Roma: Lost in Translation

Piazza Del Popolo 

When Rob and Beth first arrived in Italy they faithfully practiced Italian with a variety of language apps for the ipad and ipod on a daily basis.  However, over time these lessons became less frequent and, once Lori and Dave arrived in Roma, non-existent.  Dave, who is bilingual in English and French and manages quite well in German and Spanish, confessed that he wasn't comfortable in Italian.  Lori, with a phrasebook in hand, was enthusiastic about using Italian at every chance she could.  

View from parliament roof top.

"Uno bottiglia di vino, per favore e un bicchiere di acqua normale."

"Il conto per favore."

At times she came up with obscure Italian words or phrases that had everyone turning to her with wonder.  In fact, Lori sometimes seemed surprised at herself as well.  She often followed up one of these occasions with a story from her childhood that involved her neighbour, Mr C.  He was a first generation Italian man who spoke little English.  He often would walk out on his driveway and, always concerned about their safety, would call out to his own children as well as the neighbourhood children in Italian.

"Veloce!!" you might have heard him call or "Lento!" depending on the circumstances.

Wish at the Trevi Fountain

As Lori grew older her Italian friends taught her more of the colourful vocabulary.  To test her knowledge, Dave looked online and called out Italian words and sayings that you don't generally find in a travel phrase book.  Without exception, Lori was able to translate every one that was fired at her.  Apparently she retained more Italian than she realized!

Comune  di Roma

One day while the four of them were eating at an outdoor restaurant, they started up a conversation with Jay Lynn, a California Hollywood writer who was dining alone beside them.  Jay Lynn was staying in Rome for a month as she had done for the last three winter holidays.  Although not fluent in Italian, she was very good at the essentials such as ordering food and drinks in a restaurant.  As the meal came to an end, she recommended a café around the corner that served "the best macchiato".  When prompted by Beth, Jay Lynn explained that a macchiato was an espresso with a little foamed milk in it.  Dave elaborated that "macchiato" meant "dirty" which referred to the fact that the espresso was 'dirty with milk'.  He added that the milk cut the bitterness of the espresso, which was why some people preferred them. Beth thought that this was a great alternative after a full meal. A cappuccino, her usual choice, was too filling and the macchiato would allow her to blend in more in Italy as no self-respecting Italian ordered a cappuccino in the afternoon.

Cheers near Piazza Navona

Roman Forum

Following Jay Lynn's suggestion, they all marched off to the espresso bar and placed their orders.  They filled up on their espresso drinks and, again following Jay Lynn's lead, ordered a grappa, which "went through your body like gasoline to help digestion."  Although they never understood why comparing a drink to gasoline was a selling feature, the harsh flavour did have a suggestion of a petroleum product. 

Beth's Favourite Waiter

After that introduction Beth was hooked on the macchiato and took to ordering them on a regular basis.  However, she found whenever she ordered them there was a struggle for the baristas to understand what she was referring to.  It was only after she mimed an espresso shot did people understand what she was requesting.  She couldn't understand what she was doing wrong...  Finally one day after placing her order, "Une macchiato, por fa vore." supplemented with the usual charades, the barista clearly responded, "Oh, an espresso macchiato."  

Ciao Bella

After some reflection she realized that for the past few days she had been requesting, "One dirty, please."  This realization caused her some embarrassment and, after laughing at herself, regretted that she did not have the spirit of a Mr. C. wandering around the recesses of her childhood.