Ciao everyone, it’s now Thursday of my first week in Sorrento and the time is already flying by. We landed in Naples on Sunday and were quickly immersed in the Italian culture when our shuttle drivers had a tough time (to say the least) rounding up all of the students that were supposed to be arriving around the same time. Eventually we made it to Sorrento where I met my host family for the first time. I live with my friend Nick Anselmi in an apartment owned by the Santostasi family, located about a five minute walk from Piazza Tasso, the main piazza in Sorrento. We live with Signora Annabella, a stereotypical Italian grandmother, or nonna, whose sole priority is to feed us until we can’t move. Nonna (as we affectionately call her) doesn’t speak any English, so meals with her provide us with a great opportunity to work on our conversational Italian.
Classes at the Sant’Anna Institute began a few days ago, and so far they have been awesome. I’m taking a Contemporary Italian Literature class that is basically a tutorial considering Nick and I are the only two students. The information is really interesting, and our teacher, Domenico, keeps the class fun and engaging by emphasizing participation and conversation. I’m also enrolled in an Italian grammar class, but our first session isn’t until later today so stay tuned for updates in my next post.
Yesterday Nick and I took a day trip to Naples, and we spent the entire day walking around the beautiful city. We started off with some authentic Neapolitan pizza from L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, widely regarded as the best pizzeria in all of Naples (see photo below). 
Afterward, we walked around the city for about six hours and saw some of the sites, including two of Caravaggio’s three paintings found in the city, and the Castel Nuovo (where the following picture was taken).
By the time we returned to Piazza Garibaldi to catch our train back to Sorrento, we were both exhausted and ready for some dinner.
Each day I’ve learned a couple of of new words and phrases that are used more colloquially than some of the things taught in school. For example, I recently picked up using “Mi puo’ dare” to order food, and “Non mi reggono le mie gambe” to express having tired legs after a long day. Mi puo’ dare is a far more common expression than the formulations we learn in school, which are often viewed as very formal. Waiters always seem a little surprised when we talk to them in Italian, and they are usually more likely to respond in the language when we use these more common expressions. Non mi reggono le mie gambe is an expression I learned from Nonna’s daughter Luci when we got back from Naples and were complaining about how tired we were. Literally, the phrase means “My legs don’t support me,” which I think makes a lot of sense. I’m definitely looking forward to learning a lot more phrases like these over the next few weeks. This post has run a bit longer than intended though, so ciao for now!