Since my last entry, the city of Siena has gone back to normal after the hustle and bustle of the Palio. But don’t be fooled–my quest to become as Italian as possible has been far from quiet. Mainly because I have been speaking so much. I’ve gotten to the point where most day-to-day interactions with locals can be done completely in Italian. Ordering food, buying a bus ticket, asking for directions, all done in Italian (for the most part). Evidently, I am exuding much more confidence in my speaking skills, so the Sienese people are responding in Italian.
My speaking during class has also gotten much stronger. When I first started, there were 11 people in my class, so even if I tried to speak, I always had to share the time with 10 other people. This week, there were only 4 students. This meant that I had to speak a lot more. I can see the difference that this makes. Now I’m speaking Italian with my American classmates outside of class much more as well because that is how we are used to communicating. It’s been awesome.
I also see my improved speaking skills when I attend Mass. The first Mass I attended in Italian, as much as I tried to follow along, I just couldn’t recite the responses with the native speakers, even with the words in front of me. Now, I can make it through the Gloria, Creed, Our Father, every response with only a couple stumbles. It seems like I at least look like I know what I’m doing, too, because I have been asked to read the petitions twice. Sorry to say, I’m not ready to publically speak in front of a chapel full of native Italian speakers, but I appreciated being asked, and I was able to explain my discomfort with the sacristan in Italian, so I still took advantage of an opportunity to use my speaking skills.
I have also been taking advantage of easy transportation in the past few weeks to travel around Italy. I have been to Florence twice in the past two weeks with my class to visit the Accademia and Uffizi Museums, and I took advantage of my time to visit the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens with a friend. The amount of culture in Florence is overwhelming.
I spent a long weekend in Rome, and we did all the classic tourist things we could. Our day at the Vatican catologed 13.6 miles walked, 31,288 steps, and 47 flights of stairs climbed. Safe to say, it was a long day. But totally worth it. I had been to the Vatican before, but I hadn’t climbed the Cupola until now(hence the 47 flights). The crowds weren’t too distracting (besides the American lady I heard in the museum, “All these statues look the same. And I hate them.”)
Our second day, we did the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill (my all-time favorite place to visit in the world), Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, etc. with all the other people in Rome. Yes, the crowds were frustrating, but there’s something about Rome that I can’t help but love. I could see myself living in Rome someday if I play my cards right. Step one: master the language.
I also took a day to travel around Tuscany by myself. I went to Lucca, a little Tuscan town famous for its walls, and Pisa. In Lucca, I rented a bike and rode around the path on top of the city walls, and it was so adorable. Every couple hundred meters is a pocket park, restaurant, or tiny museum. There are a lot of locals going for runs or walking their dogs, and a good amount of tourists riding rented bikes. It was so relaxing. And since its a smaller town, all the residents prefer to speak in Italian, so it was great practice for me. Lucca is a town I would like to come back to. I don’t necessarily need to spend days there, but I wish I had taken more than a morning to drink in the beautiful views of the mountains and relaxed on those walls. Especially compared to Pisa. How my host nonna described Pisa
is extremely accurate: C’è il torre, e basta. There’s the tower, and enough. And it’s true, the tower is definitely worth seeing for the novelty of it (and it really leans a lot–I was surprised), but after you see the tower it’s time to head back to the train station. But be sure to take the time to watch all the tourists take the classic “holding up the tower” picture. It’s really funny.
I’ve had a couple frustrating interactions when I couldn’t communicate my thoughts in Italian and I was forced to use Italian, and they only make me want to master the language that much more. The first time was when I was traveling by train, and the ticket validators were all broken. I was freaking out trying to find someone to get help from, and when I finally did, I couldn’t figure out how to tell them what was wrong in Italian. Luckily, they understood, and the ticket checker never came by. So much unnecessary stress. I’ve also had trouble because I just haven’t learned the vocabulary for certain situations. For example, I was in an art gallery inquiring about how my mother could order a painting, but the woman had to ask me to speak in English because I couldn’t articulate what I wanted clearly in Italian. Embarassing, yes, but a learning experience.
With a week left, I’m putting in that final push to absorb as much Italian as possible. Wish me luck!