THE LAST THING I THOUGHT I WOULD MISS when I came to Cagli is grass. But I do. I don’t even like grass all that much. It makes me itch, actually.
       But I grew up with it in constant presence. It was in our yard, at the park, along the side of the road. I played soccer on it, ate picnics on it, and walked around on it barefoot. The feel of cool, soft grass between your toes on a hot summer day is almost as good as sand at the beach. You can take your dog to a grass field to run and play catch. Can you imagine being a dog and walking around on cement your whole life?
       I would never be able to spend my life surrounded by nothing but cement and stones. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the Northwest, in a city known as the “Emerald City”. But I need my green.
       Don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying that there is no green in Cagli. There are some trees, and outside of the city there is grass. But in the area that I spend most of my time, it’s a lot of brown and grey.
        We went to the waterfall today. It was so hot outside and the walk there along the paved highway was far from pleasant. But when we reached the place to begin to climb down, it was like my own, personal oasis. Not that there weren’t already ten or fifteen Italian guys there already—I didn’t have it to myself. But it was good enough.
        There was lots of greenery and the water was clear and surrounded by natural rock formations. The waterfall cascaded into green pools in which small fish swam. I can’t even tell you how much it refreshed me. I didn’t want to leave the cold water.
        Guess I’m just a true Northwest girl at heart. I need my green.

--Maggie Shellenberger
(Gonzaga)