Since I posted on Wednesday about the great offer we’re currently running (it really is unmissable), we’ve had 86 people sign up…

For what? More on that in a moment.

But as the offer has been SO successful, we’ve got to end it very soon. Depending on the response, probably today, or tomorrow at the latest.

So what’s the deal?

Well, as I said in the last article… I’m not going to explain it here. There’s a webpage which explains what we’re giving away, and how to get it (no catches, this REALLY IS A GREAT OFFER).

If you’re one of the 86 people who’ve already signed up, sorry to have bothered you again.

But if you didn’t open the last mail, or didn’t click the link, do it now.

I really don’t want you to miss out on this.

Find out more.

P.S. Don’t forget, this is time limited, so PLEASE visit the webpage to find out more. In a short time, the page will be taken down and our next promotion is not scheduled until December of this year.

Find out more

Thought you might like to know about a fantastic promotion we’re running at the moment on our Italian courses.

This hasn’t been publicised on our site or through our mailing list (until now, that is), and may not be available for long.

In fact, it’s such a great offer, I’ll probably be forced to take it down in a day or two.

We’re looking at people who want to learn Italian, but wouldn’t normally think of coming to Bologna or trying our school.

Basically, we’re trying to attract new clients, the ones who would unthinkingly go to Rome or Florence to study, without even considering wonderful Madrelingua in wonderful Bologna.

But don’t worry if you’re not a new client. Even if you’ve already studied with us in the past, you can profit from this.

We’re generous like that.

So what’s the deal?

Well… I’m not going to explain it here, as I just got done writing a great webpage which says it all. And to get the offer, you HAVE to visit the webpage,

Let me just assure you, that this really IS a great offer.  Trust me, click the link. You’ll be missing out, if you don’t.

Click here to find out more.

Got a question? Leave a comment. I’ll be happy to give you more details.

P.S. Remember, this page may be taken down at any time, especially if demand is more than we expected. So don’t hang about:

Link to fantastic offer

by Agata Bubrowiecka (Poland)

Studying Italian at a language school in Bologna is ideal for many reasons, not least because, as a major rail hub, it makes the perfect base for visiting many other wonderful Italian cities.

When I’ve finished my homework, that is!

So, today’s Saturday and I’m off to “La culla della Rinascimento”: Florence.

My Bologna-Florence high-speed rail ticket costs about 25 euros and the journey is less than an hour, city-center to city-center!

Florence is totally charming! I hardly know which way to look because there are so many beautiful things to see and I really don’t want to miss a thing!

My tour starts from “Piazza di Michelangelo”, a large, quiet square above the city, from which there’s an unmissable view of the old town.

From there, I head directly to the most exciting and interesting part of the city [Read more…]

Bologna has the oldest university in Europe, so for hundreds of years students from far away have been coming here to study!

These days the European Union’s Erasmus program encourages students in different member states to spend part of their college course abroad learning the language and culture of another European country.

Many choose Bologna, and why not? It’s an excellent destination for anyone, young or old, wanting to learn the Italian language and have a great time.

But arriving in any new city can be disorientating, especially if it’s your first time abroad on your own. You’ll want to get organised so that you meet people early on, get on with learning Italian, and start enjoying yourself!

To help with that, here’s some advice from this year’s Erasmus students which we’re happy to pass on to those of you who’ll be arriving in September. [Read more…]

After a day on the beach, I went to Piazza Maggiore to watch an old movie outside, “under the stars”.

Bologna is famous for its  “Sotto le stelle del cinema” festival.

For a few weeks, every night an old movie, so you can improve your Italian while  sitting outside in the piazza. [Read more…]

Dear Mom, Dad and everyone at home,

Here’s an update on my first month in Bologna!

Week 1

Two minutes at the bus station and I’ve already met an Italian guy who wanted to help me. The stereotypes of Italian guys are true! But the atmosphere here is so friendly.

Week 2

Near my school, Madrelingua, the girls from my Italian course and I discovered a cooking school, “Vecchia Scuola Bolognese”.

We also love spending time with our teacher, who knows everything about Bologna and its cultural events. [Read more…]

A song on the radio reminded me that “Per ogni cosa c’è un posto” (There’s a right place for everything). Which set me thinking about how the places we visit affect who we are, and what we say.

One of the first things I noticed when I came to Bologna to study Italian was the fact that people here love to talk, talk, talk. And about everything! But it soon became clear that the topics of conversation vary depending on where exactly in the city you are.

As do the phrases you’ll need to know in Italian to join in. [Read more…]

Aga is taking an Italian course at Madrelingua Italian Language School in Bologna, and was happy to be interviewed about her experiences and to answer all my questions!

Thank you Aga…First of all, let’s talk about your expectations and your first impressions when you arrived here… [Read more…]

Late last night, when I realised last night that the brand-new, sparkling website to which I had devoted weeks of hard work over the summer of 2012 was “down”, it was hard to avoid panicking!

No website means no page views, no enquiries, no bookings and, in a few months, no students in our Italian classes.

Teachers to pay, but nobody to teach. It’s one of my worst nightmares!

Srraight away I messaged Stefi to tell her the bad news.

“What next?” she messaged back, “I can’t take any more!”

Then on to the website of our (wonderful) hosting service Synthesis . They promise a 30-minute response to problems like this, and they were true to their word.

“It’s not us. It’s your DNS – Godaddy.com has been hacked!”

When you type madrelinguaitalian.com into your browser, or click on a link in search engine like Google, your browser sends a request to a Domain Name Server (DNS) basically asking “Where do I have to go in the world to find this domain name?”

The DNS replies with the IP address (like a phone number) and your browswer “calls up” the server and downloads the files which go to make up our website.

And that was not happening. Not only for our primary site, but also for a series of other sites I run for friends, and apparently for millions of other websites all over the world.

Which, in a way, was rather comforting. I could go to bed knowing that it wasn’t just me facing economic meltdown, and so with the expectation that something would quickly be done.

Which it was. By morning Godaddy.com had restored normal service and my sites were all working again. But how fragile the balance between normality and disaster!

And a reminder of the importance of word-of-mouth. So what if our website’s down, as long as our clients are happy with the improvement in their Italian langauge skills, people will still choose our school in Bologna to study Italian!

Which reminds me, check out our new Testimonials page. If YOU have studied at Madrelingua and would like to add your comments, we’d be very pleased to hear from you.