ItalianPod - mike52626 Conversations http://italianpod.com Learn Italian on Your Terms en-us <![CDATA[Re: New news! New features!]]> I am glad to hear that there will still be some new lessons at the upper levels, but if there is only going to be one new lesson per week, and a substantial number of those will be newbie or elementary, how many lessons will we see at the upper levels? One or two per month maybe? For me, the service will be too expensive if that is all the content there is goiing to be.

 

]]> I am glad to hear that there will still be some new lessons at the upper levels, but if there is only going to be one new lesson per week, and a substantial number of those will be newbie or elementary, how many lessons will we see at the upper levels? One or two per month maybe? For me, the service will be too expensive if that is all the content there is goiing to be.

 

]]> <![CDATA[Re: New news! New features!]]> This is disappointing. I have been archiving the lessons myself since the beginning, and I go back to them from time to time. So repackaging the old content is not valuable for me. What I want is new content at the intermediate, upper intermediate, and advanced levels. If there is only going to be one lesson per week, and most will be at the newbie or elementary level, I am probably not going to be able to justify renewing my subscription.

 

]]> This is disappointing. I have been archiving the lessons myself since the beginning, and I go back to them from time to time. So repackaging the old content is not valuable for me. What I want is new content at the intermediate, upper intermediate, and advanced levels. If there is only going to be one lesson per week, and most will be at the newbie or elementary level, I am probably not going to be able to justify renewing my subscription.

 

]]> <![CDATA[Re: Vatican Intrigues V - The Torch is Passed]]> Ma questa lezione non e Upper Intermediate, e Intermediate, come tutti gli altri Vatican Intrigues? non e vero?

]]> Ma questa lezione non e Upper Intermediate, e Intermediate, come tutti gli altri Vatican Intrigues? non e vero?

]]> <![CDATA[Re: Casteddu]]> This was a very interesting episode! I have never been to Sardegna, and have always been curious about it. I think the Ci Scusiamo episodes are getting more interesting every week.

 

]]> This was a very interesting episode! I have never been to Sardegna, and have always been curious about it. I think the Ci Scusiamo episodes are getting more interesting every week.

 

]]> <![CDATA[Re: Movie Trailer]]> Penso che questo film sarebbe interessante. In futuro spero di sentire varie scene di questo film in ItalianPod. O meglio, vedere in video. :-)

]]> Penso che questo film sarebbe interessante. In futuro spero di sentire varie scene di questo film in ItalianPod. O meglio, vedere in video. :-)

]]> <![CDATA[Re: At the Football Match]]> What a useful lesson! Between the specialized vocabulary, the speed at which they talk, and then general excitement, I have never been able to understand much of the Italian sports announcers. Hopefully this will help.

]]> What a useful lesson! Between the specialized vocabulary, the speed at which they talk, and then general excitement, I have never been able to understand much of the Italian sports announcers. Hopefully this will help.

]]> <![CDATA[Re: Room with a View]]> Hi Anna8,

Lucca and Siena are both very beautiful, but they do get a lot of tourists - not as many as Florence, but still a lot.

I have never studied in Italy (sfortunatamente!) but I have visited several times. I was in Tuscany in January 2008, and I would definitely recommend the winter as a time to visit. The temperatures are cool, especially at night, but not bitterly cold. I actually preferred it to the heat of summer. Although there were still quite a few tourists in Florence in January, it was much less crowded than in the spring or summer. There were no lines at the Uffizzi or the other museums. And Lucca was not crowded at all - I stopped by the tourist office to pick up an audioguide, and they acted like I was the only customer they had had all day.

Another place you might consider is Pisa. There are huge mobs of tourists at the Leaning Tower, but once they have visited that, they seem to just head out of town, leaving the rest of the city for the Italians. Away from the tower, the city is beautiful, less expensive than Florence, and much less touristed. I heard very little English spoken when I was there.  Pisa has a major university, and the city as a whole had a young, energetic feeling.

Mike

]]> Hi Anna8,

Lucca and Siena are both very beautiful, but they do get a lot of tourists - not as many as Florence, but still a lot.

I have never studied in Italy (sfortunatamente!) but I have visited several times. I was in Tuscany in January 2008, and I would definitely recommend the winter as a time to visit. The temperatures are cool, especially at night, but not bitterly cold. I actually preferred it to the heat of summer. Although there were still quite a few tourists in Florence in January, it was much less crowded than in the spring or summer. There were no lines at the Uffizzi or the other museums. And Lucca was not crowded at all - I stopped by the tourist office to pick up an audioguide, and they acted like I was the only customer they had had all day.

