Germania v. Italia

I have been in Potenza Picena for two days now, and it feels like I have never left.  I am right at home here.  My first full day in Potenza Picena was spent lounging by the pool and napping.  It's hard to get over the jet lag.  The family and I caught up with each other about what has happened over the past 11 months.  We stayed in touch via email, but it is amazing how we haven't skipped a beat since I have returned.

Today I spent the morning poolside with my buddy Nina, while Michela went into town and Gregorio slept the morning away.

The funny thing is... this dog hated the water last summer and now she can't get enough of it!

Miss Nina swimming to the stairs

We had pasta for lunch with tomato sauce that they made last summer, and of course it was amazing!  After lunch and a nap it was time for Gregorio's first English lesson for the summer.  He has done amazingly well, and I am so proud of him.  He responded to an email from my roommate for me (Christina--you will have to tell me how it sounded!), and we talked about our day and the plans for the rest of the week.  We also wrote about a picture.

After our lesson, we hung out at the pool again.  The evening consisted of Michela, Gregorio, and I going to Veronica's house.  Veronica and Massimo are friends of the family, who I met last year.  It was just like old times again.  We were both happy to see each other, and we got to enjoy each other's company while watching the Germania v. Italia match.  They had a huge set up of food.  At our sports parties you would find chips and dip, hot dogs, brownies, popcorn, and all that crazy stuff.  The set up for the match consisted of proscuitto, cantaloupe, pasta, rice salad, fried zucchini, and potatoes.  I was quite impressed with their spread, and it was delicious of course.  It was a really exciting game, and it ended with much celebration.  The Italians really know how to show off after a win.  Everyone went out into the street, honking horns, and waving flags.

You can see the boys were so excited about the win that their dad just drove them around while they waved the flag!