A Welshie in Italy

The Big Freeze

2012-02-07T16:54:00.001+01:00

It's been a week since it started snowing here in Milan, and the white stuff on the ground isn't going away any time fast. Parts of Italy have been brought to a standstill as the snow's been gradually moving from North to South. I've seen images on the news from my beloved Urbino deep in snow, with some of the university students going around the city clearing the streets. Central Italy in general has been hit really hard, but the most talked about city in the news is Rome. The city was bought to a standstill when it started snowing on Friday, public transport was hit hard as many vehicles didn't have winter tires or chains, and even today the news has been showing abandoned cars in the region of Lazio that are still stuck in the snow.

But as far as Milan's concerned, I've been very impressed. The roads are cleared - the pavements not so much, but pazienza, you can't have everything - and cars and public transport are circulating. When I ventured out on the weekend I was amazed to see a completely clear Via Buenos Aires and Piazza Duomo. It was almost as if the centre of town hadn't seen any snow at all. Except for one place though, Parco Sempione. The park was still covered in snow, and as much as the snow can annoy me, I must admit that it did look beautiful.

The 'pitchfork' protests

2012-01-25T21:22:00.000+01:00

Flying around the supermarket as I always do when I go grocery shopping after work, I didn't pay much attention to the near-empty fruit and veg shelves. It was only when I got to the check-out when the lady at the till was talking to one of her colleagues about it that I realised. The shelves were almost empty because of the strikes by lorry drivers, deliveries were unable to reach the supermarkets. What is known as the forconi, 'pitchfork' movement, started in Sicily; with lorry drivers protesting about the rising costs associated with their jobs, such as fuel prices and motorway tolls.

Monday the movement started to spread to mainland Italy with many motorway junctions all over the country blocked by the protesters. From Lazio, to Puglia, to Campagnia and up here in Lombardia, the protesters were blocking the roads with their vehicles causing tailbacks. I watched a report last night about how lorry drivers in the south of Italy were being forced to take part in the strikes by protesters threatening to damage their vehicles if they didn't. Yesterday one of the protesters was tragically killed in an accident, by a German lorry driver who was not taking part in the protests. Eleven protesters have been arrested today, and it's estimated that 50 tonnes of goods such as milk, fresh fruit, and flowers are going to waste every day; and it's reported that prices for these goods in shops are already starting to rise.

The government is trying to stop the roadblocks. Today they announced new measures to try and appease the protesters, such as reducing motorway tolls. The situation seems to be improving as far as road transport is concerned, but the strikes are far from over. There's a 24 hour train strike from 9pm on Thursday, again as a result of Monti's new proposed measures, on the 27th local and air transport will be affected by strikes, and on the 1st of February pharmacies will be closed. It's going to be a difficult few weeks for this country.

Sunday Classic

2012-01-22T16:55:00.000+01:00

Bad Nerys, I've neglected one of my features yet again. But it returns. I know I've featured one of Rino Gaetano's songs before, but this is another one of my all-time favourites, Sfiorivano le viole from 1976.

The Costa Concordia

2012-01-15T21:13:00.000+01:00

Ever gone through the experience of turning on the radio and hearing sadness in a familiar voice but not knowing what you've missed whilst you've been asleep?

That happened to me yesterday morning. I woke up at 7.45 and as I do every Saturday and Sunday morning I turned on the radio pretty much once I'd managed to open my eyes. And straightaway I knew something was wrong. The Costa Concordia cruise ship had ran aground near the Giglio island, off the coast of southern Tuscany. At the time information seemed to be scarse, even though the accident had actually happened at some point between 9.20-9.40pm the previous evening.

For whatever reason it took a while for news to filter down to the Italian press. I'm used to that happening with international news, Italy's such a bubble and sometimes it can take days for big international news stories to be mentioned here. When I turned on the tv not long after hearing the news it wasn't mentioned anywhere. Not even on the news channels. Absolutely nothing. Yet another case of having to follow what was happening in the country I live in online because the tv just wasn't mentioning it.

By the afternoon there was increased coverage, and there were some shocking pictures of the ship on its side in the ocean, almost parallel to it. The focus however seemed to be on placing blame and creating scandal, and not presenting the facts of what happened. As disappointing as it was, it wasn't surprising for the Italian press.

By 7pm Italian time today five bodies had been found, and 15 people remain missing. The search for the unaccounted passengers and crew continues. The reason behind the accident is reported to have been a power cut on the ship; the captain, who has been detained by police for questioning (he has also been accused of leaving the ship before all passengers had been rescued) claimed that the rocks that cut open the ship's hull were not marked on any maps. I watched passengers recall yesterday how they had to swim to the island in the freezing water, one man saying it took him 15 minutes to reach the shore. It's still hard for me to believe how something like this could happen in the 21st century.

Adverts from Italy 2

2012-01-11T19:50:00.000+01:00

It might be a bit of a strange thing to notice so much, but being the musical person I am, something that stands out to me when I'm watching tv is the music used in adverts here.

The choice of which song to use for an advertising campaign doesn't always make sense to a native English speaker though. Take ING's adverts for their Conto Arancio (a kind of bank account which is advertised often on TV and radio) which uses the chorus of Gorillaz' Feel Good Inc.

I really do wonder how that choice of song came about.

Please?

2012-01-10T12:43:00.000+01:00

I was having a discussion on Twitter with a friend a couple of days ago about the use of the word 'please' in Italy, and the subject was also bought up on the radio last night, so I thought it'd be an interesting thing to write about.

The Italian per favore isn't used anywhere near as much as 'please' in English. Being British I was bought up to use please and thank you all the time, but my usage of the word 'please' would seem excessive here. In informal speech it can be dropped completely, yet the request retains the same politeness that would be in the English translation. Over the years I've grown to prefer volevo when making a request, the imperfect conjunction of the verb volere; which means to want, to desire or to wish. It wasn't what I was taught at university, but something I picked up when I was studying in Urbino, specifically one day in the bus station when I wanted to buy a ticket to go to a town nearby. Back then I copied the language I heard around me a lot, and in shops or in similar situations I'd use phrases I'd heard people before me use. The other way this verb could be used when making a request is in the conditional form, which is 'vorrei' in the first person singular, it can be translated as 'I would like'. So, if you wanted a piece of pizza you could use Vorrei/volevo un pezzo di pizza. If you tacked 'per favore' onto that it would seem excessive and too formal. The politeness of the phrase seems to come across in the conjugation of the verb.

In more formal settings there are other phrases you can use for 'please'. For example there's per cortesia or cortesemente, the latter of these can be translated as 'kindly'. There's also per piacere which also translates as 'please'. What you'll also see a lot of is the verb 'pregare', in both formal and informal language. It translates as to ask, to beg or to request. It is used a lot in the passive voice where rules or laws are concerned, 'si prega, 'one asks'. For example Si prega di non fumare, means 'Please do not smoke'. In informal language it's used more to convey the idea of begging, Ti prego di non dire niente. "Please don't say anything."

It's quite a complicated idea to convey, and seeing as the Milanese aren't exactly seen as being very warm people, I know others will have different experiences. It's a different way of structuring language, and I don't think I've still managed to crack it after all this time!

My Favourite Italian Songs of 2011 - No.1-5

2011-12-31T16:03:00.000+01:00

1 - Goodbye Malinconia - Caparezza feat Tony Hadley
Released 28th January
Yes, I know it isn’t completely Italian… It makes no.1 partly thanks to some great memories it brings back from January and February.

2. Ora - Jovanotti
Released 29th November
It’s been a massive year for Jovanotti with the release of his Ora album; but it was also unfortunately marked by the tragic death of student Francesco Pinna as the stage was being prepared for his concert in the north-eastern city of Trieste on December 12th. The rest of the tour was postponed.

3. Io e la mia ombra - Casino Royale
Released 6th May
The album of the same title was released on June 21st and was the first new material released by the Milanese group since 2007.

4. Sornione - Daniele Silverstri feat. Niccolò Fabi
Released 8th July
The first single taken from Silvestri's S.C.O.T.CH album, Ma che discorsi is also one of my favourites from this year, but it's this collaboration with legendary singer-songwriter Niccolò Fabi that makes it into my chart.

5. Istrice - Subsonica
Released 28th January
The video for this track was filmed in the band's hometown of Turin, but was censored, due to its graphic nature (in effects it was a mini horror film). TV channels wouldn't even show the censored version of the video, so a third version of it was shot, featuring only Subsonica themselves. This video is the original version.

My Favourite Italian Songs of 2011 - No.10-6

2011-12-31T15:03:00.000+01:00

I'm not really one for doing end-of-year posts, but what I did want to do was compile a list of my favourite Italian songs that were released this year. This is the first part of my countdown.

10. Controsenso - Raf
Released 2 December
To be honest, Raf's stuff can be a bit hit or miss for me, sometimes his songs can be a bit too syrupy... This however is one of my favourites of the year, and the most recent single of the ten.

9. Il mio giorno migliore - Giorgia
Released 12th June
This was Giorgia's first solo single since 2008, and one of the summer's biggest songs. It was certified platinum with sales over 30,000 on the 18th of September.

8. King del rap - Marracash
Released 9th Semptember
I'm not a massive hip-hop fan, but King del rap intrigued me, and it didn't take long for it to get stuck in my head!

7. Non soddisfa - Useless Wooden Toys
Released 6th September
Maybe not as commercially successful as the rest of the tracks I've chosen, but definitely worthy of being in the chart.

6. Domenica da coma - J-Ax
Released 19th June
After last year’s Due di Picche project with Raf J-Ax released his solo album Meglio Prima (?), and this was the first single to be taken from it.

Christmas With The Yours

2011-12-21T20:23:00.000+01:00

Possibly the greatest Christmas song ever!!

It's almost hard to believe that this time tomorrow I will have arrived in Heathrow and that I'll be back in the UK for the first time since April. It'll be my first Christmas home in two years, after I was stuck in Milan last year after heavy snowfall both in Italy and in the UK. This year - so far!! - has been snow free in Milan, and even though some snow has fallen back home in Wales it was never enough to risk my flight.

I can't wait to spend Christmas with my family. I wish everyone a very merry Christmas and I hope you all get to spend it with those you love.

Lost in Translation - Trenitalia

2011-12-12T19:50:00.000+01:00

On a Frecciarossa train from Milano Centrale to Bologna Centrale I take a closer look at the print-out of the ticket...

Adults and boys? Do girls travel free then?

I see exactly where this has come from though, the Italian ragazzi, which is used for the word 'children', mostly when referring to children around 12 or above. However ragazzi can also translate as 'boys', as it's the plural form for ragazzo, 'boy'.

But still, check with a native speaker next time eh?

