So, better late than never! Sorry it's been so incredibly long since my last post - and I know it doesn't probably help much to say that I've been just crazy busy since then. It also probably doesn't help to have nothing new to show for it. But that's the truth, and so I'm going to go with it. :)
The last month and a half I have kept myself busy with the usual goings on: English lessons, English conversation class, teaching English at the daycare. Also, I am really enjoying getting to know this semester's HUF students. They are really fun, friendly and willing to try new things. They came to our last English movie night, which pushed our attendance to over 50. We have also been to a soccer match with them and an Albanian dancing night. We invited them over to the Bible School for a chili supper, and then later that night we went to the Villa for their Superbowl party. Good times.
Lots of English. In spite of this overwhelming amount of English in my life, I am on occasion forced into speaking Italian. I am pleased to inform you that I have (since we last spoke) made major strides in my Italian speaking skills. I told the story of the Creation to the daycare kids in passato remoto (a fairly difficult tense, which doesn't exist in English and many other language), succeeded in using congiuntivo correctly 50% of the time, and congiuntivo imperfetto correctly 40% of the time and incorrectly 30% of the time. (I know that doesn't add up mathematically. This is because the remaining percentage of 30% is how often I consciously/unconsciously use present tense when I SHOULD use congiuntivo.)
However, being human and American, I inevitably slip. Usually in very silly and unexplainable ways. Here is an example.
**One time in between English lessons, I was chatting with the two boys whose lessons were back to back. We were talking in Italian (since we weren't actually in a lesson), and I was keeping up and contributing to the conversation.
First Boy: *telling a story about something that happened that we had all been expecting to happen*
Me: "FinalMENTE!" ("Finally!")
Both Boys: "hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" (hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!)
Me: ".........Che c'e'?" (What is it?)
Second Boy: "FinalMENTE!"
Me: "Ho sbagliato?" (Did I mess up?)
First Boy: "No, solo l'hai detto con un accento americano!" (No, you just said it with an American accent!"
Me: "Come devo dirlo?" (How should I say it?)
First Boy: "Finalmente."
Me: "Finalmente."
Both Boys: "HAHAHAHAHA!"
Whatever.
Other then the OCCASIONAL linguistic mistake, things have pretty much gone on as normal around here. I have taken on one more individual student - my schedule was actually full so I added her to another girl's time in order to have a group lesson. I have started going about once every two or three weeks to have English conversation at the school of one of my students who is an English teacher. Last time we learned "I Wanna Hold Your Hand". Classic. I'm still playing with the Scandicci concert band and really enjoying it, and I'm spending time with my Italian friends. On Physical Fridays we are slowly but surely replastering and repainting the walls of the downstairs classroom, which badly needed it. There is always that kind of work/project to be done. We're hoping for some handy boys to come and help dad out with that kind of stuff. :)
We are also busily planning the Ladies' Retreat that will be hosted here in Scandicci on March 5-8, and looking forward to it! We would love it if you could keep this event in your prayers, as well as our projects and activities here at the Bible School.
Life is good, and I'm trying to enjoy every minute of it!
