Past couple of weeks!

Just wanted to fill you guys in on the past couple of weeks and what I've been up to!

Last Saturday, September 12th, I woke up super early and got on a train heading towards Pompei. I spent the entire day exploring the ruins with the help of my little guide book. It was so interesting! I'm not a big history person but who could NOT get chills just walking through that city, frozen in time, with Mt. Vesuvius looming in the background!? It was a great adventure but it completely wore me out. Afterwards I had lunch before getting on the train back to Naples and had a great conversation with my server. He was Ukrainian but from Chicago, now lives in Naples and works at a restaurant in Pompei, and is going to the Ukraine in a couple of weeks for university. He was able to speak English, Italian, Ukraine, and Russian. How crazy is that!?

That evening I met up with my friend Lucia for coffee. Lucia is a girl I met through Rosa while on vacation in Gaeta. She is my age and is studying law at the university in Naples. She is such a sweetheart and speaks perfect English and I am so glad to now have a friend like her!

September 14th was Chiara's first day of school. Vittoria had already been going to school for a couple of weeks, but now we are getting settled into a schedule with both of them going. They both start at different times and need to get picked up at different times and for right now only Vittoria is eating lunch at school but eventually they will both stay longer and both eat lunch at school. Anyways, it has been really nice having the mornings to myself. I've been able to take my time with my morning workout and not feel so rushed, I can get a little shopping done, and I've been taking on projects around the house. One day I organized the girls' closet, another day I organized their dresser. Now I am slowly weeding through all of their toys...I've already thrown away a few bag fulls of pure junk - scraps of paper, broken bits, etc. Rosa said we can go to Ikea and buy some nice storage bins or an organizing unit. I love doing stuff like this!

This past Sunday, the 20th, I met up with Lucia and two of her girlfriends. These girls were super nice as well, and one of them spoke absolutely flawless English. When she would talk, she didn't struggle at all and honestly sounded like a native-English speaker. She knew all the abbreviations, idioms, everything. That is my GOAL with the Italian language!

On Monday, Chiara and Vittoria went to the pool for their 'proofing' session - to see if they would be able to take swimming classes. Chiara did a great job but Vittoria cried a lot and needed a lot of hand-holding; at 2 1/2 years old I think she is a bit too young. So the next day, Tuesday, we went back to the pool for Chiara's first lesson and so that Vittoria could proof again. They are so cute together in the pool, and one of their teachers, Giuseppe, is easy on the eyes so I don't mind sitting there for an hour ;) See video below!

Tuesday was also my 4-month mark of being in Italy! I feel like I have been here so much longer, maybe because I have been experiencing so much it doesn't seem possible that it all could have fit into 4 months! Either way, time is flying, so I'm making sure to 'stop and smell the roses' because I'm sure that before I know it, my year in Naples will be over. I can't even begin to imagine!

Today was my onomastico, which means 'name day'. There's really no translation or equivalent for it in English, but basically it means that if you share your name with a saint, then on the day of that saint, you have a little celebration, kind of like a mini-birthday. Today is the day of Santa Elisabetta, so, it's my onomastico. We celebrated with a yummy cake after dinner :)

And last but not least, my parents will be here in 11 days! I could not be more ecstatic! This is the longest I've ever gone without seeing my parents and I am craving a big bear hug from both of them! On top of that, I'm excited to share my love and enthusiasm for Italy with them!