Sunday Classic

2011-12-11T14:47:00.000+01:00

Before the university year started at Urbino when I was there for my year abroad I frequented a language course for three weeks. One of the lessons involved an excercise you see a fair bit of when you're starting to study a language, listening to songs and filling in the missing words in the lyrics that had been provided by the teacher. One of the songs we listened to that lesson was Azzurro by Adriano Celentano, released in 1968.

Piazza Duomo at Christmas

2011-12-08T15:21:00.000+01:00

This is the fourth December I've spent in Milan and I still think that Piazza Duomo at night, with the Christmas tree and all the lights, is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

Sunday Classic

2011-12-04T12:01:00.000+01:00

Ok, so I may be bending the definition of 'classic', especially seeing as it's not all that old, but I've been in a bit of an 80s mood the last few days, so...

This one takes me back to my Erasmus year. There was this one club in Urbino (actually, at the time there were only two...) and at one point every Saturday night, without any kind of explanation, the cheesy songs would kick in. And this was always one of them, Lorella Cuccarini's La notte vola, from 1988.

The end of NaBloPoMo

2011-11-30T19:33:00.003+01:00

A month ago I had the idea of partecipating in NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month. To me it was an ambitious idea, sometimes I even struggle to write one blog post a week. That was the main reason why I decided to partecipate, because I don't write enough. I've been in Italy for over three years now and there's still a lot of things I want to write about, but for whatever reason I haven't done so yet. I felt like I really needed to force myself to write in order to have a decent blog.

I'll openly admit that this during month my writing hasn't been at its best. Some days the last thing I wanted to do was write, there were times when I was practically falling asleep on the keyboard but I had to plod on, I didn't want to give up. But to me it wasn't necessarily about the quality of my writing, it was more about getting into the habit of writing more often than I have been. Maybe my technique's improved, I've been reading more blogs and newspapers this month to find inspiration, and I feel that I have understood a bit more about the art (?) of blogging and what makes a good blog. I've also been able to look at Italy in a different way; when you're searching for something to write about every day it really makes you realise how different the country is that you're living in compared to the one that you grew up in. Every little thing can stand out and be worthy of a blog post.

I'd like to thank everyone who's supported me this month, and everyone who gave me ideas for posts. At the beginning of the month I didn't think I'd be able to complete my challenge, that I'd run out of ideas, but I've still got plenty left to write about! Hopefully now I'll be able to carry on with this habit, maybe not necessarily every day, but hopefully now I'll blog more often than I used to.

Song of The Week

2011-11-29T19:42:00.002+01:00

I think I might just have found my favourite Italian single of the year. And again this year it's by Jovanotti. I was so pleased when he tweeted that the next single from his album Ora would be the song of the same title, after Tutto l'amore che ho (which was mu favourite single from last year) it's my favourite song on the album. It debuted on radio on Friday, and the video for it hasn't been released yet, but here is one that's been doing the rounds on youtube since the release of the album.

Challenges

2011-11-28T20:24:00.001+01:00

I had a pretty miserable weekend for reasons that I don't want to go into now. By Saturday evening I felt like packing everything in and going back home. That's one of the problems that I've found living abroad, little things can make life very difficult, things that shouldn't really be that important can throw you. One word that sums up life in Italy can be 'challenging'.

Challenging not only because you're living in a foreign country, but sometimes Italy just seems to make things difficult just for the sheer hell of it. I won't even get started on the beaurocracy and how, when I went to sort out my residency as required by law, what they wanted from me wasn't much short of a pound of flesh; but there's silly little everyday things that can wear you down. Italy doesn't have the same history of immigration as the UK and some other countries in Europe, historically Italians left this country in search of a better life, not the other way round; and it definitely shows.

For a start it's the people who challenge your presence in Italy. Often at lunchtime, just down the street from my office, there's a pensioner walking his dog. And he always stares at me. A proper full-on stare threatening stare until he physically can't move his neck any more for his eyes to carry on staring at me as I go down the street. I've seen him doing the same to another foreign lady, so it's not just me, but he doesn't bat an eyelid when Italian women go past him.

It's the people at the post office who lean forward and squint their eyes when you start talking to them. It's the random men who want to talk to you purely because you're blonde. It's the people of all ages who look at you on the metro. It's the people who don't believe you can speak a word of Italian even though you have a degree in it. There's a whole list of ridiculous petty little things. On a bad day even little things like this can make you question what you're doing in a country that will never treat you like a normal person, never mind accept you.

You've got to have a lot of love for this country if you want to live here. And I do, if I didn't I wouldn't still be here after three-and-a-bit years. It does wear you down at times though. But every time it does I just have to stop and think for a minute, it doesn't take me long to realise how lucky I am to be living in this country. It isn't perfect, but where is?

Sunday Classic

2011-11-27T12:22:00.002+01:00

Today's classic is from 1966, Se telefonando by Mina. Her career spans over five decades, and her latest single, Questa canzone was released last month.

You know Christmas is coming when.....

2011-11-26T16:31:00.000+01:00

.... whilst walking around Milan city centre you get handed one of these:

A leaflet for Milan's biggest Christmas fair, the Artigiano in Fiera. This year it runs from the 3-11 December at the exhibitions centre in Rho, just outside Milan. And I'm going to be there on the first day with (Christmas) bells on!!

The Floods in Sicily

2011-11-25T19:41:00.000+01:00

Parts of Italy have been hit by floods this week, but unfortunately not much was said about it in the news. It's taken me this long to write about it simply because I didn't know enough about what happened. The province of Messina on the island of Sicily was hit hard by torrential rain on Tuesday and Wednesday; according to ANSA 260 ml of rain fell in the space of 12 hours. The latest figures seem to show that three people lost their lives and 700 were made homeless in the province.

As an outsider it's been very difficult to judge how bad the flooding actually was because I heard so little about it. When Genova was hit a couple of weeks ago, the news - and quite rightly so - was everywhere. TV and radio interrupted their normal broadcasts to cover what was happening. But the floods in Sicily have been critically under-reported. Even on Twitter, which was widely used to report the news of the flooding in Genova and to help the people affected, it wasn't spoken about that much. The severity of the situation just didn't hit home. For whatever reason, all too often the North-South devide rears its ugly head. And as a foreigner I just can't get my head around it.

Song of The Week

2011-11-24T18:40:00.000+01:00

Up patriots to arms is Subsonica's new single, a cover of legendary singer Franco Battiato's song from 1980. He also collaborated with the band on their version.

And for reference this is Battiato's original:

Unwanted Attention

2011-11-23T19:59:00.005+01:00

I know I've dealt with this subject before, but after being wound up by it today I'm going to try and take a different slant to it this time...

Whilst I was walking home for lunch, down my own street, I got "Ciao bella!"'d by yet another random middle-aged man. I had my earphones in, listening to the radio as usual, and the thing is with those earphones is that I can never hear a thing when I've got them in. But I heard him clearly, which made me think that he spoke pretty damn loudly. I turned round and glared at him as he carried on walking down the street. I still get too shocked to say anything, plus I think provoking the randoms won't do me any good.

Nothing I do seems to stop it. I even got "Ciao bella!"'d a few weeks ago when I was in the most tomboyish outfit I own. Today for example I was all wrapped up in a coat, boots and hat, with only a few tufts of unruly blonde hair sticking out. Oh, and a very spotty face. A greasy 15 year old ain't got nothing on me this week. But that doesn't make a blind bit of difference. As much as it baffles me I've learned to put it down to the simple fact of being blonde-haired and blue-eyed. I may not be the only one that exists in Italy, but we are a rare breed. And it seems that if you're blonde in Italy you're automatically seen as being "bella", even if you believe to be anything but that.

It still annoys me though. My defence mechanism involves wearing earphones/headphones around everywhere, most of the time I want to listen to the radio so it works out; but there are times where I'll just have them in and not be listening to anything. At least that way I can pretend I didn't hear anything. I've learned the randoms' tricks, asking for directions, asking for a lighter, staring to get attention; but I've still not got used to it. I feel threatened every time it happens, it may seem harmless, after all, if it was something a friend of mine said to me when they saw me it'd be a perfectly normal greeting. But these are complete strangers, and usually men much older than me. Feeling unsafe in the city I've lived in for three years unsettles me. But unfortunately it's something not only us foreigners, but also Italian women, have to learn to put up with. As much as that annoys me to admit it. Because these random Italian men don't show any sign of growing up any time soon.

Sigh.

The Countdown is On

2011-11-22T19:47:00.004+01:00

Today's the 22nd of November. Which means there's one month left until I go home for Christmas. Well, until I should go home for Christmas. After last year I'm not taking anything for granted.

Last year I was stuck in Milan for Christmas, after heavy snowfall in both Italy and the UK. My flight did actually go, but there was too much snow for me to be able to get home from London. If you haven't spent a Christmas away from your loved ones, and not out of choice, then I don't think you could ever imagine what it really felt like. Even nearly all my Christmas presents got lost (yeah, more like stolen) in the post. Waking up alone on Christmas day is one of the saddest things I've ever experienced. It was like going through the motions, it wasn't real Christmas. I made myself a three-course Christmas dinner, I managed to find some turkey and rustled up some amazing stuffing (I LOVE stuffing). But when you've got nobody to share it with it's just like any other meal, just that there's more food involved.

Last week I saw the John Lewis Christmas advert, and as ridiculous as it sounds, I don't think I've ever felt so homesick in the three-and-a-bit years I've spent in Milan. To me it just summed up the typical British Christmas. Missing out on Christmas last year has only made me look forward to it this year even more. I can only hope that this year I won't be disappointed again.

The Fog

2011-11-21T19:12:00.000+01:00

Milan's and the area around the Po Valley has a reputation for being a very foggy part of the country; but out of 3 winters I've spent here so far I've never seen anything like what we've been experiencing this last week. Once the sun sets the fog mysteriously appears. It wraps the city in a thick, freezing eeriness, which sometimes doesn't budge until mid-morning...

Sunday Classic

2011-11-20T09:53:00.000+01:00

This week's song is from 1975, Rino Gaetano's Ma il cielo è sempre più blu. I got to know this song thanks to one of the contestants singing it on X Factor in 2009 when I was in the audience; and then about three weeks later Giusy Ferreri, a former X Factor contestant herself, released a cover of it. But of course, nothing beats the original.

Lost in Translation?

2011-11-19T17:57:00.000+01:00

Ok, if this isn't an Only in Italy thing then I apologise for my ignorance, I've pratically lived my whole post-university life in Italy, and a 'sensual' fabric conditioner amused me no end when I saw it in the supermarket last night. I've yet to use it though so I can't say if it lives up to its name or not!

10 Things I Don't Like About Milan

2011-11-18T19:44:00.003+01:00

I'm not feeling particularly negative today, but I think it's important to give a balanced view on what life's like in Milan as a foreigner. As I've been telling people for months, living in Milan is just like living in any other city in Europe at least, it's got its ups and downs; just because I'm in Italy doesn't mean that I'm constantly living the bella vita as some people would like to think.

1. It's a dirty city

I'm talking rubbish on the streets, cigarette butts everywhere, overflowing bins and people not cleaning up after their dogs. Mind where you step.

2. It's expensive to rent

I've written about this before, but it's worth emphasising. Average monthly salaries in Milan are 1000 euro, but you'll be lucky to find a bilocale anywhere in the city for under 800 euro a month.

3. Public transport stops early

Things have improved since Giuliano Pisapia was made mayor, finally some new night buses have been introduced. But the main form of transport in the city, the metro, still shuts at 1am on weekends and midnight on weekdays.

4. The stares

Seriously. I'm blonde-haired and blue-eyed, not an alien.

5. The people selling things on the street

I'm not talking about the dodgy bag sellers, but my gripe is mainly with the people selling books in the city centre. If I say 'No' politely I do not want to be followed down the street, that's just rude.

6. The greyness

There's been a freezing fog sat over Milan this week. Winter's very grey in general, not just fog-wise, but we don't really get much of those crisp autumn or winter days.

7. Being a pedestrian's difficult

For some reason crossings always seem to be at the stupidest places, usually right on junctions. And it's a miracle if anyone stops to let you cross.

8. Going out's expensive

I know at aperitivos you have food, but it's still the idea of paying 8 or 10 euro for a drink (even a beer at some places) that shocks me.

9. You're never left in peace

Take a hint random (and almost always middle-aged blokes) no means no, ok?

10. Chinatown's difficult to get to on public transport

The trek from the metro and the fact that the buses that pass don't go anywhere useful for me makes me a sad Nerys.

Christmas is coming...

2011-11-17T19:57:00.002+01:00

Well, sort of.

Whilst it's full-blown-Christmas style in the UK, Italy is much more subtle about it. However, I've noticed that since I arrived here back in 2008 that Christmas things have been popping up earlier and earlier every year. The Italians don't go absolutely bonkers like us Brits and start selling Christmas things before the kids are back at school in September, but it seems to me that at least in Milan the Christmas period has been eating into November that little bit more every year.

Take this year for example. There's been Christmas lights in the shape of a star hanging outside a tabaccheria down the street from my office for just over a week now, and the beginning of November for Christmas lights in Italy is early. And they're not the only ones, on the same street maybe a couple of hundred metres down another shop has a whole load of those icicle type lights outside; and from today an opticians on the way home has three shooting stars! Seriously, it's too early for all that.

Even the Christmas food in the supermarket arrived earlier. Lidl went absolutely bonkers and bought its Christmas stuff in about a MONTH ago. I can't imagine anyone in Italy even remotely thinking about buying Christmas food in October. But even the Italian supermarkets weren't far behind with their panettone and chocolates!

I remember when I was in Urbino for my Erasmus, the Christmas lights in the streets of the centro storico didn't go up until the 1st of December. To me it seemed sensible, I don't really get the point of going mad about Christmas when there's still weeks to go, and certainly not in September like the UK does. I mean, it's not going anywhere, is it??

Thanks to Sarah for the inspiration for today's post!

The Moka

2011-11-16T18:57:00.000+01:00

Making coffee with an Italian moka pot is easy peasy.

This is one of the two I own, bought after my arrival in Milan. I've had the smaller one for over four years, I bought it in Lucca when I was studying in Pisa; for some reason I couldn't find a moka in Pisa itself for love nor money (especially money).

So, a moka is made up of three main components. What you don't see here is the rubber seal and the filter which are in the top part of the moka.

Fill the bottom part with water up to the valve....

... and the funnel with ground coffee...

... screw on the top part and stick it on the stove. When you start hearing a bubbling noise the coffee's starting to rise...

And before you know it, your steaming hot coffee will be ready!

Nerys's Random Tips - The Supermarket

2011-11-15T19:28:00.001+01:00

With this blog post I'm now half way through my NaBloPoMo mission of writing one post a day during the month of November, and as difficult as it may be to believe, I'm starting to run out of ideas. I don't have all that much time to write or research blog posts during the week either. Tonight's idea came to me on the way home from a supermarket run, a random list of things you'll see in Italian supermarkets which are different to British supermarkets; and I hope it can come in handy to people moving to Italy or those who have very recently moved here.

1. Not so uncommon maybe, but all loose fruit and veg needs to be weighed and labeled. Look out for the number for each item, which can be denoted by the word tasto or button, referring to the button on the scales to be pressed for that particular item. And don't forget to wear one of the plastic gloves!

2. Skimmed milk, or latte scremato, is much uncommon here than in the UK, both fresh and UHT. Full milk, latte intero is the milk for most Italians, but there's also a lot of latte parzialmente scremato on sale.

3. And milk in supermarkets is sold in 1 litre or 500 litre bottles/cartons.

4. Don't buy anything labeled cavallo if you're fond of horses, yup, it's horse meat!

5. You'll also see that vitello, veal, is popular. Turkey, tacchino, is definitely not.

6. There's a very limited choice of cereal, so it might be wise to get into the habit of eating biscuits for breakfast - you're spoilt for choice!

7. Watch out for tea labeled deteinato and decaffinato coffee if you want something that will wake you up in the morning - they're decaffinated.

8. There's a lot less 'ethnic' food. Most supermarkets just have a very limited selection of Indian/Chinese/Japanese food and cost a lot more.

9. You really won't find much in the way of teabags in the sense of teabags us Brits are used to, but there's plenty of variety when it comes to flavoured tea. Iced tea, most commonly lemon or peach flavoured, is popular, especially during the summer months.

10. For those of you in Milan, buying alcohol if you're under 16 has been illegal for a couple of years. So if you look particularly young (seriously, it happened to me last year when I was twenty four) you may be asked for a documento, a form of ID.

Dopo Silvio

2011-11-14T18:41:00.000+01:00

The celebrations Saturday night were nowhere near as big as I expected. I rather naively expected people out in the streets honking their horns waving flags like they were when Italy won the World Cup in 2006. I guess under happier circumstances maybe, if it had been one of the many scandals that had engulfed Berlusconi that had made him resign then possibly it would've been a similar picture. On the TV the news was showing people in Rome celebrating, but even their celebrations didn't last very long. An event that we had been waiting years for had happened, but the circumstances surrounding the resignation meant that Italy in general wasn't in much of a mood to celebrate.

Last night Mario Monti officially accepted the post of Presidente del Consiglio. Berlusconi wasn't going anywhere in a hurry though, and before Monti appeared in front of the press to announce that he had been asked by Presidente Napolitano to form a new cabinet he spoke on TV in a video message to say, amongst other things, that he was going to double his efforts to improve Italy, and to thank the people of Italy for the "affection" that they had shown him. Monti only gave a quick speech, in which he gave his thanks for the faith shown in him, and appeared very serious, the complete opposite of his predecessor. Napolitano then spoke, saying that Italy's current situation didn't allow new elections to be held, and hoped that Monti as an independant figure, and not a politician, would be able to unite the various different parties in the Italian government.

It's still very difficult to tell what's going to happen over the next few days and weeks. A lot of people are still happy that Berlusconi's finally gone, but there's a lot of caution about the future. It's taken an event as large as the prime minister's resignation for a lot of the country to realise how serious the economic situation is. We can only hope now that Italy really can get a fresh start from all of this.

Sunday Classic

2011-11-13T09:42:00.000+01:00

This week's song is another of my favourites, Il gatto e la volpe by Edoardo Bennato,which was released in 1977. The song is inspired by Pinocchio, the gatto and the volpe are the cat and the fox from the tale who lead Pinocchio astray. In this song they are portrayed as talent scouts who try to con an aspriring singer.

The end of an era

2011-11-12T22:09:00.000+01:00

The whole world knows by now that Berlusconi has resigned.

It's been a long and tense day for Italy. The austerity law was passed this afternoon paving the way for Berlusconi's resignation. And at 8.30pm he was set to meet president Napolitano to hand in his resignation. He arrived nearly half an hour late and was greeted by furious cheers from the crowd, including the words 'Buffone!' (bufoon) and 'Mafioso!'.

Right now I'm watching people doing a conga line (known in Italian as trenino) outside the Quirinale (the official residency of the President) in Rome. There had been a bit of a twitter campaign to create a virtual trenino (you may have seen #aeiouy trending this week, it refers to this song which always kicks off the trenino at new year parties and the like) over the last few days to celebrate Berlusconi's resignation, and tonight people in the crowd that had been gathering for the last few hours are doing a real one.

His resignation won't solve the problems Italy has, but tonight Italy is celebrating something which it has been trying to achieve for years. No longer will the rest of the world laugh at this beautiful country because of the actions of one man. The situation is desperate, but there is hope for a new start.

Sleep

2011-11-11T19:58:00.001+01:00

I'll never understand how most Italians get away with the amount of sleep that they do.

Evenings in Italy run on a different timetable to that of the UK, a later one. Supper isn't eaten before 7pm, and up here in the north 8pm is more or less and average time for the family to sit down to eat. Prime time or prima serata is generally classed as being 9pm or a few minutes after onwards, that's when the main and most popular programmes of the evening ar shown, or films. Reality shows such as X Factor or Big Brother are on during the week (Thursday night and Monday night respecively) and they don't finish until after midnight, with shows lasting three hours each! Even Masterchef Italia (a new addition to the tv schedules this year, which is proving to be very popular) doesn't finish until 11pm when it's shown on Sky.

Another thing you'll see in Italy is how children stay up late at night. It's just one of those typically Italian things that us Brits who grew up with strict bedtimes just don't get. There have even been times during the week in the past when I've been curled up in bed around 11 at night only to hear a child chattering away with their parents or relatives outside the trattoria next door!

It's not like the Italians necessarily wake up later in the morning than people in Britain do. A study revealed this year that the alarm for Italians was being set at a time that was gradually getting earlier and earlier, with 6.49am being the average time it went off in the morning. Historically there has been the siesta culture in Italy, it's still very much in force in areas of Central and Southern Italy, but not so much in big northern cities like Milan. You will find small shops and businesses such as pharmacies that close for a couple of hours or so in the early afternoon, but for most of the year life during those siesta hours for most people goes on as normal.

And that leaves me with my original question, with this late bedtime that Italians have right from infancy, how on earth do they get enough sleep? I certainly can't hack it, not even with all the coffee I can get my hands on!

Song of The Week

2011-11-10T19:51:00.000+01:00

This week's song is the new single by Casino Royale, Ogni uomo una radio, which translates as 'Every man a radio'. The video has been released in the last few days and can be watched exclusively on Radio Deejay's website.

