What was your favorite part of this week?

Seeing a popular Italian shop for the first time.

What was the most difficult or challenging part of this week?How homesick I’ve become.

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week.My host family is housing tourists in their airbnb that’s in a separate part of their house and I’ve helped prepare and clean things for the tourists’ arrival.

Tell us about your week!This week has been the slowest of my weeks here so far. I’ve spent the entire week with my host family. It’s very considerate of them to involve me in their daily lives, but I’ve become to feel like I’m on autopilot. The routines are dragging me down and I can’t stop thinking about home. There hasn’t been a lot of time to myself expect an hour midday every now and again. It’s been hard for me being unable to call my mom and having limited hours talking to people from home. I’ve been spending my past week here swimming, cooking, teaching, cooking, and repeating. For days.

My host family did, on the single day we went out, take me to a local Italian store that seems to be pretty big here. I ended up buying a few things and even some pretty cute keychain souvenirs that have Italy flags on them. I almost wish I would have bought a few more of them in case anyone from home wanted one. I’ve also learned that spending a lot of nights outside on patios and decks, eating and mingling with people, can lead to bug bites. Lots and lots of bug bites. I have so many it’s almost unbearable. It’s so bad I’m almost uncertain if the mingling is worth it. The blur of days is only separated by the comings and goings of bug bites in new and old places.