Sette Giorni

Since I only have seven days left before my return I decided to catch everyone up on what's been going on:

• Since my trip to Paris, I have had a few more Italian lessons with my host grandpa. I can definitely understand and read more Italian than I can speak. 
• I went shopping and bought two shirts and a pair of leggings.
• I took a trip to Naples, Capri and Rome with my Au Pair friend, Sammie. We almost got robbed on the bus in Naples. 
• We went to the Blue Grotto in Capri, where you have to literally lie back in the boat to fit through the little cave entrance. The blue water was so spectacular.
• On the train to Rome from Naples, we met a father and his daughter who both happened to be psychologists. The father didn't speak English, but the daughter did.
• The Coliseum was amazing. It was there we met the sweetest older lady named Kristina.
• The hostel owner took us to see The Keyhole in Rome and the optical illusion with St. Peter's Basilica. (As you drive closer to the building it gets smaller, as you drive away it appears larger.)
• I didn't get to see the Sistine Chapel in Rome. For this reason, I must go back one day.
• My host family, aunt, cousins, both sets of grandparents and I went to a bird release in Limena. They also released a hare that all the children decided to chase. The poor hare had to literally jump over one child.
• I finally bought a pair of Italian high top shoes. I love them.
• My host family took me to a country bar to learn to line dance, but it didn't start for another thirty minutes and the children were tired so we returned home.
• I love closing the shutters to my window at night so I can sleep in total darkness. It's wonderful.
• I have read three books since being here. I ordered four new books on Amazon for this summer. I can't wait!
• I'm trying to learn more about photography and how to use my Nikon dSLR. 
• I haven't cut or colored my hair since I left the states.
• Last weekend, my host family took me to Verona, which is where my host mom is from. I saw Juliet's house, from Romeo and Juliet. We ate lunch with her parents, which lasted a full two hours and consisted of entrees, wine, dessert, coffee, and a limoncello shot. So much food and drink.
• I've already started packing my suitcase.
• This past Saturday I made pancakes for my host family! I even made Mickey Mouse ones for the kids. They loved them, especially, my host mom. They only drizzled a bit of maple syrup on their pancakes. I quickly corrected them and said your pancake needs to be drenched in syrup! 
• My host dad bought the children a little basketball goal and soccer goals, which has been fun. 
• My knee no longer hurts. I think it's healed, finally!
• I spent Sunday in Milan hanging out with a friend from college. It was so great catching up. It had been nearly five years. 
• Tuesday I spent the day in Venice with another Au Pair who lives nearby. The weather was beautiful! 
• I never took a ride in a gondola because they are roughly 80-100 Euro.
• I have ordered more TV shows and movies on Amazon than I'd like to admit. It's the only way to watch American TV here in Italy. Netflix, ABC.com, etc. are all blocked.
• I have seen the movie Frozen a gazillion times, but not once in English. I have YouTubed the songs in English though. So now Giorgia will sing the songs half in English and half in Italian. 
• She also knows "If You're Happy and You Know It", "1-2-Buckle My Shoe", "B-I-N-G-O", "Old MacDonald" and plenty of the Beatles songs. 
• We've been playing outside a lot lately, which I love.
• I've decided I want to learn Spanish and the piano. 
• This past Sunday was the "legal time" change, as they call it here. So we are now back to being six hours apart for all you Eastern Standard Timers. 
• I've actually gotten Giorgia to play Go Fish with me! She normally says, "No" every time I ask her to play. The other night we played four times in a row. It's so cute when she says, "Do you have tuttle?" and when she tells me, "Gooo fish"! She has such an adorable accent when she speaks English.
• My host family has an outdoor wood fire oven! We made homemade pizza last night. It was delicious and quite possibly the coolest thing ever. My host dad told me, "Now when you return home you can start a pizza shop!"
• My host grandpa is the coolest. He's a retired orthopedic doctor. He plays the banjo, ukulele, guitar, bass, and other stringed instruments. He taught himself how to play each instrument. He's in a jazz band, which plays every weekend. He and his wife have a house in Garda Lake that they stay at from May-September then they return to Verona for the remainder of the time.
• I was talking to my host parents about my time in college and how I lived in the dorm for two years. My host mom said, "Did you have your own chicken?" I was quite confused by this when my host dad said, "Chicken?! Kitchen!" It made for a good laugh. Apparently Italians get those two words confused quite often. 
• Mattia knows the American Sign Language for "Please". He uses it all the time with me to try to get everything he wants. Doesn't always work out in his favor. 
• This weekend my family is taking me to Gardaland Amusement Park! 
• My flight leaves in exactly one week at the break of dawn. Not looking forward to all the flights and layovers, but am stoked to be reunited with my puppy who will be awaiting my arrival at the airport.