kateandjohnsail.boats

Mi displace is usually translated I’m sorry, but really it means my bad. It comes in quite handy when one commits yet another unintentional blunder in the character-building business of living in a new culture. Italy is not a difficult country to navigate, but it’s easy to be tripped up by the little things, like not knowing how to price the produce at the market, flush a toilet, or validate a bus ticket.

Understanding Italian and navigating simple transactional conversations is going well. Duo Lingo’s little owl for 220 days running has reminded me to do my Italian lessons, and it has been time well invested. My friends Anne and Mike are using the same app, and occasionally we check in with each other. Mike wondered if we would ever say pattinare, the verb to skate. Maybe not, but I’ve used spazzatura (trash), more than you might imagine, as we always need to know where to take ours when we leave the boat!

Asking where is the bakery? in another language is not so hard, but then you have to be ready for that torrent of words that comes back atcha!  People are kind, though; generally with pointing and pantomiming, the language gap can be bridged, and everyone goes away feeling warm and fuzzy. Even the most curmudgeonly old Italian man will soften if you show some effort, and toss in a humble mi dispiace.