Lingua

In order to quench my desire to "learn something new" and of course, prep for my big trip, I started an Italian class tonight! The class is once a week for 5 weeks, for an hour and a half. It was really fun...we mostly focused on pronunciation, here are some highlights:

• CI makes the CH sound and GI makes the J sound...two tough things to remember when reading since it defies all English logic! Ciao!
• The musical scale (do, re, mi, fa...) is Italian!
• Mamma Mia = OMG!
  
• Speaking of Ciao...this is a greeting mostly used as hello and goodbye for acquaintances...except by the Venetians, who invented the word, and use it for everyone.
• Two key phrases: Dove il Bagno = Where is the bathroom? Dove il Vino = Where is the wine?
• Another key phrase: Vorrei piu vino per favore = I would like some more wine please.
• And in case you were wondering, my name doesn't translate into an Italian name...but my instructor said not to worry, it already sounds Italian. Mi Chiamo Brea. You basically turn it into three syllables, roll the r a bit and drag and emphasize the e...say it with me now, Italian style. Brea!