a couple of weeks ago

i decided to finally learn italian

something i’ve wanted to do for a long time

half of my family hertiage is italian

though few of us know more than a minimum of words

 i find it to be such a poetic language

musical and pleasant to the senses.

one day i hope to visit italia

and even use some of what i’ve learned.

so here i am

at the top of my game

for a couple of short minutes

in my online duo lingo class

not the most thorough or intense course

often like a game show format

but non-judgmental

a good beginning

and i’m learning some things.

i am now at the point where

if anyone would like to order

a croissant, a coffee, even with cream.

in italian

i am ready and happy to help.

even though i’ve begun italian

i still carry

some crumbs of french from way back:

‘je suis fatigue.’

(i am tired) – use as needed

21 years of pre-k spanish:

‘hola! hay una pinata?’

(hi, is there a pinata?) –  also as needed

a lifetime of english, still in process:

(‘what the heck is going on?’) – again as needed, and used often

i will soon be heading to portugal

where none of these languages are spoken

but

the more i learn, the more i know, and the more i know, the more i can,

just kind of mash them all together

use my hands a lot

smile

 try to do my best to communicate.

all while hopefully

not offending anyone,

getting engaged,

eating any weird meat products,

or adopting a child who i would have to clear through customs.

‘sliante!’ – (cheers!) to all of you-

 because the other side of my family are irish

and this may well be the only word any of us knows of it.

—

‘learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things,

but learning another way to think about things.’

– flora lewis

 

—

.When thinking in another language, it really changes the way you think,

partly due to the way the language works and partly grasping the culture.