Buona Festa della Mamma!

Cara Madre,

I've been putting this off almost all day today because I didn't know how or where to start and I wanted it to be just perfect for you, but I can't put it off any longer because I just need to tell you how much I love you! It's been over 8 months since I've personally "stepped into your office" and we've had a chat, so now I'm asking you to step into mine for a minute so I can tell you some pretty darn important things.

1) I love you. Ti voglio un mondo di bene. Je t'adore. I could probably google it in a bunch of other languages but it doesn't change the meaning. I love you, Mom. 

2) I look up to you. And not just because you're almost 4 inches taller than me. I remember watching the movie about President Hinckley in which he is called "a giant among men." Well mother, you are a giant among women. I can't even begin to list all of the reasons why because they are so numerous, but the fact that you're probably not even home from church yet because you're still across the street picking up flowers for all the neighbors and other mothers in the ward who weren't there should help explain what I'm trying to say. You always put everyone else before you even think to think about yourself and your selflessness amazes me every day. 

3) I miss you. I'm sorry I was half-asleep in the airport the day I left and that I didn't give you a proper goodbye and a proper hug, but I am looking forward to June 28 when I can make that up to you. Brace yourself. 

4) Thank you. For everything. 

There are so many other things that I want to say but I know it's going to be time for your Sunday "mid-morning nap" soon so I'll try to keep it short and let you enjoy a peaceful day. I'm a bit far away so I can't do anything about the clean house, but everyday I try to follow your example and become a "wonderful children" that you would like me to be. 

Carol

   ...

PS- I know this picture is a bit blurry, but it's the best one I had with me. 

"A picture is worth a thousand words"

I am really liking that quote today because I'm so far behind on writing that it would probably take me more than a thousand words to catch y'all up to date on everything that I've done since the last time, so I've decided to give you a "Picture Tour" of the important things from this last month instead of writing about them. I'm also suffering from old age and a bit of memory loss that goes with and I probably couldn't even remember what happened last week alone last month, so I hope you enjoy the pictures!

River that runs through Krakow

Carol's in Poland!

Krakow

Polish friends and one of the Italians- bet you 

can't guess which one is the Italian!

Beautiful park behind the Polish

 "White House" where the president lives

There are live peacocks in the park!

Still at the park

Adorable little lost brother who kept speaking to me in Polish- and then waiting

 for me to answer. We did play together a lot though, mostly with the dog. 

The Palace of Science and Culture. Most Polish people don't like it

 because it was a gift from Stalin and was built in his style but it is beautiful.

View of Warsaw from the top of the Palace of Culture and Science

Arbeit Macht Frei

"Work sets you free"

Auschwitz

Auschwitz

Random guy in the mall who was advertising

 for a new store and offered to buy me a coffee

Me and Jessica at the Catania soccer game. They are a 

terrible team but they actually won that day!

Easter egg! The size of my head!

 Me and Jessica and the banana bread we made together

Classmates from school at our luncheon the day after Easter

It was a very peaceful and beautiful day!

Lots of love!

Carolina

     ... 

Hello from Jessica!

Hello!
My name is Jessica and Carol asked me to write to you this week. I will talk about the relation about me and your beautiful and nice daughter/sister. The first time I saw her I thought: "she will never be my friend". I don't know why I thought this, maybe because she was the new one and all my classmates wanted to be her friend. But look now! I have a sister!

When I knew her she was seventeen and it was my fault that she spent her 18th birthday in the hospital where she found an handsome doctor. I ruined her birthday, so I told myself: "I must do something because she will have to have a wonderful memory about this trip in Italy". When she told me that she didn't find herself well in the second family, I had an opportunity to change everything. I asked to my parents and they told me: "yes, of course! We want a new daughter!"

Now she has been in OUR house since one month. She isn't like a sister she is my sister. The things that I love about her are: her accent, her way of behaving with children (my little cousins), the way she cuts fruit, and above all her voice when she sings. She also sings while we brush our teeth. And tonight she must take a shower (she stinks!). No, I'm teasing you. She has a nice porfum (maybe).

I have a theory. I think that everyone have a smell and I called this smell puzza (in a language similar to English that isn't English because it's Jessica's English it means 'stinks'). So everytime I saw her and she saw me we said: "Tu stinks!" And also after shower we stink. What do you think about my scientific theory? I have a free mind, so if you find something wrong tell me everything, because one day I will be famous for this theory.

