Natalie Anne Volpe: 1991 - 1992 Budapest, Hungary

I always wanted to write a book. But maybe starting with this blog is not a bad idea, so let’s see what will become of it. Maybe this blog will make a great book, or at least give me the elements for it. (Actually, I did keep a blog once for a couple months, if you're interested--when I moved to Paris in 2010, it was called http://myownamazinglittlerainbow.blogspot.com/).

So back to my life’s story. I sure traveled a lot throughout my childhood. I was barely 4 months when we moved to Hungary. As my parents were missionaries, they often ate what was available, or what was donated. Some of my first solid foods were fish and capsicums, and I developed such a taste for it, that throughout my life, I would eat bell peppers as others eat apples, I just loved them. I don’t have lots of memories of Hungary, except for pictures of snow.


With Mom and Dad, sleeping on Dad's back

Did you know that the first language I learned was French? My mom was determined to teach me French, so she only spoke French to me the first year and a half of my life. Unfortunately, she had to go on a mission for a couple months when I was just learning to talk, and neither of us recovered from that break. My mom says I would start crying whenever she would speak French to me after she came back. I must have been traumatized by her absence. I sure regretted not having learned French at a young age. It would have saved me so much hassle later on.