Have you ever heard the phrase “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know,” from Aristotle? It means that the more you read and learn you see that there is still so much to learn. It’s humbling and exciting (and makes one’s to-read list rather long…)

I feel that quote about travel. Coming to Europe awakened a desire in me to travel the world. I’ve traveled around the United States with my family and loved doing that, but leaving the country has made me want to travel to other countries too. (And travel more around the states.) Every trip we go on, Prague, Český Krumlov, Freiberg, and now Rome, I feel like my list of places I want to go is getting longer and longer. The more I travel the more I realize how many more places I want to travel to.

Mid – Semester Break

This week (okay… I know I am very behind on blog posts, so for the actual dates this was May 24-28th,) we had our mid-semester break at Cumorah. Some students stayed at Cumorah, but others went on trips. It was a break, so you could do whatever you wanted.

(Don’t worry! I’ll play a LOT of catch up this actual week in blogging, haha.)

Some of the interns: Laurel, Camila, Paige, and I went to Rome. (Faith, another intern, also went to Rome, but stayed with a different group of students.) It was AMAZING! I need to go back! Italy looks so pretty from the air.

Traveling to Italy

I’ve decided I need to go on an Italy tour and visit some of the other cities in Italy, like Venice, Naples, Florence, Tuscany, and Milan. I’ve heard that Rome is more touristy than other cities and the food isn’t as good either, or at least not as true Italian. Very touristy friendly.

My friend and fellow intern Faith told me after the trip that her group went outside the city and explored the Italian countryside near Rome. She said that was her favorite part of the Rome trip. Out of the big city. I need to explore the rest of Italy!

We had to take 2 buses, 2 metros, and a trolley to get to the airport. Then we boarded the plane and 2 hours later arrived at Rome. After the airport, we got on the Rome metro for an hour and then walked for ten minutes to get to our Airbnb. It was a lot of travel, but I was happy to be there.

When in Rome

The weather in Rome reminded me of Las Vegas. It was very hot and a bit humid, and palm trees were everywhere.

I learned my sim card I got in the Czech Republic only works in the Czech Republic. I guess when you think about it that makes sense, but I hadn’t thought about it until I was in the Rome Fiumicino Airport. Which… is not great. I found an app that gives you data- in an “eSim” is what they call it, and thought I would just do that.

(If you’re going to Italy anytime soon, the app is Maya Mobile.) There was an option for data in Italy for 8 days for $5. That would have been perfect, BUT after paying for it, it would not work on my phone and kept saying error.

Apparently, eSims work on Apple devices and Android A54 and up. I have a Samsung A53 and so… it doesn’t work on mine. (If the paid-for data doesn’t expire then I’ll have 8 days worth of data in Italy that I’ve bought, once I get a smarter phone… Welp. (Obviously, I need to plan another trip to Italy!)

That has been such a hard lesson to learn being here- that I need a better phone (and a credit card that has the tap feature) for traveling. I always feel like such a burden having to rely on everyone else for getting on the bus and navigating and things like that. It’s not that big of a deal, but I am a bit uncomfortable with it. My future trips will be easier now that I know!

I also learned about the feature on Google Maps where you can download a map of an area and use Google Maps even without data. I did do that, and we used it for a bit on the second day since Paige’s phone had died when we were out and about. (Although it downloaded the car version, I haven’t figured out how to get it to download the walking one. If you know, let me know!)

A word about top sheets

One of the weirdest things about Europe is the lack of top sheets. I didn’t know top sheets were mostly an American thing, and I didn’t realize how strongly I felt about them till coming to Cumorah and not having one. Let me explain.

Here at Cumorah, they have a mattress protector, one sheet (without fitted corners), and a bedspread. The bedspread is, as I’ve later learned, called a duvet. The duvet is like a comforter or bedsheet, but instead of being used directly, it’s encased in a removable cover, called a duvet cover. So, the one sheet, and duvet are the extent of the bedding provided at Cumorah.

