Swim without drowning

I ate breakfast, got dressed, and tried to be quiet because Sofia was still sleeping; she was leaving this morning to go home for the weekend.  I walked to school and along the way ran into one of my students.  I talked to him until we got to the school and then he went to talk to his friends, and I went inside the school.  Despite the fact that I was later leaving the apartment, I was still in class like 10 minutes before everyone else.

I started with Patrizia's class, and it went REALLY well.  I started class by writing "What is your favorite family tradition or vacation?  Who is there? Where do you go? What do you do? When do you do it?" on the board.  I told them that everyone had to answer and participate.  It took a little persuasion, but they came around.  I learned about card games they play, a Christmas game that they are going to teach me called tombola, and more.  A lot of them go to Crotone for the summer holidays, and they told me about some other places to go.  One boy goes to Lucca for Christmas because that is where his mom was born and his grandparents live there...JEALOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lucca still holds a special place in my heart!!  I also learned that in one card game, called briscola, when you get lucky, the word actually means "big ass". They got a kick out of telling me this.  A lot of them participated, and next time I will ask more of them.  They were so respectful of each other, and so I stopped class to tell them that.  I had Patrizia translate so that I was SURE that they understood.  I told them how grateful I was that they respected me, their teacher, and each other, and that I was glad they listened to each other and participated.  It made me so happy, and I truly am so grateful for that!  So, while this class may have a lower level of English, I am enjoying them, and I think it is going to be fun!  I think that they are relaxing a little bit with me, and I am so happy about that!

Next I had a one hour break, so I was headed back to the post office.  Today I was armed with my lease agreement (written in Italian, signed by Ernesto and I, and had addresses, etc on it), my permesso di soggiorno, two receipts for payment of rent, and another official piece of paper with our names on it.  So, I was feeling confident that they would give me my package.  I first stopped at TIM to renew my cell phone plan, and this went well!!  Yay!!  Then I was headed to the post office.  I got there right at 9:30, and so I was pushing it with time as it was, but to compound things, they were not open just yet and there were like 4 or 5 people in front of me.  However, they opened after some Italians beat their fists on the doors...haha...Nick called me while he was walking to work, so I stood in line and talked to him.  I am pretty sure the Italians thought I was crazy!  I saw my best post office friend (note the sarcasm), and I was so hoping she would help me and that I would be right.  So, when she saw me, she rolled her eyes and walked off to get something.  When she came back I explained that today I had documentation that Ernesto is my landlord.  So, she read the lease agreement, and said no.  I told her I had other documentation and she said that my name was not on the packages.  What she meant was that my name was not on the slip of paper.  I explained that MY name was on the packages, but she refused and said no.  I tried again to say that MY name is on the actual package...she said, "what is your name?"  Okay then, your name is not on this paper.  Then she wrote down that I needed a photocopy of something with Ernesto's name on it.  I was so pissed.  So, as I turned to leave, this lady behind me stopped me and asked me in English what I was trying to do.  I told her that the slip had my landlords name on it, but the packages are mine.  I showed her what I had (documentation).  I could tell she thought I was right, and then the guy that had been behind me started lobbying for me to get my package (to the mean post office lady).  However, instead she started talking about me to all of them saying that I had come yesterday and she told me not to come back without documentation.  HELLO...THAT'S WHAT I DID!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I stood there for like 2 minutes while she talked about me to all of the people.  This lady needs Jesus...and to get off of her power trip!  I left there so annoyed, but at least proud of myself for trying to handle it without running to an Italian for help.

I saw Patrizia in the bar near school on my way back and she was shocked that I was without my packages. I had been on the phone with Nick on my way back and he agreed that the Italians do not have it together on a lot of bureaucracy things, but this one, they are perfectly organized AGAINST me!

So, next up was Linda's class.  Today they were supposed to be teaching me about their villages and such.  I was REALLY excited.  We did not get to the lab until later, but the first 20 minutes in the room is always fun with them.  This group has a lot of girls that like to gather around me and talk.  A few of the boys always show me their phones and stuff too!  I really do enjoy getting to know them and it melts my heart a bit every time they seem happy to see me!  It makes the day so much happier, and I feel I have a purpose; who doesn't want to feel this way?? The funny thing was that they were all joking around and cutting up, hanging out near the door, but I KNEW the minute Linda was near the door because they all ran to their desks and sat down! It had me doubled over in laughter, and I had to explain to Linda because I was laughing so hard! The students seemed to enjoy that they made me laugh so hard!  In the lab, we only got two presentations accomplished, but they were FABULOUS!!  THey both let me keep them, and now I have some historical information about Cosenza.  The first girl told me about her village about an hour from Cosenza called San Mango D'Aovino.  She wrote it half in Italian and half in English, but presented in English.  I was so excited that she did this and was confident in speaking.  Others asked her questions, and I was so proud of them.  The second student talked about Cosenza, and I kept her presentation so that I would have historical information about Cosenza.  This is one of the girls that always talks to me, and she speaks English really well!  I REALLY enjoyed them doing this, and we are going to continue next week because I am LOVING learning from them!  THIS IS WHAT THE FULBRIGHT IS ALL ABOUT!!!!!!!!!!!!

For my second 1 hour break I wanted to go to the big grocery store near the school because that is where they sell the Vanilla tea that I love!!  It was starting to rain, but I pressed on anyway!  I spotted the British Institute where they teach English.  I saw some other stores that  I would not mind going back to!  I do love Cosenza...and Italy!  Even when I was walking back to school earlier after the post office incident, all I could think of was how much I love living here and what I am doing.  I get REALLY stressed out some days, but at the end of the day I still live in Italy.  I am so grateful to be here and EXCITED to be here!  At the store I bought three boxes of tea: 1. Twinings Early Grey 2. Twinings Vanilla 3. Twinings mixed box which has 5 Vanilla, 5 Peach, 5 Black currant, 5 Orange/cinnamon, and 5 umm...some sort of 4 berry tea.  I was so excited.  The vanilla was for my collection that will be sent back to the U.S.

When I got back to school, I had to swim in the Italian language again. I needed copies and the copier was locked with a code.  I introduced myself to one of the office people, and she was so sweet to make my copies of the Adele song for my next class.  I still had like 20 minutes to spare, so I went to the teachers' room to finish looking at the song.  When I went to the classroom, my other teacher Linda was sitting in there working.  She saw all of my tea and asked if I was a tea addict...haha...I explained about not being able to get the Vanilla tea at home.  Linda told me that I did not need to come to her class next Thursday because they are going to be taking a test, so we would pick up Friday with their presentations. Then Rosina showed up and there were no students to be found.  She went to check upstairs and they were in some sort of meeting and watching a video.

