Last Week :(

Wow, wow, wow, this week has gone by soooo fast.  Since it is the last week, there has been so much going on with classes, getting ready to say goodbye, final activities, that I haven't had time to blog!  My apologies.  So to recap my week:

Monday was business as usual with classes, etc.  Mei, one of the advisors from the school, came over for lunch so that was nice.  It was kind of funny because the last time she came over for lunch was my very first day here, so she had to translate everything.  On Monday, she kept translating everything, even though I understood!  So I've learned a lot in the last 5 weeks.  She also asked me how I haven't gained weight since I eat so much!  I guess it's all the walking here.  For dinner, we had this frittata with prosciutto and cheese which was basically like an omelet, so Catie and I explained how that is like a breakfast food in America, and they thought we were crazy!  Made two kinds of gnocchi in class.

Spinach gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce, walnuts, and thyme

Gnocchi with mint pesto, pancetta, and truffles.

  Can't wait to try out all of these recipes at home!

Tuesday was a pleasant surprise when I came down for breakfast, and Manuela was already cooking up a storm!  There were pots and pans everywhere, and she explained how she was preparing a big lunch to bring to the farm that day.  She invited me to help, so after Italian class, I came back home and helped her cook.  She made 3 lasagnas, a huge pot of roasted chicken, roasted potatoes, and two cakes "ciambellone di pasqua."  She even let me have a peak at her secret recipe book from her mother so I could write down the recipe for the cake.  But boy did she take that back quickly and return it somewhere upstairs in it's secret spot, where even her daughter doesn't know where it is!  Manuela, Oleania and I cooked and baked and then ate our lunch, and packed up to head to their farm.  We picked up Georgio and Elisa on the way.  Now most of you know that I love children, and I think every child is just adorable, but you take a 3 year old that speaks Italian and that just makes them 100x cuter :)  When we got to the farm, we served lunch to the workers.  It was a big day at the farm, as there were a few men from New Zealand that work there for a few weeks every year, and it was the day that they shave all of the wool off the sheep, so there is no time for the workers to go home for lunch.  There were about 15 of them, so we served the lunch and talked with the workers which was fun because the ones from New Zealand were in my boat as they spoke English and only a little Italian, so we talked a lot.  Then when it was time to go back to work, Patrizio and Felice explained to me how they do everything, and what was going on.  It was fun to see them at work, and you can tell they really love it.  Felice was so proud to show off his farm, and said to be sure to explain everything to my father when I get home!

 I went to cooking class where we learned to make some more sweets.  We made tiramisu and crostadas, and I got to bring home the leftovers to my host family so they could try, and they gave them two thumbs up, and I even got a "Bravisimo!" which was exciting :)

Tiramisu 

Crostada with custard and bananas (my favorite one)

Crostada with nutella (yes, that is filled entirely with nutella but it burnt so it wasn't very good)

When I got back from class, I had coffee with Manuela, which was nice, because now that my Italian is getting better we can actually have real conversations.  She is a chatterbox too, and she really enjoys teaching about Italian culture.  She especially likes that I want to learn how to cook and bake, so she is always explaining what she is doing, and how to make things.  She let me help make dinner again to, which was.....RABBIT!  I was a little nervous, but it was delicious.

Today (Wednesday) I had my last regular Italian class, and then went back to the house and Manuela was cooking another lunch.  The "tosatura" or shearing of the sheep is a two day event, so she was preparing one more lunch.  This time it was insalata de riso (which is one of my new favorites) and meatballs and vegetables.

Insalata di Riso  

Some real Italian meatballs

Ciambellone di Pasqua  

She brought out her secret book again to show me how to make "Salame King Cake."  It is basically one big log roll cake full of nutella.  YUM.   She knows I love nutella!

Mi piace Nutella

In cooking class, we had our written final exam, and learned how to make GELATO! Finally!  It didn't turn out because we had to do it by hand which takes about 3-4 hours, so we ran out of time, but I will get to taste it tomorrow when it is ready.  Can't wait.  Tonight is my going away dinner with the family.  Thursday night I have one with the school, and then Friday with API, so tonight was the only day to do it at the house.  Then, all of my host family wants to skype with my family one more time.

I can't believe tomorrow is final exams, and then only one more day until I head home.  I don't feel the least bit ready to leave, and have so much to do to get ready in the next two days.  Not enough time!