I think I'll call this post "Life"

Dear Mom,

     It's been quite a "life-ish" week. I don't intend "life-ish" in a lively sense to mean exciting and full of grand, extraordinary events, but almost the opposite actually in the sense that it was quite an ordinary week that seemed just like a normal week in life. And it was great! The more time I spend with my new family and Jessica the more grateful and happy I am to be here and the more I see what a normal life of an Italian student can be like. I've come to enjoy studying more because now I finally have the books to study but I also have someone else studying by my side who can help me if I don't understand a word or a concept. Aside from studying, we also seem to be spending a lot of time sleeping. More often that not these two activities coincide and we find ourselves falling asleep while we study, but even that is fun because Jessica and I will be studying on the couch and I'll wake up with my head in her lap or with hers on my shoulder or with a blanket that a loving mother has brought by to cover us with. I really enjoy living with this family, they make me feel so loved and welcome. The mother left Tuesday for London to stay with her son for about a month, so it's me and Jess and the dad for a bit. He works a lot so it's often just us, but we take care of each other and manage to not burn the house down.

     On Friday we didn't have school because there was an assembly "senza obbligo" and so we planned a picnic in the Villa Bellini. It's a beautiful park in Via Etnea (the Main Street of the city center). Well, it's the closest thing to a park they have here as grass as we know it is practically nonexistent and you can forget about picnic tables or typical playground sets. It was still a great time though as we played frisbee (thank you so much for buying me a frisbee to bring Dad, it has been well-used and appreciated!) and volleyball, as well as playing with numerous children who were attracted by the ball. I hadn't been outdoors to just enjoy the sun for a while and it was so rejuvenating and wonderful! Jessica says I look more tan now, but I think I'm mostly just more pink...

     Saturday we took the bus early to Ragusa to see Ibla and a typical festival at Scicli. It was to celebrate the Holy Family's flight from Egypt, as they explained to us, and there were tons of horses covered in flowers and designs. I felt bad for the horses though because the decorations looked quite heavy. We spent the night in Ragusa with Rotarian families who hosted us for the night and my family there was so kind and they had a beautiful apartment on the 7th floor that overlooked the whole city! In the free time we had for a bit before the festival I took a shower and let my hair dry out on the terrace while I read Harry Potter 2 in Italian with a beautiful panorama behind it.

     All in all it was a very good week and possibly even one of my favorites so far because of it's simplicity and enjoyment in just living it. I'm learning that life (and especially being an exchange student) isn't about all the stupendous things we do or the marvelous things we see, but about doing normal things and enjoying them and finding happiness in just being alive and capable to do the things we do. I love you all so very much and I hope you are all enjoying being part of this great thing called LIFE!

Carolina

     ...

Speaking of enjoying the sun, the picture for this week is a picture a friend of mine took while we were doing just that from the roof of another friend's Chinese restaurant. She put it as the icon of our group message chat with the caption "Carol allo Spiedo." *Hint: spiedo is the spit thing they put chickens and pigs on to roast them. It was then followed by comments such as "Girala! È bene cotta! (Turn her! She's well-cooked!)" I guess they've never seen anyone lay down on a chair before... PS for Valerie- it may look like my socks match but one is green and black stripes and the other is green and yellow. You don't have to worry yet, Italy hasn't changed me that much (: