"I go to airport."

I am happy to report that my Italian instructor is actually Italian. This may seem obvious, but I remember my high school Spanish teacher being French! English was his fourth language and it was sometimes difficult to understand him. I used to wonder if we'd all wind up in Mexico on spring break sounding like a bunch of French tourists.

So the good news is that my instruction this time around is coming from a woman who moved here from Italy 5 years ago. The bad thing is that since it only meets a few times, she isn't dwelling on "the little things". . . like articles. So if Rome is inundated with tourists this summer asking, "Where is bathroom?" and "Train leaves 4PM" you'll know why.