9. Ascolta! Listen!
Firstly, I was no Grade A student! I had trailed at the bottom of the class with my fellow Australian student, Geoff, since the beginning of our lessons.
All the other students were from Europe or Spanish-speaking. After the first week of school, some had gone up a level so in the second week we went from seven students to just four.
I had been feeling very tired with all the learning and excursions, plus I was also battling a sore throat.
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| Walking to School |
Needless to say, I wasn’t his best student. In my defence, he only spoke italiano.
The second Monday was the worst!
Allora, Kristina, raccontami del tuo fine settimana?
What? I didn’t catch what you said, I replied to the teacher. When he didn’t reply, I tried to reply in italiano.
I looked at the cards on the table with reminders of how to ask questions. Mi scusi. Puoi ripeterlo, per favore?
Raccontami del tuo fine settimana? He repeated.
Raccontami, um, dang, what is that word? I looked at my fellow students for help. Anyone? Geoff looked back at me with a “don’t ask me!” expression.
Raccontami! the teacher repeated.
Non lo so! I don’t know, and I made the “it’s all going over my head” signal.
Tell me! Tell me! he repeated in English. Raccontami del tuo fine settimana?
I told you I didn’t know! I responded, a little stressed.
NO. IT MEANS “TELL ME.” he said in English, clearly frustrated.
Argh! Okay. Tell me about my weekend? I repeated in English.
IN ITALIANO! he said, but more loudly.
Oh! Um… Ho dormito. I slept!
Sandra, the Spanish-speaking Argentinian suddenly interjected. No. Abbiamo visitato insieme Stromboli! We visited Stromboli together! È stato bellissimo!
Shsss, I said to her, looking back at the teacher as he interrupted.
Kristina, quindi sei andato alle isole e cos'altro?
Errr… and what else? Argh. Nuotare…
No! he interjected, telling me to say the entire sentence, in italiano.
Okay, okay. Um…. Sono andato a fare una nuotata. I went for a swim.
Cos’altro???
No, niente, nothing else.
Fortunately he eventually gave up and focused on Geoff, who quickly responded with, No understando, in a strong Brisbane accent.
Honestly! It was hard! This was no “beginners” class because we had to know what he was saying in italiano from the outset.
One day the teacher tried to teach us how to tell the time.
Che ora è? he asked me.
Kiaora! I said back.
Che ora è? he repeated.
Hello… is? I asked, confused.
Che cosa? No! Che ora è??? WHAT IS THE TIME?
Oh, mi dispiace. Um, 11am, oh, I mean sono è undici, I replied, noting that he obviously didn’t know Te Reo Māori!
One day after a lesson there was an excursion about two hours after the lesson ended and I had decided it wasn’t worth walking home, so I went to a ristorante.
Unlike in NZ, the large wine glasses were filled to the brim and at just €2 each, I thought it was a bargain.
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| Pasta Cooking Lessons |
I asked for a second glass because I was hoping to kill the bacteria in my sore throat. It didn’t, of course, however by the time I met the group for the excursion, I was obviously quite tipsy.
The final excursion was to Tindari, the site of some Roman ruins and mosaic baths. The castle, amphitheatre and two churches were built at the top of a cliff overlooking the town below.
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| Students Practising |
The beach below looked so good, I would have preferred a swim than the walk through the ruins on this particularly hot day. However things got better when we came across some students practising a play at the amphitheatre. They were really good!
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| Best View Ever! |
I was starting to understand the teacher and contribute more on the final few days and it became a lot more fun.
I was handed a certificate of completion before I left for the final time. Fortunately there were no offical exams in this class.
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| Finished! |
Milazzo had become very familiar after the two weeks there and I would miss the place, especially the pretty coastline, tree-lined promenade, the old buildings, the beautiful islands and stunning sunsets, even the street cats - who never let me close - the food, cheap wine, and of course, the very friendly people!
I was feeling a little anxious about the next few days in Sicily, where I’d have to navigate several train station changes and buses to get from Milazzzo to Agrigento, and back to Palermo via Masala.
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| Wasn’t Listening. |
These parts of Sicily are less touristy and difficult to travel in, especially when relying on public transport with a heavy pack on my back!
The night before I left, I had thrown away a few non-essential items just to lighten the load, annoyed at myself that I didn’t pack lighter. The pack was still too heavy!!!
Ciao, Laboling Language School, my host Melissa and Milazzo!
It was… beautiful, educational and fun!
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