So, we sat and waited.  A math teacher showed up who does not speak English, so I began swimming in the language.  They were so sweet and patient with my Italian, and I understood most of what they were saying. I was pretty excited.  They were just so kind and it made me feel confident in speaking.  So, then Rosina called her doctor friend and had me talk to her (in Italian), and I agreed to meet her next week to discuss whether or not I can help her!  So, we'll see how that goes!  I learned some Italian by speaking to them and then later when I asked Rosina some clarification about word meaning.  They invited me to go to a film with the students later that afternoon.  Apparently the students go to films every once in a while and it is part of a school project of some sort.  I was so glad that I did not leave earlier when I could have, because I was so grateful for this invite!  I had the best time with them in the classroom waiting on the students.  Every time I would try in English, Rosina would gently encourage me to try in Italian, and very few times I HAD to result to English, and this made me feel so good!  When the students finally came at the end, they all came in and were apologizing for missing class.  Rosina told them to explain it to me in English, and one of them just hugged me really tight, and really long and said, "I think that explains it all!"  Haha...it was really sweet!  They talked to me for a few minutes, and I learned some new Italian gestures.  I had a great time just talking to them about fun things!

Rosina then drove me home, and some other teacher rode with us.  She was not going to be at the movie, but I now had about an hour to eat, relax and head back to the Corso to go to the movie.  I got home, made lunch, talked to Nick, and talked to my momma.  I changed clothes because I hate jeans,

First time to need my toboggan...I LOVE this hat...

and then I was ready to go to the movie with the students.  I left a little later than I should have, but as I was making my way down the Corso I saw a huge group of students, so I knew I was not late.  When I got there I had a hard time finding the familiar teacher in the sea of students inside the theatre lobby.  I eventually found her and she introduced me to the staff and told them I was a teacher, so I got into the movie for free.  I asked if she could show me to the bathroom.  She introduced me to two fourth year students and they took me to the bathroom.  They were so excited to meet an American...one girl immediately locked her arm in mine and we walked to the bathroom.  They only spoke Italian, but I was able to understand a good bit of what they said.     They were so sweet and insisted that I sit in between them.  They were so funny talking around me and talking about cute boys; I met one of the boys that one has a crush on.  They were so affectionate and sweet.   They were SHOCKED when they asked me how old I was and I said 26.  They said that I HAD to be 18 or 19...then every one they introduced me to they said, " this is Elyse, she is 26...!" All of the guys said I had to be 18 or 19, and mind you I had on make up and everything.  

When the movie finally started I was in for a test of my patience and Italian skills.  The movie was called "Quasi Amici"...it is a French film by a different name.  The movie was really good and I understood about 80% of it!!  There were words I did not catch, and a few phrases, and some humor.  However, I learned new phrases, heard a lot of grammatical things that were helpful, and really enjoyed the movie overall.  All of the students around me showed me their cigarettes before the movie (mainly to ask if we had that brand in America...and there must be like 5 cigarettes to a pack around here), so they were all really excited when there was a sudden intermission for the movie.  They all yelled "FUMMA!!!" (SMOKE!!!).  This breaks my heart!  However, I used it as an opportunity to go to the bathroom.  I ran into the math teacher I spent time with earlier, and I saw Linda, one of the English teachers I am working with!  Linda was asking me if I was understanding the movie, and we discussed that it would get better and by the end of 9 months I would have it down pat.  The problem then is that I do not want to lose it!  One of the girls has a sister that is in one of my classes...she said, "oooh you talked about tornadoes with my sister!!" Haha...yes, yes I did!  I knew exactly which one was her sister, and I was so grateful that I did!!

The movie resumed and I loved it.  The ending almost made me cry!  It made me want to buy this movie!!  Towards the end of the movie I was slightly distracted by my own thoughts (yet managed to keep up with dialogue and plot..yay!).  My thoughts were about how "THIS IS MY LIFE...MY LIFE...WHAT IS MY LIFE RIGHT NOW???"I was overwhelmed almost to tears because I could not believe that I was sitting there in an Italian movie theatre...watching a movie with Italian students (who are so sweet)...and I was understanding the movie!  What did I do to deserve this life?? I know the answer is that I did nothing...this is God's grace and mercy!  He pulled me from something I needed to let go of...and then he pulled me from a pit of depression...and many things and people played a role in my healing (including a first trip to Italy).  However, I would not have been able to make this trip without these things, and I feel so incredibly blessed that THIS IS MY LIFE!! Questa è la mia vita!!!    If you are reading this, chances are that you played a role in getting me to this point, and for that I thank you!  Even if you do not know it...and some of you do know the role you played!

When I left it was raining, and I was so bummed because I had on UGGS.  However, I thankfully had on my raincoat.  I stopped in a few stores along the way, just to escape the rain and cold.  I talked to Nick as I walked, and a few stores were playing Christmas music.  It made me a little sad, but it is still Christmas in Italy!!  I am excited to buy some Christmas lights and some ornaments, but I have to find some ITALIAN ornaments.  The ones I saw tonight either said, "Merry Christmas" or "Feliz Navidad".  Umm...am I living in Italy or the border of the U.S. and Mexico???? So, I came home and talked to my momma for a bit, ate dinner, had some tea, talked to Nick and tried to relax.

Impara con me: l'uno con altro- each other
                           comunque- anyway
                           dunque- so
                           pure- also
                           proprio- just/self/a million other things
                           proprio adesso- right now

FREAK OUT

I wish these were just lyrics from a song...but unfortunately they describe the early part of my evening.

Sofia was awake when I got up, and I saw her briefly while I made oatmeal, which I am going to be out of in the near future...I suppose I can wait until my momma and Barbara come.  I got dressed and was feeling rather American today in my polo shirt, columbia jacket, and houndstooth scarf.

I now "have" a full-length mirror because this is the new elevator, which I do not ride, but can use it to see my outfit.

My day was starting with Valeria's class, which was good because I really enjoy them.  This one boy that has dreads and always has on band t-shirts came up and wanted me to listen to his music.  He had nice headphones and had me listening to what was basically screaming and scratchy voices.  I forgot who he said it was, but I was not a fan.  However, I did enjoy that he wanted to share it with me!  That made me happy! So, we eventually went upstairs to use the computer lab so that they could look at the "studying in the U.S." website I found for them.  We looked (they had the website pulled up on the computer in front of them, and I had it on the big screen) at the information that the website provides; we talked about money, competitive nature of American colleges, things they need to do (study, participate in outside activities, etc.), and financial aid.  Most of them want to get their bachelor's in Italy, which we learned in Rome is a good idea for them, and then study in the U.S. for a Master's.  We looked at Alabama costs and Harvard costs.  We talked specifically about architecture programs in the U.S., and I reassured them that when the time came, I could do my best to help them or point them to the right people.  Overall, I thought it was a rather successful lesson, and I hope they found it helpful.

