Italian Idiom of the Week–In bocca al lupo!

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Jodina

Salve!

Ecco la frase idiomatica della settimana = Here’s your weekly Italian Idiom, brought to you by Italiano With Jodina:

In bocca al lupo!

Literally, this means “in the wolf’s mouth” and is used to wish someone luck, as with “buona fortuna.”  In bocca al lupo is similar to the expression, “Break a leg,” except that it’s used in any situation, not just in acting or performance settings.

There is also a response sometimes used when someone tells you “in bocca al lupo,” and that is, “crepi il lupo” — literally meaning “may the wolf kick the bucket.” It would be like saying, “Yes, when I put my head in the wolf’s mouth, may it drop dead” (rather than biting my head off!) . . . a metaphor for coming out on top in the face of a difficult or challenging situation.

Have a great week, and in bocca al lupo!

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Italian Digest on Yahoo Groups

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Jodina

One more way to get your fix of things Italian is to join the “Italian” group on Yahoo Groups.

Here is how the group describes itself:
“Italian is a group of adults at different stages of learning the Italian language. We also discuss Italian music, culture, art, food, travel and almost anything else Italian, hopefully using more and more of the language to discuss these topics as we learn. All are welcome from beginners to fluent. Please note: This is a very active list with a high volume of email.”

One of the things I particularly enjoy is the Italian Word of the Day feature, as well as the occasional List of 10 Italian Words.
All content is member generated, and members also occasionally request and help each with translations and meanings of text in Italian.

To join, go to yahoo.com, click on Yahoo Groups (Click this link), and type in the search phrase “Italian.” Buon divertimento!

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Italian Language Meetup – San Diego North County

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Jodina

This is a fun social group dedicated to “speaking Italian and learning as much as we can while eating and drinking ourselves into fluency!”

It’s an informal way to meet others interested in la bella lingua and cibo buono. (It meets every Monday pm in Leucadia at Vigilucci’s restaurant.)

Visit this link for all the dettaglie! (details)

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Class #4 Update–Carlsbad & Escondido

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Jodina

Buon giorno ragazzi!

Read on for


  • A recap of class #4
  • Outside-of-class assignments
  • Important announcements.

Che passiate una buonissa settimana–ci vediamo martedi/mercoledi prossimo! (Have an excellent week — see you next Tuesday/Wednesday
 depending on your class location!)

Jodina

What we studied/practiced:

  • We began with a fun and challenging exercise to learn Italian words for Clothing and Colors while practicing the Italian Alphabet and the questions Come si dice? and Come si scrive?
  • A review of Italian numbers — i numeri
  • We continued work on phrases and vocabulary for Shopping in Italy, focusing this time on stores and places (negozi e posti) to buy typical things you might need/want while visiting Italy.
  • We practiced an Italian conversation for politely asking where to buy these items.
  • Italian Movie: Cinema Paradiso — We continued our study of this bellissimo film.

  • Outside-of-Class-Activities: (Aka Homework, except fun!!!)

    • Do the Further Practice Activities (on page 2 of the Cinema Paradiso dialog handout). These exercises are an excellent way to focus on words that are similar in English/Italian and special sounds in the Italian language while further practicing/studying the film dialog.
    • Procure & Watch Cinema Paradiso:   Ways to do this:
    1. Watch free online (at TVShack.net, click here). Notes: To play the movie, click directly on the red ‘play’ triangle symbol right in the middle of the movie ‘screen’ that you see (not on the small one on the bottom!). You need a high-speed internet connection, and in addition to the English subtitles, there area also Asian subtitles — but, it’s free!
    2. Or rent the film from an online source (E.g., Netflix or Blockbuster)
    3. Or purchase the film online
    4. Finally, I have checked with local libraries and video shops, and most do not seem to have this film title available.

    Announcements:

    • Make up missed classes:  If you are unable to attend class in your regular location, you are more than welcome to catch the class at the other location (There are two: Carlsbad and Escondido). For addresses, see the “Contact” page.
    • Last Chance!! SD Italian Film Festival is showing  films nightly thru this sabato, 11/7. Curtain time: 7pm–be sure to arrive early to snag seats. Cost: $$Free, donations suggested. Where:  Balboa Park. It is an excellent opportunity to enjoy Italian cinema in a beautiful venue! More details click here.
    • Special fares to Italy thru Alitalia — R/T starting at $500. More details here

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    Volare Con Alitalia! Nice Fares by 11/9

    Posted on November 5, 2009 by Jodina

    Nel blu dipinto di blu
 Alitalia is offering special fares, round trip, starting at $500, departures from Boston. Must be purchased by Nov.9, travel by March 24, 2010.  March/April is a nice time of year to be in Italy. Spring’s nice there — weather’s usually pretty good and you won’t brush elbows with hordes of tourists.


