Make yourself comfortable

because this is going to be long. I’ll try to keep it as brief, interesting, and informative as possible.

The very beginning of break:

The last day of school didn’t involve a lot of school. Almost everybody brought in things to eat and drink (including champagne) and attempted to learn until the last block when everyone gave up and spent the hour singing songs. That evening, while I rode the “It’s finally vacation” happy wave, I went to a big Christmas party with my family. It was fun because I got to hang out with these guys Paolo and Stefano who I had seen a couple times before. We discussed everything from hip hop to American and Italian idioms.

The next day I had a Rotary Christmas Lunch which was great because I got to see everyone and wish them a Merry Christmas- not to mention that we went to a beautiful church service and as always there was good food (not TOO hard to find in this country). Afterwards I went to see Anima Dell’Aqua (art exhibit) with Mary and Cecilia and we saw the Caravaggio painting “Narciso”.

I spent a day (and night) in Monza with Danielle, Katharine, Jody, and Kylee. We walked around, had some gelato even though it was cold, Katharine cut my hair in a host family's bathroom, we went to a Mexican restaurant (BEANS) and we watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Christmas Eve I met back up with Mary, Cecilia, and John to see another art exhibit, Magritte. That evening I went to my tutor’s house for dinner which was so great because he (as always) practically forces me to use his Skype account to call people in America for free which meant I had good long conversations with Craig, my family, and Jamison. We used about 10 different forks for dinner. OK, not ten- but it felt like it. The midnight mass at Sant’ Ambrosio (when I met up with my host family again) was a lot more intense than our little Duncan Memorial service. The place was packed and there were clouds from the 50 tons of incense.

I hadn’t felt homesick for the longest time until Christmas Day. It just feels weird when you’re not at home. It was pleasant and cozy but it’s not the same as Christmas with your family- I didn’t expect it to be. I had a video conference with my family back home which made me really happy but a wee bit nostalgic.

I spent a lot of time with my host family and their relatives. Over Christmas and the couple days after it always seemed like we were having either lunch or dinner with somebody’s cousin. It was nice to be around all the chingchinging (toasting) and happy faces. Nonna Bina, the tiny grandmother, even told me “Ti voglio bene bene bene, tesoro” which translates to “I love you so much, treasure”.

We went to Bardonecchia for a couple days with family friends and I did indeed go to the hospital. It is a rather entertaining story so you will have to skype with me to get the full deal- but the moral of the story is: Don’t let Grace ski on the Italian Alps. I’m perfectly fine now and I had a total blast so don’t you fret one bit. One of the coolest part about this weekend was how much instinctive my Italian felt. For instance, when I fell wrong on the slopes I didn't even think about it- but I said "Ho fatto male, ho fatto male!" immediately. The translation step in my head from English to Italian is speeding up, and sometimes I just skip over it, and I find myself wondering "whoa, where'd that step go?"

I left them for New Year’s Eve. Kailee, an Australian girl who will be going home in about a week, invited us all to spend New Year’s with her and her family at their “palace” on Lake Maggiore. I went up with Kylee and on the 31st and we all came back together today (the 2nd). I absolutely loved it. Even our Rotary guy Murnik (no idea how to spell that) was there! It really felt like vacation- we hung out with Kailee’s host parents (who are adorable), stayed up late, slept in long, watched Desperate Housewives and The Office, played pool, played cards, listened to music, sock-slid on the floors, and enjoyed a constant state of laughter and being together. I didn’t take a whole lot of pictures but I have a couple that I’ll put up and I’ll steal more later. ;)

I leave the day after tomorrow to go to Udine with the host fam. Glad I get a chill day.

Love,
Grace