Hello, dear friends and family. Welcome to my Italian blog. I take off on January 17 for my semester abroad in Siena, but the three weeks ahead will be full of planning and packing. It's really remarkable how much one has to think about when taking off to Europe. From electrical outlet adapters to visas, I've been planning for several months and still have work to do.
I've spent the last couple of weeks attempting to translate the thoughts that go through my head into Italian and compiling lists of things I am capable of talking about. I'm especially concerned about being able to communicate with my host family, so I've put together a list of possible conversation topics for family dinners. So far I have:
What I did today
- È andata alle miei lezione (I went to class).
- Ho cercato di trovare il autobus, ma non l'ho potuto (I tried to find the bus, but I couldn't).
Differences in meal customs in the US and Italy
- Ai stati uniti, molte famiglie non mangiano insieme (In the US, many families do not eat together).
That's about it. I find this bothersome and slightly nervewracking, but I know people who have gone to Italy without knowing a word of Italian and returned fluent. They say it's remarkable what you can communicate with only fifty words of Italian, and I have well over fifty.
To conclude, I have a few choice selections from a delightful phrasebook my parents gave me for Christmas.
~Important Phrases for Italian Coffe Shops (according to "Wicked Italian")~
Apparently, Italian coffee shops have rather cryptic pricing systems. Here are a few reccomended phrases:
How much is coffee standing up? Quanto è il caffè al banco?
How much if I sit here by the bar? Quanto è al tavolino?
How much seated on the terrace? È quanto sull terrazza?
How much in the restaurant next door? È quanto al ristorante al canto?
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
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