Learn To Speak Italian Fluently

David Jones asked:


Japlish

Teaching English in Japan - a form of Sadomasochism

When I was growing up my German-French family were constantly reminding me how nasal and strained the English language sounds, and I guess, compared to the flamboyance of Italian, the intensity of German or the emotion of the French language I’d have to agree, English is pretty mundane. It must be an irritant to them now that rightly or wrongly, the whole world wants to learn English. The Japanese, especially young people, are convinced that speaking good English is their passport to a successful career. What is more, they are being encouraged in this by the government.

But in Japan teaching English has not been an overwhelming success so far. The vast majority of the population, having been tortured one way or another with English classes throughout their childhood can scarcely make a sentence in the great international language. It is a credit to the Japanese character that after so much abuse the average citizen still tolerates foreigners in their land. Would it really be surprising if one morning someone ran amok in an Eikaiwa once all those suppressed memories of incomprehensible textbooks and characters mysteriously called Meiling, Bob and Yuki having bizarre and un-natural interactions re-emerge into the language-challenged adult’s consciousness? Or the blind torture of infinite ‘listening and repeating’ to sounds that have no relevance and are often reminiscent of the final cries of a dying animal. When finally these repressed memories bubble to the surface and the individual explodes into one uncontrolled act of self defense can we really condemn this act? To many, this resistence would seem not unreasonable, justifiable in fact, and could in all possibility start a national movement for restitution from the sadistic autocrats that reside in Nishi Shinjuku at the Education Department. And who will argue that the endless hours, months and years of English drills and paper tests have seriously improved the mental well being of so many generations of Japanese students.

Having established that teaching English is a crime we must seek the main culprits in this attempt at cultural genocide. To what extent can the humble Mova instructor, assistant language teacher, language consultant, those who constitute the army of twenty two year old university graduates arriving totally untrained be held responsible? Aren’t they just out to pay off the education debts in their own country by making others suffer (albeit mentally rather than financially). Are they not innocents naively bumbling around the Kanto plains screaming in a pitch so high as to be almost non-human but simply chimp like ‘Oh my God’ at everything they see, as if they are constantly in the center of some personal tempest, even when that tempest revolves around something so mundane as to be nauseous? And given the maturity of their thoughts, what sincere prosecution lawyer would ever seriously consider them psychologically fit for trail?

The Japanese, true to their stoic and resolute character, have calmly withstood the cultural onslaught of the barbarians; the high nasal tones of countless Australian making closing blurted announcements before vomiting on the last train out of Ueno, the soccer obsessed German hating English with their noses pointed heaven-ward in arrogant disgust at anything they can’t attain, the laod bombastic Americans smug and secure in the existence of a God dedicated to maintaining the military might of the U.S, might not always being right but consistently being persuasive, and finally the second tier English speaking nations who jump on the band wagon and thus also have to be tolerated. The Japanese already oppressed by traditional social convention as much as by ultra-liberal social elites have shown great resilience and even humor in facing down the Gaijin challenge - because there was resistance!

And that resistance has been in the shape of Japlish, a form of expression so hopelessly messed up that it plays with the Gaijin mind and on the Gaijin mind. Slowly the reader retreats into confusion and panic as they are unable to distinguish veracity from the horrible reality of a preposition free world, where subject and object rapidly swirl into ambiguity and where conjunctions are voluntary. Japlish is the embodiment of everything good about Japanese society and culture - ultimately subtle and patient, classically simple and intelligent, yet unintelligible by anyone other than a select group. With Japlish the Japanese are able, forever politely, to raise their collective finger in the air and wave it at the Gaijin horde smiling and conveying silently what they think of the English experimentation.



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Ckris asked:


While I was working in Corridonia at “L’Officina di Fidia” (a fitness and rehabilitation center) in 2002, Carmela told me about the rebounder that she was using for years and also gave me a copy of the original book in English “The Golden Seven plus one” by Samuel West where the “Art of lymphasizing” was described. After reading the book, I immediately got intrigued by it and decided to expand my knowledge on this subject. I asked the physiotherapists of the center if they knew anything about this exercise; they simply answered that they used it as proprioceptive springboard and nothing more. In the meanwhile, I also remembered of having read something about this exercise in Louise Hay’s books and in “Unlimited Power” by Tony Robbins.

For me, that wasn’t enough, so at that time I decided to do some research on the WEB …

I started with the word “lymphasizing” followed by mini rebounder etc…

After many attempts, I reached Al Carter’s website: healthbounce.com …

It was a real “discovery” and “mindbreaker” for me; I finally was able access the official “source”.

I decided together with Arianna in 2003 to set up the new Holistic Center Orion in Campiglione and since it was a good opportunity for us, we started the restoration works that lasted about a year with the help of my older brother, Giampaolo.

I carried on working for L’Officina di Fidia and at the same time for the Center, thus with little time to further expand my knowledge on the Rebound Industry, even though I still remained very keen about it.

When the situation improved, after the official opening of the new Holistic Center, I met with Carmela (who came to the Center to do her treatments) and Marco Ruffini (a friend who became a sales agent for natural health products) and it happened that we talked about rebounding and the oxygen based products that Carmela was importing from Canada. Marco told us that he had contacted a company based in La Spezia (Eurodream) that was an importer of the same product. Afterwards, Marco became a sales agent for the Cellfood products and so we decided to ask Giorgio (since he was already importing from the USA) if we could together order some ReboundAIRs.

We shared the costs and ordered about 4/5 rebounders for each of us.

Therefore I met Giorgio for the first time, and with Marco we seriously considered to become the Italian distributors since I found out after all of my web research that nobody in Italy was aware of this discipline in any field yet. Naturally with my first order, I received Al Carter’s “The new miracles of rebound exercise”, the videocasettes and lectures. I was thrilled and even more enthusiastic about it !

I was rebounding every day, studying, experimenting and translating the articles from the ReboundAIR website. Thus I decided to create my own website (www.ckris.it) and added an area about Rebound with all the information I’ve learned from A.I.R. and carried on dreaming about the possibilities of ReboundAIR in Italy and Europe.

In the meanwhile (2004), I started to introduce ReboundAIR in my bioGin (bioGym) classes and everybody was so thrilled about it that I decided to ask the others to buy some more pieces in order to sell them and start our project: ReboundAIR Italia. During that period, Giorgio during a business trip in the U.S. met Darren and Bill Penrod in Las Vegas to discuss the conditions of the exclusive rights. Afterwards Giorgio, Marco and I had a meeting on the first investment fund necessary to order more rebounders, translate all the material, print brochures and set up the marketing strategy. We were backed up by Giorgio and the Eurodream (accounting/administration) and we placed our first substantial order. Giorgio introduced Riccardo Salis and proposed him as a new member of the project (rehabilitation therapy area) and was accepted in our team.

I started my first one-to-one presentations and easily sold the rebounders. With the following order, we received further material (e.g. the eyesight recovery manual) and especially the new quarter-fold models. The agreement was that I was in charge of the educational and training area for rebound trainers/instructors. With Giorgio, we presented ReboundAIR at the ISOKINETIC Conference in Bologna and the manager decided to buy them after 6 months of testing, in all the ISOKINETIC Centers in Italy (Bologna, Rome, Turin, Milan). Due to the fact that we live in different regions (Marche and Liguria), sometimes things progressed a bit slowly since it was difficult at times to get together. It was easier for Marco and me (both living in the same area) to be in sync, than with Giorgio and Riccardo (who live in Liguria). At any rate, I always continued to work on this project on a daily basis through web research, practicing and teaching rebounding, making presentations and attending the distance learning course to become a certified reboundologist (August 2004).

