puppets 'n stuff.

this is my daily morning 20-minute break time, so i thought i would share a little something i learned. well, it will actually be several random things. here goes:

1) "e la morta sua" - literally, it means "it is the death of him" - but they use it to say "there is no other way for it to be done." usually when cooking. random fact.

2) fresh mozzarella can be an entire course for a meal. the main course, to be exact.

3) meals here consist of at least three courses.
the first is always pasta.
the second is the main course, which can be meat, cooked vegetables, etc. (or fresh mozzarella :))
the third is some kind of salad or fresh vegetables.
while pasta is the first course, you would expect smaller servings of pasta, since it is like an appetizer.. but no. it will be a full plate. and then you are expected to eat two more courses.

4) did you know that you can't hot glue styrofoam? it melts.

5) you know those moving-mouth puppets with the big heads that they use in sunday school/ministry things? well.. my project for yesterday and today is to make two of those. it's so fun! except that finding the supplies was terrible. italy isn't really big on crafts in general, which means that you have to go to one shop to buy the fleece, another shop to buy the hot glue gun, another shop to buy the foam, another shop to buy the styrofoam, and even another shop to buy the boa for the hair. it took an entire afternoon to find everything.

6) there's a guy from naples who has a fabric shop near the church. this is where we found the fleece and the felt. he was soo nice to us, and the only reason he even cut the fabric for us was because i didn't speak italian. it was wonderful! he said he knows how hard it is to be somewhere and not know the language, so he actually cut it for us. otherwise we would have had to buy the whole roll. which is really expensive. praise the Lord!

7) even though i'm leaving here soon, i still feel compelled to learn italian, even after i leave. not sure why. i understand the grammar alright, i just need to learn vocabulary. maybe i will have a "word of the day" like we did in second grade.. it could work!

kay, that's all.
for now.
i'm going to a birthday party tonight for a guy who comes to the church. he's turning 14. it'll be fun :)
and next week the craziness begins with the real last-minute consultation prep. ahh!

love you guys. and i miss you. and america. and the convenience of hobby lobby. :)
-e