Wow how time is flying!

Well i guess I should take it as a sign that I haven't updated my blog in awhile when I can't remember my login id and password ;) To all my loyal followers, I am sorry I haven't been good about posting. Anyway, a lot of time has passed since my last post and a lot has happened. A whole month full of new adventures and I am still loving it here! I feel like the 2nd month went by faster than the 1st month; Probably because I got more into a "normal routine" this month (knowing my schedule for school and such). I think this month was a big progress month for me in a lot of areas. I think I strengthened my relationships this month….with my classmates at school, with some of my teachers and with my host family. This was most likely due to the fact that my Italian continued to improve this month…by no means am I perfect…I still have a long way to go, but I am getting to the point where I can listen to people talk, follow what they are saying, and occasionally contribute to the conversation (i say occasionally because sometimes it takes me a little while to say what I want to say) ;) I keep learning!

highlights of the month;

sometimes I had segments of dreams in italian.
I learned the definition of an English word from an Italian classmate and I forgot how to say "mandarin orange" (kind of embarrassing).
I participated in an Interact event in Traponi(a nice city on the other side of Sicily).
I learned that just because Sicily is in the Mediterranean doesn't mean it is always warm (so I went shopping and bought some warmer clothes :)
I've tried about 4 different kinds of Risotto (all of which I love) and enjoyed trying several new gelato flavors!
I saw my first ever opera, La Boheme...it was in this old beautiful theater and the whole experience was just awesome!!!
And finally, the entertaining story of the month, I discovered what "the cord" hanging in the shower is for.....one time after I finished taking a shower there was still water in the tub that wasn’t draining. So I was looking around, trying to figure out how the drain worked. In the shower, there is a button at the top of the shower wall that looks like a light switch. There is cord that hangs down from the switch and if you pull it, it flips the switch. I’d noticed the cord before but whenever I’d been in the shower and pulled the cord, nothing had seemed to happen, so I just figured it was dysfunctional. Anyway, the one day the water wasn't draining from the tub I figured I'd try pulling the cord again just to see if it did anything. I pulled the cord and from the hallway outside my room I heard a buzzing noise, very similar to the sound a doorbell makes, accept louder. I walked out into the hall and looked for where it came from. My host sister came out of her room explained to me that when you pull the cord in the shower, it sounds the buzzer in the hall to single the other people in the house that the person in the shower needs something. I was like “ohhh!!!” that explains while sometimes my host mom would knock on the door while I was taking a shower and ask if everything was ok. hahaha, live and learn! :)