I woke up this morning ready for my first day of school. I haven't been to an actual class in over 2 years. Class started at 8:30 so I had to wake up early. Something I am not fond of doing. I grabbed my lunch pail, kissed Mom goodbye and got in the car with Dad as he drove me to Mondovi where my school was. As he dropped me off I waved goodbye and waited for him to turn the corner as he consistently waved goodbye as well.
Okay, this is not how it went at all, but seriously, being dropped off today at school made me feel like a little kid all over again. HA! Gianluca was nice enough to drop me off, but I didn't wave, and I did not cry. I also did not need a lunch pail as the class was only two hours. :)
Simona and I had checked out the school on Monday. The class is free, and is offered by the state of Italia. I was just nervous about who I would have in class with me. The teacher was cute, but she knew no English whatsoever. Her second language is French as is most people around here.
Come to find out the class is made up of 3 Morroccan's, 2 Chinese girls and about 6 Congonians? I don't know what you would call them, but they're from Congo in Africa. Guess who I sat by? I think I fit in best with the Asians, because the three of us had no clue what we were doing. Everyone else spoke French, so they at least had a grasp on the class. Needless to say, I sat there for two hours and learned how to say, Io Sono Nada Il cinque Augusta, Uno Milione nove cento ottanta sette. I was born on the 5th of August 1987. :) I learned some other words as well, but ya know...it was difficult to understand. Simona picked me up, which was nice of her as well so I didn't have to take the public bus. I'm a little nervous about the public bus as I have no idea where it goes, or the fact that if I do get lost no one will understand me. :) Worst. My next class is Monday! I'm going to give it a couple more tries before I decide whether or not to keep going. I meet with Robert tommorrow who works at the British school. Maybe he can point me in the right direction on my journey to speak Italian!
November 25, 2011 at 10:19 AM
John and I got lost on the public bus outside of Venice. But, wait! The story has a happy ending!
We took the bus into Venice and, after spending the day, got on the same bus to go back to our hotel. Unfortunately, the bus doesn't run the same route all day long. We stayed on the bus, looking for our stop, until all the other passengers were off and the driver parked the bus by a park. He got off the bus and left us there.
Now what do we do? We got off the bus and walked the the end of the park, looking for an answer. We finally came to a little pub with a handful of older men inside; none of them spoke English. Somehow, we were able to communicate with alot of pointing and a map that we needed to get a bus to our hotel. They tried to explain but we were clueless. After thanking them, we left in frustration. A minute later, one of the men followed us down the street and told us to get in his car.
OK, that's a little scary but we were already ... uh, brave or crazy and got in. He drove us to our hotel, dropped us off with a smile and refused payment. Whew!
Motto of the story... better know the bus route and which bus goes back to where you came from. :)
Denise Thomas
November 25, 2011 at 3:27 PM
That's exactly what I DON'T want to happen.
November 27, 2011 at 2:18 PM
Hey Allison, its Kelle from Prato...The best advice i can give as with regards to learning Italian is to get around and speak to as many people as you can, just put yourself out there even if you are not totally understood you will find a way to communicate and it might take a bit longer but you will learn so much and quickly...i've been here for 7 years and i tell you its really the only way...if you try people will be so forthcoming here and you'll feel at home in no time...when you get up to Prato and start to hang around with the other au pairs you will see it will become easier as you won't feel like the only 'fish out of water'...remember too a lot of communication is done through body language!
looking forward to meeting you soon
Kelle
November 29, 2011 at 5:21 PM
Buses in foreign countries are the scariest. Absolutely the most frightening part of being in a foreign country. Stressful. Scary. Powerlessness. Ignorance. But you'll never be worth your salt as a world traveler unless you take the plunge. You have to be that obnoxious person who yells when they need to get off or asks the people around them where they are going with a terrible accent. People usually want to help.
On the other hand, in Mexico we would just walk as much as possible instead of getting on a bus ;)