Exploring Foligno

Today I decided I'd had enough of jet lag running my schedule. So far this week, I have spent all my free time in the mornings... that's right... sleeping, so I haven't gotten to see much of the town at all. But today I was determined not to let my tiredness get the most of my time. I actually got up this morning, before 10:30, and went to go explore Foligno. The apartment complex we're in is one street down from the center of town, so in just a few blocks I can get right to the main square with shops, cafes, and restaurants. I strolled through the quaint streets, across the river, and past two very old cathedrals, taking pictures the whole way. Let me tell you, there is no better way to shout "I'm a foreigner!!" than to have a camera hanging around your neck as you're walking through a town filled with no one but locals. And I became more and more aware of my status as a foreigner as I went in to shops and cafes and very unsuccessfully attempted to communicate. Upon first arriving in Italy, I was very surprised with how much Italian I could actually understand. What I realized today, however, is that speaking it is an entirely different situation. I felt quite foolish trying to purchase tea in a cute little cafe without even knowing how to say "I don't speak Italian," or "I'm sorry." In fact, I really wasn't even sure how to say "Hello" or "Thank you" with the right pronunciation. After embarrassing myself several times around town, I came back home with a determination to learn Italian. I picked up Maria Vittoria from school and had a little bit of a break while she was at swim lessons and Cesare was taking a nap, so I took advantage of the time to study up on some Italian. Boy do I have a lot to learn! It really is not too hard to understand it, because it mirrors Spanish almost 60-70% of the time. But the fact that they are so similar, yet different, makes the language extremely difficult for me to remember. The differences are so small - like endings on words, or slight pronunciation differences - yet they are just enough to confuse me! Zoila gave me a Rosetta Stone cd for Italian today, so I am going to try to work on that a little bit every day. We'll see how fast (or slow!) I improve!

For now... here's some pictures of my excursion into town today:

My bedroom

View from my balcony

Our building

Fall in Foligno

The Topino River

The piazza

The main piazza of Foligno

Aurelio's office