I think that due to such hospitality I have received from the Italians, I forgot that I still have to learn their language.
My host father, who does not speak much English, picks me up every day from school around 4:15. Well, during an unexpected school assembly that ended at 4:20, the teachers announced that we will be having an advisory gathering. They said it will end around 5 o'clock. This sudden change of plans was not a problem anyways. I could just text my host father and tell him that he could go back home and that I will take a bus or something.
But the thing is, I couldn't.
I somehow managed to draft a sentence, despite my inability to speak or write Italian well. He did not respond. I assumed that he read the text. 30 minutes later, I check my phone again: 5 calls from an unknown number. So I called my host mother, who can thankfully speak some English. I told her: "I will just walk to your office or something (only a 20 minute walk). I hope Maurizio (my host father) is not still waiting for me!" She responded: "Thank you for calling. I will tell him that."
When I arrived at her office, she politely admonished me: "You can do whatever you want. You can hang out with your friends. Just let us know of your plans." Aware of what she was hinting at, I responded, "No, I was with a teacher for school." She did not understand what I said, so she just talked about how worried Maurizio was. But she ended the conversation by saying, "It's okay. No worries."
You see, this may not seem like a big deal, but not being able to explain to someone what happened is very exasperating. I have not felt this since I was eight, when I first moved to the United States. But I am glad that this incident happened because it definitely pressures me to learn Italian. Fast.
But for now, no worries. Tranquillo.