The following day, I had more opportunities to get know about Marlene. She is the wife of a French diplomat and has lived in various Asian countries, including Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and China. She is originally from Switzerland and trilingual in Italian, French and English. Since she has lived in so many Asian countries, she knows some basic Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Thai as well. How cool it is! Although she can't communicate with me in Japanese, she called me, "Yumi-san." all the time, and I thought it was very thoughtful.

I asked her which of the three languages she speaks the best—Italian, French, or English—, was her first language. She answered me it's English now, and I was a bit surprised because her English has a strong Italian accent. This means her Italian has been affecting her English. She explained both of her parents are Italian, she had to speak it at home. Meanwhile, she spoke French with her friends and at school, as it was the public language in her hometown. She studies English in school as well, but her English improved significantly after marrying her French husband, since she uses it frequently now. She knows Japanese culture well because she had lived there for three years. As we talked about her time in Japan, we found that we have some mutual painting friends. Currently, she lived in China due to her husband's job.

Later, I introduced Marlene to my Italian friends, and we all went to a flea market near the museum. Actually, we had one more free day before the art show opened, and it was the perfect chance to explore.

It was my first time at an Italian flea market. I didn't ended up buying anything, but looking around was so much fun. Marlene purchased a shawl, and some of my friends bought some fruit.

Marlene also mentioned that there was a book festival was happening nearby, so we decided to check it out.

While listening to the opening ceremony, we enjoyed some gelato. I believe that Italian ice cream is the best!

After that we stopped by a restaurant to have lunch. I tried a special kind of pasta from Brescia, but I can't remember the name. It was delicious.

After lunch we went back to the museum, and I saw my French friend, Béatrice. It has been eight years since we last saw each other, and I was very excited to greet her, "Bea!!!!". However, she looked heartbroken, and she seemed to be absent-minded.

When I asked her what had happened, she shared a tragic story. Her best friend and her husband had passed away in a single engine plane crush. They had planned to participate in the art show, and the accident happened just a couple days before I arrived.

You can read more about the incident here: https://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/italie-lavion-disparu-retrouve-les-trois-francais-a-bord-sont-morts-20-09-2024-EHEGWQ654RGG7MKEX6G2X4ZQ6U.php?fbclid=IwY2xjawFpvVBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHXmdrPP99RU7GGen5AqHcVU1wVFo18D5YkvqMKd7W_JhK_R9hO6q6OKtug_aem_wtmurX5oiiXv5OMKSFrBRw

The couple had two sons, and now both boys are left without their parents. Bea cried and I had no idea how to comfort her at all. All I could do was hold her tightly in a long hug.

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