Another place you might consider is Pisa. There are huge mobs of tourists at the Leaning Tower, but once they have visited that, they seem to just head out of town, leaving the rest of the city for the Italians. Away from the tower, the city is beautiful, less expensive than Florence, and much less touristed. I heard very little English spoken when I was there.  Pisa has a major university, and the city as a whole had a young, energetic feeling.

Mike

]]> <![CDATA[Re: Superstition at the Concert Hall]]> Un buon lezione, ma e un po difficile. Il dialogo tratta d'un orchestra. Viola e un colore, ma anche e uno strumento musicale.La prima volta che l'ho sentito, non ho capito- e molto confuso!

 

]]> Un buon lezione, ma e un po difficile. Il dialogo tratta d'un orchestra. Viola e un colore, ma anche e uno strumento musicale.La prima volta che l'ho sentito, non ho capito- e molto confuso!

 

]]> <![CDATA[Re: Verdiland]]> A very interesting program! I like the "insider's view" in shows like this, with tips that you might not get from the standard travel books.

 

 

]]> A very interesting program! I like the "insider's view" in shows like this, with tips that you might not get from the standard travel books.

 

 

]]> <![CDATA[Re: Winterwonderland (and Summer, too!)]]> Ah, Alto Adige, what I beautiful area! I love skiing, and I spent a wonderful week in Val Gardena in February 2003. The skiing is not particularly difficult (easy blues on the North American slope rating system), but that can be a good thing, because you will be distracted by the amazing views of Dolomites in all directions.

It may just that I am fond of the Germanic world, but I thought the culture of Alto Adige was a wonderful blend of German and Italian. The food seemed like the best of both worlds.The wines were good too - I especially like the white wine from the pinot bianco grape.

I remember too that the linguistic differences were very abrupt - Val Gardena was primarily German-speaking, but Cortina D'Ampezzo, only a short distance away, was completely Italian.

And Marco, yes, Italian spoken with a German accent may sound very funny, but I assure you, German with an Italian accent is quite amusing too!

 

]]> Ah, Alto Adige, what I beautiful area! I love skiing, and I spent a wonderful week in Val Gardena in February 2003. The skiing is not particularly difficult (easy blues on the North American slope rating system), but that can be a good thing, because you will be distracted by the amazing views of Dolomites in all directions.

It may just that I am fond of the Germanic world, but I thought the culture of Alto Adige was a wonderful blend of German and Italian. The food seemed like the best of both worlds.The wines were good too - I especially like the white wine from the pinot bianco grape.

I remember too that the linguistic differences were very abrupt - Val Gardena was primarily German-speaking, but Cortina D'Ampezzo, only a short distance away, was completely Italian.

And Marco, yes, Italian spoken with a German accent may sound very funny, but I assure you, German with an Italian accent is quite amusing too!

 

]]> <![CDATA[Re: Together Again]]> Catherine and Marco -

I have just caught up with all the Due Passi segments, and I'm sorry to see that now its over! I thought the program was good, and got better as it went along. I especially enjoyed the film discussions about the classics (La Dolce Vita, Cinema Paradiso), but even more, I appreciate the recommendations for new ones (Nuovomondo) that I am adding to my Nextflix queue. I think film has been one Italy's greatest contributions to world culture over the past 50 years or so - Italy has produced an amazing amount great cinema, especially for such a relatively small country.

I saw excerpts of Mediterraneo in my Italian class acouple of years ago. I have never been able to find the complete film, and unfortunately it does not seem to be available for rental in the US at this time. Whether you can buy (totally legal and authentic, cough cough) copies on the streets of Shanghai, I don't know!

I haven't seen The Leopard yet, but I'm looking forward to that one too.

 

I hope the new show is good, and that you find some opportunities for film recommendations there.

Mike

 

 

 

]]> Catherine and Marco -

I have just caught up with all the Due Passi segments, and I'm sorry to see that now its over! I thought the program was good, and got better as it went along. I especially enjoyed the film discussions about the classics (La Dolce Vita, Cinema Paradiso), but even more, I appreciate the recommendations for new ones (Nuovomondo) that I am adding to my Nextflix queue. I think film has been one Italy's greatest contributions to world culture over the past 50 years or so - Italy has produced an amazing amount great cinema, especially for such a relatively small country.

I saw excerpts of Mediterraneo in my Italian class acouple of years ago. I have never been able to find the complete film, and unfortunately it does not seem to be available for rental in the US at this time. Whether you can buy (totally legal and authentic, cough cough) copies on the streets of Shanghai, I don't know!

I haven't seen The Leopard yet, but I'm looking forward to that one too.

 

I hope the new show is good, and that you find some opportunities for film recommendations there.

Mike

 

 

 

]]>