I also carried on with private English lessons to improve my language skills with an American teacher. Slowly but steadily our project moved forward, and after selling all the rebounders of our second order we decided to make a third one (about 60).

In the meanwhile, after completing my training I produced the video/dvd called ReboundAIReducation (the first video on Rebounding in Italy).

I believe that an essential approach of promoting rebounding in Italy is to inform people about its educational aspect in way that everyone can appreciate both the exceptional qualities and worth of the rebounder and the rebounding exercise program, that according to my opinion should start progressively and not be “overstressed”.

I continued my research on the Internet and found other interesting websites: bouncewell.com (great), cellercize, starbounding.com and lately QiBò & Chi bounding. In Dietikon, Switzerland I personally met Sylvia Dreiser and Ingrid who promotes Dynamic Rebounding at her CHI Zentrum near Zurich. Sylvia introduced me her friend, Jordan Gruber who sent me his manuscript “On the Rebound” which I greatly appreciated. Like Jordan, I also involved in personal growth and as a rebirther and bodywork trainer I combine and experience ReboundAIR with breathing, postural (breathwork, rolfing, trager, biogym), and visualization techniques including NLP (neuroLinguisticProgramming) both individually or in groups. I personally call this approach ReboundAIRevolution to distinguish it from the first and basic one for everyone referred as ReboundAIReducation.

In the meantime, I presented ReboundAIR to the biggest Italian Network for Fitness and Wellness that belongs to my friend Livio Leardi at the Get Fit in Milan, who has chosen rebounding as the latest discipline at the Conscious Fitness ® centers that will soon be open (late 2006).

I also made a presentation at the FIAeF (Italian Federation for Aerobics and Fitness) for my friend Mimì Adami who is interested in creating a synergy between rebounding and training fitness courses. Besides my DVD “ReboundAIReducation”, I’m preparing other promotional mini DVDs for other programs such as Top 10 Fitness Manager (a 10 minute video for companies). There is also in DVD format an “official” presentation I made at Marche al Teatro (Marche in Theatre) in front of many important local representatives and sponsors such as Soul’s Wings (a firm interested in making a sportswear line and special socks for rebounding), CS SPORT, and UISP (Italian Sports Union) which is very interested in promoting rebounding among its members, schools and recreational centers.

In October 2005, I officially started giving ReboundAIR group lessons at my Holistic Center in Fermo (the first center that permanently and actively promotes rebounding) and I also have a group of girls that demonstrate rebounding in several shopping centers and clubs and are also ready to show it along the beach resorts of the Adriatic coast this summer.

-continue-



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Susanne Pacher asked:


Sicily - the name alone conjures up images of an exotic island, a mysterious and fascinating past. I have wanted to explore Italy for some time now since I had not been there for a long, long time, and when I was pondering which region of Italy to explore Sicily came to mind. I figured this island would offer a combination of fascinating history, rich culture, scenic beauty, and an opportunity for a wide variety of activities. One activity I definitely wanted to pursue was to combine my journey with language studies: my earlier language study trips to Havana and Cuernavaca, Mexico, not only got me closer to the Spanish language, but these on-site language learning experiences really allowed me to explore the culture from within.

So this time I was going to focus on learning Italian, and I was able to locate two language schools in Sicily that would both provide a totally different experience and a different way of exploring the island. Armed with no prior knowledge other than having read through an Italian grammar book, I was going to see how much of this beautiful language I would pick up in my three weeks in Sicily.

My first eight days were spent in Taormina, a gorgeous mountain-top town on the eastern side of Sicily, whose main distinguishing feature is an ancient Greco-Roman Theatre that is still in use today. The town itself has to be among the most picturesque destinations anywhere, with its beautiful buildings, narrow streets and passageways and stunning views of Mount Etna and the Mediterranean.

Shortly after my arrival I got to meet the people at the Babilonia Language School where I would be learning Italian for a week and exploring the culture of Sicily. My accommodation was in a lovely 13-room privately owned hotel that has been operated by the Sciglio family for more than 50 years.

Mr. and Mrs. Sciglio are in their mid-eighties and continue to work extremely hard, without even a thought of retirement, and their son Salvatore works with them. In an interview I learned more about the hotel’s history and the family’s involvement in this business. On the second day I joined my first guided excursion with the Babilonia language school: a guided hike to the ancient village of Castelmola which was followed by a tasting of Sicilian delicacies in a local bistro.

My first weekend in Sicily promised to be great: an excursion to the ancient town of Siracusa and an exploration of the gorgeous coastline just east of Taormina, including the town of Mazzaro and Isola Bella. The following Monday was my first day of language studies: first we went through the placement test, and then we had our first lesson which included some unique yet effective teaching methods. The next day was May 1, Italian Labour Day and a national holiday: a perfect opportunity to rent a car and drive into the countryside surrounding Mount Etna, Europe’s largest volcano, which by the way, had erupted the night before.

The next day it was back to school, and Alessandro, the director of the Babilonia language school, gave me a personal history lesson about Sicily and also explained the origins of that famous Sicilian institution, the Mafia, to me in detail. That evening I joined in a cooking class in a private home offered by the language school. I was going to see first-hand how a real multi-course Italian meal was prepared, using authentic, locally grown ingredients. And of course, I would have a chance to taste the finished delicacies afterwards and partake of a nice meal with other language students and the local Ferrari family.

My language studies the next day were followed by a visit to a local pottery painting artist, as Babilonia also offers pottery decoration courses, in addition to hiking, biking, golfing and diving programs. Perched on the rooftop patio of a Taormina hotel, with a perfect view of an ancient palazzo right next to Mount Etna, I learned about Sicilian pottery painting techniques. In the late afternoon I joined another excursion to hike up the southern flanks of Mount Etna. A visit to a winery and a nice dinner followed.

Then I had reached my last day in beautiful Taormina and after my final language lessons it was time to say goodbye to the folks at Babilonia, and to my co-students, whom I had gotten quite fond of. With the exception of the occasionally grey and drizzly weather, my experience in Taormina had been great: the language learning, the interesting excursions and activities and the interaction with my international co-students had been a really great experience. I was a bit sad to leave Taormina where I had gotten so comfortable.

But a new adventure was about to begin: I took the train to Milazzo on the northeastern side of Sicily, where the next day I would embark on a seven-day sailing trip through the beautiful Eolian Islands, offered by Laboratorio Linguistico, a Milazzo-based italian language school. After meeting some of my six shipmates, who were really cool by the way, we were off on our sailboat, the 4 cabin “Solitaire II”, to our first destination: the island of Lipari, the largest of the Eolian Islands, and an extremely scenic place.

Our expert skipper Francesco, a licensed captain, also happened to be the co-owner of the language school, and one of our two resident language teachers on this sailing trip. After Lipari we continued our sailing trip to Salina, a neighbouring island, where three of us went on a driving tour to see local villages and also the house where “Il Postino” was filmed. An Italian lesson on the backyard patio of a bar was our first introduction to Laboratorio Lingustico’s language teaching program. Of course Francesco and Franco, our second teacher and co-owner of the school, conducted all conversations during the entire sailing trip in Italian only, which allowed us to be fully immersed in the language all the time. After we had nourished our brains, a Sicilian seafood feast capped off our second day on the boat.

On the third day we set sail for the island of Stromboli, which is still an active volcano. The town of Stromboli features such narrow streets that they are impassable to regular vehicles. No wonder the local “carabinieri” (Italian police officers) have to ride in golf carts.