I use the one sheet as a bottom sheet so I’m not sleeping directly on the mattress and then use the duvet as the only cover on top. When I was googling why someone would prefer a top sheet vs a duvet, google talked about hygiene. In America, we often use a top sheet between us and the blanket for hygiene purposes, because we don’t often wash the bedspread.

Whereas in Europe, the duvet is like a comforter, but instead of being used directly, it’s encased in that duvet cover. This cover acts as the top layer, so you can wash it frequently to keep things clean. The duvet itself needs washing less often because of the cover. So, as Google put it, “The duvet gets rid of the need for a top sheet.”

But, I think there is one more reason for a top sheet besides hygiene. One reason I love top sheets (so much apparently) is that when it gets hot I can take my thick bedspread off, but still have some sort of blanket on me while I sleep. I often sleep with just the top sheet because it gets too hot otherwise.

According to Google, one of the benefits of having a duvet is that if one is too hot one could pull the bedspread part out of the duvet cover and only sleep with the duvet cover on (sort of like a top sheet.) That is okay, I guess, but my rebuttal to that would be that no one wants to wake up and take the duvet out of its cover at 3 am when they are hot, but still half asleep. I can see the benefits of having a duvet (especially when you can wash the cover,) but I also think you need a top sheet.

The first three weeks here at Cumorah Academy I melted every night under the thick duvet. Finally, I found the closet where the bedding and extra sheets are kept and I grabbed an extra sheet. (I was worried I stole someone’s, but they keep a lot of extras in there and no one has complained thus far so I think I am in the clear. I’ve been using that as a top sheet and things are way better.

You’re still talking about top sheets?

Okay, you might be thinking, “Mack… This might just be a weird Cumorah thing. How do you know it applies to all of Europe?” Okay, okay. Technically I don’t know for sure. I only know they aren’t big on top sheets here from what I read on Google (this article) and a Reddit chat called “Why are Top Sheets Uncommon in Europe?” (Someone on that one commented that pack a top sheet with them anytime they visit Europe.) And, I’ve asked a couple of the mentors who visited other European countries before coming to Cumorah, and they didn’t have top sheets during their stays.

I also know this a bit from experience. On my trip to Český Krumlov, (in the Czech Republic) there was no top sheet on my bed. I went to London the week after Rome (watch out for that blog article soon! I know I’m a bit behind,) and there was no top sheet in the place we stayed there either.

That is why I was pleasantly surprised when arriving at our Airbnb in Rome our beds had top sheets on them. (See, very tourist-friendly!) They also had towels, which was a big miracle to me because, on the plane to Rome, one of the other interns asked me if I packed a towel. She didn’t think the Airbnb we got would give us any. I was a little worried about that – 4 days in Rome and no towels? And then we walked into the Airbnb, and there was a towel rolled up and placed on the pillows on the beds with top sheets. It was comforting to me.

(For my next blog post maybe I will talk about some other differences between the USA and Europe. For one of them- you have to pay for water here! Stay tuned!)

Pickpockets

Rome has A LOT of professional pickpockets. I’m sure several towns in Europe have pickpockets, but Rome has a CRAZY amount of tourists and people everywhere, and I was told multiple times to be careful with that.

Paige and I bought fanny packs that go under your clothes and prayed, and I was fine! If you’re coming to Europe make sure you get something to prevent pickpockets.

We got this one here if you are interested, and it worked great. I might use it in other places I visit.

Roaming around Rome

Rome was beautiful! I want to come back! (I know I say that on every trip I’ve been on, but it’s true!) Giant buildings, marble statues everywhere, cobblestone streets. I loved it!

The weather was perfect. The whole time I couldn’t believe we were actually in Rome! The Percy Jackson books and my 6th grade World History class were coming to life.

