December 21st, 1928

Dear Maria,

            We are so sorry we haven’t written sooner, but these six months have flown by. Things are going great so far and we’re really happy with all of the decisions we have made. Leaving Italy was the hardest choice we had to make, but we are thankful every day that it turned out to be the right one. We hope in the future to visit you or, if our financial situation continues to get better, we would love to have you come and stay with us for a while. The ladies at the automobile factory have turned out to be some of the most important connections we have made so far. Although they struggle everyday to support their families, it has been wonderful getting to know them. Like us, they come from all over, but many of them have been here much longer and it is sad to see that they have not made any greater strides in their careers. It is easy to understand, though, how much some of them struggle because quite a few are single mothers. It has been wonderful giving them any support we can and interesting to hear their stories. As you know, we are used to a huge family and a huge support system, so it is strange to hear about such a small family.

            We are still living in the same small apartment, but it is in the heart of the city and extremely cheap. We had the opportunity to move into a larger apartment, but we decided to continue saving our money for more important future endeavors. We have added many personal touches to our apartment and we think even you would be proud of our decorating choices! We really have begun to call this apartment our home and, as we said, the location is wonderful. We have made the Dance Marathon a weekly ritual in order to get to know more people around the city. We have met a few new men from the city, but we are still keeping our distance from any type of relationship. The memory of our husbands is still too strong, but we know overtime we will be able to move on. We know you will understand and we will try to write to you sooner! We love you and miss you so much!

Love,

Carmela, Gabriella, and Milania

On our way to the Dance Marathon with our friends!