I took a day trip to Vancouver this last weekend, by myself. This involved many hours on public transit, so I downloaded an Italian pop playlist which I listened to during the hour and a half I bused and trained into town (and for some time on the way back). This experience was interesting and encouraging, and overall positive. I do not expect myself to understand everything songs are saying, as even sometimes in English I do not fully register song lyrics the first time (or until I look them up), however, I could make out the words. What I mean by this is that I heard a word, but did not yet understand it. I picked out words here and there and got the gist of some of the songs, showing me that I am capable of training my ear to understand authentic Italian.

Though this will not be instantaneous, and may not even happen before June, with practice and the acquisition of new vocabulary I will be able to understand spoken and sung Italian. I think one thing that will help me is to look up the lyrics of the songs so I can read what they are saying, and learn the vocabulary, so that I know what these words sound like spoken. The next step I would take, once I learn a song, would be to learn how to sing it. This will help with my accent and fluidity in speaking. 

I am enjoying challenging myself, because it helps me to continue my practice in a refreshing way. This experience did help to motivate me, and these steps I laid out will be my next challenge.