The end is near...

2011-11-09T19:42:00.001+01:00

... or so it would seem.

After a very tense day for Italy yesterday which involved Berlusconi losing the majority in the Camera dei Deputati (the Italian parlament's lower house, he still retains a majority in the Senato, the upper house) by obtaining 308 votes instead of the required 316 during a vote on the budget. In a meeting with the Italian president, Giorgio Napolitano, Berlusconi promised to reisgn as soon as the financial stability law was passed.

So now it all depends on how soon that law will be passed. Napolitano is reported to have said today that Belusconi will resign within a "few days", instead of the two weeks that was expected go by yesterday before the law was passed. He is also calling on either a new government to be formed, or elections to be called. Berlusconi has declared that he won't run if new elections are called, and his Popolo della Libertà party aren't too keen on the idea of early elections.

I'm no expert on politics, but at this point it doesn't seem very clear what exactly will happen once this new law is passed. The Popolo della Libertà's coalition partners, the Lega Nord, are calling for elections as well as Berlusconi himself, even though he has said he won't run. The opposition has yet to name a candidate for their coalition, and the view of ordinary members who want Berlusconi to leave is very skeptical. For the public it has to be seen to be believed to put it simply.

So for now the prosecco's going back in the fridge...

Kaki

2011-11-08T09:25:00.000+01:00

This

is known in italian as a caco.

Opened up it looks something like this:

Up until my arrival in Milan I'd never even seen one, never mind tried one. For some reason or other after one winter of eating them I went off them for two years and didn't want to eat any at all. But yesterday I saw the packets in the supermarket and thought 'why not?'. I still find the slightly slimy texture a bit too strange, but I'm hoping after eating the other three in the pack I will have managed to get used to it again. It's difficult to define the taste of it, for me the fruit that comes closest is the apricot, but it's more tangy.

Whilst talking about kaki with a friend of mine on Twitter last night she sent me the link to this, it's a song by Elio e le Storie Tese, La terra dei cachi - Italy is the 'land of the kaki'.

Il supermercato

2011-11-07T20:33:00.001+01:00

I know this's going to sound strange, but one of the things I look forward to the most when going to a country other than Italy or the UK is going to the supermarket. I love seeing all the different kinds of food which aren't on sale here or in the old country, and trying things I haven't eaten before. One of the best things I've seen on my travels was in Vienna when I was there at the end of March last year - normal chicken eggs which had been painted in different colours for Easter, I thought it was such a lovely idea!

As supermarkets go, Italian ones are very different from British ones. In my hometown there's this massive Tesco that sells everything. None of that here, well, not in a supermercato anyway. The nearest thing would be a ipermercato. And even then they don't have as much clothes as a lot of British supermarkets do. I remember the first time I went to a ipermercato in Italy, in Pesaro during my year in Urbino; I was overjoyed not only to find products for sensitive skin which were impossible to find in the small town where I was studying, but also foundation which was light enough for my skin! But as for supermarkets, here there are much less non-food goods.

I think you can learn a bit about the culture of the country you're visiting when you go to the supermarket too, epecially in Italy where the food culture is so important. You can learn so much about the eating habits of the population. Instead of the cereal aisle you have in the UK, there's a biscuit aisle. There's more bread and pasta. It's no surprise that Italy's a much healthier nation when you look at the shops where they buy their food. There's more fresh produce, fewer ready meals and pre-prepared food, and fewer snacks and fatty food aimed at children. Generally speaking there's less frozen produce too, even though gelato obviously takes up a large section of this!

This was my food shop from earlier today. Those red things at the top that look like overgrown tomatoes? I'll be blogging about them tomorrow!

Sunday Classic

2011-11-06T13:06:00.000+01:00

Yes, I know I'm being crafty seeing as I've set myself the task of writing a blog post every day this month, but I've thought of a new feature; which is posting a video for a classic Italian song every Sunday. I know I focus quite often on current music on my blog, but I think it's also important to have a knowledge of the songs which are part of the history of Italian music.

This week the song's from 1979. I thought it would be appropriate to feature a genovese singer, and this song happens to be one of my favourite Italian songs of all time. It's La mia banda suona il rock by Ivano Fossati.

The Floods - an update

2011-11-05T19:28:00.000+01:00

After yesterday's events I feel it'd be unsensitive to write about anything else today. Genova yesterday was hit by flash floods, rivers which run through the city burst their banks. Streets became torrents. The images are shocking, it's hard to believe something on that scale could happen in the country I'm living in.

Six people lost their lives; amongst them a mother and her two young children (the youngest just 11 months old) who were trying to get to safety when they were carried away by the water. I saw a man being interviewed on Sky News 24, his business which he had been running for 50 years had been flooded; the water had reached a depth of 1.5 metres and there was nothing he could do. And unfortunately more flooding is predicted for the area.

There are also flood warnings issued during the day for Piemonte. The Po river is expected to burst its banks at some point between Sunday and Tuesday for different areas of the region. Evacuations have been ordered for areas in the province of Alessandria, where flooding is expected tomorrow.

In Milan it's been raining solidly for nearly 48 hours. I don't think I've ever seen such heavy rain in Italy. But we're the lucky ones here, apart from a lot of water on the road so far everything seems to be fine. The Seveso and Lambro rivers however are being monitored, as the rain isn't expected to stop any time soon.

My thoughts go out to everyone who's been affected by the events of the last couple of days, the whole of Italy is with you.

Genova

2011-11-04T19:26:00.003+01:00

I don't think that there are enough words to describe what's been happening in Genoa.

Stay safe everyone.

British Week

2011-11-03T19:12:00.001+01:00

Brits of Italy rejoice, it's British week at Lidl!!

Ok, ignore the scema in the photo and concentrate instead on the glass full of purple lovelyness. Blackcurrant squash.

I absolutely adore the stuff, but unfortunately for me it's practically inexistant in Italy. I have found a juice which was blackcurrant and something (if someone could enlighten me as to what it could be that'd be great, the bottle has possibly a white flower on it?) but much to my disappointment I didn't like it. But this week it's on sale in Lidl along with other British food, and I bought three bottles of the stuff. Yes, three.

For someone who hasn't experienced what it's like to drink or eat something that you haven't for months or even years, something you loved when you were growing up, it's difficult to explain what it means. It might seem silly, after all, it's just a drink. It's more than that though. For me it's mainly memories of cold winter nights curled up in bed with a cup of hot blackcurrant, with the wind and rain howling outside, watching something good on the tv. It's comforting, it reminds me of home.

So I'd like to thank Lidl for reuniting me with my favourite drink, it's been far too long!

The Floods

2011-11-02T20:09:00.001+01:00

I don't watch the news on TV. It wasn't a conscious choice as such, I don't seem to have the TV on when the news is or I'm busy doing something else, and I'm also skeptical about the contents at times - with the media as it is in Italy, it's a question of trust, who do you trust to get your news from? - so I prefer to get my news from other sources; namely the internet and the radio. But unfortunately not watching news reports has worked against me during the last couple of weeks or so.

I was very slow picking up the news about the floods in Liguria and Tuscany last Tuesday, and I still feel like I'm playing catch-up now. After torrential rain on Tuesday rivers broke their banks, the area has been devastated. The picturesque Cinque Terre in the Liguria area has been hit especially hard. Two of the towns, Monterosso and Vernazza were cut off from the outside world, and were without electricity gas and water for days. Ten people so far in the area have lost their lives, including one volunteer who was killed whilst he was trying to help the people hit by the floods.

The clean-up operation is well underway, but obviously it's going to take a long time for the area to get back to a state of normality. There are various different ways to donate money to help the operations in the area, if you have an Italian mobile you can text 445500 to donate 2 euro, and you can also ring that number from a landline.

To donate from abroad you can now go to the Italian Red Cross site and select 'Emergency Tuscany and Liguria' for the donation cause. You can also donate to two bank accounts that have been set up, the first to collect funds for the Cinque Terre area, the second for the La Spezia area:

IBAN: IT64W0603049870000046275829
HEADING: “Un aiuto per Monterosso e Vernazza”
CAUSAL: “Alluvionati 5 Terre”

IBAN: IT11 Y061 7501 4000 0000 3452 080
BIC: CRGEITGG040
CIN: Y
CAB: 01400
HEADING: Società Edizioni e Pubblicazioni (S.E.P.) Spa
CAUSAL: “Alluvione Spezia”

More bad weather is forecast for the next few days, and the entire country is hoping that it will spare these areas that have already been brought to their knees by last week's rain.

Ognissanti

2011-11-01T19:04:00.000+01:00

Today's All Saints' Day, as with many Catholic holidays it's public holiday in Italy. And when Italy has public holidays generally speaking everywhere's closed. I was amazed this morning to pass three open bars on the way to work, but by the time I got home one of them had closed - even though they had a sign in the window saying they'd be open all day. How very Italian...

With it being All Saints today is everyone's onomastico. In Catholic tradition every day is a different saint's feast day, and everyone who has a saint's name has their own name day or onomastico. Historically the onomastico was as important as a person's birthday, especially in the Southern regions of the country; and even now people receive gifts (mostly small) or simply auguri when it's their saint's day.

Having a Welsh name I don't strictly have an onomastico. The Italian version of my name's Nerina, and apparently my onomastico is May 12th. I never remember, partly because it isn't my real name, and partly because I didn't grow up with this tradition of having a name day. So I'm sort of counting this as my onomastico today. Now where are my presents??

NaBloPoMo

2011-10-31T19:27:00.005+01:00

Last week I had a bit of a crazy idea. I would participate in NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month. It's basically a spin-off of NaNoWriMo, a project that was created to celebrate National Writing Month, which is November. That involves writing a 50,000 word novel during the month, and it's something I've wanted to do for years, since I was in 6th form, but for one reason or another I never manage to get round to doing it.

For me it's going to be a challenge, not so much the writing part but the actual ideas part, I'm not sure I'm going to find 30 different things to write about this month. But I feel that it'll be a positive thing for me, because I don't write near as much as I should or would like to. I've always loved writing, ever since I was small, and it's about time I dedicated more time to my blog.

Tomorrow the adventure begins!

Three Years On

2011-10-22T17:53:00.000+02:00

Today's three years since I packed my bags and got on a flight from Bristol to Milan Malpensa, to begin my Italian adventure. It's such a cliché, but time really has gone so fast. I'd only originally planned to stay in Italy for a year or two, even though I didn't then know what I would've done when I returned to the UK. But I'm still here, three years on.

The whole point of moving here was to improve my Italian after I graduated from university. I didn't move out here for love or work. Ever since I first set foot in Italy I'd always felt a connection to the country, leaving to go home was always heartbreaking. And I guess I'd got a bit bored of living in the UK, life wasn't challenging enough, and I'd had enough of the small-town mentality I'd grown up in where everyone knew everything about everyone. About half-way through my degree I decided that yes, I would move out to Italy to continue learning the language, but also for a fresh start.

