Hey look, I've been in Italy for two weeks already! Where does the time go... certainly not towards blogging...
Things are going quite well. I have a really kind and welcoming host family- parents Gianni and Cristina, with kids Marco (11), Lorenzo (more often called Nenno, 9) and Luca (4). Cristina's parents live next door, but there are still another eight family members: three dogs and five cats. Russell is some sort of Finnish bear dog (related to the husky) and is huge, but really a teddy bear. Kira is quite old and can't hear, and Jack is a new Jack Russell (get why they named him Jack?? :) puppy who likes to lick toes and play soccer with us. Pirata is aplty named since he's a one-eyed kitty, Gaspare dislikes all the other pets, Simba likes to sleep on the fish tank, Romeo technically lives next door but comes here to eat, and Dodo is the oldest and looks kind of like a lion.
Marco definitely acts like the eldest, and is the most calm and sensible of the three. He likes card games, and I've taught him a couple - including Dutch Blitz! Yay! Nenno is pretty funny, and, with his broken english and third person tendencies, talks like Tarzan ("Nenno happy!" for instance). He has yet to learn to be a good loser, so when he plays cards he gets VERY frustrated if he doesn't win (or at least does poorly). Luca is the king of the pity party, and can burst into tears at the drop of a hat. He always wants to play Wii, but if he doesn't win he gets very upset and sometimes even runs from the room. I've told him (and had translated through his brothers and mom) that I won't play with him as long as he has a bad attitude, and it actually seems to help.
Although Gianni, Marco, and Nenno all know minimal amounts of English, it really isn't enough to actually talk to one another. Cristina has to act as my translator, although Gianni can understand a good amount of what I say. Luca, on the other hand, knows only the few words of English I've taught him in the last few weeks like "star" and "flower" (courtesy of Nintendo games).
These boys LOVE their video games, from Wii to DS, and I have to say it's a bit of a relief. After two families where the kids were only allowed five minutes at the end of each day to watch a cartoon, it's nice to be in a house where electronics are considered the anti-Christ. Playing Wii has actually acted as a really good medium for me to get to know the kids. They talk to me in Italian and I talk to them in English, but we're somehow able to communicate anyway. It really is impressive how much one can communicate without words.
Another effect communication tool? Body language via throwing pillows. Luca threw a pillow at me on the first day, and it developed into what is now known as "Battle of the Pillows" which basically involves the three boys hurling pillows at me, and me chucking them back. It was a good game to play with them right off the bat because it let them know that I was there to have fun with them.
Lets see, what else... well, I've been to the beach at least four times already. The sea isn't too cold to swim in, but it's taken a little getting used to with the salt water. I've gone twice alone with Nenno and Marco, and they like to jump in the waves (which were HUGE today) and then roll around in the sand.
Ah, one last thing - I got some sort of weird 48 hour bug last week which involved cold shivers, high fever, and a headache. Not exactly fun, but hopefully that will fill my sick quota for a while.
Well, I can't think of anything more to say... so I'm gonna go to bed.
Ciao!
~Julia~
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