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CINQUE COSE BELLE โฆabout dogs and truffles.
(Scroll down for English.)
Buondรฌ, questa mattina (per me che sto scrivendo รจ venerdรญ) mentre iniziavo a scrivere questa lettera per te a tema Tartufo, Florence e Taco (i miei cagnoloni bianchi e neri) hanno iniziato ad agitarsi ed ad abbaiare in un modo diverso dal solito. Eravamo sul balcone perchรฉ finalmente la mattina fa piรน caldo, non c'รฉ molto vento ed ora e' davvero piacevole stare fuori.
Tornando a noi, I cani si sono agitati perchรฉ nella strada girovagava sperduto un cane di piccola taglia (forse uno Staffy). Era marrone chiaro, dai peli sul muso un po' bianchi potevo immaginare non fosse un cucciolo.
L'ho chiamatoโฆ Good boy... come here!, e lui scodinzolando mi e' venuto incontro. Che carino! (ho pensato) Dov'รจ la tua mamma? Ti sei perso?
Insieme abbiamo aspettato per una ventina di minuti in caso che il padrone lo venisse a cercare. Ma nulla! Aveva un collare ma senza targhetta. Gli ho dato un po' di acqua e crocchette, ma non sembrava essere nรจ affamato nรจ assetato.
Cosรญ ho preso un guinzaglio e l'ho portato dal veterinario (chi mi conosce bene sa che in passato per Florence ci siamo stati moooolte volte). Arrivata li la segretaria mi ha detto: Monica, an other dog? ahahah, le ho risposto di no. L'ho lasciato lรญ e sono tornata a casa per la mia prima lezione della giornata con Bronwyn, che oggi festeggia il suo compleanno! Auguri bellissima! ๐๐
Dopo alcune ore ho richiamato il veterinario. Archie (ecco il suo nome!) era giรก tornato a casa! Che bella notizia!
โฆ
Allora, ecco per te la mia collezione di 5 cose belle da leggere, guardare, ascoltare e se vuoi studiare per questa settimana. Le puoi guardare tutte o solo alcune e se sei un mio / una mia studente ne possiamo parlare durante la prossima lezione.
Noi ci sentiamo qui, Sabato prossimo!
Un abbraccio grande
Monica
p.s. Rispondimi e dimmi un po' di te. Dove vivi? Cosa ti piace dell'Italia o della lingua Italiana? Leggo ogni email.
cagnoloni = big dogs ๐ถ ๐ถ
abbaiare = to bark
tornando a noi = returning to us (as in, returning to todayโs topic)
girovagava sperduto = he wandered, lost
di piccola taglia = of small size
peli = hair
muso = snout
cucciolo = puppy
scodinzolando = to wag (a tail)
una ventina di minuti = about 20 minutes (or, 20ish minutes)
padrone = owner
collare = collar
targhetta = nameplate
crocchette = dog kibble
nรจ affamato nรจ assetato = neither hungry nor thirsty
guinzaglio = leash
+++++++++++
ยซ ENGLISH ยป
Good Morning, this morning (Iโm writing on Friday), while I was starting to write my letter for you on truffles, Florence and Taco (my black and white dogs) began to get agitated and bark in a funny way. We were on the balcony, because finally the mornings are warmer, there is not much wind, and itโs really nice to be outside.
Coming back to the dogs, they got agitated, because in the street a small dog (maybe a Staffy) was wandering. He was light brown. From the white hair on his muzzle, I guessed he was not a puppy.
I called to him โgood boy... come here!โ and, wagging his tail, he came toward me. โHow cute!โ I thought. Whereโs your mom? Are you lost?
Together we waited for about twenty minutes in case the owner came looking for him. But nothing! He had a collar but no tag. I gave him some water and kibble, but he didnโt seem hungry or thirsty.
So I took a leash and I took him to the vet (if you know me & Florence, you know weโve been to the vet many times in the pastโฆ). When I got there the secretary said to me: โMonica, another dog?!โ Ahahah, I said, โno!โ I left him there and came home for my first lesson of the day with Bronwyn, who is celebrating her birthday today. Best wishes to you!
