Was It Something I Said?

If you’re interested in my posts about local sights and issues, please see Touring the Valley, my current blog about the San Fernando Valley. Today’s post foreshadows the replacement of our lawns with synthetic stuff.

Becoming Italian Word by Word, a blog by Dianne Hales, is an absolute must-read for anyone with an interest in Italian and Italians. Hales discusses the nuances of words and phrases, provides cultural insights, and talks about the history and structure of the Italian language, all in a way that is both entertaining and intelligent. As a native speaker of Italian who may not always grasp the English speaker’s mindset, my Italian teacher often finds it difficult (or impossible) to explain all those idioms, irregularities and idiosyncrasies to the satisfaction of his students. He shrugs his shoulders and says, “That’s just how we say it. It is the way it is.” Hales digs deeper and gives us a better of idea of why it is that way and what we can do with it. Take a look.

This blog will be undergoing some changes in the near future. Instead of sporadic updates about my personal adventures, I will be focusing on resources for students learning to speak Italian.

In the meantime, I have launched a new blog called “Touring the Valley” that focuses on the sights and landmarks of California’s San Fernando Valley.

It’s the first day of the “spring” semester. A crown popped off one of my back molars. Fortunately, the dentist was able to fit me in this morning (I’m about to leave for my appointment), so I should be okay in time for tonight’s Italian class. I’m so glad it’s not math!

I didn’t write much about the winter “intercession”. It was intense, a four-unit statistics class that would normally take 15 or 16 weeks, in five weeks. I sometimes felt that I was sitting in a public clinic at a charity hospital in a developing nation. The room, which was built to hold 35-40 students, was crammed full with 60. All around me people were constantly snuffling, sneezing, coughing, hacking and snorting. I should have worn a mask! Whatever it was, I caught it, and spent the fourth week sneezing, snuffling and coughing, feeling miserable. I spent mornings in class, and afternoons doing the homework. (Some courageous souls take two classes during these special sessions, but I don’t think I could do it.) I had tried to take this same class with a different teacher during last summer’s intercession, and found myself still working on the tedious, repetitive homework at 10pm, unable to get it all done. That guy was so boring I couldn’t stay awake in class, despite quadrupling my coffee ration, and half the time I had no idea what he was talking about. I dropped after three days. This time, the teacher was a pleasant, patient guy who explained everything well and didn’t go crazy with the homework. The tests weren’t too bad, except the final, which took me (and many of my fellow students) over three hours to complete. Everything worked out well, and at long last I have now completed all my math requirements.

Illustration from clipart.com

Crazy weather we’ve been having these past two weeks. There were a few days that were near freezing, and several that were beautiful, but marred by high winds. The last couple of says were quite warm, with temperatures reaching the 80’s. Today it’s just cool enough for a jacket. It makes it very hard to know what to wear, especially when planning the day’s wardrobe the night before, or deciding what kind of sweater of jacket to carry. A hat? An umbrella? I’m spending most of today inside, so it’s not much of an issue. But what about tomorrow? I want to wear red-white-and blue for Inaguration Day, but the only outfit I have that fits the description requires warm weather.

Photo from acobox.com

Brr! The temperature was in the high 30’s when I left the house this morning for statistics class. Yes, it’s the same class that I dropped because it was too much to handle during the five-week summer session. And yes, the winter session is only four weeks, so this is even more intense. But this teacher is different: very pleasant and easier to understand. I had no trouble staying awake (lapsing into a wide-eyed coma was my downfall last time). It will be much to my advantage if I can do this now. It should be (I believe, I hope, I insist) the last lower-division “general ed” course I ever need to take. It will be the last math class I ever have to take. (Hallelujah!) I’ll be able to take Italian 6 in the spring without the burden of a math class to interfere with my real work (as algebra did). And, if everything goes as planned, I’ll leave Pierce College behind and enter CSUN in the fall.

Photo from clipart.com

Along with the chocolate and a candy cane or two, my Christmas stocking always held a banana and an orange. It’s a simple way to get kids to eat breakfast on a busy morning.

Photo from clipart.com

Pimsleur offers the best audio program for learning Italian I have found, and I was sorry that it stopped at Level 3. Now, there is Italian Plus,which goes to the next level. It contains only 10 lessons, compared to 30 in the other levels, so it’s not quite as expensive. There is also a comprehensive set that contains all four levels, but it’s not currently available on Amazon.

When I was little, it was a Christmas tradition to find little bags of chocolate coins in our stockings. Yum! When I saw these at the grocery store (perfectly positioned for impulse buying), I couldn’t stop smiling.

Photo by Rosemary West

I was moving some things around in the kitchen, and left this cupboard standing open just for a couple of minutes while I was busy at the counter. While I wasn’t looking, Bob decided it looked very cozy.

Photo by Rosemary West