There are SO many vendors on every street (especially streets close to monuments) with people trying to get you to buy souvenirs or food or maps of Rome, etc. Even restaurants would have someone outside who stopped you in the middle of the street and gestured to the restaurant. “Are you hungry? Come eat!”

Paige and I bought a couple of Rome sweatshirts and practiced our bartering skills with one of these people. The sweatshirts were originally 40 euros each, but Paige and I bartered and looked uncertain about the price enough that she gave both of them to us for 50 euros.

Paige’s phone lost total battery pretty early on the second day – we were using a lot of data and taking A LOT of pictures, so we went to a street vendor for a portable phone charger- he told us 30 euros and we just started walking away and he yelled, “No! Wait, 7! I’ll give it to you for 7 euros!” So… Barter everyone! 🙂

Yummy Gelato

Gelato needs its own section. It is SO GOOD!

We got gelato twice a day at least. There’s this delicious flavor called “stracciatella,” which is vanilla with strands of chocolate in it, almost like chocolate chips. The dark chocolate was so good too, I got that one in every Gelato I tried (they usually had you choose three flavors). Mango, mint, raspberry, and cookies and cream were also good. (The cookies and cream one wasn’t Oreos though- it was Snickerdoodle-like cookies in vanilla ice cream. SO GOOD!)

Great food

The food was good. I had two Margherita pizzas, a pizza with potatoes on top (actually really good) and Cannelloni pasta. Also, the best croissant I have ever eaten, these Nutella biscuit things, and a life-changing cannoli. Seriously, life changing.

St. Peter’s Basilica

Okay. We’re finally at the monument section of this post! I can tell it’s gonna be a long post! 😀

My favorite monument is St. Peter’s Basilica and the Cupola. (Technically they are two separate attractions.) They were the very first stop on our Roman adventure.

On Saturday morning at 5:30, Paige and I got up and got ready to walk for an hour from our Airbnb to the meeting spot where we were meeting for our tour of the Basilica. (This is after arriving at our Airbnb at midnight the night before- that part wasn’t so fun.)

The meeting spot was by a bakery where I had that life-changing croissant. It was filled with chocolate. They also had Super Mario juice boxes. At the Basilica we had to go through security (like airport security) to enter. (Here is where the fanny pack came in handy, just undo the clip under my shirt and we were good- easy to take on and off and keep things out of sight from the pickpockets.)

Walking in the Basilica is unreal. It’s magnificent. This isn’t just any church; it’s a masterpiece with a rich history, designed by legendary architects like Michelangelo. The crowning glory is the massive dome ( the Cupola), which Michelangelo himself also designed. You can even climb it for breathtaking views of the city if you’re up for the challenge! (Which… we were. Keep reading!)

The building is GIANT! It is so tall, like most monuments in Europe. As soon as you enter your jaw will drop and you’ll stare upwards. Every wall- ceiling to floor is covered in gold, in murals, paintings, statues, and more. Seriously the only adjective I could come up with was “unreal.” I am shocked people built this! Pictures don’t do it justice, but I’ll try.

The Cupola (Dome Part)

The church part was so cool! I’m still awed. After exploring the Basilica we went to the Cupola. “Cupola” means “dome.” It’s the dome part on the top of the churches. There are a lot of churches and cupolas in Rome, but when you say “The Cupola” you are talking about the one on top of St. Peter’s Basilica. It is the coolest one.

From inside the Basilica, we rode an elevator up two floors (and the equivalent of the first 200 steps up the Cupola.) Then, we had to walk the next 300 to the top of the dome. Warning: If you get claustrophobic you won’t want to do this part! (Although the view from the top was AMAZING!)

It was a dome that we were walking through, in 300 steps going in a spiral. As we climbed higher and higher the walls started to turn in. (I have a video where it seems like we were walking sideways!) It was SO crowded and so hot. There was a person on the step in front of you and a step on the step behind you. It was tight in parts and SO MANY STEPS. (I thought Český Krumlov was bad, haha.)

