The Language of Italia: A True Adventure

By Sheila Lopez

Sheila Lopez was a California woman, well-traveled in the inner spaces of emotions and communication through her long career as a psychotherapist, but a complete novice in the world of travel. When she found herself single and retired, she set out on a true adventure, with Italy as her destination.

In this travel memoir, Sheila details how she embarked down a winding road that led from the goal of teaching English as a foreign language, to becoming a student in an Italian language school in the center of Rome, Italy.

Through personal letters and emails to friends at home, Sheila describes practical steps for planning an extended stay in a foreign country, the realities of attending a language school in a foreign country, and the importance of personal courage and determination when stepping far out of one’s comfort zone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jan 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9781532065248

Sheila Lopez

Sheila Lopez is a retired psychotherapist who has traveled far and wide in the world of psychological dilemmas. Most recently, she earned certificates for teaching English as a foreign language, and has attended an Italian language school in Rome, Italy. She continues to study Italian online through Duo Lingo and, with the help of a beautiful Italian tutor, Chiara, through the online, face-to-face language resource, Verbal Planet.

Book preview

2019 Sheila Lopez.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-5320-6523-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-6524-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019900276

iUniverse rev. date: 01/21/2019

9863.png

Contents

DEDICATION:

Part I

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Part II

APPENDICES

DEDICATION:

This book is dedicated to people like me:

We are:

• bold, yet inhibited.

• capable, yet inadequate.

• smart, yet naïve.

• brave, yet cautious.

• eager, yet timid.

Our travel adventures are microcosms of how we live our lives:

• adventuring within the bounds of our personal limitations—rather than not going adventuring at all.

• stepping boldly outside the bounds of our comfort zones, by emphasizing our strong personal characteristics.

• accepting, and even welcoming, the unexpected and unpredictable inherent in a true adventure; while at the same time, choosing to avoid serious predicaments, and even miserable discomfort, in any way possible.

• relying on an inner spiritual guide for direction, courage, and the self-confidence necessary to venture forth, toward all known and unknown challenges.

Are you ready? Andiamo! Let’s go!

Those who do not move, do not notice their chains.

Rosa Luxemburg

The Language of Italia

A True Adventure

Introduction by Sheila Lopez

Imagine: English and Italian—two beautiful languages—catapulting me from my California comfort zone, pulling me across land and sea, immersing me in the matchless excitement of learning—and continuing on and on, with no end in sight.

If you can imagine this, you know the power of passion.

For some of us, passion simply will not cool in our blood: not through loss, not through endings, not through aging. We endlessly seek, through the help of an inner-guide, what we are positive is waiting just around the bend—a new calling.

At first, my passion for teaching English in Italy seemed personal—something I shared with friends who I knew would humor my excitement because they loved me. Then, as my ambitions and dreams rippled out to include learning to speak Italian, my passions no longer seemed so private. I wanted to share the amazing career, travel, and cultural possibilities I was discovering with other lifelong learners like me; and maybe even with younger people who were longing to come alive.

Perhaps, I thought, a book is brewing.

I began documenting facts I learned in my research about teaching English abroad and learning to speak a foreign language. Then, I poured out the heart of my language passion through personal letters to friends, letters they might never really read, unless a book was brewing. If a book was brewing, and my friends did someday see their names in print, they would know I think of them with love even when we’re apart, and so would be very pleased.

As my adventure grew in my imagination, my inner-guide woke me repeatedly in the middle of the night to point me toward the next turn in the road.

Eventually, my adventure evolved into two parts. In Part I, I learned how to fly by making a practice run to Rome, Italy, under the protective custody of a tour group. That prepared me for Part II, when I traveled to Italy alone—and immersed in the culture of my dreams for a full month—while attending an Italian language school.

My inner-guide arranged, serendipitously, for my friends to request email reports in order to follow my footsteps on the cobblestone streets of Rome. The email reports kept my friends close to me throughout the adventure and became the basis for Part II.

Thus, my inner-guide, my dear friends, and I, wrote a book!

