Don't get any Verbania on ya.

Pax Christi Vobiscum!

Ciao! Adesso, io sono in Verbania! Which, for most of you, means something about being "in Verbania." Which is great! Because you're now undertanding Italiano! Well, just a quick update for you, since it's late, and I have to learn more Italian tomorrow.

The basic breakdown of our time here thus far:

We arrived here on Sunday in the late evening, ready to eat. Conveniently enough, because, being in Italia, they are always ready to feed us. It's a cultural thing...and I don't mind. We are staying in a hotel named Il Chiostro. It's a nice little Catholic hotel, with crucifixes on the walls in some spots (or at least crosses), and there is a Chapel where we have Mass or La Santa Messa. It is celebrated in Italiano.

The next day we began Italiano in earnest. I began instruction in Italian at 9:00 a.m., but we met up at 8:45 to introduce ourselves, which consisted of the ensegnante or teacher making a bunch of noise. I later realized that she was saying real words, at which point I discovered that the lessons (le lezione) had already begun. And of course, la mia ensegnante (my instructor) e una donna bella (is a lovely young woman); I guess they want to make sure we're always discerning.

It was great though. We walked around the town and went to various shops. My teacher and I, along with another student-teacher pair (it's one-to-one tutoring for two sessions of 1.5 hours each, a different tutor for each session) walked around the town together. Our teachers decided to gossip about other students of theirs, and then to legitimize their conversation, they tested Adam and I over what they had been saying. It was a lot of fun though, and we got gelato (Italian for "cup of goodness") out of the deal.

And then today, Don Mario, or Fr. Mario, who is here from Poland studying Italiano, took a few of us to the "beach," or at least it will be a beach someday, when time, friction, and erosion have turned the many large rocks into much smaller rocks, or sand. The view was okay, I guess. You can see what I'm having to put up with below (il panorama, dalla sinistra alla destra...the view, from left to right):

That's supposed to be a smile...not a yawn.

So that's kind of it for now. I have a lot to learn in a short time, but I am honestly very happy to have such a wonderful opportunity. I thank God for the chance to learn from another people and to learn how to communicate with them. There is nothing better than learning how to reach people where they are, and I pray that through this opportunity, I can share my experiences and my faith with others from different countries. Praise God!

Thank you again for stopping in to "see me." I hope you will email me every once and again. Know that I miss you all, and David, if you start a blog, I will check in on you as well. God bless, and may the Peace of Christ be with you all!!!