Traduzione

One of my classes involves copious amounts of translation from old italian (italiano antico) to modern italian. It's very interesting stuff, and throws in sharp relief the lack of Latin in my life. I actually can't wait to start learning Latin, just because it helps so much with deciphering older words in Italian.

I like translating things; there's a certain art and dexterity with words that's required of it. It's also gratifying to turn something half-incomprehensible into something readable and understandable. I also think that it's giving me a new perspective on the language, which is something I will always appreciate-- there is an amazing amount of thought that goes into translating something properly, that I hadn't thought of previously.

An unfortunate side effect of this, however, is that my brain is stuck somewhere between Italian and English, and this results in a very interesting speech and language style. I find in conversation the Italian word comes to me first, and I have to retranslate. One can only hope that this is just another step on the road to fluency.

Spero di si.

Updates on Resolutions

1. Get in Shape and Stay in shape: Thus far, this has been addressed in an isolated run on the treadmill. This will be fixed starting next week.

2. Take more risks and live a little: I jaywalk with a little more abandon, and have been enjoying getting into escapades with all my friends.

3. Be more active: Classes this time around necessitate this-- I haven't all that much time to sit.

4. Visit Museums I haven't been to before, like the MoMa: I explored new sections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and might be visiting the Rubin Museum soon.

5. Get back in trumpet shape: I played for 8 hours straight on Saturday and therefore will not be playing much this week.

6. Get closer to fluency in Italian: two classes will do that.

7. Read more books for pleasure: I will be starting "Io non ho paura" soon.

8. Learn to cook: ...This has been a fail thus far.

9. Eat healthier food: Salad once a day! Hooray!

10. Make a difference in someone else's life: I might start tutoring very soon.

Not bad for 20 days into this wild, wild adventure.

Divided Attention

Well, as one of my class requirements in Italian is to maintain an italian blog, I might even be more sporadic in posting.

Oops.

direefare.blogspot.com

This is why I chose Yale...

The new admissions video is actually pretty close to why I chose Yale.

It's things like this that make me proud to be part of this institution.

Hmm...

Only at Yale will you see a skateboarder with boat shoes and a pink polo shirt. Just sayin'.

-- Post From My phone

Le avventure di Italiano

One of my resolutions this year was to get closer to fluency in Italian. I feel like this semester and the summer will be the timeframes for this to happen. I'm taking two classes in Italian- Pirandello: Theater Practicum and Advanced Language and Composition.

The Pirandello course will be amazing. What better way to better one's italian than reciting and putting feeling into prose? I have a feeling my speaking will better itself immensely over the semester just from being inundated in wonderful speech.

The other course, ITAL 151, is also going to be great-- I get to try my hand at translation and to tackle more academic things within the Italian language. This is exciting, not just because I get to (apparently) be published, but also because this might be what I will be doing for the rest of my life.

It's interesting being amongst other advanced students-- some are behind, some are ahead, and some are at my level; it makes for an interesting group that bubbles in conversation. Italian students are basically awesome.

And so it goes

It's the day before classes start here, and I'm furiously bluebooking, trying to find the happy medium of easy and interesting in science classes. It's hard, because most guts get abysmal reviews, probably because most kids don't want to be there in the first place. At least I'm only trying to fill in two credits' worth of classes; others are trying to schedule in more.

I'm excited for shopping to start though-- I am taking two italian courses and an art history course in preparation for Life After Yale, be it grad school or a publishing job. I'm so happy to be advanced enough to take fun courses in Italian, and art history has always interested me and looks to be a useful thing for grad school.

It's cold in New Haven; my face nearly froze yesterday when I first came back, but I'm acclimating. Swing Space should be interesting when I lose the motivation to get up in the morning; it's going to be a long walk to LC.

Let the semester begin!!!

See you at the Met

The last three days I've been holed up in NYC, spending time with family, gorging on various exciting foods, and then today I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I love the Met, it's a wonderful museum that is always a fun experience and a different one, too-- there are so many rooms and wings that even after 10 years of going there I still encounter new rooms to explore. The main hall, as seen above, is one of my favorite portions of the museum. There are fresh flowers every day, beautiful bouquets donated by Lila Acheson Wallace (or, rather, her fund). People cluster here, wandering to the next wing or hall, and you can hear every language in the world.

It's a great place to spend a cold winter's day!