What were you grateful for this week?This week I was grateful for new friends.

What was the most difficult or challenging part of this week? The most challenging part of the week was having to force myself to go out sometimes instead of just sitting at home all day. 

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week.A wow moment I had this week was letting the kids try some of my American candy. They loved the sour watermelons and ask for some every day. 

Tell us about your week! This week was full of learning things about myself, and Italy, and life. At the beginning of the week all I wanted to do was sleep in and stay at the house, but there was finally nice weather so I knew I needed to do something. I ended up getting out of the house and going in to town multiple times and it was so much fun in the end. Lucca is an entirely different experience when it’s sunny out instead of pouring rain. 

On Saturday night I was able to meet up with someone my host family knew who is just a couple years older than me. He showed me the best ice cream in town and introduced me to some of his friends as well. 

The next morning I went to Pisa and while I was there I met an American family who had been living in Italy. They invited me over for dinner and even took me to the beach. It was too cold to swim but I love the sea so even being on the beach was an amazing bonus for my week. It was my first time seeing the Mediterranean Sea and it was absolutely beautiful. 

In the last few days the one year old finally seemed to get used to me and has become so much fun to watch. This week was full of ups and downs but in the end it was really good for me.