After a somewhat turbulent late-night voyage from Stromboli to Panarea we arrived late and anchored in a bay off the island. On a gorgeous morning the next day we first had another language lesson - where else but on the outdoor patio of a bar in Panarea, surrounded by gorgeous sunshine and beautiful flowers. Panarea is an extremely photogenic destination and offered great opportunities for hobby photographers like me.

Our voyage continued to Lipari again where we would end an eventful day with a scrumptious outdoor feast on the main square. The next day three of us went on a driving tour of this beautiful island and from the south end we already saw our next destination: the island of Vulcano, which also features an active volcano. We anchored in a bay off this island, enjoyed some Italian lessons on the boat and after a delicious on-board dinner, our shipmates Franco, a gifted guitar player, and Agnieszka, a talented singer, entertained us with soulful melodies by candlelight on the back of the boat - magical moments that I will not forget for a long time.

Then our final day on the boat arrived: we hiked up to the “Gran Cratere”, the active crater of Vulcano. Yellow rocks and thick clouds of sulphur announced that the forces of geology were indeed active right underneath our feet. And the view from the top over the six other Eolian Islands was breathtaking. After another Italian lesson on an outdoor patio overlooking the Mediterranean we had to say goodbye to the Eolian Islands and start to head back to Milazzo.

Just as I thought our 7 day sailing trip would come to an anticlimactic end, one of my shipmates announced “DOLPHINS!!!”, and indeed four of these playful sea creatures were accompanying our sailboat, jumping in and out of the water, and having fun with us. The excitement continued when we ended up catching three tunas on a fishing line we had been dragging behind our boat. The following decapitation and evisceration scene though was a bit hard on my tender vegetarian soul…

So we had reached land, and to celebrate the conclusion of a wonderful sailing trip and one of my shipmates’ birthdays we enjoyed another big Sicilian feast in Capo di Milazzo. The next day, we had a chance to relax a bit in our five-bedroom apartment conveniently located above the Laboratorio Linguistico Language School and do simple things like laundry and sit on the balcony. Franco, our language teacher took us on a guided walk of Milazzo which features a huge fortification that dates back more than 1000 years.

After saying goodbye to my roommate Claudia I spent my final Sunday in Sicily in the picturesque medieval town of Cefalu, about a two-hour train ride from Milazzo. That city’s medieval core and huge Norman cathedral together with the ruins of an ancient castle on top of the rock that towers over the town left me with many vibrant treasured memories. Now I only had two full days left in Sicily.

Following a tour of the Milazzo headquarters of Laboratorio Linguistico I went on a country excursion into the surrounding Nebrodi Mountains with my two Italian teachers Francesco and Franco. We visited the Rocks of Agrimusco, a cluster of mysterious-looking rocks on a high plateau with a gorgeous view of Mount Etna. Then we headed into the hilltop town of Montalbano Elicona, an authentic small Sicilian town, completely untouched by tourism. I finally had a chance to snap some pictures of the locals who love to congregate next to the church and discuss important issues of the day.

My final day in Sicily had arrived - I had to say goodbye to the great team at Laboratorio Linguistico and board the bus towards Messina and from there to Catania from where I would catch a plane in the early morning the next day. After my arrival in the late afternoon I had a chance to briefly explore this city, the second-largest city in Sicily, and get ready for my flight home.

On this trip I found out that Sicily is gorgeous, and a visit in the late spring around April / May is perfect since everything is in full bloom and the hoards of tourists do not really arrive until June, July and August. Sicily has remained amazingly authentic and is fortunately free of many of the signs of mass tourism that mar other Mediterranean coastlines.

Taormina and the Eolian Islands are all stunning destinations, but the Sicilian hinterland in itself holds many hidden treasures. The history, architecture, culture and scenic beauty are astounding. And seafood lovers will definitely fall in love with this destination.

I myself really enjoyed the language learning experience at Babilonia and Laboratorio Linguistico - as a matter of fact, my three weeks in Italy took me all the way up to Intermediate level and when I came back I was quite capable of communicating fairly competently in this new language.

The people were great: the staff at both language schools was very helpful and knowledgeable, and the interaction with my co-students from all different countries was a real treat. Our crew on the sailboat in particular came together really nicely and some close personal bonds had developed after this experience.

Without a doubt, language study travel is one of the best forms of travel in my opinion, giving you the chance to learn, to expand your mind, and to really discover the local culture. And without a doubt I’ll be back in Sicily - this fascinating island has so much more to explore.

This entire article including photos is located at http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/sicily_2007.htm



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Fae Cheska Esperas asked:


Teaching English as a Secondary Language (ESL) online has proven to be one the fastest-growing online jobs nowadays. More foreigners are recognizing the benefits of being fluent in English, and the target market is no longer concentrated only on students, but on business professionals as well. Besides that, people find that ESL teaching doesn’t just pay well; it also meets the needs of individuals who find it more comfortable working at home.

45-year old Adela Stevens used to work as a sales agent while taking care of her three teenage kids. Since she needed to earn extra money to pay for all her children’s education costs, she had to get into a number of part-time jobs to get through with her finances. While browsing for part-time work on the internet, however, she stumbled on an opportunity for online ESL teaching.

“It was a bit disorienting at first, since you have to talk to somebody with a different accent,” she describes. “But later on, you’ll see that these students are passionate enough to learn the English language, and teaching them is no longer that hard.”

“Students are of different ages, and they come from various countries,” Adela continues. “Some are Asian, while others are French or Italian. But all my students share a common goal: to learn English and use it well in their everyday lives.”

An hour’s work of ESL teaching over the internet is worth an average of $30, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This makes a good source of profit for working moms like Adela. And to further assist her with her newfound career, Adela took up a certificate course in ESL teaching. “Courses in ESL Teaching are becoming more available in schools to address this need. Scholarships are even given to adults who wish to return to school and take up practical courses such as this.”

“ESL teaching in a way has transformed my role as a mom and career woman,” Adela concludes. “Through this job, I am able to spend more quality time with my kids while focusing on my work, since I no longer have to leave the house.”

Learn more on how to make your career a success.



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Susanne Pacher asked:


Sicily - the name alone conjures up images of an exotic island, a mysterious and fascinating past. I have wanted to explore Italy for some time now since I had not been there for a long, long time, and when I was pondering which region of Italy to explore Sicily came to mind. I figured this island would offer a combination of fascinating history, rich culture, scenic beauty, and an opportunity for a wide variety of activities. One activity I definitely wanted to pursue was to combine my journey with language studies: my earlier language study trips to Havana and Cuernavaca, Mexico, not only got me closer to the Spanish language, but these on-site language learning experiences really allowed me to explore the culture from within.

So this time I was going to focus on learning Italian, and I was able to locate two language schools in Sicily that would both provide a totally different experience and a different way of exploring the island. Armed with no prior knowledge other than having read through an Italian grammar book, I was going to see how much of this beautiful language I would pick up in my three weeks in Sicily.

My first eight days were spent in Taormina, a gorgeous mountain-top town on the eastern side of Sicily, whose main distinguishing feature is an ancient Greco-Roman Theatre that is still in use today. The town itself has to be among the most picturesque destinations anywhere, with its beautiful buildings, narrow streets and passageways and stunning views of Mount Etna and the Mediterranean.

Shortly after my arrival I got to meet the people at the Babilonia Language School where I would be learning Italian for a week and exploring the culture of Sicily. My accommodation was in a lovely 13-room privately owned hotel that has been operated by the Sciglio family for more than 50 years.

Mr. and Mrs. Sciglio are in their mid-eighties and continue to work extremely hard, without even a thought of retirement, and their son Salvatore works with them. In an interview I learned more about the hotel’s history and the family’s involvement in this business. On the second day I joined my first guided excursion with the Babilonia language school: a guided hike to the ancient village of Castelmola which was followed by a tasting of Sicilian delicacies in a local bistro.

