Ieri sera/Last night I went to a conversation practice group with my Russian roomate Yana. She does not speak much English and is fantastic to practice Italian with because she gently corrects my mistakes as I stumble around consonants and trip over vowels separated by awkward pauses. I found out that she is not only from Russia, but actually lives in Siberia! Woah. She said it gets to be about -30 degrees there.

Conversation group practice:
EVERYONE there was absolutely fluent, or it seemed that they were to me. There were about 20 pple there who were all either international or Italian. Ero la sola Americana. I was the only Americana, so I got interesting questions: Is George Clooney really gay? Have you ever seen a famous person? Do you like George Bush? Also, no one could pronounce my name, "Kait-lyn" So for two hours. TWO HOURS I just sat and tried to understand their questions and stories, and even had to present myself to the group and sit in the 'hot seat.' Era troppo difficicle per me.

Romantic tidbit: However, I did talk to one Egyptian graduate student (he knew English) and he told me his tragic love story about the girl that he was in love with for 4 yrs whose father would not accept him. He even went back to the father's house in Egypt, confessed his love for Aulla, and promised to get enough money for the marriage despite being a poor student. Che tragico!She is married to someone else now, but he says he is doing much better and has hope for his future. I wish I could have understood more of these people's stories. Maybe if I keep going every Monday...

This weekend I may go to Florence Sat and Sun with my roomates and we will stay in a bed and breakfast. The very idea of visiting Florence makes me incredibly excited.

A presto,
Kait-lyn