Next up was Patrizia's class.  I started by asking them if they had heard about the tornado in Taranto, Italy.  Some did hear about it on the news the night before.  This was the class that I talked to about the Tuscaloosa tornado a few weeks ago. So, we looked at footage of the Italy tornado and then video footage of the Tuscaloosa tornado. They were shocked at how big these tornadoes were, and agreed that it was scary.  They said that this NEVER happens in Italy, and Patrizia asked if I brought them with me!  Oops..:I hope not!!  So next I had them do the family word search and then talked about their families.  They had smaller families than some of my other students.  They still have a lot of cousins, but they were equally as shocked with the 35 cousins from the other day.  We laughed a lot today in this class, and they did a great job of attempting to speak in the language.  I was really proud of them!  We agreed that next week we would do Christmas songs, but they had to translate them, and we would look at some songs in English.  They are also going to translate part of the dialect song that I learned about from Rosina's students yesterday!  I am excited to have these things and plan to keep them!  So, I am looking forward to doing this with them next week!

Next I had a break, and I was headed to find the post office that is holding my packages hostage.  I saw these booths being set up, and so I stopped at the tourist booth to ask for directions (Valeria's directions from earlier were not cutting it...not her fault though...).  I spoke ONLY in Italian.  So, I asked for directions and about the booths being set up.  I was excited to find out that they were for a chocolate festival starting tonight at 6.  Then I was off.  I had to stop two more times for directions, and finally made it there.  I took a number and started to worry that I would not have time to wait.  So, I walked up close to the windows...just as the Italians do.  This older man working there saw me and asked if he could help.  He told me that I needed to go to another part of the post office, and was so sweet to explain it slowly in Italian!  This new woman was NOT so nice.  She said that I had no documentation that the name on the slips were me.  I told her that they were not and that it was my landlord.  She started barking at me about documentation and how I did not understand Italian (which she was saying over my shoulder to the people in line behind me).  SO, I stood up for myself and told her that I do understand Italian, but I do not understand what I need and why i cannot have the packages that have my name on them.  She told me I needed documentation that they were my landlords.  I will not lie, I was so frustrated that I started crying after I was out of the post office and she could not see me; no way was I giving her the satisfaction of seeing me cry.  I called my momma and complained.  Then, I booked it back to school for my next class.  The 1 hour break went by very quickly.

My last class for the day was Linda's class.  We started late, but I had time to talk to them before.  They are a group that tends to gather around me in the class as soon as I put my stuff down. We talked about meeting them somewhere to walk around Cosenza one day, shopping, and other small talk things.  Then, we went to the lab and I did parts of my family presentation from the first weeks in other classes.  I had them introduce themselves as well, and from this Linda had the idea for them to prepare something for me about their villages and Cosenza.  They told me some historical information right then, and that was the most information I had since arriving.  It made me excited to learn from them, and it gives them a great opportunity to practice their English.  I asked them to do some of the written work in Italian if they could.    I learned about a man being buried under the two rivers, and the statues in Corso Mazzini are actually an "Open Air Museum".  We did have to stop once for me to ask that they listen to each other because it is respectful.  I told them it was rude to talk over their classmates, I cannot hear when they do this, and neither can they!  Linda chimed in an agreed with me, and they were very respectful from here on out.  They were shocked when I told them about the 35 cousins, and they do not have this many.  They did have big families, and they said it is crazy at Christmas and such.  Overall, it was a GREAT lesson, and I am excited for them to start teaching me tomorrow.

Next up was home for lunch. This was the view from my room today while I was eating:

I did my bible study after talking to April, and then took a nap.  Virginia sent me a text asking if i would be willing to translate a 26 page business document for someone she knows, for a potential 10 euros a page.  Well, I can certainly try.  I wrote some, talked to Nick.  I also asked Sofia if she wanted to go to the Chocolate thing with me tonight because I wanted to see it, and we were already going to be eating dinner together.

Now begins the FREAK OUT!  For some reason, trying to book a hotel for New Years in Rome and for my momma and Barbara is FREAKING ME OUT TO NO END!! It was the most stressful hour or so.  It does not help that I do not understand Rome, and Rome is probably my least favorite Italian city.  I was just frozen in stress and trying to think about what all we needed and how it was different for each night.  Thankfully Nick was helping me, and it does help that we have decided to also go to Gubbio for a night, so we will not have another hotel night.  STRESSED...I WAS IN MELTDOWN/SHUTDOWN MODE!!  Poor Nick..my poor momma got it also!  It was not a pretty sight, and sweet Nick did book a hotel for all of it that CAN be cancelled, so I will look some this weekend and book trains.  I had to shut down and walk away, so I hung up and went to the chocolate festival with Sofia.  This walking away coping mechanism is MUCH healthier than my older habits of pushing myself to the true breaking point.

So, Sofia and I started walking.  Conversation is a little bit difficult, but we manage to talk about some things, and it is good!  The "festival" was not quite what I wanted it to be, but we walked and looked at each booth thingy (Ill take more pictures Saturday).  We saw chocolate pasta (does not look appetizing),

all kinds of chocolates, and more.  I learned that Sofia's mom was once an artisan chocolate maker.  We saw salami chocolates, which is really just cookies and chocolates in the shapes of the meats in the macellerias.  We saw chocolate with peppers, and hot chocolate. As it started raining, we decided to head home.  I stopped for a "hot chocolate", which turns out to be literally like chocolate melted..it was rich, thick, and a little much.

However, it was nice to have something warm.  Overall, I was happy we went, and I plan to go back for some gifts later.  

We walked home in the rain, and then I started making dinner.  We talked while I cooked, and it was nice to spend time with her!! I think I am going to really like her.  It is still difficult at times because her English is not very good, and I am missing so much Italian vocabulary and my grammar is slipping too.  However, I learned that she does have a boyfriend, she went to a classico high school, and her sister is at a university in Bologna.  She is super sweet, and we agreed to help each other out.  We had dinner Italian style: pasta first (con pesto) and then our chicken with veggies.  It was really nice.  I did have to get my dictionary out at one point.  However, due to the storm we were having, and the fact that I had to defrost the chicken, I learned some new vocabulary!  She was so sweet to wash all of the dishes once we were finished.  Sofia is a very clean person, and sweeps waaaayyy more than I ever thought of doing.  

