Sing Up in Città Alta

I had tons of emails today and I'm technically out of time already.  But I'll write as fast as I can and answer some of these questions.

First of all, thanks to everyone for the kind words based on last week's email.  I got lots of compliments, encouragement, and love.  I appreciate it more than you all realize, so thank you.

Here are my mom's words:  So, tell all! The good, the better, and the best. Living quarters, companion in three adjectives, ward level, dinner menu, favorite line to say to strangers, areas you will be most effective here, just pour on the details.

Good:
Going to Milano for transfers was super fun.  I got to see Anziano Kessler!  I freaked out as I walked up to him.  He saw my smile and laughed, "Okay, just don't start crying!"  And we hugged like father and son.  He's headed to Ancona!  I hope he says Hi to Paolo for me.

Better:
This city is gorgeous, especially Città Alta, which is in MY area!  Yeah, of the 12 ways that Bergamo is divided, I happened to get the most gorgeous part of the city.  It's old and... just super cool.  Look it up.

Best:
The guys I live with here are amazing!  Everyone's so different, so fun, and I think we're all gonna get along really well here.  So that's nice.

Living quarters:
Super tiny, but really nice.  Close to our area.  Unlimited hot water, which is almost unheard of in Italy.  Yay!

Companion in three adjectives:
Witty, quiet, and FILM-GEEK!  Woo hoooo!

Ward level:
There are 2 wards here and 1 branch.  We're in the branch.  The church building is huge and in a really cool place.  We take a tram to get there.  We also have a center for the GANS (youth) here in the city, really cool.

Dinner menu:
Ha!  Yeah, we don't eat dinner in this mission.

Favorite line to say to strangers:
"Buon Natale!"

Areas you will be most effective:
I'm gonna try to sing up in Città Alta.  The members of the branch are thrilled that I can play the piano.  I guess it's been a long time singing a capella.

Details:
I'll get to that next week.

So things are looking pretty good.  I'm still a little emotional thinking of Reggio and I get jealous if I think of all of them hanging out at Bishop's house for Christmas, but I can tell that this is a great place to finish the mission and it'll give me a good opportunity to keep working and use everything I've learned.  Which is a lot, I'm realizing.

Love and Christmas cheer to all!
Anziano Burton