just wondering

Yesterday at almost 6 pm, I was resting my elbows on the window sill and looking down the street, waiting for the school bus to bring the boys home. Delta was downstairs in the garden playing with her dog friend Oliver, an Irish Setter who lives two floors above us.
An elderly couple was walking by the garden fence with their dog, and Oliver barked at them. The man yelled "Shut up!" to Oliver and then looked up and met my eyes. (I promise that I had no strange expression on my face. It is normal to me- for dogs to bark. Especially at other dogs. If someone wants to say something good or bad to them, so be it). Then he explained to me that they were walking by, the dogs barked and he told them to shut up. I said "Yes, dogs are like this. It is their garden and they probably feel protective of it. When we walk our dog past other people’s gardens their dogs often bark at her too." And he replied. "But they run to the other side of the house and wait for us, and bark again." I smiled and repeated "Dogs are like this." Then the woman said "Very well, it is their garden." and they crossed to the other side of the street. The man looked back and glared at me three times! He looked at me as if I were from Mars. I was thinking-"What did I say that was upsetting to him?" When M came home, I repeated the whole conversation to him in Italian, to make sure that what I said in Italian is what I thought I said! I was also afraid that I said something socially unacceptable. He said that my Italian was perfectly understandable, and he couldn’t guess why they were upset with me. But I wonder...
A few months ago I wouldn’t have even spoken to that couple. I am shy to begin with, plus my inexperience in this new language makes me feel awkward. But... after months of being in this city feeling essentially mute, and unable to easily express myself, I decided that enough is enough! I miss casual conversation. I will speak! Making small talk with strangers, cashiers at the grocery store, people next to me in line, well, that is among the things I miss about Oregon. It was so easy, so natural to smile and talk. Here it requires effort, and sometimes- like yesterday, you aren’t rewarded by another friendly soul. I wonder... how long will it be before I feel like I fit in here? How long until I speak Italian well? Ha ha! I guess I should go study now!