Learning Italian in Sorrento… Attenzione!

Sarah (20 yrs old):

“Here I am at the end of week 2 with a number of things to catch you up on.

I had a great start to my weekend, the school planned a trip to see two towns along the Amalfi Coast on Saturday. We met bright and early in front of the school, from there we walked to the bus station and off we went to Positano, our fist stop. It was incredible, Positano was truly unforgettable with its windy streets that go up and down and its history; it is a site never to foget. We had a staff member show us around. She was truly full of information and the mini talks she gave weren’t those boring, all about history, she included fun facts and jokes every now and then.

When lunchtime came around we sat in this little restaurant and had amazing pizza and even had a little chat with the owner. Then we were off to Amalfi. Another wonderful town. More walking, more history, another church and then finally we stopped to get the world famous Gelato!!! Mmmmm, it was delicious and what made it taste even better was the fact that we were sitting at the bottom of the steps from the church in Amalfi and the sun just beaming down on us to give us that touch of warmth that makes you tingle inside. Then it was time to go home which wrapped the day up to perfection as we watched the sunset from the bus on our way home.

Sunday was a relaxing day at home with the family and then we went for a passeggiata in the late afternoon. I did some homework for my classes, which was straightforward, because it was all the material covered in class.Soon it was Monday, the beginning of another week. I can’t complain because I love waking up to the smell of coffee that my host mother brews every morning and knowing that classes at the school in Sorrento are so entertaining makes me get out of bed quicker and ready to go off to school.

Once at school, as always the staff and teachers greet you, ask you how your weekend was and inform you about the events going on that week. This week I attended the cultural lecture which was on Italian gestures and superstitions!!! I was amazed to find that we had some similar superstitions, such as, it is bad luck when a black cat crosses your path or never walk under a ladder and never break a mirror or else it’s 7 years of bad luck for you!!! The new one that I learned about was never put a bag/hat/cap on the bed!!! Also who knew that with your index finger pointing to different parts of your face meant different things to Italians, like finger to side forehead means pazza!!! (crazy) or finger to cheek means mmm!!! Yummy!!! Delicious!!! And that putting that same finger under your eye means Attenzione!!!

The schedule that was created this week was made so we had Thursday off!!! I was ecstatic because they organised an excursion to go visit Naples!!! My goodness, what an amazing city plus the tour that we got from the Sorrento staff was another one merit of applause. Just like during the weekend this tour involved a lot of walking, but what a better way to see the city than by foot. We walked all over Naples and even got to do some playing at Piazza Plebiscito. I can’t tell you about the game you’ll have to come and see it for your self. All I can say is if you decide to come and visit me at the school in Sorrento make sure to bring a good pair of sneakers.”