Taking a Chance on Poggiobono

Have you ever wanted something so badly but you were afraid to do it? That is how I have felt about studying and learning Italian. I have taken classes in the US and in Italy. I get so far and then, something happens. I get nervous. I start undermining myself. And I want to speak Italian very badly.

Making the choice to move to Italy, especially in Chiavari where there are few Americans, I actually need to speak Italian better. And I knew I would.

While checking out options for studying Italian I remembered something about total immersion study, at least that is what I recalled from 2004 when I looked into It. I reached out to other Italophiles to ask them about it.

Melissa Muldoon of www.studentessamatta.com works with several people who offer Italian study as a Homestay.

I looked at all of them and narrowed it down to one in Florence, the city of my heart, and one in Maremma, a somewhat unexplored area of Tuscany that has been on my bathtub list forever. The deciding factor was this: no matter how hard I studied in Florence, I would walk out of the apartment and have the chance to speak English. It was too important to me to have that fallback position. I chose Maremma and Virginia Villani of www.poggiobono.it.

From the moment I connected with Virginia Villani via Skype, I knew I had made the correct choice. She is well educated, speaks Japanese as well as some French and is a wonderful Mother and partner to Gianni. She chose to give up a lucrative career for the dream of teaching Italian in her home and being closer to her children as she did it. I admire her for that.

I loved my room and bath, see the antique head and foot board above. It was hard to get up.

Every morning between 9 and 10am, we would begin our lessons. Each day I had 2 hours of private study with Virginia. Quite a bit of it was conversation in the beginning. I was so nervous and frustrated that first day. I have dyslexia. And la lingua italiana, the Italian language, is a real challenge for me because of it.  But Virginia is a great teacher, one who took the time to learn about dyslexia and help me to study in ways that work for me. I really appreciate that.  Beyond that, she made it easy for me to communicate with her as I struggled to learn the language. She put me at ease.

And so did the gorgeous surroundings of her home. It is easy to relax when you are surrounded by such beauty.

Another great benefit of the Homestay concept is the fact that you are immersed in the local culture, the family life, and the language. Generally, no English was spoken. Instead, I shared 3 meals per day with the family. Virginia welcomed me into her home and her lovely family. Her husband, Gianni, and her two children are delightful. I really enjoyed sharing time and meals with them. I learned so many little sayings and turns of phrase from listening to the children. And it was fun interacting with them. They are precious.

The 9-year-old studies the French horn. One lesson was the song, I Feel Good. I sang along and was dancing in the kitchen and nearly did the splits. Boy, did they laugh!

We also attended a live theatre production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Or Il Gobbo Di Notre Dame. We all enjoyed it, and by the end of the night we all sang the finale in Italian. (Well, I did my best.)

These wonderful family experiences were a gift I had not expected and greatly appreciated.

And the side-trips into the countryside added a creative angle to the learning process. Everywhere we travelled, Virginia knew the history of the town or area and we discussed the architecture, the art, the views, in ITALIAN. It is a wonderful tactic for expanding any student's language skills.  And seeing places like Pitigliano and Santo Stefano helped me to understand the way the locals think and live. That is part of learning Italian too.

Thank you for sharing your home and your family with me, Virginia Villani. I truly appreciate your character, your sense of humor and your flexibility. You helped me above and beyond your role as a teacher. You treated me like a friend.

I highly recommend you and your Homestay program to anyone interested in understanding how to speak and read Italian. You are a fabulous host, communicator and person. Your program exceeded my expectations and I feel enriched by this experience.

Do you want to experience something like this? Contact www.poggiobono.it for the Homestay in Maremma or check out all that Melissa Muldoon has to offer at

www.studentessamatta.com.  I promise you won’t regret it.

It has been a pleasure for me to study la lingua italiana with you. Every part of these last few weeks has been wonderful.

First of all, you

Second,

Third

Finally, I truly appreciate your character, your sense of humor and your flexibility. You helped me above and beyond your role as a teacher. You treated me like a friend.

I highly recommend you and your Homestay program to anyone interested in understanding how to speak and read Italian. You are a fabulous host, communicator and person. Your program exceeded my expectations and I feel enriched by this experience.

Grazie Mille!