Italiano, La Bella Lingua

I was at Vincenti Ristorante here in Brentwood the other night waiting to meet a friend at the bar for a "farewell to Los Angeles" drink. As I sat there, I listened to two Italian ladies who happened to be next to me talking to one another.  And with every minute my anxiety grew.  I still don't understand them. Crap! I catch only a few words in each sentence and I try to piece together the gist of what they are saying. But after all of my lessons, my practice, my writing and reading back and forth with my new Italian contacts, I still don't understand them.  Not really. Again, crap! Fair enough, I was eavesdropping.  And if they had been speaking directly to me and knew that Italian was not my first language perhaps it would have been different.  Perhaps they would speak more slowly and clearly.  Perhaps. But I can't always count on that.

As a result of this traumatic realization, I have decided that one of the things I will do upon arriving in Puglia (after securing my residence, getting my car, my doctor, a vet for the dogs, unpacking all of my things and setting up the house, getting the rental property ready, etc.) is register for more Italian classes.  I am also going to start my Rosetta Stone lessons again.  And practice a trick from a book I read recently about an Australian man who followed the love of his life to Puglia. He mentioned putting post-it notes with Italian names on everything in the house and car so you are forced to begin thinking of them in Italian rather than English. Why not? We'll try it and see how it goes.

Now despite all of my usual self-deprecation and anxiety, I will admit that my command of Italian has been improving. Slowly but surely. And I want to take a moment to acknowledge the wonderful teachers at the Italian Cultural Institute Los Angeles who can take credit for any proficiency I  claim at this point.  It was there that I took my first classes and reignited my desire to learn this beautiful language.  In particular I have to acknowledge Michele, who was my first teacher.  It was his kindness, patience and wonderful sense of humor that made those first classes fun. He helped us to learn the language, but also to understand more about the culture behind it. It was such a fun time.  And it came when I was at a place in my life back in 2009 when I really need the diversion.  Mille grazie Michele!!

So....just for fun I have compiled a few phrases that I have a feeling I will need frequently during  my first few weeks in Italy. 

Ciao! Come stai?         Hi! How are you?

Mi chiamo Tracey.       My name is Tracey.

Ho quattro cani.           I have four dogs.

Attenti ai cani.              Beware of the dogs.

Io sono vegano.             I am vegan. (Except in rare moments of weakness when I find myself ordering a pizza.)

Quanto costa?              How much does it cost?

Mi dispiace.                  I'm sorry. (I have already used this a dozen times with Franco.)

Mi scusi.                       Excuse me.

Non ho capito.              I didn't understand.

Può parlare più lentamente.       Can you speak a little more slowly.

 

And most importantly:

 

Posso vedere la lista dei vini?     May I see the wine list?

 

Avete vini ai bicchieri.                 Do you have wines by the glass?

 

Dove si trova il prosecco?           Where is the prosecco?