I've really been killing this writing game lately, haven't I? To be honest I apologize for not posting. I don't even want to mention how long it has been because honestly it is quite sad. Sooooo I thought I would kick this year off with a little refresh from where we left off. If you want to start from the beginning I suggest you read "A Quick Life Update" in my life abroad posts before continuing this one. For those of you all caught up lets take it back to May. Mamma mia this is a long post. Prepare yourself.
May 2018:So in May I finished off our traditional school year for my job. The month was full of open lessons, where the parents come and watch what we do during our lessons. The stress was on during this month. Besides working with and being observed by parents this month
was full of report cards, exams and general feedback questionnaires. What can I say I love paperwork. After everything was signed and sent off courses were finished and I had a little break which brought us into June.
June 2018: This last year I did a summer camp for 3 weeks of June. 3 weeks of sports in English, 3 weeks of middle school English and 3 weeks of baby( think like first grade) English. These weeks were hot and sweaty but honestly so fun. The world cup was going on during this time and let me tell you, there are sooo many activities to be done for the world cup. Even though I worked hard this month I did play hard too. Pasquale and I had a trip to Madrid for his birthday. It was nice to see a new place neither of us had been to before. We walked a lot and ate as much food as we could find. We also managed a trip to the sea for our final weekend in June. We drove to Liguria which is about 2 hours away and enjoyed a day at the beach. By the way also this month finished the process for the renewal of my student visa which allowed me to stay in Italy legally a little longer so we could figure out my work permesso situation, Yay!
July 2018: My family came to visit! I met them in Florence during the first week of July. It was a great time seeing them and doing things I haven't done in awhile. We managed to squeeze in a trip to Lucca and Pisa while we were together. Pasquale even came to Florence to meet us. Everything went smoothly if thats what you guys are wondering. I went back to Milan where my family met us a few days later. We took them to Lake Como and showed them our favorite spots all over town. They left for the U.S. and I shortly followed a week later. First things first when I get back into town. Lake Tahoe. Always a must for me to sit on the beach and relax with family.
August 2018: The relaxing and Lake Tahoe trips continue. I spent time with family and ate my weight in all my favorite foods. Even managed to make it to Vegas to get some much needed bestie time with my good friend Karen. Doing nothing with your best friend is truly one of the finer things in life. Nothing extremely exciting happening but I did enjoy every moment of it. Also started the process of converting my permesso from student to work.
September 2018: Back to work again. I returned to Italy and my love, Pasquale. I started back to work slowly which only seem to gain momentum by the end of the month. This year I started teaching nursery school children as well as a new course called storytelling, which is basically dedicating an entire lesson to a story in english like 3 little pigs or a hungry caterpillar. Keep an eye out for an upcoming post about it. Continued the process for my permesso and got so many steps ahead this time. No big trips in September just really focused on getting back into routine and figuring out this legal mess.
October 2018: Work is in full swing. All my courses have begun and I have started working weekends as well to continue my private lessons. After 3 appointments with the prefettura (which should have been 1), being called Rose(my middle name) a million times, and mailed kit my conversion was complete. I finally did it guys I made it through the hardest part of this permesso process. After that fun time I was hit with the sick bus and so did Pasquale. We ended October in Bologna, both sick.
November 2018: Like I said we were in Bologna for our long weekend at the end of October that runs into November. Our trip was rainy and a bit cold and well we were sick so we did what we do best, slept and ate. Amazing food! I honestly can't wait to go back. Also keep an eye out for a post about Bologna as well. Work then continued as usual.
December 2018: Honestly my favorite month. Started off with my last appointment for my permesso and the final ok that it has been approved and I finally after 2 years have gotten a work permesso. Also exciting new my sister graduated college!! She has worked very hard these last few years and it definitely has paid off. Not to mention she also got engaged!!! Lets just say December definitely started out strong. Then so many Christmas activities. We started the month off with a long weekend so we decided to take a trip to Pasquale's hometown so I could meet the family. He is from Marcianise which is close to Caserta and if you don't know where that is its close to Naples. So we headed south for 3 days. It was very nice and I enjoy his family a lot. They made me feel welcome and a part of their family so easily. I loved it a lot but there were so many differences between there and Milan, so yes you guessed it keep an eye out for another post about it. We returned back to Milan for 2 weeks of work then headed back down to the South, in the car, for the holidays. 10 days of food, food, and more food and maybe a little relaxation in there. After an amazing holiday and a few extra pounds that brings us to this new year.
January 2019: We brought the new year in Marcianise, with an amazing afternoon with friends and family, a 4 course sea food dinner, and more drinks and time with friends and family. The day after we packed up, slept and set back for Milan. After a few last days of vacation, we returned to work. Thats where we are now. Working away, waiting for the next long weekend and hoping for another great year.
Happy 2019! Fingers crossed it will have more blog posts than 2018.