The anniversary's naturally made me reflect on my time here, especially the last year. It's been a big year of ups and downs. At the moment I'm going through a bit of a difficult patch, I'm feeling at a bit of a dead end. I don't think my Italian can get any better than it is now, but I'm frustrated at only being able to use it during my free time. I've been threatening for weeks to go back to the UK, even though deep down I know I'll never bring myself to actually leave Italy. I'm happy in Milan, and in Italy in general, that's not the problem. I'm hoping things will improve during the next few weeks though, as I don't want to be unhappy here.

I'd like to take the chance to say thank you to everyone who's supported and helped me over the last three years, and also to everyone who I've met during this last year. Thanks for putting up with my whinging and ranting, and thanks for helping me get to know the real Italy.

Il Censimento

2011-10-09T15:49:00.000+02:00

Today's census day in Italy. Over the last few weeks the forms have been sent out by post - amazingly mine actually arrived in my post box, a very rare event... - and even though they still haven't been received by everyone, today was the date that the census would be based on.

After looking at what seemed like quite a complicated and confusing form, I decided that I'd complete my form online. A dedicated site had been set up, and in order to complete the census you had to log in using your Codice Fiscale and the password which was written on the paper copy of the census form. I figured that not only would I complete the form quicker as I wouldn't be writing everything out by hand, there would be less chance of getting things wrong and completing questions I shouldn't be answering.

Unfortunately though, Istat's website hasn't been able to cope with the demand. Twitter has been full of complaints, and the hashtag #censimento (Italian for 'census) is first in the trending topics. It took me about ten minutes just to get logged in, and after getting thrown out of the system several times during the process, it took me six (yes, I counted) attempts to send the completed form. A process of around an hour and a half, which ironically I wouldn't have spent writing the form by hand.

To be filed under Only in Italy I guess.....

Il satellite

2011-09-23T20:07:00.002+02:00

I managed to blag myself a day off work today, and being the radio geek I am I've spent the whole day listening to Deejay. And the same subject's come up all day - il satellite. The satellite. The satellite that's fallen out of orbit and is on its way back down to earth. It seems to be the one topic that everyone's talking about everywhere today, and the Italian superstition's well and truly come out to play. Of course, everyone mentions the mathematical probability of parts of the satellite actually landing in Italy, which are very slim... But then straight on to where the satellite could land, how much damage it could do, how you could be outside with bits of space junk falling out of the sky... Of course, luck comes into all of this. Italians love the concept of luck and bad luck, especially bad luck. Colloquially it's called sfiga, but the standard Italian word for it is sfortuna. And just about everything could potentially porta sfortuna - bring bad luck. So there's this whole discussion about how sfigato or unlucky you'd have to be for you or your house to be hit by the satellite. Because it doesn't matter what the actual scientific calculations are, oh no, it all boils down to how unlucky you are in Italy!

Novara-Inter

2011-09-21T19:53:00.002+02:00

Don't ask me why, but for as long as I can remember I've had an interest in football, without being a fan of any particular team, and since being in Italy I've been following the Serie A. I can't even put my finger on why, I just find it interesting, and even moreso than British football, maybe because I didn't grow up with the Italian calcio culture.

Last night newly promoted Novara were playing world champions Inter. Novara's a city in Piedmont, its province shares its eastern border with the province of Milan, and it has a population of around 105,000. When I moved to Italy nearly three years ago I spent a couple of weeks in the province of Novara with a friend who had very kindly offered a place for me to whilst I got myself sorted; so I feel quite attached to the city, and was very happy when they were promoted from Serie B at the end of last season.

The game ended 3-1 to Novara, much to my surprise, even though Inter have had a bad start to the season. Amusingly I heard a lot of noise coming up from the trattoria next door - who'd have thought there were so many Novara fans in my part of the country?? And after lots of speculation this latest bad result has resulted in Inter's coach, Gian Piero Gasperini, being shown the door after just three months with the club. It's certainly proving to be an interesting start for the Serie A this season!

Bye bye Summer...?

2011-09-19T20:53:00.000+02:00

Finally it looks like Summer's over. Unlike most people in this country I'm glad to see the end of it. No more days of 30-odd degree temperatures and sticky nights unable to sleep. Over the weekend many areas of Northern and Central Italy saw a lot of thunderstorms, apparently 80,000 lightning bolts struck the North of the country in the space of 24 hours! In Milan it all kicked off Saturday night, and after a stormy evening I was woken up by thunder which sounded as if it were right over my house at 7am - luckily I always get up quite early on weekends, otherwise I really would have been annoyed!

And when it rains in Milan it rains. Especially in the summer when it gets really humid. Full-blown thunderstorms that you can see coming miles off (or maybe I should say kilometres??) that clear the air, at least for a bit. We don't really get much of that can't-really-be-bothered drizzle that the UK gets all year round. Oh no, when it rains here it doesn't mess about with it!

Here in the space of around 24 hours the temperature dropped around 10 degrees. For the first time in months I woke up cold this morning! I'm hoping I can dig out the duvet soon, I'm looking forward to curling up in it during the winter months. Today it's blowing a gale outside, the many leaves that have already fallen are swirling around. If I were a couple of kilos lighter I'd probably get blown away!!

There are rumours though that it's going to start warming up again this week though, I'm hoping it won't be the case...

The Welsh Miners

2011-09-17T19:37:00.000+02:00

The first news bulletin I heard on the radio this morning at 9am didn't include any mention of the events from my homecountry. It was like it had never happened. Nobody even mentioned the miners to me yesterday and Thursday, it was just me on my own trying to keep up with the sad events online as they were unfolding.

It was as if nobody cared. As if nobody cared about the four miners. Their friends and family. The closely-knit mining community they were a part of. The news slowly filtered down to Italy, but even during the evening I was having to explain to Italian friends what was happening back home.

Right up until the end I was still hoping for the best, hoping that it wouldn't end how I feared. I know this tragedy's affected the whole of Wales. I can't remember anything like this happening in my country before, and just because I'm far away from home it hasn't affected me any less. It's such a sad loss, something you would never imagine that could happen in the country you grew up with.

My heart goes out to the four men's families and friends. Cysgwch yn dawel bois.

Song of The Week

2011-09-15T13:35:00.000+02:00

La notte dei desideri is Jovanotti's latest single from Ora. It was first played on radio on Friday, and the video was released at midday today!

Lost in Translation 2

2011-09-10T19:42:00.000+02:00

So there I was, eating the remains of a bag of biscuits for a snack as I tried to hold out for supper, when I noticed something that I hadn't seen before...

Yes, the English part of the front of the packet says "that promove good digestive healt".

Seriously, if you're going to translate the Italian that's on your products, please get it checked...

Song of The Week

2011-09-07T19:56:00.000+02:00

Meglio prima is the second single from J-Ax's album of the same name, and continues with the tongue-in-cheek nostalgia that we saw in some of his songs from his last album, Deca dance (The single Deca dance being one, and also his fantastic collaboration with Jovanotti on Vecchia scuola, which includes some lines where they quote each others' lyrics from the past). Here the question is, were things better before or 'meglio prima'?

My Milanese Pet Hates - Part 9

2011-09-02T10:44:00.001+02:00

The people on their scooters and motorbikes who use pedestrian crossings.

Pavements, and therefore pedestrian crossings, are for people, not for vehicles.

And this is especially true first thing in the morning when it's difficult enough trying to keep myself awake.

Just stick to the roads, ok?

Il caldo

2011-08-26T20:55:00.000+02:00

Fa caldo. It's hot. Molto caldo. Very hot. For over a week Italy has been sweltering in temperatures which have reached over 40 degrees in some cities. For days the weather forecast I hear every morning on the radio could be summed up in two words: caldo and sole. Hot and sun.

In Milan the maximum has reached around 35 degrees but with the humidity it felt closer to 37. That's the problem with Milan, in the summer it gets very humid. Go out of the city and you'll find a much more bareable, 'dry' heat, even if there's no difference in the temperature.

The sky's been cloudless during these hot days, but today the clouds arrived and the temperature decreased. Tonight the sun set behind fluffy white clouds and left an evening which was much cooler than the ones we've had recently.

Now there's a breeze blowing, the thunderstorms that were forecasted for tonight and tomorrow morning are probably on their way. I hope there's no storms in the middle of the night; after these hot, sticky nights that's the last thing I need! Hopefully after this spell we'll start to get some Autumnal weather, I'm definitely ready for some cooler temperatures!

Song of The Week

2011-08-17T21:36:00.004+02:00

This week's song is by legendary singer-songwriter Edoardo Bennato. To give you some idea of how long he's been around for, one of my favourite Italian songs of all-time is by him, Il gatto e la volpe. It was released in 1977, nine years before I was born. This is his latest single, La mia città.

Ferragosto in città

2011-08-15T17:10:00.000+02:00

Lesson of The Week

2011-08-11T19:47:00.000+02:00

If a big angry hornet gets into your house do not run away like a terrified child, because you will fall over and end up with some very nasty looking cuts and bruises on your leg.

Ouch.

The Riots

2011-08-10T19:37:00.002+02:00

I was planning on writing this post in Italian over on my Italian blog, to sort of give Italy my take on this week's events in London and in other cities in the UK, but I've decided to write it in English so I can explain myself better.

It took a while for news about the London riots to filter down to Italy. It happens all too often, international news stories that don't effect Italy simply don't get mentioned, or if they do then they aren't explained fully. A lot of the time it feels like I'm living in a bubble, even though I may understand every single word in a news bulletin, sometimes it doesn't feel any less of a bubble than it did when I first arrived in Urbino, unable to string a sentence together in Italian. By the time Italian media really started to report the news yesterday I was playing catch up. An amico on Twitter sent me a link to The Guardian's live coverage and I started to fill in the gaps.

But I haven't abandoned Italian news altogether. Last night, like the night before, I was watching Rai News to keep up with the riots. At times they were using clips from BBC World News whilst translating the audio simultaneously. It reminded me of how they covered the earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier in the year, taking feeds from NHK and translating what was being said. But this time the images weren't coming from thousands of miles away, but my country. If you've never experienced anything like this then it's difficult to explain how it feels. I suppose helplessness sums it up well, mixed with a certain sense of surrealism. You're hundreds of miles away seeing these images on tv, of burning buildings, people who have lost everything, rioters causing damage to their own communities; and all you can do is watch. The distance sort of makes it feel like it's not your country.

