Today is Republic Day and a holiday in Italy. No school which is probably just as well as yesterday school wasn’t good!! It was the start of a new week and a new class of 5. Which by the end of the day was a class of 3!!
One woman who ended up being my partner was a Doctor who worked in the Women’s and Family Clinic in East Brighton…Catherine. She was a bit scary and clearly very ernest about her Italian, had been having private lessons in Melbourne and was very good. After a morning session in which she had to partner with me she asked to be moved to a higher class at the morning tea break!! Oh well!! Another German woman who already speaks at least 4 languages asked to be moved to a lower class because she was a beginner in Italian (imagine how good she’ll be by the end of the week though!!). Then there was 3…Alicia and her dog were one and the other, another woman from Melbourne (St Kilda), Karen. She’s also better than me but was happy to sit with this class. I seem to have really met my waterloo with classes…that point at which it is just too hard for me to move forward. I am very depressed and frustrated and think I need to give up at this point. Certainly school has taken a turn for the worse this week.
Susana came with me for morning coffee and then she headed back to Rome. Hence I spent the afternoon, after school, laundromatting and doing some shopping to prepare for the holiday today. Today I must study…I can’t avoid that thought, awful though it is. It is high 20s and going to be consistently in the 30s from here on in. Glorious weather for a day of celebration Italian style. The Guinigi Tower has been draped on all sides with the Italian Flag!! It looks splendid. The only problem I have with holidays is that I can’t get a coffee until 11am…my regular place is always closed on Sundays and holidays.
Must open the books now and see if I can make the Past Imperfect stick in my brain.