The beginning of this day was a bit rough. We hopped on a bus extremely early in the morning, only to hop on another bus with a bunch of other people (we’ve been spoiled with our own buses), and drive for over 3 hours to Pompeii with a stop in Naples. Our skills of sleeping on windows really came in handy here.
Despite the tedious ride to the ancient city, once we arrived it was stunning. A city, preserved through disaster, was under our feet, and surrounding us with thousands of years of history and culture lost. We trekked in the hot sun through the streets, staring in awe of how insane it was that to be there. For me, the most crazy part of the whole trip was having the stories on the pages that I’ve studied my whole life, be right in front of my face. It was no longer just stories, no longer this strangely distant and objective view on people groups, literature and art. It was real. Real people, real struggles, real loves. We were blessed to witness so many vital aspects of not just world history, but the history of our faith. And though Pompeii wasn’t necessarily so emphasized on the Christian faith, there was so much of the city where you could see His hand in its beauty. There was a reason why it was preserved, and we get to learn and glean from it. We even got the opportunity to sing the Doxology in Hawaiian in one of the echo-y rooms of one the mini museums.
As we finished up our little adventure through Pompeii, we realized that we were lost and couldn’t find our way out. We had to be at the bus within 20 min, of which 10 was used actually running in a circle. Racing through the cobblestone and passed all the tourists, we arrived exactly on time at the curb and celebrated with refreshing slushies.
We then took another extremely long bus ride home, having been the farthest hotel in the group, and got back at 10pm. The hotel kindly made dinner just for us, and we passed out in our hotel rooms. Hence this late blog entry of this day and the previous day. But despite all the time in the bus (partially going stir crazy), it was quite a memorable escapade.
Rachel, 12th grade.
Despite the tedious ride to the ancient city, once we arrived it was stunning. A city, preserved through disaster, was under our feet, and surrounding us with thousands of years of history and culture lost. We trekked in the hot sun through the streets, staring in awe of how insane it was that to be there. For me, the most crazy part of the whole trip was having the stories on the pages that I’ve studied my whole life, be right in front of my face. It was no longer just stories, no longer this strangely distant and objective view on people groups, literature and art. It was real. Real people, real struggles, real loves. We were blessed to witness so many vital aspects of not just world history, but the history of our faith. And though Pompeii wasn’t necessarily so emphasized on the Christian faith, there was so much of the city where you could see His hand in its beauty. There was a reason why it was preserved, and we get to learn and glean from it. We even got the opportunity to sing the Doxology in Hawaiian in one of the echo-y rooms of one the mini museums.
As we finished up our little adventure through Pompeii, we realized that we were lost and couldn’t find our way out. We had to be at the bus within 20 min, of which 10 was used actually running in a circle. Racing through the cobblestone and passed all the tourists, we arrived exactly on time at the curb and celebrated with refreshing slushies.
We then took another extremely long bus ride home, having been the farthest hotel in the group, and got back at 10pm. The hotel kindly made dinner just for us, and we passed out in our hotel rooms. Hence this late blog entry of this day and the previous day. But despite all the time in the bus (partially going stir crazy), it was quite a memorable escapade.
Rachel, 12th grade.