The Language of Italia

A True Adventure

Part I

Chapter 1

In Rome there are many buildings with ornate, iron gates separating marble entryways from city sidewalks. Having slipped inside with people who have keys, foreigners often rattle the gates, trying to discern how to get out. That was me the first time I left the B&B and found myself locked in.

However, on this day, I expertly press the button located on the wall a few feet from the gate and hear the friendly clink of the lock. One step down and I am in dolce vita—the sweet life of Italy.

Men, most wearing black scarves and jackets in the cool January morning, rush past me with a spring in their steps. Haughty young women, seeming oblivious to their incredible beauty, hurry along without making eye contact with anyone. Older Italian women look serious as they stop for a moment and consider a garment at a vendor’s table, or block the sidewalk while visiting with a friend.

Street vendors busily transfer innumerable goods from the beds of trucks to their spots on the sidewalk. Traffic rushes through roundabouts that circle the piazza, where people sit on benches and relax. Pedestrians step with impunity in front of innumerable, small cars. Drivers honk at each other with good-natured, Italian impatience. No one really takes offense; it’s all in fun.

Fun is the whole point for me, as I walk to my first day at the Italian language school.

How in the world did I get here?

I was a California woman, well-traveled in the inner spaces of emotions and communication through my long career as a psychotherapist, but a complete novice in the world of trains, planes, and even long-distance road trips. When it came to traveling outside my territory, or even my comfort zone, I had a habit of staying home.

Coming to the realization that I was free must have been gradual, but it seemed sudden. One day I was settled, married, and newly retired. The next day I was single and on my own. My children were busy with their own lives. I had time, ability, health, an adequate reserve of money, and only my inner-guide to consult about the direction my life would take. No one really cared what I did next, which made me feel somewhat alone in the world—alone, and yet liberated.

That’s when I decided to go on a true adventure—to risk life and limb, if necessary. I was ready to face my fears, step out into the world, and test my brainpower and nervous system.

But where should I go to seek my path to something new and fulfilling?

Where do we all go—besides to our inner-guides, higher powers, or intuition—when we want to seek truth? Where else, but the internet?

Thus, it was a search on the internet that began my language adventure:

Teach English as a foreign language in the country of one’s choice through ITTT: International Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages (TESL) Training.

The certifications offered by ITTT were applicable to a long list of countries, but my choice was easy. Of all the countries in the world, the one I was infatuated with was Italy. I had traveled to that romantic land many times—but only through books and my dreams.

If I taught in an English language school in Italy, I could travel there with a purpose—not just as a tourist, going and returning with memories and pictures. I could live there, and contribute to that beautiful country and those flamboyant people, by sharing my native tongue with them (and, of course, I would learn theirs as well).

According to the online information, as an English teacher in Italy, the fact that I didn’t speak Italian would be an asset rather than a liability, because through immersion, the teaching method applied by the school, students were discouraged from speaking their native tongue while in the English class.

The website promised that schools teaching English as a foreign language were plentiful in Italy, and needed teachers. By the time I got my teaching certificate, after only one month of study, I could surely find a room to rent while I searched for one of the numerous jobs the school spoke of.

I went on the site and started applying. I needed to know more details, including the total costs.

According to the website, the cost for the 4-week TEFL course in Rome was approximately $1,490. The cost of lodging for the month was approximately $600. Add to that plane fare and other expenses while there. Although I was unaccustomed to spending such sums on travel and adventure, this would be an investment in a new life and a reward for all my years of work.

I marked the website as a favorite and closed my computer, feeling as though I had stepped through some kind of magic glitter—and like glitter, the magic could not be brushed off.

Could I really travel to a new world and become a totally new person?

No, I decided. I could not really become a new person. Instead, I would have to build on the person I already was; and for the first time in a while, I thought of that person, myself, as someone with a lot going for her: good health, even in my seventies; a lifetime of developing habits of perseverance that led to patterns of achievement; a modest, but surprisingly adequate financial nest egg, along with continued part time employment; faithful friends who always cheered me on; and a willingness to face the unknown by following my spiritual, inner-guide.

