The Weekend

Saturday I woke up still feeling sick but I was on duty so I had to put on a happy face. The morning was not much different from the states. For example when I woke up the boys were watching cartoons (why is anime so popular?) and coco puffs were strung all over the table. Pat wanted to go for a bike ride so I got the boys dressed and took them to the park across the street. I let them play for an hour and a half before going back for lunch. While we were at the park I met a couple that are friends of Pat and Alberto’s. The speak English well and I had a good conversation about how the states are different. It is really hard to explain how the states are different because if you compare NY with Turin it’s almost the same way of life but if you compare Texas with Turin it’s a whole new ballgame. Anyways, after lunch we got Filippo ready for his first all night sleep-over/camp out with Boy Scouts. The rest of the day I spent relaxing and trying to get over my cold. I turned in early to watch a movie on my computer and had to stop due to another nosebleed. Hopefully this will not be an everyday occurrence.

Sunday was AMAZING. On Thursday last week I went out with some new Italian friends. One of the guys asked me to come out to the country on Sunday. Pat’s youngest sister, Louisa, and her boyfriend picked me up at 11:30 and we headed and hour outside to Ricardo’s family house in the country. The drive was absolutely amazing. We past corn, wheat, and rice fields. Come to find out that area is the number one producer of rice in Europe and is the best in quality you can buy on the rice market. The house was tucked away behind a vineyard and stood next to a barely field. The backyard was surrounded by fresh produce; apple trees, peach trees, cherry trees, pear trees, fig trees, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and fresh spices. The house was around eighty years old and complete with barn and wine cellar attached. The whole experience was just like a movie. When we arrived there were around 25-30 people all hugging, kissing cheeks, and talking loudly with hand gestures. The meal consisted of five different fresh cheeses, sliced bread, zucchini, grilled ribs, grilled chicken, rice salad, grissini, and homemade red and white wines. After eating lunch we just sat in the sun and talked and then ate dessert. For the rest of the afternoon we laid around outside talking or sleeping or taking walks through the vineyard. Ricardo’s father took me to the cherry orchard and we picked cherries for everyone. We had a great conversation in English/Italian. After our talk he wants to meet once a week so we can practice both languages, so I’ll let you know how that goes. Finally we said our goodbyes and went back to Torino. But this was by far the best weekend I have had here. I had the best sweet wine of my life, met some incredible people, and was awed by God’s artwork surrounding me.