What were you grateful for this week?This week I was grateful for people being able to speak English. 

What was the most difficult or challenging part of this week? The most challenging part of my week was finding ways to get out and explore even though it was rainy.

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week.A wow moment I had this week was when some family friends of my host family came to dinner and brought their kids with them. I stayed in the other room and played with the kids so my host parents could enjoy their time without worrying about them.

Tell us about your week! This week was very rainy, so it was difficult to get out and see Italy. However, I did go to Lucca a couple of times and really tried to get to know the city. Lucca had an incredible history and I’ve been able to learn so much about it. 

On Saturday I spent most of the day walking the streets of Lucca and looking around cute shops. I even went to an adorable Italian bakery for lunch and it was so much fun! The churches and buildings inside the city walls are so extraordinary and it was great to see so much beautiful architecture. 

Later that evening I met up with my host family and they showed me some ancient Roman buildings that are still used as housing to this day. I’ve met quite a few friends of my host family here this week and it’s been great because some of them speak English. 

The boys have been learning English very well too! The four year old always likes to show off to his friends and point out things that he can say in English. Even though the one year old can’t speak yet, he’ll sometimes repeat English words after I say them to him. We joke that he’ll learn English before his older brother does. My time here has been so great! I can’t believe it’s already been over two weeks!