Tags
"Learning" Italian, Bill Cosby restaurant skit, Dolomite Mountains, Duolingo, German One, Hiking in Italy, mono lingual, Oberarth SWitzerland, Spanish One, Switzerland, YouTube Video Link
My wife decided we should fly from the USA to Italy and go hiking in the Dolomites this August and I decided that despite my abysmal record in learning a second language that I should try to learn a little Italian. If we emphasize “LITTLE” then I’ve been successful as I’ve learned just a little Italian in three months and I have nearly three more to learn a little more.
I am monolingual
though I have tried and tried
to learn second language
Spanish first caught my eye.
Far away, long ago,
when I was in grade eight
I studied Español
success was far from great.
Next year as did advance
to Sherwood, my high school,
gave Spanish second chance
thought learning it’d be cool.
May have been distracted
but hardly did advance
and come wise fool school year
no Spanish I did chance.
I’m a Baby Boomer
and to eighth grade did go
Argyle Junior High
year nineteen-seven-four.
Fast forward to college
August seventy-nine,
once more in Spanish class
gave Spanish-One a try.
Disgraced comedian,
one Bill Cosby by name,
poked a bit of self-fun
when to Italy came.
Sitting ristorante
where cameriere asks
if Bill needs translation
and Cosby gives bombast.
Cosby in sixties skit
declares to wife Camielle,
four years of Spanish One
can surely order meal!
Hubris does acknowledge
Corso primo arrives
when instead of pollo
crow with feathers does dine.
Mention accused rapist
that technicality
prevented his serving
sentence approprit’ly.
For I took Spanish One
for class numbering three
though each time learned a bit
escaped duocity.
I know little Spanish
but come millennia
I took a different tack
in ignorant sailing.
Dear departed Father
to Switzerland would go
to visit cugini
where his papa did grow.
With father and brother
we flew across the sea
along with better halves,
a-k-a our mogli.
Months before departed
borrowed from sorella
textbook on Tedesco
bibliomania.
Tried my hand at German
circa nineteen, eight, four
no more was successful
than with Spanish before.
My accumulation
of language Aleman
equally disgraceful
but I did carry on.
Reason for my writing
is I’m trying again
learn basics of language
for cross sea journeying.
With my wife I’m going
to hike the Dolomites
stubbornly persisting
capture Italian slight.
I am not proceeding
very well in my quest
when I speak Italian
fear I am all tongue twist.
Using Duolingo
and while I’ve learned a bit
fear like Bill and his bird
it’s crow that I will eat.
keithakenel 