But just as I was convinced that I was never going to make it to the top, we arrived. We went to the outside of the top of the dome and looked out at the view. You can see all of Rome below. It was breathtaking. And, honestly, even though I was very hot and very claustrophobic and there were SO MANY STEPS, and it was so tight, I probably would go back.

(Am I making you excited to go or killing that dream? The basilica part is a must-see in Rome and if you’re willing the Cupola was awesome as well.)

It was amazing. The view was breathtaking. (Or I was just still trying to catch my breath from all those stairs…)

After looking at the view, we headed down 300 steps back down the dome. (Going down the Cupola was less crowded than going up, plus I had an end in sight, but it was tight and I was worried about tripping and falling. Would not want to break my neck in the middle of the Cupola! (But, did I still find the courage to pull out my phone and videotape us walking down the dome? Yes, so maybe I wasn’t that nervous about breaking my neck…)

All roads lead to Rome

Okay, this section doesn’t actually have much to do with the heading I just gave it, but I’m just trying to jam as many “Rome” sayings as I can into this post, haha.

We weren’t able to go to the Sistine chapel (so that is definitely on the list for my next Rome trip!) But we did see a lot of other cool monuments, like the Panthenon, Fontana Di Trevi, and the Spanish Steps. There are so many statues and fountains and shops and buildings everywhere. You probably could be in Rome a month and still not get to everything.

There were a lot of castles, buildings, and other fun things to see or do that we just walked passed and saw from the outside.

Of course we got some more gelato. I mean… Obviously. 🙂

My foot hurting

I’ve been going back and forth on whether or not I want to share this. Is it blog worthy? It was a source of stress and vulnerability and pain and insecurities. But, it was also a cool learning opportunity. So… Let’s do it.

Right after leaving the Pathenon my right foot started hurting so much. I still don’t really know why. I didn’t sprain it or break anything. I didn’t trip or anything either. My foot just started aching a lot any time I put any pressure on it. (I think it was just all the walking that I wasn’t used to – at that point we had walked 10 miles that day- and it was on the uneven cobblestone streets.) I don’t really know what happened, but I was hurting a lot. I hobbled for a couple hours after that, but then my foot was hurting so bad, so we headed back to the Airbnb.

Priesthood Blessing

That night, while getting ready for bed, I felt a prompting to receive a priesthood blessing.

In my faith, the priesthood is God’s divinely authorized power to act in His name.

A priesthood blessing is a prayer where a worthy man places their hands on the head of the person getting the blessing and offers encouragement, comfort, blessings, or guidance, as directed by the Spirit. You can get a priesthood blessing if you want some extra comfort or advice or if you are sick or hurt. (For example, my family will get priesthood blessings before the start of a new school year. I got a priesthood blessing when I broke my leg.) I believe in priesthood blessings. They are powerful.

That is a very general description of it, so if you have any questions about it, please feel free to reach out to me!

Anyway, I got this prompting to get a priesthood blessing for my foot. Immediately all these fears came up in my mind. This is what my mind told me:

“Why would someone get a blessing for their foot? That’s silly. And besides you don’t even know if anyone in the group that went to Rome holds the priesthood anyway. If there is anyone who does hold the priesthood on this trip, they wouldn’t want to come all the way to the Airbnb just for your foot. This is dumb. Paige and Laurel probably think you’re a wimp, and asking for a blessing will just reassure them that you are one.”

Wow… My brain can spiral sometimes.

Fortunatley I pushed past it and texted Camila and asked if the group she was with had anyone in it who held the priesthood. (She did fly out with us and stayed at the Airbnb the first night, but she had another group she hung out with the rest of the time.)

Two people in the group did hold the priesthood and were more than happy to come give me a blessing. (And it wasn’t totally out of their way, they were actually heading over so Camila could grab her things.)

So, I got a blessing.

Guess what? The two students in Camila’s group who gave me the priesthood blessing are from Mexico and Spain, and they gave me the blessing in Spanish. It’s probably what they were most comfortable giving the blessing in.