After dinner, I came to my room and almost immediately skype rang and it was Meagan. I feel bad that I have missed her in the past few weeks on skype, and I keep missing Neal these days too!  Meagan and I talked for a bit while I worked, and I just enjoyed talking to her!  She has a super cute new haircut.  It is so nice to talk to my bestest friends and people who love and support me!!  It is so comforting, and I cannot wait for Meagan to come visit!  While I was on the phone, Virginia called to talk to me about the translation thing.  It is going to be translated from English to Italian, and is some sort of business document.  She said, "you speak Italian", so you should be fine.  I am thinking, "GOOGLE TRANSLATE!!"  I am not a fan of people overestimating my abilities because it feels like I am being set up for failure (not intentionally).  However, I agreed to look at the document.  

It was raining and storming like crazy at this point, but oh well.  I talked to April on skype, then took a shower and got ready for bed.  I then talked to Nick for a while...it was good...deep...fun...

It was storming like crazy while we were on the phone.  The lightening was so big and bright that I could see it through my sleep mask...it was serious business!! 

Impara con me:  congelato- frozen

                            scongelato-  defrost

                            lampi- lightening

                            tuoni- thunder

It's the little victories!

So today I had 4 wonderful classes...and I am so thankful!

I started a little late again today.  I ate breakfast, got dressed, and left for school.  On Wednesdays I go to the school here in Cosenza first.  I started with Valeria's class and we talked about going to college in the U.S.  We discussed differences between Universities and colleges; majors; standardized testing; the concept of G.P.A.s.  I think some of them were bored, but others were really interested.  We agreed that tomorrow I would find some sort of website or something that we could go to the lab and look at.  It was a simple and short class, but it was good!!

After class I talked to Valeria about the meeting with the headmistress regarding extra lessons for some of the other English classes, especially the upper level classes.  She said that we would meet and discuss times and payment, and that they would have me sign another contract.  The lessons would not start until after Christmas, and she would also let her students know that I am available for some private lessons.

Next up was Rosina's class, and I was a little nervous because I did not have anything truly prepared for them.  So, we started with reviewing some things they knew about Thanksgiving from our lesson.  They were so shy to speak, but I tried to encourage them.  I explained again that I am just as nervous to speak Italian to them, and they started to open up a bit.  From here, the class went REALLY WELL.  I started asking them what sort of jobs they would like to have and did they plan to go to a university.  Most of them said yes to a university and so we started talking about the jobs they want. They listed things like: doctor, lawyer, biologist, psychologist, soccer player, basketball player, and a few others.  None of them wanted to be teachers, but could not really tell me why.  So then I asked them if they thought it was important to learn English; why do they think it is important to learn English.  The teacher spoke up and said that they have to learn English because it is part of their curriculum.  So again I asked them, why is it important then?  Why should they even try to learn the language?  No one could really answer, so I prompted them with the jobs:

1. If you are a lawyer, just in Italy...why is it important to know English?  If you are only working in Italy.  They said nothing, so I offered: well, what if you have to deal with the United States, or Great Britain?? They all nodded and said yes.  Sad that I was thinking of Amanda Knox.

2. If you are an Italian doctor; only practicing medicine in Italy.  Why might English be important to you?  Again, nothing.  So, I suggested that a lot of current research is published in English, and therefore they might need to be able to read it or understand the gist of it.

3. They said that a psychologist needs to understand the terms that are written in English

4. Then I thought I could throw them off, and I was not sure of the answer I would get, but I asked about the soccer player.  They informed me that in the champions league (I think) that you can only speak to the referee in English...ahh...further proving the point I was trying to make.

So, once we had gone through these different things, I asked again, "so do you think it is important to learn English??"  They all agreed that it was, and that it would be necessary to know some English.  So, I told them that I was here for 7 more months, and my purpose was to help improve their English and conversational skills.  I told them that I wanted it to be fun and we could do many different things with this!  I said that we could learn through presentations, music, conversation, games, etc.  They seemed excited when I said some of these things, and so I was feeling like we were going to have some success from here on out.  I explained again that I am not there to judge them or grade them; Rosina interjected that she was there to grade them, and that maybe she could sometimes leave me alone with them so that they would feel more free to talk.  I thought this was a good idea, and perhaps some days we can do this.  I had to explain the phrase, "I won't bite!!"

Then, I told them that I might want to take each week in December to do a different Christmas theme.  We decided that next week we would talk about Christmas songs.  They would share their songs and we could do some translating.  They are going to translate one of their traditional songs from dialect to Italian to English.  THEN..we changed our minds and are going to do that another week.  So, their assignment for Dec. 5th is to bring a favorite, traditional Italian/Calabrian Christmas recipe.  They have to bring it in Italian and English, with the ingredients and directions on how to cook it.  I told them that it has to be written on a separate piece of paper so I can keep it!  I figure this does a few things: 1. They practice English 2. They were excited...and when we are excited about things we put our heart into it 3. I get a lot of recipes!  

When class was over, they asked what I was doing for Christmas and could I hang out with them?? YES, I can, and I will.  They told em that I was very nice, and I was so touched by their kindness.  I love to see them reacting positively to me because I so desperately want to reach out to them.  I want them to enjoy my time here; I do not want to be one more "annoying" thing that they have to deal with!  I want the days that I come to be days that they look forward to!!  When I told Rosina that I had to go because I was walking to the other school in Castrolibero, she offered to drive me because she has a two hour break on Wednesdays!  While I like the walk, as it is getting colder it is good to know that the offer is there.

During our drive, she told me that she wants me to meet her son's girlfriend because she is very nice and speaks English.  I love that the Italians are always wanting to introduce me to people!  It is so comforting to know that they care so much and they want me to be comfortable here in Cosenza.  They are so concerned about me being here alone and here at Christmas.  She also said that she has a friend, Angela, who is a doctor and wants private English lessons...whoa...intimidating!!! I told her that I could talk to the woman and see if I could help her.  She said that she was sure I would not mind the extra money.  So, I am not sure what I agreed to exactly, but Ill gauge the situation when and if I meet her.  So, then she left me at the school.

So, because I had some time to kill before class, I was able to make copies of the wordsearch for Angelino's class and chill for a minute.

Francesca's class was actually successful today!  I was really excited!  I did use the power point I had thrown together the night before with pictures of families doing different activities and of different backgrounds, and were different sizes.  I was able to ask the students if they ever cook together with their families and they said that they rarely do this.  They explained that they might do it at Christmas and their fathers rarely do this.  It is a cultural thing for the women to do all of the cooking.  One told me that his mother would break his head if he interfered with the cooking.  They told me that when they have picnics, it is usually in the mountains.  Then, I got to the section of the family slideshow that had families from tv, and my first one was about the Duggars (19 Kids and Counting).  They could NOT believe the number of children nor could they believe that she birthed all of them.  They were really confused by the reality part of it because to them reality tv is like "Big Brother" and always a competition.  They thought this family was competting against each other for something, so that took some explaining.  They said that it was too many kids, and some wanted to be the oldest in that family and some thought it would be fun to be in the middle.  I showed them pictures of the Brady Bunch, Cosby family, Modern Family, and they were REALLY excited to see the picture of "The Simpsons".  "The Simpsons" are extremely popular here in Italy, and they said they would want to be part of that family because the dad, Homer, is so funny!  They said that the show comes on every day at 2:30 and they watch it.  They did a great job of discussing the verbs and family vocabulary.  I was really proud of them, and they paid attention about 80% of the time, and they were engaged and responsive!!  I was so excited for two positive days with them!!  What an answer to a prayer!!

