Spanglish-Italiano-What?

Coming to Spain/Catalonia, I was nervous about handling the language barrier. I didn't trust my knowledge of Spanish to be good enough to get around, much less having any kind of knowledge of Catalan, the language local to Barcelona. Before leaving, I was quite focused on my initial week in Spain, thus, Italy was not really on my mind – much less learning or understanding the Italian language.

When I arrived in Barcelona, I found early on the language to be a struggle, but I could form sentences. Surprisingly, I was able to understand about 20% of Spanish at "regular" speed, and around 50-80% at a slower speed or with repetition, even more. I felt a combination of embarrassment that I didn't know or understand more, and pleased that I obviously knew more than enough to get around, ask for and understand directions, order meals, make purchases, and have very basic conversations. I have to say I tried hard and I think I was respected a bit for it, though those that I was speaking to would usually switch to English when they heard my broken Spanish… This was a relief, but I also wasn't crazy about the switch since it didn't force me to understand as much. Before the week was over, I remembered how to do past tense and present perfect (the "-ings") – neither of which I could remember prior to heading over there.

Then I got to Italy.

Italy was a bit different. I have no background whatsoever in Italian, though I can manage a handful of words; Hardly enough to get around the city. I should have been more prepared. I did pick up a few words here and there that I didn't know before (to manage directions and meals, primarily) since English is not as prevalent in Rome as it is in Barcelona. Still, I understood a few things fresh off the boat (plane, whatever) – A guy asked me if I needed any help (in Italian) while I was getting myself and Amy lost attempting to find our hotel. When I said "No, grazie", he persisted with much more Italian than I could handle… Haha. I appreciate his attempt at helpfulness, but I didn't know how else to respond except with the same "No, grazie". At that point, he realized my Italian was limited nearly to those two words.

[Note to Self: It does not make someone very effective at getting around if all you can say is "No, thanks". And, ok, I knew a bit more: Buongiorno, ciao, vino, and a few choice words/phrases that may not have been the best way to start a conversation in Italian, but not nearly enough to be convenient or liked.]

Getting back to my story… So he realizes I'm clueless when it comes to Italian. I'm responding with Si and some warped combination of what little Italian I do know, Spanish, and when all else fails, English. It was really more of a Spanglish-Italiano mess. I cannot imagine this was particularly useful to me or anyone attempting to speak with me, but when flustered, I was just going with the words I knew in the language closest in proximity to where I was. So, Italian first, Spanish second, and English third. I'm not sure what I was thinking. Fortunately, "yes" is "si" in both Spanish and Italian! One more word to add to my list of Italian words I understood! But at the beginning, I did only think my "si" was Spanish… And I think English is a more common language here than Spanish, but again, that flustered thing would come into play….

But again, I digress. What I did get in response to him was obviously a displeased lecture. And although I don't know Italian, I did pick up that he thought that I should know Italian if I was in Italy and leave the Portuguese (?) and English to when I was in the appropriate country. I'm still not sure where the Portuguese came from, but that's neither here nor there. I was lectured for not knowing Italian within an hour of being in the country. Lesson here: Know at least some of the language prior to entering a country.

Now that I'm nearing the end of my trip, I have managed to pick up directions and can order a few things off of a menu in Italian. I know I can get around pretty well in Spanish and understanding Spanish wasn't a problem. Reading is probably the easiest form of communication in both Spanish and Italian - I can read to you the advertisements and billboards I passed on all my bus rides! Definitely an improvement from where I started, at least in Italy.

Two goals have resulted from this experience:

Learn a second (third, fourth?!) language fluently. Most probably, my second will be Spanish, noting where I currently reside.

Make sure I know enough of the language to at least get around a bit, next time I visit a foreign country.

Barcelona & Roma: Observations and Lessons Learned

I've spent a lot of time over the last week or so enjoying Barcelona and Roma and have run into so many things that make you open your eyes and realize how different things are around the world. I am absolutely, 100%, capital 'L' - Loving my adventure - every minute of it, even in the rain and cold... :) I want to make sure I remember things about my trip, so I've been keeping notes (yes, I'm a dork) and thought I'd open a few of my thoughts and quirky items I've come across to my friends. This is a work in progress, so I'll be updating as I have time and an internet connection.

