I’m so grateful to have met so many fellow Italofiles through the Blogosphere. One of the most fascinating is Melissa Muldoon. Many know her as La Studentessa Matta=The Crazy Student, who writes a wonderful blog, in Italian, featuring her funny and passionate reportings about Italian current events and culture, including such goodies as a colorful recent post about La Festa della Bruna in Matera.
It was great to finally meet Melissa in person last month when we joined in with Le Donne d’Italia in San Francisco for a Passport to Italy event at the Museo Italo Americano. She’s as charming in person as she appears in her blog and on her Facebook page.
Melissa studied painting in Firenze, received her Masters in Art History, and now works as a graphic designer in the San Francisco Bay area. Her love for Italy brings her back there often. Years ago, regretting that she didn’t learn Italian well as a college student, she began to self-teach herself the language. The La Studentessa Matta blog is one of the ways she flexes her language skills and connects up with other Italian language students.
She also co-leads Language and Cultural Immersion trips to Italy. This September, she’s offering two trips–one based in Matera (Basilicata), and another in Puglia. Spots are still available, so click here for more info.
I was on Melissa’s Venice tour. Let me know if you’d like information on our experiences.
It’s hard to come by knowledgeable people on this subject, however, you seem like you know what you’re talking about!
Thanks
I’ve followed Melissa’s trips with envy. What better way to enjoy Italy and practice one’s Italian than with a fellow Italophile. Collaborating with established language schools in Italy is genius. BTW, she’s planning a trip to Lucca in June 2014 to a fantastic language school, LIS, that I attended in 2012. Daniela and the teachers there were awesome and I wish I could join Melissa next year. Lucca was really a magical experience.