Swept Away to Ascoli Piceno: So, Italian is the Same Thing as Spanish ... Right?

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Today was our first day of classes and surprisingly I am still excited about them! My first class started at 9:00 a.m. which was my Italian Culture class and I can already tell I am going to love it. The class only has 4 students and the professor’s name is Silvia and she is a wonderful Italian woman who seems very enthusiastic about teaching us all about the culture. She kept the class really interesting and threw in some jokes about Italian culture. Enjoy!

Heaven in Europe is where:

the English are the policemen

the French are the cooks

the German are the mechanics

the Italians are the lovers

and the Swiss organize everything

Hell in Europe is where

the German are the policemen

the English are the cooks

the French are the mechanics

the Swiss are the lovers

and the Italians organize everything

ITAL 425 Italian Culture - Chris, Olivia, Kasey, Me

My second class was at 12:00 pm which was my Into to Italian class and also only has 4 students. She asked us at the beginning of class if we have any experience with the language and all of us said that we were starting from scratch. You would think that if not one student had any experience with the language she would, you know, “baby” us and help us with the language, right? NO. SHE SPOKE ITALIAN THE WHOLE TIME. Talk about culture shock. Bam! I could understand only a few words here and there which meant that she had to do a lot of hand gestures considering the blank stares she received back at herself. But even though it seemed really difficult, I think that I am picking it up pretty quickly and hopefully will be able to keep up. I loved taking Spanish classes in high school and learning a different language so hopefully Italian will be the same!

Hanging out in between classes (on my terrace)

After classes were through (at 1:30 pm might I add) most of us headed back to the apartment to begin the never-ending homework that is about to ensue upon us. Although I may complain about the work .. I suppose it isn’t thaaaaat bad considering where we get to do it ;)

Studying for classes (Sorry, camera had a weird setting)

At night we set out to the Piazza de Popolo for dinner where we all enjoyed dishes of pasta and pizza. Sitting in the piazza is just breathtaking, I feel like I could sit there for hours to just people watch and sit back and relax. After dinner we walked around the piazza (got gelato of course) and happened to stumble upon some of the citizens practicing for the Medieval Festival that is coming up in July. In July all 6 neighborhoods of Ascoli compete with each other for bragging rights, essentially, in all different Medieval events. Stay tuned for pictures and updates of the action!