It’s the holiday season…

Ciao Again!

Once again, time is absolutely flying! Less than 3 weeks till school is over… good thing I’m staying till January or I’d be starting to panic at this point!

So I missed my favorite holiday ever at home, Thanksgiving! Though the Italians don’t celebrate it, I definitely saw students flocking to the supermarket buying potatoes, bread, pie crust, and any type of poultry they could get their hands on. Though I wasn’t with family, we’ve made our own little family here in Florence. My friends and I planned a potluck dinner, which left us (well, them) eating leftover mashed potatoes for days. Chicken passed for the turkey and for the first time ever, my plate wasn’t covered in gravy, which almost gave me a heart attack since I consider gravy to be its own essential food group in my diet! Regardless, couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my Thanksgiving here in Florence.

Now that Thanksgiving was over, there was one looming question in my mind: where on earth was I going to spend Christmas?! The lights are going up over the twisting cobblestone streets and I have no plans! I had made plans to spend some time with my family who live in Puglia in the south of Italy, but had not heard mention of it since. The pressure was on and I finally mustered up the courage to call my grandfather and ask for their phone number. As I dialed the number, my heart raced and all I could think was that I had forgotten every word of Italian I had ever learned. The second I heard the cheerful voice of my second cousin on the other end, however, all of my worries went away. We had a great conversation and it wasn’t until about halfway through that she realized I was still learning Italian (number one goal of tricking an Italian into thinking that I can speak fluently: CHECK! I guess I’m on my way!) Needless to say, I will be arriving there a few days before Christmas and I could not be more excited to spend this holiday season getting to know my family here in Italy.

Well, that’s all for now – I’m leaving for Switzerland in an hour! I’ll be spending my weekend skiing the Swiss Alps, paragliding over the Thun and Breinz lakes, and taking in the amazing views around me! Sorry for the lack of pictures, I promise I’ll edit them in soon, but until then, Ciao!

Michelle