A kiwi in Italy

Monday, October 23rd, 2006

6:50 am - Got it!

So I had two auditions in the past few weeks - for New Devon Opera (Tosca), and for Castelward Opera (Amelia in Ballo). Didn't get the Tosca, but was in the final three, and was really happy with the audition and the impression I made. HOWEVER, I did get the Amelia!! Means 6 weeks in Ireland next Spring/Summer! Even if I hadn't got it I would have been happy though, cos the audition was really positive. The director and conductor worked with me on the end of the aria I presented, and then after the audition invited me back in (and yes, I was halfway through putting my sneakers back on) to work some more. So I felt great, and it all paid off. The best part is - I know have 6 months to actually work on a role! Not like Butterfly, which I had to do in 3 weeks, and which I never felt I had completely put into my voice. I have another audition for Butterfly here in Italy at the end of November, so I'll have to rework a couple of those arias. It'll be nice to have time!

So with Connaught Artists I've had three auditions and gotten two jobs. I've decided to sign their contract, even though I'm not 100% happy with the conditions, as they have done everything right so far. Will just have to confirm in writing that if I get a chorus job they can't take 15% of my income! Need to be more specific there.

All else great. Work has ramped up, very busy. Just got back from a mini-break to Rome with Ravil. Lots of downsides to living in Italy, but the ability to jump on a train and head to Rome is not one of them!

Also quick update - I did finally get paid by Mr. Butterfly. Funny thing was - he just offered me an Asian tour of Butterfly for the last two weeks of November. I said no - not because of the payment issue (though I guess it's a factor!), but because he left it SO LATE and I'd lose my job if I went. The pianist for our rehearsals was asking me if I was doing the tour 4 months ago, yet Mr B didn't mention it to me until now?? Giving him the benefit of the doubt - maybe his original soprano was set to do it. However, if he'd asked me back in the summer when we were all together I could have organized my schedule, not taken group courses, not accepted audition ops here for that time, etc etc. I get the feeling he's a last-minute kind of guy - my life can't work that way. Who's can??

Anyway, I'm happy, have Amelia on the horizon, and plenty to do!

current mood:

excited

Wednesday, September 20th, 2006

9:04 am

Well. It's been an interesting couple of days. Yesterday we discovered that we were unable to use our atm card. All because the manager of my Butterfly performance still hasn't $££&%$£""/&%(/&( paid me!!! So I sent another email to my agent explaining the seriousness of the situation, and I don't know exactly what he said to Mr. Butterfly but it must have worked. Last night I received two emails and a phonecall from him, and a confirmation that he has now transferred the money. I'll believe it when I see it, but at least he actually got in touch with me himself. He said his mother's hospital bills had been horrendous and he had to put her first. Now, that's ok and I understand BUT - I thought Spain (where he is) was like Italy, in which case he would have paid very little if at all, AND you don't pay for something with someone else's (ie MY) money! The thing I really objected to was that he never responded to me until my agent said something threatening. However, I shall let it go now.

Last night and the night before I was completely fascinated to see on tv the 'heats' of Miss Italia. Now normally I don't watch shows like this, but it really was such a train-wreck I couldn't take my eyes off it. In NZ the 'Miss NZ' show occurs on only one evening - ok they may have preliminaries, but only the final show is televised. Not here! The last two nights have been the 'talent' part of the competition, and I use the word 'talent' extremely loosely. OK, there were a couple of exceptions - a great black belt in judo (or karate - I have no idea the difference) did a demo, two women were fabulous tango dancers - but by and large the talented ones did not get through to the next round because they came from smaller regions, and the winners were chosen by tele-vote. So there was the girl who played pool (and remember, all the girls had to do these things in their bikinis - except the judo girl... which is probably why she didn't go through now I come to think of it...), the girl who told the host how to eat a banana politely (!?!?), the girl who played volleyball, the girl who made balloon animals, the girl who played tennis with a basketball, the girl who did a dramatic scene by simply screaming at the host ('lasciami, lasciami!!), all the girls who for-want-of-a-better-word 'sang' - I tell you it was Italian tv at it's best. Wish we had a vcr so we could record some of these things.

Good news though - for some reason my tosca audition in London is back on. Hopefully we'll have money in our account by then.

current mood:

amused

Sunday, September 17th, 2006

8:36 am - Frustrations

This morning is cold and rainy, a perfect day to stay inside which is exactly what I'm planning to do. Ravil's still asleep, I have the computer to myself, and it's all good!

