Someone cue the music it's time for my montage as this is totally the 'Eye of the Tiger' moment in my story - move over Rocky, I've got this one!

Since that night in the restaurant in Vico my confidence regarding conversing in Italian has blossomed and everyday I practise is another day that I add words to my vocabulary and money in my achievement bank. As some well know, study has never, EVER, been my forte, learning from books or writing an essay because someone told me to was something that I avoided doing at all costs. However, learning something that interests me or belting out a thousand words for a blog post because I want to, seem to be two things I've discovered (of late) that I quite enjoy doing and am somewhat good at (yes, even if I do say so myself).

So, after my solo and quite liberating dinner on my own in a small mountain village in, well lets be honest, the middle of f***ing nowhere, I added a few agenda points to the top of my daily 'to-do' list and didn't allow myself to call it a night until they were done. Being a bit of a fan of shortcuts I've been researching all sorts of apps, programs, blogs etc that cover the basics of learning a language and was researching ways in which I could speed up closing the gap between conjugating verbs and actually conversing with strangers, and here's the secret - there is no gap. It seems to be that the most common advise out there is to simply 'grow a pair' (excuse the crass Australian expression) and start talking. Of course it's extremely intimidating at first but it really is true that once you start, the words really do begin to stick and you very quickly lock in a string of vocab that you use regularly and without hesitation. For example, although I did know a little Italian before I arrived in Italy I still could only manage my Tarzan speak for the first few days i.e. "Me Tarzan, you Jane" etc. In any language once you know a few crucial words which are the translations to who? what? when? where? why? how? and how much? and you have a basic grasp of the game 'Charades' you can start to communicate a lot better than you might think. I guess I'm lucky in that I have heard the Italian language vocalised regularly for many years so the rhythm of the language and pronunciation of the words come fairly naturally, although that is just a bonus as there's no reason for anyone to not be able to do this.

Allora (Italian for 'so'), each day I had left in Vico I would get up and start with a healthy breakfast then depending on the weather that would be followed by a long or short walk with the dogs, lunch prep, lunch and then I would 'hit the books'. On some days 6pm would roll around before I'd even noticed a minute go by, I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. I varied my study lessons so as to not get bored e.g. there are a couple of fantastic learning apps for languages called duolingo and memrise that help you study vocab in a variety of different ways but then I would also try some more traditional methods like copying slabs of examples and definitions from a very useful English/Italian dictionary that I found on the bookshelf at the house - the whole middle section was full of useful charts and explanations. The problem in Vico was that I didn't have anyone to talk to which on the contrary to Urbania when I first arrived and I felt like I couldn't talk to anyone, both instances were very frustrating.

I suppose at this point I should do a quick diversion and tell you a little about Doris and Astro the English bulldog and Italian mastiff that I was looking after in Vico. I have to say that having not been a huge fan of either breed before (for no other reason than ignorance, I didn't not like them I just had no references) but now I'm a complete convert to both. I know that like humans each dog, regardless of breed, has it's own personality, some traits are similar in particular breeds but they really do have a way of making their individuality shine through. These two for example, I swear would be able to speak english if they had the ability to vocalise in the right way. I tell no lies, I swear. Although I was going a little stir crazy on my own in the beginning, by the end the conversations I was having with the dogs were not falling on deaf ears. You can speak to these two as though they're a couple of cheeky kids because they know exactly when they've done something wrong and it's not just by the aggravation or exaspiration in your voice, sometimes, like a sullen teenager, their expressions would say it all. Doris, the bulldog, was so affectionate and no matter when or where she loved a cuddle, pat, scratch behind the ears - if you were willing, she was able. Astro on the other hand, although he did love a pat - and you knew when it was his turn - he was also quite independent and loved to sit by himself in the garden to wait for unsuspecting passers-by to scare the living crap out of them with his fierce and incredibly loud bark. It became an exhausting routine throughout the day of opening and closing the door for the dogs to go outside to bark at the locals - even though they know they're not supposed to and 'post barking session' you yell at them for being naughty they literally skulk back into the house and bat their peepers at you as if to say "I promise I wont do it again"... until the next time. Our walks in the forest were a highlight, as exhausting as it was somedays to avoid a nasty tumble down what felt like a forty-five degree angled track and then hike back up the road which was a steady incline that seemed to have an infinite supply of hairpin turns, the scenery made every moment worth the effort. At this time of year springtime is literally bursting from every nook, cranny, crevice and plane, wherever there is earth there is life, and it is glorious. I've never seen so many varieties of wild flowers and the amount of green that is everywhere is so calming it in some way manages to relax all of your senses at once.

