Perugia, Learning Italian

8/21/2007 8:20 AM

Today marks my second full day in Perugia, Italia. I am currently enrolled in an a semi-refresher / beginner Italian course. A good friend of mine recommended the school, Comistato Linguistico, and so far his recommendation has been brilliant. All of the instruction during the day is given in Italian, but the teachers are very helpful and the small classes allow for more time spent helping each other learn new things. They also provide evening events so that the students can meet each other and enjoy some of the sights and sounds of Perugia. My classmates are wonderful. The three other students in my class are from all over the world, one from Australia, one from the UK and one from Austria. It has been really nice to compare and contrast our different experiences with travel and home life.

My accommodations is Perugia are quite nice. I live on the edge of the old city center, so our building is probably at least 300 years old at its core and foundation. It has been quite an experience, however, trying to buy groceries in Italia. I have really had to brush up on my vocabulary for things like milk, eggs and other necessities. Some items, on the other hand, are labeled with the English name quite prominently.

On August 31st, I will head back to Roma in order to set up my apartment and get ready for the start of the semester at the Rome Center. So far, my time in Perugia has been great, and I hope it continues for the rest of my two weeks here.