    Here’s the link to more info. It’s been a minute since I’ve priced tix to the BelPaese. Given the current ‘pazzia’ (craziness) of airline companies and the ‘economia’ — would love to hear back from folks if these are indeed good fares. Buoni viaggi!

    {Grazie alla mia studentessa Susanna per questo accenno!}

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    Italian Pop Star * Tiziano Ferro !

    Posted on November 4, 2009 by Jodina

    Tiziano Ferro, Italian latin pop singer, is talented, fun to listen to (and easy on the eyes!). One of my students turned me on to his music (grazie Gariella!).


    Ferro also records Spanish versions of his Italian albums and has had notable success in Europe and Latin America. He has also released songs in English and has sold more than 7 million albums worldwide.


    Take a listen to his song “Perdono” on YouTube. While you’re, check out “Indietro” and “Le Cose che non Dici”, too.


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    Taste of Little Italy Nov. 4th

    Posted on November 3, 2009 by Jodina

    San Diego’s Taste of Little Italy returns — taking place this Wednesday, Nov. 4 from 5 to 9 p.m.


    Among the participating restaurants are Anthology, Burger Lounge, Indigo Grill, Mimmo’s, Mona Lisa, Po Pazzo, Rice at the W Hotel, Cafe Zucchero, The Waterfront Grille, and Filippi’s Pizza Grotto. There will also be music and entertainment from musicians Regina Leonard and Luis Max and Blue Moon.


    Tickets are $35 in advance and can be purchased online at the Taste of Little Italy website. They’ll cost $40 at the door. Included with the tickets is a voucher for two people to enjoy Chef Eric Bauer’s “Fresh Vibe Tuesday” at Anthology during the month of November.

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    Italian Idiom of the Week

    Posted on November 2, 2009 by Jodina

    “Chi non ha testa ha gambe”

    .

    legs.

    Salve!

    Ecco la frase idiomatica della settimana = Here’s your weekly Italian Idiom, brought to you by Italiano With Jodina:

    “Chi non ha testa ha gambe.”

    Literally, this means ‘He who doesn’t have his head, has legs.” Used in situations where someone is absent-minded and drops the ball because of not thinking, and then has to do extra leg-work to make up for the error.

    For example, you are rushing around to get out the door to go a meeting, and when you arrive, you realize you’ve forgotten some critical documents. Now you have to go all the way back home to get them. Because you weren’t paying attention with your testa (head) in the first place, you now have to compensate with your gambe (legs).

    “Chi non ha testa ha gambe!”

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    Class #3 Update–Escondido

    Posted on October 29, 2009 by Jodina

    Buona sera studenti!

    Ecco il vostro aggiornamento settimanale della classe. (Here’s your weekly class update.) Complimenti a tutti coloro che hanno fatto i compiti di classe! (Thumbs up to all those who did the oustide-of-class assignments!)

    Read on for a class recap, homework/ new ways to use Italian in between classes, and important announcements.

    What we studied/practiced:

  • We warmed up with a Mingle/Practice of  Italian Greetings, Small Talk Q+A’s, & the Italian Alphabet and Pronunciation (including the questions: Quale  e` il tuo cognome? and Come si scrive?)
  • Italian numbers and questions to practice them (Quale  e` il tuo numero di telefono/indirizzo/numero preferito? and Quanto anni/figli hai?).
  • We began on phrases and vocabulary for shopping in Italy, including the translations for last week’s homework words/phrases.
  • Italian Movie: Cinema Paradiso — We studied, viewed, and practiced the bio and dialog of this classic Oscar-winning Italian film.

  • Outside-of-Class-Activities: (Aka Homework, except fun!!!)

    1. Translate these words/phrases into Italian. Use the online dictionaries located on the Links Page. We will use these during next class:

    Una Foto-Ottica

    Una cartoleria

    Una tabaccheria

    Una biglietteria

    Un supermarcato

    Una farmacia

    Una panetteria

    CHALLENGE:  Come up with some of your own items-to-buy or stores, and translate them!

