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Marta Raaka – student of Italian & Italophile / 2014 Lucca Trip Particpant : I have enjoyed following Melissa’s blog, Studentessa Matta for quite some time and I really appreciate the learning resources she shares with everyone. The blog has helped me to continue with my Italian studies and it has enriched my knowledge of Italian culture. Last summer I joined Melissa in Lucca for a 12 day adventure in language learning and culture. It was a wonderful trip. The Lucca Italian school had a wonderful group of teachers and several levels of classes. Melissa had worked with the school to arrange for the perfect amount and variety of activities. We took cooking classes, did some day trips to fun hill towns, wineries and other great places like Pisa and the coast. These extra activities gave us a chance to practice our Italian and make some fun friendships. The entire experience was exactly what I had hoped for. If you have a desire to learn Italian and get a more in depth and personal exposure to the Italian culture, Melissa’s trips are a great way to do this. I highly recommend them.
Jan Walcott – active student of the Italian language / 2013 Homestay : I follow Melissa Muldoon’s blog regularly. Over the several years I have subscribed, her services and her website have iincreased. The site is very attractive and easy to navigate. Thanks to Melissa, my friend and I found Lucia Dezuani’s Homestay information, and Melissa put us in immediate touch with her. Our Homestay experience was wonderful, rewarding, and we improved our Italian fluency markedly during this intensive study time. At the conclusion, we considered Lucia a wonderful new friend.
Cheryl Levine – Italian language student / 2014 Lucca Trip Participant : I wholeheartedly recommend Melissa Muldoon, la Studentessa Matta. Last June, I joined a group organized by Melissa in Lucca. We studied at the wonderful Lucca Italian School, which offered many levels of classes. Melissa also organized many side trips to nearby towns and villages. We had cooking classes and wine tastings, all designed to help us practice our Italian. Melissa is well organized, committed, and a lot of fun!
Elena Arezio – Italian Teacher & Italian Tour Guide : I absolutely recommend Melissa! She is very professional, precise and works in a very passionate way, both in organizing homestay vacations and tours.
Daniela Bonaccorsi – Director of Studies – Lucca Italian School : I can happily recommend Melissa! After some years of “virtual” knowledge on the web, we finally met in person last year, when she came to our school in Lucca for one of her study trips to Italy. Everything has been easy to arrange with Melissa; she is very professional and attentive, and you can easily see how passionate she is about all things Italian. Our experience together last year was so positive that we decided to repeat it – and we are sure everything will be working like clockwork again!
Katherine Bennett – RN Clinical Nurse IV : Melissa, I can not thank you and Yle enough for the wonderful experience I had in Puglia, Italy, last August. What a great experience. The Masseria Provenzani where we stayed was beautiful, peaceful & comfortable. Everything was so well organized and so much fun…from the cooking classes with Mama Giulia and Mama Anna, to the meals prepared for us in the kitchen of the masseria. Everywhere we went, was a new adventure and we were all treated like family. From the winery to the olive trees seeing how they make olive oil to making our own goat cheese and learning the ancient art of paper mache, the Parade of the resident Saint in Lecce to town of Locorotondo everything was well organized. We learned Yoga under the olive trees and learned to make Italian style pizza from the owners of the restaurant. We even had a dance lesson and learned the traditional pizzica that was so much fun. If you get an opportunity to experience the Slow life in Salento in Puglia with Melissa and Yle I highly recommend kicking up your heels and going for it!
Lucrezia Oddone – Italian Teacher / YouTube-Blogger : I like Melissa Muldoon’s work on the internet because it’s neat and engaging. The content on her blog is always on point and interesting to read, she covers pretty much everything related to Italy, from language to music, from culture to fashion. I also enjoy listening to her podcasts, which I find very inspiring as they make me want to start a series of my own! Her passion for what she does shows also through the many activities she organizes in real life, such as the language trips to Italy. I am very happy to have her as an online friend, but also a real life one! If you haven’t yet, make sure you check out her amazing work.
Heather Pepper, Trip Participant – Puglia 2013 writes: Had a GREAT time thanks!
Beth Beeman, Trip Participant – Puglia 2013 writes: Thank you Melissa! We had such a wonderful time exploring Puglia with you!
Susan Van Allen: Golden Days in Italy Blog & author of “100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go” 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.
Jann Huizenga: Baroque Sicily – Writer & photographer : Melissa is a great virtual friend; we are fellow bloggers about life in Italy. But Melissa does something very special when she blogs: she does it in her second language–Italian! That takes skill (and guts). She is the most enthusiastic learner of Italian I’ve ever met, and she conveys that enthusiasm to her readers.
Sharon Sanders, Feature Editor/Writer : Melissa’s passion for, and expertise, in the language and culture of Italy are irresistible. She has thoroughly embraced what I like to call her “Inner Italian.” She shares the wonders of bel’Italian with all who are fortunate to read her blog or share her immersion tours. Brava, Melissa!
Barbara Azzini : Mi chiamo Barbara Azzini e sono assistente del Direttore Generale della Divisione Dolciari Nestlè Perugina. Le scrivo in quanto siamo rimasti piacevolmente colpiti dalla Sua citazione in merito ai nostri Baci Perugina e alla passione per l’Italia.
Rebeca Walter: 2014 Lucca Italian Workshop: We had a great time. It was a wonderful experience. I miss Lucca! Thanks and I will be in touch!
Emanuele Venditti, Italian teacher at USC in Australia: Mi chiamo Emanuele ed insegno italiano in Australia, alla University of the Sunshine Coast, nel bellissimo stato del Queensland! Ti scrivo perché ho scoperto il tuo podcast e l’ho trovato FANTASTICO! Tu sei bravissima (sia nel parlare l’italiano che nel presentare gli argomenti). Allora mi chiedevo se potevo condividerlo con i miei studenti, qui all’università. Secondo me lo apprezzerebbero molto ed imparerebbero molto. Non solo sei brava a spiegare le cose, dal tuo punto di vista (English speaker), ma trasmetti una passione per la lingua italiana che sarebbe bello vedere in tutti gli studenti!!