My first weekend in Sicily promised to be great: an excursion to the ancient town of Siracusa and an exploration of the gorgeous coastline just east of Taormina, including the town of Mazzaro and Isola Bella. The following Monday was my first day of language studies: first we went through the placement test, and then we had our first lesson which included some unique yet effective teaching methods. The next day was May 1, Italian Labour Day and a national holiday: a perfect opportunity to rent a car and drive into the countryside surrounding Mount Etna, Europe’s largest volcano, which by the way, had erupted the night before.

The next day it was back to school, and Alessandro, the director of the Babilonia language school, gave me a personal history lesson about Sicily and also explained the origins of that famous Sicilian institution, the Mafia, to me in detail. That evening I joined in a cooking class in a private home offered by the language school. I was going to see first-hand how a real multi-course Italian meal was prepared, using authentic, locally grown ingredients. And of course, I would have a chance to taste the finished delicacies afterwards and partake of a nice meal with other language students and the local Ferrari family.

My language studies the next day were followed by a visit to a local pottery painting artist, as Babilonia also offers pottery decoration courses, in addition to hiking, biking, golfing and diving programs. Perched on the rooftop patio of a Taormina hotel, with a perfect view of an ancient palazzo right next to Mount Etna, I learned about Sicilian pottery painting techniques. In the late afternoon I joined another excursion to hike up the southern flanks of Mount Etna. A visit to a winery and a nice dinner followed.

Then I had reached my last day in beautiful Taormina and after my final language lessons it was time to say goodbye to the folks at Babilonia, and to my co-students, whom I had gotten quite fond of. With the exception of the occasionally grey and drizzly weather, my experience in Taormina had been great: the language learning, the interesting excursions and activities and the interaction with my international co-students had been a really great experience. I was a bit sad to leave Taormina where I had gotten so comfortable.

But a new adventure was about to begin: I took the train to Milazzo on the northeastern side of Sicily, where the next day I would embark on a seven-day sailing trip through the beautiful Eolian Islands, offered by Laboratorio Linguistico, a Milazzo-based italian language school. After meeting some of my six shipmates, who were really cool by the way, we were off on our sailboat, the 4 cabin “Solitaire II”, to our first destination: the island of Lipari, the largest of the Eolian Islands, and an extremely scenic place.

Our expert skipper Francesco, a licensed captain, also happened to be the co-owner of the language school, and one of our two resident language teachers on this sailing trip. After Lipari we continued our sailing trip to Salina, a neighbouring island, where three of us went on a driving tour to see local villages and also the house where “Il Postino” was filmed. An Italian lesson on the backyard patio of a bar was our first introduction to Laboratorio Lingustico’s language teaching program. Of course Francesco and Franco, our second teacher and co-owner of the school, conducted all conversations during the entire sailing trip in Italian only, which allowed us to be fully immersed in the language all the time. After we had nourished our brains, a Sicilian seafood feast capped off our second day on the boat.

On the third day we set sail for the island of Stromboli, which is still an active volcano. The town of Stromboli features such narrow streets that they are impassable to regular vehicles. No wonder the local “carabinieri” (Italian police officers) have to ride in golf carts.

After a somewhat turbulent late-night voyage from Stromboli to Panarea we arrived late and anchored in a bay off the island. On a gorgeous morning the next day we first had another language lesson - where else but on the outdoor patio of a bar in Panarea, surrounded by gorgeous sunshine and beautiful flowers. Panarea is an extremely photogenic destination and offered great opportunities for hobby photographers like me.

Our voyage continued to Lipari again where we would end an eventful day with a scrumptious outdoor feast on the main square. The next day three of us went on a driving tour of this beautiful island and from the south end we already saw our next destination: the island of Vulcano, which also features an active volcano. We anchored in a bay off this island, enjoyed some Italian lessons on the boat and after a delicious on-board dinner, our shipmates Franco, a gifted guitar player, and Agnieszka, a talented singer, entertained us with soulful melodies by candlelight on the back of the boat - magical moments that I will not forget for a long time.

Then our final day on the boat arrived: we hiked up to the “Gran Cratere”, the active crater of Vulcano. Yellow rocks and thick clouds of sulphur announced that the forces of geology were indeed active right underneath our feet. And the view from the top over the six other Eolian Islands was breathtaking. After another Italian lesson on an outdoor patio overlooking the Mediterranean we had to say goodbye to the Eolian Islands and start to head back to Milazzo.

Just as I thought our 7 day sailing trip would come to an anticlimactic end, one of my shipmates announced “DOLPHINS!!!”, and indeed four of these playful sea creatures were accompanying our sailboat, jumping in and out of the water, and having fun with us. The excitement continued when we ended up catching three tunas on a fishing line we had been dragging behind our boat. The following decapitation and evisceration scene though was a bit hard on my tender vegetarian soul…

So we had reached land, and to celebrate the conclusion of a wonderful sailing trip and one of my shipmates’ birthdays we enjoyed another big Sicilian feast in Capo di Milazzo. The next day, we had a chance to relax a bit in our five-bedroom apartment conveniently located above the Laboratorio Linguistico Language School and do simple things like laundry and sit on the balcony. Franco, our language teacher took us on a guided walk of Milazzo which features a huge fortification that dates back more than 1000 years.

After saying goodbye to my roommate Claudia I spent my final Sunday in Sicily in the picturesque medieval town of Cefalu, about a two-hour train ride from Milazzo. That city’s medieval core and huge Norman cathedral together with the ruins of an ancient castle on top of the rock that towers over the town left me with many vibrant treasured memories. Now I only had two full days left in Sicily.

Following a tour of the Milazzo headquarters of Laboratorio Linguistico I went on a country excursion into the surrounding Nebrodi Mountains with my two Italian teachers Francesco and Franco. We visited the Rocks of Agrimusco, a cluster of mysterious-looking rocks on a high plateau with a gorgeous view of Mount Etna. Then we headed into the hilltop town of Montalbano Elicona, an authentic small Sicilian town, completely untouched by tourism. I finally had a chance to snap some pictures of the locals who love to congregate next to the church and discuss important issues of the day.

My final day in Sicily had arrived - I had to say goodbye to the great team at Laboratorio Linguistico and board the bus towards Messina and from there to Catania from where I would catch a plane in the early morning the next day. After my arrival in the late afternoon I had a chance to briefly explore this city, the second-largest city in Sicily, and get ready for my flight home.

On this trip I found out that Sicily is gorgeous, and a visit in the late spring around April / May is perfect since everything is in full bloom and the hoards of tourists do not really arrive until June, July and August. Sicily has remained amazingly authentic and is fortunately free of many of the signs of mass tourism that mar other Mediterranean coastlines.

Taormina and the Eolian Islands are all stunning destinations, but the Sicilian hinterland in itself holds many hidden treasures. The history, architecture, culture and scenic beauty are astounding. And seafood lovers will definitely fall in love with this destination.

I myself really enjoyed the language learning experience at Babilonia and Laboratorio Linguistico - as a matter of fact, my three weeks in Italy took me all the way up to Intermediate level and when I came back I was quite capable of communicating fairly competently in this new language.

The people were great: the staff at both language schools was very helpful and knowledgeable, and the interaction with my co-students from all different countries was a real treat. Our crew on the sailboat in particular came together really nicely and some close personal bonds had developed after this experience.

Without a doubt, language study travel is one of the best forms of travel in my opinion, giving you the chance to learn, to expand your mind, and to really discover the local culture. And without a doubt I’ll be back in Sicily - this fascinating island has so much more to explore.

