Church in Milan

Sorry there have been no posts this week. Scott and I have been stuck at the hotel all week long, so there has been nothing to blog about. Hopefully we will find an apartment soon, and also trade in our rental car with standard transmission for one with automatic transmission that I can drive. No, I can't drive a standard. I've never had any need to learn, and I don't intend to start in Milan with their crazy drivers and roundabouts. All of that resulted in a pretty boring week for the two of us.

Today, though, we went to church. We didn't go last week, having slept through our alarm. For those of you who remember my first Milan post, we also went to McDonald's last Sunday. It was a bad day all around! But today we made it to church.

My impressions, again in list form:

1. The church is the 2nd floor of an office/apartment building. It's nice, but not your typical LDS chapel. There's no A/C, which wasn't bad today since I think it was only in the 70's in the morning. It did get warmer inside than it did outside. But the weather should start cooling off here soon, and I'm assuming we have heat during the winter!

2. They do things backwards - Relief Society/Priesthood, then Sunday School, then Sacrament Meeting. I've been in wards where it's been done like that, and I don't really like it. I'll have to get used to it.

3. Since it was a 5th Sunday, we all met together for Relief Society/Priesthood. Except the Aaronic Priesthood and Young Women also met with us. And we kind of thought they would have been better served with their own lesson.

4. I am going to have to get used to a translation device. We had them for Relief Society/Priesthood and Sacrament Meeting. I'm glad I can hear the services in English, but it's weird wearing an earpiece and listening to a missionary translate. Plus, I know there were times he didn't translate anything at all! But, as I said, I'm grateful the missionaries are there to translate. I think we have the only ward in Milan with translation devices.

5. We went to an English speaking Gospel Doctrine class. There were only about a dozen of us. Some Americans, some other nationalities. It was nice to hear everything in English.

6. The Young Men President went to Scott's Sunday School class with him and translated. I thought that was really nice. Apparently though, that class (which includes all of the youth) has had a sub while their teacher has been on holiday, and the sub can't control them. Scott said the kids talked and texted and listened to music during the whole class. Hopefully that will get better when the regular teacher returns.

7. Scott passed the Sacrament today. It was nice to see him up there. He looked very pale compared to the other boys! He wants to work on learning the Sacrament prayers in Italian, since they really need Priests to bless the Sacrament.

8. Today when we sang the hymns, we just sang along using our English hymnals. Next week I think I'll trying using an Italian hymnbook. I'm sure I'll butcher the words, but it will be good practice.

9. We met some very nice English speaking people today. Some Americans and some other nationalities. As Scott said, it was nice to hear English! I'm looking forward to getting to know them better.

10. The church is about 15 minutes away. That's a real bummer considering I lived 3 minutes from church back in Richmond! I miss that! And I miss our pretty stake center!

11. It was very different from what I'm used to, but there were also many similarities. We had a 5th Sunday lesson, just like you will back home. We had a Gospel Doctrine lesson from the same manual that's used back home. And, most importantly, the Sacrament was prepared, blessed, and passed by the Priesthood, just like back home. And that's what's important.

There you have it - our first Sunday of church in Milan.

Milan - First Impressions

Actually, I should have titled it "San Donato - First Impressions". We are actually in San Donato, a suburb of Milan. The airport is right near where we are staying, so I haven't actually been into Milan. And I don't think Robert has been into Milan yet, so who knows when we'll go.

My first impressions, in list form:

1. While on the ride from the airport and driving other places, I noticed a lot of graffiti. Robert said they say it's just a way for teenagers to express themselves. I guess I don't look at it that way. It makes the area look more run down, and not as safe. Not that I feel unsafe, that's just the impression graffiti gives.

2. There are a lot of big trees around where we are. The kind that shade the streets. I love that.

3. Italian grocery stores are strange. You have to pay a Euro for a cart, which you get back when you return it. We just picked up some staples, but they don't look like our staples! I'm going to have to get used to that. We bought some beef labeled "American beef". Maybe it will taste like meat back home. We found something that looked like saltine crackers, we'll see what they taste like! We did get a very yummy looking loaf of bread. And some tasty chocolate.

4. McDonalds french fries taste like our fries. But their Coke Zero doesn't taste the same. Plus they give you barely any ice. I like my soda cold, thanks! And in case you're wondering why we were at McDonalds, we were breaking the sabbath, and it was the only restaurant open.

5. Gelatarias are awesome. I tried limone (lemon, for those who couldn't figure that out), and I think it may have been more of an Italian ice. It was very tart and refreshing. Scott got a chocolate gelato, and he thought it was a little too thick. He did like my limone, though. That could become a dangerous addiction!

