Learning Italian

It's beginning to look like we will be spending more and more time in Italy. I'm hoping we will be able to spend most of our summers there in the future. I usually have a standing offer to teach over there, and I am putting together a cross-cultural immersion trip for the students at my university. The plan is to go there shortly after the semester ends in the summer, and spend a month or so there...until I have to return to run my summer camp in July. The kids will go to camp while I work. Beginning this summer, E will be old enough to go to camp in Italy.

So, it's time for the kids to learn Italian. It will be very difficult for E to go to an Italian camp if he can't communicate with the other kids and instructors. Last night, the kids had their first Italian lesson. I hired one of my students to come over for an hour or two every week to spend time speaking to the kids in Italian. She is their Italian babysitter, and as far as they are concerned, she speaks absolutely no English.

It looks like the first night went well. They totally believe she is Italian and they even learned a few words here and there. I'm learning some, too! I'm going to try to do some more online, like Rosetta Stone, so I can get up to speed, too. This should be fun!