New Family! Trip! Other Miscellaneous Stuff!

Sorry!!!! I didn't mean to be away from this blog for so long. Really....honestly...you can believe me. When I changed families, I also changed internet sources. The connection here has a password and I didn't know what it was. Plus, I wanted to use this time to get to know my family really well. I wanted to really integrate myself into their family and their lifestyle. Well, it worked! This family is perfect for me. I only have one lament. Do you all want to know?! My one lament is that I didn't change sooner! I am sitting here with a few days more than four months left here in Italy. Four months. I am with a family that I adore and I wish that I had moved her months ago. Now, I live just outside of Messina, at a place called Ganzirri. I have to commute by car every morning in order to make it to school. We all wake up at 6 or 6:15, get ready, hop in the car, and head to Messina. Thankfully, we have another house in Messina where we can be before school starts. I still have to walk all the way to Cristo Re, but that is only for another week and a half. Then, I am back at the main part of the school. Anyway, about my family... My host father, Antonino, works at the main building here in Messina, Municipio. He also works at the aquarium. He told me one day that this aquarium is the largest in southern Italy. Cool huh! He is incredible. As for his personality, he is laid back, intelligent, and has an amazing sense of humor. My host mother, Annuziata, works at the hospital as a dentist. She is very outgoing, talkative (talks amazingly fast), and has a good sense of humor. At times she can be a bit...maniacal...but I can live with that. My new brother, Andrea, is 18. Because of his age, he can drive and is out a lot. He loves music. It is his passion. He plays the bass (classical), bass (electrical), and the guitar. Finally, my sister, Chiara. She is the Italian version of myself. She loves music, she LOVES to cook, she is friendly and social...she is really just like me. Her passion in life is cooking; she wants to become a chef. We play card games that I have taught her and we listen to a bunch of Italian music off of her phone. We study together, we cook together....basically...it is the perfect symbiotic relationship. Biologists could study us. We have played tennis out in the yard, we have played with the dog, Bud, we have gone out on Saturday nights. She is almost 16. Another exciting thing is that I started a cooking course with her. Every Tuesday, we stay in Messina to attend our course from 7 to 11. It is a long day, but totally worth it. We are learning how to cook so many delicious things. Since I can't do swimming anymore, cooking is a perfect alternative right? :) Obviously! We have also played soccer with Andrea and his friends. It was really fun. One time a few weeks ago, we made a salted cake as a prank for Andrea's friends. It worked perfectly! You should have seen their faces as they all bit into the cake. It was priceless. All of them enjoy film, just like me. We watch movies together. As you can tell, I am having the time of my life, don't want to come back to the United States (except to see my family and eat blueberries ;) and other stuff like that), and.....it is almost dinner time. I have to go cook now. We are making crepes for dinner tonight. YUMMM!

Oh, and for the exchange week I am officially headed off to Pisa! I leave on the 21st and return on the 28th. It is going to be so much fun! Another few hundred pictures to add to my collection!!!

Love you all!