What were you grateful for this week?

The hospitality of my host family!

What was the most challenging part of this week?
Understanding the transportation system. The trains were easy to figure out but the busses are a little challenging. 

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week.
I brought my family Disney Cars Monopoly as my welcome gift to them & my child loved it! The second I gave it to him he opened it right away and invited myself and his friends down the street to play with him. I was so happy to see that he loved the present I got him. 

Tell us about your week! 
I landed in Pisa around 10 PM on Thursday night. I was really tired after almost a full day of flying but my host family took me out to dinner and showed me around the sites such as the Leaning Tower. We then drove about 45 minutes to their beach house in Castgneto Carducci. The area is so cute with rolling hills, flowers, and a beautiful beach. 

 

On Friday, J and I met up again in Pisa because we wanted to see more of the town. J arrived an hour later than me so while I was waiting for her I rented a city bike and biked around Pisa. This definitely was my favorite part of the weekend! I biked around the river and in between the city buildings, I felt like I was in a movie! Everything here looks so surreal it’s hard to believe that I am actually in Italy. 

 

On Saturday I took the train to J’s town, Livorno. We walked around the city center and did some shopping. I also had my first gelato and it definitely lived up to the hype! I headed back to home around 7 to have dinner with my family and they surprised me with my favorite bottle of wine! They are so kind and thoughtful I’m excited to live with them for the next few weeks.

 

My host parents then took me to Castgneto Carducci, a little medieval town 20 minutes north of the beach, and we walked around a little bit. I loved how historic and small the city was! I’m very excited to do some exploring on my own within the next week.