A New Adventure....

We all knew that life in Italy would be an adventure, but I did not anticipate it being SUCH an adventure as this!  Every day, well almost every day, something happens that makes me think, "I NEVER saw this coming!  How did I get here?  How do I hold on to it?"  These are all positive thoughts!! I never saw Italy in my future.  I never saw LOVING Italy in my future!  I could not see how I would not be lonely in Italy!  I could not understand how I would not be desperate to come home!  I sometimes wonder how I was so fortunate to be chosen for this opportunity?  Why me?? How do I hold on to this? Am I supposed to hold on to it?  God will let me know when it is time to let go!   The thing that this reminds me of is that I am not in control of my future.  I can be obedient (a daily thing), and I can pray about opportunities, but I am not in control.  Me being in control got me no where...except learning to let go, which is how I got here! I am not perfect, and I never claim to be!  I mess up every day, and there are things I am still working (with God) to change about the person that I am!  However, in the mean time, I am so grateful to be here in Italy, with a job and life that fits many of my dreams.  My dream job sounds like this:  travel, working with children (though my idea of that was birth-5 years old), writing, taking pictures, and sharing my knowledge with others, while learning from them.  HOLY COW...FULBRIGHT WAS MADE FOR ME!!

Okay, so Friday, December 14th.  
So, Nick was here now, and we were going to the school here in Cosenza for my regular day!  I was excited to have him with me, and I just KNEW that the students were going to love him! Our first class was Patrizia's class.  Patrizia was in Rome with some students, so it was just us!  Nick talked to them in Italian for a bit before we got started with class.  We were going to play Tombola.  So, we started setting up, and a few people came in to check on us.  One lady looked at Nick and said, "bello insegnante!!"  "Beautiful teacher!"  One male teacher eventually came in and sat at a student's desk while we played, but he was quiet the whole time!  Of course Nick spoke Italian with some of the students, and they love that he speaks so well.  So, he went and sat with one boy who said he ALWAYS wins at Tombola because he is lucky.  I think Nick was his unlucky charm.  They were not a lively bunch during the game!  They said it was too early, and that it is usually a very loud game!  They wanted to play for money, but we scratched that idea!  Nick called the second game for them!  It was fun, but I definitely had more fun playing with the first class I played it with!  However, they were good about calling out the numbers in English when I called them in Italian, and in Italian when Nick called them in English!  They really are a great group of students.

When this class was over, we had an hour break!  We went to the bar around the corner from the school, for a few reasons though: 1. I wanted some more sugar packets with the child drawings on them 2. Nick said he would drink some coffee and get something for breakfast 3. We needed something to do!  So, Nick got some coffee, and I decided to have some hot chocolate.  Okay, so this was going to be out of a packet!  I thought that surely it would be more like our hot chocolate.  WRONG. I had like 10 flavors to choose from, and I chose the caramel.  Holy cow.  1. It was AH-MAZING 2. I was wrong about it being different, but it was still amazing!  3. I am glad Nick helped me out with it!

So, I also collected a few sugar packets, and we were on our way!  We went in this shop near the school where I bought my first Italian Christmas ornament, and Nick found a gift for his mom!  A cute, white, fluffy squirrel because his mom loves squirrels.  After this, we walked a little further down this street, and then turned up a side street to go to the Corso.  We just walked and enjoyed the time.  Eventually we headed back to the school for our second class.  When we were standing in the open area inside, there were quite a few people staring at the two of us.  It appeared to be some of the teachers that do not know me, so to see two Americans (or just foreigners) must have been strange for them.

So, then we were off to our next class, Linda's class.  The bell rang, but they did not come out immediately like they usually do!  I waited a few minutes and then opened the door.  They were still taking a test, but the teacher was really sweet and just said to come back in a few minutes!  Oops!  However, there were these other girls looking at us, and then some guys joined them!  They looked like they really wanted to come talk to us.  Eventually, after we spoke to them, they did come over.  They asked us where we were from, and introduced themselves.  Around this time, my students came out and then there was just a bit group surrounding us, speaking about us in Italian to each other.  It was really sweet.  My students hugged me and said, "Elyyyyse!!!!"  THey were also really excited to see Nick, and the girls immediately started asking me if he was my boyfriend.  I just shrugged them off, but they were insistent.  However, we managed to greet everyone, shuffle everyone off to class so that they would not get in trouble, and went into their class to start the lesson.  The girls were still busy asking me about Nick, but then they all huddled around him (guys and girls), while I talked to Linda for a minute.  I got a picture just as they were all turning towards me, but it was so cute to see them all huddled around him!  We finally got them settled in the seats with the computer set up so that they could finish their student presentations.