I don't know how you grew up your daughter but you have done a perfect job. I really hope that one day I will see you and I will thank you for giving me your daughter and also for giving to my family a new daughter/cousins/aunt. All of you will be always in my mind, I will never forget her and you. My house is now your house, you will be welcomed into my home.
I hope she loves me and I'm sure about this: I love her even if she stinks.

Hugs and kisses
Jessica.

... I don't speak no English no more

Dear Mom,

As you know, last week was a sad week for my English. All those essays... Oh well at least that's over and those applications are submitted! Thank you for your help! And also great big thanks to Dad for getting it mailed! Most of the week was spent writing (actually I should say *attempting to write) those essays, so I didn't do much this week. One of my classes was really fun though! I finally convinced my technical design teacher to let me work on something and I've been doing proiezioni ortogonali. I draw a shape/solid in the first square on my sketch paper and then "project" it into the other squares and it becomes how it would look from all the different points of perspective. It's really fun! And I'm actually quite good at visualizing in my mind of how an object looks from all the different sides. I also enjoy math when we do planar geometry because I can really visualize the prisms and angles from a different view and know than an angle really is 90 degrees instead of a little tiny angle of 26 dgrees or something. My design teacher says I'm good at it me that I have a good hand for it, and I also enjoy it so that a bonus!

Saturday was a good day too. These past few days I have been reading Harry Potter and I just finished the second one. I didn't really want to start the third though because for one it takes a lot more time to read in another language but I also didn't want to get too into it like it normally happens when I read a book/series. So I suggested to my friends that we watch the movies instead! Saturday after school we started our "Harry Potter Marathon" and finished the first three movies. It was weird to see them though because they changed some of the names. For example Dumbledore is "Albus Silente" and Snape is "Professore Piton." There are a bunch of other names that were changed and it was almost hard to follow the story (especially in the books) because I didn't know who was doing what. It was a good though to spend time with friends after a week of staying home and working.

Well, March 28 passed and I officially have less than three months left here in Italy. I decided that I would like to read the Book of Mormon in Italian before I come home, or in other words in 3 months.  I am starting at the beginning, but it's an open offer for anyone who would like to join me. Even if you are in 3 Nephi you can read starting in 3rd Nephi and ending in 3rd Nephi. I really believe that it will have a positive effect on my last three months here and will make them more memorable and special. I love you all so very much and I'm grateful to you for your examples!

Carolina
     ...

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 (:

Cześć! Co tam!

Dear Mom,

Once upon I time, I thought Italian was a difficult language to learn. And then Zuzanna showed up. Oh my heavens to Betsy goodness gracious Polish is impossible! I spent a whole week with a headache just from listening to the Polish kids talk to each other. By the end of the week I learned how to say "Hello! How are you?" Actually I should say I learned how to spell it because it sounds nothing like it looks and my pronunciation is atrocious. It was interesting to meet the Polish kids and learn about their lives though. They speak English incredibly well, which sadly the Italians do not so I also spent the week listening to the Italian kids that were hosting them trying to muddle through conversations with their guests. It was a fun week, but quite tiring and I still don't feel ready to tackle the homework and lessons I missed at school. I did however finally get to see some snow! Our excursion to Etna was the first time I got to touch real snow in almost a year and to be honest I had missed it. I might have thrown a few snowballs, but that's just between me and you...  The weather wasn't typical Sicilian "Island of the Sun" weather and I felt bad for the Polish kids because they were hoping to escape ugly weather, but we managed to see all the things we had planned on. We also went to Taormina and I got to see the Greek Theater again. 

Speaking of homework a minute ago I really should get going so I can attempt to be prepared tomorrow, but I'll try to make up for the short letter with some pictures. They were taken with my phone so they aren't high quality, but they turned out pretty well. I'll put some better ones up when I get them off my real camera. Love you all and miss you bunches! Hope everyone is well! 

Carolina

     ...

Snow and lava!

Finally got to use my coat!

Il Teatro Grecco

This last one is mostly for Mom. My friend's party was on Saturday and I found a piano in the house, which is not a common thing in most Italian houses. I played a few songs for them, including my arrangement of "Nearer My God to Thee"

Carol's in front of a Greek temple!

From left to right: Naty (messicana), Mon (taiwanese), Carolina (americana), Inga (tedesca), e Fernanda (messicana)