Learning La Bella Lingua

We started almost 8 months ago when I bought Rosetta Stone's Italian so Jim and I could start learning some basics together. Jim had more success than me and actually did about 6 lessons, I only did 1. Then we took a short course "Italian for Travelers" two months before we left the US, Jim of course did all the homework and make all the classes. I did not. Jim carries at least 2 dictionaries and a map, I carry my camera and watercolors. I ask how much things cost, Jim has been paying. We really don't have much choice but to try to speak this beautiful language since this is not a tourist town except for Italians. So we stumble and make alot of signs for words we don't know and slowly we are speaking a little. The sounds are getting familiar, we can buy things at the markets, we point if we don't know the name of something, we ask for help and everyone is friendly and really tries to communicate. Today at the beach our neighbouring sun worshipper started to talk to us in English that was as bad as our Italian but for about 45 minutes we got to know each other. Just so happens she is a realtor who works for a company here in Senigallia that sells in Dubai, Lybia and Egypt mostly to investors. What a hoot to be discussing investments in the international market and we could barely speak each others words.