Hello?

My Italian, although improved, is not good. I can understand what people are saying, when they're talking to/about me, and I can even answer them sometimes. 

Last night there was this baking contest, it happens every year in the mountains. Vittoria, Angelica, Costanza and I decided to enter some "American Cookies". Honestly, we used a mix that Vittoria bought in Nebraska. 

We got second place. 

Yes, you read that correctly. 

Second place.

We were asked to come to the front and say something about the cookies. 

Keep in mind that this wasn't an official contest or anything... The majority of the audience was family or close friends. Vittoria's uncle was the announcer and he asked me to come over to the megaphone he was holding, not microphone, they were using a megaphone. 

Now he begins to tell the audience, in Italian of course, how well I can speak Italian and how much I've improved and so on. He then hands me the microphone and asks me to talk to the audience in Italian. 

"Ciao!" 

That's all, folks. 

And they laugh and clap and laugh some more. 

I'm a hit. 

Then Vittoria did the actual speech and we ate the rest of the desserts. 

It was a good night.