"You are beautiful."

A few weeks ago, while in one of my 4th grade classes, a girl Noemi, who is already 5'4 and towering over all the boys, called me to her desk. Whispering in english, she said, You...are...beautiful." I blushed because it came out of nowhere, and stammering in Italian I said thank you and that she is beautiful too.

Last week, before the class started, Noemi came up to me with this drawing:



I told her that I don't have a sister and I actually have two brothers, Michele and Antonio, but that I love her drawing anyway. They always forget that my family is Italian and they all loved that my brothers have "traditional italian names." When I spelt my last name for the teacher at one point, the entire class went nuts, all yelling to eachother, "SHE'S ITALIAN!!!!"

From the kids to the old ladies, this country's got a lot of love to give...