What were you grateful for this week?Gorgeous countrysides, amazing food, and fantastic traveling friends.

What was the most difficult or challenging part of this week?Running to catch buses and dealing with another bout of homesickness.

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. I bought my host brother a keychain with the logo of his favorite soccer team on it! (Shh, it’s a surprise!)

Tell us about your week! This week I carried on with my Italian class, and was getting pretty discouraged. I’ve been here for almost three months, and I’m not picking it up as quickly as I feel I should be. I was struggling to keep up with other classmates (who are learning Italian as their second, third, and sometimes fourth language), and I was really upset I couldn’t speak or understand as well as they could.But thanks to my weekend trip, I got a much needed confidence boost! I met up with M2 and T and spent Saturday and Sunday exploring the Piedmonte region, where Italy makes its wine. Although I didn’t indulge, we managed to hit both the Torino Chocolate Festival and the world-famous Alba Truffle Show and we spent our time together eating everything from churros to truffle butter. We wandered around the second largest Egyptian museum in the world (mummies are way creepier than I was lead to believe), stepped inside a few really beautiful churches, and saw some Salvador Dali pieces IN REAL LIFE. My twentieth century modernist heart was so happy. It was a very good weekend for eating and sightseeing all around, and I also got to practice my Italian with some people, and a few said I spoke really well, which was heartening to hear, especially for this very language-ignorant American. Despite being homesick, I’m ready to make the most of my last five weeks here!