capisco l'italiano

I have been studying Spanish off and on for most of my adult life. Unfortunately, my commitment level has never been very high and as a result while my comprehension is good, my ability to speak freely is limited (unless there is tequila involved.)

I think the reason for this is that Spanish has never been a choice for me. In high school and college it was a requirement for graduation and throughout my working career it has been a necessity in order to conduct business. So, while I understood the need to learn the language it has not been a passion.

Enter Italian. Now this is a language I can get behind. The only reason for me to learn this language is to be able to speak with people in Italy. And, while I have learned the correct translation for Game Boy “Il Game Boy”, there is no chance that I will be doing anything even remotely related to work with this language.

In my first lesson I have learned how to say – I speak a little Italian – which is true. I can say that one sentence. The good news is that being Latin based, the root of the word in Italian is very similar to Spanish so all of those years studying Spanish are not lost in this new endeavor.

My goal is to be able to comprehend simple conversations and be able to speak enough to understand directions, order at a restaurant and of course… buy shoes. I envision a scene in which I am sitting in a small café ordering a cappuccino and admiring my new Giuseppe Zanotti heels. Ahh yes! Italian is the language for me.