I WON!

Dear Caroline

It’s been a weird week without Mamie. A little lonely if I’m being honest. You don’t realize how important something is till it’s gone, and with Mamie here I had a companion. Making friends in Rome is a bit harder than in Berlin because the students are mostly short term, and the long term students were smart and came in the cooler months. So when I finally make a friends they are usually on their last week or so.

Every Thursday is when the school holds its “graduation” for departing students. I didn’t have anyone to bid farewell so I never attended, however this week Flavia, our activities manager, said I should attend. I had nothing to do so why not right. The room is packed, there are a lot of students graduating, the ceremony begins with Flavia introducing something about the photo competition. My Italian comprehension isn’t great right now it’s only been a month but I heard her call my name. I stood up and walked to the front and she handed me a red envelope. I gathered from the applause and this envelope that I had one the photo competition. I never win anything so this was really really fun.

Guess what was in the envelope? My prize. It was perfect, it was a cookbook on Italian cuisine. How did they know I was a home chef. They really care about us here.

The weekend was very relax without Mamie around. I needed time to recharge, she really tired me out. Who would have thought!