Bbrrr.....

Hey and welcome everyone!  Just wanted to post a quick update to fill you guys in on the end of last week and my weekend, along with some other things!

The girls ended up staying home all week last week because they both were a bit sick.  So, it was no gym for me and I had to put on my thinking cap to come up with lots of activites for us to do inside all day!  By the end of the week I think the three of us were dying to get out of the house after being cooped up all week.  Friday night Rosa taught me to make pizza from scratch.  I have made pizza before at home, but only with pre-mixed dough.  Now I know how to make the real stuff, and will definitely be cooking some up in the kitchen when I come home!  Saturday the family went out for the day and I had plans to do some touristy sight-seeing stuff around Naples.  The main thing I wanted to go see was San Gregorio Armeno...a street in the historic center of Naples that features the work of local craftsmen.  This street is extremely popular during Christmas time because of the traditional nativity scenes and figures.  I had seen pictures of San Gregorio Armeno online but nothing compared to seeing it in person!  I can't believe I forgot my camera, but will definitely be going back again.  The whole street was packed with tourists and shop after shop of handymen and crasftmen building these amazing nativy scenes and characters.  All of the shops also had all of their holiday decorations out, Pulcinella figures, and more!  One of the shops even had little statuettes of famous figures like Michael Jakckson, Obama, and George Clooney & Elisabetta Canalis!  Here is a great website that tells more about San Gregorio Armeno: Click here!  Sunday was usual, had a big lunch and relaxed around the house all day.  The weather has been terribly cold with terrential downpours the last couple of days, so we all just wanted to stay inside!  Luckily Saturday was sunny when I went out, but it was still freezing!  This is my first winter in Italy and it's not even really winter yet...I can only imagine how January and February will be!

In other news...I have a huge announcement to make that only a few people know about!  I have been thinking a lot about what I'm going to do in May when my year contract is over, as well as what I'm going to do in the future with the degree I have in Psychology.  I guess you could call it a bit of a quarter-life crisis...I was so stressed out!  After a lot of deep thinking, soul searching, and talking with my family, I have finally come up with a plan.  I have decided to return home in May, and re-enroll at UNCW to obtain my teaching licensure.  I have always wanted to be a teacher but it was something I strayed away from because I don't think they make enough money.  I originally decided to get into Psychology because I thought I could still work with kids and make more money.  But, my heart really isn't in Psychology.  I have now realized that it is more important to me to love what I do and be happy to go to work everyday than to do something I don't enjoy just to make more money.  So I've decided to become a teacher.  I need to take classes all summer and pass the Praxis I, and then hopefully I will enter the Watson School of Education at UNCW in the fall.  The program is 2 years long, so if I'm done in May 2012, hopefully I can begin teaching in the fall of 2012!  I am very excited and feel so relieved that I'm following my calling to be a teacher.  I have always loved working with children and the thought of having my own classroom gets me very excited.  I've been researching grade curriculums and I think I would really like to teach 2nd grade.  In addition, looking towards the future, you really can't beat the schedule of a school teacher has.  Summers off, holidays off...when I have kids, we'll have the same schedule...snow days, hurricane days, teacher work days...how can you beat it!  I'm extremely excited and relieved to finally have a plan for a career, and I am anxious to see how everything pans out.

I would also like to say that after reading over a few of my previous posts, I really sound like I hate my life here!  I don't want to come across that way AT ALL!  I hope you all don't think I'm some homesick whining ungrateful little girl.  I am so grateful for this experience and trust me, I am having the time of my life.  Yes it is challenging but the good times outweigh the bad times by FAR.  Something as simple as walking around the historic center of Naples on a sunny day and mingling with the locals, like I did Saturday, can put the hugest smile on my face.  When Chiara wakes up in the middle of the night calling out for me (yes, instead of her mom), it makes my heart skip a beat.  When Vittoria runs up to me and nuzzles her face in my neck, it almost brings a tear to my eye.  Hearing the girls speak more and more English everyday and saying 'Elisabetta, I love you!' makes me so proud.  I love these girls with all of my heart.  They are my whole entire world right now.  And I'm proud to say that I also love Naples, and that anyone who comes here and only complains about the trash is blind!  This is such an amazing city, rich in culture and art and history and food.  I got a little choked up when me and Rosa began talking about a good date for me to leave in May.  I know it's early but she needs to begin searching for a girl to replace me...I remember I started talking to her about this time last year.  It's very bittersweet.

Anyways, without rambling too much, I hope you all are enjoying my posts!  I know I can ramble a little bit but I tend to write how I speak, and you all know I could talk all day.  11 days until my weekend in Liverpool and 29 days until my week in North Carolina, and the holidays are coming up!  So hopefully I will have some pretty interesting posts soon!  Tanti baci per tutti!  Arrivederci!