Language School and exploring the city

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Nothing much of general interest has been going on, and I was sick all last week. I didn't figure anyone wanted to hear me complain. :)

Anyhow, I'm now in week two at the language program at the University of Florence. We aren't going as quickly as we did in the other school, but much more in depth. In the morning from 8:45 to 11:15, we have class. My teacher's name is Irene Zaccone. We have been doing a lot with learning to use prepositions correctly this week, as well as learning vocabulary. From 11:30 to 1:00 everyday, there is a lecture in Italian on various topics--Italin history, art history, Italian literature, Italian food, etc. It's a good chance to listen to the language. Some of the lectures I still can't make much sense of, but in some (the literature one is my favorite, of course! Having studied literature as part of my English major, that topic is easier to understand) I can follow the lecture and get most of the lesson, even if I can't understand every detail.

I'm beginning to see a difference at church in Bible class, too. For the first few weeks, I was just sitting through the lessons, but now I am catching the scripture references and understanding the major points. This past Sunday, Giovanni talked about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, and next week will will study His trial before the Sanhedrin. I have an Italian Bible, and I am learning to follow along. I still have a long way to go, but I am beginning to see progress.

I'm also enjoying meeting the other students in my class, as we will be spending the next two months together...There are a few Americans; I have become friends with a girl from Oregon, Cheryl, and her French husband. We usually sit together in the lectures. There are quite a few Japanese students, too. One, Shihoko, speaks very good English. Her husband is a chef who is working in Italy for a few months, so she is trying to learn some Italian while she is here. The others seem very nice, but they speak no English. It is definitely a good incentive to learn Italian when you are put in a classroom with others from all over the world, and you have to speak Italian as a common language! There is also a woman from Nigeria who sits behind me. Her name is Uduam (or at least that spelling is close...). She said something the other day about how she goes to church every Sunday, so I hope we might find some common ground to talk about.

Anyhow, language school is going pretty well. I only wish I could learn faster!