I don’t speak Spanish and didn’t understand a word of the blessing. However, the spirit and peaceful feeling I felt were strong. It was crazy to me that in a random apartment building in Rome, Italy of all places and in a totally different language, the priesthood and the spirit work the same. God is the same wherever you are.

The church is the same everywhere you go too. That is something I’ve heard my whole life growing up, but it is different experiencing it firsthand. It’s so cool.

I felt peace during the blessing.

Paige and Laurel both served Spanish speaking missions and they are studying Spanish in college. They translated for me after Camila’s group left. In the blessing they said that I would have peace and comfort, I would enjoy my trip, and that my mind and body could rest. (I was grateful for the “mind can rest” part. My mind was going in rambles with the insecurities and negative thoughts- some of which I mentioned earlier.) One other line was a reminder to depend on Jesus Christ and be able to Him.

I felt comforted. And my foot pain eased a bit. It didn’t hurt as badly as it had that afternoon. Pedro and Andres thanked me for giving them the opportunity to give me a blessing. They didn’t find it silly at all!

Sunday in Rome

The second day in Rome was awesome.

It was a Sunday. We got to sleep in a bit (compared to the 5:30 wake up call the previous day.) We got Europe’s version of Uber, and got dropped off at the Temple in Rome. (Becuase it was Sunday it was closed, so I need to go back to go inside,) but the outside looked AMAZING.

I remember when this amazing video about the Rome temple came out and I just thought “that looks cool but there’s no way I’ll ever make it over there.” Boy is 19 year old Mack surprised!

The visitor’s center was awesome! IThe visitor’s center is a building that you can go in to learn more about temples and the work done there. They are typically open even when the temple itself isn’t. The Rome temple visitor’s center was really cool, just like in the video. The visitor’s center has a marble Christus statue, and marble statues of the 12 apostles. It also had this really cool stained glass painting showing at least 40 parables and stories of Christ. Learn more about that one here.

We went to church in a church building right by the temple. They had these earpiece translators for us who needed English. A missionary was doing the translating. Things worked out pretty well, although one time the speaker said a joke, and the translator just laughed without ever translating… So, I assume whatever the guy said was funny.

It was neat having Italian in one ear and English in the other. And again, so comforting that church is the same everywhere you go. The same sacrament, the same spirit. I’m grateful my church is a worldwide church and is the same everywhere. That fact has really strengthened my testimony this internship.

(Our mentor for the last part of the week after Rome was Henry Kosac from Germany, who works over seminaries and institutes in Europe, and works with the Pathway program here too. Talking with him was so cool because he has this passion for the youth of Europe. I was filled with the spirit during our interview and knew suddenly that God has a plan for the people of Europe. Cumorah is part of helping that plan. The work Henry Kosac is helping with is part of that plan. I suddenly wanted to be involved in that plan too. It’s not that I didn’t think God had a plan, but being in Europe I am more able to empathize with the people of Europe and able to see that plan in action. One thing this internship has taught me is that God loves all His children, and Europe holds a special place in His heart. Mine too, now. He is hastily bringing forth His Plan to Europe. I asked Henry Kosac how I could get involved because I have been filled with a desire to do so.)

I could feel that in the church at Rome.

I shall go down in history as the man who opened a door!

After the temple and church we headed to the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum.

Along the way we grabbed a gelato and stopped at a pizza place.

(Word to the wise: wear a shirt and skirt to church in Rome, not a dress. At least if you’re going to wear that fanny pack thing I was talking about. It worked fine, but since the fanny pack was clipped and resting on my stomach, in order to pull out any cash from it, I had to lift up my dress to grab things. We had to stop at a bathroom a few times to grab things so I wouldn’t flash anyone. A skirt would make things a lot easier because then you’re just lifting your shirt up an inch or so to grab what you need, not your whole dress…)

It was a bit of a long walk from the metro station to the museum. My foot was hurting a lot, but we made it. (Passed by the colosseum too!) The museum actually provided a nice break for my foot. There were parts to sit down and Paige and I were in no rush to walk through it. It was nice.

