Practicing Italian

   I am now counting down the days until I leave for Florence, only 16 days left!!! My last summer days have mainly consisted of work, the beach, making final preparations for my trip, and attempting to learn some Italian. I discovered through an online advertisement an audio language program called the Pimsleur Method, and it has really helped me learn the basics. In addition, I’ve been looking up words in my Italian-English dictionary, writing them on note cards, and trying to memorize them.

   

   At the beginning of this summer, I was worried that I would not have the motivation to study Italian on my own. I'm generally a lazy bum during the summer, probably because I’m all burned out from a hectic and sleep-deprived school year. I also have a dreaded memory of one summer a few years back when I had to take an online Spanish course. I hated it, struggled through it, and barely passed in the end. I then, therefore, told myself that learning new languages was “not my thing”. 

   

   However, much to my surprise, I have discovered that I love Italian. This language is absolutely beautiful! I find that the more I hear and speak those lovely words, the more I want to learn. I actually WANT to spend my time listening to my Pimsleur lessons and memorizing flash cards. I find pure enjoyment out of learning new Italian words and phrases. 

    

   Here are a few examples of some phrases that I have learned in this language-learning process: 

Io capisco un po l’Italiano.    

I understand a little Italian. 

Lei vorrebbe mangiare qualcosa con mi? 

Would you like to eat something with me?

Non lo so.

I don’t know(literally meaning I don’t know it)

Vorrei del vino, per favore. 

I’d like some wine, please. 

Dove il ristorante?

Where is the restaurant?

Assolutamente no!

Certainly not!

Buon giorno. Come sta?

Hello. How are you?

Molto bene, grazie! 

Very well, thank you!

   Learning Italian has been an unexpected joy. I just hope that it stays that way when I start that intensive Italian course at Linguaviva(yikes!). But I must say that I am eager to develop a deeper understanding of the language and I’m excited to use it in every day situations. 

Arrivederci!