New Friends

Here are just a few examples of how new friends being made here in our neck of the woods this past week.

1. Last week Jonathan was out and about snapping pictures of our lovely city and also in Caselle. People find it very curious to see someone taking pictures and you really get the stares at times. Evidently, one concludes he is a tourist. However, when he speaks the language with such ease this then leads to questions like: what are you doing here, you're American?...why in the world would you want to live here? etc. It is a great door of opportunity to begin conversations. Last week Jonathan spent a good amount of time with two older men just hanging out in the town piazza and then was invited to join them for a coffee. He had a great time and now is even more motivated to pursue his interest in photography. Who would have thought the simple use of a camera could open up a conversation?

2. Also last week Jonathan attended his first class of Kick Boxing. He is so excited about this outlet to not only get some amazing excercise but also to meet more men. He plans to go twice a week from 8-10pm. There were about 25 men there so there is great potential for good relationships. The owner and his wife have a newborn as well.

3. Saturday I needed just a couple of items at the store and instead of taking three very tired and hungry kids in we opted for Jonathan to zip in and out while we waited in the car. After a half hour had passed I began to wonder if he had passed out in the store or something. Because seriously, it should have been a 5 minute run. Anyway, before I could spout off my frustration of his "diddle-daddling" he said: let me explain. He was about to place his items on the check out belt when he heard a family speaking English. When you hear English spoken here it is definitely a head turner and really sounds out of place. He then got out of line and made his way over to this family to introduce himself. Seeing their two small children and basket full of groceries he concluded they must not be visitors. Davide is Italian and Linda is Irish and they live here in Leini'. They have a 3 week old baby and a 2 year old daughter. They exchanged numbers and we hope to get together with them in a few weeks. They need some more adjustment time with the new baby first...which we completely understand!

4. Finally, blogs are great and the most unlikely people stop by on occassion. Hello to "Meri" our fellow citizen of Leini'. Thanks for visiting our site and we hope to meet you sometime too!