第432期:Life in Italy

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Todd: So, Marion, what countries have you lived in?

Marion: I've lived in Italy, France, Australia, and now Japan...and Ireland of course.

Todd: Wow, you lived in Italy, huh?

Marion: Yeah.

Todd: Wow. How long did you live in Italy for?

Marion: Um, for two separate periods, so a year each so it totals about two years. Almost two years.

Todd: Wow, that's pretty cool. So why did you go to Italy? What were you there for?

Marion: I went there to study Italian. The first time I studied Italian and then French, and then the second time I went back after graduating to study more Italian.

Todd: That's pretty cool.

Marion: Hmm! It was interesting, yeah.

Todd: So were you classes tough? What it a tough study program?

Marion: Hmm, they were very interesting, and the first time I went, my Italian wasn't so good, cause I had only studied for two years before I went the first time, so even though my Italian improved enormously over that first year, in the beginning, it was quite difficult, I had one professor for example, who would constantly say to me, in class, in Italian, "Are you following? Are you following?" so it was a bit intimidating.

Todd: Yeah, I don't think I could do that with my students.

Marion: No, no, it was really awful, he was really singling me out, so all the other people in the class used turn their head around and look at the strange foreigner in their class who maybe or maybe, maybe could understand or maybe didn't, but I just felt very nervous and a bit awkward there because I was just waiting for him to pounce on me, "Mi segue, mi segue!" It's terrible.

Todd: "Mi segue" is "are you following?"

Marion: Are you following me, literally, yeah, basically do you understand.

Todd: Ah, OK. Um, what was life like in Italy, at university. How was it different than say, university in Ireland?

Marion: Well, my university is one big campus, I think that's maybe the way in America as well. In Italy though, the buildings of the university are spread all over the city, so you'll have, for example, the language and literature faculty, where I was, in one part of the town, and then maybe 10 or 20 minutes away by bus you might have the faculty of education where I had to go to some lecturers as well so that was very different, for me to have everything so spread out. Also, the buildings were so old, you know in Italy there are really old traditional buildings, so they are beautiful, really beautiful, you walk into the faculty building, and there's a huge courtyard, and beautiful architecture, all around you. It's absolutely amazing. You felt like you were a little part of history, inside you know, so yeah, that was amazing.

Todd: Well, sounds cool.

Marion: Yeah, it was great, one of the best years of my life.