Buondì. What’s that coming over the horizon? Is it a sail? The first signs of a thunderstorm? A mirage? I’m back from Istanbul, which was great, and back at work, which isn’t. Yesterday I was at the school, today I’m slaving away on the laptop. Tuesday we were riding ferries across the Bosphorus, Wednesday we […]
You can’t write that, says my wife
Buondì. Final post from Istanbul, which I’m writing on Tuesday afternoon as we’ll be leaving for the airport to fly back to Bologna early on Wednesday. I was planning to write about a.) what we’ve been up to since Monday morning and/or b.) how I’ve been getting on with my Turkish in the six days […]
Two sides of Istanbul
Buondì, and still from Istanbul. I’m up early this morning to write this, as we’re planning a day trip to the ‘adalar’ (islands). According to Google, they’re “a cluster of 9 islands southeast of Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara”, meaning it’s a ferry ride there and back. More about that on Wednesday, then. So, […]
Buondì from İstanbul (no Wikipedia links this time)
Buondì. We’re on holiday, in İstanbul. Now I just tried to find out from Wikipedia if I’d got the little dot on the capital I correct (like this İ ?) and what the origins of the city’s name were, and why it should have a little dot when the normal rules of spelling would suggest […]
Obvious (& less obvious ways) to practice Italian on holiday
Buondì. Let’s assume you’ll be visiting Italy at some point in the future. Perhaps for your holiday this summer? Of course then, you’ll be looking for ways to practice the Italian you’ve learnt. Hopefully all that effort will pay off when it comes to: buying a ticket for the aiport bus navigating from the bus […]
Want more? Different? Better? Here’s how to get it.
Buondì. Want something more? Want something different? Want something better? Here’s how to get it. No, wait. You might not want to know this because… … it involves ‘change’. Which is usually uncertain. “If I do this, will I get that?” – “Maybe, probably. Well, you might!” And is often hard to figure out: “I’ve […]
Is your glass half-full or half-empty?
Buondì. It’s a clichè, of course. But an apt one in this case. Over the years, teaching languages and learning them, I’ve noticed that there’s a tendency for beginners to be more optimistic. While intermediate/advanced-level learners are often pessimistic, or even depressed! When you’re starting out, each hour you spend learning can add significantly to […]
Re-prioritizing
Buondì. First of all, thanks to all the enthusiastic bread-makers who have written to me with advice and encouragement since Monday’s article! The bread-making theme was mostly meant as a metaphor, but hey – people obviously like making bread as well as learning Italian. And I’m fine with that: my kids are getting a toasted slice […]
The magic ingredient
Buondì. Over the weekend I was experimenting with an old bread machine. Finally, the weather has turned, here in Bologna where I live. It’s gone from wet spring to sunny summer, virtually overnight. So, on Saturday, my wife and I ‘changed our wardrobes’. For those of you who live in climates where the difference between […]
Shop FAQ update and ‘BotW’ reminder!
It’s all acronyms today, isn’t it? FAQ stands for ‘Frequently Asked Questions’, and I’ve been getting plenty about the new format ebooks which are now available, for Kobo, Kindle and so on. If you’re used to buying ebooks from Amazon or similar, which then download automatically onto your ebook reader, well then it’s fair enough […]