Monday

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Buondì.

You’re getting this on Wednesday, though I’m writing it on Tuesday (because Wednesday is a big day, with a Swedish lesson and all the NativeSpeakerTeachers.com monthly payments to do), and right now – so eight a.m. CET Tuesday morning – I’m reflecting on what I did ‘yesterday’, that’s to say Monday.

Specifically, languages, as that’s what we’re all interested in. Did I study? Pick up Turkish where I left off years, years ago, before Bug, finally do something for my Spanish, or begin German?

Premessa (as Italians say when they want to display their education), I live in Bologna, Italy (as Americans say when they want you to know that they know that it’s not just a sandwich meat), so “it’s easy for me”, people tell me all the time, or at least imply.

Reaching a good level in Italian wasn’t easy at all, and took me decades, but you’d accept, I’m sure, that living in Italy offers no advantage when it comes to learning other languages. Anyway, back to Monday…

So the alarm goes off at seven a.m. and I stumble to the kitchen to make coffee. Minutes later my Italian wife shows up to drink it. She doesn’t say much, or if she does it’ll be the usual thing: didn’t sleep well, Bug was coughing, and so on. When we speak, it’s always in English, unless Bug is around. We met in London. She says she ‘can’t’ speak Italian to me, even if she wants to.

Half-seven and Bug wakes up, yelling ‘Mamma’ from a bedroom on the floor above. But she’s washing and dressing, so I haul my collection of tired limbs up the stairs while warning “E’ papà che fa la mamma stamattina” to prepare him for the inevitable disappointment that I’m not her.

Carefully down the stairs again, as they’re steep, dark, and Bug weighs thirty-five pounds. Stefi’s ready to take over, so it’s diaper change, clothes and shoes on.

At around ten to eight it’s all in the car (the windows were frosted over) for the drive to his petting zoo, from where Stefi will head to our Italian school to open up and greet new students, who arrive weekly on Mondays.

In the car is much like at home: Stefi and I speak English to each other but Italian to Bug, who’s looking out the window and telling us what he sees: ‘truck’, ‘nina’ (ambulance, from the sound it makes), ‘treno’ (our route is parallel to the railway).

At the dropoff, I wish him (in italiano) a good day, warn him not to bite the keepers or other animals, and promise that I’ll be back at the usual time ‘dopo la nanna‘ to bring him home again.

Before setting off again, I switch on the Swedish Radio app on my smartphone and press the ‘news’ button, so I’ll have something to listen to on the ride home.

By about nine the computer is on and, as usual, there’s plenty to deal with: shutting down the promotion at our ebooks store, which ended Sunday, paying the writers at EasyItalianNews.com, and so on.

Work, like conversation with Stefi, is mostly in English. I only need to speak or read Italian when dealing with accountants, bureaucrats, and banks. So as infrequently as possible, ideally never.

By mid-morning I’m temporarily done with the computer, so put on my hat and coat, plug in my earbuds, shoulder my shopping backpack, and head to the supermarket via the lake at the local park, listening to French talk radio as I trudge.

I only take out the earbuds briefly, in the park, to respond to a dog-walking acquaintance, who wants to know where Bug is. He’s retired, so’s probably forgotten it’s Monday, a petting-zoo day for Bug, thank goodness.

Back from the walk/shop to more computer. Jobs piled up during the promotion (and the two promotions prior to that one) so there are lots of bits and pieces to get done – renewing web domains, for instance.

A lot of the online services we use are in English, but not all, as some display the language based on your detected location and refuse to switch. Apart from being irritating, that doesn’t really matter, as I can read, type, and spell poorly in Italian or English, barely registering the change from one language to another after all these years. My laptop has an Italian keyboard, but I can type Swedish on it if I choose, and with a little effort, Turkish or French.

Così. Lunch at twelve was a portion of ‘seppie con piselli‘, my suocero’s (father-in-law’s) speciality.

While I ate I listened to Göteborg’s local radio. The Swedish half of Stefi’s family are from Stockholm, but my Swedish conversation partner is in Gothenburg, so given that the app insists I choose which local radio station I want to hear, just like any other Swedish listener, I’m currently inclined to Göteborg, if for no other reason than to irritate my relatives (the accents are different…)

After the seppie, more computer, and after that, into the reclining chair for a glance at the local newspaper on my smartphone’s library app (Corriere di Bologna) before a maximum thirty minutes of siesta.

