Humility

As I have written about earlier, I thought I came here to learn Italian. Then I thought that I had come here to learn math (see earlier post). But now I'm sure what I was supposed to learn here- HUMILITY. As one of my dear friends put it- it's so humiliating to be the only one not laughing at a joke because you couldn't translate the punch line fast enough. In my case, it's a minor victory when I can figure out if it was a joke or a tragic story.
When I start telling a story in Italian, I feel like Marlin from Finding Nemo telling a joke. Everyone starts out smiling, but as my story painfully goes on because I can't remember how to say this word and that word, the smiles begin to fade and it ends with everyone staring at me and trying not to make me feel as stupid as I was.
Some of the other California students that I'm studying with have compared this study abroad experience to the first few months of freshman year: it's awkward and you are desperately trying to make friends. Or maybe more like kindergarten when you ask people if they will be your friends and the teacher speaks slowly and enthusiastically so you can understand what she is explaining to you. But I think it's closer to being a 2 year old. My parents can write in their Christmas letter, "Molly is such a big girl- she can now walk all by herself (around the streets of Bologna). And she has quite the big vocabulary with her favorite words being "non ho capito" and "non lo so".
Sometimes, I feel like Elf when he first comes to New York City: totally overwhelmed and absolutely out of place. But recently, Bologna has started to feel like a home!
Although they don't read this blog, I'd like to give a shout out to my wonderful roommates who are so patient when I ask them to repeat, and repeat SLOWLY, and so wonderful in always including me!