going to Italy has changed me in some ways.
for me, it was not merely a time to holiday, but to learn about the culture, about the way they live their life, to learn about their system and the government.
it broadened my mind and my knowledge about real time missions (for one). thank God for cheekeong who shared about missions in Italy, and for bringing me to meet the rest of the people. think i was boring company, but i enjoyed seeing and absorbing how people interacted with one another. could sense some of the difficulties they face as well. thank God for them :)
i also got to know about Italy's education system in depth as we spent 3 days with professors from the University of Padua. it's actually considered to be the best university in the whole of Italy. Galileo and the first woman graduate graduated from this university. the whole town of Padova is built around the university :) it's a university town. hahaa.
and we had the privilege to actually listen to some of their professors with regards to a program they are doing with the schools in Italy. we also visited an elementary, middle and high school from Italy. they weren't situated in Padova, but rather in Verona (where Romeo and Juliet is set in), and in Treviso. and professor leia accompanied us throughout the whole journey and did translation for us:) i grew to appreciate the education system in Singapore, and the priority we give to education in terms of the distribution of finance in the Singapore system. teachers in Italy have to have at least a Masters degree, yet their salaries are capped at 2k Euros (around S$3.6k) for their entire lives. yet they are passionate about what they're doing. they fight and go on strikes for the sake of education and the system.
i am amazed.
and asked myself. would i be able to give up the luxury of being able to spend and live comfortably for the sake of passionately fighting for a belief? not letting the right to a good salary due to my qualifications impede what i am determined to do in life?
i am not sure i have reached the state whereby i can actually totally give up the security in having a pay rise every year for the sake of fighting for a belief.
perhaps for God, i will. but for the sake of the education system and for students, i am not sure :)
perhaps i am a selfish person at heart.
i marvel at Italians' capacity to walk. everywhere they have cobbled pavements (other than in Milan) and the unevenness of the pavements caused my toes to die almost everyday. the distance they walk could be as far as from toa payoh to ang mo kio, and they're used to it.
i marvel at them because i thought of the comfort and efficiency of Singapore, and i laughed at how we will take a bus for 3 bus stops. haha.
autumn and winter wear are no longer for fashion. they look great, but they function more as essentials and are worn for their practical reasons. haha.
i realized new things about myself, and i learned new things about the nature of God. i am reminded of things which I have forgotten, and I am thankful for the country I was born in. for the government :)
i have in me lots of thoughts which are yet to be processed, but I doubt I will share them here :) I just pray that whatever I have learned, will help me to be a person who is wiser and more aware of what is going on around me :) and to continue to be in the awareness of the majesty of God.