What were you grateful for this week?
I am so grateful for so many things: for my host parents, shoutout to [my host mom]! For the kids, for my family and my friends supporting me at home! Miss them but also enjoying and soaking up every second here in Italy. I’m grateful for an air-conditioned airbnb, gelato, the ocean, the opportunity to explore the beautiful Amalfi coast, for friends to travel with, and that it felt like coming home to Rimini after being gone this weekend. 

What was the most challenging part of this week?
The most challenging part of this week was that my host parents had a family member in a terrible accident and so the schedule was a little crazy because my host parents were going back and forth from Bologna (an hour and a half away from here). The kids missed their parents but luckily I believe their family member is on the up and up and can have a good recovery I hope for him! 

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. 
Hmmm a “wow” moment I had this week was taking care of the kids for the first time alone for a long period of time. I know it was the biggest help to [my host mom] that I was able to stay and watch them that Saturday so she and her husband could visit their nephew in the Bologna hospital! She appreciated it so much and I’m glad I was here to help. 

Tell us about your week! 
Well, looking back on my week and where I am currently, every time I think about the fact that I’m LIVING in Italy my mind is honestly just blown, like I can’t believe it’s my life?? The moment that feeling really hit me was swimming in the ocean looking up at the beautiful city of Amalfi in front of me. I could seriously cry it was so gorgeous and unreal and I feel like I really did soak up every single moment of my trip this weekend. I am so good at really eating up the moment when I am traveling or something exciting is happening, but this week I want to be as good as I am at living in the moment at home with my host family as I am in a different setting. I know I’ll get the absolute most out of my time here if I do that. Well to start my week, it was my first week here! I got to Rimini Monday in the late afternoon and got all settled in. Then my host family had another family over and dinner was a party for me! We finished cleaning up dinner after 2 in the morning and I’m just like okay this is how we do it in Italy I guess! The next day we biked to the beach! I played with the kids, just chilled, and ate lunch with my host fam. The next few days were a little crazy with my host parents going to Bologna during the day to be with their nephew who was in a terrible terrible accident and ended up having to have surgery. So sad! But as I write this today I know the surgery went well!

This weekend was a crazy and absolutely amazing one. My host dad was so nice and scootered me to Rimini Centrale where I took a train to Bologna. When I got there I thought I was only going to have like 10 minutes to make my connection, but turns out my train was delayed 75 minutes ugh!!! But honestly I didn’t mind too much because then I wasn’t rushed. Something I do really well is appreciating the journey too. Of course the final destination is always the best but I’m ALL about making the journey fun too. I met this guy who was on my train from to Naples and we became friends! He’s like a barber with a cool Instagram and he asked me if he could take a video of me since I lived “near” California to send to his friends that he was going to California with haha. I gave him recommendations for what to do in San Fran and Vegas! My train stopped for like 20 minutes too on the track on the way to Naples so I got there at like 1 am and then had to taxi to my airbnb that I shared with Alexis! Our Airbnb was sooo cool! This giant old house with AC in the room heck ya! I took the longest shower so I got to bed about 4 am and then me and Alexis woke up around 8:30 and ate breakfast that our cute Airbnb host made for us! Then we went to Castellemare to meet up with Sage and Shalee. We all took a train to Sorrento together, then got on a bus that took us to Positano! Yes the bus was crowded and I was sweating bullets, but I ate up every second of that drive with the view. It. Was. Beautiful. One of the most beautiful places on earth to me. Positano was my favorite!! We walked through the town, got some food and gelato of course!, took a thousand pictures, and just enjoyed everything around us. I could have walked through Positano for days! Then we took the bus to Amalfi! Also the most BEAUTIFUL bus ride. I seriously loved just looking at the ocean, boats, and fancy hotels and cars along the cliff. Amalfi was unreal as well. We got gelato again duh. They had this ferrero-rocher flavor that was to DIE for. Then we swam!!!!! My favorite experience I have had in Italy yet. I have never been surrounded by such a picture perfect scene. Swimming in the cool ocean (my favorite) with the sun shining down at sunset, cliffs and pink buildings above me, as well as pine trees AND palm trees. The water and my heart was glittering! I am being so cheesy but it was seriously one of my favorite moments of my whole life! I will remember it for ever. Mental. Picture. Or video haha. I am writing this while I relax in my bed back in Rimini, grateful for my trip and grateful to be back. Can’t wait to see what next week brings and in the words of my girl Miley, “life’s a climb, but the view is great”. Ciao mwah!