Still haven't been paid for my Butterfly - this is now 17 days overdue and I am PISSED. I sent a reminder email one week after he said he would pay me, playing the game and asking him if he could let me know when he would pay because we wanted to 'tell the bank when to expect a transfer'. He replied immediately saying 'I'll do it today'. After a week, nothing. So I sent another email asking him when he paid me (knowing full well he hadn't), then the next day I sent a text message. This time I didn't even get a response. So I asked my agent to hassle him, and of course he responded to that, saying his mother had been sick and that's why he hadn't paid me. I've been feeling really frustrated and powerless, and completely pissed that he wouldn't respond to me himself. If his mother actually is sick then I understand, and all he would have had to do is tell me. However I doubt it's true; because he didn't contact me himself (it takes 5 secs to answer a text) I think he's making excuses to keep my agent happy. He has a tenor he wants my agent to sign, so he'll play the game with him, but lowly singers who have to pay bills don't matter.

Grrr. It's been a frustrating week. I was looking forward to auditioning for Tosca in London at the end of the month, bought my ticket etc, and then get an email saying that the company have already selected their cast. Well don't publicize an audition date if you're not sure you're going to need it!!!! OK, the ticket wasn't expensive and I have people I can stay with, but still it's annoying. There's a possibility of a Ballo audition for an Irish company that same week - but I don't know the dates, I don't know how much it'll cost to change my ticket, and I don't even know yet if they're auditioning in London. I really love my agent, and appreciate his no-bullshit approach, and none of this is his fault, but STILL. And there's another thing - I haven't signed a contract with the agency yet, and much as I like my individual agent I'm not sure about the contract - they take 15% (which is ok, though 10% used to be standard!), and expect to get a cut of any work I get, whether they get it for me or not. If I get a job without an agent they take the full 15%, if I get a job with another agent they take up to 15% depending on the commission, and if I have to pay more than 15% to the other agent they take another 5% on top. Their argument is when I'm working for someone else I can't be making money for them, and it's a way to pay back all the money they spend on my behalf. That's all very well if they're guaranteeing me something, but they're certainly not. If I lived in England I might be more amenable to signing, but I live and (hopefully) work here in Italy. I'm going to try to negotiate on this point - maybe I'll allow them exclusivity on English work, but they can't take money from my European jobs, unless of course they negotiate the contract or something. We'll see how that goes!

And ah, Italian bureacracy. Finally got all my papers to renew my permesso di soggiorno (permission to stay - necessary when you're not italian), except I had to renew my health card. I had gotten it back in January when I went to renew my permesso, as it's one of the things you need, but while waiting for all the other document it expired. So we went to renew it, and they said they couldn't because my original appointment to renew my permesso was in the past. SO we had to go to the Questura to get another appointment to renew the permesso, in order to return to ASL (the health place) in order to renew my card in order to go back to the questura to renew my permesso. Get it? And everything in Italian! When we arrived at the questura they told me to return after lunch to get the appointment, as they don't give appointments in the morning. So I went back, and they gave me an appointment for November 9th. So now I have to wait until then! And I'm not going back to ASL to renew the health card until the end of October, in case it expires again.

So that was my week. I still haven't really started working yet either, as people are only just starting work after the summer, and aren't ready to start English lessons. I think I'm going a little bit crazy! I know once I start full-on again I'll be yearning for these halcyon days... but right now it's not great. I work better, I achieve more, when I'm busy. Weird but true.

current mood:

frustrated

Thursday, August 31st, 2006

8:57 am - Well this is embarrassing

It's been about 6 months since I wrote - just like those times when I was a teenager and tried to keep a diary! I'm hoping people are still maybe checking this... will have to send a reminder email and then WRITE REGULARLY.

(btw, Kit, if you check this, I sent you a reply to your message, but the email you gave me didn't work. Check your response to my earlier blog to read my response to it!)

