Passing for an Italian speaker

Today was the birthday of a colleague who is half Italian. Of course, I took it as an excuse to say a few words in Italian, eager as I am to speak the language and show off (of course when I do it usually backfires). I first said "Buon compleanno" and then when she said a few more words I said the usual "Io parlo bene Italiano ma non capisco una sola parola". Another colleague was (easily) impressed because I said it fast and asked me where did I learn Italian. I said during my first year in England, where I was hanging out with Italians and where my Italian improved much more than my English. I blogged about it before. But what struck me is that he presumed I was fluent in a language I barely know. Which is what many Italians think, until I get overconfident and make a fool of myself (see above). I like giving this kind of impression, that I can speak Italian like a native, that I am a professional actor, an almost professional baritone, whatever. I guess I suffer from a slight mythomania. I have some tendencies towards it anyway. But maybe it is just me playing a role, with me as the audience.