in Italy is gone. I'm the very last one. I've spent most of today, and I'll spend all of tomorrow, just reflecting, taking time to myself. This is the first time Florence has ever seemed quiet to me.

I'll be home soon.

With love,

Rhett

The London Accent

Cheers! So far, London has been home to the nicest people I've had the chance to meet on my trip. They're kind, helpful, happy, and the accents are to die for.

I boarded a late evening plane out of Barcelona, and like most Ryan Air flights, it was delayed, bumpy, and cramped. It sure is cheap though, so that's what really counts. I had the good fortune however, to sit next to some young women who were just finishing college in Greece and heading home to London where they had both grown up. They were wonderful, teaching me British slang and forcing me to do my best British accent. We parted ways as we arrived at the airport, and Alec and I traversed our way through customs for the next hour. After a bus ride, we came to our hostel around 3:30am and immediately crashed.

The next morning, (and by morning I mean 2pm because that's how long we slept) we were lucky enough to meet up with my good friend Jamie. It just so happened Jamie was studying abroad in London and was kind enough to tour us around the city. We saw the sights, went to the free museums, and ate the food. We were the perfect tourists.

The best part of the London experience in my opinion, was meeting an admirable group of people our second night. The 3 of us were hanging out on our hostle's balcony when a small group, all in their early to mid twenties, joined us up there. Once we dove deeper into each other's stories, we came to find that they were all part of the peace core and had been living in Liberia for the last few months. Unfortunately, Africa is currently experiencing the worst Ebola outbreak in history so their entire crew was immediately evacuated in the night to escape the disease. Many of them had sold most of their possessions expecting to live overseas for the next 2 years, but now they were headed back, probably to stay with mom and dad before they were reassigned somewhere else. They told stories of the struggles and joy they had seen in a country they briefly called home. They shared cultural differences and norms that surprised us. My best wishes go out to their group and, of course, their host families back in Liberia. I'm still amazed every day by the people I have the honor of meeting.

Our last day in London consisted of traveling to Parliment Hill park which overlooks most of the city. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to do something in London a little more off the beaten path. Later in the evening we met up with Jamie again as well as her friend Emmee, who, interestingly enough, I had met only a few weeks prior due to us crossing paths in Florence, Italy.

A missed bus and short plane ride later, I've touched down in Amsterdam. Turns out my hostel is located in the red light district... That's what I get when Alec does the booking I suppose. I'll do my best to stay out of trouble mom.

The more I travel the more I understand that it's the people, not the place, that really matters. A week from now I'll be back in the states my friends.

With love,

Rhett

Embarking on Barcelona

Check, check, check went the to do list in Barcelona. This city was a jewel with a surprise at every turn, and although I accomplished the majority of what I wanted to do while in the city, I know I only scratched the surface.

Michelle (Yup, bad swimmer Michelle for those who have been keeping up on the blog) visited Barcelona just a few days before Alec and I touched down. It's unfortunate that we missed her but she made sure to give us quite the checklist of things to do and see in the short 4 days we had there. I'll do my best to recap the days because each one had its own special twist.

Our first day consisted of an afternoon of exploring and getting a feel for the city. We walked down La Rambla street which was littered with tourists, but still had much to offer. The best part was a market that connected to the street. It was filled with fresh fruit, smoothies, and Spanish dishes as far as the eye could see. For cheap too I might add, which is always nice when you're on a budget. See stayed out and experienced the food and drinks of Spain before catching the last Metro back to our Hostel.

The number one thing everyone said to do while in Spain was see the Gaudi architecture. So that was our plan to start day 2. We bought tickets, bypassed the line, and walked up to one of the most unique churches I've ever seen. It was called Sagrada Familia, and I would describe the exterior like a carefully sculpted sandcastle that stretched into the sky with flashes of color and adornment. The inside is what took my breath away however. Words and pictures will never do it justice, just know that it was the most beautiful architecture I've ever laid eyes on. Colorful light flooded in from incredible stained glass and the ceilings stretched higher and higher with a beautiful tan, almost sci-fi, nature. After standing in awe, I knew I had to make my way and explore the rest of the city, but as I was leaving, the sky turned dark and ominous. Alec and I nearly ran to keep ahead of the storm, but got caught in the rain, the downpoor, nonetheless. We found shelter in the aquarium and decided to give in to our childish nature and go see the sea life. After a few hours inside, the sky was sunny once more, and we enjoyed ourselves as day turned to night.

Day 3. One objective. One mission. Find the steps that the Cheetah Girls danced on and recreate the picture. We met up with friends of ours, Savanna and her brother AJ, and before we finished explaining the idea, they were in. However, after finding the steps, and realizing that it was 8 Euro a person to even walk on them, we collectively decided to do a low budget recreation and found random steps a litter closer to the beach. We nailed it though, it was Cheetah-licious. The day only got more exciting from there. After a few hours and a nap on the beach, Savanna told us of some friends she had in the area who had connections to say the least. We arrived at a beach front hotel at midnight, met some wonderful people named Parker and Rachel, then took a short taxi ride to a club named Shoko. If you've heard much about night life in Spain, you know it stretches into the hours of the morning, and that it's pretty expensive. However, because of Parker's connections, we skipped the line, got in for free, stayed in two different VIP sections, and were catered to for most of the night. I couldn't help but feel like a celebrity. Alec and I then took the 5:30am metro home, and crashed.

Day 4 consisted of sleeping until 2:30 in the afternoon... It was much needed after last night. We then took a lazy day on the beach and just got our tan on. Hopefully I'll be dark by the time I'm back in the states. Because it was Thursday, I was told that a "magic" fountain show was going to happen near the city center. After a short metro ride, we arrived at the Montjuic fountain which turned out to be one of the most entertaining parts of the trip. Couples, families, and friends watched as the water danced to the music, a new mix every 15 minutes. It's definitely a great date spot if you can casually swing a ticket to Spain.

