Personal Narrative: Home By Daniella Peterson

Ciao, come stai ! (Italian for) Hello how are you or how is it going? Daniella Peterson, my friend from Italy, has been my speaking partner and has been teaching me about her culture and home land. I have had so much fun with her and we have become better friends through this experience. She joined the church when she was a young adult and moved here from Italy one of the missionaries from here sponsored her and helped her move to the United States. She is now an American citizen and has a husband and three beautiful children. She has taught her children to speak Italian and they have traveled back there every other summer for many years. Her parents are still alive and they go and stay with them for a month at a time. Her parents do

I have been excited to learn about the Italian culture and as I have been asking her questions and one leads into another and another. I have learned about their holidays, how they celebrate, how they shop for food, what are traditional foods they eat, eating habits, transportation, and different employment that is available. I have learned about her family and some of the traditions they have at Christmas and Easter. Their culture is very different. There are less women working and there

She uses it in the church when she needs to translate for a speaker who doesn’t know Italian or for someone who only speaks English that is going to church. She said they greet each other with a kiss on both cheeks, that sounds so loving and heartwarming. I think we could use a little more of that in the US. I think their way of eating is healthier too. They eat a small breakfast, a large lunch and a small dinner. They love pasta, salad, meat or fish. In her home town she lives near the ocean so sea food is a big part of their diet, she misses the fresh sea food. Another reason she said English is important is to get a better job, tourism is big and they need English speakers at all the Hotels. She learned English in elementary school, at a private school, and a camp. I learned about Christmas a little bit, she said Christmas decorations are just a few things in their homes and a nativity scene in every home. It sounds like Christmas and Easter are more religious there. At Easter the kids get a giant chocolate egg with a present inside for the kids. Baptism and first communion is a big event for the Italians. She said they will rent a place and it is like a wedding reception, a very big