Buon Natale!

Alicia celebrated Christmas in Italy this year.

"The holidays here were interesting. It was surprisingly difficult to meet with people during this time and we got SO MANY bedones (bee-doe-nays, cancelations) in the last week. My comp said she hasn't gotten this many since a legendary transfer in Ragusa, so it was hard, but it brought us together and helped us reevaluate certain things that are making a difference in these last couple weeks of the transfer. I can't believe the transfer is almost over!! It just started! Christmas here was pretty anti-climatic, esp, w/o snow, I missed the snow. But we had some good experiences and were able to bring joy to some of our members and friends that are also far from their homes right now."

"We spent New Years in Mistretta which meant we ended up spending NYE eating a huge, and delicious lunch, then going to some members' country space and eating tons of freshly picked mandarinis and oranges and a lemon that was really sweet and tasty and not sour at all - it was weird! Then we went to the members' home for shrimp (still in the shell with the legs), calamari, and baby octupuses, tentacles, suckers and all!"

"With regards to cultural experiences we went to teatro Massimo last night to watch the opera Rigletto. It had nothing to do with the feature films for families version, and I wouldn't necessarily tell all my friends to go see it, but it was a wonderful experience to see an italian opera in Italy in a sweet theater. Of course now I want to watch phantom."