apparently, i am not italian enough
(and not only for the italians).

someone (below, il pesce chi urla,
or if you like pesce urlando)
figured i've already left.

perhaps i should stop it with the nostalgia.
i know i am going to want to
come back as
soon
as
i
leave.

o, forse, invece,
se comincio a scrivere
solo in italiano,
vedrai che sono
ancora
qui.

davvero.

people are so
surprised that i can
actually
speak
italian. JC, MMC, and JD
were all incredulous.

the only person who can
make fun of my wobbly-at-times grammar,
and my continuing inability
to use the congiuntivo,
is the shiny,
bright,
juju. but she cannot
make fun of my accent
(because hers is worse).

i only wish i had taken some
real italian classes,
or studied language books
or lived with some italians
from the start.
sometimes i figure that
this is
as good
as
i'll get.

and that makes me sad.