Ciao Cristiano!

It's official folks! My TA for math recitation is Italian!!!!! Last week I wasn't sure if he was going to be from another country or not, but he is! He didn't actually say he was from Italy, but his name is Cristiano Garibotti, and you can't get much more Italiano than that! I wanted to speak to him in Italian so badly, but I'm too big of a chicken. I can't even use some Spanish, which I know a lot more of, to my Hispanic customers at Big 5 because I'm scared they'll be insulted. That whole thought is silly, really (what a poet), but I can't help it.

Cristiano was passing out a quiz to us and usually I say "thank you" to the person (whatever class it may be) who is passing something out, and this time I was so tempted to say "grazie mille" or simply "grazie" but I held back. When I was leaving I wanted to say "ciao" or "arrivederci," but I held back again. Why do I do this? Deep inside I really doubt that the person would be insulted to hear someone speaking their native language. They might even be delighted or excited. This is a work in progress. I still have 8 more weeks with the guy, so maybe we'll see some improvement on my part.

Another interesting thing is that Christina probably hates having a foreign TA as much as I love it. Even though she likes Italy and what not, she would probably find it a hindrance to her learning and distracting, where as I find it a way to be culturally exposed. Fascinating, isn't it?!

Please don't make fun of me for saying thank you when a teacher passes out a quiz. I know, I'm a nerd.