Uphill to the Church

Hey guys! Sorry it's been awhile, I have been a little busy! Today at school, all the classes walked 2 or 3 miles (uphill might I add) to this church nestled in the hills past San Benedetto (where my school is). The point of this is to have a mass once we get to the church and pray for the school year ahead. You did not have to go in if you didn't want to, but it was recommended. It was so cool to see this line of people that took over the whole street, and I loved that the school took a day off just to walk and pray for the year ahead. This week and the past week have been much better for me. I am still homesick and miss my family and friends, but it isn't this mad desire to pack up and go home, and I am encouraged. Learning Italian is a whole other story, though. It's a beautiful language, but actually speaking it is difficult. My host family has been incredibly helpful and patient, and even though I feel like I'm getting nowhere, I think there is progress. I can understand basic sentences and yesterday I even read a bio on Italian Wikipedia and understood the main theme of it! It's little things like that that are especially encouraging. At this point, I can recognize more words reading, than listening, and my understanding has gotten better. I am working on speaking everyday with my host family and friends.
       Last Sunday, I visited the village of Ripatransone, which is where my host mother's family lives. It was my first big Italian Sunday lunch and I thought it was just like a movie. Ripatransone is this medieval village perched on top of a hill and looks just like a postcard (I included a picture below :) They even had a little farm with chickens, a pig, rabbits, sheep, turtles and a dog. The past two Saturdays that I have been in Italy I have gone to the center of San Benedetto (where my school is) and walked around with friends, a lot like people go to Downtown Franklin on the weekends and get coffee and ice cream and go shopping.
Overall, these past two weeks have been great and I look forward to many more here in Italy! I hope everyone is doing well at home!
-Kailey