Hi everyone, I’m Luca and I’m from Italy.

I’m an exchange student and I’m spending the first semester with all of you guys. I feel so lucky to have ended up in such a fantastic community like Mountainside.

I’m going to have my personal column on “The Peak” for the remainder of the time that I will be spending here. My goal is to bring you some incredible Italian culture.

In Italy, we are more than just good food, hand signs, and mafia (M.O.B.). You might be surprised at how big and deep my culture is. I cannot think of any way to better to share it with you then teaching you the basics of the Italian language, simple words, and phrases you might need to know if you are planning to visit my beautiful country.. 🙂

1. “Hi/ Hello.”– “Ciao.” You likely already knew this, but for those who did not, this is how to introduce yourself.
2. “Good morning.”– “Buongiorno.”
3. “My name is Luca./ I’m Luca.”– “Io mi chiamo Luca.”
4. “How are you?/ How are you doing?”– “Come stai?/ Come va?”
5.  “I’m fine thank you, (and you?)”– “Sto bene grazie (te)?” 
6. “May you tell me where I can find a restroom?”– “Potresti dirmi dove posso trovare un bagno?”
7. “Goodnight.”– “Buonanotte.”
8. “Nice to meet you.”– “Piacere di conoscerti.” This is not something we usually say. When we meet someone new we say, “Piacere, Luca(your name).” By doing this you tell the other person “nice to meet you” and “My name is Luca.” Nice and short, right?
9. (In a restaurant when you have to order food or drink) “I’ll have a coke.”— “Prendo una Coca.”
10. Another way to order food and drink can be “I’d like a coke.” (Americans don’t usually use it, but we do)– “Vorrei una Coca.”
11. “Bye Bye.”–“Arriverderci.”
12. “See you next time.”–“Alla prossima.”

That’s all for this first lesson, I hope you enjoyed it! Stay tuned.