What were you grateful for this week?Places with so much history to celebrate!

What was the most challenging part of this week? I had to take a test in Italian.

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. Helped to make sure my host mom had a good birthday!

Tell us about your week! This week was so fun! I definitely feel like I am getting into the swing of things finally and feeling much more comfortable. I had a lot of really cool things happen but my favorite was by far the Medieval parade in Alba.

Every year the city of Alba hosts the White truffle festival in the fall. This weekend, to kick it off, there was a fair and parade. Each borough of the city had their own presentation or performance with costumes, marching band, incredible props and even live animals. Each borough had their own theme as well. There was a dragon in one, angels and demons in another several wedding parties and even a representation of the burning of a witch! At the end of the parade they ended in an arena where they competed in flag throwing, then were assigned a donkey for the donkey Palio. I went to the festival with a girl that my host mom introduced me to earlier this week. She is also an Au Pair here from the United States. It has been fun to compare our experiences and ask her questions about the area since she has been here longer than me! We became fast friends and I am excited for some of the other plans we have together. The weather here seemed to almost change over night and has been cold this week. I am excited to see the landscape begin to change colors and for autumn to be in full swing!