Best Decision Ever

I was talking with some of the other students who live in apartments, and I think that deciding to live with a host family instead, was the best decision I could have made.  Even though it is super frustrating and challenging to communicate, I am so glad I am living with my host family.  I really am getting the most authentic Italian cultural experience possible. It has only been a few days and I already can understand what they are saying, and have learned enough words to take part in the conversation.  I can even talk with Felice, who is the least forgiving with the language, because he speaks in the Tuscania dialect or slang which is very different from real Italian.  Manuela tries to speak in simple words, and slowly so we can understand, and the children both speak a little english so we translate for each other.  I told them that my ancestors are from Italy, and he tried to teach me some of the Sicilian dialect (which sounds like a completely different language, so I already forgot most of it).  He wants us to watch la Comissario Montealbano (or something like that, not sure if that is the name) which is a movie where they speak in "Sicilian" so I can listen to it.  But whenever I walk in the house, I learn Italian, I learn about the food and the lifestyle, and I get a chance to try out what it is like to actually live and be in Italy.  Some of the other students in apartments, rarely get exposed to the language except maybe the cashier at the market, and they definitely dont get the food experience.  For example, at my house I get a full 3 or 4 course, homemade Italian dinner with wine which we start eating around 9pm (typical for an Italian family).  The other students might eat some bread, or pastries or gelato for dinner to save money or because they dont want to go out, and they eat at 5 or 6 pm which is an American habit.  I love the fact that I have the chance to be integrated into family life here.