Last Wednesday, I was exhausted when I arrived in Milan in the morning with my big, pink bags from America. I was happy to see the hopeful faces of my host parents, Debora and Nicola, with one of their four children at their side, holding up a sign with my name written on it. I went to them, excited to finally speak with them face-to-face. They were very kind to me, and got some coffee in me at the airport before we began the drive to the place that would become my new temporary home.
After an hour of driving, we met with a group of Debora's friends and colleagues for my first Italian meal in a beautiful restaurant in their hometown of Pontevico. I was immediately surrounded by dialogue that I couldn't understand, and had to make good use of my bilingual dictionary in order to have a conversation with these beautiful Mediterranean people. With patience and clear pronunciation, we were able to make it work. Once our stomachs were all satisfied, over an hour later, we went a short ways down the road where I was finally able to see their house, my cute little apartment in their furnished basement, and meet the rest of the children. They spoke even less English than I had anticipated, but were able to say "hello" and introduce themselves, which is more than I could do in their language!
Graciously, Debora told me to go ahead and catch up on some sleep during the afternoon, so I did exactly that, after a much-needed hot shower. When I woke up, I was clean, refreshed, and a little hungry. As though God himself must have planned it, the family was just sitting down to have dinner when I walked up the stairs, and asked me to join them. Needless to say, the food was excellent. The Italians didn't get their reputation for superior cuisine without good reason! Be it pasta, pizza, cheese, wine, fresh fruit, salads with homemade vinaigrette dressing, or any of the cured meats or other delicacies that they create -- I don't think it's possible NOT to enjoy every single bite.
Since then, I have been enjoying all of my meals, slowly picking up bits and pieces of the language, and getting to see some of the nearby sites and cities. The family has been extremely generous with me, showing me around, making sure I consume lots of gelato, and helping me learn some Italian while I teach them English. At first, the children didn't want to talk to me, because I'm new and also because there is a language barrier, but now they're used to me being here and like playing with me and even talking to me a little bit. Real conversations are impossible, but I'd made labels for some of the rooms and items around the house that have the names of things in both English and Italian. Both the children and myself are able to use them, and I think that it was a good idea.
Each child has their own personality, and we're still getting a feel for one another a lot of the time. They are all very independent, and very cute.Luca is the oldest, at age 10, and loves to be dramatic. He frequently puts on costumes and pretends to be a hero or get into sword fights with his little brother, Marco. Chiara is almost 8, and she is always singing and dancing around the house. She gets embarrassed to speak in English sometimes, but was very proud to show me her English workbook from school and likes to say little things like, "Do you want to play," "Dinner is ready," and "Throw the ball." She has a hard time remembering them sometimes, but she is always proud of herself when she remembers something in English and is learning a little bit more every day. Marco is 4, and is the quietest of all of the children. Like most little boys, he things that Spiderman and Disney's "Cars" are two of the greatest things on the planet. He's wearing the Spiderman costume in the photo I put below this paragraph. He also likes puzzles a lot, and was very pleased with the puzzle of "Green Eggs and Ham" that I gave to the children as a present, and has done it at least four times. It is my hope that I will be able to read the book to them and have them understand it before I leave, but only time will tell. So far, it's only been a week, and they are only just starting to try to talk to me on their own. Then, there is Anna, who might be the smallest, but who has the biggest personality of them all! With every action that she does, she adds her own feminine finesse. She is very good at exploring and playing on her own, be it climbing everything she can or picking up a picture book and making up her own story to go along with it. She's absolutely adorable, but also sometimes a little bit difficult. When she makes up her mind to do something, she's going to do it, which sometimes is inappropriate. For instance, whenever she thinks she can get away with it, she gets naked. In public, she won't, but the second she gets home from being out, the clothes come off!
Even though I have had a few more lovely experiences than I have put into this entry, I will have to get back to them later. At the moment, I need to leave the computer and go enjoy this lovely day while the sun is still shining!
