A few "firsts"

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Thursday, January 31st, 2008:
Today was a day of Italian “firsts” for me:
1) It rained a bit for the first tine, and I it was actually really nice to have the rain… I guess I’m a Pacific Northwest girl at heart…
2) I had my first cooking class today, and during that class I cooked m first 4 course meal from scratch. This includes making the doe for the pasta and rolling out the noodles…
3) I shaved my legs for the first time in Italy! In my shower that is so small I can hardly turn around without hitting the wall. I was able to shave because I got home before my host parents and I didn’t feel guilty about taking a long shower.
4) I had my first text messaging session, in Italian, with my host dad… (Italians LOVE texting)
5) I had my first real conversation with the cute Italian boy on the bus that I ride to school. This conversation was in ITALIAN!! And it didn’t consist of him yelling, whistling, clicking, following me, trying to pull onto the bus with him (sexy Orlando Bloom look-alike), or telling me that he loved me (“mi amore”) or that I was “bellisma” -granted he is my friends host “brother” and I was standing next to her and happened to talk to him too… but he is cute… and according to my friend thinks I’m “very cute” and have very pretty eyes!! Ha-ha
6) and now for the not so great news… I woke up this morning with my first small cold!! What a bummer huh? Everyone in our group is a little “under the weather” though. My Italian family is really worried though, they always freak out if my hair is wet and if I don’t wear shoes/slippers in the house… I might have caught the plague- you never know!

And it appears to only be looking up… this weekend I go to Carnivale in a town about an hour away…and tomorrow we are taking a group tour of some of the museums and churches in town for our Italian language class. So far the intensive language course of 5 hours a day and lots of homework (not counting that we live with non-English speaking people and are always being “tested”) so it will be nice to have a day off from class. It has also been really nice to have another English speaking person in that house, since our roommates/housemates arrived. This weekend is also Emily’s birthday, which should be lots of fun, it will be the groups second birthday on this trip - and since we aren’t minors in Italy… the birthday celebrations are lots of fun- !!

Here’s the list of other exciting things that are happening soon:
-Monday: My first day of my Internship in the Italian Schools as an English teacher
-Tuesday: Mardi Gras
-Wednesday: Meet our Italian language partners- and as Mom put it, I’m hoping for an “attractive, male, Italian Collegian…” - thank you all (especially you Mom) for your support and well wishes on this topic!! lol

This week I found out that I have a “brother” he came to dinner this week and is very nice. I apparently have his bedroom in the house and the pictures of the flag throwers at the Palio (the horse races) are of him. In 2003 he was part of the Palio and apparently my host family supports the contrada “Selva” which is represented by the rhinoceros, this explains all the rhinoceros figurines that are around my house!!

Well I am writing this before dinner, and now I am going to go help set the table and get ready for another 2 hour meal…

I’ve heard about the snow multiple times and I’m quite jealous… We have been told by a few of our host parents that it sometimes snows in February so I am still holding hope for snow this year… and for the chance to make an Itlalian snowman and name it Paolo!

xoxo
CIAO
Barbara!

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