In the back of a store on the computer of the owner!!

Monday, the 22 of June

Hi friends and family,

I have been searching high and low for an internet cafe. No such luck. People have sent me all over to random spots where nothing turns up. Bless their hearts. They are just trying their best to help the poor American girl out. This cool shop owner just let me on his store computer when I told him my issue. I was not hinting, but rather sharing my story with him. Good man he is!!

As for Monopoli, the town I am in, it is RIDICULOUSLY gorgeous. WOW WOW y WOW. I am in love. The people are relaxed, the Adriatic Sea is breathtaking, the hotel pool is heavenly, the people are insanely beautiful- in summary, all is good in the hood.

Last night we went to a fair. There were people from around the world selling goods. I bought a Hello Kitty alarm clock from this sweet Chinese lady- she was loving life when I talked to her in Chinese. I have limited skills, but she was still happy about my attempts. See, I almost missed our first team meeting. My roommate told me she had a great internal clock and that her body wakes her up at whatever time she tells it to. She said that 7am was when she would be up and that she would wake me too. Further, I asked the front desk to call my room. Let me tell you that neither one of those two options for getting me up came through. Ha ha! I got up and was like, "Beth is still asleep. Must be early morning. I shall go swimming." I was out doing laps when a team member came out and told me our 10am meeting started in 5 minutes. I rushed up stairs and got to the meeting by 10:02am. Oops! The group thought it was funny. No one was upset. My roommate (who by the way is a precious older woman) took much longer than I and got there around 10:20am.

We are a mixed bunch of people, which is what I love. I am one of two twenty-somethings. There are 4 teenage girls with their mom, aunts, and grandmother. One lady is in her thirites. The remainder are 40s and above. We have two guys and the rest of us are ladies. We are musicians, writers, teachers, professors, therapists, world travelers, divorced, single, shy, outgoing, loud, soft spoken... we have it all! It is awesome. We did a round table the other day about our lives. Most of my preconceived notions were shattered, whereas I hit the nail on the head with a few of my initial thoughts about people's lives. By the end of the roundtable discussion I was in tears. The last woman shared about how she'd lost her left arm to cancer and through that had chosen life. She has so much left to live and does it now with her right side. She is a very dignified woman with vast knowledge about world travels and cultures. She has fought back against cancer and shared that through losing, she won. She regained a perspective of life's value and lives each day for what it is: our only promised day. Incredible!!

I have swam in the pool of our hotel numerous times and in the Adriatic sea as well. You float very easily there due to the salt content. I am a fish! I am so pleased to have easy access to the water. I honestly could stay here forever - contigent upon being able to see my family frequently. Life here is simple. It is beautiful in so many ways. Everyone seemingly enjoys his/her job. People stop to visit. The hotel staff hangs out and visits with one another. Everything gets done in due time.

For the moment, I am taking it all in and just so grateful to be here! I love the world...there is so much to see and I hit my knees in gratitude for each glimpse I get into what is unknown to me in my little world :-)