Ciao! Arriverderci!

tues, my friend gelli introduced me to her three italian friends. we met in Vu's bar. after a few mintues of pleasantries, we instantly hit it off with discussions ranging from italy, to philippines, to business, to dubai, to each one's works. when we left them, we learned that they still jammed with the people from the other table, who happened to be-- you guessed it-- italians!

then thursday, they were invited by their new-found kababayans to a (italian) house party. they invited gelli, and gelli tagged me along, not wanting to feel left out. with nothing else to do, i agreed. plus, i think it sounded exciting! and an adventure...

at 10pm, gelli and i arrived at the villa by jumeirah. we were met by our friends, and then, by the host of the party. with all blondes, tall people, long noses and speaking italian, i suddenly felt out-of-place!!!!! they even separated me and gelli from the sitting arrangement in the dinner table, but was glad i was seated next to this cute italian guy ;)

the first part, as any social gathering is of relative strangers, was kinda awkward, especially when they started talking in their language. once in a while, when they remember us, they'd speak in english. hmm.... now i kinda know how it feels to be in a conversation where each word they speak is greek to me, and i really felt so lost! and the best conversation piece i can give is just a nod and a smile! now i can sympathize with foreigners in the company of pinoys who endlessly talk in tagalog! this is one of those times when i wish i had the power of linguistics!

but that part usually ends after a few minutes of ice breakers! and the big group talk disintegrates to small group talks... and that's when a cute seatmate comes in handy! unfortunately, to his right is a disarming pretty fil-italian! but he was kind enough to engage both of us in a good english talk...

now comes the part when they serve pasta... pasta... pasta... yes, in one plate, i was given 3 kinds of pasta! whew! one was carbonara, one was tomato-based and the other one was meat-based! i have to remember i was in an italian party. the noodle was so al dente, that i realized i liked my less al dente pinoy spaghetti so much more!

after the pasta feast... they served steak-- rare!!!! oh, haven't eaten a rare steak before, but with an adventurous palate, i tried it, and i liked it! and for dessert, i've tasted the best tiramisu i've tasted! i had two servings. i already lost my 'hiya'. and the hostess appreciated my fondness for her dessert.

then of course, wine flows like a river! they talk about different kinds of wine... wherein i only know 2-- red and white! they served different kinds of red wines, and different kinds of white wine, with each wine having a story of its own... and that simply means the table is filled with wine glasses! the last i've seen so many wine glasses on a table was during our home economics fine dining exam!

then, lastly, and the part closest to me--- was the picture-taking time! gelli took two shots, and left my camera on the table, and the guy beside me started taking candid shots of all of us, and even of the cherries in front of us! that was cool and fun!

then later still, as we let the food we ate settle in the inner corners of our tummies, there was the natural gravitating of the genders-- the guy talk there and the girl talk here! and some one-on-one talk on the living room...

at around 1 am, we bid ciao and arrideverci! it was a nice house party, and i would gladly be a willing victim next time gelli tags me along again...