From what I've heard today the situation in London has improved. I'm very proud of the majority of Londoners, those who have been cleaning up and providing support to those who need it. That's what Britain's about, being strong and staying together; not mindless looting and destruction. My thoughts go out to everyone in the UK who's been affected by the riots, hopefully there'll be an end to this difficult time soon.

Agosto

2011-08-03T20:48:00.001+02:00

Agosto, il mese più freddo dell'anno... 'August, the coldest month of the year'. After I had to take my summer holidays in July, this is going to be the first full August I've spent in Milan. And I'm already starting to feel a bit excluded from society in general, as I'm someone who's working throughout the month.

Broadly speaking, Italy does shut down for the whole month. Italians simply can't go without their month long holiday, usually on the beach somewhere in Italy. You can start to feel lonely. Not only does everyone (or almost) you know go away on holiday, the city shuts down to a certain extent too. Your day to day life changes, whether it's because than panetteria on your street's closed so you can't pop in for fresh bread every day, or the bar near your work's closed so it means no coffee deliveries every morning; oh, and public transport runs on a reduced summer schedule too... The radio and TV schedules change, and there's always the constant talk of beach, sun, and holidays...

So it's about making the most of what could be a bad situation. It does have its upside though, less traffic and air pollution for example. I'm determined to enjoy August in my own way, even though I can't go on holiday like most of the country.

Song of The Week

2011-07-27T19:54:00.001+02:00

I'd not really appreciated this song until I heard it on the radio early Sunday morning. With the world outside quiet it seemed to reflect the mood in the air. It's Sornione, the second single released from Daniele Silvestri's album S.C.O.T.C.H, and features Niccolò Fabi.

Lo sciopero

2011-07-22T20:46:00.002+02:00

I don't know about the rest of Italy but in Milan people joke about there being a transport strike once a month. Actually it's not far off the truth, as most months there's some sort of strike involving the public transport within the city. Today the strike doesn't only affect urban transport, it's a national strike that also affects the train lines in the country.

Strikes are announced in advance, the unions that organise them are required to by law. Sometimes they're cancelled, sometimes they're rescheduled, but recently they've always been on a Friday, or starting Thursday night - convenient for the weekend eh? So for the people of Italy who rely on public transport to get around it's a matter of keeping an eye on the news and on the transport companies' sites to see what's planned.

The thing is with the strikes is that even if they're announced for 24 hours or any other period, public transport doesn't come to a complete and absolute stop for that amount of time. There's always what's called the fasce garantite, the periods during the day when service is guaranteed. In Milan today, as it usually happens when there's a strike, service is guaranteed for urban transport until 8.45am and then again from 3-6pm. There are also certain trains that are guaranteed in case of strikes, which are indicated on the timetables in train stations. Outside these times you'll still see various mezzi around, the strikes have a varying level of success, especially as there are many different unions involved - some drivers won't be members of the unions on strike. Even so, here the metro is always the worst hit. Today outside of the guaranteed period of service, the underground is completely closed. So when there's a strike it's not necessarily impossible to get around using public transport, but very difficult.

For people who have a limited knowledge of Italian it can be difficult finding out about these strikes. On the Ministry of Transport site's there's information about planned strikes, but only in Italian. If you're in Milan you can check the ATM site, which is in English here (even though I can't actually seem to find any news in the English section about today's strike..). After not finding anything in the English language news from the Italian news agencies, I'd recommend running Italian news about strikes through an online translator. The translation may not be accurate, but at least you'll be informed to a certain level.

If you're unfortunate enough to experience a transport strike, here are some words you may hear used:

Lo sciopero: strike

I mezzi: transport

- mezzi urbani: urban transport

- mezzi interurbani: interurban transport

La fascia:

- fascia garantita: the guaranteed period/s of the day when service will be running as usual

La circolazione: circulation

Il disagio (singular) / i disagi (plural): disruption

superficie: surface (when referring to non-underground services)

Essere in agitazione: to be on strike

Song of The Week

2011-07-20T20:30:00.001+02:00

As far as songs are concerned, I don't think you can get much more summery than one by Luca Carboni called Fare le valige - 'packing'!

Lesson of The Day

2011-07-20T20:07:00.000+02:00

If you have a gas stove keep a very close eye on your Moka as your coffee's brewing as the handle may catch fire. That's exactly what happened to me today whilst making my post-lunch coffee!

Poor battered Moka!

Snaps from Milan: Via Sarpi

2011-07-19T20:37:00.004+02:00

Via Paolo Sarpi is the main street that makes up the area that's known as Milan's Chinatown. It's to the north-west of the city centre, about 10 minutes on foot from Arco della Pace. When I have a craving for Chinese food I head for zona Sarpi. There's a couple of places I can recommend; one's where I usually go to, it's a little place on a sidestreet, Trattoria Hua Cheng on Via Giordano Bruno, no. 13. I normally pay around 10 euro for three different dishes and a bottle of water. Jubin on Via Sarpi itself (no.11) is almost the complete opposite as it's a spacious restaurant, and it also offers Japanese and Thailandese food as well as Chinese.

Sarpi isn't the easiest place to get to, for one thing the street's now pedestrianised (though being Italy you'll obviously see the odd car driving down the street every so often...). The nearest metro stop is Moscova on the green line, and it takes around 10 minutes on foot to get to the nearest end of the street. The no.43 bus stops at the western end of the street, and the no.12 and no.14 trams (both of which also stop at the Duomo, Cardusio, and Lanza metro stops) stop streets that cross Via Sarpi. To walk from Arco della Pace, head down Corso Sempione and take Via Pina on the right. However you get there you'll know you're in the right place from the Italian flags hanging in the street!

Terremoto

2011-07-18T18:51:00.001+02:00

Last night I experienced my first Italian earthquake. According to the Corriere della Sera the quake I felt was 4.7 on the Richter scale. Last night it was unclear where the epicentre was, but it appears to have been somewhere between the provinces of Rovigo and Mantova, over in the north east. The earthquake was felt over a large part of northern Italy - Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna, and even as far up as Trentino-Alto Adige. No major damage or injuries have been reported, but travel on train lines was disrupted, with several trains from Verona cancelled.

I was at home, luckily, and clearly felt the earthquake. I'd only experienced one earthquake previously, in the Midlands in February 2008, which was stronger than yesterday's (5.3 magnitude). Even though I wasn't sure it was actually an earthquake as it was weak, I was quite scared. I took to Twitter to find out what was happening.

It took the traditional media some time to catch up on the earthquake, but by then the news was all over Twitter. Not long after the quake I turned the TV on and started watching Rai News, but by 11pm I hadn't heard a thing about it!

Here is a map that has been created which shows the areas where the earthquake was felt. The red star is the epicentre, the pink dots show where it was felt, green by 'some' and the blue dots are where people reported that they did not feel anything.

Of course when things like this happen, people start thinking about the earthquakes of the past. The one that came to my mind was the Aquila earthquake, which happened on the 6th of April 2009; just over 5 months into my stay in Italy. At the time I didn't realise how serious it was, or how long the effects of the earthquake would be felt for. 308 people lost their lives as a result of that earthquake. Around 65,000 were made homeless, many temporarily living in the 'tendopoli', the tent 'cities' around Aquila. Thousands are still homeless, many in accommodation provided by the government, and there are still tons of rubble in the streets. Unfortunately (and sadly not surprising) it's hardly mentioned in the press any more, even though there is still a lot of work to be done and a lot of help needed.

Last night only minor damage was reported, the worst being part of a church tower near Mantova collapsing and falling on some cars. So we were lucky. But I can't help but wonder about what could have happened had it been worse.

Songs of The Week

2011-07-04T16:53:00.000+02:00

This week I have two! They're two bilingual songs, Italian and English, so my thinking was 2 half-Italian songs is worth one completely Italian song...?

Here's the first, and what might well become one of the tormentoni of this summer: Michael Franti and Jovanotti in the Italian version of The Sound of Sunshine.

The other is from Caro Emerald and Giuliano Palma, Riviera Life (Vivere). Palma also released a bilingual song last summer, Nuvole rosa featuring Canadian singer Melanie Fiona, and was one of the big songs of the season.

My over-used Italian Words Part 2

2011-06-27T18:56:00.003+02:00

Recently I've noticed that the amount of filler words I've been using in Italian has increased substantially. The thing is with words like that in a foreign language, things you only use in informal spoken language, is that you've picked them up from someone or somewhere; they're not words you learn during lessons, or in my case at university. But most of the time, I can't pinpoint where I've heard them! The words I've found myself using the most recently are:

Tipo - literally 'type', but the equivalent in informal language would be 'like'. "Ho dormito tipo due ore" = 'I slept for like two hours".

Anche - also. But is used for emphasis, such as in "Ma anche no!" literally "But also no!".

Decisamente - not strictly a filler word; it can be translated into 'definitely', 'greately' or 'positively' amongst other things. "Oggi fa decisamente più caldo" could be translated as 'Today it's definitely hotter'.

Song of The Week

2011-06-26T09:04:00.001+02:00

After last year's Due di Picche project with singer Neffa, rapper J.Ax is back with new solo stuff. His new single is called Domenica da coma:

Can I just disgree with what he says about nobody being on the radio on Sunday though??

Why am I still here?

2011-06-19T17:26:00.000+02:00

The more time I spend in Italy the more often people seem to ask me the big question - why am I still here?

It's not something I find easy to answer though, especially as many Italians I know can't understand why I'm still here after nearly two years and eight months. I'll say it straight away, Italy isn't an easy country to live in, not even for Italians, and especially not for foreigners. The bureaucracy is unbelievable; I consider myself very lucky to be an EU citizen as it saved me so much stress. But things such as getting residency require so many documents and so much time, I felt exhausted afterwards! Then there's the politics. It saddens me so much that Italy's the laughing stock of much of the world. Not that Italy doesn't actually deserve to be laughed at after certain events that have happened recently... The extreme right-wing Lega Nord are part of the government (for you Brits, imagine what it'd be like if the BNP was part of a coalition government... Scary thought, right?), and during the recent administrative elections in Milan the right-wing used a lot of racist and scare tactics in their attempt to win votes from the Milanese.

But Italy's just like any other country - in Europe at least - there's the bad, but there's also the good. I feel very lucky to consider Milan as my home. Only yesterday I got asked by a tourist (I could only narrow the accent down to being Eastern European and no further) where I was from after he'd asked me to take a photo. "I'm British, but I live here." I replied proudly. And I am proud to live here. It's a country of breathtaking landscapes, beautiful cities full of history and traditions, and a welcoming people. The pace of life here's more relaxed and less stressful. And of course, you can't beat the food!

To me it isn't necessarily about where you were born or grew up, or not even where you fit in. Being blonde haired and blue-eyed people here know I'm not Italian before I've even opened my mouth. And as much as that can annoy me at times, I know being foreign and 'different' has made me a stronger person. It also gives me the excuse to be a little bit eccentric! It's given me much more confidence too. I'm happy here, and to me that's what counts. And that's how I usually answer the question - I'm still here because I'm happy here.

