Saturday February 11th 2012, Italian Class

Buon San Valentino Everybody!

Italian is getting complicated. There are so many little details to remember but I like it more and more as I learn it. I often say things when I mean something else. For example, I want to say Ci sono (there are) but I say C'e (there is) or viceversa. The test was not as difficult as I expected it to be but we will see what happens next week.

I wanted to share my love for Italian singers. This is a song by Laura Pausini an Italian singer and it belongs to the first CD I ever owned when I was 13 :) The song Gente (People) talks about a new generation that will be a good influence and change the world. I copied the lyrics, so enjoy!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujdTByDUGTo&feature=related

LYRICS - GENTE
Si sbaglia sai quasi continuamenteSperando di non farsi mai troppo maleMa quante volte si cade
La vita sai è un filo in equilibrioE prima o poi ci ritroviamo distantiDavanti a un bivio
Ed ogni giorno insieme per fare solo un metro in piùCi vuole tutto il bene che riusciremo a trovare in ognuno di noi
Ma a volte poi basta un sorriso soloA sciogliere in noi anche un inverno di geloE ripartire da zero
Perché non c'è un limite per nessunoChe dentro sè abbia un amore sinceroSolo un respiro
Non siamo angeli in volo venuti dal cieloMa gente comune che ama davveroGente che vuole un mondo più veroLa gente che incontri per strada in città
Prova e vedrai ci sarà sempre un modoDentro di noi per poi riprendere il voloVerso il sereno
Non siamo angeli in volo venuti dal cieloMa gente comune che ama davveroGente che vuole un mondo più veroLa gente che insieme lo cambierà
Gente che vuole un mondo più veroLa gente che insieme lo cambierà
Insieme lo cambierà, proveràGente che proveràLavori lo cambierà, riuscirà . . . 

Italian Class February 4th

I cannot believe I got an 82 on my quiz, I was expecting like a 42 . . . Speaking Spanish is also a factor that helps. However, I think that it is confusing at times so I will try not to rely too much on the Spanish.

Today's class was full of grammar, I LOVED learning the verb to be in Italian. I think Italian sounds so good that it makes everything sound good. Also, I could not help but to notice that the Spanish Argentinians speak has a lot of Italian in it. I have many Argentinian friends who have a particular way of speaking Spanish and as I learn the idiomatic expressions in Italian and the way they speak I find similatiries. For example, the book said "gli amici" as in "the friends", Argentinians refer to "the friends" very ofen. I found this interesting. Also, Andrea Bocelli is starting to make a little more sense.

I look forward to my next class but not to the exam.

My first class. Well really number two, I missed the first class :/

I missed the first class because I was out of town and the teacher was nice enough to still allow me in the class. As soon as I arrived there was a quiz...needless to say I had to guess the entire two pages. Still, I think I did ok for not having been in class. For some random reason I have had Italian bosses many times in my life or have worked with Italians. Even though I am not confident making full sentences I understand some words and have an idea of the culture itself.

After the test we learned some numbers and went over how to say "there is" and "there are". I had flashbacks of learning English. Having learned a language in the past helps, because I know the components I am looking for in the language. There is a typical process for learning languages and no matter what language it is, the process seems to always be similar.

I left my first class very satisfied. I am glad I decided to take Italian!