Holy smokes! I did NOT know Leonardo Da Vinci was so cool! He did so many things! The extent of what I knew about that man was what the movie “Ever After” portrayed him as. So…. that means the Mona Lisa, and those shoes to walk on water. He has done a lot more paintings- like the Last Supper (a painting I do know of, but didn’t realize was made by Davinci.) He made the first Scuba diving suit. He has done so many things for warcraft, like the ideas for machine guns and tanks. He studied anatomy, and had SO many attempts at flying. He is really awesome.

It was such a fun part of our day, Helpful for my foot, and educational. I learned a bunch. And they had a gift shop, which is my favorite! I bought a Michealangelo “The Creation of Adam” journal for my 3rd journal for this internship. And some pretty postcards. (One of the painting Leonardo makes in Ever After of Danielle. “Think of it as a belated wedding present.”)

After that we walked around for a bit more and got more gelato… 🙂 But then my foot started hurting and Paige and I felt tired, so we headed back to the Airbnb. It was a fun day!

Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.

Have I seen the Godfather? No.

But, I have seen “You’ve Got Mail” dozens of times and therefore have heard Tom Hanks quote the Godfather dozens of times. “What is it with men and the Godfather?”

Anyway, I just needed a heading idea for this section, and Monday is when I had that life-changing cannoli. It had pistachios on top and was SO creamy and chocolatey and so good! So, I figured why not quote that?

Monday was a chill day on my vacation. Paige and Laurel went out and had a full agenda. And, even though my foot was doing a lot better at this point I couldn’t put too much pressure on it still and the thought of hobbling around all day on it was daunting. (We walked 16 miles total on Saturday and 9 on Sunday.)

I ended up walking around the block on Monday by myself, to get pizza, gelato, and the aforementioned cannoli, and just walking that far hurt a lot.

It was a nice day. I slept in, watched a movie, macro polo’d a friend, and caught up in my journal. I like it when vacations have chill days anyway, so it was a good day. And, I could see that blessing work- to enjoy my trip. Even if the bulk on Monday was spent inside the Airbnb and not out in Rome, it was lovely. I enjoyed my Rome trip very much.

Feeling Roman-tic?

Okay…. That heading needs some explanation, haha. I asked “Gemini” (Google’s version of ChatGPT,) for section heading ideas and that was option one. I added it because I thought that was funny, but this section is NOT gonna be about romantic places to go to in Rome. You’ll have to find another blog for that. 🙂

Speaking of Gemini, ChatGPT does not work in the Czech Republic. It’s not in the list of places it’s allowed to work yet, but Gemini does! I spent a lot of college learning about how to use ChatGPT (in a healthy way, don’t worry,) as a marketing student my teachers thought we should be up to date on the AI news. I didn’t ever try Gemini, so it has been fun to play around with it and see what it can do.

This section is just here to tell you Tuesday morning we got up early and got a ride to the airport. Then we flew to Prague.

Honestly, part of me wished that flight was back to Utah. I had just hit my one-MONTH mark of being home the week before Rome and felt like I just finished this trip, time to go home. There were lots of places in Rome that I just wished my family was there to see with me.

But, despite the bout of homesickness that came at the end, and even through the foot hurting, I loved Rome. I want to go back to Italy! And, it was nice coming back to Cumorah. I felt ready to get back to work and I felt rejuvenated and ready to have a great next two months.

Ciao for Now, Rome

Whew! That was a long blog to write, hopefully it didn’t take you as long to read! I’m going to publish my LONDON blog post soon and then another post with more Cumorah news of mine. I’m an SLI now!

(Want to know what that means? Stay tuned for my next couple of posts- which will happen quickly, I promise!)

Until next time! Ciao!