What were you grateful for this week?Friends that I’ve made here. 

What was the most difficult or challenging part of this week?Saying goodbye to a friend. 

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week.I stayed and watched the kids extra time so that [my host parents] could go out to dinner with their friends before we left to Sicily.

Tell us about your week!This week was a nice break and return to a little bit of normalcy. We went back to the Rome apartment for the week since the boys were all participating in a summer camp close to their home. It was nice because I was able to have a little extra time to myself and being at the Rome apartment, the boys are a little easier to handle. 

Since the space is much smaller than being at the beach or even just at the beach house itself, it has made it much easier to watch them for this week and also has made the mellow out and calm down for a little. That could also however be due to the fact that they play sports all day long at their camp and then come home exhausted. 

Early in the week I said goodbye to L since her time with her family here was up. It was bitter sweet because we have gotten very close, but I know how excited she is to get back home! I am so grateful that I met her and that we were able to become genuine friends. She has been such a huge part of my experience here in Italy, Rome, and my whole time here really. It’s gonna be sad not living in the same city any more, but I’ve made a life long friend thanks to this!