I have lived in Italy since 2007. I was an actor in the UK for 25 years but now teach English in local Italian schools. 
My last acting job was with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2006 in 'Women Beware Women' by Thomas Middleton in Stratford upon Avon. I played Hymen, the goddess of marriage.
I teach in two local primary schools & one secondary school. I am not employed by the state so have 'carte blanche' to do what I like with the kids. It's great - I can teach them songs & poems as well as rhymes to help with pronunciation. I think that's the hardest thing for Italians learning English - often things sound completely different to the way they are written...!
We've learnt to speak Italian by hearing it, listening hard. We still make a lot of mistakes but people are tolerant & don't seem to mind too much.
I have played the piano & accordion for many years. I'm learning ballroom & belly dancing, both of which I love - moving to any kind of music is a passion, even dancing to music on the TV in the sitting room!
I am a keen gardener, art & cat lover.
We have a male cat called Totti. He's named after the AS Roma footballer Francesco Totti who wore no. 10 shirt. The cat killed several enormous rats after the fantastically hot summer we had this year & we found them on the mat, half eaten in the mornings! 
Betsy is a female cat who is more unpredictable in her moods than Totti but loves being cuddled,  on her own terms!
My husband is an actor  & we have been together for 15 years.