With many excited conversations*, and much laughter and the true merriment that is very uniquely Italian, my friend Emily celebrated her twenty-fifth birthday today!
*This very Anglo-Saxon girl has noticed, to her great delight, that at an Italian celebration, one no longer wishes for many multiple hands, but for multiple ears and mouths. To enter fully into the gaiety of the occasion, one must strive to simultaneously engage approximately five very lively, extremely interesting and coincident conversations. I will never tire of experiencing this wonderfully thrilling exercise, even if I am limited to two ears and one mouth. It is hard to describe the joy present in the midst of so much good conversation; I will even dare to say that an Italian family celebration is a little foretaste of Paradise itself!