So, I introduced Nick to them, and he told them briefly where he was from, etc.  They all kept looking at me and suggesting that we were "together".  When I asked them why they thought we looked like we were together, they said, "because you both have blonde hair!" So, I showed them one of the girl's hair, picked a random guy and said, "he has brown hair too.  Are you a couple?!?!?"  We all got a good laugh out of it, because of course I was just messing with them!  However, I still did not ever answer their questions.   I still just shrugged them off and did not give an answer.  So, we started the lesson.

Sweet Nick took these on his phone...seee...I dooo have a real job!

I am glad to have some pictures of me having conversation with the students

At one point one of the students mentioned "cuddruriaddri", and so I stopped them and wanted them to say it for Nick.  They made him attempt it first, and then made me say it!  They clapped for me, and said it was very good! Then, they all said it for him, and we discussed again how everyone says it differently.  This whole time the girls kept gesturing at me, trying to figure out if Nick and I were a couple.  So,  then it was another student's turn to come up and present.  Her power point would not work on the Italian computer, so Nick offered his computer.  Following her presentation, we needed another thumb drive put in, but I was trying to save her presentation on my thumb drive first.  I was trying to find the computer icon on Nick's computer.  I minimized her power point, but there were all of these other windows open on the computer.  Just random stuff, so I started closing them!  Well, as I got to the last one, and right as I was clicking the "X" button, it dawned on me why Nick had all of those windows open.  His computer background picture was of us.  As soon as I realized it, the girls all spotted it, jumped up, and pointed it out! They cheered and got so excited!  Even the guys got in on the excitement.  Linda, the teacher was laughing so hard.  I was turning as red as my jacket!  They were all sooo excited.  Linda was explaining to them in Italian that I was turning red.  The girls were the most excited!!  It was really sweet to see their reaction!  However, I get SUPER embarrassed.  I asked Nick why he did not say anything??  I had to ask over them, but they were all going on in Italian, so they did not notice my English.  He said he wanted to tell me, but did not want to draw attention to it.  Well, the cat was out of the bag with this group! Once they settled back down, we began having conversation again about favorite types of books to read.

M.F., my sweet girl who loves Slipknot and other bands of the sort, was giving a book presentation.  Why Linda wanted her to do this today I'll never know.  So, she told us about a book I'll never read.  Then, the students all told me that they are going to be reading books over the Christmas holiday. Most of the girls are reading "Titanic" and then other books being read are, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", ummm...and some others. Then it was break time.  The students asked if we would go on break with them.  Um, of course we will!

On break, we tried to keep S. from smoking; we talked; we took pictures; we just enjoyed being together.  This really is such a wonderful group of students!  They told me earlier that they wanted pictures with Nick.  Some took them on their phones, and I of course took them with my camera for my own keeping.

One of my students in this group told us that she works at the Duomo here in Cosenza, so she would take us on a tour, Saturday!  Yay!!  Then, the bell rang and they had to go back to class.  Some of them walked us to the door, we hugged, kissed, and said goodbye.

For the second of my 1 hour breaks, we went to the other school.  At this point we did not have a whole hour, so we went and sat in the teacher's room in the other building.  We just sat and talked while we waited for class to start!  Thank goodness we could sit next to the radiator because I was soo cold!

When the next class started, they were all excited to see me, and Nick too!  I got my regular, "Ellyyysse"" greeting, and then they spotted Nick!  We were welcomed into the room, and once Rosina joined us, we got started.  They were a little harder to settle down today because they were so excited, but it was a wonderful excitement.  I introduced Nick a little bit and the fact that he was from Seattle; we quickly talked about the difference between Washington the state and Washington D.C.  From there I let Nick have it.  He talked about some famous things from Seattle (Starbucks, Nirvana, Jim Morrison, and some other things).  The students actually knew some of these things!  They were really engaged.  So, we spent the class time talking about big cities, regions of the US, differences in accents in the US and in Italy, and so many things.  The students were on top of us from the beginning about were we a couple.  I tried to shrug it off, but they eventually figured it out!  They kept making the "together" hand gesture behind Nick's back so that only I could see it!  When he was talking about the Spaceneedle and telling them about how people go there to get engaged, they got all excited and were making the gesture behind his back at me and then got louder until he noticed them!  Pretty boy, E., and some others were the main ones egging this on!  He laughed because he said he usually uses this joke on the students, and now it had been turned around on him.  Umm...students...slow down!  It was a really fun hour!  The students had us say, "cuddruriaddri" and I "won"!!  Haha...just kidding, but they did finally approve of my pronunciation!  We laughed so much during this class, which is always such a beautiful gift!  This really is a great group of students!  The other amazing thing is that the quiet boys are starting to speak up!!!  I'm really excited!!  Perhaps they are starting to become comfortable with me.  I felt like this was a really successful class!  Nick was killing me with the amount of Italian he was speaking though; I cannot take him anywhere because then everyone is disappointed with my Italian.