So it's now been a few weeks since I've been studying Italian in Urbania and in such a short amount of time I have learned so much, not just about how to speak Italian but about Italians, the way they live, work and prioritise. I've also learned a great deal about myself. Many people here have been amazed at the extent of my travels, my ever changing itinerary and the fact that I'm 30, not married and experiencing this whole adventure on my own is something that is very difficult for so many of them to comprehend. I guess even at home people would consider my current situation to be unique but here it's as though I'm from another planet not just another country. There are two language schools in the tiny town of Urbania, one is quite big, takes in lots of students and their main objective (from what I can see) is to make money. I've made friends with a few of the students and some of them have had some issues with their accommodation etc and as few of the teachers at the school speak english it has been hard and they don't seem to be enjoying the experience the way they should be. I on the other hand am attending the smaller school who will only take a maximum of ten students in a single class (as opposed to the 30+ students per class at the other school) and on my first day there was only myself and one other student, an eighty-three year old man from Germany who has been speaking basic Italian for twenty years and just came to the school for a few weeks to improve his writing skill. It was very evident after our first lesson together that our levels were very different and so by day two we were in separate one-on-one classes with two different teachers. The main objective of this smaller school is to help people learn Italian. the owners are all very passionate about their culture, their country and their town, they love where they live and they are proud of what they have to offer. The hospitality of my tutors, who I can confidently say (after only two weeks) are now my very good friends, is second to none - if I have an issue they will bend over backwards to fix it and regardless of what I've paid (which is actually very reasonable) the amount that I'm getting out of this is extreme.

The first week was very difficult as I had very few basic words in my vocabulary so to say the simplest things was exhausting and being able to understand what people were saying to me was terrifying. I'm more comfortable now, still with only a few phrases and a somewhat limited vocabulary but I'm no longer terrified to just use my instinct and throw some words out there in the hope that they don't fall onto deaf ears... ok, yes, this method does have it's fallbacks as initially I did manage to call the head of the school a little penis, or maybe I said he had a little penis, but either way the phrase was lost in translation because the Italians don't describe people who whisper details to others 'little birds' (he had told the lady I live with that I like red wine and so that night at dinner a bottle of it 'magically' appeared). Also it can be quite a challenge when learning a new language not to confuse words, for example the Italain word for 'tomato' is pomodoro, and the for 'afternoon', pomeriggio - the words are quite different but I confused them one day and now 'yesterday tomato' has become a bit of a catch phrase for me and some people are even greeting me by saying "Ciao Pomodoro!". These examples though, are what makes it so easy to make friends in a small town, such as this, because people remember your face and that funny time you compared them to a male appendage.

Experiencing Italy in this way, in fact experiencing any place from the perspective of a small town as opposed to a big city, is the most realistic depiction of a country you can get because the communities are often tight, the people welcoming and the overall sense of the lifestyle that you take with you is honest. Big cities and main tourist locations are fantastic for many reasons but the authenticity of the experience is often askew. Think about the city you live in and think about the typical places that tourists visit, do you honestly think that is where someone can experience the heart of your town, is that where someone should go to form an opinion of where you live to share with their friends?.... for me the answer is most certainly not - that is why I love Urbania, here I feel as though I'm living in a place and not just visiting. Each day, initially because I am a creature of habit, I eat my lunch in the same trattoria. The owner, Bruno, speaks a little English and is very patient in helping me to learn new phrases and questions in Italian, I now walk in and can confidently order my lunch (with a cheeky glass of wine some days) without feeling like a complete tourist. I did try other restaurants and eateries in the town initially but I like it here at Bruno's - in fact, as I write this paragraph I am sitting on a table out the front of the restaurant with a sneaky glass of Prossecco and while the sun is shining and spring is all around me I feel perfectly at home.