6. Driving is crazy! I haven't driven anywhere, but I've ridden with Robert. They have roundabouts everywhere! Whoever thought those were a good idea was out of their mind! Plus lots of the roads don't have lines, so it's hard to know if there is one lane or two! I'm not looking forward to driving here!

7. Milan, or rather San Donato, does not look like what I picture an Italian city to look like. I've heard it's more modern looking. We'll have to drive somewhere and see what we can find that looks like what I'm expecting.

That's my first report from Milan. No pictures yet. I haven't really seen anything I wanted to take pictures of. Hopefully I will soon.

Ciao!

Eagle!!

Scott passed his Eagle Board of Review last night! Woo hoo! All three of our boys are now Eagle Scouts!

If you had told me a few weeks ago that Scott would be an Eagle Scout before we left for Italy, I would have said "no way". By that time, I was confident he could have his project done, but I didn't think we could get the paperwork done in time for an Eagle Board of Review. I thought he'd have to have his Board next summer when we came to visit.

But Stacy, our fearless Eagle mentor, had other plans. She pushed for Scott's recommendation letters - getting them back quicker than I think anyone has ever gotten them back! Then she set up the Board. I'm really grateful to her for everything she did.

Because of her I got to take this picture of Scott after his Board:

And this picture of Scott with the District Advancement Chair:
Congratulations, Scott! I'm proud of you!

Tuesday - A Hard Day

Tuesday was a hard day. It was the day we took our 14-year-old beagle, Bailey, to the vet and had her put to sleep.

Once I knew for sure we were moving, I thought long and hard about what would be best for Bailey. She was getting old. She was getting arthritis and and wasn't moving around as well. If we weren't moving, she would have been fine for a while longer. But, plain and simply, Bailey was my dog. She was attached to me. She would follow me from room to room. I was afraid it would be too hard on her if I were suddenly gone for a long period of time. Also, she would be left alone for long periods of time, and that would have made her miserable. I talked it over with my vet a couple of weeks ago, and we both agreed her happiness was what was important.

But knowing it was the best thing to do didn't make it any easier.

I took a last picture of her on Tuesday. She loved to lay on the back of the couch, and could still get up there, even though it took her a few tries! The one ear back is classic Bailey!

The time at the vet's office was hard, but I'm glad we stayed with her. The vet explained what would happen. It was all very quick and peaceful, and Bailey was gone in less than 10 seconds.

They sent us home with this clay paw print so we could always remember Bailey. Not that we could ever forget her.
Bailey was a great dog. I will miss her very much.

School Supplies Project

As part of Scott's Eagle Scout Project we had a fundraiser to earn money, and raised $510.00. We then took that money and bought school supplies for the kids at the Fort Bend County Women's Center. Do you know how many school supplies you can buy for $510.00? I'll tell you:

6 backpacks

4 TI-30XIIS calculators

4 1 GB flash drives

48 packs of 24 count crayons

12 one inch binders

24 folders with prongs

12 composition notebooks

10 packs of 100 count paper

10 packs of 150 count paper

60 spiral notebooks

10 graph paper spiral notebooks

10 pencil boxes

10 packs of 5 count highlighters

30 packs of 10 count pencils

10 packs of 12 count black pens

5 packs of 10 count black pens

3 packs of 10 count red pens

10 packs of 6 count glue sticks

15 packs of 8 count washable markers

5 pair of pointed scissors

5 pair of blunt scissors

10 rulers

2 protractors

13 pencil bags

30 packs of 24 count colored pencils

3 packs of 6 pink erasers

5 packs of 15 cap erasers

6 pencil sharpeners

14 bottles of glue

7 packs of ruled index cards

20 book covers

Here's our table full of the 413 items we bought:

That's a lot of supplies!

Tomorrow we deliver! And then Scott's Eagle Scout Project will be complete!

Finally...Almost

As many of you know, I have been hassling with our high school here since the end of May. I have been trying to get Scott accepted to the American School of Milan, and that requires having his school records from here sent. Does that seem difficult to you? Well apparently it was difficult for Scott's counselor. I can't tell you how many times I called her (and usually talked to her machine) or went down to the school to see her (although she often wasn't there). Last week, after not being able to talk to her yet again, I went in and talked to the principal. I decided it was time to pull out the big guns.

And it apparently worked! I found out today Scott was conditionally accepted to the American School of Milan!

Conditionally? That's where the "almost" comes in. Apparently, ASM has still not recieved Scott's Math and English Admittance tests. The tests the high school administered to him on June 22nd. But didn't bother to send with the rest of his records...

Sigh. Time to call Scott's counselor again. Hopefully for the last time.

It's Official!

We now have plane tickets! We are officially leaving Houston on Friday, August 20th at 7:00p.m.

Milan, here we come!