La Nostra Prima Festa!

Our first house party was a huge success... and I mean really huge. I couldn't believe how many people were crammed into our apartment. I was a little terrified when everyone started showing up... but after a little bit of time and a little bit of wine I loosened up and was able to mingle pretty successfully. It was quite the challenge, mingling in Italian (especially because mingling has always been difficult for me, even in English)! I met a lot of really cool people, though, and we all had an amazing time. No one is entirely sure how many people came last night, but Pierluca estimates around 100! There were about 60 in the apartment at any given time, but people were coming and going all night between 8:00PM and 3:00AM so it's pretty hard to say.


(I was the only one who realized this photo was being taken...)

Mmm, I forgot to mention the best part of our party - the food. Sadly, I don't have a photo but Pierluca and Giada made tons of food - several different kinds of pasta, bruschetta, pastry things filled with prosciutto, all kinds of snacks... and I made guacamole which was actually a big hit. I was amazed at how many people had never tried guacamole! I'm honestly not sure how they've lived this long without it.

Perhaps the best part of the night (other than the food of course) - we managed to take our very first family photo!
From left to right: Pierluca, me, Giada, Marta and Andrea. We took three of these and Andrea managed to look goofy in all three, haha!

We're a pretty mellow bunch so I'm not sure how many more giant parties we'll have... but this was a great opportunity to meet people. I'm making a lot of friends here, which makes me feel more and more at home.

Speaking of which, I met my penpal Nicola a few days ago! He studies at the University of Emilia-Romagna, not too far from here. We've been writing to each other for about a year so it was interesting meeting him in person. There's only so much you can learn about a person through e-mails, after all. He's very nice, though, and I'm glad I had the chance to meet him.

I know this feeling will go away as I get to know people a little better, but sometimes I feel like I'm surrounded by strangers here... it was really nice spending time with someone who knows me a little better.
Even though I'm starting to make friends here, I still miss everyone at home a lot. Sometimes it's hard for me to really be here, to let myself sink in... but I think I'm getting there. It'll just take time, and patience. I'm starting from scratch, you know? I came here with just me, just the basics, and now comes the tricky part - building the rest. I get to build an entire life for myself here, la mia vita italiana. Let's hope I don't screw it up too much! :)