To those who don’t know me, I’m James and I teach English as a foreign language. At the end of 2024, I did this in Poland while working for the company Angloville. They combine tourism and English-speaking to help teach their customers learn natural conversational English. In Poland, I did this for Polish adults. However, on this occasion, I was doing it for Italian teenagers.

The holiday camp was in Perugia, but I was flying into Rome. Angloville would then drive me to Perugia, but Rome was where my story started. To be more specific, it started at 8.30am at Heathrow Airport, where by some miracle my bag didn’t set off the x-ray machine. Why is that miraculous? My bag always sets off the x-ray machine whether that’s because I’ve forgotten about the hand sanitiser or sun cream. Speaking of, I had to buy that, lunch and an adaptor at the airport meaning I had spent £30 even before I had boarded the plane.

The flight left at ten thirty. Initially, I had just intended to sleep, but I got sucked into the on-flight trivia game. Two other things you might not know about me: I love quizzes and I am learning Italian, so I was all for doing the trivia game in Italian. I reached level four and I got a high score.

This suitably took up a lot of the flight time. We landed at two. Stage one complete. I had made it to Rome Fiumocino airport. Now for Rome itself. To reach the central Rome train station: Termini, you have to take the Leonardo express train. You can either buy tickets online, at the ticket machine or at ticket booth. The machine didn’t like my cash, so I went to a person and despite not being too confident in my Italian, I went all in. I got Englished but whatever.

If you buy the 14 euro tickets from a machine, you have to scan them at the ticket barrier and then validate them at the machine on the platform. If you buy them from a person, you only have to scan the tickets. If you’re not sure then just ask. That’s what I did.

The journey only lasts half an hour and I saw a very cute little dog person. Insert picture. By four, I was in Rome Termini.

It was 34 degrees, and Christ, I was melting. The wicked witch of the West had nothing on me. Anyway, now it was time to find my hostel, which was a short ten-minute walk away. I passed many cheap restaurants on the way: something else you might not know about me is I have an awful sense of direction. I’m always getting lost. But I managed to find the hostel without a problem. Maybe my sense of direction was improving.

So was my confidence in Italian. The hostel receptionist initially tried Englishing me, but I persevered with Italian and he switched back to Italian. Never mind him Englishing me. I italianed him.

Anyway, my room was up four flights of stairs which was horrendous to climb in a heatwave. I think the hostel was once a big block of flats complete with a tiny lift.

I was sharing it with this German girl Joanna who immediately struck up conversation with me. She was cool, having cycled to Rome from Munich.

It was 4.30 by now, so I walked around the city – also buying toothpaste and sunglasses. The city was more diverse than I thought offering filippino, Chinese and Peruvian restaurants. Lots of Peruvian restaurants.

Tomorrow evening, Angloville had arranged for me and the other volunteers a free walking tour of the city. I returned to the hostel and looked up directions to the rendeyvous point, which I would find after dinner.

As for dinner, I went to this little pizzeria offering 10 euro pizza and pasta by Termini station. Except the pasta wasn’t available. No pasta dishes and no meat dishes. I didn’t even want pizza, but that’s what I ended up getting. I got a pizza Napoli – tomato, cheese, olives and anchovies. It was so bland and greasy – I felt sick after eating it. At least it was only 8 euros, but it was without doubt one of the worse pizzas I had ever eaten.

Onto finding the rendeyvous point. Remember how I said my sense of direction was improving? That was not the case at all. I didn’t have any internet so I was relying on instinct and screenshots from Google Maps – before long I had ended up in a dodgy part of town – the wrong side of the train tracks.

I returned to Termini where I at least some pretty views of the sunset over the piazza della repubblica. But at half eightish, I admitted defeat and return to the hostel. Now I had internet again, I saw I had gone completely the wrong way. Oops. Oh well. Tomorrow I would try again.

Just as I was about to go to sleep – the other room mate – an Argentinian Daria started talking to me. I use ‘talk’ lightly. He did not speak English. I do NOT speak Spanish, so we used Google Translate, but he told me all about his social work in Buenos Airies. It was an interesting conversation.

