“All is going well – we really enjoy Andrea… I am having lots of fun realizing how hard English really is as I try to explain WHY we say things a certain way.  He is a really nice young man – we enjoy his sense of humor and he fits in well with the family… Lately Andrea and Clayton have begun to act more as brothers which is really funny (Clayton telling Andrea what to do and Andrea saying “no” he isn’t going to do whatever Clayton said :-). . . but when Clayton does things with a large group of friends Andrea is always included and I think they do enjoy each other.

Kevin and I have had fun practicing our Italian with Andrea who is as eager to correct us as we are his English – we have discovered that all of us speak very well if we are speaking in present tense only – it is the future and past that are hard :-)  We all went to an Italian restaurant to watch the AC/Inter game a few weeks ago and I think Andrea enjoyed the opportunity to speak without having to think about every word!

Andrea misses Italian meals – and although I could easily cook for him what he is use to I try hard to make many other things that I know he has never had – some he has enjoyed others not as well :-)
I think this has been a wonderful experience, for my boys to learn to be accepting of other ideas and thoughts (we have had interesting religious discussions as well) and for all of us to learn to “share” each others time.
Thanksgiving is a chance to reflect on all you are thankful for and I am very thankful for this experience with Andrea. He is really part if our family now and I will be very sad when he has to leave.

I can’t believe how fast the last few months have gone! In just a little over a week we will be taking Andrea back to the airport – We will all be sad to see him go – the boys are all much more like real brothers now and I think they will keep the friendship up for years to come.”

Jill