Section 1. Introducing Yourself

Che luoghi hai visitato in Italia?

IN ENGLISH

My hands were trembling when I approached the four taxis grouped together in a piazza in Rome. I had gone out exploring for bookshops and had lost my way back to my hotel. Night was quickly approaching, and I was exhausted from what was quickly closing in on a 5-hour walk. 

I had admitted defeat. I wasn’t going to be able to find my way back to the hotel on my own. 

I approached one of the taxi drivers, the one who looked the nicest, “Ehhm, mi scusi, sto cercando un taxi.” 

“Sei proprio nel posto giusto!” He replied, laughing. 

Relieved, I settled into the back of the cab and set the four books I had been carrying down. Some of the pages had warped from sweat after I had accidentally refused a bag at the bookstore. I had forgotten the word ‘busta’ and had been too embarrassed to admit my mistake.

“Sei americana?” The taxi driver asked as he started driving toward Il Monumento nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II.

This is how most of my conversations began. 

I glanced into the rearview mirror and saw him doing the same, “Sì, vivo a Las Vegas.”

“Las Vegas! Wuahhhhh. Vinci e poi perdi tutto!” He laughed at his own joke. 

“È vero!” I replied, “Ho scommesso solo una volta e ho perso cinque dollari. Non ho mai giocato ancora.”

And on and on we continued like this with him asking questions about how I learned Italian and why I was in Rome until we reached my hotel. 

The introductory conversation is one of the most likely ones that you’ll have whenever you speak in Italian, so it’s a great one to master first. 

Beyond the questions and answers that you’ll read in the following pages, I’ll also encourage you to get some of your own practice that's tailored exactly to your experiences. 

IN ITALIANO