Our last day was simply lazy. We "checked out" of our Hostel which conisted of turning in our key, then lounging by the pool for the next 7 hours. We caught up on some work and took care of some errands while enjoying the sunshine. In fact, our Hostel was amazing. It cost us less than 15 Euro a night so we were expecting the bare minimum, but instead it blew us away. Located 15 minutes outside of center city, it was in the hills of Barcelona. The view was remarkable with castles in the background as we sat by the pool. Breakfast was included everyday and lunch was unbelievably cheap. People of all races and ages arrived there, sometimes to just play in the pool for the day. The best part about the entire place however, was that their staff was made up of over 90% people with special needs. We were in constant contact with people who had either mental or physical disabilities. It made that place even more special.

This has been perhaps the craziest past 5 days of my life. Every little piece is a memory I hope to keep with me. Except for running from a wild boar, that was scary...

Off to London now, bring on the accents.

With love,

Rhett

Connections in Paris

I think back to when my mom and I were discussing flights to get to, and come back from, studying abroad in Italy. Getting there wasn't an issue, I had to take some early finals, but I arrived right on time to start orientation. Coming home was a little more up in the air. Classes ended on the 24th of July so my mom assumed I would travel home the 25th. I had other ideas. I looked at her with my big Brown eyes and said, "I'd actually prefer to stay another couple weeks so I can travel". When she asked where, I simply responded with, "I don't know, I'll figure it out when I get there". She didn't like the response, however it's past the 25th and you won't find me in Oregon.

It's been one of the best decisions I've made thus far. Throughout my adventures over the past month and a half I've bonded a lot with my good friend Alec. We decided that this two week adventure would be a lot more fun together than it would separate. We booked the cheapest of flights accompanied with the cheapest of hostels to make this trip a reality. For us, we don't need luxury, we just enjoy the adventure.

Our first stop was Paris. Our hostel was a ways out of the city center but we just used the metro system to make our way to all of the sites. The Louve was spectacular, the history in that place will take your breath away. The architecture in the city never stops amazing you. I can see why so many people fall in love there.

One of the best parts of Paris however, was the fact that I was able to meet up with my good friend Marie. I'm a firm believer in the fact that it doesn't matter what you're doing, it's who you're with that makes the experience. You can tell Marie grew up with brothers. She's mature, articulate, fun, and just able to go with the flow. I hope she had as much fun in Paris with me as I did with her.

The most memorable part of the time spent in the city was definitely the night of our shopping adventure. We laughed our way into buying Euro fifty Champaign... You know the classy stuff. We then road out, sipped our drinks, and sat under the Eiffel tower as it lit up the sky until one in the morning.

Next stop Barcelona.

With love,

Rhett

Let's Watch the Sun Rise

6 weeks in a flash. A blink of an eye and it's no longer the present, rather a memory. It's goodbye to all of those with whom I've shared classes, dinners, and laughter with over the past month and a half. And the sobering fact is that, for many, it may be a permanent goodbye. This makes most of us sad, obviously, but I'm a firm believer in the fact that God moves people in, and out, of each other's lives for a purpose. We grow and learn from each new interaction, little things that build us. That's what gives me comfort in the goodbyes.

Last night, we went out as a group for the last time. It was quite the organized fiasco. From shuttles not working, to people running away, to a hour and a half walk home, it was a fitting end with my disfunctional study abroad family. What I'll cherish is that on our walk home, we realized that the sky was beginning to change. Looking at the time which read 5am, we thought that the sun was soon to rise. Myself, Andrew, and Nona decided to sit on the Ponte Vecchio, feet dangling over the water of the Arno river, and watch the sun rise over this city that we've come to call home.

Life is made up of those little moments. Things you can't buy, things you can't see. Fleeting moments that we can miss easily if we don't cherish them when they happen.

I received a snapchat from OASC camp with Angela quoting me in front of the campers. Then, they all said in unison, "Thank you Rhett".

Little moments like that are what mean the most.

With love,

Rhett

A Splash of Family

I lived like a king these past few days! Not really, but when mom and grandma come to town, I can afford to order the steak at dinner. And by afford it, I mean beg them to pay for me and remind them how I'm their favorite son/grandchild.

Their time here went by so quickly however. It seemed like once the jetlag had finally wore off, they were on their way to board the plane home. We tried to fit as much as we could in a short amount of time though. Dinner, museums, shows, tours, and of course, gelato filled our days together.

Yesterday, as the sun set over the Arno river, we paused to cherish our last moments. We were quiet most of the time, and I can't speak for my family, but I was thinking about how much my life is changing right now. I stand on the threshold of independence, a step away from actually being an adult. It struck me to think that last summer may be the last time I ever live in Thurston again. I know, everyone deals with this and it may sound childish, but I'm consistently surprised at the fact that I'm forced to grow up.

The nights with friends are still a joy and classes are beginning to come to a close. I've been doing my best to write letters and make gifts for those who have impacted me here and back home. Days together have turned from "let's grab dinner" to "let's make sure to say goodbye before I leave".

I have a mentor named Angela and she told me that throughout this experience I should not necessarily strive for authentic moments, but rather cherish them when they happen. To live in the now. I've done my best to hold the space and simply listen more, a trait that isn't my strength. I've heard some amazing stories and definitely broke down walls with others. Specifically, I've become close with a small group from UCLA, whom I unfortunately have to say goodbye to this evening.

"A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing."

It's interesting how time moves on regardless of who you're with or what you're doing.

Soon I will leave for Paris to embark on my next adventure.

With love,

Rhett