One of the major reasons I haven't been writing was that I actually got a singing job! My May, June and July were completely consumed with learning, rehearsing, and then performing a last minute 'Madama Buttefly' with the European Chamber Opera in London. It's a small company, no reviews or anything, but it was a fabulous safe environment in which to sing my first Butterfly. What a MONSTER role. It was a huge challenge, and the first performance KICKED MY ASS because I was so tired and stressed from the insane rehearsal schedule, and supremely worried because my agent was in the audience. It went relatively well, not perfect, but I was really happy and proud of myself that I managed to sing the role after learning it in 3 weeks, a 2 week rehearsal schedule with no rest days, not to mention a 6 hour rehearsal on the day of the performance! The next day I quite literally couldn't move. There were two other performances that weren't as stressful, and each time I felt my voice and understanding and abilities improve. The company really seemed to like me, my agent was happy, and hopefully I'll get more work with them in the future. Although they haven't paid me yet... so maybe I WON'T be working with them again! Today's the deadline... Anyway, there's no way I could have sung the role last year - Ravil has helped my technique and ability to understand my own voice and what I'm doing, there are no words to thank him really. And I still have so far to go!

Had a wonderful August relaxing at home in Como - Ravil's son came to visit us for a couple of weeks which was awesome. Got to bond with my stepson - weird!!! He's 18, so it's not at all a stepmom-stepson relationship thank goodness - I'm not old enough for an 18 year old son! We all got along great and it was fab to see Ravil so happy with his boy. They have an amazing relationship.

And now it's back to work! Have an audition at the end of September for Tosca, so am working on that at the moment. Enough - this is impressively long for my first blog back!

current mood:

refreshed

Thursday, March 9th, 2006

7:42 pm

Things are great! Though rather frustratingly I am unable to check my email at the moment because yahoo seems to be on the blink. So thought I'd better take the opportunity, while I'm actually at a computer, to update my blog. It's all gotten away from me sonewhat...

I've had a couple of fab auditions lately - I now have a London agent!! And I had an audition last week in Livorno (birthplace of Mascagni), which went really well - he wanted me to sing 3 arias which I took as a good sign. if he didn't like me he'd want me to shut up as soon as poss, right??? Anyway, he didn't want me for the specific opera they were auditioning for (Iris, the one with the aria about the octopus), but asked me to prepare Lodoletta for next year. Obviously I have to audition again, but I'm so happy we took the time to talk to me and ask me to prepare something specific. So singing is good! I have another audition next week in Rome for a company from Sardegna, at which I have to sing Tosca and Nedda. So I'm excited about my possibilities! I know nothing is likely to come from it, but I'm really pleased with the way I'm singing and I feel positive about the reactions I'm getting. The hope is one day someone will hear me and want to take a chance on an unknown kiwi... If not, I'm having fabulous experiences travelling around singing in some of the most historic and wonderful theatres of Italy!!

Work is busy too - I'm now teaching for 3 schools; started the latest one this week. unusually it was a course with a Chinese man working for an Italian company - the first time I've had to teach a non-italian. There was NO help I could give him but in english! However it all went well, and it's especially great cos this school pays 40% better than my other two schools. I'm hoping they'll eventually give me enough classes that I can give up my other work and focus on them. That's the plan.ù

OK, will go check my email one last time. Grrr.

current mood:

chipper

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Saturday, February 18th, 2006

12:41 am - lets see if this works

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12:22 am

Oops, it's been more than a month.

We have achieved a sink at home, but still no internet...

It's been a crazy start to the year, with a couple of auditions already done (Desdemona in Rovigo, and Puccini festival in ViaReggio - first outing of Tosca in an audition situation!), and even more coming up. Heading to London next week to sing for the agent again, and then to Livorno and Rome and possibly Zurich. feeling very positive! I also have work with a new language school in Milan, which pays better than the one I'm with. So life is busy but great!

No great comments to make about the world; in a fairly selfish place right now! There's a lot of talk about the bird flu here; Italy being the first country in the EU to find it. I'm not worried, though am also not buying chicken. Have to make do with delicious pork and italian salsiccie!! Still loving Italy and Como. The German thing didn't happen for Ravil, which was disappointing. I'm planning on going to Germany next month to visit my friend Ursula, start getting a feel for the place and the language before I start dipping my toes in the audition scene. Much as I want to stay in Italy, I have a feeling Germany might be a better place for us work-wise. Another bollocky language to learn! The next couple of years are really going to be interesting...

OK, must go to work, will try not to let another month and a half go by before I write again!

current mood:

content

Thursday, January 5th, 2006

10:50 am

Oops. It's been a month.

Well, it was christmas, and we still don't have internet at home.