But that’s not where the story ends. Like I say, I am learning Italian, so I will also be writing my diary entries in Italian. Now, I write Italian like a Spanish cow, so I will be making lots of mistakes/using Itenglish. Please correct me in the comments.

Si non me sai, sono James e sono professore di inglesi per gli stranieri. Alle fine di 2024, ho Lavorato in Polonia per l’agenzia Angloville. Questa volta, sto lavorando per li ancora in Perugia, Italia. L’agenzia mesca il tourismo e ‘anglais-parlante’ per insegnare gli customers ‘inglese naturalemente conversationale.’

Quoique, Lavoro in perugia, ho voleto di Roma e due Giorno dopo, Angloville conduiremi a Perugia. La mia historia comincia in Roma.

Piu specificamente è cominciare alla Aeroporto Heathrow alla 8.30. Per delle miracle, la mia borsa non attivare I x-ray scanner. Generalemente, si c’e così qualche volte, ho della crema di sole o hand sanitiser. Sta parlando crema di sole, li ho devuto comprare e colazione e un adaptore. Prima va di Italia, ho spegnato £30! Pazzo!

Allora, il mio volo è partito alle 10.30. Originalemente, ho volute dormire ma ho cominciato giocare un gioco della trivia. In Italiano certo. Ho ‘reached level four’ e ho ‘raggiungato a high score.’ Dai !

Due ore piu tardi, siamo atterati all’aeroporto Fiumicino. Livello uno. Finito. Ora, devuto andare Roma Termini per il treno. Per questo treno, puoi compare le bigilette ‘online, a ticket machine or a ticket booth.’ The ticket machine non funziona quindi l’ho comprato delle persone. Ello Coraggio e ho Parlato in Italiano. Dopo, ho ‘englished’ ma non importanta. E perchè ho comprato delle personne, non è necessario convalidare solo scansione. Si non è sicuro, chiusa.

Alloa, su treno e ho visto un piccolo cane. Molto carino. Trenti minuti tardi, sono arrivato in Roma Termini. Era sedici ore e Trento-quattro gradi. Mi sono scioglieto ma devuto trovare il mio hostello. Fortunatemente, era un dieci-minuti passegiare dello Stazione. Perchè fortunamente? Il mio senso dell’orientamento e molto terrible.

Allora, inziamente, il receptionist mi ha Parlato in Inglese ma ho rispondato in Italiano. Ne fu impressionato e abbiamo continuato in Italiano. Ho molto oroglioso.

Ho condivudato la mia stanza con una Figlia Germania – Joanna. Era molto sympatica e è andata in viccilette della Munich a Roma. Pazza. Era sedici e meta ora quinmdi sono partito per una ballada e ho comprato dei lunette soleil e il dentifrice. Roma era molto diverse con molti restaurant: Peruviani, Fillippini e Indiane.

Senti. Angloville organizza un ‘free walking tour’ della citta la sera Sabato quindi ho investigato i direzioni per il rendeyvous ma prima – la cena. Sono andato una pizzeria vicino Termini. Ho volute della pasta, ma non avuto della pasta o secondi. Solo pizza, l’ho mangiato e era terribile. Molto grasso e ‘tasteless.’ Solo eight euros, ma ancora. Terribile.

Ora, ho devuto trovare il rendeyvous. No ho avuto il internet quindi ‘I was relying’ sulla mia memoria e ‘screenshots’ dei direzione. Purtroopo, la mia memoria failed me e ho passato ‘on the wrong side of the tracks in a bad part of town.’

Sono tornato Termini dove ho visto la piazza della repubblica. Che bella. Alle venti-mezzo, si è arresso e sono tornato delle hostello. E ho realizzsato che sono andato ‘ the complete wrong way.’ Mamma mia. Provesto ancora domani. Prima ho dormito, il altro ‘room mate’ un uomo Argentinean – Dario m’ha Parlato. Ho detto ‘parlato’ non puo Parlato Inglese – io non parlo lo Spagnolo quindi abbiamo usato ‘google translate.’ Ma m’a detto su il suo Lavoro sociale in Argentina. Era interessante e era simpatico. Allora è tanto per il mio primo Giorno in italia. È un Giorno di troppo molto caldo, diventa perso e il peggio pizza in Roma.