My First Day at School

So today was my first day at school. What a weird feeling. I was so nervous... I didn't realise I was going to be this anxious. So my alarm went off at 6.30... That hurt. I barely slept at all last night so it hurt even more... I got up and the first thing I did was check the bus times. I don't currently have a timetable for my local bus route, however Google Maps does this wonderful thing that if you click on the bus stop locally to you it tells you the buses that service that route and what time they are next expected.... So 7.58 was my time....

I went back to bed for twenty minutes before showering and rushing off for the bus. The bus journey was nowhere near as busy as I expected it to be. With it being 1st September and a lot of Italians are back in the city, I didn't know whether I would be battling with a heavy commuter bus. I wasn't to worry, all was OK.

I arrived at the school at 8.20, just as the heavens opened... Rain, in Rome?! Really?!!!! So I sheltered until the office door opened and around 30 students piled in from nowhere... The 2 kind girls behind the desk of La Scuola di Leonardo were brilliant. They took your name and then asked whether you  wanted morning or afternoon classes. I selected morning classes - 9-10.30, then 10.45 until 12.15. 3 hours a day, every day, for 10 days.... wow. Our teacher was to be Christiano and we were in Room F on the 1st floor.

So I made my way up to the 1st floor, found Room F and settled into my chair at the edge of the circle. There were around 9 others in my class so a nice size. It was large enough for interaction but small enough to be a close group. And then in bowls our teacher... WOW..... I'm not sure what the word is to describe him.. Bonkers? Crazy? Enthusiastic? Engaging? He had grey hair down to his shoulders, green baggy tshirt, jeans and leather flip flops. He spoke nothing but Italian, clicked his fingers, whistled, winked, but most of all, got us saying italian words.

He began by writing words on the board. He asked, well I should say, shouted at us what words did we know in italian... So the words began to flow... Piazza, cafe, ciao, giorno, sera, notte, vino, bierra, aqua, via, fontana.... and so it continued.

We then had to ask what these words meant, and then we had to test each other as a group. This continued for a further 3 hours with different questions and different words and meanings... It was hard work, long, mentally challenging, but fun.

Once school had finished, we then all descended into the Piazza and stood, rather than a group of people in their late twenties, early thirties, all studying for a common reason, all travelling alone, confident and strong.... we stood there like a group of teenagers, asking awkward questions about how long we were in Italy, how long we were to stay... and then someone suggested lunch.

Its amazing how a plate of pasta and some white wine relaxes people. There were 2 girls from Belgium, one doing a masters in Artificial Intelligence, one a speech therapist on holiday enjoying something for her pleasure, then there was the girl from Switzerland wanting to learn conversational Italian for when she travels. There was the German medical student from Munich who was here to enjoy himself, the guy from Hanover wanting to speak Italian as he can speak french and gets frustrated with himself that when he travels Italy, French automatically comes out. There there was the Art History student from Wiltshire and the English student, based in Ireland, but from Uruguay. It was the most eclectic mix of people I have ever had dinner with... but so interesting.

It also puts to shame that they all sat there, fluently talking in English, I hardly know any people of my generation can speak a second language. I listened to them saying how they learn 2 or 4 languages at school... I hope I can have the ability to learn like they have.

So we went for a walk after lunch, several of us heading towards Piazza Navona and then onto the Pantheon. We went to a little place for some ice cream... OK so 150 flavours might not be so little but it tasted good!!! We then wandered into the Pantheon as a couple of people hadn't been inside before. We then wandered up towards the Trevi...

I then decided to break from the group, wished them a lovely afternoons walking and then wandered back to the bus stop to make my way home,

I feel exhausted. Happy but exhausted,

That Elizabeth Gilbert has a lot to answer for.... :)

Ciao!! xx