Il Sole, I miss you, but I will deal with the rain for now...

I found a yarn store! Though I can’t say I found it all by myself. My mom’s friend Tracy looked up the address for me. I just had to navigate the streets which was not too hard. After breakfast I went and got an Americano, (which I ordered completely in Italian,) then went to the yarn store. It was very tiny, but had a good selection. The woman working there did not speak any English, but through the few words she knew and my tiny bit of Italian we were able to communicate. She was very friendly and helpful. I bought this beautiful thick purple yarn that I think I will use for a scarf. I also found a great little coffee shop. I think it is my favorite one so far, It is very small and has a tiny loft area with tables. The street it is on is very quiet, so I think it is probably less crowded than the place I have been going on Banchi di Sopra. It is nice to be able to walk everywhere, even with this rain we have been getting. But it is supposed to be sunny tomorrow, and the weather should warm up soon. I am ready for that.

I think what is hardest for me here is that I am used to being able to talk to people on the street or have conversations with people working at restaurants and in cafes, whereas here I cannot do that. It just makes meeting people hard. But I am learning more Italian everyday, and I try to use it as much as I can (which is very little at the moment.) Expressing myself through words is something I am used to being good at, I mean I am an English writing major. I want to be able to speak eloquently to everyone I meet and here I cannot. But for now I will settle for studying Italian and evesdropping on conversations to try to pick up as many words as I can.

I am having kunch with my host family then I think I will go back to the café on Via Panteneto to do my Italian homework and get some reading done. My host sister Lucrezia has her French penpal visiting this week. It is so cute because they each only speak a little of the other’s language but they are such good friends. Dinner last night was very funny, with a mix of Italian, French, and English.