Two Languages Become One mh 2/11/98 ROLLING countryside IN THE TRAIN lying gently in the plains FROM ITALY TO FRANCE WITH TWO OLD stereotypical ITALIAN WOMEN of europe, WE COMMUNICATED only WITH HAND SIGNALS AND SMILES. now i realize how they took me under their wings wHiLe I SAT WITH THEM AT TRAIN CHANGES i helped them waddle up stairs, ONE POINTED AT MY SHIRT AND PRONOUNCED IT my inexperience “DU-KAY” “NO,” I SAID, is “DUKE” WE WERE lAuGhAbLe. THE NEXT COMPARTMENT WAS a group of AMERICAN girls visible through a glass door MY TWO ITALIAN MOTHERS NUDGED ME FORWARD bUt i was shy and afraid: what if they didn’t speak my language? I REFUSED, THE DONNAS SHRUGGED AT WASTED YOUTH.