Next up was Angelino's class.  My favorite, E., immediately came up and gave me a big hug.  What a way to start the class!!  Yay!  Then, I had to apologize to Tony, kid from Wisconsin, for how boring these basic vocabulary lessons must be for him.  Then, I gave them the wordsearch and started making the English and Italian columns on the board.  One girl looked up and said, "I like this!!" Yay!  Success!!  Then, we started discussing the terms, and I tried to talk to them about their families.  It was not quite as successful as I'd hoped, and I did have to stop and have a talk with them about rudeness and respecting each other, but I cannot help but love this group!  These students are so affectionate and interesting and interested and kind, that I cannot help but love them.  Angelino says they act this way because it is the last hour of the day; I say that as long as teachers make excuses for the behaviors, the behaviors will continue.  When they had packed up their stuff, a few came up and wanted to take pictures with me on their phones.  Then, E. and some others invited me to come to their houses one day!  They are too sweet and they seem to like me, which makes me so happy because I do really like them.

When class was out, I headed out in the mass of students.  I passed E. and some others and spoke to them one last time and then started my walk home.  I stopped and bought a half thing of wheat bread and two Christmas sweets.  Then I had lunch, did my Bible study (which was right on with what I needed today...it was about David and Jonathan...one of the examples of true love, friendship, etc. in the Bible), and took a brief nap because I could barely stay awake.  I talked to April on skype, my daddy on skype briefly, and planned lessons.  I also wrote some blogs, but mostly stressed about life.  I am quite overwhelmed at the moment.  For dinner I had pasta and veggies, then planned some more.  My neck and shoulders were hurting from so much stress and tension that I had to lay down and take meds to ease the pain...so, I worked from bed...

I was listening to Adele, and I thought I could hear Sofia singing it in the kitchen...later I found out she was because she was excited to tell me that she heard it.  When I went to the kitchen to get an apple, she was in there cleaning (Myles and Nick were so right about the Italians being clean roommates...yay!), so I stayed to talk to her a bit.  We talked about the fact that her village is 80 km from Cosenza, and it takes an hour by bus.  She is going home this weekend to get more things for her room.  We talked about the tornado that happened today in Taranto, Italy (eerily similar to the April 27th tornado...and provided me part of a lesson for tomorrow).  We talked about how long we will both be here; ages; and school.  I swam in the language, and we managed a decent conversation for a bit.  I then talked to Nick some.

BEST THING OF THE DAY:  Tonight I FINALLY got to talk to my bestest friend, friend soulmate, and love, Erin!  I have not really heard her voice since I left the U.S., and it was so amazing to talk to her.  Even better, we were able to talk for over an hour!!  This was such a special gift and something I really needed!  Life felt so much more normal once we talked.  I feel like we talked about so much, but then not much at all and we need weeks to catch up.  However, it was as if no time had passed and words cannot describe how much I love her!!  Simply...well...there are no words.  I was so energized and excited about this, that it was hard to sleep!  I finally talked to Erin...life. is. normal. again. the end!

So then I shared my excitement with Nick and then went to sleep!

I TALKED TO ERIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The round table of love

One Year Ago Today I came home from Italy!!  It was the day I left to return home from my first Italian adventure.  I made it home just in time to finish the Iron Bowl...and we won!! I cannot believe that one year ago, my first Italian adventure was over...wow...and here I am one year later still at the beginning of the most amazing opportunity!  http://dreaminginitalianthistime.blogspot.it/2011/11/coming-home.html

Happy birthday to my wonderful friend, mentor, professor, therapist, etc.  Maria!!  

Today I woke up late...probably because I am EXHAUSTED!!  I got dressed, and Lilla was late because of traffic, so it was fine that I was a minute or two late running downstairs.   

Lilla's class was, um...interesting.  There are only a few students who actually pay attention and the rest sit together and look at computers or talk or text on their phones.  It is so distracting and disheartening.  So, we were talking about the election and Obama.  They like him because they think he is good for the American people and because he is black.  Their words, not mine.  I explained that the color of some one's skin is not a reason to vote for them.  Lilla interjected with the fact that she thought Obama was the culmination of Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech.  

I would like to take this moment to step out on a limb and disagree with her.  Martin Luther King's words were: 

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. 

If we are still living in a nation where one of the primary things we discuss about a candidate is the color of his skin, then have we really achieved Martin Luther King's dream?? I am not writing this to discuss politics per say, but how many people have admitted to voting for President Obama because he is African-American or how many have admitted to NOT voting for him because he is African-American?  How many of those people are looking at the content of his character?  So, until we as a nation are truly looking at someone for the content of their character and NOT the color of their skin, we have not achieved this dream; not in my opinion at least.  Please do not misunderstand me though; this is not intended in any way to take away from the historical achievement of the first African-American president.  It is simply to say that I think Lilla is not looking at the whole picture here.

Okay, so they also said that they did not think that the American president affects their lives.  Interesting because the other classes seemed to recognize that he does.  I should say that there are about  6 students in this class that do actually pay attention and interact; 6 out of about 20.  It is so frustrating, and they do not respect Lilla's "authority".  What I am discovering is that the teachers have very little authority in some classrooms.  This is rather frustrating because it means that the students have little to NO consequences for their actions.  Do you know how hard it is to stand in front of a group of rowdy, unattentive students who know that there are absolutely NO consequences for their actions??  I'll tell you: HARD!! I had to stop class to tell them how essentially annoying it is that they do not pay attention and how much harder they are making this on me.  I was so mad though.  They do not listen to Lilla; they do not listen to me; and they do not listen to each other.  With this class, I am going to have to find a way to cut out the power points because that means going to the lab and going to the lab means they will NOT pay attention.  This is so frustrating because Lilla wants them to do this, but they are bored, and I am frustrated.  We ended by talking about their favorite soccer teams and Christmas.  We decided that the three weeks in December will be devoted to different types of Christmas topics: food, songs, and games.  We will see how this goes!!

