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First trip to Italy
I take my first trip to Rome, Italy with my cousin and a Rick Steves Tour group. I'm smitten immediately. I enjoy myself so much I decide that I want to learn Italian. -
Enroll in my first Italian class
I start my first Italian class at OSU. I haven't been to school in more than 12 years. I am terrified walking to class on the first day. I wonder to myself how I thought this was a good idea. Surprisingly I survive the class and like it enough to enroll for the next class. After my fourth class, I change my major to Italian. -
Modern Italian Media
After a one year break from my Italian-speaking classes, I enroll in a class called Modern Italian Media. When I enter the classroom on the first day and hear the professor speaking rapid Italian, I almost turn around and walk out. During the quarter we pair up with different students everyday. It's here that I meet my friend, Sal, for the first time. -
Study Abroad in Rome
I spend a great month studying Italian in the morning and wandering around the city in the afternoon and evening. The highlights of my trip include meeting a wonderful group of women (see attached picture) and an older gentleman in a park one day. We spend a very pleasant half hour discussing old Hollywood films. I am thrilled that he understands my Italian. At the end of the month, I'm depressed that I have to return to work. -
Regions of Italy
I reunite with my friend, Sal, for a Regions of Italy class. We love the class itself, which is very interesting and informative. However, we don't love the presentation we have to give at the end of the quarter. Our presentation is on the region of Campania. I start to have moments where I know what's being said and don't have to translate everything in my head first. Now that's progress! -
Spring Break
I take my first trip back to Italy after my study abroad. We go to the Cinque Terre, Volterra, Florence, and then end in Rome. I buy beautiful leather gloves in Volterra and the saleswoman compliments me on my Italian. I smile even wider after that. A compliment from an Italian! -
Radio DJ
After completing all of my Italian classes (including 2 very scary graduate level classes), I decide to team with Sal and become a radio DJ for FRIT radio. We have no idea how much work it will end up being (a lot)! We work with a wonderful graduate student who helps us improve our pronunciation. After 2 broadcasts in the studio, we survive one broadcast in the middle of the Crane Cafe. While we like the experience, we vow never to do it again. -
Keeping up with my Italian - 2011 to the present
To keep up my Italian, I watch an Italian soap opera called Un Posto al Sole (A Place in the Sun). I started watching it for an assignment for one of my classes and became hooked. I don't always understand everything, but I make notes and look up words later. I also practice with my uncle, pictured here, and during trips to Italy. I basically use it whenever I get the chance. And I still love hearing it as much as I did when I first heard it in Rome!