This entire article including photos is located at http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/sicily_2007.htm



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Fae Cheska Esperas asked:


Teaching English as a Secondary Language (ESL) online has proven to be one the fastest-growing online jobs nowadays. More foreigners are recognizing the benefits of being fluent in English, and the target market is no longer concentrated only on students, but on business professionals as well. Besides that, people find that ESL teaching doesn’t just pay well; it also meets the needs of individuals who find it more comfortable working at home.

45-year old Adela Stevens used to work as a sales agent while taking care of her three teenage kids. Since she needed to earn extra money to pay for all her children’s education costs, she had to get into a number of part-time jobs to get through with her finances. While browsing for part-time work on the internet, however, she stumbled on an opportunity for online ESL teaching.

“It was a bit disorienting at first, since you have to talk to somebody with a different accent,” she describes. “But later on, you’ll see that these students are passionate enough to learn the English language, and teaching them is no longer that hard.”

“Students are of different ages, and they come from various countries,” Adela continues. “Some are Asian, while others are French or Italian. But all my students share a common goal: to learn English and use it well in their everyday lives.”

An hour’s work of ESL teaching over the internet is worth an average of $30, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This makes a good source of profit for working moms like Adela. And to further assist her with her newfound career, Adela took up a certificate course in ESL teaching. “Courses in ESL Teaching are becoming more available in schools to address this need. Scholarships are even given to adults who wish to return to school and take up practical courses such as this.”

“ESL teaching in a way has transformed my role as a mom and career woman,” Adela concludes. “Through this job, I am able to spend more quality time with my kids while focusing on my work, since I no longer have to leave the house.”

Learn more on how to make your career a success.



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Ckris asked:


While I was working in Corridonia at “L’Officina di Fidia” (a fitness and rehabilitation center) in 2002, Carmela told me about the rebounder that she was using for years and also gave me a copy of the original book in English “The Golden Seven plus one” by Samuel West where the “Art of lymphasizing” was described. After reading the book, I immediately got intrigued by it and decided to expand my knowledge on this subject. I asked the physiotherapists of the center if they knew anything about this exercise; they simply answered that they used it as proprioceptive springboard and nothing more. In the meanwhile, I also remembered of having read something about this exercise in Louise Hay’s books and in “Unlimited Power” by Tony Robbins.

For me, that wasn’t enough, so at that time I decided to do some research on the WEB …

I started with the word “lymphasizing” followed by mini rebounder etc…

After many attempts, I reached Al Carter’s website: healthbounce.com …

It was a real “discovery” and “mindbreaker” for me; I finally was able access the official “source”.

I decided together with Arianna in 2003 to set up the new Holistic Center Orion in Campiglione and since it was a good opportunity for us, we started the restoration works that lasted about a year with the help of my older brother, Giampaolo.

I carried on working for L’Officina di Fidia and at the same time for the Center, thus with little time to further expand my knowledge on the Rebound Industry, even though I still remained very keen about it.

When the situation improved, after the official opening of the new Holistic Center, I met with Carmela (who came to the Center to do her treatments) and Marco Ruffini (a friend who became a sales agent for natural health products) and it happened that we talked about rebounding and the oxygen based products that Carmela was importing from Canada. Marco told us that he had contacted a company based in La Spezia (Eurodream) that was an importer of the same product. Afterwards, Marco became a sales agent for the Cellfood products and so we decided to ask Giorgio (since he was already importing from the USA) if we could together order some ReboundAIRs.

We shared the costs and ordered about 4/5 rebounders for each of us.

Therefore I met Giorgio for the first time, and with Marco we seriously considered to become the Italian distributors since I found out after all of my web research that nobody in Italy was aware of this discipline in any field yet. Naturally with my first order, I received Al Carter’s “The new miracles of rebound exercise”, the videocasettes and lectures. I was thrilled and even more enthusiastic about it !

I was rebounding every day, studying, experimenting and translating the articles from the ReboundAIR website. Thus I decided to create my own website (www.ckris.it) and added an area about Rebound with all the information I’ve learned from A.I.R. and carried on dreaming about the possibilities of ReboundAIR in Italy and Europe.

In the meanwhile (2004), I started to introduce ReboundAIR in my bioGin (bioGym) classes and everybody was so thrilled about it that I decided to ask the others to buy some more pieces in order to sell them and start our project: ReboundAIR Italia. During that period, Giorgio during a business trip in the U.S. met Darren and Bill Penrod in Las Vegas to discuss the conditions of the exclusive rights. Afterwards Giorgio, Marco and I had a meeting on the first investment fund necessary to order more rebounders, translate all the material, print brochures and set up the marketing strategy. We were backed up by Giorgio and the Eurodream (accounting/administration) and we placed our first substantial order. Giorgio introduced Riccardo Salis and proposed him as a new member of the project (rehabilitation therapy area) and was accepted in our team.

I started my first one-to-one presentations and easily sold the rebounders. With the following order, we received further material (e.g. the eyesight recovery manual) and especially the new quarter-fold models. The agreement was that I was in charge of the educational and training area for rebound trainers/instructors. With Giorgio, we presented ReboundAIR at the ISOKINETIC Conference in Bologna and the manager decided to buy them after 6 months of testing, in all the ISOKINETIC Centers in Italy (Bologna, Rome, Turin, Milan). Due to the fact that we live in different regions (Marche and Liguria), sometimes things progressed a bit slowly since it was difficult at times to get together. It was easier for Marco and me (both living in the same area) to be in sync, than with Giorgio and Riccardo (who live in Liguria). At any rate, I always continued to work on this project on a daily basis through web research, practicing and teaching rebounding, making presentations and attending the distance learning course to become a certified reboundologist (August 2004).

I also carried on with private English lessons to improve my language skills with an American teacher. Slowly but steadily our project moved forward, and after selling all the rebounders of our second order we decided to make a third one (about 60).

In the meanwhile, after completing my training I produced the video/dvd called ReboundAIReducation (the first video on Rebounding in Italy).

I believe that an essential approach of promoting rebounding in Italy is to inform people about its educational aspect in way that everyone can appreciate both the exceptional qualities and worth of the rebounder and the rebounding exercise program, that according to my opinion should start progressively and not be “overstressed”.

I continued my research on the Internet and found other interesting websites: bouncewell.com (great), cellercize, starbounding.com and lately QiBò & Chi bounding. In Dietikon, Switzerland I personally met Sylvia Dreiser and Ingrid who promotes Dynamic Rebounding at her CHI Zentrum near Zurich. Sylvia introduced me her friend, Jordan Gruber who sent me his manuscript “On the Rebound” which I greatly appreciated. Like Jordan, I also involved in personal growth and as a rebirther and bodywork trainer I combine and experience ReboundAIR with breathing, postural (breathwork, rolfing, trager, biogym), and visualization techniques including NLP (neuroLinguisticProgramming) both individually or in groups. I personally call this approach ReboundAIRevolution to distinguish it from the first and basic one for everyone referred as ReboundAIReducation.

In the meantime, I presented ReboundAIR to the biggest Italian Network for Fitness and Wellness that belongs to my friend Livio Leardi at the Get Fit in Milan, who has chosen rebounding as the latest discipline at the Conscious Fitness ® centers that will soon be open (late 2006).

I also made a presentation at the FIAeF (Italian Federation for Aerobics and Fitness) for my friend Mimì Adami who is interested in creating a synergy between rebounding and training fitness courses. Besides my DVD “ReboundAIReducation”, I’m preparing other promotional mini DVDs for other programs such as Top 10 Fitness Manager (a 10 minute video for companies). There is also in DVD format an “official” presentation I made at Marche al Teatro (Marche in Theatre) in front of many important local representatives and sponsors such as Soul’s Wings (a firm interested in making a sportswear line and special socks for rebounding), CS SPORT, and UISP (Italian Sports Union) which is very interested in promoting rebounding among its members, schools and recreational centers.