Song of The Week

2011-06-16T22:27:00.002+02:00

After a break of nearly a year and a half Giorgia is back. This is her new single, Il mio giorno migliore, which was released last Friday:

Nerys's Guide to Italian Music - Caparezza

2011-06-15T21:44:00.000+02:00

Caparezza is the alter ego of Puglian rapper Michele Salvemini. Michele started off his career as rapper Mikimix, but didn't have much success. He then transfored into Caparezza (which means 'Curly Hair' in his native dialect of Molfetta), growing his hair and beard long, and his first album as Caparezza, ?!, was released in 2000. He has since released four albums, including this year's critically acclaimed Il sogno eretico. The first single from the album was a Song of the Week for me, Goodbye Malinconia which features Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley.

One of his most well-known singles is 2004's Fuori dal tunnel:

I remember La mia parte intollerante being played on the radio in 2006, it also features singer Gennaro Cosmo Parlato:

Vieni a ballare in Puglia, is an example of something Caparezza does so well - treating serious subjects in what initially would seem a light-hearted song. The song actually deals with a subject which is all too often heard in the news, death in the workplace. In the song the word ballare - 'to dance' - actually has the meaning of morire - 'to die'.

His latest single is another one which has been a single of the week for me, Chi se ne frega della musica (which can be translated as 'Who cares about music'). Even though it's absolutely not to be taken seriously - only in Italy eh?

My Milan Fashion - Summer

2011-06-11T17:22:00.001+02:00

Although it seems more like monsoon season in Milan than summer, I decided to drag myself out of bed early this morning so I could go in search of some summer clothes. It never seems to be easy to find enough clothes to last me the summer though, and I can never figure out why. However there genuinely isn't as much choice here when it comes to affordable sandals - or any kind of shoes all year round in general I've found. But I did manage to find some things this morning, so it's a start at least!

Three vest tops from Pimkie on offer for 9.95 euro, 3 for the price of 2. Happy Nerys!

Pretty gold sandals from H&M for a barganious 9.95 euro!

And a pretty pair of shoes, also from H&M for 19.95.

How to survive in Milan in the Summer

2011-06-04T15:00:00.000+02:00

The weather's not being summery at all today, there's thunder rumbling in the distance and ominous black clouds overhead... But with it now being June it's supposed to be warm, sunny, and starting to feel humid in Milan. I've decided to put a list together my top five tips I have for people who might be coming to Milan this summer, or are looking forward to their first Milanese summer. They might be obvious, but I think they're worth repeating. These tips go for Italy in general too, but I've focused on Milan in the hope of putting together more specific advice.

1. Stay out of the sun

Obvious, no? There's siesta time in Italy for a reason. Early afternoon during summer the heat and humidity get unbearable. Try to arrange indoor activities if you want to be out and about at this time of day, such as going to the Museo del Novecento (Museum of the 20th Century, in Piazza Duomo), or the Triennale Design Museum (Viale Alemagna, 6, near Parco Sempione amd Cadorna train station). If you have to stay outside, aim for the shade.

2. Keep hydrated

Another obvious one, but it's something that can be neglected if you're sightseeing. Buy 500ml water bottles from the supermarket to save money on buying them from bars and street vendors, and when they get empty fill them up from one of the water fountains dotted around Milan. There's one in Piazza Duomo for example, it's dark green and next to the side of the church, the water's perfectly drinkable.

3. Sali minerali

Or in English: mineral salts. My first summer here I was prescribed supplements as I have low blood pressure, as I discovered from a visit to the doctor. And I swear by them. I highly recommend them if you have low blood pressure or suffer the heat, they replace minerals (specifically potassium and magnesium) lost through sweating. You can buy them in pharmacies (and some supermarkets), some of the best known brands are Polase, Sustenium and Mg K vis. They're not very cheap though, the last packet of Polase I bought was 20.50 euro for 30 packets, but they do the trick. Good replacements are Energade or Gatorade, or failing that, orangeade for the sugar.

4. Food

Try to eat light meals during the day. Eating a heavy meal such as pasta and pizza will cause blood to be diverted to your digestive system as it requires a lot of energy to break down the food, making it easier for you to feel light-headed. For snacks gelato is great, and so is a granita - a slush. In bars, gelaterie and food stalls you will find various flavours.

5. Stock up on mosquito repellent

Those pesky mozzies get everywhere, there's no escape. Before going out, especially at night, cover yourself in repellent. During the night if you have to leave any windows open I'd recommend that you use a plug-in or mosquito coil (you can find plenty of products in any supermarket) as I've found them to be much more effective. I use a plug-in myself and have rarely had any problems with mosquitos in my flat.

I hope I haven't put anyone off coming here??

Song of The Week

2011-06-03T19:16:00.000+02:00

Yes, I know, I've neglected my blog recently. Again. But I'm back, with quite possibly the best Italian song I've heard this year. It's by the Milanese Casino Royale, and their latest single, Io e la mia ombra (Me and my shadow) is a bit different from their normal stuff. For me, it's the perfect song for lazy summer days. There doesn't seem to be an official video yet, but here's one I found on the tubo:

Eurovision

2011-05-15T17:29:00.000+02:00

I've already written about this over on my Italian blog, but partly because I thought I'd do a better job in English, and partly because this blog's been a bit neglected recently I've decided to write about in in English too. Oh, and partly because of my love for Eurovision. And I adore Eurovision. I have ever since I can remember. At home I'd always be the last person staying awake right until the end to watch all the votes come in. Even at a young age it fascinated me, it was like a window on all these different countries and cultures. I'd listen to songs sung in unknown languages, following the subtitles giving the translation in English.

But unfortunately since moving to Italy I haven't been able to follow it as much as I would have liked. Until this year that is. When I read a few months ago that Italy was going to be rejoining the competition after a 14 year absence I couldn't believe it. For one thing, with all the political voting of the last few years, I couldn't understand what had made the powers that be change their minds! And when I found out who Italy would be sending to Duesseldorf the decision was made, I'd be supporting Italy - Raphael Gualazzi, as well as being very talented, was from Urbino!

So last night for the first time since 1997, Italy was back in Eurovision and Eurovision was back on Italian TV. Rai 2 to be precise. The second semi-final had been shown on digital channel Rai 5, whereas the first one hadn't been shown on Italian TV at all. And it was a strange experience. After a lifetime of watching it on the BBC this was Eurovision Italian style. The legendary Raffaela Carrà was commentating, along with Bob Sinclair (Ok, I get that they collaborated together, but, really?) and lots of other people, none of which I recognised. And obviously, with this being Italy (they weren't even in Duesseldorf!) there was a lot of talking. Too much. It got in the way of the show. Even when the votes were being announced there was too much chatter. I understand that there needed to be translation done into Italian, but last night was excessive. The only time we got a decent amount of silence was when Italy started creeping up the scoreboard...

I couldn't believe it. I had been so worried that Italy, after having sent such a good song, would only be disappointed with the result and would start sulking again. After a slow start and being stuck on 'nil points' for a while, before I knew it, Italy was 5th! But to my amazement the crew of commentators weren't happy. Until Italy got to third, and then the mood in the studio in Rome completely changed. With all the neighbourly and political voting of Eurovision I couldn't believe it, I never expected such a good result.

Italy finished second with 189 points. I'm so proud of Raphael and the team from Italy who were in Duesseldorf last night! But even after having come second, unfortunately not much has been said about it anywhere today. Italy still doesn't quite understand Eurovision yet, after 14 years a whole generation had never experienced it before last night. I'm hoping last night's result will be able to raise its profile for next year's competition, and that the programming on Rai will be better too - less chatter next time, yes?

So, Italy, what was all that sulking about then? Looks like Eurovision's not so bad after all!

For those of you who didn't see it, here's Raphael's fantastic performance from last night:

Everybody's Talking About....

2011-05-08T19:44:00.001+02:00

Everyone knows what the big international news stories of the week have been, but what about the news from Italy this week?

Friday's strikes

There's a joke in Milan that on a Friday every single month there's a transport strike. As much as people like to joke about it, it's actually pretty close to the truth. But Friday's strikes were bigger than the usual transport strikes that hit the city. Many of the workers unions in Italy joined the strike, which also affected schools and airports.

The rubbish crisis in Rome and Naples

This week the news has been reporting that the rubbish crisis in Naples is as bad as it was in 2008. The government has promised over and over again that the problem will be resolved, but it keeps coming back. The military was meant to arrive in the area on Monday, but on Friday they had already started working on removing what's quoted as being over 1000 tons of rubbish that have been collecting on the streets. It was promised that the situation in Rome would be resolved by tonight, with people working overtime to clear the streets of the rubbish that had accumulated over the last few days.

Lo scudetto

Milan's 0-0 draw against Rome last night was enough to award them what's called 'lo scudetto' - they are the Serie A champions for this season. It's the 18th scudetto in their history, and the rossonero half of the city was out in force last night celebrating, with thousands of fans in Piazza Duomo. Even in the suburbs cars, scooters and bikes were driving around and around into the early hours beeping their horns in celebration! At the other end of the table; today, Brescia - who were only promoted to Serie A at the end of the last season - were relegated to Serie B.

Song of The Week

2011-05-04T20:37:00.001+02:00

This, in my opinion, is genius. It's the video for Caparezza's new song, which debuted on La Repubblica's site today. Chi se ne frega della musica translates as 'Who cares about music'! Only in Italy!!

My Milanese Pet Hates - Part 8

2011-05-03T19:55:00.000+02:00

More from the The Dangerous Life of a Pedestrian in Milan.

Cyclists who go down one way streets the wrong way.

Around where I live there are a lot of one way streets (including the street I live on), and too many times now a cyclist has nearly gone straight into me when I've been walking to or from work. I've always got my earphones in, which means I don't hear them. Yes, I know I should pay more attention, but seriously, what are you doing going down the street the wrong way?? It's not going to end well, especially not with the way Italians drive...

Everyone's Talking About...

2011-05-01T14:46:00.000+02:00

After a short break away from Italy, here's my round-up of the biggest talking points in Italy this week:

The war in Libya
Unfortunately one of the biggest news stories in Italy from this week is the country's involvement in Libya. Italy's decision to join the war has split the government. The far-right Lega Nord is against it, because, to put their point of view simply, bombing Libya would mean more people would want to escape the country and come to Italy. Even so, Berlusconi has agreed to join the NATO bombing campaign. Gheddafi has responded by threatening to 'bring the war to Italy'.

