Like a fish out of water!

Moving to a new country makes you self-conscious. Everyday things you used to do instinctively are now just different enough to make you stop and think, and if you're like me, worry about looking stupid!

Imagine the reassurance then of seeing locals get it wrong!

A friend taking a minute to figure out the train ticket-stamping machine made me feel better about being clueless.  And seeing another friend mistake a fellow driver for the pump attendant and ask him to fill the car up with petrol was hilarious!  I must remember it whenever I'm blushing from a silly faux pas!

Thankfully, my experience so far is that Puglian people have been patient and helpful.  A young man helped me buy a ticket at the machine at the station, (without pickpocketting me, as so many tourism sites would have you believe is the norm) and nobody honked their horn when I couldn't find the gear at the roundabout - yes, I have driven in Italy and no, it wasn't entirely terrifying!

People do stare more than in UK but then I clearly don't look like I fit in here and Italian women are used to being stared at too.  I like to think it's because they're wowed by the statuesque (ha!) blonde walking among them like in La Dolce Vita.

This is how Italians see me, right?!!

In reality, they are probably thinking "Mamma mia! What is she wearing?! Does she not own a mirror?!"

But perhaps best of all for reassurance are the videos of Italian politicians making bad grammatical errors when speaking their own native language.  If they can get ahead in their careers unable to speak correct Italian, I hope I'll go easy on myself when I recognise I am slaughtering this beautiful language!

At least I'm not as bad (I hope!) as these guys from Tarantino's must-see film Inglorious Basterds.  

Altogether now: Bawnjorno!