In October 2005, I officially started giving ReboundAIR group lessons at my Holistic Center in Fermo (the first center that permanently and actively promotes rebounding) and I also have a group of girls that demonstrate rebounding in several shopping centers and clubs and are also ready to show it along the beach resorts of the Adriatic coast this summer.

-continue-



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David Jones asked:


Japlish

Teaching English in Japan - a form of Sadomasochism

When I was growing up my German-French family were constantly reminding me how nasal and strained the English language sounds, and I guess, compared to the flamboyance of Italian, the intensity of German or the emotion of the French language I’d have to agree, English is pretty mundane. It must be an irritant to them now that rightly or wrongly, the whole world wants to learn English. The Japanese, especially young people, are convinced that speaking good English is their passport to a successful career. What is more, they are being encouraged in this by the government.

But in Japan teaching English has not been an overwhelming success so far. The vast majority of the population, having been tortured one way or another with English classes throughout their childhood can scarcely make a sentence in the great international language. It is a credit to the Japanese character that after so much abuse the average citizen still tolerates foreigners in their land. Would it really be surprising if one morning someone ran amok in an Eikaiwa once all those suppressed memories of incomprehensible textbooks and characters mysteriously called Meiling, Bob and Yuki having bizarre and un-natural interactions re-emerge into the language-challenged adult’s consciousness? Or the blind torture of infinite ‘listening and repeating’ to sounds that have no relevance and are often reminiscent of the final cries of a dying animal. When finally these repressed memories bubble to the surface and the individual explodes into one uncontrolled act of self defense can we really condemn this act? To many, this resistence would seem not unreasonable, justifiable in fact, and could in all possibility start a national movement for restitution from the sadistic autocrats that reside in Nishi Shinjuku at the Education Department. And who will argue that the endless hours, months and years of English drills and paper tests have seriously improved the mental well being of so many generations of Japanese students.

Having established that teaching English is a crime we must seek the main culprits in this attempt at cultural genocide. To what extent can the humble Mova instructor, assistant language teacher, language consultant, those who constitute the army of twenty two year old university graduates arriving totally untrained be held responsible? Aren’t they just out to pay off the education debts in their own country by making others suffer (albeit mentally rather than financially). Are they not innocents naively bumbling around the Kanto plains screaming in a pitch so high as to be almost non-human but simply chimp like ‘Oh my God’ at everything they see, as if they are constantly in the center of some personal tempest, even when that tempest revolves around something so mundane as to be nauseous? And given the maturity of their thoughts, what sincere prosecution lawyer would ever seriously consider them psychologically fit for trail?

The Japanese, true to their stoic and resolute character, have calmly withstood the cultural onslaught of the barbarians; the high nasal tones of countless Australian making closing blurted announcements before vomiting on the last train out of Ueno, the soccer obsessed German hating English with their noses pointed heaven-ward in arrogant disgust at anything they can’t attain, the laod bombastic Americans smug and secure in the existence of a God dedicated to maintaining the military might of the U.S, might not always being right but consistently being persuasive, and finally the second tier English speaking nations who jump on the band wagon and thus also have to be tolerated. The Japanese already oppressed by traditional social convention as much as by ultra-liberal social elites have shown great resilience and even humor in facing down the Gaijin challenge - because there was resistance!

And that resistance has been in the shape of Japlish, a form of expression so hopelessly messed up that it plays with the Gaijin mind and on the Gaijin mind. Slowly the reader retreats into confusion and panic as they are unable to distinguish veracity from the horrible reality of a preposition free world, where subject and object rapidly swirl into ambiguity and where conjunctions are voluntary. Japlish is the embodiment of everything good about Japanese society and culture - ultimately subtle and patient, classically simple and intelligent, yet unintelligible by anyone other than a select group. With Japlish the Japanese are able, forever politely, to raise their collective finger in the air and wave it at the Gaijin horde smiling and conveying silently what they think of the English experimentation.



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Susanne Pacher asked:


On a gorgeous morning following a good sleep after last night’s cooking lesson I woke up at about 6 am and stepped out on the balcony of my hotel room. The sun was just coming up, and the sky was filled with shades of purple and pink. Far away I could see the outline of a strip of land: the Italian mainland, more precisely the Region of Calabria, was visible on this clear day for the first time. The aerial distance between Taormina and the southern tip of Italy is about 40 kilometres, and this sunrise view across the Ionian Sea was simply gorgeous.

I decided to get up early and take a stroll through beautiful Taormina, before the hustle and bustle of the day would kick in. My hotel, Hotel Villa Nettuno, is located on the north side of town on Via Pirandello, outside of the city’s gates. I really enjoyed the location since it was quieter and yet just steps away from the amazingly busy Corso Humberto, Taormina’s main street in a pedestrian area.

Having strolled through the northeastern Porta di Messina I reached a still quiet piazza in front of the Palazzo Corvaja, seat of the first Sicilian Parliament and today the location of Taormina’s tourist office. A few of the locals were already up, taxi drivers were getting ready for their first fares, while the pedestrian street of Corso Humberto was still almost completely devoid of people. I reached Taormina’s main square: Piazza IX Aprile which features a large panoramic terrace facing the Mediterranean and Mount Etna. Two churches, San Giorgio and San Giuseppe, adorn this square, and the famous Torre dell’ Orologio (”clock tower”), featuring the Porta di Mezzo gate, and the famous Wünderbar Café anchor this public space on its western side. I could even see most of the volcano today on this relatively clear day. There are not many views that compare with the beautiful vista that spread out in front of me from this lookout point.

My walk on the Corso Umberto continued to the western edge of town where I passed through the Porta di Catania, the western city gate featuring the coat of arms of the Municipality of Taormina. From there I walked to a small park which features another beautiful lookout point that faces straight towards Mount Etna. After absorbing this gorgeous picture and trying to burn it permanently into my retina I started to make my way back, this time along the Via Roma, the picturesque road on the southern edge of town high above the coastline of the Ionian Sea. No wonder Taormina is such a popular tourist destination, the physical beauty of this town and the surrounding area is stunning.

Well, after this hour long walk I definitely deserved my breakfast and reviewed a bit of Italian grammar on the gorgeous terrace of the Hotel Villa Nettuno before I made my way to the Babilonia Language School. Punctually at 9:30 our lesson started and our grammar teacher Carlo familiarized us with the “preposizioni semplici” - the contracted Italian prepositions that are formed from a combination of the actual preposition together with the article. Prepositions are always complicated topics in any language, and Carlo patiently and succinctly explained to us the usage of “in” or “per” to express time in different contexts. We continued with a variety of games to help us remember the use of Italian prepositions, a fun and effective way to learn and retain complicated linguistic concepts.

Just before noon I had an opportunity to complete another interview: Alessandro, Babilonia’s director, connected me with Donatella Rapisardi, a local Taormina based artist, who provides some of the Pottery Decorating Classes for Babilonia students. For millennia, Sicily has been at the confluence of cultures: the Phonecians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Swebians, Spanish and French have all left their imprint in this culturally rich area, and pottery has been an important craft in Sicily for many centuries.

I met Donatella at the local Hotel del Corso, right on Corso Umberto, where she offers pottery decorating classes on the rooftop terrace with a perfect view of the Palazzo del Duca Santo Stefano with Mount Etna as a backdrop. The weather was gorgeous, the sky was blue: I cannot imagine a more scenic location for pottery painting than Donatella’s rooftop retreat.

