Translating Sheep

Last night I couldn't sleep.  I think I finished reading around 10:50pm and I was still awake when I checked the clock at 3:20am.  That's a whole lot of hours, trying to fall asleep.  I know it's from the excitement and anticipation of our move.  I feel like a little kid, it's the week before Christmas, and Christmas morning can't get here fast enough!


So what did I do for all those hours?  I tried to stop thinking!  That's my problem.  Usually when I can't sleep it's because I can't stop thinking about things, or singing songs in my head, or just feeling uncomfortable.  Last night I found myself, believe it or not, literally trying to count sheep.  I remember trying it as a little girl, and I hoped it might work.  It didn't.  So then I figured I would be productive while I couldn't sleep.  I started to make a list in my mind of all the things I think I've packed, but need to re-pack and make sure I really pack.  Yeah.  Next on the list was testing my memory of my Art History.  I would think of an artist I studied, and tried to give some biographical information, some points on the style(s) the artist worked in, and then recall the dates of their most famous works, as if I were giving a lecture.  Can anyone see yet that I'm a nerd?  

Then, probably around 2:30am, I started doing my Italian lessons in my head.  I was thinking of a word I knew in Italian, and then tried to make as many sentences with that word as possible.  What's funny, is that I really don't know much Italian.  So, the sentences were rather short, and who knows how grammatically correct they were!  I think that's what I need the most, while learning this language: someone to tell me when I'm incorrect!  I think I have an idea of what to say, how to say it, but most of the time I'm totally wrong when I check it with a translator.  


While we are in Florence, I've decided to check out several language schools.  I don't think I'll attend any while we are over there, but I think it will be a good way to get back into the country for an extended period, if everything goes alright for these first 3 months.  The student visa is one of the "easier" ways to get a visa in Italy.  And that's not saying much since it's still a hassle.  I can find a really good language school (they are everywhere in Florence!), one with small classes, and study intensively to become fluent.  For me, learning languages has been one of the greatest struggles for some reason.  My brain just doesn't seem to retain what I learn that day.  But I really, really, really want to learn this language!  1) for the necessity of getting around and surviving in the city day to day  2) so I might actually be able to speak with my Italian friends without having to dumb down my English or look like a fool when speaking Italian and 3) if I want to eventually get a job, it will be necessary.  Lately I've been thinking a lot of how I could find a job working with American students in Florence.  Or being able to give art history tours to Americans in the Uffizi!  These might be dreams, but I guess it's better than translating sheep for now...