On my way to work today, I saw this cute little older lady carrying bags up the long pathway to our flat.

“Buongiorno”

I said to her. she smiled, said it back and then started talking to me. To my surprise, I UNDERSTOOD her! We didn’t have a very deep conversation, in fact it consisted of, “oh, where are you from,” “what’s your name,” “are you here for work or school,” “how long are you here”…etc… but still! I was quite pleased with myself. I’ve only had 2 lessons. I do listen to Italian language lessons on my ipod during my walk to and from work, and try to study a bit every night, and boy, does it pay off! So our chat ended with, “Arivaderci” and off to work I went… strutting like a proud little peacock, smiling the whole way.