Buonasera, miei amici!
Today is my second day in Viterbo! I still can't believe that I made it here! I am so happy- I thought (and had been told time and time again) that it would be a very difficult transition, but I haven't found anything to be worried about... except my Italian!
My family is wonderful; my two sisters are very talkative and seem to like me. My dad is pretty quiet, but when he does talk, he is nice and very funny. My mom speaks English very well, and my little sister Benedetta is also learning English. With their help, I understand most of what goes on around me. The grandmother (la nonna) is staying with us for the holiday (Festa di Santa Rosa, a festival which celebrates the statue of the town's patron saint), so we have six people staying in a space meant for four! Still, she is great at explaining, in Italian, lots of idioms and phrases that I don't understand right away. My whole family is working in sieme to help me learn the language. I think my Italian will improve quickly because of them.
Tonight, I took my first tour of the town. It's pretty small, but it has a surprising number of kids my age and lots of shops (many of which appear to specialize in shoes! hooray!) all along the cobblestone streets. There are several squares and I am sure that I will be exploring those more later.
People say that Italian dinners take a long time, and this is true. What they don't tell you is that a "snack" can take up to an hour to have and then discuss! I am enjoying every minute of it, though.
I hope everything is well at home and that summer is coming to a fabulous end.
Arrivederci for now!
-Eleonora
Today is my second day in Viterbo! I still can't believe that I made it here! I am so happy- I thought (and had been told time and time again) that it would be a very difficult transition, but I haven't found anything to be worried about... except my Italian!
My family is wonderful; my two sisters are very talkative and seem to like me. My dad is pretty quiet, but when he does talk, he is nice and very funny. My mom speaks English very well, and my little sister Benedetta is also learning English. With their help, I understand most of what goes on around me. The grandmother (la nonna) is staying with us for the holiday (Festa di Santa Rosa, a festival which celebrates the statue of the town's patron saint), so we have six people staying in a space meant for four! Still, she is great at explaining, in Italian, lots of idioms and phrases that I don't understand right away. My whole family is working in sieme to help me learn the language. I think my Italian will improve quickly because of them.
Tonight, I took my first tour of the town. It's pretty small, but it has a surprising number of kids my age and lots of shops (many of which appear to specialize in shoes! hooray!) all along the cobblestone streets. There are several squares and I am sure that I will be exploring those more later.
People say that Italian dinners take a long time, and this is true. What they don't tell you is that a "snack" can take up to an hour to have and then discuss! I am enjoying every minute of it, though.
I hope everything is well at home and that summer is coming to a fabulous end.
Arrivederci for now!
-Eleonora
Eleanor, Thank you for this post. It is so nice to read what you have written. Look forward to talking to you soon. Love, Dad
ReplyDeleteHi Eleanor! Sounds like a soft landing!!! I'm glad your family is so welcoming and speaking some English. We are all fine here - gearing up for serial moving - Linda moves to Yakima next week; Emily and I resume occupancy of Ft Minor (the southernmost outpost of the Moonrise Clan) to begin Morningside. Emily and I will move in December to Yakima. We found a great house and are in negotiations to purchase. I will be working remotely 3 days a week from Seattle for the next few months while my replacement is secured. Given all this whirlwind, I'm glad to have had some peace in "the meadow". Lots of love, Auntie Leigh
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