Ciao! Buongiorno!

I had started learning a new language almost 200 days ago. At the time I was working for a furniture company whose headquarters is based in Italy. And while the Italians I had to work with spoke English, I thought it only fair to learn some Italian.

Then, I left the company the end of September 2023, but the Italian bug remained strong and I have maintained my daily learning on Duolingo.

Sure, I could’ve ended this venture. I mean why keep learning a language when you don’t need to anymore?!

Turns out me sticking with learning my new language may come in handy afterall.

My daughter graduates high school this year and will start college in the fall. She has always expressed her desire to travel and study abroad. At the moment we have only received correspondence back from two of the colleges she applied to and she got into both. Her top runner of the two, Marist, has their own campus in Florence, Italy. She is so determined to immerse herself into the culture (and of course, the food!) that she has already planned her sophomore year there being that she will not be 18 at the start of her freshman year and is therefore not allowed to study abroad then.

She caught the travel bug from her father and I. I have to admit I have traveled mostly touring the countries in Epcot in Disney World. It has been ages since I have been outside the US. I travel a lot within the US for work and whatever state I am in I try to eat the local cuisine and drink a local craft beer.

When my husband and I did travel to the Bahamas and Bermuda, we totally immersed ourselves within the culture by touring certain landmarks and eating local cuisine.

I wish I had traveled outside the US more.

Now my daughter has caught this bug. Her studying in Italy is intensified, that if she changes her biology major to fashion merchandising she can attend Fashion Week in Milan. But, as I said, this is her top choice of the colleges she has been accepted to thus far.

And so, I continue learning Italian. Even if she never studies there, I still would like to go to Italy someday.

So, my empty nest readers, what language would you like to learn?

(*I did start Yiddish too)