Learning by doing…

…or, by being around other people who are doing.

During my short visit to Milan, I got to have the fun experience of being in a small car with three Italian girls who weren’t 100% sure where they were going.Typically, Italians are exuberant in their speech, and talk a lot with their hands, and these girls were no exception.Although they spoke almost entirely in Italian, I managed to work out quite a few words just by what we were doing.We made a lot of left turns (yes, we got a bit lost), so I learned that sinistra means left.It took me a while to work out that Magenta was a town, not a colour, but I managed.When we finally reached our destination, I had a few more direction terms under my belt.The girls apologised for speaking entirely in Italian, but I didn’t mind at all.I got to learn a few new practical words, and also got to see Italians waving their arms and yelling ‘Papa Giovanni!’ multiple times (no joke – I think it was the name of a road).