What were you grateful for this week?Pretty sunsets and a city I’m familiar with.

What was the most difficult or challenging part of this week?Struggling with my Italian class.

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week.I took my host brother to a carnival in our local park this week. We had a blast!

Tell us about your week! This week was a bit slower than the previous ones, since I stayed local instead of traveling somewhere new. Italian class was a bit of a struggle — I’m the only person in my courses who isn’t on AT LEAST their third language, so I move at a pace that’s much slower than my classmates. But I’m learning to be patient with myself as I do something that’s difficult.

This past weekend I got to play tour guide for both M2 and K! M2 came to visit Milan on Friday, which also happened to be the feast day for Milan’s patron saint, meaning almost everyone got the day off. We headed to a famous, once-a-year market on the outskirts of the city that hosts booths from all over the world selling food, makeup, soaps, clothing, and more. We had lunch in Germany and desert in Austria, and tried cheese, meat, and bread from all over Italy. It was a delicious day (especially because we finished our time together with ramen!). On Sunday, K came to visit me, so we stopped at the Duomo, the Galleria, and wandered the Brera district together. We had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in Milan (their gnocchi is absolutely amazing), and we got to witness one of Milan’s beautiful blue and pink sunsets. My time in the city is drawing to a close, and it’s interesting to see how much of an impact this short stay has made on me. I’m not so much a different person, but I do feel like I know myself much better than I did before I came. And thanks to a beautiful 1951 print of the Lombardy region I bought this weekend, I’m not going to forget it soon!