Youtube and Shopping: Turning habits into homework

My time in Italy is very short. In fact in a few weeks time I will be half way through.

My Italian has improved a lot since moving here. But definitely not enough. I still find it very difficult to speak spontaneously to strangers, especially when I’m in a shop or at the train station and someone comes up to me. It’s always a “no????”, “no lo so???????”. And those times when I do try to say something, like in the bakery last week, it just comes out in a mess “vorrei una di quell….o?

So today I came up with two new plans to get my confidence up and improve my listening and vocabulary, without having to feel like I’m studying.

1. Shopping: I’m such a scaredy cat here in Italy. I only go into the shops where I can grab something of the shelves and pay for it at the till. The majority of shops in Naples are small and the shop assistants get everything for you. For example in most profumerie (cosmetic and toiletry stores) everything is behind either the counter or glass! You have to ask for a stick of deodorant! I’ve done my best to avoid this by going to the only “normal” one I’ve found in Naples which is extremely over priced. However it is time to get out of my comfort zone and I’ve made the resolution to shop more. Even if it is just popping into the bakery on the way to the Cumana station. It is all good speaking practice and before I know it I won’t be fazed anymore. It worked in Germany so it’s bound to work here.

2. Youtube: I’m a huge Youtube addict. There’s nothing I love more that just logging into Youtube and watching videos. My subscriptions include comedy shows like = 3 and Whatthebuck, Gurus like Bubzbeauty and even some Official channels of Korean and Japanese Artists. So I thought why not have a peek on the most subscribed list for Italy, have a peek at some of the vids on offer and subscribe. That way next time I log into Youtube I won’t feel like I am wasting an hour watching videos that are in now way helping me improve my Italian. I can now improve my Italian by relaxing and enjoying a good Youtube video.

Fingers crossed this will work :)