Enough excuses! Life is great. We had a beautiful christmas - very relaxing, and I was spoiled rotten. Ravil and I had decided not to get each other presents, but then we both ignored that rule and spent far too much money. what the hell, we had wonderful gifts under the tree on christmas morning. We spent the day in Lecco with friends, eating and drinking - in fact I don't really think I stopped drinking the entire month. Might explain why I have the flu now. It was totally worth it! Italians really get in to christmas, and being a teacher is a great job at christmas time. My students from Gillette gave me an electric toothbrush!! i also got many panettones (Italian christmas cake), and the best thing - teaching at Deborah (an Italian cosmetic company) meant a huge bag full of makeup. Hmm, toothbrush and makeup... maybe my grooming is not up to Italian-snuff... Oh well!

I also discovered that my audition for the Italian agent was in fact successful - not that he told me that exactly, just called me and told me about a couple of upcoming auditions. So that's great. Ravil and I are auditioning for the Mascagni festival in Livorno at the end of the month - for an opera called Iris. That is one SICK piece. The tenor is a kidnapper and would be rapist, the soprano mistakes him for a god, and then sings an aria about how pleasure is an octopus that kills you. Not much else to say!

New Year was interesting- we decided to stay home, and head out to watch the fireworks over the lake at midnight. Sounds perfect? Well, Italians are wonderful in small groups, the greatest friendliest people in the world, but put them in a crowd and they go CRAZY. We started into town, and ended up dodging fireworks, rockets, M80s; people were just launching fireworks into the street!! We felt pretty exposed and in danger, and ended up watching the 'official' fireworks from quite a distance so that we could keep a protected circle around ourselves! It was fairly insane.

OK, must go and put my cold to bed for the rest of the day.

current mood:

sick
current music: american pie in italian - surreal

Wednesday, December 7th, 2005

11:55 pm - First audition after two months off...

Just a quick update, as I have to head to a lesson, but wanted to write about my audition on Monday. I sang for Ravil's Italian agent, and it all went well. No contract as yet, I have to sing for him again. I'm extremely pre-menstrual (maybe more than you wanted to know), and I was singing pretty heavy. I knew it too, dammit. There's nothing worse than knowing what you're doing wrong yet your body not obeying all demands to stop it! This singing thing is 99% mind work - I know my teachers have always said that but I'm only just starting to believe it. Auditions are always harder though, because of nerves and only having 5 minutes in which to impress. Ravil said the other day that apparently when the adrenaline gets pumping we actually sing 10% louder than normal... this is a bit of a problem when I already find it difficult to sing delicately... Oh well!! The agent really liked my voice, and I have to prepare Aida and Tosca for him, which makes me happy as I have something to work towards. I'm not great at working for it's own sake.

current mood:

contemplative

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Saturday, December 3rd, 2005

4:21 am - We have a sink...

... but it's not installed yet, because of course nothing is simple here. Ravil got it home the other day, only to discover that there seemed to be no way to attach the sink part to the box. So he geared himself up for an italian confrontation, only to discover that we needed to buy (of course they didn't tell him this when he bought the thing) particular screws and silicon. So , we have done that. HOWEVER, our tap seems to have different size attachments than the holes in the wall - nothing is standard in this crazy country... This is becoming a very long saga.

Winter has really set in here - I pass by snow covered fields every morning on my way in to Milan. So beautiful! But COLD. Our apartment building also turns off the heat at certain times of the day, and through the night, making my 5.30am mornings even more painful! However, despite the cold and the lack of a kitchen sink, the glow is still not off the apartment. Every day I arrive home to Como I can feel all tension leave me. It's just so fantastic!! Ravil had a wonderful week of auditions in Germany last week though... so who knows. Maybe we might be living further north soon. How will I leave my dream apartment?? Maybe we shouldn't bother with the sink after all...

current mood:

amused

Thursday, November 17th, 2005

4:42 pm - I'm not dead

I've been terrible at keeping up my blog, but it doesn't help that we don't have internet at home yet, and probably won't have it for at least a month. This move sucked us DRY!! However, ravil finally has agents who are getting him auditions, so we have to spend all our spare euros on that right now. As happy as I am for him, and as much as I want him to find LOTS of work, I do have a slight fear that he's going to land a fest contract in Germany and we're going to have to leave our perfect apartment... I can't learn German!! Italian is hard enough!! Seriously though, the most important thing is for Ravil to find a job he loves. La Scala pays very well for not much work, but it's not the greatest atmosphere for an American who actually likes to work and respects the art form and his colleagues!!

