Regali Per I Miei Cugini

One segment of our 3 month stay in Italy will include visiting the birthplace of my Sicilian grandparents.  In 2005, I went for the first time with with my parents and  my daughter.  "Little Gramma" Di Giovanni immigrated to the New York as a teen in 1912, leaving behind parents and family she would never see again, but her 3rd grade education enabled her to carryon a lifetime of correspondence.  It was amazing to witness my father to meet his cousins - the descendants of Gramma's siblings that never left the "old country'.  It truly was his trip of a lifetime.  This will be my 4th trip to Sicily and each time I bring home-made, packable gifts for my cousins.  I've been wracking my brain for months on what to bring and I'd almost given up, when I had an epiphany at 3 in the morning the other night. --- photo magnets! So I quickly  had some magnets made from family portraits taken on my first and last trips to Sicily.  It's especially bittersweet, as the 2005 photo includes loved ones lost since then - my dad Raymond, my mom June, cousin Grazia's mother, Pepina and cousin Giusy's father Calogero.  I will see 'i miei cugini'  again in May and am hopeful that after a month studying at Lucca Italian Scuola, that I can carry-on comfortable conversation with  my 'toddler' Italian.  Ciao, ciao for now...7 more days until we are on our way!