Dolce far niente

I watched Eat Pray Love today. I wasn't expecting much from the movie because it got quite bad reviews, but I really enjoyed it! And I learned a new phrase!!

It is 'dolce far niente' which means 'sweetness in doing nothing.' I knew there was a reason I liked Mediterranean culture so much! I tend to get in a rut of rushing around and trying to get stuff done and feeling overwhelmed, but when I am in the Mediterranean, I can feel the attitude of 'dolce far niente' in the air, so I step back, relax and enjoy the little moments.

Although I might not need to get into the 'dolce far niente' state of mind just yet! I am already having trouble getting motivated to finish my course work!

I learned some new ways to say goodbye as well! So I will leave you with:

A presto e stammi bene! (See you soon and take care!)

~Ciao Bella~

learning a language

First of all, I can't take credit for the picture on my blog of the Roman Forum. My friend Amber took it with her fancy camera while we were in Rome! It looks really cool, right?

Secondly, I thought I would share the resources I am using to teach myself Italian in case anyone else is interested in learning a new language!

First, I am using a podcast produced by a company in Scotland called Radio Lingua. I had listened to a few of their French podcasts before, and got my cousin to start listening to the Spanish one. Since Italian isn't as widely spoken, they don't have as many podcasts as more popular languages, but it is free and they have resources for quite a few languages, so I would recommend it!

Link to Radio Lingua Network

I am also using a program called Byki Express, which is a free downloadable software for your computer. I've founded it to be really useful so far, and am so impressed that I am considering buying the full version called Byki Deluxe once I have completed all the components of the free program. And they have even more languages to chose from than Radio Lingua.

Link to Byki

And finally, I have a book called "Italian Grammar Drills" that I got from my local book store. I had a similar book published by the same group while learning Spanish that was very good, so I knew the Italian book would be useful. It is published by the McGraw Hill and their website is mhprofessional.com.

Ciao Bella

After my recent trip to The Eternal City, I was reminded how much I love Italy. Since I was already thinking about trying to pick up another language, this trip made it pretty clear which language it should be! On this blog I will be making updates on my progress learning the language, as well as any interesting tidbits on the Italian language or Italian culture I discover along the way!

Hope you enjoy! =)

Here is what I would be able to say in a conversation so far.

Buon giorno. Mi chiamo Carolina e sono americana. Sono bene, e tu? Come stai? Vorrei imparare l'italiano. Ciao!


Translation:


Good afternoon. My name is Caroline, and I am American. I'm fine, and how are you? I would like (had to look up this next part!) to learn Italian. Bye!