Those who attend Broadway shows or symphonies know that before the performance starts the orchestra tunes up their individual instruments and the sound produced is often a cacophony to our ears.  So too has been my first full week of living in Bologna. My friends have asked- “where are all your photos that you usually post?” Well this time I am not just a tourist here to take in the sights, sounds and smells but also a resident albeit for only 3 months. Like any new resident of an area, there is an adjustment period until you become familiar with your surroundings as you discover places to shop, means of transportation, and other necessities.  Of course here I also have to adjust to language and cultural challenges.  From my studies in Italian I have become quite proficient in asking directions, ordering food and making hotel reservations.  But it is the everyday expressions and activities that trip me up and make me feel ” stupido”.

Take food shopping for instance.  Bologna has wonderful open food markets that date back centuries full of fresh vegetables, fruit, meats, cheeses and fish. As I stand there looking at all these wonderful items, how in the heck do I even ask for what I want in a continent where the metric system rules? Thankfully my language professor walked me through the markets as part of my afternoon excursion our first day and explained how to order. For fruit you say how many pieces, for other items the weight- and no 1/4 kilograms- it’s un etto or due etti. You never touch fruit or vegetables- you just point (in the supermarkets you use a plastic glove to pick out your fruits and vegetables and weigh and label them). There is plenty of fresh fish- mostly types I have never seen or heard of.  And the fish is displayed whole- no buying filets in the open markets. My new Italian friend, Letizia, explained that I can pick out a fish and ask that it be cleaned for me.  Without these helpful resources I probably would have bought the whole fish and then massacred it at home trying to clean and de-bone it! ( I will be creating a list of these helpful shopping tips for my travel resources page).

Supermercato

And it took me a few times to realize when I am checking out at the supermarket that the strange word they kept saying to me was basically did I need a bag. Of course there are 3 different words they can use for this, so it took me a few tries before I understood what they were saying. Now I am ready with my borsa/sacchetto/sacchettina and quickly bag my items while listening intently for the total amount I owe!

And then there was applying for a library card.  My professor suggested I obtain one so I can borrow videos to help with my listening skills in Italian.  The library is a modern interior from 2001 built within a palazzo from the late 1300’s.  Constructed on the ruins of a Roman building, you can view the remains underneath the plexiglass first floor of the library. Closed that day for applying for a library card, I returned the next day.

Library in Bologna

Entering the imposing room, I tell the person in attendance ( in my best Italian, of course ) that I would like to apply for a library card.  I am handed a form to fill out that has only initials for the form fields.  I have to stop and ask what each field is for-o- cognome- ok- that’s surname- v- indirizzo- ok that’s address ( you can see the letters do not resemble the word ) and then I come to c. I ask once again and the person looks at me with disgust and says campanello- gee a letter that makes sense- except why are they asking for a doorbell???  Do I have one- yes- no- she says- cognome!!!!!  I realize she is telling me to put the name on the doorbell- all this for a library card?  She has my passport already!  I leave there quite frustrated with my ability to just manage the simple things in life- like getting a library card.

After this experience I head over to the wine shop or bottega.  At this point I decide a nice glass of vino would complement my daily living experiences that day. The woman who waited on me asked me several questions about what type of wine I would like and I was pleased to not only understand her but respond in kind. Making small conversation in Italian, she was delighted to find out I was living in Bologna for awhile and she asked if I could help her with her English. We agreed to meet for a coffee the following week.

I left there much more delighted with that experience than my library encounter and reminded myself I had only been there a short time and was still tuning my instruments- hearing and speaking- and that it will take many more of these practices before I am ready to perform flawlessly.

And by the way, I did get my library card!

My library card