    ** 3+ items/stores earns you a raffle ticket!!! **

    1. Watch Cinema Paradiso/Practice the dialog learned in class:   The easiest way may be to rent the film from an online source such as Netflix or Blockbuster, or  purchase it online. Borrowing from local libraries and/or renting from local video shops is another possibility (though much slimmer). For a site where subtitles can be downloaded in English or Italian for this film (and many others) go to the  Links page. You can also watch movies ONLINE from this site.

    • Announcements:

    • SD Italian Film Festival Going Hot & Heavy: Every day 10/31 – 11/7 (last day of fest) there will be a different Italian film. Curtain time: 7pm. Cost: $$Free, donations suggested. Where:  Balboa Park. It is an excellent opportunity to enjoy Italian cinema in a beautiful venue! More details click here.
    • CD Player Needed: During the Wednesday Escondido class, my CD player died an untimely death :(. If anyone has, or knows of someone who has, an unused CD player in need of adoption, please let me know. Grazie!
    • Hands-on Italian Cooking Tutorial. We have a kitchen! Our third class in November will be held off-site and focus on Italian cooking! Stay tuned for more info.
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    Class #3 Update–Carlsbad

    Posted on October 29, 2009 by Jodina

    Buona sera studenti!

    Ecco il vostro aggiornamento settimanale della classe. (Here’s your weekly class update.) Complimenti a tutti coloro che hanno fatto i compiti di classe! (Thumbs up to all those who did the oustide-of-class assignments!)

    Read on for a class recap, homework/ new ways to use Italian in between classes, and important announcements.

    What we studied/practiced:

  • We warmed up with a Mingle/Practice of  Italian Greetings, Small Talk Q+A’s, & the Italian Alphabet and Pronunciation (including the questions: Quale  e` il tuo cognome? and Come si scrive?)
  • Italian numbers and questions to practice them (Quale  e` il tuo numero di telefono/indirizzo/numero preferito? and Quanto anni/figli hai?).
  • We began on phrases and vocabulary for shopping in Italy, including the translations for last week’s homework words/phrases.
  • Italian Movie: Cinema Paradiso — We studied, viewed, and practiced the bio and dialog of this classic Oscar-winning Italian film.

  • Outside-of-Class-Activities: (Aka Homework, except fun!!!)

    1. Translate these words/phrases into Italian. Use the online dictionaries located on the Links Page. We will use these during next class:

    Una Foto-Ottica

    Una cartoleria

    Una tabaccheria

    Una biglietteria

    Un supermarcato

    Una farmacia

    Una panetteria

    CHALLENGE:  Come up with some of your own items-to-buy or stores, and translate them!

    ** 3+ items/stores earns you a raffle ticket!!! **

    1. Watch Cinema Paradiso/Practice the dialog learned in class:   The easiest way may be to rent the film from an online source such as Netflix or Blockbuster, or  purchase it online. Borrowing from local libraries and/or renting from local video shops is another possibility (though much slimmer). For a site where subtitles can be downloaded in English or Italian for this film (and many others) go to the Links page. You can also watch movies ONLINE from this site.

    • Announcements:

    • Wine ok in class — Anyone wishing to  bring and drink wine during class may do so — per regulations of the Carlsbad Community and Rec Centers. (No corkage fee! 😉 )
    • SD Italian Film Festival Going Hot & Heavy: Every day 10/31 – 11/7 (last day of fest) there will be a different Italian film. Curtain time: 7pm. Cost: $$Free, donations suggested. Where:  Balboa Park. It is an excellent opportunity to enjoy Italian cinema in a beautiful venue! More details click here.
    • Wine Tasting @ Witch Creek Winery. Anyone interested in this as a ‘field trip’ for our class? Located near class in Carlsbad, the fee is $20 per person ($25 with cheese & salami). This includes the glass and a tasting/presentation of 8 different wines (Italian varietal grapes, of course!) Consider it and let me know next class.
    • CD Player Needed: During the Wednesday Escondido class, my CD player died an untimely death :(. If anyone has, or knows of someone who has, an unused CD player in need of adoption, please let me know. Grazie!
    • Hands-on Italian Cooking Tutorial. We have a kitchen! Giovanna has generously offered to hold the cooking class at her place. Grazie! Stay tuned for more info.
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