The Bittersweet Life

You've taken your Italian lessons, you've memorized your vocabulary, you've practiced all your most useful phrases. Then you get to Italy...and it all flies out the window.

It's a common problem that many language-learners face. But how to get around it? Why can speaking to an Italian in Italy be so much harder than speaking in a classroom setting?

Today we are joined by someone who can help with that. Gloria Spagnoli is an Italian teacher who takes a different approach. She has come to understand that language learning is not just about having the vocabulary and grammar. All of that is vital of course, but so is having the right mind set. So often, hesitation, negative self talk, and fear of looking ridiculous can sabotage our language efforts.

Gloria offers practical steps to get beyond these hindrances and make use of our true abilities—which might be stronger than we think! We also talk about the innate Italian traits that can sometimes make it intimidating to dive into a conversation, and how to turn them to your advantage.

Find out more about Gloria and her lessons and culture consulting services on her website, Speakita.

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BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Wander into one of Rome's hundreds of churches, and you might just find yourself face to face with an artistic masterpiece that, in any other city, would be the main attraction of the city's biggest museum—and would come with a hefty price tag and probably lots of crowds. But in Rome, these works are all around you—if you know where to look.

On this mini-episode, Tiffany shares with you some of the most spectacular frescoes and oil painting hidden away in Rome's churches. And the best part? They are all absolutely free.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

When the sons of a centuries-old noble Roman family and the American widow of their father, the prince, can't decide who gets to live in the family's priceless villa, a forced auction ensues!

Princess Rita, a glamorous American, has been living in her late husband, Prince Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi's historic family home, Villa Aurora, since they wed over a decade ago. It was the American princess who insisted that the villa, and its priceless art collection, should not be left to languish unseen, but should be restored and made available to the public on a very part time basis.

According to Prince Nicolò's will, although the villa will pass to his sons, his widow has the right to live there for the rest of her life. But the sons don't agree, and now the family feud has led to a forced auction. The only catch is that the starting price is nearly half a billion dollars (perhaps because of the original Caravaggio mural in one of the rooms, not to mention the fact that the villa is located on Via Veneto with its own grounds!).

Tiffany has visited Villa Aurora, and Katy used to go to church with Princess Rita (although she had no idea then who she was!). This week we talk about that magnificent place, our opinion on who has the right to it, the and our speculations on what everyday life would be life living in a veritable museum—with a Caravaggio painting over your head at any time day or night.

Hear Tiffany's description of Villa Aurora just after visiting on Bittersweet Moment #30: Villa Aurora.

On Episode 218: Postcards, Katy describes seeing Princess Rita shortly after the death of her husband, although at the time of taping, she had no idea who she was.

Find out how the auction went here.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

When you decide to hop a plane to LA and recreate your favorite childhood film with your sisters, you contact the writers and directors and ask if they'd like to meet up. At least, if you're Katy, that's what you do.

As a follow-up to Episode 411: A Sisterly Quest to Midnight Madness, Katy and her sisters sit down with David Wechter and Michael Nankin, the writing/directing team behind the cult classic, Midnight Madness (1980). They are also joined by a surprise guest—a member of the cast.

Katy and her sisters get the rare opportunity to share with the creators just how much their movie has meant to them all these years, leading to a discussion about work origin stories and how what you put into the world can affect people decades later.

Be sure to listen to Monday's full episode before you hear this one.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Seven years ago, Katy and her sisters—who each live in different states—started gathering once a year for "Sisterfest." But this year they are doing something different. When they were little girls growing up outside Seattle, they watched a little-known 1980 movie called Midnight Madness. It became a kind of cult classic in their house, and everything about it somehow took on a special meaning. On this Sisterfest, Katy, Dana, and Sara trace all the film's stops around Los Angeles, complete with custom t-shirts and even a chat with the writers and directors.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

We get lots of mail from our loyal listeners and we love reading it! You guys always have the best questions and the most insightful commentary on our episodes. We often get inspired to make entire episodes based on a listener email.

On this mini-episode, Katy dives into the mail bag to read some of the most interesting notes we've had in the past month or two. If you have a question, comment, or thought, please share it with us. We love hearing from you!

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

After the disaster of the last two years, Katy and Tiffany are a bit reluctant to make New Year's Resolutions this year. After all, what will the year be like? If 2021 taught us anything, it's that we can't presume to think we know when (or if) the pandemic will end.

Nevertheless, they can't help making just one or two (maximum three!) little tiny ones, just for the sake of tradition. Hear what they are on this episode.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

After hearing from Katy's own lips before and after her experience going scuba diving in the frigid waters of the Pacific Ocean in winter, listen to Tiffany's own deep-sea adventure in Sumatra, when she accidentally came face to face with a terrifying sea creature.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

New Year—new experiences! At least that's the idea. That's the way we used to do it pre-pandemic anyway. On this first episode of 2022, Katy digs back into her vast personal audio archive to relive what it was like to fulfill a rather adventurous New Year's Resolution several years back.

Hear her as she prepares to go scuba diving in the frigid winter waters of the Pacific Ocean to get her diving certificate (the outside temperature was a biting 32F that day)!

Then, hear her trembling reaction once she got out of the freezing waters, and hear her on a call to her slightly concerned parents. Then go with her as she attempts another dive the next day. Most importantly, find out if Katy manage to do it, or if she gave up. (These are the kind of memories you can capture only if your record yourself on a regular basis like your faithful host!)

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

About a month ago, in Bittersweet Moment No. 129, you learned about the 24-hour Radio Race, a competition that challenges radio artists to create a 4-minute story based on an assigned theme—in just 24 hours. Katy teamed up with reporter Casey Martin and created a story they titled "The Thirty Year Secret." They share this magical story with you today.

This is the story they created based on the theme "Won't you be my neighbor?"

Find Casey Martin here.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!