My New Home

Today I went to the other house I will be nannying at (sister of family). We drove up winding roads until  colorful houses, built into the cliffs, came into view. Their artistic house is white with green shutters and has the most beautiful view of the entire city! The roof is made of giant domes that Fasano, Italy is known for. The house isn't huge but their property is filled with gardens, seating areas, and a tree farm.

The two children are Carlo's cousins (ages 7 and 9). They are two of the happiest children I have ever met. The patience they have with communicating English to me is so exciting. I constantly am learning from them while they do the same with me. I have am now aware of how much Italian families hug and kiss. After two days of knowing these children, they are already kissing me on the cheek!

The food has been amazing, and I am finally starting to adjust to Italy time. The family works constantly to make sure that I am happy and comfortable here which is so awesome! The weather has been to my liking...around 70 degrees and sunny (getting chilly at night). My family says the hot weather will kick in very soon. I started to take pictures today, but my internet is too slow to load them. I should be getting some up quite shortly!

Funny Fact- Before lunch I was washing my hands and grabbed a towel in the bathroom to dry them. Shortly after, I realized it was the towel for their bidet! Yuck.

Dinner

Tonight the family took me for some "real Italian pizza". It is a margaritta pizza with buffalo mozzarella on top of crust that takes all day to prepare! We sat outside on a beautiful night while they spoke in Italian and I made out 1/100 of the words. I laughed to myself because it was the perfect italian scene, but Bob Marley was jamming on the speakers of the restaraunt. English music is playing in every store and building I go into, so atleast I hear some of my native language through out the day! I am off to bed because I am going to church with them in the morning.

I forgot to mention that after dinner we went to the town square and got gelato! I had coffee and black chocolate. It was so yummy!
Buonanotte!

First Real Day

I got to Bari yesterday after the longest trip I have ever taken. I was up for over 24 hours and then had to act chipper around the new family. The flights all went smoothly, and I only felt rushed in Munich, Germany. My apartment is nice. I have a bigger closet here then I do at school and I have my own bathroom! My roommate is a sweetheart and speaks some English which is very helpful. She said she will work on teaching me some Italian, so I am quite excited about that. The family lives above their company in an apartment next to the grandparents. We eat all our meals as one big family. The food has been spectacular. I do not think I will be able to eat mozzarella at home ever again. They eat pasta every day for lunch, with a lot of bread. I will probably come back weighing 200 pounds!

We drove around their city for a little yesterday, and it was really interesting. The roads are all narrow, with people driving crazy everywhere you look. In J uly, the family moves to their house on the sea. It is only 10 minutes away and the city is so neat. It has one of the first golf courses ever to be made in Italy, so there is a lot of tourism in the summer. The houses are all white and open to the outside. In the bay, there are dozens of colorful boats that you would see in the Greek Islands. 

The kids are adorable. Carlos is 3 years old, with curly brown hair. He is always screaming in Italian which I found quite cute! I have spent most of my time with him so far because the other two children are in school till June. Maria is the oldest and speaks better english then most of her family. It is her confirmation tomorrow so we are having a little party. The grandparents do not speak English at all, but their papa is still my favorite person here. He is always smiling and kissing Carlos. He also tries to have conversations with me which is really interesting. 

Today we went shopping in a town over called Monopoly. The fashion here is amazing! I dont want to go back there, because I could buy everything. And the shoes...they are everywhere you look, beautiful and expensive. I feel like people are always looking at my feet now! 

I have not taken out my camera yet. I figured I have 3 months time to be snapping shots and I want to take everything in first. There is something slightly lonely about not being able to speak to 99 percent of the people around you, but it is motivation to learn some italiano. Carlos should be waking up from his nap soon so this rushed blog is coming to a close. I hope everyone is doing great. I will be thinking of all of you!

Ciao Ciao!