Ciao a tutti! Sophie here. (I always announce myself when I write, hope you do not mind!)
This week we felt for real what it means to have winter in Bergolo.
Aside from the coldness, we were lucky enough to have our first snow for the winter! Can you believe it ??
But more details later.. Let's take things from the start 🧐
Tuesday we did a team building activity all together. The Vitality group gathered along with the Parco Culturale volunteers and their coordinator Damiano. The process was under the guidance of Fabrizio.
In the end, to celebrate our time together, we ate all together. Merche joined as well! 😇
Eating Raúl's homemade bread & alioli , Damiano's risotto and Sila's lentils sauce mix 😻
Speaking about Parco Culturare volunteers, did you know that Sila is my sister?
Well.. we are not blood related but soul sisters I would say. Everyone says we resemble in the way we act. Cheerful, energetic and caring for others. I think it is true indeed!
We even look alike 🥰
Moving on to the week, I had the chance to experience my first Italian lesson on Wednesday!
The teacher is lovely. She tries to explain the lesson the best way possible and she always encourages us and engages us in conversation. I am a beginner in Italian but I feel hopeful that I can learn a lot from her (fingers crossed I will remain a diligent student 🤞).
On Thursday, after a long time we had a Vitality meeting. It was much needed as we needed to make sure we were all in the same page and of course to plan productively our winter.
At that point, I should mention that being part of a team is not always a smooth sail.
Especially when it comes to communication. But what I like in my group is that I see everyone trying to truly understand and cooperate with each other, even in times when problems arise .
And when it comes to communicating, there should be also action involved...
As we are proactive people, we didn't stick only to talking. We tested our cooperation skills in practice and we went to our new garden here in Bergolo.
In case no one has introduced you to our new gem, it is official! 🥳
For next season, Vitality is going to do their sustainability project here in Bergolo, in an area located next to the theater.
Thanks to the mayor Mario ( He is indeed Super Mario) we will have the opportunity to have this place next to our home. We will work the soil, design the area and cultivate it from scratch. As we did in Cascina Crocetta! 🌱
But what was I saying?
Ah yes! About Thursday.. Well after our meeting we went to the new garden and worked all together to collect leaves and cover the earth with them. It was nice seeing all of us work together harmoniously and effectively! 🌻
Our adventures did not stop there though! In the second part of the day, Raúl and Angie had their presentation about their countries in the school. Most of us followed there and we witness their great presentations. In fact, I was impressed with a lot of things they said. For example did you know that Belarusians are the quiet Italians and they love potato so much they use it as much as the bread ? And what about Flamengo? Did you know that it it is not culturally linked with Spain but it has roots from Gypsy culture?
All in all, personally I enjoyed that they did not hesitate to speak about the political situation in their countries and the stereotypes that exist there. It gave me a great insight about Spain and Belarus.
Thank you Raúl and Angie ! 😊
Friday we had the occasion to go to Monesiglio during the evening.
There was an event organized by Parco Culturare with food and music.
Some of us went to support our Turkish friends and to enjoy our time together.
Then on Saturday, the highlight of the week happened! Yes you guessed right.. It snowed.
It was the first snow I saw here in Bergolo for this year and it was amazing how everything was covered in less than a day by our sudden visitor ❄️
And since the experience was so nice, a few of us (namely me, Angie, Tim, Sila and Burak) went out during the snow to have a beautiful walk until Levice and a coffee there.
On Sunday, I joined forces with Angie, Sila and Burak and we went to Turin to take advantage of the free museums (Every first Sunday of the month there are museums that are for free!)
It was interesting experience as we visited the royal palace.
And since we were in Turin we arranged to meet with our friend Georgia (I am sure you remember her from our previous posts) and spend some time all together.
Georgia and her beautiful creations on display! ✨
Well it was a long post but it was a long week too! ( in a really beautiful and productive way!)
See you soon, take care and please remember to dress warmly, it is winter after all ❤️❤️
P.s. Send some positive energy to our Pakito (Raúl) as currently is down with the flu. Pakito get well soon! ❤️