No Parlo Americano

Upon arrival, we were provided with an agenda. It included the times of activities, dinner, and most importantly our first Italian language course. This two week intensive course ran from 9-1 with a 30-minute break and count for 4 credits. After a weekend of adventures, the entire AIFS program was to be at breakfast by 8 A.M and on the bus by 8:30 A.M. My roommate and I set an alarm for 7:30, excited to begin our Italian course, as we knew it would help us to learn more about the culture. Come Monday morning, we were woken up by housekeeping knocking on our door. Our alarm had not gone off causing us to oversleep and miss the bus.  We rushed down to the lobby seeking help but the language barrier was an obstacle. The front desk called us a taxi and warned us that they may rip us off. We devised a plan to pretend to be Italian in hope that the taxi driver would not rip us off. Finally, the taxi arrived and brought us to school. Filled with embarrassment, we walked in and explained what happened. On the bright side, my teacher was extremely helpful and understanding. I was relieved and happy to finally be there until she decided to reteach all of the material to the class just for me. Although our morning was perfectly planned, situations such as this still occur. It is important to remain calm and may I suggest setting more than one alarm!