My break was good.  I had two hours to send emails, work on my blog, and talk to Nick.  When I went to the other building I ran into Virginia.  I met some ladies that I never found out who they were, and then went with Virginia to print stuff and such.  After I printed something for a class and made some copies, I talked to Virginia some.  She was telling me how she could see that I am a perfectionist and I have a strong will and strong personality.  She was so sweet to tell me that I am one of the most beautiful people she has ever met, and so sweet.  She said that she can tell that I feel things deeply.  She had a alot to say and it was so sweet of her!  She also saw the picture of Nick and me in Naples (profile picture) and she was so excited and thought it was so sweet.  She said that there was so much emotion in that picture and she could tell that I find it easy to express my emotions (haha...if she only knew).  She also said it reminded her of herself and Franco when they were younger...she can be so sweet!

So, then it was time for me to go to Francesca's class.  Virginia's words were, "good luck!"

Francesca's class went like this:  we started with a word search using family vocabulary.  Then, I wrote the 15 terms (conveniently there were 15 students) on the board in English and on the other half of the board wrote the corresponding numbers.  They each had to come up and write the Italian equivalent of one word.  THEN...I sat on the desk (teacher's desk) in a rather unprofessional, yet personable way, and we discussed families.  I asked them how many people were in their families; how many brothers and sisters they had; were they the oldest, youngest, middle, or only child.  A few were only children, but one HATES being an only child.  I love it, but I suppose in a culture were it is not the norm, it would be more frustrating.  We discussed the fact that a lot of their uncles and such live in America (usually Chicago) or in Canada (usually Toronto).  They said that their families from there come back to Italy during the summer, but not at Christmas and such.  THEN...I asked them about their cousins!  HOLY COW!!! There was one girl that had 35 first cousins.  Some had numbers in the teens, but most had cousins into the 20s and 30s.  HOLY COW...I have TWO first cousins.  One girl told me that her mom has 7 brothers and sisters and her dad has 10!!  WOW!!  This was common among the students.  My mind was blown!!  I was able to help them talk about their families...translating some things for them...so yay for my Italian...and they seemed very responsive and were attentive for about 95% of the time....this is a HUGE improvement from about 50% of the time!!  I was so excited and was practically giddy inside!  They were talking to me...asking to learn how to say things...they were engaged...I considered it a successful hour!!  Francesca asked them to write something to their parents, on these sticky notes, that they had never told them before.  This was asking a bit much when they do not have the vocabulary for it.  They kept asking me for help, and so I gladly helped them.  Most of them wrote things such as: "Mom and Dad"  you are my heart....you are my life...I love you so much...etc.  It was so sweet.  The boys were particularly proud to show me how much they love their mothers!  It was so cute.

Then she gave them homework.

So, when class was over with, I felt like it had been a wildly successful day with this group.  They did not seem overwhelmed with the material and they had talked to me.  I asked Francesca how she thought it went, and she said, "maybe you should just always bring a power point so that they can see pictures". WHOA...WAIT...WHAT???  No ma'am!  First, I do NOT have time to make 2 powerpoints a week JUST for this class and second, did you not just see how attentive they are and how responsive they were??  This is an issue for me...I am going to do what they respond to and what it seems like they need.  If the power points are distracting, then we should use LESS of them.  I agree that visual aids are helpful and important, but it needs to be in an appropriate manner.  I was slightly crushed in this moment and really upset.  However, I will press on with what I feel to be appropriate.

So, I walked home.  I stopped and bought yogurt.  My momma called me and then called me back to say that she spoke to Sofia on the phone and was pretty sure she had not understood who she was.  Haha, this made me laugh.  When I got home, Sofia was there and we talked for a few minutes.  Last night I wrote her a note that said that I was glad she was there and hoped she was not anxious to be away from home.  I also suggested that I might make dinner for us Thursday night and that I was around to talk if she ever wanted to. She told me that she would love to help make dinner Thrusday night and then we talked a bit more.  It was nice and I do like her.  She is very sweet and keeps to herself quite a bit, so it works out well.  She studies, and I work on stuff.  I have a feeling we will find our groove and talk more.  I hope we do...I want to improve my Italian.

My afternoon was spent working on blogs, powerpoints, and stuff.  I talked to April at one point and she said that Maria was doing a skype session for lab meeting, so I IMMEDIATELY picked up the phone and called Mrs. Malissa.  I explained what I knew and that skype was already going to be set up...THEREFORE...we MUST skype!  She said she would set it all up and they would call me around 11 their time.  I ran to go do some errands.  I went to the bank and got sucked into the bookstore.  I spent way too much time in there, but enjoyed it.

When I got home I had missed a call from Maria on skype. I called Mrs. Malissa and she gathered them all up again!  So, when they called back I was SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO EXCITED!! Mrs. Hudson, Maria, Mrs. Malissa, Sherwood, Dr. Tingle, Kelly B., Ashley, and Lindy were all in there.  Dr. Scofield and Cecile poked their heads in as well!  It was so nice to see such loving, warm, familiar faces.  They asked me all about Italy and the inevitable, "say something in Italian"...it was just so nice to hear familiar voices and see familiar faces!!  I feel so fortunate to have such wonderful people in my life.  I miss them so much! It was also nice to SEE Maria's face on her birthday rather than just hear her voice!!  I told them I felt like I should be defending a thesis because they were all at the big round conference table looking at me! Glad I was NOT defending any sort of thesis or anything of the sort!  I was so sad when they all had to leave, but I did get to talk to Lindy, Kelly, and Ashley some extra!  It was nice to talk about familiar things...stats, grad school, etc.  What a wonderful gift...the amazing people in my life!  And Mrs. Malissa did not cry...which is good because it might have made me cry!  It was also her baby's birthday...yay!

The rest of the night was spent lesson planning and such..talking to Nick...stressing over trains and such for when my mom comes...etc.  I was able to talk to Erin on facebook and we set a skype phone date for tomorrow...SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!  I will definistrate the computer if it screws this one up!

I did some stretching and Bible study.  I need to get back on track.  I have allowed my busy schedule and stress over lesson planning to cut out my bible study and consistent prayer time.  This is not acceptable and it is making me feel like my life is out of control and unbalanced.  It is stressing me out, but at least I know the answer: Jesus.  How could I let this happen??  Starting tomorrow the first hour when I get home from school will be set aside for this because He deserves my all...my best...and I have been giving it...well, I've been either skipping it or doing it late at night and falling asleep!! This is NOT okay...

P.S. I love that my friends let me love on them...and respone like this:

Mrs. Doubtfire

Today started...well weird.  It was the first time I have had to bend my morning routine to that of a roommate.  I do not like it.  It meant I had to stop at a gas station on my walk to school to use the bathroom.  I don't mean to be negative Nancy or anything, but I really did not want a roommate.  She is perfectly nice I am sure, and it is not her fault!  I feel sure that my Italian will improve and for that I am excited and grateful.  The other...well...I was so hoping to never live with a roommate again!