So the apartment is nearly done - we just need to find some more shelves and wait for our bollocky kitchen sink. My schedule is much better now, as I only go in to Milan on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Last week, going in every day at 7am, and getting home at 9pm, was killer. I managed to squish all my classes but one into those three days, and it frees me up for some more classes here in Como. I've started teaching for a small language school on the same block as my apartment - incredible!! I've got lovely students and am very happy with my job, so that's great. I've decided to back off the singing for a little bit - right now we just don't have enough money for both of us to be travelling for auditions. I intend to take the next couple of months to focus on my voice and my repertoire, and try to throw myself into the audition thing next year. For now I'll just do any local auditions I find, and be happy! Had a great feedback from the London people (Connaught Artists) - Mark said voices like mine don't come along often, and they're happy to wait for me to get back to London. So that made me feel good.

So there we go, I can stop feeling guilty about not updating my blog.

current mood:

mellow

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Thursday, November 3rd, 2005

10:03 pm - New apartment

We are now moved in to our new apartment. Not without a few hiccups, not without a plethora of bruises, not without spending an obscene amount of money (sorry banca di legnano...), but we are so happy! Four days without gas and hot water was interesting, but it's all been worth it! Particularly when I got home from work last night and was able to wash my hair standing up in a shower, not crouched over a sink, waiting for Ravil to pour a bowl of cold water over my head. It's the little things, you know?

The commute in to Milan isn't even all that bad - I can always get a seat, and this morning had a lovely nap on the 7:03! it only takes 40 minutes too, so in all ways is superior to the 25 minute crush fest that was the metro commute from Cernusco. I talked to my school today about compressing my hours into three days also, so hopefully I'll only come into Milan three days a week. We'll see...

Can't wait for the weekend, when I can really get stuck in to making the place great. The kitchen's going to take the longest, as we don't have a sink yet. We bought one at ikea, but they neglected to include a crucial screw... also it requires some major power tools, which we weren't aware of when we bought it. So I think we'll return it, and buy one of the ready made variety as soon as possible. Our bathroom sink isn't really ideal for washing pots and pans!

current mood:

busy

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Thursday, October 27th, 2005

6:16 am - everything but the kitchen sink

Tomorrow we move to Como!! At the moment that is my overwhelming focus in life. I am surrounded by boxes and suitcases, and still have a million things to do before the van rolls up tomorrow afternoon. And moving is EXPENSIVE here. 3 months cauzione (deposit, basically the last three months), 1 month rent fee to the real estate agent (though we had our first experience of the Italian 'bring it in cash and we'll knock 200 euros off' - pretty cool!), rent in advance (though thankfully our landlord is accepting monthly rent payment instead of the usual 3 month in advance thing which completely sucks), you have to buy your entire kitchen (hence the title of this entry, as we literally have everything we need but the kitchen sink ... the bathroom will do for a while), not to mention the 1000 euro payment to the moving company to haul the 6 things we can't fit in the elevator up the side of the building and through the window. I can't begin to think how lucky we are that our friend who recently moved to england is giving us all her stuff - a couch, refrigerator, washing machine, spare bed, kitchen supplies, some shelves, etc etc. Plus we're buying an oven from our friends in Lecco, who are willing to wait on payment. We're more fortunate than most, and all the outlay is so totally worth it because we're about to live (basically) on the lake in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Ravil's been amazing, dealing with the gas company, the electric company, the internet provider, the landlord (who is the SWEETEST guy - helping us with everything), the moving company, everyone in Italian. I was unwilling to help at first, because I'm so shy to speak italian, but now I feel bad and wish I could take some of the pressure off him! However, it has to be his name on all the billing for tax purposes, so there's not too much I can do anyway. I'll just do all the packing and unpacking. I'm good at that!

So there we go. Next time I write, it'll be from my apartment on the 6th floor overlooking Lake Como. As the italians say 'che culo'!

current mood:

jubilant

Wednesday, October 19th, 2005

9:15 am - Going home

Well it's the morning of our last day here, and Ravil and I are both sick! Thankfully we both got through our auditions yesterday - very well. We don't know the result yet, should hear in a few days, but I personally am extremely happy with how I sang. Because I wasn't feeling 100% I REALLY had to do some brain singing, concentrate on my technique, instead of just blatting away as I tend to do in auditions. Hmmm, maybe I should apply this to auditions even when I'm feeling perfect!! Anyway, I think we both impressed them, and even if I don't get an agent out of it, it was a really positive experience. I can't overestimate how relaxing it is just to be able to understand people when they ask me questions!

