Pasta Carbonara

Sunday night, I made dinner for Andrea and I at his house and I was very proud of myself. The day before Manuela had taught me a typical Italian dish, pasta carbonara (with eggs and bacon) so I decided to try to make it myself. It tasted exactly the same as hers did and was even really easy to make. It was very nice. I made a great dinner and we had some Mionetto Prosecco (sparkling wine specialized in this region) to go along with it. I felt like a real adult. :)

6 Months

So, yesterday was my six month mark of when I first arrived in Italy. It is a little crazy to think about where I was six months ago and how far I have come now. It feels like I have been here a lot longer, just when I think about how much I have already been through.

When I first arrived, I was scared out of my mind, spoke no italian other than Ciao and grazie, arriving in Calabria to the extreme heat, and four spoiled kids. Now I am happier than I have ever been in my life, extremely confident, and able to carry and understand a good amount of full conversations in Italian. My parents are coming next week to finally get a feel of what my life is like here, and that's just it, it really does feel like a part of my life now. I feel like this is a second home for me and it no longer feels like a vacation anymore.

I am so happy I made the decision to come here and that I decided to stay after a rough beginning because today starts the second half of my year in Italy and I can't wait to see what that will bring me! :)

Happy Valentine's Day

Even though it is very commercial, this is one of my favorite holidays. Mostly because I am a hopeless romantic at heart and love everything having to do with love: hearts, red, pink, etc. Anyway, of course in America it is only a good holiday if you have someone to share it with because otherwise all of the commercialism is shoved in your face. As with everything else, things are a little bit different over here in Italy. First of all, Hallmark (or any other greeting card company) doesn't exist so that eliminates a lot of the hype surrounding the holiday. Otherwise there are some stores with decorations and you can find a few heart shaped things in places like the toy store, but to be honest, I miss American Valentines Day and consumerism a little bit because I enjoy seeing it around.... but I am excited to spend the day with Andrea, and it is one of the first times I have had a boyfriend on Valentines Day so I am happy. :)

..and I miss these little sweethearts...

For the history of Valentines Day, if you are interested, click here

I hope everybody has a wonderful day!

Jesolo

It has been very nice weather here lately, warm and sunny. Thursday was almost like late spring: sunny and about 60 degrees. So on Sunday Andrea and I decided to take a drive down to the beach. It was a little colder than it was on Thursday but still really nice, and it was really nice to be at the beach and just walk around and relax. It ended up being the day of the Carnival in Jesolo so that was pretty cool too. We actually ran into Andrea's parents there too, which was pretty crazy. It was a great day, and we decided to try to travel somewhere every Sunday because it always turns out to be a nice day and then we can see as much as possible. We also want to try to get to Austria, London, Paris, and Turin (to see a Juventus, Andrea's favorite team, soccer match) at some point in the next few months as well. I need to travel as much as possible while still living in Europe.

Also, my parents have confirmed their (second) trip. They are arriving on February 29th and staying for about a week so I am really excited. Just two more weeks to wait now!

Venice Carnival

Andrea and I went into Venice on Sunday for the Carnival and we had a really good time. We drove into Venice, where we got on a boat, had breakfast and some drinks until we arrived in Murano, the island of the glass blowing. I had been there before but Andrea hadn't (yes he is the Venetian), so we watched the demonstration which is just so amazing.

Then we got back on the boat and had lunch (there were tables and everything and we sat with a few Americans, which was cool- there were 81 of them and it was very weird being around that many Americans at once). After lunch we got off the boat in Venice and had some time to walk around, so we walked around San Marco, looking at all the cool costumes (we had our own complimentary costumes, as seen in the picture of me- the wind wasnt quite working with me!)

Then we got back on the boat and headed home. It was a very long day but it was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed myself. We even got our faces painted for Carnival by a woman on the boat (I have to try to find a clear picture of my face painted).

Then we came home and had pizza. All together, a very cool day spent in Italy! :)

On another note, my parents trip out here (which was supposed to start tomorrow) has now been postponed due to some family issues. Everything is ok but they just have some things to take care of and can't make it out here right now. I am really sad and upset because I have been counting down the days since I got back from America, but really it's better. This way it will be a little warmer when they come (hopefully next month) and it will be last time afterwards that I have to go without seeing them. Also, if they came now they probably would have been distracted and this way they have time to sort everything out. So I am sad but I know they will still be coming, I just have to wait a little longer. :(