Ciao Ciao, Verbania

My time here in the Lago Maggiore region is swiftly drawing to a close. Classes ended last Friday -- both my insegnante promptly left for vacation which, I'm told, is nonetheless not a knock against my performance as a student -- and we depart for Rome tomorrow. The month here has just flown by, and I've really enjoyed it. While I'm excited to get back to the Eternal City, I'm sure that in a few weeks time, I'll be wishing I were back here, spending the mornings chatting in Italian, swimming in the lake in the afternoons, or trying to decipher one of the earnestly shouted but incomprehensible questions from the anziani staying here. I've been able to see and do quite a lot, and at a much more relaxed pace than I imagine Rome will be, and for that I'm very grateful.

Il Chiostro with its proudly displayed 3 star rating.

The Il Chiostro hotel has also been very hospitable to us students and a great place to spend a month. The atmosphere here is quite friendly and relaxed, and there's a certain vivacity that, despite the age of most of its patrons, seems to emanate from the place. I'm not exactly sure what it is. Perhaps it's the wait staff, who are always friendly and courteous. Perhaps it's the large groups of animated and ever-garrulous foreigners that swarm the place for a few days of organized sightseeing and then, just as swiftly, are gone. Or, as I think, perhaps it's the soundtrack here which I've decided is used as a kind of subliminal reminder for the old folk as to the time of day. In the morning, for example, you're likely to hear such get-up-and-go songs as the theme songs to Footloose or Austin Powers, "Bicycle Race" or "Under Pressure" by Queen, or the title track from the musical "Mamma Mia." Mind you, these songs aren't being played just in the bar or the lobby but in the restaurant and hotel corridors as well. Evenings are generally a bit more subdued, usually jazz or classical, although we did get some strange German techno pop once for about two hours during dinner. It's that kind of randomness that makes this place endearing.

L to R, Paola, me, and Monica -- thought this was worth posting despite the blurriness.

Of course, my primary objective while here has been to learn Italian, and I feel I've fared fairly well in that. I've certainly progressed quite a lot from where I was when the month started, and thanks to the great instruction from my teachers, Paola and Monica, I'm generally able now to get the gist of what's being said to me and, more or less, respond appropriately. There's much more work to be done, of course, principally in the areas of vocabulary and conditional tenses, but it's not a bad start, I think.

The cloister where we had our lessons each morning.

I was able to do some traveling in the region in the last few days, and though I'm a bit short on time right now, I'll try to recap those small trips soon. Next time, from Rome!