One, Now Two Languages

I have learned a lot of Italian, and yet it seems that I know none at all.

And now I realize that F is right about also learning Farsi. I start studying it as well, putting in equal vigor to my hard work with Italian.

Learning one, now two languages is slow going, not to mention humbling.

When I attempt to speak Italian, for example, it's pretty common for shopkeepers and neighbors to stare at me, perplexed. My accent is lousy, it's true, but that's not why they stare. What's happening, I quickly realize, is that the clumsy words tumbling out of my mouth, the ones that my brain is scrambling to manufacture, are in Farsi and not in Italian.

And if context-switching malfunctions are not enough, I am also starting to feel a vague sense of confusion about these identities that I now have:
Amy the American.
     Amy the expat American living in Italy.
          Amy the expat American living in Italy with Iranians.

How People Communicated in 1980

Typing was a coveted skill, one that people actually took classes to learn:

Making an overseas phone call amounted to something like $1.00 per minute. You had to talk fast! Sometimes, sending a telegram was the way to go:

When separated, people wrote letters, sometimes really long ones, and by hand. They also sent postcards: