The stay in Verona has been a great start to my adventure in Italy – it was a wise decision to take time to settle in in my first location to give myself the possibility to calm down and wrap my brain around this whole concept of travelling, and also being by myself. So far, this experience has strongly resembled that odd period between Christmas and New Year’s. That special time-off we’ve so been looking forward to and where we tend to stop for a while, sometimes overeat and generally feel a bit lost – it’s kind of lovely and weird at the same time. Now that the holiday season is upon us: if you experience this sensation this year, just know; I feel you.

As a quick side note, I ran into an Arabic proverb the other day: “sunshine all the time makes a desert” and it resonated with me. We tend to subconsciously think everything should feel good all the time, especially as “think positive” is thrown at us from all directions, yet the truth is that we are here to feel deeply into all emotions, not just the ones perceived as good. This leads back to my conclusion of last week; that the human experience really does equal feeling all the feels. 

The choir concert at San Fermo church last week was amazing! Two choirs performed to a full-house and the ambiance was just so atmospheric. The old, lower church of San Fermo with its ancient frescoes was packed with guests of all ages and the excitement and warm vibe was intriguing. I love the Italian way of hassling about; when we arrived with Giuseppe (a few minutes late), the concert wasn’t naturally even about to start yet, which is just one small example of how punctuality is perceived quite differently from what I am used to from back home :) As the church benches were full, people (both guests and organizers) went to look around for extra chairs to carry in and all the while the chaos flooded about in a pleasant manner. A lot of shouting was going on, but not in a violent or angry way; the Italians are just hassling about in their own unique style, while chatting friendly with each other and smiling. This might sound like a strange description, but the way people behave and interact with each other here is just very different to Finland. The night ended with a late-night stroll around town, where Giuseppe told me tons about Verona’s history and the old buildings around – fascinating!

I can warmly recommend a visit to the Basilica of San Zeno, which is absolutely stunning and one of the better-preserved churches of Romanesque architecture (and its crypt was where Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet got married). I also went to see the Verona Arena from inside and it is impressive! I again must highlight my desire to see the opera or another show at that venue – you feel teeny tiny in that massive space and it is really strange to consider how our ancestors have arranged gladiator and animal fights as entertainment in the olden days. A walk up the flight of steps to Castel San Pietro (there is also a funicular available) is definitely worth the effort as the view you have of Verona from up there is simply unforgettable. I caught a somewhat foggy day, but still enjoyed it, plus it gave a nice element of mysteriousness to my snap shots of the day. I am also excited to announce that in addition to Giuseppe, I have made my first friends in town with whom I have had the pleasure to explore some nice local restaurants and bars with, in addition to a day-trip to lake Garda!

Choir concert at the Church of San Fermo, the Verona Arena from inside. Pretty street views from the steps to Castel San Pietro, Basilica of San Zeno and Verona views on a foggy day

I enjoyed every second of the day-trip to Lake Garda! We visited two smaller villages around the lake – Bardolino and Lazise – and there is a nice walking path along the lake connecting these places (it’s about a 40 minute walk from village to village) with plenty of nice restaurants and cafés to stop at. We had traditional pizza at a Neapolitan restaurant (so delicious!) and a glass of local wine at another place. Lake Garda is only a 40-minute drive away from Verona city, so definitely worth a visit when staying in Verona. I hadn’t realized how much I missed nature before arriving at the lake.

Lake Garda, Cass and village Lazise

Now, it is probably common knowledge how moving to a new country and learning a new language can make you occasionally feel like a bit of a fool. This, my friends, is a total understatement. Moving to a new country and trying to learn a language – even if you have practiced for months in advance – is likely to make you feel like a big fool most of the time. My only hope is that I will get used to it (and I must admit that it does get a tiny bit easier as time passes).

I have been studying Italian in apps such like Duolingo and WordDive, in addition to looking into several language books, a dictionary and phrase book by Lonely Planet (very handy size to carry around) and am almost daily listening to an audiobook version of “Learn Italian with Paul Noble – for beginners”, practicing practical phrases as I trot around the streets of Verona. I can already understand quite a lot in writing, but it seems that I get totally tongue-tied every time I open my mouth to utter my well-practiced lines.

