Photo found on the internet and I have zero idea who to give credit to for this one.
I have been dying to use this meme for three months and finally, I have the perfect topic to share it – my first day of Italian language class. It’s as if the stars are aligning even if they aren’t serving pizza.
I had a fantastic first day of school. I found myself internally acknowledging during the middle of the class, just how much I was enjoying the experience. That’s really one of the best feelings – when you are in the moment and can have total and complete gratitude for the present – it really is a gift.
I arrived a little early to meet with Gianluca, the superhero who doesn’t wear a cape but he does have nice glasses. Gianluca and I have been emailing for two weeks now. And not only is he organized and thorough online, but he is also very much so in person as well. Every time the buzzer rings because someone is at the front door (student after student all day long ring this damn bell), Gianluca is right there to let them in. You need to know where your classroom is, he walks you there personally. You need a lesson book, he has your back. You need to pay for your classes, he will whip a calculator out of his back pocket and let you know your total and then process the cash or card and provide not only a printed receipt but a handwritten one from the school as well. While everyone is flocking to this dude’s desk to get an answer to one thing or another while communicating their needs in several different languages – Gianluca is cool as a cucumber. He knows all the answers and makes sure everyone is taken care of. I don’t know what he makes in terms of Euros but whatever it is, it’s not enough. He is brilliant at his job.
So given that this school, Parola, came highly recommended by Paola (I mentioned her in a previous post – here is her website again should you need a brilliant guide during your time in Florence) and the reviews online are basically five stars, my encounter with Gianluca online and this morning confirmed that I am in fact in the perfect place to learn a new language and it set the ton for a great day.
My classroom is the room on the top left.
When I walked into the classroom, Xiaoyan (English pronunciation: chow-yin) was already seated. It’s a small room with a few chairs arranged in a semi-circle, that have tiny side tables to create desks. Once seated, I introduced myself and we hit it off immediately. She has a good vibe. She is from China (specifically a town about an hour away from Shanghai) and is staying in Italy for a few months to study Italian – she loves languages. She is also working as an Au Pair for a family about an hour by bus outside of the city. She speaks two languages fluently and wants to add a third to her arsenal. I love meeting new people like Xiaoyan. She is interesting and worldly and I could listen to her tell me about her life all day.
After we were settled in, Priscila (only one L) from Brazil came in and grabbed a seat. She is bright and bubbly. Her smile is unconsciously contagious. I found myself smiling a huge smile back at her for absolutely no other reason than some sort of mirroring effect. That must be her superpower – getting people to smile. She seems very kind and is ready to get the hell out of Brazil. Which made me laugh out loud when she said it. She wants desperately to move to Italy. She has Italian lineage in her family – both of her hyphenated last names are Italian – and she would like to connect with her Italian roots. Her visa is only for four months but she is hoping to get it extended to continue studying and eventually move here permanently. She made several comments that her English was “not very good” but I didn’t seem to notice. I could understand her just fine. And as the old joke goes, “her English is better than my Portuguese and Italian put together.” We’ve already swapped telephone numbers.
Finally, just before the teacher, Annarita, walked in, Carlo from Togo slipped in and grabbed a seat next to me. We didn’t get a chance to talk to him before class began but we quickly learned a few things about each other during introductions. Carlo has a story. He will be studying in Italy for the next five (5!) years. He will take Italian language classes until next October to become fluent, which is important and required because he only speaks French at the moment (thank goodness for Google translate), and all of his university studies will be in Italian. His focus of study will be philosophy and theology because Carlo wants to become a priest. We all made the sign of the cross. Amen.
The class is broken up into two sections and it’s a full-court press of speaking Italian the entire time except to define the words in English to improve our vocabulary. It’s an uphill challenge but the teachers make it fun and engaging. I was pleasantly surprised.
Grammar was taught from 9 am – 11 am by a very kind and organized teacher, Annarita. She made magic on that whiteboard and cast a spell on all four of us. I don’t know how or what she did but she made it so I was able to retain a wee bit of the basics; masculine, feminine, singular, and plural. I mean, I still have a loooooong way to go and a lot to learn and more importantly remember but it made sense for today. Let me sleep on it and see what tomorrow brings. Either way, I was in awe of her teaching and communication style.
Next up was conversational Italian from 11 am – 1 pm with Silvia. She is a firecracker. We had so much fun practicing pronunciation, playing games, and increasing our vocabulary. She talks so fast and everything is in Italian, I’m missing most of what she says but she yells “energy, energy” quite a bit when there is a word with a double letter, such as MAMMA MIA and CAPPUCCINO! We practiced the double letters with gusto and now my mouth hurts.
I’m learning that Italian isn’t just a language for communication but an expression of being. The Italians are passionate about anything from adding the precise amount of rock salt to the pasta water to make it taste like seawater to the double cc’s in macchiato to the hand gestures that don’t really need an explanation. It’s all quite flavorful and is what makes this country unique and inspires tourists (like me) to come back for more.
My brain is fried. And I’m definitely going back tomorrow…even if we only discuss pizza but never eat it. *sad sigh*
Buonanotte e tanto amore da Firenze. 🇮🇹
