Talking the Talk

As I spent time each week in Italy immersed in their culture, I found myself picking up Italian a bit at a time with no effort. A melodic language, easy on the ears, it had remarkable similarities to English and the Italian propensity to embellish communications with gestures helped with translation. I took the next step and started listening to language audio lessons in my car when driving. I used the structured Pimsleur Method, which large companies and the government uses, as my guide and found it very effective. Suddenly, instead of knowing the words to every new song that came out, I was building my Italian conversation skills. It helped that I could practice every week in Italy of course, but it was a lot of fun and after about 6 months I decided to kick it up a notch.

My airline had a program that would pay for you to attend an immersion course in a foreign language spoken on one of our routes. The goal was to develop more foreign language speakers from within. It was an outstanding opportunity, so another flight attendant and I decided to make the very most of our learning. We chose to attend the Omnilingua School in San Remo, Italy for a 3 week immersion course in Italian. Let the adventure begin!

San Remo is a beautiful coastal town on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria in northwestern Italy. It was a completely different experience than the large city of Rome and like going to a whole new country.

After landing at the closest airport, which is actually in Nice, France, we hopped a train for the ride to San Remo which took just under an hour. That was already a joy as we skirted the French and Italian Riviera and passed landmarks like Monaco and Cap-Martin.

We left the train behind and grabbed a cab which took us to our 2 bedroom apartment we would share for the next 3 weeks. The apartment was European minimalist but completely adequate. We were most taken by the red washer/dryer combo in the kitchen. We would later realize what an extraordinary convenience that was for the building and the area. We had a small balcony that was just perfect for afternoon study with wine and cheese with a peek-a-boo view of the Med:

Every day after class we would walk through the tiny bustling streets and stop in markets and pick up a bottle of wine and fresh baked bread to enjoy with some local cheese and fruit while we studied the day’s lessons. Our class had about 8 people in it from all over the world and was a learning experience just talking to each other. The first day, our teacher asked where we all were living while in San Remo. We were to speak in Italian as much as possible. I explained that our apartment was just above the Casino which was a landmark in the town. She smiled and laughed a bit as I pronounced Casino as we would here in the US. I then got my first instruction in Italian which was that a Casino (pronounced like a place to gamble in the US) is a brothel. She felt almost certain that I lived just above the Ca-si-NO. Ahhhhhhhhh, what a difference that accent can make right? Well, she saved me from telling people I lived above a brothel for the next few weeks.

Classes were interesting and structured well, and we were learning fast. Weekends were an opportunity to explore and practice our skills. Our first weekend we took the 3 ½ hour train ride to the Cinque Terra for a most glorious day of hiking and beauty. We tried to only speak Italian to negotiate the train and when encountering others, thankfully everyone was patient and helpful. What a stunning place and cool opportunity for a weekend trip!

We returned to our apartment only to find we had locked our key inside. Next lesson: problem solving in a foreign language. Our apartments all opened onto a central courtyard. We were on the second floor, the windows on the side we could access were locked and we could not convince that lock to give up. Finally this little elderly woman peeked out from behind a barely cracked door and called out to us. “Cosa c’e?” Of course the minute we really needed to communicate, all of our words left us. Finally we remembered the word for “key” and could tell her we did not have our key. She opened the door a little wider, we clearly were not threatening and needed help. At about 4’10 herself, she couldn’t be too careful of course. We all pondered for a bit, then she started speaking rapidly and gesturing wildly. Very dramatic, vivid gestures and then siren noises. We were afraid she was going to call the Carabinieri on us and we were in big trouble. As we tried to explain in very poor Italian, she calmed and asked us to follow her. Cautiously we followed her, and she led us into her apartment which we knew was a very trusting act for her and we were honored. She took us into the kitchen, turned on the burner on the stove and then started the motioning and siren noise again. Then she pointed at us and the phone. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Call the fire department for help! Of course, it was Sunday and no landlord would come.

Before we could try for other options, she picked up her phone and made the call. Well, the day ended with us in our apartment after having met some of the hottest Italian firefighters possible, enjoying sherry with our new little friend and some fresh local cheese. Our speaking skills were picking up here!

The whole experience of living in a walking town and immersing yourself in their way of life was so educational. Small things like learning to walk our trash to the dumpster a half a block away made us feel more local. Picking up fresh food every day and stopping by Trattorias at 9:00pm for a little dinner was a new way of life. We made every effort to only speak Italian and the effort paid off. It was frustrating at first, for everyone concerned I’m sure, but it was so gratifying to grow more at ease living in a foreign country. Walking in others’ shoes and talking their talk is completely enriching. I highly recommend this type of travel!! Just keep an eye on your keys…