Did I mention that I love Italy?

My dress is drenched with salt water. I have black sand all over my legs and am bursting with happiness. I should probably go to bed, I have a long and exciting day planned in Rome for tomorrow, but I figured I would write a blog post because I have been seriously slacking lately. That said, I am having such a wonderful time in Italy—I love not having a set schedule, I do new things and meet new people all the time. It’s exciting!

The Ocean in LaDispole with Jessenia

I have met some wonderful people lately. I spent some time with a lady that I go to church with, Mariarosa, who has been an absolute gem! She’s helping me with my Italian, and its fun to hang out with her and just do ‘normal’ things—Italian style.  I went to a birthday party the other night—needless to say, I ate more than I should have. I tried to burn off some of the extra calories by playing Wii Bowling. Pretty sure I burned off like two and a half calories, but—based on everyone’s cheering for my split, you’d think I’d just won bowling league at BYU (oh wait, I did that in real life!). Still, there is nothing like the excitement of an Italian ‘crowd.’ Besides the great people and delicious food, going to the birthday party definitely put some things in perspective for me. We were celebrating a Chinese man’s birthday—he married an Italian woman (who speaks Chinese) and moved to Italy. He doesn’t speak a lick of Italian, English or Spanish (which are the most common languages here), so pretty much the only person that he can truly communicate with is his wife. We just make up signs and point a lot, or show each other things (like pictures) to communicate. But, let’s just say, after realizing how difficult it must be for him here, I cannot imagine how I ever complained.

Oh, and randomness at its peak, I went to church last Sunday and saw the sister missionaries (whom I adore), then I realized that one was new; I didn’t notice at first because she looked so familiar. I went over to her and said, “I know you.” If she hadn’t recognized me as well, it could have been awkward, but she immediately said, “I know! We took Italian together!” We never really talked in class, which is funny, because now that we’ve gotten to know each other, I feel like I’ve known her forever. Such a small world, especially within the church. Her name is Lauren Sudweeks.

With the Sister Missionaries and Jessenia :)

Last time I saw her was in Italian class back in February at BYU,
I had NO idea she was going to be in Italy serving a mission, much less in the same town as me!

Another new friend, whom I 100% adore, is Jessenia. She actually lives in the same town as me, but she has been in England for the last two months studying at Oxford. Yesterday we went to the gym together. Twice. For two hours each time haha it reminded me of two-a-day volleyball practices in high school. It felt so good to go to an actual gym to work out though! Goodness knows I need it, but I’m telling you John Luka (one of the instructors) kicked my butt. I had this random desire to prove myself to him (hence the benefit of working out at a gym where people are watching you, as opposed to at or near home). We did a body combat (kickboxing) and bodypump (cardio-lifting) class, and ran in between. I wish I had time to do that every day, but I think I’d probably miss out on a lot of Italy if I spent all my time there. But considering how delicious all the food is here, maybe I should just stick to that between meals... Anyhow, after the gym, we quickly got ready and walked around Trevignano, which is a town just 10 minutes from Bracciano. It’s absolutely picturesque and apparently a HUGE tourist town—which explains the 4 Euro glass of green (yes, green) apple juice we drank on the dock. But, as Jessenia says, ‘No problem’—just like she said when we ran a red light and when she pulled in too quickly to a parking spot and hit the tree. Haha she cracks me up, I’m so sad that she has to go back to England for school. :/ She’ll be coming to Utah in August, so we definitely have more time to bond.

Green Apple Juice. Cost: 4 Euro. Drinking it on a beautiful doc in Italy with Jesennia: Priceless

Last night Jessenia’s mom (who isn’t a member) invited me, the sister missionaries, and a few other people from our ward over for dinner. Can you say, “yum!?” And holy heck, there was so much food! I felt bad for the sister missionaries who pretty much had to eat everything. I felt especially bad for the vegetarian sister missionary who found meat in the ‘vegetarian lasagna.’ Oops! I can’t even remember everything that was served; there was bruschetta, two types of lasagna (a meat one and a fake-vegetarian one), rice, fish, peppers with mozzarella bread, salad, cantaloupe, and probably five other dishes. Good thing I went to the gym for four hours that day! 

Two of the nicest and funniest people you will ever meet in your life!

This week I also started helping the sister missionaries teach an English class—which is SO much fun!  I really enjoy helping people with their English and its great practice for me with my Italian. Jessenia and I went to that class (she is pretty good with her English, but is still learning) on Tuesday and Thursday.

Afterwards we walked all around La Dispole and then to the ocean. The sand here is actually black, someone explained the reason to me once, but it must have been in Italian because I can’t seem to remember. Anyhow, Jessenia LOVES to take pictures, which was good for me because I’ve been slacking in that arena (along with blogging). We ended up getting in the water—which was shockingly warm—and splashed around for a half hour. I think I need to find myself an Italian man and go back to the ocean at night, my word it’s just perfect! An Italian guy I met here did ask me to go out with him, which would be funny if it ever happened because he speaks less English than I do Italian, so either we’ll have to rely on Google Translate via my cell phone or just try our luck with sign language. I guess there are other things to do besides talk. ;) (Just kidding Mom, love you!). So, Rome tomorrow and Sicily on Tuesday! La dolce vita. Amen!

"Power Rangers!" (I have no idea what I'm doing here...)

Wet, sandy, and happy :)