some life stuff

I DID IT!!! Woo-hoo! Four weeks of language school has brought new friends and a deeper confidence in speaking Italian. Here are some photos of my class the last two weeks; we laughed together, we ate together, we made plenty of mistakes with our Italian and always had patience with one another. On my last day of school, there was a little party after class and the whole school came together and had WINE to celebrate another month! It was so much fun hearing everyone speaking Italian, as well as we all could, and being brought together because of this beautiful language.

one of my teachers, Emma, on the right

Now that school is over, I will probably be attending Centro Italiano for a couple more weeks in November, but until then, I have been asked to help out with the children's ministry at Antonello's church. Last weekend, I observed all of their classes and was asked to impart any advice, new ideas, etc., to their program. Right now, I am helping with making some posters for their curriculum and hopefully will be able to create a music DVD for the kids to worship with.

With Antonello in school every day, I have A LOT of time by myself...and grammy. :) So, until school starts again, I will be busy with studying on my own and something that I have found very helpful in speaking this language is reading. SO, I asked Emanuela, Antonello's sister, if she had any childhood books for me and she gave me some old pop-up books, Cenerentola (Cinderella, which originated in Napoli) and Biancaneve (Bianca=white & neve=snow). It helps to be familiar with the story but there are words and VERBS that I still need help with!

Today, I went to school and delivered some little gifts to my teachers and the front desk. They are absolutely wonderful people and their kindness and generosity inspires. After traveling to downtown Napoli, I have been in need of a coat, so I bought one today. There is something so powerful and amazing and strengthening to be in a completely different part of the world and be able to speak another language and have others understand what you're saying.

It was a good day.