That night, as I drifted off to sleep, my mind didn’t dawdle on the past or routinely review my to-do list for the next day. That night, and for many nights to follow, I dreamed of new places, people, and experiences. I dreamed of Italia.

The next day I could hardly wait to make the announcement to my friends: I’m going to live in Italy and teach English as a foreign language! They were all excited for me. I saw no skeptics anywhere.

***********

Dear Cousin Elizabeth:

The most amazing thing has happened! I am going to teach English in Italy. I want to live there for up to two years.

Yes, I know it seems surprising for a senior citizen, who has never traveled much of anywhere, to think of traveling halfway around the world and taking on a new career. But there it is—right in front of me.

I am eager to research the details and then I’ll let you know when I’ll be leaving. You will certainly come and visit me in my flat. (Do they have flats in Italy?)

Thinking of you with excitement…Sheila

***********

Before I was ready to put my charge card on record with the school, I needed to think about the logistics of my adventure. I had lots of questions, like: what is a visa, anyway?

I learned that a visa is a document separate from a passport; and that a visa is required before American travelers can stay in Italy legally for more than ninety days. Without a visa, I would be in the country illegally about two months after the class ended. The penalty would be a fine, deportation, and a mark against my passport, disallowing me to return.

Not all countries on the school’s list had such strict visa limitations. I just happened to choose a country that does not easily open its doors to Americans who want to live and work there, for fun and profit.

While it was not completely impossible to obtain a visa, the laws of Italy looked time-consuming and unyielding. I considered my options:

• Once I completed the teaching course, I would have a maximum of two months to search for an employer who would be willing to apply for a work visa for me. Considering that I would have no teaching experience and would have to return home to the U.S. to complete my part of the application process, the chances of success with this option seemed next to impossible.

• Or, after I arrived back home, I could apply for a retirement/resident visa, using validation of my financial stability—a complicated process filled with red tape. With a retirement or resident visa, employment in Italy would be out of the question, although I could possibly volunteer to teach English just for the enjoyment of it. But how could I afford to live in Italy and maintain my home in America without an extra income? This option seemed too expensive.

Discouraged, I tucked my dream in a folder and hid it away in my file cabinet. I told my friends the whole plan was a false alarm—I would not be moving to Italy. They understood and were sad for me. They added it was just as well that I wasn’t going, because they would have missed me terribly. Such adorable people!

01.jpg.psd

My friends—behind me all the way!

***********

Dear Sandy:

How nice of you to inquire about my plans to teach English in Italy, and then to give me the perfect sympathy card to ease my disappointment. I wonder why I would even consider leaving such loving friends as you anyway: but when a dream takes hold it doesn’t let go easily. I can’t get the idea of traveling and teaching in Italy out of my mind. Somehow, I think that is what I am meant to do; although, perhaps, not exactly the way I envisioned it at first.

So, I am turning the whole dilemma over to that mysterious spiritual source I call my inner-guide. I suppose my inner-guide is God, but not the God of my childhood. Where that God was separate from me, somewhere in the sky, my inner-guide resides deep in my heart and mind. I have learned from experience (some of it painful and some of it miraculous), that if I rely totally on my own thinking and feeling, I will try to create reality instead of accepting and working within it. I’ve learned I’m not really qualified to create reality, much as I would sometimes like to. If I’m quiet and wait, spiritual guidance comes, often at the most unexpected times, like when I wake up with the answer in the middle of the night.

You will be the first to know when the next moonbeam hits me. Love you! Sheila

***********

To learn more about ITTT International from the website, See Appendix I.

Chapter 2

While the dream of teaching English as a foreign language in Italy had dimmed, my infatuation with Italy had been sparked.

I decided to prepare for a future in Italy by studying the Italian language online. I learned my first Italian words through the free online program, Duo Lingo. I had never learned to speak a foreign language, and it was fun to try.

My friends were encouraging—especially Elaine, a true Italian, who immediately began speaking to me in Italian across the table at our weekly Taco-Tuesday gathering of friends.

Come stai? she asked, her friendly eyes shining.