After a few hours, I called up the vet. Archie (thatโs his name) had already returned home! What good news!
โฆ
So, hereโs my collection of five nice things to read, watch, listen to and, if you want, to study for this week. You can look at all or just some of them and if you are my student, we can talk about it during the next lesson.
Weโll talk again here next Saturday!
A big hug,
Monica
p.s. Reply to this email and tell me about yourself! Where do you live? What do you like about Italy or the Italian language? I read every email, and I love hearing from you.
COSA BELLA 1: FILM OF THE WEEK
The truffle hunters
You must see this movie, or you should come to my home one day and will watch it together!
The Truffle Hunters, di Michael Dweck e Gregory Kershaw, racconta la vita dei โTrifulauโ (cercatori di tartufi). Un documentario che segue quatteo trifulau nei boschi delle Langhe e del Roero e del Monferrato (le mie colline) alla ricerca dei tartufi bianchi dโAlba. I cacciatori di tartufi ed i loro amati โtrabujโ (cani addestrati alla ricerca del tartufo) sono i veri protagonisti, anziani che affrontano fatiche e sacrifici per trovare le โtrifuleโ (i tartufi), quello che nel film รจ giustamente definito lโingrediente piรน costoso al mondo.
Fin da ragazzo, mi pareva che andando per i boschi senza un cane avrei perduto troppa parte della vita e dellโocculto della terra.
(โLa casa in collinaโ di Cesare Pavese)
Discover more about Truffle hunters (in English) & listen to this great soundtrack.
COSA BELLA 2: EXERCISE OF THE WEEK
Mini intervista a Beppe
Read my short interview with Beppe, dear friend and expert trifulau. What other questions would you ask him? What would you want to know about his dogs? Make a list of questions, perhaps using the vocabulary you have learned so far.
If you are lucky you will be able to ask them directly to him on my next Italian language immersion trip to Piemonte!
COSA BELLA 3: MISTAKE OF THE WEEK
Cane o carne? (Dog or meat?)
I can't count how many times, when I was a waitress in Alba, that I heard brave tourists ordering in Italian, and asking forโฆ dog.
"Un piatto di cane crudo con tartufo, grazie!" (A plate of raw dog with truffle, thanks!)
This still happens now with my student sometimes and it always makes me laugh. Carne and Cane sound similar, but santo cielo (saint sky!), donโt eat a dog! Don't get me wrong, I make the same kind of mistake when I say to Damian (my husband):
"We need to buy a bed shit" (instead sheets)!
Itโs the beauty of learning! What was your funniest mistake?
Read โTen of the most common Italian mistakes you should avoidโ or follow this super fun page on instagram
Extra tip!
Did you know that listening to podcasts in Italian and repeating what you hear out loud is one of the best ways to become fluent? Listen to my friend Eleonora from italianoconamore in this episode about truffles โ
COSA BELLA 4: EXPERIENCE OF THE WEEK
Memo from Val dโOrcia (from my student Vera)
Two months ago, I moved to Tuscany with my husband and our 3-year-old son. Last week, I had the pleasure of spending time in the Val dโOrcia with a motley crew of foodies and travelers. The best people. We ate. A lot. And anyone who follows Emiko Davies (our host) will know that we ate well.ย
On Thursday night, we ate white trufflesโฆย
Read more on Veraโs blog here.
COSA BELLA 5: RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Tajarin al tartufo
Ohhh, how much I would like to be con le gambe sotto al tavolo (with my legs under the table) and eat a bel piatto di Tajarin con il tartufo bianco (good plate of tajarin with truffle). In questo video Gemma Boeri, titolare dell'omonima osteria situata nelle Langhe, presenta la sua ricetta dei Tajarin con il tartufo bianco d'Alba.
Ingredienti per 10 persone
1 Kg Farina
200 g Burro
14 Uova
150 g Tartufo bianco
Are you going to try to make Tajarin at home? You can substitute the truffles with sage! Buonissimi!
Stay tuned for more stories about truffles, Alba, dogs, Piemonte, and much more! Did you enjoy reading the newsletter this week? Leave a comment, or share it with a friend. A presto.
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