Since the constant improve game of learning Italian requires me to "pick up" what Italians say and repeate it like a parrot, I usually come home with my pockets full of rocks and by rocks I mean phrases or words that I hear often. Then I go home, sit down at the computer and empty out my pockets. It's sometimes funny what I pick up but, I have begun to see a pattern forming in the majority of words I pick up. Yes, a lot of them are swear words and I probably know all the Saints names combined with various animals now but, this most recent list just goes to show how skeptical Italians are of the entire world around them:
Scamato-Scam
Sciopero-Strike (I actually learned this one a while ago but it is used more often than you would think)
Non mi frega niente-I don't give a damn but, if you take off the "niente", which means "nothing", then it just means "I don't care" (usually followed by some hand gestures because Italian is about 45% sign language)
Porca Troia-Holy Shit
Peggio-Worse
Furba-Crafty
Yet, at the same time their language has everday phrases and words that translate into the most beautiful things in English.
I'm going brag now and say that I can finally follow an entire lesson and give some input without falling asleep. I can also write down all the notes that my Italian/History teacher gives us for an hour but, even though he saw that I had been doing so and told me "bravissima, bravissima" (this is something very special and rare coming from a teacher that scares the crap out of my entire class and his very presence demands their upmost respect, even from the "bad-ass" kids in my class) he told me I was ready to have a notebook just for History since I could take notes. He said the notebook should perferably have a cat on it. Thats when almost everyone lifted up their notebooks for History, displaying cats on all of them. I don't know if it is a coincidence or this teacher has a weird cat fascination but, it this funny classroom story had to be recorded somewhere. It doesn't quite top "Super Babies!" but it comes close.
Ci Vediamo!
-Olive