09:00 The Sorting Hat has determined that eight of us ranked not only at a similar level with our Italian but also had similar needs–hearing and listening. Other groups were raw beginners, beginner level but had experience with some Italian previously, and a couple that had needs which could best be met by joining in with the regular students. Today, we had our first class. Naturally, I will only be describing the experience of the group in which I was placed.
09:30 Somewhat to our shock but mostly to our delight, Instructor Veronica dove right in speaking entirely in Italian. We literally became Italians–in speech, in hearing, in thought–it was ALL Italian. When we had exhausted Veronica, Instructor Clea stepped in.
13:00 Lunch–most days, this will be our stop time.
14:00 Another instructor, Enrico, gave a brief presentation on the two millennia of the history of Italy. Again, this was entirely in Italian. Not surprisingly, Enrico had a smaller group. Most of the absolute beginners opted to skip this and engage in other activities for the afternoon.
16:00 Enrico finishes his lecture and releases us for the day. We are tired but it is a “good tired”.
Dante Alighieri spent two brief periods of his life in Verona. Though he began his Divine Comedy in 1308 prior to any time he spent in Verona, it appears he finished it here shortly before his death in 1321.
