[LWJ]

Background. I am a pretty good learner but foreign language (French. ARG) really kicked me in college. I was under the impression that I simply didn't have a head for languages for the last 35 years or so.

And then, my wife and I made some life decisions that include spending more time in Italy. And we decided that learning basic Italian would be important.

So we hired a weekly tutor. Who is great.

And we study 30-60 minutes daily. Having a live in study buddy is awesome. It is a fun activity to share. Highly recommend.

And I have used chatGPT extensively to build vocabulary lists, cheat sheets, practice sentences and other tools. Which is also great.

Final tool? I discover Anki, which is a free flashcard app (pay for using mobile version). There are premade card decks or you can make your own. I prefer my own currently, which is easy to do using chatGPT...

So two months in, I bought a cheap backpack online. I showed my daughter. And I was able to say "Il zaino non è caro." Which probably means "The backpack isn't expensive."

I am not claiming any skills here. But I am floored by my progress. Overjoyed with the tools I have found. And just having a great time with this. I thought you may want to know.

Also, a fun little benefit. I am barely working these days. My career was highly mentally challenging in terms of learning, thinking, problem solving. I think learning Italian has had a nice cognitive benefit for me now that I am not using my brain very much.