1626 Not long now

well,

just over a week and im off!!! very much looking forward to it.

some last minute questions...
- in 6 months should i expect to pick up a good grasp of the language?
- how cold does umbria get in winter?
- should i try and set up a bank account, can this be done as a non resident?
- will i find it hard to leave, hehe?

hope you are all well

james

Category
General chat about Italy

Hi James,
i did something similar to you back in 1968 ( I know ....you probably covered that era in History at school !!!! :D ) . I went to Florence as an au pair.
Living with an Italian Family really helped .
I did make myself study from books at least one hour a day to get the grammer working but talking and mixing with Italians is the very best way to learn a language. If you combine study and getting out and about as much as possible and speaking and listening at every opportunity you can't go wrong.
Get yourself an Italian Girlfriend who doesn't speak English and you are made !!!!!! I went out with the postman !!!!
If you have the money to enrol in classes as well...you will find it a doddle ! (I was too poor :o ! -so had to discipline myself but it worked fine ). I was here 10 months and although I am a bit rusty, my knowledge of the language has never left me and we have visited often over the years.
Think it can be pretty chilly in Umbria from what I have read ( we're further south but been told chilly here then as well)
and No...at your age you won't miss England one bit !!!!!..... :cool:
Have fun and keep us all up to date with how you are getting on. :)
How many dogs are you sitting ?????

I am looking after 4 dogs, one labrador and 3 king charles spaniels. i am taking a laptop over so i will load some italian grammar programmes on that and also take some textbooks to read.

I hope that after this experience i will have a firm enough grasp of the lifestyle and culture to make a more educated decision as to whether i could live over in italy.

thanks for you help,

james

James, it can get surprisingly cold for periods during the winter, before you come over, try to get a decent thermal base layer vest, Craghoppers maake good ones, a climbing or walking shop should stock, team it with light fleeces, Layer, layer... :) and a windproof top layer and your made. You need to mix with Italian people to take in the language quickly, Lynn's method would be best, I suspect... Good Luck and best wishes to you, you lucky lad...

Enjoy yourself lucky man.
Find yourself an Italian girlfriend, as suggested and doubt you will ever want to return to the UK.