Living La Dolce Vita – Guest Blog Living & Learning Italian in Italy

It is true when people say one of the best ways of learning a language is to go and live in the country where the language is spoken. I spent a month learning Italian in Sorrento, a beautiful town in the south of Italy famous for limoncello and its stunning scenery. During that time, besides from learning, I cycled through pine forests in Tuscany and ate wild boar, jumped off various structures in Rome for a Roman artist’s next art collection, nearly killed 5 Italians when attempting to cook Chinese food with Italian chillis, and really indulged in some of the best food I’ve ever tasted!

I booked online using www.languagecourse.net as it was cheaper than booking directly with the school. There are no agency costs and you can get discounts on courses. In addition, there are over 4000 language courses to choose from with reviews of courses from previous students.

I decided not to go through the school to find accommodation and tried to go direct and find accommodation in other ways. As a member of A Small World, I put out a thread in the Travel Forum that I was moving to Sorrento and looking for advice and tips. I love ASW as it’s a community of people who look after and help each other out and I had several people recommend certain people to contact in Sorrento.

I ended up finding an Italian family to stay with and lived in an amazing villa at the top of a mountain overlooking the Bay of Naples with views of the Vesuvius volcano from my balcony. This ended up being more affordable than getting the school to find accommodation for me (and I stayed at a much better place!).

View from the villa I was living in Sorrento.

I really lived la dolce vita in Sorrento. I had Italian lessons every weekday from 9am-1pm in a small class with 2 other girls from America and Australia. Sorrento Lingue is a reputable language school and the teaching quality was fantastic. After class, it was siesta time! I would either eat lunch at the Marina Grande or go back to the villa to study whilst eating mozzarella cheese with tomatoes on my balcony and slowly drift off to a sunny afternoon siesta with this view. Sometimes I would be woken up by my Italian Mama and Papa calling out to drink freshly squeezed orange juice as we lived in a villa that was surrounded by orange and lemon trees.

The great thing about Sorrento is that it is a ferry ride away from the beautiful island of Capri, 1.5 hour train ride from Naples, and a short drive to Positano and the Amalfi Coast. From Naples, you can catch fast trains to all the other cities in Italy. It was very easy for me to visit these places on the weekends when I didn’t have school.

Highlights in Italy

My Italian host brother was called Marco and he is the embodiment of someone that lives the moment! He used to be a motorbike racer, then a policeman, a tennis coach, traveled across the world and is now a tour guide in Capri. Italians are passionate people and I would often watch and smile at his friend’s expressions and hand gestures as they talked heatedly and passionately and then realize it was about something as simple as the weather. It was exciting living with Marco- one moment we would be speeding down cobbled narrow streets at 4am on his motorbike to watch a religious procession and other moments we would be dancing, whirling, and clapping to Italian music with his friends.

Food in Italy is out of this world! Buonissimo! Contrary to the Italian dishes I’ve had in other countries, the best tasting dishes in Italy are the ones with the fewest ingredients. I had the best pizza I’ve ever had my whole life in Naples (a simple buffalo mozzarella cheese magherita pizza) and when I was taught how to make pasta with only a few ingredients, it actually was full of flavor and tasted delicious! It’s all about how you cook it and the quality of the ingredients you use.

Be weary if you try to cook anything else though. I offered to cook a Chinese meal for my Italian friends but translating ingredients like ‘bok choy’ is not exactly easy. I nearly killed 5 Italians when attempting to cook a honey and chilli chicken dish as the chillis are not the same as the ones in London!

I traveled to Rome, Tuscany, Naples, Capri, and Positano during this time. I got up to some funny adventures such as helping a friend in Rome with the video clip for his song. The pop song features an American girl trying to order food in Italian and then a big, fat cook starts rapping in Italian about food. I featured as the Asian tourist and we got up to some crazy situations such as getting in trouble with the police for bringing a sheep onto the famous Spanish Steps in Rome.

With the rest of the places I visited in Italy, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves…

Melissa in Positano

Relais Blu Restaurant in Capri

Blue Grotto, Capri

Adventures After Italy

After Italy, I flew to the US where I experienced flying on a WW2 biplane (but nearly threw up in the air when it started doing Cuban 8s and 360 degree flips) and went to the best street party, Bay to Breakers in San Francisco, with a bunch of guys and girls from LA dressed as prisoners and hot cops.

In France, I joined in on some friends on their French Riviera trip, the highlight being meeting Kim and Robs’ film producer friend, Matt. His butler picked my friends and I up where we then had lunch at his villa in Monaco where I was inspired by his entrepreneurial spirit and life stories.

I then hopped over to Spain where I went on a road trip with Spanish friends from San Sebastian. We went to a medieval festival in Longrono, did basque dancing in Laguardia, and then visited Frank Gehry’s Marqués De Riscal hotel and winery in Elciego which was a modern, artistically beautiful twisted mess of colored steel in the middle of nowhere. I heard that even Angelina and Brad Pitt got lost and had to ask for directions to a lucky Spanish local when they tried to find it.

I spent a month traveling after Italy and it was definitely a lot more cost effective learning Italian in Sorrento than jumping from country to country. Learning another language is a great mini-retirement option and you pick up a useful skill. If you book a language course in Europe, a good time to book is during spring when it’s warm and the classes are smaller and traveling is cheaper than the summer peak season.

Overall, I had an amazing time and would love to go back one day and learn more Italian. Io amo l’Italia!!

