Well, actually it’s rainy day, not days, as this is the first truly rainy day I’ve experienced in Salerno. The morning was overcast, with a little nip in the air- the temperature probably in the low 50s Fahrenheit. The sweater and scarf emerged from the suitcase for the first time this month. The usual cappuccino and cornetto at Bar Rosa for colazione (breakfast) and it was off to class. Today is transition day, when a new group of students begin their stay. It was a small crowd of probably around ten new faces that doesn’t come close to replacing the thirty or so students that left last Friday. Both the location of my classroom and the teacher are different for my last two weeks. I’m now in Aula B (with a view of the Mediterranean versus Aula N with its view of via Roma and tremendous traffic noise. My new instructor is Ricardo, the director of curriculum. He is from Rome and has had extensive experience teaching Italian to foreigners in Rome and in Nicaragua. He is animated and speaks slowly and clearly. My class only has a total of five students- a Swiss woman from my last class, a German woman (psychotherapist), an American woman (retired teacher from New Jersey) and a 20-year-old Swiss young man who must feel like he’s in a room full of nonne (grandmothers). We spent a good part of the time interviewing each another student and presenting him/her to the rest of the class. The pausa (break) at 11a.m. was a dash across the way to the bar on the waterfront for a latte macchiato (a hot one this time). The raindrops started as we were on break and it was another quick dash back. After my private lesson, it was back to the apartment as the skies appeared threatening, despite the cessation of precipitation. But it wasn’t long before the rain really started to come down.
I spent the rest of the afternoon on a homework assignment, eschewing lunch in anticipation of a nice dinner this evening. And it truly was a pleasant and delicious meal at my new favorite restaurant, Cicirinella. The host now recognizes me as this is my third time at the restaurant. As usual, I had the appetizer selection and the primo piatto del giorno, a pasta with baccalà, and panna cotta for il dolce and limoncello as a digestivo.
Then it was back to the apartment for some blogging and recreational reading (i.e. in English). So overall, it was a pretty uneventful and rainy Monday.
Camino Musings 