Addendum to Christmas party: Among the myriad additional kids that Aurora invited was a 5th grade boy named Matteo. His mom, Ida, came up and hung out for the party (as indeed several of the moms did, which was a great help in keeping the party organized!). Several kids brought little presents -- a panetonne, a bottle of wine -- but Matteo brought really the coolest of all: a little glass Christmas tree with blown glass bubble ornaments and a color-changing LED (blue-purple-red) in the bottom. It is AWESOME and will be part of my Christmas decorations forever now. Ida's other child is Giulia. I wish we could get Giulia and Elise to be friends. I think they'd both be happier, as they seem to have a great deal in common -- too bright for the Pellegrino schools, shy, bookish -- they even look a little alike! But they're both so paranoid about speaking the other's language that I don't think it will happen. Sigh.