Sweet new kicks

I bought a pair of Italian shoes (actually made in Madagascar?) and they are wonderfully comfortable, stylish, and waterproof! Mom, aren't you so proud? I just wanted to show them off.

In other news, my espresso making skills are really improving and I haven't melted anything else. But I still owe my roommates a new pot.

Last night I met my language exchange partner, Gian Paolo, and he is wonderful! His English is much better than my Italian but he's very patient and nice. We talked for about two hours, mostly in English, but I found myself realizing how many Italian words I already do know. I apparently just need practice stringing them together, but Gian Paolo is there to help me. I kept saying weird things like, "Say what?" and "keep going up (the street)" and "freaking out". He had a little trouble understanding these, but I was there to help him.

Also, we had our first apartment dinner on Tuesday and four of us cooked for 15 people. It was really fun to sit around the table with our Italian roommates and some other friends for a few hours. After dinner we made Nutella and banana crepes! What a wonderful night.