I was amused by her remark about having trouble speaking in English. I had a similar experience once -- not on the same scale, of course -- one summer during high school when I returned from a three-week French immersion program.

Over the past year and a half or so, I've gotten to know Amanda a bit through correspondence, and I can report that, "celebrity" or not, she is truly a fine person. Rarely have I ever been as happy as I was watching that press conference.

As for Raffaele Sollecito, his celebrity status is higher in Italy than in the U.S. (Italian reporters covered both of their releases from prison, while American and British reporters focused almost entirely on Amanda), while admittedly not perhaps as high as Amanda's. (Speculation on the reasons for the difference is left as an exercise for the interested reader.)