The road less travelled

Yesterday Linda and I were having our morning coffee at Cafe Rainer when we engaged in a conversation with Philomena from Melbourne. Philomena has a job lecturing in English at Florence University.  Somehow we ended up working that afternoon with two groups of her students who are doing a course in English Listening.  It was just wonderful.

The students had prepared questions earlier and had been given tasks – What country are our guests from, what are the differences in intonation, pronunciation, emphasis, humour etc etc..,?  Mainly they just wanted to know about kangaroos and dangerous wildlife.  So much for the intended learning outcomes.

Aussie Phil has invited us to afternoon tea with her family and has suggested libraries that Linda can access for her studies, both of which were unexpected.  A group of Italian students know slightly more about the Australian version of the English language as she is spoked.  The same students know a hell of a lot more about kangaroo’s pouches, poisonous snakes and great white sharks.  And we have had one of those travel experiences that you would never get from a tour guide holding up a sign to follow and speaking at you through a megaphone around the Duomo.

Those tours are not for us. Linda and I like the back streets, the ones where locals actually live. We like the constant surprises and the unexpected joys that these places and their locals can provide.  And in a small way, by taking the time to go to the university, I feel that we have given something back to this beautiful city – we have terrified a group of Florentine youngsters with stories of crocodiles and death adders, box jellyfish and Australian baby-killing dingoes. Beats following that guide with the megaphone on the ‘Tastes of Tuscany’  walking tour any day if you ask me.