Learning Italian

Buon giorno! I can't believe it's Wednesday already - time is really starting to go by fast here. I'll apologize up front for any errors in this blog. I have a few every time, but don't have time to reread it, so errors aren't corrected until the following day when my Mom e-mails me any problems (thanks Mom!). So if you want an error-free blog, wait a day! :) Just an FYI, I uploaded more pictures to dropshots (www.dropshots.com/sebrock). After I finish this blog, I'll go add some captions. The pictures are more from this past weekend. I'll try to remember to let you know here at this site whenever I add more pictures so you don't have to check both sites every day. Pictures will most likely be added at the beginning of the week since weekends are reserved for trips/new things.

I thought today I'd talk more about what it's like to learn a new language. I realize most people have learned a new language at some point in school, but this is completely different. When I learn a language at Auburn (I've taken both Italian and Spanish), I only attend class three days a week, for one hour each day. When I leave the classroom, I immediately begin speaking English. Even if I wanted to speak a foreign language, where would I be able to? I obviously can't walk into Moe's and order a burrito in Spanish or Italian, or ask for directions from a Tiger Transit driver. When I leave class here, however, I walk outside and usually the only language I hear is Italian. I have the chance to use my new vocabulary every day, which is really exciting. Between four hours of class and living in the country where Italian is the native language, I learn a lot more than I would ever learn in Auburn, even if I was taking four hours a day in Auburn.

The downside of course is that I have to really concentrate on every conversation. I can't tune out for an instant or else I'll be lost. Understanding every word, every sentence and every conversation requires 100% concentration. If I don't understand a word or a sentence, I can't spend too much time on it or else I won't hear the rest of the sentence. It's a very different way to have a conversation. It's just so weird to think about how easily the words fall out of the Italians' mouths. They don't have to think about every word, which verb to use, how to conjugate it, and which of the million and one articles should go with which noun. They just speak. But not me. I have to think through every word and every article and every preposition.

Because every word out of my mouth is a concentrated effort, I obviously speak slower. This doesn't bother me too much, except when someone gives up on me. In school, the teachers and the class will sit there until you say your sentence. But at dinner with the Ferraris (and the other students, the cooking students, their friends, or whoever happens to be over that day), they often don't have time to wait 3 minutes for me to say two sentences. So, I might get out two words before they interrupt and finish the sentence in Italian for me. Or, when they ask me questions in Italian, sometimes it takes me a few minutes to fully process what was asked and how I should respond. Sometimes I think my long pause suggests to them that I didn't understand, so they'll repeat the question in English, which doesn't help. I really wish they would just give me a minute to think. But Italians don't speak slow, so if I can't hurry it up, I'm cut out! Which in the long run will improve my ability to respond and think quickly.

Living here also motivates me to learn more. At the dinner table, I feel left out when I can't understand the conversation, and it's frustrating when I don't know the right words to respond to a question. My survival here really depends on my ability to communicate with those around me, and obviously that depends on how much and how quickly I learn. In addition to learning in class and through the Italians, I have found another very useful (and surprising) learning device: the TV.

The Ferraris always have the TV on during dinner (which is actually quite annoying. It's hard enough to focus on an Italian conversation when Italian isn't my native language. It's even harder to focus when the TV is on loudly, so there are two loud Italian conversations going on). But, when we're just sitting around before and after dinner, we'll usually watch the TV. Typically around dinner time, the news is on, followed by this Italian variety show that they love (and I wish I could tell you what it was about, but after 2 weeks, I still don't understand the point of the show, but they dance a lot. I can tell you that). The news is incredibly helpful because the language is accompanied by pictures and graphics. It is much easier for me to understand what is being said when I can watch it happening, so it's actually been a helpful way to pick up some more of the language. The other night, they were watching COPS in English, but it had Italian subtitles, so I was able to pick up all sorts of words (most of which I've already forgotten. But "crack" is apparently the same in English and Italian).

That sort of leads me to my next point: because I learn so many new words, I also forget so many new words. I'm probably exposed to at least 50 new words a day. In reality, I obviously hear more than 50 new words a day, but I probably only learn the definitions of 50 new ones. Some of them are words I don't hear for another few days, which means I forget them. Just yesterday we were working on an assignment and I didn't know a word. When I asked for the meaning, Simona told me I already knew it, I just didn't remember. I was a bit upset and frustrated with myself as I wasted time and energy trying to figure out the meaning of this word for a second time in one week.

I probably do best with grammar. Italian grammar is not difficult, and since I've always enjoyed English, it seems to come easy for me. Pronuciation, however, is not so easy for me. Perhaps it's my ugly American accent (with only a little bit of Southern in it), but I can never pronounce words correctly. I struggle with any word that has a double "r" or a "br". My tongue just can't form those sounds. And I also always put the accent on the wrong syllable. So, my teachers are constantly correcting me. I have yet to figure out a pattern or a way to decipher which syllables get the accent. Maybe one of these days it'll click.

Everyday is filled with little frustrations, but I also stop to celebrate the victories. For instance, last week, I had to go into the bank to change money. The ATMs here spit out 50s, but for some reason, some stores here won't break 50s, and everyone thinks it's quite odd if you pull out a 50. So, I headed into the bank to get 10s for my 50s. I was a bit nervous. Clay was with me, but he knows no Italian (he started in the beginner's class this Monday). We walked up to the counter, and in what I like to think was perfect Italian, I asked if we could change our money. The banker didn't correct me, didn't look at me like I was crazy, and simply asked if I wanted 10s. I said yes, please. And 30 seconds later we were back on the street. Clay turned to me and told me what a good job I had done, and I paused and realized that was the first time I had succesfully completed a transaction all in Italian. It wasn't even broken Italian, or Italian-English. It was all in Italian, and the banker understood. I was very proud.

There are other instances like that. I ordered deli meat and cheese from the butcher at the grocery store on Monday. On Sunday, between Randall and I we managed to ask for directions to every bus stop and train station necessary to get home. Every story like that gets me excited, and I realize I'll soon have more and more of those. I hope that by the end of these three months, I can write an entire blog in Italian (which will of course do you no good!).

Well, it's a chilly day here, which means it's a perfect day for a ciocolatto. Ciao! Ciao!