wait, did i miss something? oh, just the dialogue.

Italians talk really fast. Well, they talk really fast according to me and I am just someone who tries to get by on a day-to-day basis with my Italian-English dictionary by my side at all times. I often find myself thinking parts of what they say are in Spanish and get even more confused. Who knew?

[Side note (but sort of still related): I bought an Italian children's book that I am planning on translating (with no computer aids). So far, I have the title: A Midsummer Night's Dream. I'll keep you updated on the progress which should be interesting because I have never read this story.]

Anyways, we went to see an Italian film called Il Grande Sogno (The Great Dream). The only thing I knew going into it was that it was some sort of love triangle. See, I saw the poster (below) for it and there is a girl surrounded on each side by these two guys. Other than that, I was walking in there with no idea where this movie would take me.


The entire movie was in Italian. EVERYTHING. Okay, that is a straight up lie. There were some songs in English (like 2). I caught a few Italian words and was pretty proud of myself. But for the most part, I had to try to figure out what was going on without understanding the dialogue. That, my friends, is quite the challenge. I did cheat (but not really) and looked up the plot when I got home. Check it out:

Il grande sogno is a film set in Italy in ’68 when young people were dreaming they could change the world, when rules were broken, love was free and everything seemed possible. Nicola, a handsome young man from Puglia is a policeman but his dream is to be an actor, and he finds himself having to be a mole in the student world in turmoil. At university he meets Laura, a young girl from a middle-class Catholic family, a brilliant and passionate student who dreams of a world without injustice, and Libero, a student-worker, and leader of the student movement that dreams of revolution. Strong emotions and passions are aroused and Laura —attracted to both— has to choose who she loves.

(Source: http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/festival/lineup/official_selection/venezia66/sogno.html)

And here is the trailer:

DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA. It was a crazy movie. I kind of really want to see it with subtitles now so I actually catch everything.

There are two reasons that I enjoyed it. 1) The main character had my name which means for the entire movie I felt like I was actually her. (I wasn't.) And I really enjoy how the Italians say my name. It makes me sound so much more fun. (I am such a narcissist right now. Apologies.) 2) It is based around my absolute favorite time period. I can't tell how much I loved watching the NBC TV miniseries The Sixties way back in the day. (Anyone else LOVE that? Or at least remember it?) I even did my big 8th grade history project on the whole Vietnam protests and wrote two papers about it in high school. Oh, I also took a class freshman year of college dedicated to the '60s. (Megan, this is your shout-out. Who knows if we would have ever been friends otherwise!) But, don't worry, I'll save all my LSD and "free-love" stories for another time.

But enough about that. I had my first week of classes today. I got spoiled with how they panned out (easssy!). I have also been booking some flights around Europe. You know, the usual time filler for a college student. If you have any suggestions, there are still some weekends left to fill. Inform me, ASAP. Oh, I forgot to rub it in your guys' faces, but I have a fall break that lasts 2 weeks. That is what I get for purposely taking classes that do not involve a midterm. :)

The only thing keeping me down is the rain. (Rain, rain, go away! Come back....NEVER!) But that is Milano weather. I will just have to suck it up and take it like a champ with my umbrella in hand.

Other than that, things are good. Gelato is being eaten, cooking is being learned, and wandering is being done.