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Jan 14, 2023Liked by Belle Chesler

Love every episode of this intermittent diary.

Traveling is definitely difficult; I’d guess almost impossible unless with someone you love. Your recent trip certainly seems like it fit that description! Beautiful in parts, and really arduous at other times. Andy had said driving Amalfi coast was extremely challenging.

I envy you that incredible library and the privilege of entering it. Even if the books are mostly in Italian. Such a gorgeous space. I find it very intriguing. Everything there is so OLD. It’s like time travel to be there.

Love hearing about Cleo most of all. She will surely be the most fluent in the shortest amount of time! That is a pretty tough routine for 6th grade. Glad she is taking Spanish; hopefully something she can understand!

I have always felt that listening to a new language is a string of incomprehensible run-on words. I think English only seems like individual words bc we know in our brain that they are. We just can’t process the new words fast enough! Does that make sense?

Cleo has an upper hand bc of her Spanish immersion since kindergarten. Her brain has learned pathways to start identifying individual words sooner.

That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Love you all and love connecting. ❤️❤️❤️

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Jan 14, 2023Liked by Belle Chesler

I feel so humbled and inspired by Cleo. Next time I catch myself in need of a boost of bravery, I'm just going to picture her going to school 6 days a week in a language she's just learning to understand, and people she's just beginning to know. Damn.

I love and miss you all.

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Jan 13, 2023Liked by Belle Chesler

Belle this was incredibly interesting. I have never been able to decipher music lyrics either. Now that streaming services have lyrics available when listening to a song I am finally learning lyrics to songs I have listened to for years! I had never heard of HSP but it makes so much sense. It sounds like Cleo's experience has been really challenging but I do believe that someday she is going to be so thankful for the resilience she developed over the course of this year. It will help her for life. I went to Italy in my late 40s and still felt like the experience helped me "grow up" and become so much less fearful.

I loved the part about cold air. When I taught Spinning classes on the naval base in Italy I had to position the cooling fans so they did not blow on the Italian participants. They hated them and felt that the blowing air could make them sick. It was quite a challenge!

Thanks for sharing all of this with all of us. It is facinating and wonderful!! Yes Neopolitan drivers are sort of nuts!!

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Jan 13, 2023Liked by Belle Chesler

Wow, Belle, you write so well! And what do you mean that my people in Naples are sociopaths? Why are you being so nice? So glad that you are capturing the essence of Italy in all of its craziness. I know there are family that are reading this and saying - "that's crazy." But until you've been there and are doing what you are doing, there's no real way to understand crazy the way the Italians are crazy. I know it so very hard for Cleo, but these are memories she will have for the rest of her life. Guaranteed. Keep up the great posts. And have another glass of wine.

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Jan 16, 2023Liked by Belle Chesler

I love it all. Love the reading watching listening at the end too, looking forward to yer mixtape.

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Hellooo!! This is the first I receive from Notes form the Lagoon and I was not disappointed- thank you for sharing such beautiful thoughts. Like many people are commenting, I admire Cleo's bravery and brain! As someone who moved to a different country navigating a somewhat new language I know what must go through her head but I have no doubt you're helping her navigate so many different thoughts the way she's also showing you. I have so much love for you and Cleo (will never forget my one time of babysitting her because she was the most fascinating little human I'd ever met) and I hope the three of you continue to experience and learn so much!

ps. LOVED Reservation Dogs, and also got destroyed by The Banshees of Inisherin. Have you seen "Mars One"? One of my favorite films of 2022 and would love to see your thoughts on it.

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