Donatella Rapisardi is a gifted local artists who works in a variety of media. She also heads an organization called the “Grupo Artistico de Perseo” which organizes various exhibitions and art projects throughout town and the entire region. The group consists of five permanent artist members and a number of other affiliated artists that are coordinated by Donatella and her team. In addition to ceramics, Donatella also creates mosaics using marble and different types of stone) and handles wood restoration.

She explained that the pottery decorating lesson starts with plain terracotta pieces such as vases or tiles on which students apply the design they wish to paint. Two different types of processes are used for pottery painting, Donatella explained in her machine gun Italian: “lavorare a freddo” means that the pieces are painted without firing them, and “lavorare a caldo” refers to painted pottery pieces that are fired in a kiln to preserve the painting.

Traditional Sicilian colours such as blue, yellow and green are often used in the ceramics decorating process, although the students are completely free to create their own design and colour choices. Donatella guides them, makes suggestions and gives the students advice when they need it. She also explained that the tiles offer an advantage since they are easy to handle and transport and they offer a great surface for landscape images.

The course includes three lessons per week, and is particularly popular with Babilonia language students from Japan and the United States. Donatella added that Japanese students in particular are extremely precise and detail-oriented and very gifted when it comes to applying decorative painting to pottery. This may have something today with their exposure to the popular Japanese tradition of calligraphy.

Often Donatella’s students become her friends and she invites them into her home and does a culinary exchange: Donatella will create a variety of Sicilian specialties while her students prepare various tasty treats from their home country. She indicated that to this day she receives emails from some of her Japanese students from years ago, and she enjoys it every time when she receives international correspondence from her previous students.

After having lived in Umbria, another beautiful region of Italy, Donatella moved back to Taormina several years ago which she really enjoys and which inspires her creativity. She also teaches children’s art courses and volunteers for some local schools. She showed me a couple of pieces that had been completed by students and three of her own works of art. I mentioned I would have loved to see her studio to see more of her own art. Maybe next time.

Following this interesting side trip another excursion was waiting for me: punctually at 2:30 pm eleven people were assembled in front of the Babilonia Language School, ready to go hiking on Mount Etna whose summit is located at an altitude of over 3200 m. Peppe Celano, Babilonia’s social activities coordinator and one of the language teachers, was ready to introduce us first-hand to Sicily’s highest mountain and an active volcano.

As a matter of fact, Mount Etna had just erupted a few days ago on April 30, but unfortunately I did not see it. The eruption was only a few hours long, and one of my co-students saw the red lava stream at night! So today we would see Europe’s largest volcano up close.

Peppe had rented a small van and a small passenger car to carry all the participants. Our drive to the parking lot on the southern flanks of Mount Etna took about an hour and twenty minutes. We drove through local towns such as Giarre and Zafferana Etna where Peppe explained that near this area the Arabs used to cultivate saffron, hence the name.

The day was overcast and rather cool, a windproof jacket and a nice sweater were definitely in order. We parked our vehicles on a rather isolated parking lot and got ready for our climb. The lower part of our climb took us through a forested area where the leafs were just starting to come out. Not surprisingly, at almost 2000 m of altitude, the plant growing cycle is a little slower, even on a subtropical island such as Sicily.

Peppe explained that the local fauna includes chestnut, oak and birch trees which have all existed here since before the last ice age. We walked single file along a steep narrow path that was punctuated with many roots and stones, right along a precipice with many lookouts towards the famous “Valle del Bove” (Valley of the Ox), site of layers upon layers of lava flows.

Our steep hike continued for about an hour and took us from 2000 m in altitude to 2400 m to an area with a perfect view, facing the recent lava flows in the Valle del Bove. The summit area of the volcano stretched out right in front of us. Our area was a side summit designated by a cross and a broad natural ledge that our group used as a perfect posing area for our group shots of our conquest of Mount Etna. We spent about half an hour at the top of this side summit, chatting, snapping pictures and generally enjoying our mountain adventure.

On the way down three ladies, one from Switzerland, one from Germany and one from Austria (me) raced down the mountain in about 20 minutes. Coming down was a heck of a lot easier than going up, and almost sprinting down this steep mountainous pathway was rather exhilarating in itself. Once all the other mountaineers arrived we set off to visit a local winery. The “Murgo” vineyards were just about 15 minutes away, located in the fertile foothills of Mount Etna and many people in our group bought red, white and sparkling wines. An animated discussion followed in the van and by 7 pm we had arrived back in the school.

After a brief refreshment back at the hotel, a group of us met at a local pizzeria called “Trocadero”, right next to the Porta di Messina, where we were going to have a nice dinner. For some of us this Thursday evening was our last night in Taormina; I was going to leave tomorrow night to go to Milazzo while another person was going on an excursion to the Eolian Islands. Most of our group members were leaving Taormina this weekend, and we were all commenting how much we have been enjoying our experience.

Everyone around the table was a German speaker: we had three folks from Germany, two from Switzerland and myself, originally from Austria. Given the linguistic differences throughout the German-speaking countries, we all mentioned that each one of us has to speak “Hochdeutsch” (Standard German) in order to be understood by the rest of the group. All of us speak fairly strong dialects that would essentially be incomprehensible to German-speakers from other regions, so we get by, speaking the standard version of our language. For me this exposure to other Europeans was really enjoyable. Having lived more than 20 years in Canada, I hardly ever come in contact with German speakers, so this experience of enjoying a nice meal, speaking in my mother tongue, was a definite treat.

By 9:30 pm I started to get really tired since I had already gone on a one-hour walk through Taormina before breakfast, followed by another walk through town to meet Donatella, the pottery decoration artist, capped off by a short yet strenuous hike up Mount Etna. And tomorrow was after all going to be my last day in Taormina, so it was time to rest.

One thing is for sure, when you come to Taormina for language studies you definitely don’t get bored.



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Susanne Pacher asked:


On a gorgeous morning following a good sleep after last night’s cooking lesson I woke up at about 6 am and stepped out on the balcony of my hotel room. The sun was just coming up, and the sky was filled with shades of purple and pink. Far away I could see the outline of a strip of land: the Italian mainland, more precisely the Region of Calabria, was visible on this clear day for the first time. The aerial distance between Taormina and the southern tip of Italy is about 40 kilometres, and this sunrise view across the Ionian Sea was simply gorgeous.

I decided to get up early and take a stroll through beautiful Taormina, before the hustle and bustle of the day would kick in. My hotel, Hotel Villa Nettuno, is located on the north side of town on Via Pirandello, outside of the city’s gates. I really enjoyed the location since it was quieter and yet just steps away from the amazingly busy Corso Humberto, Taormina’s main street in a pedestrian area.

Having strolled through the northeastern Porta di Messina I reached a still quiet piazza in front of the Palazzo Corvaja, seat of the first Sicilian Parliament and today the location of Taormina’s tourist office. A few of the locals were already up, taxi drivers were getting ready for their first fares, while the pedestrian street of Corso Humberto was still almost completely devoid of people. I reached Taormina’s main square: Piazza IX Aprile which features a large panoramic terrace facing the Mediterranean and Mount Etna. Two churches, San Giorgio and San Giuseppe, adorn this square, and the famous Torre dell’ Orologio (”clock tower”), featuring the Porta di Mezzo gate, and the famous Wünderbar Café anchor this public space on its western side. I could even see most of the volcano today on this relatively clear day. There are not many views that compare with the beautiful vista that spread out in front of me from this lookout point.

