Italian Class

Sooooo, you may be wondering why FOOD is the only item on my blog? Well, several reasons for why we stayed indoor most of the time: 1) fighting off jetlag, 2) getting things in order with Italian bureaucracy, and 3) it has been raining for the past 2 weeks (very unusual this time of the year), thus we can only eat, eat, and eat. But don't worry, we will start reporting the city of Torino to you, when weather permitting and we are well-fed and sober.

My beginner Italian class started this Monday. The language school is 15 minutes by foot from our apartment. There are 3 ladies managing the school: Rosaria (handling administration and teaching Italian), Laura (teaching culture/ history/ architecture), and Caterina (teaching Italian - my teacher!). It's really a family business since Rosaria and Caterina are sisters while Laura is their sister-in-law. Syd and I met them last November when we were checking out Torino and we liked their teaching method and personalities. I had a lot of fun learning Italian with Caterina and my classmates this week. Syd'll joining us next week.

Two significant structures stand out on the way to school: 'Arsenale Militare' and 'Atrium'. The building of Arsenale Militare is obviously very different from other modern architecture. Military officers (in khaki or green uniform) come in and out of the building every time I pass by. You can read more about it by enlarging the photo of the sign. In Torino, every historical architecture (including Trevor and Beth's medieval apartment) has a sign explaining its significance.















The other significant building is the 'Atrium' which consisted the main tourist information center. The Atrium was built specifically for 2006 Winter Olympic but its modern exterior caused controversy. Many Turinese feel it ruins the atmosphere of the old Piazza Solferino (where my school is at) and thus demanded for its removal. The tourist information center is no longer there since last November and I hear the Atrium will be taken down shortly.














Let me end this long blog with a photo of my Italian class. Caterina is the teacher who's next to me. She's originally from Sicily and she lives in Torino with her husband and child. Kim is on my other side who's studying in a renowned automobile design school in Torino. Daniella (next to Caterina) is from Germany. She came to Torino with/ for her boyfriend (Torinese). You know what love does to people! Helen's British and she's taking a week of vacation just to learn Italian here! And yes, we have a sister in the house! Sister Stefana is Korean who's working with the Italian community here. I think she has the most difficult time because she doesn't speak either Italian or English but I'm sure lord will help her in some way. Shawn and Federica are the youngest in class and they are Americans. Shawn is a student in fashion design while Federica's still in high school (Mamma mia! I feel old!)!