What were you grateful for this week? 

I ran into a girl I knew from Canada this week while at church. It was awesome to be able to catch up randomly with a friend.

What was the most challenging part of this week?Boredom. I have a lot more free time than I expected, so trying to fill my time.

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. I bought a notebook for [my host family’s daughter] so she could write down words she doesn’t know in italian and I can write down the english word.

Tell us about your week!The weather this week has been pretty rainy so I have stayed inside a lot more than usual. I bought a book and have been reading, which has been nice since it has been so long since I have had time to read a novel. I did some more exploring and went to Bracciano for a day trip on Saturday. It was so pretty and the lake was beautiful. If the weather was warmer I would have loved to have gone for a swim. The castle there was really cool and interesting. Learned about Isabella de Medici’s “red room”.

I asked my host dad about the Medici family since I learned a little about them in art history, which then lead to a conversation about WWII. It was interesting to get a take on the war from an Italian perspective. 

I went out Friday night, which was fun to go out at night and see all the musicians come out. I have also been working on talking to people more while I am out. I usually keep to myself but I need more interaction with people since I don’t really know people here. So I have been able to meet people from all over since I started initiating conversations with people, it’s been really cool. And like I said, I got to see a friend at church, which was one of the highlights of my week.