A Christmas dinner

         The very next week we had a Christmas dinner and a secret Santa exchange. It was really nice to take my mind off of the stress of finals. We were told in advance to pick a name and buy a gift for our special person. I am no good at shopping for others so naturally my first option was to get them chocolate. I decided to join a small group to the center. My second thought was to buy a scarf. One of the most predominant items in Italy. Literally everyone has a scarf. Women, men, homeless people, children, and even dogs have scarves here. As I wondered down the cobble stone street with my small pack I got the feeling that I should get my person (Janet) something better. I wanted to get Janet something unique that hopefully no one else would get, so chocolate was definitely out. I followed our group to a store called LUSH. I had never heard of this store before, but they had amazing stuff. It was somewhat like an organic bath and bodyworks. I'm not sure if that's an accurate description, but that's all i can think to compare it to. As soon as I walked in a strong perfumey smell smacked me in the face. For a second the air was so thick with scents that I could hardly breath. They had everything for bath stuff there. There was even solid toothpaste! The bath bombs were amazing and I really wanted to buy one, but alas there is no bath here. After browsing around for a good 15-20min I finally bumped into it. It looked like galaxy jello from Mars. I picked the giggly mess up to examine it closer. It smelled amazing and was fun to play with and the best part was that this little jello thing of soap was right in my price range. I grabbed the bottle I wanted and took it straight to the counter. I made small talk with the lady at the counter who told me to take their catalog so I could "study" it and learn Italian better. Good way to make americans look through and by more things that they don't need.
        The night of the dinner was also an ugly sweater contest. I don't really have an ugly sweater here and I was in no position to buy one. I did wear my grey sweater, but I don't think I qualified for anything. As we waited for the dinner a few of us stole the cookie ornaments off the center piece and munched on those. It was a beautiful night. After eating we passed out our gifts, took pictures and even had a little dancing. I even got to try my first cup of real Italian hot chocolate! Which is hot pudding you drink more or less.

Even though I was away from my family and friend I still had a great time. It really helps when there's lot's of other people just like you. Also good food helps cure homesickness! Tutto Bene!!