Home is where the heart is. Where you feel comfortable sharing experiences over a warm fire and a hot cup of tea. This weekend was definitely one of my most memorable weekends. It all began on Thursday when Jordan and I received an email that the English for Pasta program was looking for students to go visit two more families. We early told Professor Batterman that we were interested in going on the Thursday’s that we were here and he told us that we would start that week. Now wait a minute, I better go back and explain what English for Pasta is. Well, it is basically a program where the Gonzaga-In-Florence students go to a family’s houses and teach the children English in exchange for dinner. Now when we arrived at the apartment we met Matilde, 15, who was the oldest daughter of the house. She was the only one there as her mom and younger sister were off at the pool and her dad was working. Then, her two family friends Biana, 19, and Lorenzo, 16, (sister and brother) came over too. It ended up just being the three of us for dinner that Matilde’s mom had previously prepared for us which was amazing homemade lasagna, pesto and bread, focaccia bread, salad, homemade apple strudel, and sweet bread. It was an incredible meal. The whole experience was great. We talked about our lives and they talked about theirs. We asked many questions and as did they. Some of the most memorable questions they asked were about Prom and homecoming – haha they thought those were the strangest but coolest things! Lorenzo also asked a question about the sauces in the United States. You see, he is very tall and good at basketball and would one day love to come to the states and play. But, he doesn’t like sauces like ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, BBQ sauce. And he is completely appalled by the idea that we put ketchup on our spaghetti and yogurt on our salads! Jordan and I cracked up when we heard this and told him that we definitely did NOT do that. But many of the Italian youngsters seem to think that the red sauce that we have on spaghetti is ketchup and that ranch dressing is yogurt. They were so entertaining and I learned so much from each of them! Their English was also surprisingly very good, which was nice because my Italian is still very rough. 
That evening I went out for Amy’s birthday with the girls and danced and had a great time. Unfortunately by the end of the night we were unable to find the secret bakery. The secret bakeries are these bakeries that make all of the sweets at like 3am and deliver them fresh to the tobacco shops and bars. Supposedly you can get fresh, hot, sweet treats for like 1 Euro which is a steal! I am determined to find one before I leave. On Friday, I slept for a long time. I was quite tired after the secret bakery search and calling Miss Hannah Banana to wish her happy birthday! But, later that day I went to the top of the Duomo for the first time and the views were incredible… which was good because I had to climb up 472 stairs to get to see that view. Needless to say, my legs were sore the next day.
On Saturday afternoon I went with Jordan to visit some friends of friends that he recently met in Vecchio which is about an hour out of Florence to stay for the night. The train ride was gorgeous and we saw a lot of the Tuscan countryside. When we arrived Mariano, who is 23 picked us up from the train station. He took us to this awesome co-op in his town where everything in the store was grown and made right there on the farm. We of course had to try home-made gelato which was the best I have ever had! Mariano got some cheese and other things for dinner. Mariano is a linguistics major at the University of Florence so he is fluent in English and a few other languages. When we arrived at Mariano’s house his mother, Ararra, greeted us with open arms and attempted to speak to us in her very broken English. Their house was way out in the country and very simple. They used a wood burning stove to heat their house and cook most of their meals especially in the winter. They just had one bathroom and a couple bedrooms. Very simple but it felt so nice to be in a house. Of course Ararra made an incredible meal filled with hot soup, baked chicken, smoked ham, fruit, and pastries. It was a very simple meal but absolutely delicious and not filled with a bunch of olive oil and fatty greases which I have been having a lot of lately --- it was totally authentic. Augusto, Mariano’s dad, joined us for dinner also. After dinner, we all enjoyed good conversation with bits of translation between Italian and English here and there, had a Bible study in John 10, and sang some beautiful hymns in Italian. I loved singing in Italian. The Italian language is so poetic and all of the words flow together so nicely. By the end of the evening I was exhausted and curled up in my nice twin sized bed piled 10 blankets high (they don’t have very much heating) and fell right asleep. The next morning we got ready for the day to head to Pisa and have Meeting (church) with the other friends in Pisa. Ararra made us breakfast which was a very interesting combination – hot milk, coffee, and cereal. Which sounds completely normal BUT they were all in the same bowl mixed together. I can definitely say I have never had that before. After breakfast we all piled into their little Fiat and Augosto drove us to the Pisa countryside. This was my first time driving in a car since being here in Italy and boy oh boy it sure was a crazy ride. Mom – I know I always tell you that you aren’t a very good driver… well after riding in the car with Augosto I take that back! Italian drivers don’t stop they swerve, they don’t use their blinkers, they hardly use seatbelts, and honk when they are going around a one-way corner to make sure the other car knows to swerve out of the way… if you’re lucky. Although the drive made me carsick, it was a great way to see a lot of Tuscany. There are so many different fortresses built up into the high hills, beautiful changing colors, and farms all around.
When arriving in Pisa we went to Herbert and Heidi’s house. They are an adorable young Irish couple with four cute children. Herbert’s brother Brian and his wife Olive and their two twin boys were there visiting from Ireland also. We also met another Italian woman whose name I can’t remember how to spell – Rosa or something and another American University student who is from Wisconsin studying abroad in Florence and her name is Lindsey and her boyfriend Luke was visiting. Needless to say, there were a lot of us filled into Herbert and Heidi’s home. We held meeting in their home and it was an unforgettable experience. Each person talking about what they have been recently studying and what God has been putting on their hearts. One thing that Herbert said that has really stuck with me is that we need and need to want to choose the things of the spirit – to be an example in silence. It was also great to hear peoples testimonies in both Italian and English and sing of course in both also. I will never forget this moment. After meeting, we all sat around the table eating brunch and laughing the whole time. Everyone was such jokesters and even though their was a language barrier we were able to just make gestures and just laugh in the silliness of the gestures. The table was filled with smiles and laughter. 
Later that afternoon we returned back to Vecchio where we went to an Italian racetrack called Mugoss. It is one of the most famous racetracks in the entire world. We watched Porsha, Lamborghini’s, and Ferrari’s race. It was awesome! I have never seen so many tricked out fast cars in my life. We also watched some personal car races, drifting, and some sort of smaller car race – to be honest I really don’t know my cars… but it was still cool. After this we returned to Mariano’s house, packed up our stuff, drank some tea, ate some biscotti, and took the 6:00 train home. Everyone we met this weekend were so giving. Marianio’s family was so giving even though they have so very little. They wouldn’t let us pay for anything and treated us so great. It was great to see how humble and god-loving they were as a family. I know that I always have a family to return to in Italy. I am so thankful to have had such an memorable experience.
I only have one month left of traveling before I head home! This weekend (November 17-19th) I am heading to Assisi for a retreat/pilgrimage which should be very peaceful. In one week I go to Ireland to visit family and have an authentic Irish experience. The week after that I will be going to an opera and go on my last weekend trip to Rome. and then I have prep week and finals. I can’t believe how fast time is flying! There is still so much to do and see. For now, I will just cherish the time I come back and yes Dad, I may just have to come back someday just to make sure that Asotin is the greatest place on Earth. Love you fam bam! Thanks for reading!!
Wrote this a few weeks ago, but forgot to post it. Will be posting all about the Assisi Retreat and the Thanksgiving-Ireland experience soon!
