Im not getting paid for this plug, but as it so happens, all the teachers in the school are absolute dolls. We were greeted with their beaming smiles and rounds of Buongiorno when we first entered the doors and it was just impossible to not be lifted by their youthful enthusiasm and breathtakingly tight pants…. a la italiano.

My teacher is Monia, a lovely girl from the nearby town of Apecchio, long text book italian bombshell black curly hair, dark eyes and a smile that breaks hearts at 50 paces. The classes are conducted entirely in Italian albeit it with the odd word or two in English from Monia to help us know the meaning of a new verb. My fellow class mates are - Mehdy a young American guy from University of South Carolina who has an Iranian background a good sense of humour and your all american type,

Rupi, hailing from Germania and who is certainly the most vocal of our classmates, i mean that in a technical and sensible sense,.. i would definitely be the one who craps on the most.

Jan and Helder an elderly Dutch couple who are devoting the rest of their lives to travel, Jan has a wicked sense of humour and he and I have been getting along rather well and finally  

Chang Chang a chinese girl who has the best diction and grammar skills in the class but who closes up like the proverbial clam shell when it’s her turn to speak.

I on the other hand would easily have the worst grammar skills in the class but launch into long soliliquies when asked to speak, I’ve never let grammar get in the way of an opportunity to speak shit. Per sempio when asked to introduce ourselves to the class and tell them what sort of place we liev in back home i said something along the lines of ‘I am the duke of melbourne, well actually i am the son of the duke of melbourne i am just a bum who travels the world spending money. I live in a grand palace with approximately 30 bedrooms a few swimming pools a church in which we play tennis and 3 pink dogs’ Its great what you can do with a rudimentary understanding of a language, a dictionary and a few spare hours.

We haev classes mon-fri from 8:50 to 12:20 conversation classes in the afternoon from 2:30 to 4:30 special lectures organised in the afternoons of Monday and Wednesday and a revision class on Saturday mornings from 9:00 until 11:00. The school also organises excursions on wednesday afternoons and all day sunday, tomorrow afternoon we go to Urbino with a few stops along the way.

Tonight however i figured that study was my best option, although I am glad I have been placed in the elementary group, I have a great deal of catching up to do, the course I completed in Melbourne was very conversation based and though this made it possible for me to land in Rome and be able to feed myself and gain shelter I have to start plugging the gaps.