What were you grateful for this week?I’m so grateful that my host family was so welcoming! Sometimes I don’t handle change well but they were so kind and so willing to help me with whatever I needed.

What was the most difficult or challenging part of this week?Just finding my way around Milan. It’s difficult to read the street signs and not get lost. It’s a good thing I have google maps! 

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. My wow moment was probably when I was playing with [the daughter of my host family]. She was telling me to “dance” in Italian and there was just a moment when she said “dance” in English then Italian, as if she was trying to teach me or help me understand. It was really cool!  

Tell us about your week!These past two days have been amazing! Milan is so beautiful and so relaxing. The people here all have somewhere to be, but they take their time and truly enjoy what they’re doing, something I think more people could learn in America. My host family is amazing. [The daughter] is so smart and so kind! It’s so fun to be with her and help teach her English. She already understands so much. We spend hours at the park and she loves to get gelato. It’s interesting to see parenting differences between Utah and Milan. In Milan they don’t like their kids to watch a lot of tv or play on phones or iPads. They want their kids to play outside and constantly learning. [My host parents] are so welcoming and so kind as well. They are so willing to help with anything I need and have tried hard to make me feel welcome! I can’t wait to have the weekend to explore Italy with Z! We’ve become friends fast so it’s fun to have someone to travel around with. I’ve also met [my host family’s] niece. She’s invited me to have lunch with her friends and I thought that was so nice! It will be fun to be with someone who knows their way around the city.