I finally caught up with Austin’s Conversational Italian club! It was at Kick Butt Coffee of all places. They gathered somewhat early (before noon) to have breakfast, converse and to see Lorenzo Vignando (above) perform with his ukulele and promote his awesome book…Teki. Not only is it in Italian and English, it’s well illustrated, comes with a soundtrack in both both languages and here’s the kicker for me, it references Dr. Miguel Alcubierre! He’s the Physicist who proposed a solution to FTL travel 29 years ago and Lorenzo incorporates the proposal in the premise, which is something I’ve read via Dr. Phil Plait, we send self-replicating probes to find out where to go.
It was a great time, I met other people who were very fluent, including non-Italians, got an explanation on why Italy didn’t have a unified dialect until the Fifties (it’s Florentine too) and best of all, I learned their expression for good luck, in bucco al lupo. This puzzled me the first time I heard it, “wolf mouth?” One person said, it’s often said by opera singers and their equivalent for “break a leg.” I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s derived from the legend of Romulus and Remus, the one time being raised by wolves worked out.
I am so going to the next meetup, I need more than Duolingo and pestering the few fluent people I know! Now to bug Dr. Plait about Lorenzo’s book!