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Becoming Italian: Shopping, Loving, Sleeping, Driving
We can barely keep up with the amazing posts Dianne Hales is writing over on her blog for Italian Heritage month. A sneak peak: The staff at the front desk of most hotels, particularly in larger towns and cities, speak English, but hotels are a perfect place to practice your Italian. You will want to call or check online to make sure a hotel has una stanza disponibile (a free room, or vacancy). Indicate if you want a single (singola) or a double room (doppia), and be sure to find out quanto si paga per notte (what is the charge per night).La Bella Lingua sulla Strada: If you don't know how to drive a manual transmission, Italy is not the place to learn. Request una macchina con il cambio automatico (an automatic). For a premium, you can ask for a cabriolet or a decapottabile (convertible), a gippone (SUV), or a fuoristrada or quattro per quattro (offroad or 4 by 4 vehicle). Just make sure you don't get stuck with a carcassa (carcass), a macinino (grinder for coffee or pepper), or a carretta (cart) -- all slang for an old jalopy or a clunker.La Bella Lingua Innamorata: Flirts often use the same pick-up lines in Italy as anywhere else: "Vuoi bere qualcosa?" ("Would you like a drink?) "Non ci siamo già visti prima?" ("Haven't we seen each other before?") "Scusa, posso dirti che hai degli occhi stupendi?" ("May I tell you that you have amazing eyes?") "Hai da accendere?" (Have you got a lighter?)La Bella Lingua in Negozio: Italians are much more serious window-shoppers than Americans. They carefully study the items in the shop windows (vetrine), which usually have the price (il prezzo) clearly marked. My favorite sign in a shop window is "saldi" (sales), with the biggest discounts in January and July.Be sure to check them all out! Tags: Italian, Italian Heritage Month
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