So Ravil and I are both sitting here at Pippa's, wrapped in pajamas and blankets, trying to get the energy to get packed and go visit some friends before flying out of Luton tonight. I have a new enthusiasm for my singing and our life, and we're moving to Como next week, and it's all fabulous. Despite the fact I have goo stuck in my sinuses.

current mood:

rejuvenated

Monday, October 17th, 2005

4:10 pm - Foggy old London

So I'm here in London, preparing for an agent audition tomorrow. I'm over my pharyngitis, but have developed sinus problems - hopefully just hayfever. I DON'T want to sound like one of those ridiculous singers always freaking out about their health problems. Have to say, just did some great practise, and my voice is working well despite the plethora of mucous. Ugh.

So great to be back in an english speaking country!! I got off the plane and immediately relaxed - I knew I'd be able to understand everyone. Today I was able to buy some claritin from the pharmacy without practising my phrases beforehand!! It's the little things in life, I tell you. Great to catch up with Pippa and Jay again(I hadn't realized how much I miss my NZers, and all our gossip), and today i had coffee with Lindy which was fabulous. Can't wait for the day when I can work with her again. Pippa and I went to a concert at Wigmore Hall yesterday, in which Lindy was accompanying an english tenor (member of the YAP at Covent Garden - beautiful light voice - light being the operative word - and I couldn't even get an AUDITION there!!! Sorry for the vent, he was good!). Lindy was fabulous - just incredible playing.

Anyway, will write again after the audition. Just have to say how incredibly happy I am for Ravil - in the space of four days he had two successful agent auditions - he now has one in Italy (who I will sing for asap - nothing like a ride on the old coattails!!), and one in Germany. And hopefully we'll both have one in the UK after tomorrow... all we can do is sing our best.

current mood:

hopeful

Thursday, October 13th, 2005

7:20 pm

So I'm supposed to have an audition for an agent here in Milan tomorrow, but seem to have come down with pharyngitis (is that spelling correct??). I can't bring my cords together properly to onset a note. Dammit! However, no biggie, I can reschedule with him when I'm feeling better. And the important thing is the audition in London next week, because I've already bought my ticket! Can't wait to get there and catch up with Pippa and Lindy and everyone. I had a great session with my coach yesterday on my audition arias, and it went really well. Excited about my singing at the moment, which is why it's kind of frustrating to catch a little bug. WHo knows though, I might wake up feeling perfect tomorrow. I had a real crisis on Sunday, feeling very lacklustre about the whole singing thing. It's such hard work, with no certain rewards, and sometimes I feel incredibly unmotivated to work on my voice and technique. Performing is the best, working on music when you know you have a gig is interesting and challenging, but practising every day when there's nothing in particular to work towards is HARD. But Ravil kicked my ass, and now I feel great again. Just one of those singer things I guess. Ravil's right, all my competition are working really hard on ironing out there problems and continually honing their techniques, so why should I be exempt?? Basically, as long as I want this (and now I know I still do) I've got to commit myself to it. So I am. There we go.

current mood:

determined

Tuesday, October 11th, 2005

6:43 pm - my italian teacher

So I have lived here for the last nine months, and due to the fact that I teach english for a living, my italian is really not quite at the level I wanted it to be by now. However, I have now found my maestro!! A couple of months ago one of my students asked me to come and 'teach' english to her little boy of not-quite-three years. Now I accepted, cos its close to home and not subject to pesky italian taxes. However, never having 'taught' a language to a three year old I underestimated the difficulties somewhat. He doesn't understand me!! I'm not quite sure why that came as a shock; maybe I thought my sympathetic-to-kids manner would transcend all language barriers. A little dumb. Anyway, I now talk to him in basic present-tense italian, and then I repeat the same thing in english. I have no idea if it's working for him, but I have to admit, for me it's great!! I have a captive audience to practise my italian on, and if he doesn't understand me then he's not shy of hurting my feelings like an adult teacher might be. He looks at me like I'm crazy. Today I read the italian version of 'Finding Nemo' (pronounced Nay-mo of course!!) to him with character voices and everything. And I even understood it all! And little Matteo even corrected my pronunciation a couple of times. I should probably be paying him. Anyway, all in all a good Italian day!

current mood:

chipper