My walk on the Corso Umberto continued to the western edge of town where I passed through the Porta di Catania, the western city gate featuring the coat of arms of the Municipality of Taormina. From there I walked to a small park which features another beautiful lookout point that faces straight towards Mount Etna. After absorbing this gorgeous picture and trying to burn it permanently into my retina I started to make my way back, this time along the Via Roma, the picturesque road on the southern edge of town high above the coastline of the Ionian Sea. No wonder Taormina is such a popular tourist destination, the physical beauty of this town and the surrounding area is stunning.

Well, after this hour long walk I definitely deserved my breakfast and reviewed a bit of Italian grammar on the gorgeous terrace of the Hotel Villa Nettuno before I made my way to the Babilonia Language School. Punctually at 9:30 our lesson started and our grammar teacher Carlo familiarized us with the “preposizioni semplici” - the contracted Italian prepositions that are formed from a combination of the actual preposition together with the article. Prepositions are always complicated topics in any language, and Carlo patiently and succinctly explained to us the usage of “in” or “per” to express time in different contexts. We continued with a variety of games to help us remember the use of Italian prepositions, a fun and effective way to learn and retain complicated linguistic concepts.

Just before noon I had an opportunity to complete another interview: Alessandro, Babilonia’s director, connected me with Donatella Rapisardi, a local Taormina based artist, who provides some of the Pottery Decorating Classes for Babilonia students. For millennia, Sicily has been at the confluence of cultures: the Phonecians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Swebians, Spanish and French have all left their imprint in this culturally rich area, and pottery has been an important craft in Sicily for many centuries.

I met Donatella at the local Hotel del Corso, right on Corso Umberto, where she offers pottery decorating classes on the rooftop terrace with a perfect view of the Palazzo del Duca Santo Stefano with Mount Etna as a backdrop. The weather was gorgeous, the sky was blue: I cannot imagine a more scenic location for pottery painting than Donatella’s rooftop retreat.

Donatella Rapisardi is a gifted local artists who works in a variety of media. She also heads an organization called the “Grupo Artistico de Perseo” which organizes various exhibitions and art projects throughout town and the entire region. The group consists of five permanent artist members and a number of other affiliated artists that are coordinated by Donatella and her team. In addition to ceramics, Donatella also creates mosaics using marble and different types of stone) and handles wood restoration.

She explained that the pottery decorating lesson starts with plain terracotta pieces such as vases or tiles on which students apply the design they wish to paint. Two different types of processes are used for pottery painting, Donatella explained in her machine gun Italian: “lavorare a freddo” means that the pieces are painted without firing them, and “lavorare a caldo” refers to painted pottery pieces that are fired in a kiln to preserve the painting.

Traditional Sicilian colours such as blue, yellow and green are often used in the ceramics decorating process, although the students are completely free to create their own design and colour choices. Donatella guides them, makes suggestions and gives the students advice when they need it. She also explained that the tiles offer an advantage since they are easy to handle and transport and they offer a great surface for landscape images.

The course includes three lessons per week, and is particularly popular with Babilonia language students from Japan and the United States. Donatella added that Japanese students in particular are extremely precise and detail-oriented and very gifted when it comes to applying decorative painting to pottery. This may have something today with their exposure to the popular Japanese tradition of calligraphy.

Often Donatella’s students become her friends and she invites them into her home and does a culinary exchange: Donatella will create a variety of Sicilian specialties while her students prepare various tasty treats from their home country. She indicated that to this day she receives emails from some of her Japanese students from years ago, and she enjoys it every time when she receives international correspondence from her previous students.

After having lived in Umbria, another beautiful region of Italy, Donatella moved back to Taormina several years ago which she really enjoys and which inspires her creativity. She also teaches children’s art courses and volunteers for some local schools. She showed me a couple of pieces that had been completed by students and three of her own works of art. I mentioned I would have loved to see her studio to see more of her own art. Maybe next time.

Following this interesting side trip another excursion was waiting for me: punctually at 2:30 pm eleven people were assembled in front of the Babilonia Language School, ready to go hiking on Mount Etna whose summit is located at an altitude of over 3200 m. Peppe Celano, Babilonia’s social activities coordinator and one of the language teachers, was ready to introduce us first-hand to Sicily’s highest mountain and an active volcano.

As a matter of fact, Mount Etna had just erupted a few days ago on April 30, but unfortunately I did not see it. The eruption was only a few hours long, and one of my co-students saw the red lava stream at night! So today we would see Europe’s largest volcano up close.

Peppe had rented a small van and a small passenger car to carry all the participants. Our drive to the parking lot on the southern flanks of Mount Etna took about an hour and twenty minutes. We drove through local towns such as Giarre and Zafferana Etna where Peppe explained that near this area the Arabs used to cultivate saffron, hence the name.

The day was overcast and rather cool, a windproof jacket and a nice sweater were definitely in order. We parked our vehicles on a rather isolated parking lot and got ready for our climb. The lower part of our climb took us through a forested area where the leafs were just starting to come out. Not surprisingly, at almost 2000 m of altitude, the plant growing cycle is a little slower, even on a subtropical island such as Sicily.

Peppe explained that the local fauna includes chestnut, oak and birch trees which have all existed here since before the last ice age. We walked single file along a steep narrow path that was punctuated with many roots and stones, right along a precipice with many lookouts towards the famous “Valle del Bove” (Valley of the Ox), site of layers upon layers of lava flows.

Our steep hike continued for about an hour and took us from 2000 m in altitude to 2400 m to an area with a perfect view, facing the recent lava flows in the Valle del Bove. The summit area of the volcano stretched out right in front of us. Our area was a side summit designated by a cross and a broad natural ledge that our group used as a perfect posing area for our group shots of our conquest of Mount Etna. We spent about half an hour at the top of this side summit, chatting, snapping pictures and generally enjoying our mountain adventure.

On the way down three ladies, one from Switzerland, one from Germany and one from Austria (me) raced down the mountain in about 20 minutes. Coming down was a heck of a lot easier than going up, and almost sprinting down this steep mountainous pathway was rather exhilarating in itself. Once all the other mountaineers arrived we set off to visit a local winery. The “Murgo” vineyards were just about 15 minutes away, located in the fertile foothills of Mount Etna and many people in our group bought red, white and sparkling wines. An animated discussion followed in the van and by 7 pm we had arrived back in the school.

After a brief refreshment back at the hotel, a group of us met at a local pizzeria called “Trocadero”, right next to the Porta di Messina, where we were going to have a nice dinner. For some of us this Thursday evening was our last night in Taormina; I was going to leave tomorrow night to go to Milazzo while another person was going on an excursion to the Eolian Islands. Most of our group members were leaving Taormina this weekend, and we were all commenting how much we have been enjoying our experience.

Everyone around the table was a German speaker: we had three folks from Germany, two from Switzerland and myself, originally from Austria. Given the linguistic differences throughout the German-speaking countries, we all mentioned that each one of us has to speak “Hochdeutsch” (Standard German) in order to be understood by the rest of the group. All of us speak fairly strong dialects that would essentially be incomprehensible to German-speakers from other regions, so we get by, speaking the standard version of our language. For me this exposure to other Europeans was really enjoyable. Having lived more than 20 years in Canada, I hardly ever come in contact with German speakers, so this experience of enjoying a nice meal, speaking in my mother tongue, was a definite treat.

By 9:30 pm I started to get really tired since I had already gone on a one-hour walk through Taormina before breakfast, followed by another walk through town to meet Donatella, the pottery decoration artist, capped off by a short yet strenuous hike up Mount Etna. And tomorrow was after all going to be my last day in Taormina, so it was time to rest.

One thing is for sure, when you come to Taormina for language studies you definitely don’t get bored.



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