Corso Difesa Personale

The community center here in Camisano offers different courses throughout the year. Chiara asked me if I would like to take the Self Defense Course. She said she had taken it a few years ago and would like to take it again. She even demonstrated some of her moves to make sure I understood what kind of class this was. I kid you not.

This past Wednesday was the free demonstration class that Chiara and I were very eager to attend. It started at 7:30, but Chiara said it was nearby so leaving at 7:25 would be fine. We had to wait until Marco arrived home though. We were eating dinner when he walked in. Chiara asked him what time it was. When he answered 7:35 Chiara frantically said, "Oh, we got to go! Let me put my shoes on!"

We rushed to the car then Chiara said, "I'm not entirely sure where this place is. But if it's not at the first place, we check somewhere else. We check two, three places. We will find it!" I was thinking, "Oh great!" She always acts like she knows where some place is until we get into the car to actually drive there. It's pretty funny.

Luckily, the first place we stopped was the right one. There were police officers in the parking lot, but they weren't a part of the class. Actually, Chiara and I were the only ones to show up. When we walked in, the lady who works for the community center and the self defense instructor were there. Chiara introduced herself and then me. Later she told me she said, "This is Randi. She is American. She knows no Italian and doesn't understand any. She speaks only English, so if we talk during class it is because I am translating. We aren't just talking to talk." Though I really hope that sounded better in Italian than it does in English.

I always feel rude when in a group of people where I don't speak their language. I just stand there with a blank stare because I have no idea what is being said. This is precisely what happened that night. We waited around for about 15 minutes for other people to show up, but they never did. Unfortunately, our course will be rescheduled until more people can attend. Chiara said, "I hope it starts before you have to go back to Kentucky!"