Settling In

My third week of studying Italian has been complete and the time has been very rewarding.  During the second week one student departed and was replaced by another.  The class size of eight remained the same but became quite different in tone.  The change in dynamic was very interesting.  The departing student was a quiet, unassuming man from Utah.  The new student was an outspoken man from Louisiana.  Reflecting upon the difference it gives me a smile and I shake my head.

During the second week I attended a cooking class at the Cantina Gattavecchi.  There were nine of us, lead by the chef, Lillian, in a rather small kitchen.  Lillian, a Brazilian, was quite an actress.  She was outspoken, emotional and very animated.  All of us were directed to perform different jobs as we made fresh pasta (there was flour everywhere) with an amazing mushroom, tomato, garlic, red wine and heavy cream sauce.  Our second was a pork roast stuffed with seasoned sausage.  Our contorni was roasted potatoes.  The dinner was surprisingly tasty given the number of hands involved in the making. It was simply an outstanding experience.  Picture nine people plus the chef plus the dishwasher pushing and shoving their way around a space that would be comfortable for two or three.  All were drinking wine and laughing while they spread the flour or rolled and sliced the pasta or pounded the pork or massaged the spices into the sausage or sliced and oiled the potatoes.  For me, however, there was a sadness here for, as I stood for a moment in a back corner of the kitchen, separating myself from the crowd, my thoughts turned to the one person who would have loved this so very much.  I must admit that a tear came to my eye but I quickly brushed it away, hoping that no one noticed.  I stood back for a moment longer and then jumped back into the madness.

Also, during the second week there were many lunches with fellow student and many dinners with the family.  It was a whirlwind of activity.  It became quite exhausting so, as reported in another piece, after a Friday gathering to say goodbye to departing students, I retreated to Norcia for some quiet time away, "far from the maddening crowd."

The third week began with a largely new class.  The level of the new students was higher than the students who remained from the prior two weeks.  The man from Louisiana, an Australian man, a young woman from New York and I remained.  We were all about the same level.  We were joined by another woman from New York, a Canadian man, an Australian woman and a woman from Norway.  All of the new classmates spoke and understood Italian better than those who remained.  The level of instruction accelerated.  My weariness returned quickly.  Also, the student lunch and dinner gatherings increased.  More of my time was spent eating and drinking and less time was spent studying.  So, as the level of study increased my effort decreased, adding substantially to my weariness.  Another weekend away would be necessary.

During the third week there was a nice trip to Pienza and a trip to Cortona, which included a tour of an ancient monastery.  However, the energy of my fellow students, at least the ones who had been in school for three weeks, began to dwindle.  At the end of the third week the vast majority of the fellow students departed for various and sundry places.  For me, weariness of both the intensity of the learning and the intensity of the interaction with others caused me to make a quick escape from the school on Friday.  I was off for a weekend at a spa just outside of Siena.  Along the way I stopped for a very nice lunch at the only trattoria in Rapolano Terme...spaghetti with ragu sauce and a mezzo of wine.

Until next time ciao a tutti.