"mamma! whitney parla inglese!"

Day one is coming to an end. I'm here in Staranzano and it's beautiful. Getting here should have been a disaster by most standards, but I handled it quite well. My flight out of DC to Munich was delayed due to the volcanic ash, so I missed my connecting flight to Trieste and added another 6 hours to my 16 hours of travel time. Marcello, my host dad, picked me up from the airport in Trieste and drove me to their home in the quiet and lovely countryside, which is only a 10 minute drive from the airport. Cristina, my host mom, and Little Luce (not yet 4) greeted me at the house. I decided earlier that I would only speak English around the girls, knowing that if they hear me speak Italian they'll be resistant to speak in English... so I immediatley began speaking to Luce in English. I'm not quite sure if she understands anything that I've been saying... she just responds with "si'!" to everything I say and then she giggles. Shortly after my arrival Luce exclaimed that she had to "pee pee" and asked for Cristina's assistance. From the bathroom I heard her exclaim "Mamma! Whitney parla inglese!", followed by a chorus of giggles. This kid is seriously the most adorable thing I've ever seen.

My living situation is pretty much ideal. Their country home is quite large, especially by Italian standards, and is very quiet but not too isolated from the cities of Monfalcone and Trieste. My room is upstairs with the playroom and office space. It's small, but quite cosy. I have a little window in my room that opens up onto a balcony that oversees the neighbor's farmland. While napping this afternoon, I enjoyed the accompaniment of chirping birds and one over-zealous rooster. This rooster might be my only problem. I also have my own bathroom, which again has a large window that overlooks the neighbor's garden... I just hope the neighbor doesn't overlook my showers.

Dinner was quite pleasant. I met Ginevra (10) and must say that I couldn't have imagined a more peaceful, kind, and thoughtful child. Her English is surprisingly very good. She seems to understand everything that I've been saying and tries her best to respond in English. She is quite clever though... She hasn't heard me speak Italian but knows that I can, so she tends to rattle on in Italian and then asks me to translate for her. This might actually be better for me as it will help me to improve my Italian. Dinner was simple, which I greatly appreciated. We had a delicious vegetable, rice, and bean soup that Cristina prepared, along with bread and fresh olives. Dessert was fresh strawberries:) I was pleased to find out that Cristina shops at a completely organic ("biologico") market. She is also very sympathetic to animal suffering and only eats meat when it's neccessary for her health (she is critically iron deficient).

Tomorrow is Saturday and the family will be taking me "in giro" around the city. We will also visit Grado, an island on the Adriatic. I can't wait to get my toes wet.

A presto.