Saturday, April 12, 2014

Tutti Famiglia & Buon Compleanno (too-Tee – f-am-eel-ya -- & -- Boo-on – co-om-plea-an-no) – All the Family & Happy Birthday

            ….ok so this is actually 2 blogs in one….I have been a day behind today on posting blogs so I am just going to write about two days at once today…..so this weekend has just entirely been a weekend with my family, and the more time that I spend with them and all of the extended family too, all I can think is how much I love them and how much I am going to completely miss them just like I miss my siblings and mom and dad back home now….
            …yesterday morning I got up early (well early for a Friday, since that is my weekend) and went with Ely to watch Giacomo swim…his school goes to basically swimming lessons every Friday morning, so instead of bringing him to school and then he go with them, we just took him straight there and then were able to watch him swim a bit, which was really fun….and then after, when he went to school with the rest of his class, Ely and I walked to Paula’s house about a block away, and had lunch…..
            ….lunch at Paula’s was absolutely lovely….she brought us drinks and then some beautiful antipasti….and then we went into the table and had a primo of gnocchini in red sauce, then secondo of roasted chicken and potatoes, and let me tell you, that was soooo good I wanted to just keep eating forever!!!! Gah it was some of the best comfort food ive had in a while!....and then we had a dolce of strawberries and gelato….mmmm delish!....
            …after lunch we headed back home, for Ely to work on some preparations for Giacomino’s party today and I took a nap…I think that I am allergic to something that is blooming here that doesn’t in the states because I have the symptoms here, so Ely took me to the Pharmacist here and they gave me something to try but I think it makes me very tired….because I came home and took a 3 hour nap J….but it felt so so good….
            …after my nap it was time for this “big sister” to do her part for the party….so I made a full batch of good ol’ Renaldo American Chocolate Chip Cookies…..came out fantastically too!.....its so cool to not only be asked to do something special for his party, but also to be able to marry my American family and my Italian family together J…..I am very lucky J
            …as soon as I was finished it was off to Louisa’s house for an early supper…I love eating over there, and completely love them as well….it was very cool to be able to go back, now a few months after eating there the 2nd week in Italy…..so cool to feel how much closer I am to my family, how much more I can speak and understand in Italian, and the comfort that has come as I have settled in with them….I can feel it in the jokes that Simone and I poke at each other, and the defense that Momma Ely always has for me against him….I am so so lucky and will definently miss them terribly…..but dinner was really good, we had crepes….it was cool, there was a giant serving bowl of batter and then a hot plate of sorts that had 6 places for crepes, so everyone each had there own to make theirs and add what they wanted from the plates of prosciutto, spek, cheeses, salads, and a few other things….it was so much fun to just keep making and eating….and then after we cleared all of that and put on Nutella, almond butter and gelato to make sweet crepes for dessert J…..and of course finished the meal with Eduardo’s Limoncello, the absolute best  ever!!! J….it was a fantastic day of reminders of how blessed I have been for the past 3 months….
            ….so that was last night….basically when we returned home, we all were exhausted and went to bed….this morning Ely was up early prepping for the party, I slept in a little bit (a whole hour! Haha)….woke up, and went for a run….well more a jog then a walk, stupid shin splints….I really actually want to run here! But I literally get shin splints whenever I try, so bad today I was upset at how far I let myself run because I had to walk home so far in pain….if anyone has any tips for how to heal them faster, or ya know, NOT get them in the first place, Id love you forever!.....but anyways I went a different way on the path today than I normally did, and I FOUND A MEADOW!!! Ok I know that doesn’t sound really that exciting oh but it was!!...it was literally one right out of Anne of Green Gables….i want to go study there, and nap there, and maybe shoot a life in italy slidshow/montage there J…..loved it and it was gorgeous so that made me happy….



            …then it was home to shower, do some homework, get ready for the party and off we went….it was really well done too….it was at this place where we were able to have the party out on this terrace thing, but there were some doors into a playroom (like the place was called Buddies, I think it is a daycare/preschool thingy) so the kids could play there or outside and there were tons of toys for them to play with, and we also had access to the kitchen and fridge….also they hired 2 people, who must do this kind of thing, because they literally were just there for the kids….while we were setting up, they painted Giacomino like Hulk (Hulk/Spiderman/Superheroes-In-General was the theme, he LOVES the avengers J)…and then they just played games with them the entire time, kinda controlled them around the cake and presents, then were doing balloon animals after….it was really cool because then the parents were able to relax and socialize also…

...then Ely did a fantastic job with the food…I made cookies, the Nonnas made some sandwiches and a brownie cake thingy….then Ely also made little pizza pieces, focaccia pieces, and small sandwiches….and drinks and all sorts of things….just good munchies, but also “real” food too J….i just kinda hung out for most of the time near the food….mainly because I knew a lot of the friends that were there, but they didn’t speak enough English or I didn’t speak enough ITlaian….but the family is used to the way that I speak Italian (very slowly, so they know not to guess what I am trying to say and just give me time to figure it out) so they would kinda just rotate around me which was nice….and EVERYONE WAS THERE!! Literally there were only 2 couples that I can think of that I have met since being here that were not at the party….it was so cool….there was even one lady that I met, literally within the first hour of meeting and moving in with Ely because I had gone straight to pick up Giacomo from school with her that day and we met this lady there….that was pretty cool too….it was really really fun…..

            …finally I was handed the camera when the cake came out, so that was nice to have a job to do, that kept me from feeling like I was just chilling in the corner haha….and the cake was AWESOME!!! And really good too….we sang Buon Compleanno and then Ely called to sing Happy Birthday in English too J ….but taking the pictures of that and then presents was really fun too….Giacomo is the best to watch open presents because everything has a huge reaction!....it was really fun to watch J….after presents, everyone started heading out and we started to clean up….when it was finally just the family we all packed up and after about a 20 minute goodbye it was home we went….to then have another 10 minute goodbye with one of the sets of grandparents there J….gotta love the Italians J….it was a wonderful day, and I am so glad that I was here for it…

            …this family was definently a gift….i was so worried, truly about choosing to live in a family….i was excited about getting to see the true culture of Italians and living with a family around me, but there was just so so much that could’ve gone wrong, what if I wasn’t comfortable with them, what if I wasn’t comfortable in the house, what if, what if, what if……but absolutely ZERO of those fears came true, and if nothing else, quite the opposite happened….I LOVE this family….everyone of them….from Ely, Simone, and Giacomino….to Paula, Edo, Louisa, Ricardo, and Loradona (the Nonni)….to Valentina and Marco…..to all the friends…..its been so so cool being here and living with these people and the opportunities are unparalleled….this was the best decision I could have made when I decided to come to Italy….I am so so happy to have this family surrounding me, I love them so very much……


            ….so Happy 5th Birthday little Giacomino….we may not be blood, but I will always be your big sister, and you will always be my little brother J…..you are a total terror and crazy but I love you for it….I will teach your new little sister someday how to fight back against you but for now ill just fight you myself….thanks for letting me be a part of your party and birthday J….im so lucky to have you……love you little quake J

No comments:

Post a Comment