Ciao for Now, USA

Hello, friends!

Well, the time is officially almost here: on Wednesday, I finally make my journey over to Rome to study interreligious studies for a year at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. The past few weeks have been fairly busy. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out which things absolutely need to come along in my suitcase (Splenda) and which I can probably leave behind (both pairs of my way-too-high high heels). I managed to navigate the less-than-user-friendly Italian consulate system and finally managed to get my "visto" (good through next July). And I've reminded myself numerous times that no matter how nervous I may get in the next few days, I really do remember how to speak Italian fairly well and so won't be completely lost in my new home for the next year.

But what about the things I'm not realizing? I've now been fortunate enough to move to Europe twice (in 2011 for a study abroad semester in Florence, Italy, and in 2012 for an internship with the Welsh Assembly in Wales, UK), so I'm feeling a little bit too calm for my own good. A little too confident in my ability to handle a move across the pond. I've intentionally spent this summer trying to appreciate how much I love the place where I grew up--Long Island, with the beautiful light on the East End when the sun sets, the look of the beach when it's hazy out. I don't think I've fully succeeded. I predict the adrenaline will kick in as soon as I leave my parents behind at security (and immediately remember ten absolutely essential American products I forgot to pack).

Me in the Colosseum in Rome, Italy back in 2011

There are a few things about this move that should really be getting me a little more nervous than I am. The first is that I've never gone away to Europe for this long, a whole year. Sure, I've lived abroad, but always with an end date in mind, and that date only a few months in the future. Which brings up the second new thing for me...I have not purchased a return flight. I mean, I'll be home for Christmas and New Year's for two weeks in December, and I vaguely plan to come stateside for part of July next year, but past that, it's a little up in the air. Some people may know my ideal next step would be to continue on to get my Master's in the UK in interreligious or Judaic studies. If that miraculously works out, what will I end up doing next summer? Working for a Jewish community in Scotland? Helping out at an interfaith organization in London? Bumming around the states?

The third thing that has me a little uncomfortable is the lack of a liberal Jewish community in Rome. As religion has grown more important to me over the past few years, I've realized that living in a place like Rome for a prolonged period of time probably wouldn't be ideal. I loved my college, but living in a place where I did not find my religious community made me realize that in my "adult" life I ideally hope to live in a place with liberal Jews. Which really means some places in the US or the UK. I figure that this course of study in Rome is so important to and fitting for me that I'm willing to forsake my earlier pledge to live near liberal Jews for this year, but it would be so easy to then say that again if something else comes up next year, and then the year after that, and on and on. If it's important enough to me, though, at some point I'll have to make the decision about whether or not I need a liberal Jewish community in my life constantly. I have certainly valued being home this month, because I was able to spend both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with my family and my home synagogue for the first time in four years. We shall see.

So what do I expect this coming year? I expect to be hit a little bit with culture shock, given my current (unwise) lack of nervousness. I expect to field a lot of questions from other students at my Catholic university, since I will be one of, if not the only, Jewish person in the group (which I am always happy to answer, yet can sometimes be tiring when there's no one else there who can fully understand my perspective). I expect to miss home, family, and friends, as I always do, but also to adopt the sense of independence I so value whenever I live in a city. And I expect to start figuring out what to do with the rest of my life...or at least with the next few years.

So for now, arrivederci! The next time I post, it will be from Rome. It might take me two or three weeks to get settled enough to write, but never fear--I imagine I'll have a lot of comments once I really get entrenched in the city that houses the center of Catholicism. And I'll do my best to avoid too many kitschy Italian phrases in my posts (okay, maybe just a few).

Now go out and love one another.

<3,
Allyson

Intentionality in a Less-Religious World

Hello, friends.

What governs your daily actions? How do you decide that you will attend church every Sunday, for example? Or decide if you're going to use birth control? Or abstain completely from eating meat? What guides your actions?

I have been thinking lately about "intentionality," by which I mean people doing things purposefully, making decisions about their daily actions based upon a guiding sense of principles that are pre-determined by them (as opposed to just going with whatever they are feeling in the moment). Now, these principles can be religious (for example, "I am an Orthodox Jew so I will not use technology on Saturdays") or they can be secular (for example, "I will spend time meditating once a week on ways to help the less fortunate"). But sometimes I wonder how intentionality forms for those who might not very strictly follow a religious doctrine (I'm including myself in here).

In today's technological world, we become used to having access to almost anything, right away. Obscure pieces of knowledge can be found with just a few clicks on the internet, almost any TV show or movie can be located online, Skype/text allows us to communicate with distant friends without a second thought. But what does this instantaneous-results culture do to our relationships and morals? What happened to intentionality? In relationships, is just writing the token "happy birthday!" on someone's Facebook wall once a year enough, when the only reason we know it's someone's birthday is because the website reminded us? Or shooting out a text once every few months just to say "hey"? There are certainly some relationships that can function on this, but I worry about whether as a culture we are moving away from commitment. From saying, "It is a value for me to purposefully call my friend/grandma/favorite professor on the first of every month."

Religions clearly involve a level of intentionality. For example, we intentionally went to synagogue when I was growing up on Yom Kippur every year. It did not matter that we only went to temple for service that one day, but we did it. My father and I also fasted all day, then had bagels for dinner (a typical Yom Kippur meal to break the fast). We did it with purpose. Other religions have similar mantras that guide them: for example, some Catholics might choose to not use birth control because of the theology of their religion. It is a very real-life decision, based on a guiding sense of principles that a person adopts before they are faced with the situation. But what about outside of religion? I don't only mean atheists or agnostics, I mean also questions about life that might fall outside of the specifics of religion.

I think there's value in trying to adopt a set of principles in advance. This may be a simple result of the way my mind works (my number one "strength" on the popular self-assessment StrengthsQuest, a type of personality test is "futuristic," after all), but I see a lot of good in giving thought to things in advance, and trying to live my life intentionally. Whether that's as simple as making sure I reach out to my close friends one a regular basis, or making a resolution (as I did in January) to try to do at least one Jewish-related activity a month.

The most recent examples I have of intentionality in my own life involve two healthy habits I've adopted for myself: giving up diet soda (a former vice of mine) ten days ago, and trying to eat more vegetarian meals. These are small things to do, but nonetheless difficult for me while making some kind of small impact. Diet soda is not healthy, and eating less meat is good for the environment. So even though these new decisions may not hold very long, the idea of not only dealing with life as it comes but also trying to take control of my actions, is important.

Is intentionality important to you? I know this post is a bit heady and theoretical, but I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on intentionality in the comments below.

For now I will leave you with "Shanah tova," a Hebrew wish for a good new year. Tonight is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, when most Jewish families celebrate with nice family dinners and apples dipped in honey (for a sweet new year). So maybe join me in making a Jewish New Year's resolution to live your life more intentionally--whether that means giving up something you know is not good for you, or deciding to put aside the texting for one day and calling a friend who lives far away.

Now go out and love one another. And Happy New Year to all!

<3,
Allyson

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