To keep up to date with Melissa’s adventures, follow her here.

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Rob and I have put together a program that will tell you how! We are so excited about our upcoming live launch of Secrets of Successful Muses from St. Tropez on July 16, 2009.

For more information on the product and the launch, sign up on our early alert list today!

The Brazilian Wax Exposed

The Brazilian wax is gaining widespread popularity in the Puritan founded culture of the USA. Believe it or not, ladies of all ages are going hair-free. And like anything else, not all estheticians are good at delivering a great Brazilian. Let’s face it, just because you can wax an eyebrow, doesn’t mean you have any business waxing my business. I feel like I’ve been around the block of Brazilian waxing and I can tell you from personal experience that if you mistakenly get someone who does not specialize in this type of waxing, you will be sorry. There are a lot of misconceptions, questions and a bit of taboo about getting a Brazilian.

The History of the Brazilian Wax

The oh-so-popular brazilian bikini wax had its beginnings on the beautiful beaches of Rio de Janeiro. It was in Rio where bathing beauties first donned the thong bathing suit, which required a thong-type-waxing to make it wearable. The date of the first brazilian waxing is unknown, but likely occurred in the 1970s or 1980s, in the sultry South American country of…you guessed it…Brazil.

How did this waxing technique arrive in the United States? Research indicates that credit for bringing Brazilian waxing to the U.S. goes to seven, Brazilian-born sisters. Their names are Jocely, Jonice, Joyce, Janea, Jussara, Juracy, and Judsela Padilha, also known as the “J Sisters”.

In 1986, the J Sisters opened a small waxing salon in New York, bringing with them the idea and the techniques to remove much or all of the hair in that region to make it possible to wear today’s thong underwear and thong bikini styles.
Many people use the different waxing style names interchangeably; they accidentally ask for a Brazilian wax when they really want a Hollywood wax, and vice versa.

Now that we know the history of being bare down there, lets get to the good stuff:

To dispel the myths and get the facts, I sat down with Brazilian waxing expert and my personal Atlanta-based waxing pro, Andreia owner of Brazilian Wax by Andreia to get all your pressing questions answered.

Can you explain the concept of Brazilian Wax by Andreia to someone who is unfamiliar with it?

We are Atlanta’s premiere waxing boutique.   No one likes the chore of shaving and tweezing.  I help my clients feel smooth and sexy by removing unwanted hair.  Our authentic Brazilian waxing is fast, affordable and comfortable.  My staff and I  provide a superior waxing experience by delivering extraordinary personal service and exceptional value.

How long does the process of Brazilian waxing take?

We’re fast! In my salon, a Brazilian wax takes less than 15 minutes.

How long does it last?

Often Brazilian wax is performed with wax and strips of cloth. This tends to break the hair instead of actually pulling it out at the root. However, because we use real Brazilian hard wax to pull the hair out by the root, our Brazilian wax last for 3-6 weeks.

What was the inspiration for bringing this service to Atlanta?

In Brazil, swimsuits are very small and hair removal is a way of life.  I started working at my Aunt’s salon when I was 13 and had been waxing for over 10 years before I came to America to visit Atlanta.  After meeting my husband and deciding to stay, I was surprised by many salons I saw that claimed to do Brazilian waxing that could not even POINT to Brazil on a map!  I decided to offer authentic Brazilian Waxing and we now serve thousands of clients a month at our 4 locations.

How is your Authentic Brazilian Waxing service different?

It is not what we leave, it’s what we take away.  Front, back or everything in between, it’s up to you.  We use imported organic hard wax from Brazil that goes on thick, smooth and warm where it enters the follicle, allowing the hair to be pulled out by the root.  Hard wax is much easier on the skin than stripes with sticky waxes, and results in less pain.  Most people are also surprised at how much faster we are able to finish their wax.

[Kim's Note: I've had both types of waxes in the past, the strips with wax and the hard wax that just cools and is peeled off. I can tell you that the hard wax makes all the difference in comfort. Plus, it really does leave you smoother and last longer!]

Are there any side effects? If so, how can they be prevented?

The most important part of Brazilian waxing is to make sure the person performing the service is trained well. In my salon, we’re experts in the Brazilian and it’s not just a side-business like it is in many salons. Every one of my girls is a licensed cosmetologist, however the training in school is often not good enough for my clients. I train all of my girls to perform this type of waxing just like we do in Brazil.

The most common side effect people experience is ingrown hairs. To prevent them, you should exfoliate the area often and refrain from using lotions on the area. In grown hairs can be treat by a topical such as Tenz Skin.

Because of the type of hard wax that I use, side effects are minimal. I can go over the same spot multiple times without causing discomfort or damaging the skin. When wax with cloth strips are used, damage to the skin is greater because your pulling not only the hair, but the skin is being aggressively exfoliated as well.

Who is your typical client?

You would be surprised at the variety of my clientele. We have all types of clients- students, business women, and more men are starting to come.  New clients are always made comfortable. Most are refereed by someone else or come after reading hundreds of online reviews.

To much of her competition’s dismay, Andreia only charges $35 for a Brazilian Wax!  How are you able to charge so much less than other salons?

Places often offer Brazilian waxing as a side product. But with me, it’s is my specialty. And we’re fast. I’ve been called Atlanta’s Queen of Wax because for me as a Brazilian – waxing is not a sideline, it’s my passion!