Hand gestures may save me.

I'm trying to learn a new language. Italian. And it ain't easy. Especially at my ripe age. It's easier for a young mind to master a language. Anyway, I haven't even mastered English yet. I'm still feeling my way. But I have an incentive to learn Italian. I'm expecting to spend a goodly part of my life in Italy. At least the winters. In countries such as Germany, one can easily get by speaking English. Germans are pretty much bilingual, and their second language often is English. But Italians -- well, they are Italians. And you gotta speak their language to really get by. Of course, my Italian girlfriend speaks English. Good English. She teaches English and English literature. So in addition to teaching me Italian, she can teach me better English. I'm also learning Italian sign language. Italians speak a lot with their hands. So if I forget some words, maybe I can make myself understood. With hand gestures. --Jim Broede