It’s hard to believe that we are just over a week away from departing on our much-anticipated Mediterranean sojourn. Although the first part of our vacation will be spent on a cruise of the Eastern Mediterranean, the entire final week will find my husband and I in a small village about an hour’s drive northwest of Rome. Because of that, I wanted to try to learn a little Italian so that I could at least greet shopkeepers and residents in their native tongue and communicate basic needs and questions. I recently completed my 10-chapter Mango Languages computer course, which I learned about in July’s Technology column in Global Traveler. Not far into the course, I learned that according to a recent EU survey, while 80 percent of Italians claim to speak English, in actuality only 20 percent do so fluently. All the more reason for me to learn how to ask for and understand directions, order a meal in a restaurant, seek help in emergency situations and make polite small talk. Overall, I’m pleased with what I’ve picked up, including little cultural tidbits that were interspersed with the grammar and vocabulary lessons. I did experience a little frustration. I heard my husband chuckling from the other room as I loudly complained to my computer at the inordinate amount of time spent teaching me the word for “comic book” (fumetto, for those of you who think you might go to Italy just to buy those valuable and apparently highly-sought-after items!!). I can only surmise that the course was developed by some avid comic book collector (or that it is some kind of inside joke between a couple of the program’s writers); but I vociferously wished that some other, more useful word had been taught in its place. For instance, although several travel-related terms were covered, I still don’t know the Italian word for “ticket.” Since I’ll be purchasing train and bus tickets during my stay, that one would have been helpful! All in all, I’m pleased with my progress and the manner in which the content was presented. I especially liked the fact that I could hear the pronunciation of native speakers as often as I wished, in either conversational or slow speed. Now I feel as though I’ve become comfortable with the lilt and flow of the language, which should make it easier for me to understand what I’m hearing and be understood. For the purposes of learning the basics of a language for travel purposes at a reasonable cost, I’d have to give a thumbs up to Mango Passport. Arrivederci! — Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor