Capisco!

I'm leaving for Italy in less than a month!

I'm so excited and can't wait. :)

So in preparation, I've finally begun to learn un po' (a little) Italian. I do so in hopes that I won't be completely helpless when I reach Siena. However, the best I can say yet is "parlo inglese, non capisco italiano" which translates to "I speak english, I don't understand Italian".

Being the linguist that I am, I can't help breaking apart and analyzing Italian as I learn it. For example, I can see that the majority of words have stress that falls on the penultimate (second to last syllable) and there appear to be very few different diphthongs.

I feel much more comfortable learning Italian than I ever did while learning German. I believe this is because Italian is so similar to French (which, after long years of studying it, has become quite easy for me to speak).

Needless to say, I do love learning and studying languages. But I do favor certain languages. For example, I do not care for German - it is harsh and (in my opinion) linguistically confusing. And while I think French is by far one of the most beautiful languages, the singing quality of Italian makes it the most fun to speak.

I am excited to get to Italy where I'll be entombed in this amusing language.

I have an aversion to being productive during the summer...

I have been far too lazy over the past few days - laying around the house while the 20 or so boxes and suitcases I have from moving back to San Diego for the summer sit, unpacked, in my room.

But instead of achieving productivity through unpacking, I have decided to focus on my upcoming trip to Italy. Which brings me to the main point of this post:I need to start learning some Italian.

You know, just a few key words to get me around the airport and the bus station before I get to Tuscany in a few months. While the whole point of my studying abroad is to learn the language, I am still a bit apprehensive about dropping myself in the middle of a foreign country without knowing how to say anything aside from "Ciao!".

I have an interactive Italian language CD/DVD (something similar to Rosetta Stone) that has been sitting on my desk since Christmas time. Every time I look at it, the linguist in me wakes up and I get a rush of excitement at the thought of learning Italian, but then comes this feeling of extreme guilt because in all honesty I know I probably won't ever break from my lazy summer routine to use the CD...

Oh well, even if I don't start learning the language now, I'll just have to use the country of Italy as my classroom - which is really one of the best ways to learn a language.

Alright, the sun is shining outside and I best go enjoy it.

Ciao!

I don't do well in heat. Or in the cold. Or in humidity or dry air. Thank you San Diego for ruining all extreme weather for me.

It is ungodly hot here. According to the internet, it is now 94 degrees here. NINETY-FOUR! That is 94 degrees of hell.

This heat is a product of the Santa Ana winds that are blowing through here, a fire nearby, and the quickening approach of summer.

I've compiled a list of the things I've been doing to cool down over the past day or so. This list is organized by the level of ridiculous behavior that is required to execute each action (normal person behavior to crazy person behavior).

1. Turning on my fan
2. Drinking extra water
3. Pulling my hair back in a ponytail
4. Wearing shorts and tank tops
5. Not wearing make up that will clump and/or melt in the sun
6. Wearing a dress
7. Standing in front of the freezer with the door open while moaning "It's toooooo hot..." over and over to my room mate.
8. Contemplating leaving German class early in order to organize a water balloon fight.
9. Contemplating leaving Linguistics class early in order to organize a water gun war.
10. Making it a point to ride my bike through all the sprinklers I can find on my way home from class.

Obviously number 10 is the most effective and fun method of cooling down that I've discovered so far - its made even more fun by all the weird looks I get (they're all jealous that they aren't adventurous enough to do the same). Now that I know when people's sprinklers are on, I'll be sure to schedule my day around that.