4.

Ciao!

I did it, and even though it was a bit difficult towards the end...I finished Italian 1. I had the best teacher I could ask for, her name was Maria Lidia. She was a very petite lady but you could tell she loved her language. She grew up in Italy and moved to the United States once she was older. The classes were two hours ( give or take) every Monday for about 9 weeks. I am one of those people who take a lot of notes and I wrote down everything I thought my brain could absorb. So needless to say, I have a note book half way full of notes and pages the teacher handed out. The first few classes were mostly learning some words for greetings and goodbyes and whether a word is masculine or feminine. Then the classes started to get a bit more tough, but I wanted to stick with it and learn as much as I could. It seemed other people didn't have the same mind set. The class started out with 13 people and by the last class it ended with 5.

I have been in love with Italy, mostly Rome, for as long I can remember. I lived for a short bit in Sigonella, Italy but I was young and didn't comprehend too much of the language when I was there. Also, I have taken some years learning Latin and I thought learning Italian would help me when I make the trip to Rome in the coming years.

So on the last class, the teacher brought in some tiramisu she made herself. I didn't eat any, but I could smell the strong aroma of the caffe' filling the room. After completing the class, I learned so much and here are a few things:

- When speaking in Italian, you have to open your mouth more and actually form the words. A lot of people I run into and interact with mumble and barely open their mouths while speaking English.

- How to speak about trains, bus ways, hotels, air planes, restaurants, numbers, time, conversations and a bit more

- About the culture there and more

I will be taking Italian 2 once I am a bit closer to my Rome trip, and if you ever had a thought about taking a language course, do it and you will not regret it.

Arrivederci