Ask me anything June edition

Living on island time and my resources for help learning Italian

I am writing to you from my beloved island of Ponza where I have tried to create a kind of self-imposed exile from speaking and hearing English. It’s kind of working. My Ponzese pals have been patient correcting my mistakes and enduring conversations that are probably about as interesting as talking to a seven-year-old. I have been winging it for the past 10 years or so. I don’t recommend this as a strategy. At the end of this newsletter, I will share some of the resources that have been helping me on my language journey.

It hasn’t been all work. I have been doing all of my favorite island things. There have been lots of long walks and diving off of boats. I have eaten pizza and parmigiana and napped under an umbrella. Mark came for a few days and we visited the Roman cisterns and celebrated the island saint. My pal Agnes is on her way from Anzio right now for an impromptu 24 hours of island fun.

Do you like to go to new places or return to favorites? I love returning to the same place over and over again. Seeing familiar faces and hearing the greetings of bentornata and è un piacere vederti not just to me but to all of the others returning to the island. I find it is so relaxing to know where the good coffee is and which cove is the best for swimming on a busy Sunday.