Toscana Mediterranean...Middle of the middle of the earth - May 21, 2016

The view from the driveway at Casa Cares.

Today was the first full day at Casa Cares. We woke up for our first delicious breakfast and met our host for the next two weeks, Paul. One of the most amazing aspects of Casa Cares is that everything we eat is from the land. It is completely made from scratch and comes from either this land or from within 1 kilometer. There was apple butter and blackberry jam, local honey, cereal, and homemade yoghurt. There also was an apple pastry and bread that was either made in house or was delivered from close by. And the coffee! Oh is it delicious. There is no need for sugar or added flavor. It is perfectly dark and rich and flavorful. You could taste the goodness. It’s amazing how much better you feel when you eat like this, and it is only day one! 

Dr. Paul Kreig teaching us about the house.

During our first workshop of the day, we were introduced to the history of Italy. We learned about the political and religious influences that led to the unification of Italy in the 1800s. With only 5 provinces that do not have a coastline in Italy, we learned how borders are very important to culture in Italy. Each province has its own culture and everyone thinks their province/town has the best food, the best wine, the best everything.  In Italy, people identify with their hometown, not necessarily their country. When compared to the patriotism and pride that Americans have, Italians show pride in their families and hometowns. Paul told us that this is significant because of the skepticism and lack of trust Italians have for the government. Italians only trust the people they know well. Since Italians typically live within close proximity of their entire family within their hometowns, they see no reason to take any interest in other places. One final topic we were introduced to was the influence of the Medici family in Italy. We will learn more about that throughout our stay here. 

Then we took a tour and learned about the history of Casa Cares. This place is really cool. It’s like a maze and stairwells and hallways take you to places you never expected. You can even walk underground and take a dark staircase to the chapel just down the way so you never have to step outside! Parts of the house, like the lowest parts of the house might be as old as the 1600s.  There is an old olive press and wine barrels and with the markings you can almost imagine what it was like to have oxen churning the press from the floor above. The owners of the house have been slowly restoring it over the years. As you might imagine, it takes a lot of time and costs quite a lot of money to do it properly. We learned about the church that Casa Cares is part of and how the mission of social service and justice helps fund the great things they are doing here. 

Getting to know each other.

We had one other workshop led by Dr. Pat Thomas on personal wellness and balance. It was such a nice workshop where we had the opportunity to assess parts of our own wellness. We started the workshop introducing ourselves to six people and answering one thought provoking question on wellness. This was really helpful because we had the chance to get to know each other a little better despite the fact that there are over 40 of us here. When we moved on, we were given the options to assess our cognition, nutrition, body use and physiology, sensing, connectedness to others, emotions, sense of purpose, or self-care and choice. We completed the brief assessment and then completed one 30-minute activity to help us get in touch with our senses, emotions, and thoughts. While spending some time alone walking or just sitting in the sun I couldn’t help but think, “I am literally sitting ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’ right now!” After that activity we broke into small groups and discuss our experiences. 

Learning about wellness.

I would like to remember the following questions from this workshop: Are you satisfied with just not being sick or do you want to be well? Are you satisfied with just not experiencing pain or would you like to use your body to enhance the way you feel? Are you satisfied with simply not being in bad relationships or would you like to have deeper connections and intimacy with others? In order to have personal wellness and balance, you must not look at symptoms in isolation. We must look at how the symptoms impact the whole system. This concept of wellness is the basis of counseling and is what separates counseling apart from other helping professions. This workshop was such a nice reminder of why I love what I do and why I am working toward finishing this doctoral program. 

During our free time a few of us went for a very brief run/walk through town in search of Wi-Fi. We did not find any that we could use, but instead we found espresso! We came back just in time for a wine tasting and dinner. Before bed we had a brief introduction to Florence for our day trip tomorrow. 

So that was our full day one! On to our Firenze adventure tomorrow! :) 

Until next time,

Emily