Anyway, so after class the students decided that they wanted to plan a dinner for us.  They alll said that their houses are too small, but that they would plan something.  So, they said they would tell Rosina, and then she could tell us.  Nick took a few pictures of me talking to them; they are not my favorite, but they will do! My pretty boy was being goofy!!

After class, we walked home for lunch and such.  We walked to the bus station with some of my students so that they could tell us which bus to take to Metropolis.  They were so sweet, and then we parted ways.  We went to the macelleria (butcher's shop) to get some turkey for lunch.  So, we ate a wonderful lunch, and rested and killed time for a bit.  I think this is the day we were able to skype with April...maybe....

Anyway, later we went to Metropolis, the mall.  We went to the bus station to get tickets and take our bus.  It came rather quickly.  By the time we reached the mall it was starting to get dark, which is what I wanted because I had seen the other day that it was all decorated up for Christmas.  So, we also stopped and got a Cuddruriaddri from the place outside the mall.  They tried to teach us the other way of saying it, but we both failed.  We talked to a sweet little lady standing there buying some.  The guys working there immediately asked us where we were from; man, we just CANNOT pass for Italians! Haha!  So, we talked to them for a bit, and then headed off to eat our Cuddruriaddri, and then inside to "shop".  Once inside, our first stop was the bookstore!  Yay bookstores.  However, we decided to come back here before we left.  Then the search for a coat was on.  I looked in every store in the mall, and did not find one.  I hate the Italian style puffy jacket things, and I did not care for any of the others.  I was so bummed!  However, we did sample some of the treats that vendors were giving away!  We also stopped at a gelato place in the mall.  I'd had it before and we decided just to have this, and then we would not really eat dinner because of the food we'd already been having!  We killed more time in the mall just walking around and looking.  They have this HUGE stand full of Christmas items too!   It seemed a little tacky, but I love Christmas.

Then we headed back to the bookstore and made our purchases.  I bought Pride and Prejudice in Italian and some ornaments.  Nick bought....something.  Then we headed back outside to take some pictures with the lights and the light tree that was in front of the mall.  Here are the results of this "photo shoot"!!

Me and the tree 

Boy can't be normal!!  

Well, sometimes he can be!

Then Francisco called to invite me to a concert on Wednesday night.  Then we headed to the bus stop! While waiting there, we were laughing about the picture where he is not being normal!! Him laughing resulted in this picture:

Is he laughing or crying??

Our bus finally came, but we got off it not too long after we got on because we spotted a Christmas market.  It did not have anything we wanted, and then we ran to catch another bus!  This was a looooong bus ride, for many reasons.  1. It was a long, going in circles route 2. I got on facebook only to find out about the shooting in Connecticut.  We rode in silence the rest of the way home.  It was a long walk home, and a sad look at facebook/CNN/FOXNEWS, etc. when we got home.  We were both just praying for them!  Nick grabbed my Bible and read some verses; well, we read them silently, but together.  What a terrible, awful thing to happen!  I could not believe my eyes when I saw all of the news; all those children, women, his mother....I just cannot comprehend it!  The thing that people will ask is "how can God let this happen?!?"  The thing to remember is that God has given us free will; sin entered the world with the bite from the apple.  God was there with those children, and he welcomed them home.  We may never understand why these things happen, but it is important to know that God is amongst his people; He is with those families right now; He is in those bedrooms where children are crying their eyes out because their friends are gone; He is there.  Do not question that!  I do not know how we solve these problems; I am not sure that we can!  What I do know is that my hope is in God alone; not in this world; not in the government who will try to fix things; but rather I accept that things of this nature will continue to happen (bad things I mean), and it will break us, and we will be devastated.  The good news is that when we put our hope in God, we have life beyond this one.  

So, Nick and I eventually made a little bit of pasta and tried a new pesto sauce.  It is a Sicilian pesto made with ricotta and nuts...amazing!!  We talked for a few hours about all kinds of random stuff, and then decided it was late, and we should sleep.