Dopo Firenze...

Dopo Firenze, c'era sola una cosa che volevo fare, ritornare. Dodici settimane in Italian non era abbastanza bene per me.  Da piccola era important che impara la lingua italiana, ma tutte le scuole che mi sono iscritto non avevano una programma italiana.  Ho vissuto a Firenze per 12 settimane, e ho imparato molto italiano, grazie a Claudia e Gabri (la mia famiglia d'ospita), e quando sono ritornata agli stati uniti, ero triste perche non avevo piu opportunita di imparare l'italiano.

Parlavo con mio "advisor" e il "registrar" a Union College ogni giorno, perche sapevo che era un modo in cui potevo parlare italiano a un'altra universita vicino Schenectady. Mi sono iscritto a Siena College, e ho passato un corso di 202 con Professoressa Bonnissone, ma vorrei imparare piu.

Quest'estate ho trovato un lavoro a Roma, grazie a Marc Penesso (un exstudente di Union).  Allora commincio una nuova pagina della mia vita come una lavoratrice italiana! Spero che questa esperienza sara un tempo dove posso migliore il mio italiano, imparare piu della cultura e faccio nuovo cose!

In English...

It has been a pain over the past 20 years of my life struggling with the institutions I have attended about adding Italian programs to the curriculum... in this day in age I guess it just simply can't be done.  Last year, my Sophomore year at Union College I was given the opportunity to study in Florence, Italy, and I fortunately had the best experience of my life, and was able to learn more Italian in 12 weeks, than I had learned of French over 6 years of formal teaching.

Lucky to have the experience, returning home to the states made me realize the passion I have for Italy, its culture and its close connection to my family.  Still struggling to get Italian classes at UNion College, I fought with the administration and finally found a window of opportunity where I would be able to take Italian classes at surrounding area colleges, but with the difficulty of transferring credits, commuting and trying to match class schedules up between semester and trimester schools.  I kept at it, and in the Winter I was able to start Italian 202 at Siena College with Professor Bonnissone keeping my italian refreshed, so that when I return to Italy for a summer of work, I won't be too rusty with my Italian.

I travelled to Italy over spring break with my friend Lexi solidifying my position at Aircom International as a Human Resources assistant, thanks to Marc Penesso a Union Alumni who had similar life passions as I.  Our ten day trip was amazing with gorgeous weather and got me very excited, yet nervous for the upcoming summer of working in Italy.  I will be keeping you updated on the difficulties I come across prior to my departure and fill you in on whatever reserves I may have prior to leaving, but also the anticipation and excitement that is to come.

Looking forward to having a real summer experience as a working italian in Rome and I can't wait! Especially for August... who knows if I'll actually be working then ;)