Casa Cares day one

First and foremost, please excuse the spelling errors - my spell check is apparently out of commission.

Today was a good day. Check that, pretty fabulous. I slept wonderfully and generally feel adapted to the time change. I actually do not think I have slept this good in months probably years at home. Maybe it is the lack of stress and worry that I am carrying with me.

Casa Cares is lodged in the beautiful region of Tuscany, Italy. We had two class sessions today and both were about taking care of oneself as well as alternative and complimentary therapy sessions.

We learned about Italian history in the morning and with the limited knowledge of Italy I came with, this gave me a new perspective and better footing about interacting with native Italians. Some small tidbits I learned...
Did you know that Italy is number one in the world for having citizens that are homeowners? Italy has pretty cheap taxes and land was inexpensive for families to build homes in earlier times. This is how many families are able to survive on lower salaries and own a home in Italy. I also learned that the Pope preached against a united Italy in earlier times because of the fear that the power of Catholicism within the country and the culture would diminish. Organized crime in southern Italy is large mostly due to the great wealth in the northern regions of Italy and the focus of prosperity in northern Italy due to this. Italian is the easiest language for English speaking people to learn due to the phoenitic pronunciation of words.

I was able to relax and enjoy the Italian sun this morning and afternoon. Rhiannon and I took a walk and made friends with the Casa kittens as well as the chickens. We enjoyed the breathtaking view of the cliffs as well as the aromas of the flowers growing all around. Between our sessions we took time to read on the mountain side and enjoyed listening to the cars honking rounding the cliff curves as well as the huge rain drops that began to fall for a short time but quickly passed.

Dr. Thomas' session on personal wellness and balance was refreshing and nice. As counselors we focus on our clients and their awareness of self and often times forget to take the time to focus on ourselves. This session gave me the opportunity to reflect on my own areas of wellbeing and what my areas of strength are as well as areas that I would like to add to. I enjoyed our group conversation and openness about strengths and personal areas of improvement.

Dr. Suzan Thompson's session on Complementary and Integrative Therapies was a breathe of fresh air. It was perfect timing for my new reading for pleasure, "Women's Bodies, Women's Health" and aligned well with my personal endeavor to find a more holistic approach to my lifestyle and wellbeing. I learned a great deal about the several approaches that are not often talked about in the counseling and medical professions.

Overall, I have not felt this relaxed in quite some time. I feel in touch with my self, my reactions and feelings. When is the last time I have thought of this stuff? I don't know. I feel reflective and simply at peace. At home I feel chaotic and less than adequate in most things in my life. I obviously need to work on self-improvement and reflection. It has become apparent to me as well that I have self-esteem issues and need to feel better about myself so that I treat others better. I have reflected that I have taken out my lack of self-esteem onto to those in my life that I love the most. I feel poorly about myself and therefore, when I get frustrated or angry at myself, I outwardly respond and yell or criticize others to make them feel like me. However, it is completely subconcious and not meant to harm. It does harm though and makes my relationships strained and I am now more aware of this on a personal level where I can improve.

Tomorrow we are headed into Pisa and Lucca and I am anticipating this trip greatly. Thus far, I have been positively suprised with all of my interactions and experiences while here. However, I feel tomorrow will be a true test of my ability to adapt and deal with cultural differences. Not only will everyone be speaking Italian and I will have to attempt to speak and comprehend, but I will need to be aware of cultural nuiances to acclimate better.

It's one in the morning here and I need to get up at 7 tomorrow to prepare for our trip. I will close for now and apologize for my stream of subconcious.

Thanks for checking in and tomorrow I hope to post more pictures and reflections on my adventures thus far!
CIAO