A Short Italian Lesson

Today’s entry is short, since I’m exhausted and am going out for Lindsay’s birthday tonight and have to teach English to kindergarteners tomorrow morning. I have been learning all sorts of Italian over the last week, but perhaps the most important have been two words that my professor uses perhaps more than any others. These are “allora” and “boh.” Both, as far as I can tell, have the following meanings:

allora – so, then, thus, at any rate

boh – I have absolutely no idea, who really cares, anyway?, could be, beats me, I’m so full, um

One could almost make an intelligible conversation by stringing together such words. Tomorrow I’ll post some pictures of Siena and talk about teaching my bambini. In Italian, kindergarten is “scuola materna,” which I think gives a pleasant, nurturing image. I’ve been warned already, though, that Italian classrooms are just different than American ones . . . there’s less discipline and less of a divide between teacher and students. First-hand observations are forthcoming.