Back in Mirandola

I arrived safely in Ancona last week without any problems with immigration, lucky me. From there, I headed straight to Mirandola to see my old friends and the Benatti family. The older brother, Nico, hasn’t changed much but Freddy is definitely taller and stronger! Stefano has lost weight; I would say about 30 pounds! Whereas I used to compare him to Tony Soprano, now I would say he’s more of a Silvio. Eugenia is the same, ever so sweet. Paltro’s got a girlfriend, but it’s good to see him nonetheless. I have missed Mirandola, and all my old friends! I even went to a super market that I used to patron and a guy named Mario -who always used to hook me up with free bottles of wine- recognized me, and, of course he gave me a bottle of Montepulciano to boot! I’ve missed Italy, let the wine flow!

I was under the impression that I’d be here as a visitor for roughly one month, but as it turns out Eugenia thought I was coming to teach English again. This was a bit of a shock because I was prepared to head home, money is low and times are tough. What a break! I told Eugenia that I wanted to think about it- another Christmas/New year’s away from the family, away from home. But hey, I need the money and it feels right. I guess not ready to come home yet, so don’t ask! I don’t even know what I’ll do next. I have a few ideas/possibilities, but I’m here ‘til January and for now that’s all I know.

So it’s been a week now and I’m already getting into the groove. No word from James, but that was expected. I promised some pictures from my stay in Athens which are now posted below, so there ya go. I’ll take some pics of Mirandola next week. Ciao~