Back on the computer with a cup of tea and more jobs from the pile to deal with. As four o’clock approaches, I steal a few minutes with my book, which I’ve nearly finished.

‘Fuocco sotto il mare’ (English title ‘The Wine-Dark Sea’) is number 16 in a 21-volume historical series. I picked up half-a-dozen of them from British thrift shops a couple of years back, and I’ve been filling in the gaps with the Italian translations from the local library app, or buying the Italian versions from Libraccio.it.

Off to pick up Bug, via the local GPL man (LPG in inglese, because it’s cheaper than petrol), who asked ‘Pieno?’, which was just the second time anyone’s spoken to me all day, excluding Stefi and Bug. Pulling away from the gas station I turn on the car radio, which is obviously just in Italian, and mostly American rock music at that.

Downtown I meet Stefi, who’s finished at school for the day, and we double-park. She sits in the car, ready to move it if the parking wardens show up, while I head on foot to the petting zoo to pick up Bug, as promised.

There I chat (in italiano) with the keeper-in-charge, who fills me in on Bug’s day, and with the other animals, who are anxious to be let out too. Bug and I walk back to the car and… Mamma!

More traffic, more singing songs (in inglese), spotting trains, shouting out while passing under bridges and through tunnels, until we reach the ‘ludoteca’, which is Bug’s habitual weekday-evening chance to rush about, break things and make a mess. Stefi stays there with him while I walk home to read emails, and prepare dinner, which would be pasta with salmon and cream, followed by ‘mortadella’ (what Americans call Bologna?)

My son Tom’s home already – I can hear him upstairs recording Tuesday’s EasyItalianNews.com bulletin. But I don’t actually see him until Stefi and Bug are back and dinner’s nearly on the table.

Meal-time conversation is in English, as always, except with Bug, who needs to know Italian for his future. After we’ve eaten, Tom takes Bug off upstairs to play (in italiano) while I clear away the remains of dinner and wash the dishes.

Later, it’s Youtube Kids in italiano o inglese, whichever video clip Bug points his claw at. Then icecream, then ‘TV di mamma papà’.

We’re on season six of ‘young Sheldon’, which we watch in English. The episodes are short, so perfect for winding down excited young animals in a darkened room. We’re fed up with medical dramas.

And finally! Bug’s snoring and Stefi has her pajamas on. Off up the stairs they go, and peace is restored.

While Youtube Kids was blaring nonsense, I finished my Italian novel, so now it’s to bed with the next one in the series, a dog-eared paperback in English. Weirdly, I prefer the Italian translations, which for some reason sound ‘better’ than the English originals. Kudos to the translator.

So that was Monday. Not much of a day, really. No time to study, or for exciting new projects. Just routine work and family stuff, from alarm clock to bedtime.

How was your Monday?

N.b. In the FAQ on the club’s website, there’s this:

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How can I comment on an article?

Articles are emailed to club members weekly. Comments are welcome, but you need to do that from the club website, not from the emailed article.

1. Visit the website and scroll down the homepage until you see the title of the most recent article, or if it’s an older article you want to comment on, look for it here: https://onlineitalianclub.com/blog/
2. Click the TITLE of the article. That’ll take you to the dedicated ‘article page’;
3. Scroll down to the very bottom of the ‘article page’ to read any other comments that people have left, and below that to find the ‘Leave a reply’ box;
4. Fill it in, then press the black POST COMMENT button. Your email address is required but won’t be published (fake one, if you’re sensitive about these things…)
5. Comments need to be manually approved before publication, as an anti-spam measure, which could take minutes, hours or a whole day. But all genuine comments will be published. Be patient!

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Much better for the club ‘vibe’ if people ‘comment’, so ask a question, express their opinion, or whatever, in public on the website. That way everyone can read what’s being said, and perhaps respond. Better for me, too – I already have a mountain of unread emails!

Today (Tuesday) I hope to get away from the laptop and go for a walk in the rain. With the earbuds in, obviously.

Alla prossima settimana!

P.S.

And here’s the usual reminder to read/listen to yesterday’s bulletin of news from EasyItalianNews.com.

Reading/listening practice will help you consolidate the Italian you’re studying, expand your vocabulary, and build vital comprehension skills.

EasyItalianNews.com is FREE to read/listen to.

Subscribing, and so receiving all three text + audio bulletins of ‘easy’ news via email each week -on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays – is also FREE.

Just enter your email address on this page and click the confirmation link that will be sent to you.

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