There are two main issues I have detected so far: the trouble with my well-practiced scenarios is that the situations in real life hardly ever resemble the fictive discussions from my audio guide. Another problem is that not only does my tongue seem to get paralyzed when I try to speak up, but in addition, also my brain tends to freeze in the moment. When I during my first week tried to order a beverage at a bar, all went fine to begin with: “Buonasera! Un bicchiere di vino bianco, per favore”, but instead of the waitress asking me: “altro?” (anything else?) there was a long sentence of something completely different with a rising intonation at the end. Now, in normal circumstances I would be perfectly capable to state that I didn’t quite understand what was said and ask the person to repeat what they said a bit slower: (“Mi dispiace, non capisco. Puó parlare piú lentamente, per favore?”), but due to my brain freeze all I was able to do was stare at her with a puzzled expression, mouth wide open. This is when the waitress switched over to English for the rest of the evening and no more Italian was practiced on my part.

Another time I had asked at a restaurant where the toilets are located and again, it was a splendid start: “Scusami, dov’è il bagno?”. I expected to hear something along the lines of “over there to the left / right” (“lì, a sinistra / destra”), and was not in the least prepared for an elaborate description of “going down the hall, through the dining rooms and taking the stairs up at the left side of the room in the back to the second floor and turning left again behind the corner at the end of the hallway”. This time, I was ready to react and prepared to go for my: I’m sorry I don’t understand -line (“Mi dispiace, non capisco”) when I hear “Gazpacho!” falling from my lips. Hang on… Isn’t that the cold soup they eat in Spain? Where on earth did that come from? I’m so puzzled that I can’t speak anymore and my brain chooses this moment to stop cooperating with me. The waiter looks confused and embarrassed and I do a mental face palm, before we switch to English and I disappear to the toilet. Another time I wanted to ask for a specific product and without any warning, I spat out my question in Russian (?!), leading to a similar end-result as in the scenario described above.

Now yoga in Italian is very interesting. The benefit of doing group exercise is that I can always peek around to see what the others are doing. I usually position myself behind a capable-looking yoga student to follow their moves. You can get quite far by knowing the words “left” and “right”, as well as a list of random body parts in Italian and it’s been good practice for repeating these words I know, like “head” (la testa) or “leg” (la gamba). I’ve also figured out what “breath in” and “breath out” means in Italian, but can’t recall it now – it’s something I recognize on the spot. The yoga students and Elisabetta, the instructor at Yoga Shala Verona, are very friendly and often there is loud laughter in midst the Vinyasa Flow classes, when someone doesn’t quite manage a pose, or mixes up right and left (at least this is why I think they laugh – it’s possible they all raucously cackle about some silly move I busted, in which case it might look pretty odd that I merrily join in the choir of laughter.) But seriously, this Yoga studio and these classes have been a true delight! The only slightly awkward thing is that everyone thinks my name is Katarina, and since I didn’t correct them the first time this came up, I’m too embarrassed to do it now… I’m just planning to go along with this new yoga alter-ego until the end :)

All in all, the people in Verona are very friendly and clearly appreciate the effort of even trying to speak Italian. Generally, I would say that especially the younger population speaks English quite well and often times they get enthusiastic about being able to speak in English, which is not so great in terms of me learning Italian. This is for example the case in my favourite café, where now everyone automatically greets me in English. But! I will get there. After all, it’s only been a few weeks in Italy and at least understanding loads (in writing) is a good start. Listening can be tricky, as people often mumble or speak very fast. When the priest gave a speech at the choir concert, I thought I understood three words: eleven (“undici”), twelve (“dodici”) and dog (“il cane”), but I might have gotten that wrong as I can’t figure out how this would make sense at all...

I am confident that just practicing more and more will lead to positive results, I simply need to cut myself some slack. It is, whoever, exhausting to feel like a complete idiot most of the time, as this learning process is slow. At the same time, it’s a good reminder of how healthy it is to laugh at oneself every once in a while. In the spirit of feeling all the feelings, I’m doing my best in embracing the feeling of being a fool!

Sunset in Verona feat. Cass

I am nowadays able to navigate around Verona’s main areas without Google Maps and am starting to feel quite comfortable in my temporary new home town of three weeks. Perfect timing to move on! Part of my family is coming down to Trento in northern Italy for Christmas and I can’t wait for our pop-up Christmas celebration of 2019 and seeing some familiar faces! I will be flying over to Madrid to welcome the new year with a beloved friend – yay! Thereafter, I will continue my Italian adventure in Bologna and Venice. Stay tuned for the reports of the upcoming spectacles and have yourself a merry Christmas; may you enjoy the holidays with your loved ones and find some peace of mind!

Stay well & bacio! Cass 💋