No parlo Italiano!!!

Wow it's been a long time since I even remembered I had this thing. Oh well here I go telling you stories of my Italian adventure that will make you laugh at your computer and feel akward by doing so. Well there's many things fresh in my mind that I've done this trip I will tel l you in readers digest form because well...I'm lazy. =]

1) The drving here is NUTS, there's about 1 million occupants in the town of Palermo and it seems they all want to go driving at the same time..outcome..chaos. It takes 30 minutes to get to somewhere about 10 miles away. Maybe I think it's crazy driving because I am at all times riding in a mini-car, which I didn't even know they made cars smaller then a smart car but I've been wrong before. This (mini-car) brings me back to the days where I used to drive in a barbie jeep but it actually has an engine..well an engine with limits, it can only go 60 km at the most (In mph ?? google it) Oh and if someone ahead of you isn't driving the way YOU want them too. HONK. HONK. and HONK. It's hilarious sometimes the thought of someone just placing their palms on the horn and you don't take it off until you've reached your destination, well for here? it's life.

2) Just don't go to the bathroom, hold it until you go back to America. My only advice.

3) Some good times, well I love the sea here. It's beautiful!!! I love relaxing on the beach and soaking up the sun. I also love to walk down town it seems here that they are obessesed with all the high dollar name brands but...it's nice to look. Actually I was so so grateful that my wonderful Host Dad bought me an 80£ dress for a birthday party. I know what your thinking, but I didn't ask him at all! He told me to try it on, because Andrea was shopping for an outfit for that night also, so I did and I told him I didn't bring any money. Which I guess apalled him because even if I had HE was going to buy it for me....I've always been a daddy's girl I guess things never change when you've left your country =P but anyways, I've seen tourist bus in movies but never actually thought I'd be on one, they're actually pretty sweet. I saw so many historical sights and I could stop and get off and get back on the next one whenever I wanted. I think palermo is amazing, I have a great view from my house, of the mountains, the sea, and the city.

4) I am an American Italian, so here I feel like a celebrity! You all who know me well, know I love attention =) Here I get all the attention and more, I go to the beach AMERICAN, I go to the disco AMERICAN, I go shopping AMERICAN, I sit and have lunch AMERICAN. I've never had people fight who I like more, or who sits by me, or buys me something. It's abby this, abby that, abby what do you like? ahhh it never gets old. I'm really going to miss that part =(

5) So I get here and my suitcase doesn't. BIG PROBLEM. Good thing my mom is mega-mom and is ready for a world disaster at all times and packed everything I could possibly need in my carry-on. Yay MOM!!....but we forgot something. A swimming suit, which it is the island of Sicily so there's going to be the sea, everywhere. The second day I'm here, and my suitcase is not, Andrea plans on taking me to the mondello (sea) okay I say not wanting to spoil the trip already. But I don't have a swimming suit I tell him...we go shopping at a place where I'd consider wal-marts throwbacks haha. Okay, so now the choosing part. No dressing rooms, No sizes that I can recognize, and Andrea. So I'm sitting here getting advice from Andrea on what cheap swimming suit I can buy. Okay good, that's over with now to the sea! So we get there, I have to change in a cabin where Andrea is guarding the door, there's no mirrors so little do I know that this thing I call a swimming suit is more like my little sisters bra...which everyone knows DOESN'T fit me, and Avery's (my neices) underwear. I am not a fan of done lap, you know where your waist done laps your pants. But that day..i didn't have a choice I came out of the cabin looking like a St. Bernard fitting into a little Pomeranian's cage. Did I mention this is the first time I'm meeting any of Andrea's friends? yeah. What a day!!

6) They make fun of anything I say, because I say it "rude" as they would say. I'm not proper. What's more proper than actually SPEAKING English. But I understand that what they learn in school is different then when I talk to them, but still. It get's annoying having Italians whose English vocabulary consists of stupid, rude, and fat fix my English? ughh Oh and they mostly learn their English from songs...bad...and T-shirts...bad. So when they talk to me....bad. You get the point. I realized the 4th day I was here that they have no idea what they're saying to me, ha and when I explained it. Silence and apologies. Haha Speaking of English songs...it's funny because at the Discos every song I here Is English and I know it, so I'm singing along and everyones looking at me..instant notice that I'm American. No one knows what they're dancing too haha it makes me laugh. Their was this terrible song "work your pussy baby" that was playing everyone was saying it...I was dumbfounded like what a crude song and I saw Andrea singing it, I asked him if he even knew what it ment? Of course not, then I was at the sea and this guy was listening to it on his Ipod and he turned to me and asked in an italian accent that was hard to understand "what does work your pussy mean?" rrrreally...Here's where the funny part is, if they ask you something you have the power to invent an meaning all by yourself and they don't question it because dun dada dun your the American!! haha So I told them that Pussy was another name for a cat, and when you work it, it's a type of dance you do...complete rubbish. But it's a lot easier than explaining the real meaning if you know what I mean.

7) Ohhh the BOYFRIEND!! I show everyone my boyfriend Keegan's picture. All the girls and guys are jealous. I love it. They say it's like a movie, I'm the cheerleader he plays football, typical American. Girls come to me and say it's their dream to be a cheerleader and it's their dream to go to America...I'm sorry that I'm living your dream??

8) Food. Food here is amazing! I don't even know what I'm eating half the time, but it's good! The rumors about their ice cream being the best, is most definitely true and they eat it up literally. The eat ice cream here like it's air. Oh and the eating times here....are way different then America. You eat in the morning when you wake up, ok. At 1:00 you eat lunch ehh... I'm used to 12ish but I can manage. 6:00 ugh I'm starving whens dinner? 8:00 I'm really really hungry!! 9:00ish DINNER!!!! oh and afterwards at like 11:00 you go out for ice cream. It's crazy it's normal here to not go to bed until 1:00 every night, the whole family.

9) The infamous Ok Ciao! Everyone here says it if you don't want to talk to the other person anymore. So far it's all I've mastered and stick to what you know right? Everyone gets a kick out of it when I say it anyways, give the crowd what they want!! Ok Ciao!

10) Ciao (kiss, kiss) Yeah I wish I rememberd that when I very first arrived and my host brother came out of the house to greet me....Well it was a ciao, and a WHAT ARE DOING! I made up for it later by explaining that no one in America does that. But now I'm used to it, but I never make the obnoxious kissing sound like everyone here does. I feel rude, but I just can't do it. It's weird to me. You kiss a stangers cheek and you make everyone in the room know you did it by making the loudest smacking sound! I don't even air kiss, I touch cheeks hahaha

I'll post more later...I have so much more to say, and if I had people to do it for me. You'd get to know what it is now! But guess I don't have everything I want....oh well.

Ti amo tutti!! Buona notte!