24

plus me is 25. That's how many students (from my beginner English class) I fed in my little apartment last night. I made spaghetti and meatballs - partly because that was one of the things we talked about in the food unit (they had no idea what it was) and partly because it's not too hard to make.

Having a large number (more than 4) over to my apartment requires a little thought. I have an oven (most people don't here) but it's only big enough to hold very small things (like the length of a loaf pan and not quite twice the width of one) so baking things for large numbers of people isn't really an option unless it's a side or a dessert. I was even having issues yesterday with spaghetti, though, because I needed the one big pot I have to keep the sauce cooking in while I cooked the noodles. I ended up putting the sauce into two smaller pans and rotating them on one burner while I boiled the noodles in stages in the big pot on the other burner (and then put them in a covered bowl until we served them). We also had salad, baguette bread (which they sell here -I was so glad I didn't have to bake the bread!), the students brought loads of fruit and drinks, and everybody got a small piece of hot milk sponge cake for dessert. The girls who helped me serve were putting the salad and dressing on top of the spaghetti at first, but I suggested to put it on the side and people could mix it if they wanted :). We were a little crowded for seating (around two low folding tables on the floor), but we had a good time. They especially loved looking at my pictures after dinner.

I thought the hills were beautiful last weekend, but yesterday they were even more so. We're getting a little rain almost every day, too, so it's getting greener and greener around here!