Catching Up

Ciao!

I didn't realize how long it has been since I last wrote. Time is rushing by! Before I describe what has been keeping me busy, I have to tell you about my class. First, as I may have mentioned, I was happy to place in an intermediate class. However, since I haven't worked on my vocabulary much in the last couple of years, I was quickly overwhelmed. Everyone was speaking too fast and I just wasn't catching on. The worst part was that I was afraid to open my mouth. I tried to move down, but that class was full so I had to stick it out. After a few days I realized that one reason I couldn't understand the others was that everyone was speaking Italian in different accents--the result of the international nature of my class! There is one person from Germany (who I still can't understand), 2 from Holland, 2 others from North American (obviously easier to understand) and one from Spain. She is a real challenge to understand because she pronounces v as b. Once I sorted all that out I found I wasn't quite as behind as I thought. Obviously 4 hours of practice each day helps! Sometimes, though, it can sound like the Tower of Babel as everyone tries to explain fine points of vocabulary or grammar in their own language!

Saturday I went to Assisi. There was a group tour through the school in the morning, then we were left on our own for the rest of the day. It is only about 1/2 hour from Perugia by train and it was a beautiful day. Our guide pointed out the high points of various basilicas before the tour was finished, but left it to us to explore in more detail. Assisi itself is just beautiful! It is what we think of as a typical Italian hill-top town--more so than Perugia. It also had a special energy that day because there was a medieval celebration being held. Unfortunately we didn't have tickets as part of the tour and seats were sold out. We tried to watch from the sidelines, but couldn't see all that much. It looked like quite a "spectacolo" with all the townspeople participating. It looked like one of Whitney's Nutcrackers on steriods with everyone running around in their costumes! After a bit, a couple of us gave up trying to see more and headed to some of the significant churches in town. The Basilica of St. Francis was amazing. There were 3 levels. The upper church is best known for its cycle of paintings by Giotto which describe St. Francis' life. The next level was an entire other church, and the lowest level contained St. Francis's tomb. The 2nd and 3rd levels especially had a very spiritual air about them. The most impressive spiritual location was the smallest: San Damiano. That is where St. Francis experienced his conversion and where St. Clare evenutally housed her order of sisters. I had read about St. Francis before I came here, so I had some idea of the significance of what I was seeing. I am sorry that there wasn't really time to just hang out in town and explore. One could definitely spend 4-5 days there, despite the number of tourists!

Sunday I stayed in Perugia. As was true for many of my friends, I was just exhausted. It has taken a little longer than usual for me to get into the routine, especially the late dinner hour. I slept , studied, and did some laundry. However, yesterday I felt better and took the bus to Deruta to look for some pottery. The town itself doesn't have much to recommend it, but I did find a couple nice pieces that I'll enjoy using at home. Today I had a later than usual grammar class, plus it is raining, so I'm in town for the day. Tomorrow after class I will take the train to the town of Todi, which is supposed to be beautiful.

I am excited that I will get to see my friend Marilyn the night I am in Rome! We became friends when we were in Lucca together. It will be a wonderful way to end the trip, though the end will come too soon. Although I don't get a computer often, I do enjoy reading your remarks, so keep them coming!

Hugs to all!

Nancy