Okay, got that out of the way!  I walked to school, and it was beautiful, but cold out!  Virginia's class was alright.  I just sat with her while she taught grammar and a little bit of literature.  She told me about a student who got really mad at her on Saturday...and...I learned a little bit...and I was sleepy and did not feel well!  Fave part was when one of my favorite students in this class came in a greeted me with the double cheek kisses.  That always makes me smile and feel like they are open to my presence here.

When this class was over with, I went to the computer lab to work on things for this week.   I started a search for information about how Italian students can attend American universities.  I talked to Nick a bit on his break.  I had also gone to get a snack from the bar because I was getting VERY hungry!  I got this pizza rustica type thing...so much for a carb fast, but it was good...I think the grease is what caused me to be rather sick the rest of the day!

For Angelino's class, he had to be out and so Francesca was there.  I sat with the students and we watched Mrs. Doubtfire in Italian, with English subtitles.  When the class was over, I went straight to the bus and wanted it to hurry home.  I was NOT feeling well.

For lunch I had a rice cake with nutella...and two tostate things with jelly.  Later I had another rice cake with a little bit more nutella...we are breaking up when this jar is finished...so don't judge me for my nutella intake.

I bummed around a bit and fell asleep because I was exhausted and not feeling well.  My phone woke me up when Lilla called...then I talked to Nick a bit...then I went to the grocery store for some staples.  I went to the big grocery store, little grocery store, and the fruit/veggies stand.  Tonight at the fruit/veggies the lady recognized me...and then the man did...and then they talked to me!! I understood about 80% of what they said, but to be fair he has a strong accent.  I was able to explain that I live here, and I am working as an English Teaching Assistant...in the two schools...and I finish in June.  It was nice to finally talk to them, and to kind of let them know that I would be coming there until June!  I like to have this regular place.

When I got home, my roommate was there, but had her door closed and eventually turned out her light.  I worked a bit on lesson planning, but that frustrated me and I feel like I am doing a sucky job.  I feel like I am drowning in uncertainty about how to plan lessons for so many different levels and classes.  It is IMPOSSIBLE to do the same lesson in multiple classes...Well, I can do similar, but it is so hard.  I do not feel qualified to teach the basics of English...I am not an English teacher and that is not my job here.  I am trying so hard to just do what has been given to me, but the issue is that I am not doing what I came to do, and I do not know that I will be able to given the classes that I have been placed in.  This is NOT about facing challenges in life, this is about not doing what I am supposed to be here doing.  I dont know how to fix this because the teachers seem possessive of my time and want me to be in their classes, but I feel useless.  Then, they think I can only be in the 3rd year classes, which is not true.  I am afraid that they will all be mad...or not understand...I dont know what to do and I do not want to get Fulbright involved, but I might have to!

Emails, blogs, facebook, etc. were the rest of my night. I did turn on the tv for the first time since I got internet.  I had Gilmore Girls on for background noise.  I had a good night...a nothing night...but a good one!

American/Italian Thanksgiving

This blog will contain both Saturday AND Sunday of my trip to Naples.  The 24th and 25th.
One Year Ago On These Days... It was Thanksgiving on the 24th last year...
http://dreaminginitalianthistime.blogspot.it/2011/11/italianamerican-thanksgiving.html

and on the 25th it was my last day in Florence...and I was proposed to...haha
http://dreaminginitalianthistime.blogspot.it/2011/11/hug-kiss-and-aproposal.html

When we woke up on Saturday morning, Myles was there!!! His boat had gotten in around 6:30 and David went down to get him a bit later.  For breakfast we had cannolis that Myles brought from Palermo.  Sicily is famous for its cannolis, and these did NOT disappoint.  The cream inside this cannoli was hands down the best I have had.  So, we started our morning with hugs all around, good food, and just hanging out a bit and catching up.  David and Lindsay got dressed to go for a run, while the rest of us got dressed and relaxed a bit.

After David and Lindsay returned, David's landlord joined us to make coffee for those who wanted it.  We just sat around and chatted and enjoyed being together.  We eventually made a full grocery list of the things that we would need to get for dinner later, and then got dressed to all go to the store together.

waiting on everyone...two phones and a camera...ahh our generation!! 

While David was waiting to take a shower, he gave us a fashion show!  I love that all of my new friends are these super intelligent people, but they have the most amazing sense of humor and we are never at a loss for something to talk about or laugh about.

David and his "American" look 

So, grocery list in hand, we started walking.  The store was much smaller than we were expecting, and MUCH smaller than the ones I go to here in Cosenza.  However, it just made it that much more interesting. So, we went on a search for everything on our list...we found most of it, and/or we found enough to make do!  To find a replacement for cheddar cheese we were able to taste a few cheeses.  The first was WAY salty!  I've never had a cheese that was so salty...I honestly did not know it was possible.  However, it was a fun experience.  All of our things at the grocery store only came to 22 euros...super cheap!  We did go across the street for veggies, fruits, and such.  So, all together our entire meal probably cost 35 euros, so like $45.  We, and by we I mean Myles in particular, made some friends at the fruit/veggie place.  We were able to sample some fruits, hear some "fun" music, and then we headed "home" to put the groceries away and decided our plan of attack for the rest of the afternoon.  Everywhere we walk in Naples, David sees people he now knows...I love it!  I love that he is willing to put himself out there and braves the language with no fear; or if there is fear, you cannot tell.  So, we made it back the apartment, put all of our stuff away and made a plan of attack.

We primarily just wanted David to show us around, and had no particular plan in mind.  So, we started walking.  I think we took the subway again...yes, we did because none of us had the correct change and so there were 6 people standing at the machine trying to figure out how to make this.  "How many Fulbrighters does it take to figure out how to pay the ticket machine??" Not our proudest moment, but we got it worked out!  When we first left the station, we saw the Dante statue we saw yesterday. 

THEN we walked up the most amazing street...a street FULL of books and book stores.  We did not stop and look much, but it was really cool!  We then stopped in a square that is apparently really popular at night.  We went to a little cafè that David said had really good coffee.  So, some got coffee.  Mattea got this insane coffee that had Bailey's, chocolate, cream, coffee, and something else.  What they meant though was Bailey's with a splash of coffee because "whoa!!!" It was intense.   

We also learned during this time that when David is thinking, his whole body has to shut down so that the energy goes to his brain.  What does this look like you might ask?? Well, it looks a bit like this: 

After our coffee break, we started walking again.  I really enjoyed the streets looking like this...like something out of a movie in Italy.  

