Saturday, December 11, 2010

Where did November go?

I told you I would be bad at this! Look how long it’s been since I wrote anything. And so much has happened.

I turned 50 here and to celebrate I visited a vineyard for a private tour and lovely lunch complete with a candle in my tiramisu and fellow diners singing happy birthday for me. Not a celebration I am used to, but it was a lovely day and I got to share it with a lovely person.

I didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, at least not in the traditional sense. Since it isn’t a holiday here, I had school and work but I did have pumpkin soup for lunch. I don’t feel that I missed too much because I spent almost 2 hours on Skype with my family doing those things that we always do on Thanksgiving. Eating, talking, drinking, talking, playing a few Christmas carols, and oh yeah, talking. The only thing missing from my Thanksgiving was that stuffed feeling I get after eating “just a little bit” of everything on the table. That, and the day off after Thanksgiving. Luckily Italy provided me with a replacement holiday on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. And another miracle occurred that day…the rain stopped and the sun was shining. Truly a beautiful day to be here.

Now I am getting ready to leave for Sweden, where I will spend the holidays with Leif’s family and friends. I will have snow for Christmas! It should be interesting though, after two months of living here in Italy. Here people look at me and automatically switch to English because I don’t look Italian. In Sweden I will look pretty much like everyone else. So they will naturally speak to me in Swedish and expect a (semi)intelligent answer. I am brushing up on my one useful Swedish phrase, “I don’t speak Swedish” to avoid the uncomfortable assumption that I am either mute or stupid.

Wish me luck in any language, I think I need all the help I can get.