I didn't have a lesson this morning as I decided last week that I would stay in this town for an extra week after my course finishes, that way I will spend the time using what I have learned to talk to all my new friends and hopefully not stumble so much through conversation - so I can make up the lesson next week. However, instead of a lesson I had a meeting with two of the school directors to organise a trip to Urbania next year when I will return with a small group of Australians who would like to learn basic Italian and experience regional Italy in a way that most tour companies can't offer. What I propose is for anyone who would like to learn to travel the way I have and wants to experience Italy in a similar way to come with me next year and do exactly what I've done. The difference being that you would only have classes in the morning as the afternoons and weekends would be evenly split between free time, small courses (cooking and ceramics) and short excursions to nearby towns, farms etc. Reagional Italy has so much to offer that as I spent time this morning organising the program it was difficult to fit everything in without overloading the itinarary. The group would be small, six to eight people max and then on the final weekend we finish in Rome and you can either continue to travel or return home at your own leisure. Anyway, at the moment it's an idea in the pipelines but if you're interested then keep an eye out for more details as I assure you it would be worth every penny.

Allora, so much has happened since my arrival in Urbania but as I have been studying furiously there has been little opportunity to keep up the blog for the sole reason that it is most terribly difficult to write in English and then continue to attempt speaking in Italian straight after, I tried in the first week and it was too hard. Now I have more confidence than I probably should to attempt the task in the middle of the day but I had so much to tell you that I had to give it a go. Therefore, you can start the music now as I'm going to attempt to some-up the highlights of the last few weeks in a montage of snippets of stories to give you an idea of how it's been - use your imagination to fill in the blanks....

An hour in a car, three trains a taxi and six hours total travel I arrive in Urbania on a rainy Sunday afternoon to a house of a woman I don't know but will be living with for three weeks and she speaks only about three words in English.... week one of classes in both morning and afternoon followed by evenings at home studying in bed with the first signs of a bad cold.... Aperitivo with new friends in a small bar followed by dinner in a local restaurant, me making jokes with my limited grasp of the language.... a beautiful house with lots of animals and family living near by.... getting used to espresso and a piece of fruit for breakfast.... playing with little kids who are the grandchildren of Mimi (the lady I'm living with), colouring in, reading books and playing with the horses... An excursion to the local museum of naturally mummified human remains, who would have thought mushroom mould could do something so amazing!... Tour of the library, ancient ceramics exhibition and art exhibition with pieces dating back to hundreds of years before Australia was invaded by the English... Post dinner drink with a new group of friends at Bruno's bar where on a Friday night at 10:30 a three piece jazz band plays sweet tunes into the early hours.... an interesting late night ride home on a bicycle after four glasses of wine... A weekend in Cattolica, a small town by the sea.... being 'hit-on' in the park by a 60+ year old man who didn't seem to believe me when I told him in bad Italian that I couldn't give him my number because I didn't have a phone (nice try buddy, but I like 'em with a few less miles on their dials)... breakfasts, lunches and dinners out with new friends, lots of laughs and much fun had singing the actual lyrics to English songs that were attempted to be sung by Italian cover bands... a food market in Urbino, a mountain hike over Catollica and late night drinks in Rimini.... Paying for my lunch at Bruno's with a home made lamington and a smile.... sharing recipes for scones and lamingtons with the ladies of the town.... eating gelato and taking afternoon classes to the park in the sunshine....

.... Mi piace Urbania, io sono molto contento qui.... ciao a tutti e a presto!