We walked around a bit and then decided to have a late lunch, which was a bit scary knowing that we also planned to make Thanksgiving dinner later!  We stopped at a place and put our names on the list.  We had 30 minutes to kill, so we walked around for a bit.  We went into this tea shop, which smelled amazing.  I asked about the Romeo e Julietta, but they did not have it.  Then we met the cutest baby, and we talked to him and his dad.  David knew the people in the tea shop!  This baby was so attentive to us, and locked eyes with all of us!  I just wanted to hold and squeeze him!  We had to leave though and get back to the restaurant.  So, we sadly departed from the baby, but were excited for our Pizza Margherita in Napoli!!  

"This is pizza margherita in Naples, it's your moral imperative to eat and enjoy that pizza" - Liz Gilbert; Eat Pray Love...well, the movie! 

THe best pizza I've ever had...the sauce was AMAZING!!

Nick, David, & Myles, who all helped me finish the other half of my pizza!

Lindsay, Me, and Mattea with our pizzas

The pizza was amazing and we had so much fun!!  I really love this group of people.

We walked through a really busy street that had a lot of Christmas stuff and  A LOT of people.  We eventually came to a monastery that David wanted to show us, and also the inside of the church.  It was not open yet, so we had a photo shoot with an "Eve" that was painted on a wall.  This was followed by trying to visit the monastery, but only a few of us had our museum cards.  So then we had a photo shoot for our Christmas card to the Fulbright Commission and Ministry of Education.  We had WAYYY too much fun at this monastery, and I am pretty sure that everyone walking by us thought we were CRAZY! THey were probably hating the silly Americans.  Here are some of the pictures!!

The GREATEST unplanned picture of ALL TIME!!

Its recreation

We had so much fun it should be illegal.  So, after we had so much fun...we went inside the church.  It was beautiful!  Then we started making our way back to the apartment so we could begin the adventure of cooking Thanksgiving dinner.  We stopped at the phone store for David..:Mattea and I went to a bar to get coffee and use the bathroom.

Now begins the most amazingly fun cooking adventure I think I've ever had.  The coolest thing about these hours we cooked was that there was 6 people in one small kitchen, using very few dishes, and having to improvise on almost everything, and not once did anyone get frustrated or irritated.  We just worked with what we had, the space we had, and laughed the whole time!  It was such a beautiful thing.  We all helped each other, Mattea taught Nick how to cut an apple, and even when the power went out, we kept going and helped each other...and problem solved a bit!  It was so much fun that I do not even think my words can describe it!! I will have to try and do it justice with pictures.  We opened wine and had some while we cooked.  We were making apple pie (Mattea), craisin cranberry sauce (Mattea and Lindsay),Broccoli casserole (me), Mashed potatoes (Nick), an amazing salad (Myles), and pasta with pesto and veggies (David).  Everyone helped each other.  Lindsay was a great assistant to all.  We did not have nutmet, cloves, crisco, or velveeta...and all was well. We had music playing...and it was just amazing!  I told everyone to use my cameras to take pictures so that we would have pictures of all of us throughout the process, and I am so glad that they did!! We have SO many wonderful pictures of us preparing Thanksgiving...I simply cannot include them a...or even a lot...but facebook has them ALL!!

Our wine pre-cooking

A toast to great friends!

Who knows...

 

Prepping the broccoli casserole

Picking out music is serious business

working through the power outage

An Italian/American Thanksgiving

 

Myles carving the turkey

Our delicious and gorgeous pie

A while later, we set the table, David's roommate (a girl from China who speaks NO English...and very little Italian) joined us for dinner, and we began our meal. We started out by saying things that we were thankful for.  We all of course agreed that we were thankful for this amazing opportunity, and for each other.  We were thankful for the chemistry of the group, and the opportunity to share this day with each other.  It was amazing..Fei taught us how to say thank you in mandarin, but I have unfortunately already forgotten.  We ate, and everything was AMAZING!!  Mattea told her travel story again for Lindsay and Myles, and we laughed so hard.  It was such a wonderful day!!  THen we had Mattea's pie...and OH MY GOSH....even with the substitutes, it was TO DIE FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was hands down one of the best apple pies I have ever had.  Delicious.

After dinner, we had SO much food left over.  It was decided that we would take a good bit of it to some of the hungry people of Naples.  So, we bundled up and made a long walk.   I was grateful for the walk, but afraid of how we would be received.  One guy was pissed, but the others were so grateful and ate most of the food while we stood there and David/Myles/Lindsay/Nick spoke to them in Italian.  I am so glad that they were able to have our food, and we were able to share!  Once we came back home, it was time to go to bed!!  Mattea had to be up early for her early train.  It was so sad to go to bed knowing we all had to part ways the next day!  David even tucked Nick in, gave Mattea a "foot rub", I got a full body massage, and Lindsay did not have any requests!!  Sense the sarcasm here...well...except for one of those...

Yes, this happened! 

Sunday was a sad day!! 

Mattea got up early and we all hugged goodbye!  I did not want her to leave!  I love my Mattea.  I even love that she uses the name, "love" for me and others.  This is SO me! Sometimes Mattea and I are the same person!  So, David and Lindsay walked her to the train station so that they could run back!!  Nick, Myles, and myself just hung out and talked!  

WHen they got back, we all slowly got dressed and made sure we had all of our stuff together.  We hung out on the balcony and just talked, laughed, and enjoyed our last few hours in Naples.  We laughed so hard that my cheeks hurt...a common theme with this group of people!   We discovered Myles's inner model...and just enjoyed each other's company!  Here are some pics: 

Taken through David's sunglasses

I love this picture of Nick

Then we eventually had to make our way to the train station.  We walked so slowly, and stopped at the ATM.  However, we walked soooo slowly that Nick came really close to missing his train!  This was interesting though!  So we all hugged goodbye.  Nick got on the train and David said, "Elyse...I want pictures of you running after the train!" So, I laughed and said, "okay!"  Then, Nick ran back off the train and gave us hugs!  Then, Nick went back on the train and David had me go put my hands on the window and then fake run!  Apparently (Nick told me later) that these little old ladies were watching us and talking about me and him!

So, then we went to get me some gum, go to the 1 euro bathroom (was at least clean), and then to get Lindsay and me something to eat.  We had these weird almost pizza rustica things.  Then we had to hug David and Myles bye.  THey were off to sightsee some and Lindsay had to catch her train!  I walked her to her train, we hugged, and I went to find my train as well!  

The train ride was uneventful! I was able to talk to Nick a little bit...my momma a little bit...but cell service sucks on the trains.  However, I did get to end my trip with a beautiful sunset!  I started it with one, and ended it with one!  

Lilla was picking me up in Cosenza...and I was grateful to not have to wait on the bus!!

I am so blessed...and so fortunate to have found such amazing people!  THis will go down in history as one of my favorite Thanksgiving...definitely something I will remember for a lifetime!