June 21, 2007

Italian family life is getting better by the day :-) While my Italian has only improved by approximately 10 words, we are learning how to communicate more effectively. For starters, my family has begun inviting every friend that they know, who speaks English, to come meet me and translate. Roccafranca is such a small town, that the English camp teachers arrival is quite publicized. I have been told that we are a bit like celebrities...who knew that I had to come to Italy to be truly appreciated...I always knew in my heart that I belonged here :-)

However, it was not until tonight that I realized that my family and I had really made progress in the communications department. Amazingly, no friends arrived to welcome me..and translate...and our one translator in the family (Thomas, the nine year old son) had to go to soccer practice. Therefore, it was just Grandma Rosa (who believes in her heart that I really do know Italian, and if she just says the words loud enough I will remember their meaning), Claudia (the mother), Christina (one of Claudias sisters), and myself. We actually had a real conversation...they shared a bit of the local gosip and I found out that a prominent community member is gay, but not out of the closet....no, not the gynocologist...another one. Yes, it appears that Roccafranca has its own set of scandals...my family described it as a "soap opera". It is amazing what one can communicate with just a pair of hands, facial expressions, and a trusty English/Italian dictionary.