What were you grateful for this week?

I am grateful for the family I have here! They are super welcoming and helpful. I enjoy being around them a lot!

What was the most challenging part of this week?On my way home from Milan my phone died so I didn’t have access to google maps, and did not know my way back from the train station! I ended up walking around for a few hours and then spoke into a shop owners phone for google translate and he wrote me a map on a napkin and I followed it home ????

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. I spent my Friday night with my host family and we went to their nieces birthday dinner! It was super nice to spend the extra time and meet more of their family. It was nice to experience the culture over some of the touristy things. 

Tell us about your week! This was my first week. I worked really hard on transitioning to the time zone and after a couple days it was not too bad! I like the town that I am in. It is called Gallarate, and it is super green. The parks are nice and downtown is only a 10 minute walk. 

My family is super welcoming. The kids are fun to be around and help me learn a little Italian. I like being able to experience how it would be to live and grow up in Italy. It is a different experience, rather than just visiting. The kids love basketball And NBA so it’s fun to watch and talk sports with them! 

I love how inexpensive it is to travel on the train and visit new places! I spent my Saturday in Milan and it was beautiful. I saw Duomo and walked through a couple parks. I definitely want to visit the art museums here! Italy feels relatively safe and I feel comfortable walking around and exploring alone, which is nice. I’ve been working some Italian phrases to get by a little better but in the larger cities most people speak English! I am excited to travel a little more around Italy and visit the sea and countryside. I learned to keep a portable charger on me so I always have access to google maps! It’s a lifesaver!