1. Never drive in Rome. The Italians may trick you with their lane lines into thinking they drive very obediently like the rest of europe. These lane lines are purely for asthetic reasons and nothing else. They are crazier drivers than i have EVER seen. But, they seem to do this all very safely (I'm not sure how there aren't wrecks every 20 meters)....

2. Crosswalks in Rome: Interesting concept if you're at all used to mmm, well, anywhere else. Drivers here pretend they don't see you and will run you down even when you're in a valid and very legal crosswalk. The trick to crossing streets is to just close your eyes and walk. They will screetch to a halt only if you challenge them by stepping into the street AND keep walking. The initial step or two will not encourage them in any way whatsoever to slow, pause, or stop for you. Think of it as a game very similar to 'chicken', but with unequal weapons (car v. foot).

3. Never trust the weather report in Rome. They must do their weather reports the same way they drive - It's going to be 20 C and sunny... No! 12 C and rainy... No! 18 C and windy.... Haha. I've learned to be prepared for everything, no matter what they say.

4. Barcelona is one of the cleanest and ordered cities I've ever been to. The Plaça Catalunya (near where I was staying) has a huge square that is so shiny and clean it can easily be mistaken for ice. No kidding! Roma is nearly the opposite it some ways. The subways are grafitti'd (is that an Italian word?) and I wonder how such a great people could let the city and ancient ruins be marred the way they are. I suppose you get used to 2000 year old buildings if you live here? (And I even saw 2000 year old grafitti at the Colleseum)!

5. Food is unbelievably good, both in Spain/Catalan and Roma. It has put American food to shame at nearly every meal I've had, including breakfast and snacks. I'm determined to learn a few recipes... Specifically a yummy pasta I'm returning to have a 2nd time today... Be on the watchout for New Meals by Amanda, for those of you that have the benefit of enjoying my cooking.

6. I spent a few hours at the Basillica di San Peitro (St. Peter's Basillica) today. It was a bit of a last minute decision - I was on the bus heading to the Castel San Angelo and when the doors opened for the Basillica stop, I jumped off, thinking it would be a quick jaunt prior to the Castel visit, which I'd heard has an amazing view from the top. And I got extremely lucky and was in the ''square'' right when the Pope came out for a speech. Crazy. I need a better camera.... I then went up to the Cupola of the Basillica, ran out of film, but saw some of the most amazing views you could imagine. Standing basically on the roof of a huge cathedral looking out over ruins and buildings 1000s of years old... It's worth a visit.

7. In Barcelona, I had the opportunity to walk through Gaudì's most triumphant building - La Sagrada Familia. This cathedral is amazing... very modern, colorful, and obviously drawn on nature in every bit of its architecture. It's still in the process of being built - 8 of the 12 spires are erected, and they expect the building to be completed at some point in the future, after 100 years of building it thus far. It is anything but traditional. There have been comments made that Gaudì must have been on drugs it is so far out there. I don't mean to imply it isn't beautiful - its definitely is beautiful, especially after you see some of Gaudì's drawings and initial erections. Everything he imagined and created is taken from nature, from the columns and ceilings made to look like trees with umbrellas of leaves, to the basket of oranges at the top of one of the spires. And yes, they are orange. Like I said - anything but traditional.

8. I could live in Barcelona. Big city, little town. Do I have to come back to the US?

9. OK, I have to comment on the keyboards, as its been troublesome trying to learn where keys I use often are located (parentheses, question marks, apostrophes, etc...). I think I may have issues going back to the American standard after a week of my fingers being trained that the apostrophe is next to the 0 instead of next to the L.

10. The Barcelona architecture is amazing. I know, I'm using that word a lot, but trust me on it. I mean it. It's very Mediterranean. Shutters, big windows, flowers, plants in every balcony... *really, do I have to come back?*

11. Take the random English Speaking tours in Rome. They may be on the expensive side for some, but they are definitely worth it. I've learned more history in the last few days than I think I learned through all of my formal education.

12. Signs. I'm so amused at the pictures that are used for typical signage around public places. You know, the no shouting, no grafitti, exit (I can say that word in 5 languages now), etc. signs.... I have some pictures that I'll be posting at some point.

TBC