By Leslie Lakind
I just returned from two weeks of “Living the Language” with Esperienza. I have to admit that though the website is clear and complete, it wasn’t til I lived it that I got it. In fact, as I thought about what to write, I went back to the site and found the description so on the nose, that I don’t think I can add much.
Leslie chats with a local woman at a scheduled group aperitivo gathering
But I will say that there is no daylight between the actions of the people involved with Esperienza and their words in the website. There is truly an effort to integrate the participants with the communities we interacted with, especially in the town of Pennabilli, where we were quartered and schooled.
And as the website states, your tuition helps Esperienza contribute/donate to the community’s museums, cultural organizations, local artists, and more.
In addition, creating a community of students was fostered in many ways. We all stayed in one of two places, putting us in contact with each other continuously, like at breakfast or just coming and going. The town was small, so just going out for a meal you would run into other participants. Also, pretty much every day there was a community lunch or dinner.
Because of this fostering of community among the participants, half of the participants were folks who’d been with Experienza previously.
As for the lunches and dinners - the words delicious, generous, and interesting are accurate descriptors. I’ve been on several tours and language courses in Italy, and there often were community dinners, and often we get a separate check for whatever we ordered. Not so with Esperienza. The cost of every community meal was included in the price.
Although there was time built in for rest, after our language classes, there was a very full, well thought out and well organized agenda.
In sum, this was an experience unlike any other and lived up to its name - Esperienza.