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Post by joan1 on Apr 3, 2008 18:05:03 GMT -5
Hello, I know its terribly off topic, right off forum, but, I am so excited to be enrolled in an "Italian for Travellers" class at our local community college.
I speak enough french to find a bathroom, pay a bill, order a meal or find my way home to hotel,, but, I am not fluent. I do feel "ok" about what I do have though,, but, I just realized I speak NO Italian at all , and since I am going to be in Italy this summer also, I realized how rude it would be ,, not to mention , how much easier things are , if you have some basic language skills.
Bonus, class is taught by an Italian lady who is going to give us " cultural tips" etc.
I guess this is a silly post, since it is not actually very helpful to anyone,, but I am just so excited.. I have not be in school for almost 25 years!! I am going to the " campus bookstore" ( that was fun to say,, LOL ) to get my ;D TEXTBOOK! ;D
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Post by luckyluc on Apr 3, 2008 18:07:24 GMT -5
Buona fortuna, l'italiano e una lingua vicina del francese allora sono securo che sara piu facile per lei.
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Post by joan1 on Apr 3, 2008 18:33:28 GMT -5
LUC, I can see I have enrolled just in the nick of time,, your post is only recognizable to me through a few words that look similar to french( is facile the same? )
So you are tri ligual,, how wonderful. Seems like many posters in this board have serveral languages , not just french and english..
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Post by luckyluc on Apr 3, 2008 19:11:31 GMT -5
Oh my Italian is very rusty, unless we are talking Puccini and Verdi, the reasons why I took a few classes years ago. So if it a big drama involving murder, adultery and singing on top of everyone else , I will be ok . For a native French speaking person Italian is not difficult to learn.
Since we live near the Italian quartier I can practice occasionnaly but I guess I need to plan a trip to Italia , that would be a good reason to crack open the books again.
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Post by Shoesy on Apr 3, 2008 23:38:07 GMT -5
Good luck with your lessons, Joan! I'm sure you'll find it fun to be enrolled as a student once again, and your knowledge of the language will definitely come in handy.......especially when you need to figure out what flavors all those delicious gelato choices are. ;D
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Post by mez on Apr 3, 2008 23:54:48 GMT -5
Shoesy, you are seriously starting to worry me - your fixation with ice cream is alarming! Tell me, is this a family trait that has been passed on through your family, or just a rogue gene in your genetic make up?  |
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Post by Shoesy on Apr 4, 2008 0:02:50 GMT -5
Mez - Most of us have a sweet tooth, right? Well, for some reason I'd rather eat ice-cream than some decadent chocolate layer cake or that fancy dessert that dear Framboise adores. I've always liked ice-cream as a kid, and I guess some things just never change.  However, I must point out the fact that gelato and ice-cream are not the same. |
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Post by joan1 on Apr 4, 2008 23:35:09 GMT -5
Shoesy, is gelato more like what we call "sherbert" here? Creamy, not like a sorbet, but not creamy creamy like ice cream? I guess you are the expert, what do like best?
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Post by Shoesy on Apr 5, 2008 0:41:58 GMT -5
Joan - I'm definitely not an expert, but I bet Truffy is. He's said that he prefers Amorino gelato to Berthillon ice-cream. Gelato doesn't taste like sorbet at all, though I believe that it contains a lot less fat than ice-cream. I guess that's the reason I prefer the taste of ice-cream  , but I'm well aware of the fact that gelato is the healthier option. When I was in Italy, I ate gelato just about every day. Aside from the actual eating part, I truly enjoyed looking at the lovely array of flavors, which all looked so beautiful and tempting. Would you believe that in one place I even saw one labled "Viagara"?  I didn't try that one, though. ;D |
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Post by Truffaut on Apr 5, 2008 6:44:01 GMT -5
Gelato has less cream, but more egg and sugar. It's churned at a much slower speed, so there's no air incorporated, unlike ice cream that can be as much as 50% air. Premium ice creams have less air than regular ice cream, but even Berthillon, dear Shoesy, is probably around 20% very expensive air!
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Post by annettecinca on Apr 5, 2008 13:11:05 GMT -5
Joan, gelato is very much like ice cream. So much so that I really don't notice a difference between the two. Gelato is very creamy, but so is a really good ice cream. I suppose a side-by-side tasting comparison is in order! ;D
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Post by Shoesy on Apr 7, 2008 2:34:42 GMT -5
Well, taking into account what Truffy has written, not only can air be "expensive", but it can taste darn good when the right proportions are mixed with all the other necessary yummy ingredients. ;D
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Post by joan1 on Apr 7, 2008 2:40:57 GMT -5
I volunteer to do taste testing this summer, seems differences are sutble but profond,, I will sacrifice my time all for the sake of cross cultural iced desserts appriciation..
Um, I am having smeo wine right now, I think I shall go to bed before I go off the deep end of silly.
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Post by annettecinca on Apr 7, 2008 12:40:22 GMT -5
Okay Joan, you're our gal--a cone of each at the same time ;D
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, but I'm well aware of the fact that gelato is the healthier option. When I was in Italy, I ate gelato just about every day. Aside from the actual eating part, I truly enjoyed looking at the lovely array of flavors, which all looked so beautiful and tempting. Would you believe that in one place I even saw one labled "Viagara"? 
I didn't try that one, though. ;D 
hahahha