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| Professoressa Valentina a destra! |
A year ago, I decided that I missed the Italian portion of my life, so I found the
Italian Language School of San Francisco to commit myself to improving my Italian. I tested into "Elementare 3" and began going to class every Wednesday evening for the past year. Not only have I learned about all those pesky two letter words that I never really understood when I lived in Italy (they are PRONOUNS!) but I learned so much grammar (ciao conjuntivo!) that I actually feel like I've advanced in my knowledge of the language. Throughout the Intermedio courses (I've just completed 1, 2 and 3, with 4 and 5 still to come), I have enjoyed the grammar because to me, it's just math. It's a a logical system. If A, then B, then make sure the C and D match what A and B require. I love it. My goal is to get to the Avanzato courses, where they read actual Italian books. How cool with that be!
But I also write in sadness as my teacher for four classes, Valentina, is leaving our group. There's a core of about six of us that have been together an entire year. Valentina claims that we are her favorite class and that the other teachers at the school have been clamoring to take over our class. Apparently, we're a famously fun class to teach. But it's not all bad news. Valentina's visa expired so she was headed back to Europe, but then her husband was selected for an H1-B visa and so she will come back with him in October, but it doesn't come with a work permit. However, when her green card comes through, she will be able to come back to the school and see us again. So this truly is "ci vediamo presto." Valentina, I know I speak for all of us in class, we will miss you when class starts up again in July!
