Monthly Archives: October 2017

Ciao i miei amici! Let’s talk culture shock.  I’ve experienced it.  Cindy has experienced it.  It’s a very real thing. What is culture shock?  I’m sure there’s a vast amount of research from sociologists and behavioral scientists that can answer … Continue reading →

Ciao i miei amici! It’s time change weekend here in Italy.  Tonight, the Italians get an extra hour of sleep. Not only that, but the seasons are definitely in a state of transition.  Gone are the greens of late summer.  … Continue reading →

Ciao, i miei amici! It’s hard to believe that we are into our fourth week of intensive Italian studies.  Long behind us are those first few days when we walked into class and all we heard was gibberish with a … Continue reading →

Ciaoi, i miei amici! Italian is an incredibly beautiful language.  It sounds beautiful and it reads beautifully (ie. Like Spanish, what you see written is easily decoded to the spoken).  Not only that, Italians have many beautiful ways to express … Continue reading →

Ciao, i miei amici! 44° 29.625’N 11° 20.589’E Drop into Piazza Maggiore using Google’s Street View and take a look around.  There are a lot of important historical structures to see here but I especially want you to notice the church bordering the southern … Continue reading →

Ciao i miei amici. This is fairly typical of what we find here and is the recipe presented in class. Ingredients: 1 carrot 1 onion 1 stick of celery ~1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil ~ 1/8 cup butter 1 … Continue reading →

Ciao i miei amici! Having been under the weather for the last couple of days, I’m starting to recover.  Took an equally long break from class and feeling a little behind even though there is no specific progression. What errors … Continue reading →

Where we could see both Austria and Italy:  46° 31.780’N 12° 0.194’E Imagine driving a full sized passenger buss through:   46° 32.884’N 11° 48.554’E Where we saw the Ice Man:  46° 29.876’N 11° 21.274’E

The school has divided us into several groups of varying levels.  The beginner and low-intermediate students are receiving instruction in a variety of formats that are fairly typical for what you might expect in a language class:  lectures, written exercises, … Continue reading →

Ciao i miei amici! Allora! After eight days of hearing and speaking entirely in Italian for four hours a day, I can definitely say I’m making great progress…I think…maybe…well?  As long as I stay focused, what do I need to … Continue reading →