What the hell is study? You mean I actually have to work?

I have been doing my Italian course now for three days. Today it dawned on me how much I don’t know and I panicked a bit. The gaps in my vocabulary and knowledge of how the language works suddenly looked like gaping chasms. Not only that but I am having to re-establish study habits that have long been dormant.

All this came with the realisation I am actually doing a university course with rigour and integrity. I haven't done any formal grammar since I did French and Latin in Year 10 in 1971!!!

I have good teachers in Valentina and Laura and each day I have four hours tuition comprised of two hours of grammar and two hours of conversation. English is only spoken in an emergency and every day I get about two hours homework to do.

It’s exhausting and I am finding I don’t have a lot of time for other things. I am sleeping very well.

Talk about individual attention. There is nowhere to hide.There are only four students in the grammar class, me, Margaret a young American from Long Island, Miki a young woman from Japan and Shan from China. In the conversation class there are only two, Margaret and me.


If I actually get through this my I think my Italian will be pretty good.