May 1st
Today is Workers' Day in Italy, and the decision of many shops to stay open today has created a lot of discussion in Italy. In Rome there's also the annual 1st of May concert, featuring many Italian artists such as Subsonica, Caparezza and Edoardo Bennato.

In the Vatican City around a million people witnessed the beatification of Pope John Paul II. Beatificaion is the first step towards becoming a saint, and people from all over the world came to witness the event.

Calcio
We're getting ever closer to the scudetto being decided. Milan is still at the top of the table, but after Inter's win away at Cesena last night, the scudetto won't be decided for at least another week, even if Milan win against Bologna. Places in the Champions League spot are also to be decided, however Bari's fate has already been decided, having already been demoted to Serie B.

"Actually, I live out there"

2011-04-24T17:01:00.000+02:00

The statue of the wizard Merlin in my hometown, Carmarthen

It's always strange going home. The first few days I want to go back to Milan, and by the time it gets to the last couple of days or so I want to stay longer. And this time I felt like a fish out of water for longer than usual, due to the amount of time I'd been away for.

Even though I'd been in London at the end of February last year, the last time I'd been back to see my family was Christmas 2009. And a lot of things can change in 16 months. People change, places change - you change. With it only being a week it's then never going to be a normal week home, like the weeks I'd spend during holidays during my time at uni for example. So little time means trying to do as much as possible. Seeing people, days away, meals out. As I said to a sales assistant at Heathrow on the way back - the same conversation created the quote in the title of this post - it was a holiday, a holiday from my normal, everyday life in Milan. My life was upside down compared to the holidaymakers she usually saw.

Trying to get Honey, the family dog, to pose for a photo is no mean feat...!

But in all its strangeness it was still a nice week. I caught up with family and friends I hadn't seen for the best part of a year and a half. Everyone said I'd changed, thanks to my slightly drastic haircut. We went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant we'd been going to since I was around eight years old. We went down to the coast for a day - and had some fantastic ice cream at an ice cream parlour founded by an Italian family! And of course, we went shopping! There's a new shopping centre in my hometown, and I got quite a few bargains (£1 jeggings, thanks New Look!!). And the weather was beautiful, all week!

The amazing sundae at Fecci's, Tenby

But I never felt like I belonged, not like I used to, not like I do in Milan. Regardless of the fact that I was only there for a week, walking around my hometown I felt like a foreigner. I expected the strange looks that I still sometimes get in Milan, from not looking like the rest of the population. Well, I certainly wasn't dressed like everyone else - everyone else was walking around in their summery clothes whilst I was still in jeans and a jacket!

And I missed being in Italy. Little habitual things that I used to take for granted such as listening to Italian radio. It's nice to be back. I'm used to it here, I know what to expect. I guess that's just one of the things that you have to learn to deal with if you're away from your home country for so long - feeling like a stranger in your own country.

Easter With The Yours

2011-04-16T10:37:00.000+02:00

Please see this if you don't get the joke ;)

Later today I'll be getting on a plane from Linate airport bound for Heathrow. After the disaster that was Christmas It'll be the first time that I've been home since December 2009, and the first time back in the UK since the end of February last year. It makes me sound a bit selfish, I know; and the only way I can defend myself is by saying that it costs money that I didn't have last year, and as the journey takes around 12 hours door-to-door (thanks to both Cardiff and Bristol airports failing epically when it comes to flights to Italy) going home for the weekend is out of the question. Needless to say, I'm very excited to be going home and to be seeing people I haven't seen for ages. And eating lots of food. And doing lots of shopping. And watching British TV. Aaaaaaaaaand.....

So I'll be back in a week, in time for Easter itself, but it's still sort of Easter at home, right?

Everyone's Talking About...

2011-04-10T17:29:00.000+02:00

So I've decided on a new feature - what the people of Italy have mainly been discussing during the week.

Lampedusa
The crisis in Lampedusa continues. Unfortunately this week we saw a boat full of immigrants sink on its way to the island, 250 people died according to the Italian media. The immigrants who originally reached Lampedusa are being transferred to other centres in Italy, and are being allowed to apply for temporary permits to stay in Italy for six months.

The weather
Italy, as with many other countries in Europe, has been basking in sunshine these last few days. The temperatures in Milan yesterday reached an unseasonable high of around 30 degrees! Many Italians have been making the most of the weather this weekend by making the first trip of the season to the beach.

Berlusconi
Actually, when is Italy not talking about Berlusconi? This week the highly-anticipated 'Rubygate' trial started, and after a hearing of only seven minutes was adjourned until May 31st. He was also in the news for telling an off-colour joke to students at the Sapienza university of Rome, which was met with total silence!

Il calcio
The race for the 'scudetto' is heating up! After a disastrous week, Inter won 2-0 against Chievo last night; but after their win today Napoli are tied with first place Milan with 65 points. Milan are still to play this week, away against Fiorentina tonight.

What do you get if....

2011-04-03T11:02:00.005+02:00

... you cross a world-famous DJ with one of Italy's most well-loved singers?

Well, in the case of Bob Sinclar and Raffaella Carrà, this!

My Milanese Pet Hates - Part 7

2011-04-02T11:14:00.000+02:00

The result of a night's roadworks...

Roadworks at night.

WHY would you do that on a residential street??

I was aware that some kind of work was planned as there had been signs up for a few days telling people that they weren't allowed to park on the street, but I never imagined that said work would be carried out during the night. But a couple of nights ago, around 9pm, I heard what sounded like a street full of heavy vehicles and people, and wondered how long it would carry on for. It was still going when I went to bed around 11. And when I woke up around 4am.

Needless to say I had a pretty sleepless night. Is it really so difficult to create a diversion and do the work during the day?

Epic fail Milan. Epic fail.

L'oroscopo

2011-03-20T17:00:00.000+01:00

What you might not expect about the Italians is that they're much more obsessed with horoscopes than any other country I've been to. Horoscopes are everywhere, on the radio the first thing in the morning, features on daytime TV, newspapers, magazines.... It's something the Italians really do believe in. Well, most Italians at any rate.

Even on the underground in Milan, at the stops that have TV screens showing news, and advertising events around the city, there's a horoscope feature. Each sign has a star rating for love, work, and health for that day. If I had to get up in the morning at 7am (luckily I get to sleep for a little bit more than that!) and turned on the radio I'd hear Paolo Fox, one of Italy's most respected and well-known astrologers, giving his predictions for the day on Radio Deejay.

One of the most intelligent people I've met in Italy completely believes in them. It's something that fascinates me, how she judges people through their star signs; how she's able to say so much about a person from their date of birth. Someone like her might not have been taken very seriously had she been born a Brit, but here her knowledge's respected, and never questioned.

It's brushed off on me too. I used to read my horoscope before moving here, but I didn't have the same kind of belief in it that I do now. I'm an Aries, if anyone's wondering. Stubborn, impatient, immature. But also independent, energetic, optimistic. I always used to say that the only Aries qualities that I had were the negative ones, but now I'm not so sure. It's as if all this time in Italy seems to have made me suit my star sign more. Who knows.

The mug? I bought it during my year abroad, in the Ipercoop in Pesaro, and it's followed me around ever since!

Song of The Week

2011-03-19T18:10:00.001+01:00

Last Friday Jovanotti's new single, Le tasche piene di sassi debuted on Italian radio and TV. This is the second single from his fantastic album Ora, and always makes me cry!!

Tanti Auguri Italia!

2011-03-17T18:23:00.000+01:00

Yes, I know my photo skills are somewhat lacking, but that's the Galleria dressed up for today, the 150th anniversary of Italy's unification. Happy anniversary Italy, tanti auguri!

My Milanese Pet Hates - Part 6

2011-03-06T17:18:00.000+01:00

Ok, this's another one that isn't just common to Milan, but never mind.

Supermarket opening times. Oh yes, I'm back on the supermarkets again.

For the last two years of my degree I lived about five minutes from a 24 hour Tesco. It was fantastic. I could rock up there at any time of the day or night (ok, bar Sundays...) without thinking about it. We'd even go on raids at stupid o'clock in the morning after nights out. But here it's not so simple.

Luckily the supermarket I have about 10 minutes down the road isn't as old-skool as to close at lunch, but it's the Sunday closures that annoy me. Because some Sundays there's that one thing you want to eat, or maybe that one thing you need to clean the house or do the washing, but you can't get it because there isn't a supermarket nearby open.

I've discovered that my supermarket seems to be open every third Sunday. There's some sort of law that dictates that only a certain amount of supermarkets in one particular area can be open on any given Sunday, but I've never looked into it in detail.

I'm not the sort of person do to a full-on shop on a Sunday, but just having the security of knowing that my supermarket's open on Sundays would be nice, just in case...

My Milan Fashion - Spring

2011-03-05T16:43:00.000+01:00

Milan's known as a capital of fashion. Full of designer shops and extremely well dressed people.

I don't really go in for all of that though. Most days you'll see me in skinny jeans and one of my three beloved pairs of Coverse. So I had an idea, to show the other side of the coin when it comes to fashion, the high street fashion of Milan. Today I went shopping and picked up a few pieces:

A very cute gingham skirt from Pimkie

Cropped blazer from H&M (which's the exact same colour of a blazer I used to live in when I was in 6th form!)

Some very comfy wedges also from H&M

My Over-used Italian Words Part 1

2011-03-04T19:53:00.001+01:00

It's funny how my over-using words in Italian annoys me more than over-using words in English or Welsh... At the moment I'm going through a phase of over-using:

Piuttosto: a bit of a nightmare to translate thanks to its various meanings. Can be used to express "instead", "quite", or "rather".

Assolutamente: even though saying this makes me feel a bit self-conscious about my accent, I use it a lot. It translates as "absolutely", "really", "completely" or "perfectly", depending on context.

Nel senso che: I wish I knew who I'd picked this up from, especially as I've caught myself using the literal English translation - 'in the sense of'!!

Song of The Week

2011-03-04T19:27:00.005+01:00

Carmen Consoli's new song AAA cercasi is an interesting one. Earlier I read an interview with her on the La Repubblica site, where she speaks about what inspired her to write the song. To put it simply, it was inspired by the 'papi' scandal (we all know who Papi is, right??), and the four women she dresses up as during the video is an ironic way of representing the four different 'types' of women who exist in Italy according to the media.

A little more about me...

2011-02-23T20:15:00.003+01:00

I think I'm just coming out of one of my writer's block periods. It's been a bit of a strange couple of weeks for me, since being on the radio I've not felt quite myself. I know it sounds silly, but after living your dream (even if it only was for half an hour) it's difficult to get back to normal life, right?

And as usually happens after one of my all-too-frequent writer's block stints, I've decided that I need to devote more time to my blog. And, for the second time, I think I need to give a bit more background to myself in order to do that. So here goes...

I don't have any Italian relatives, not that I'm aware of anyway. Even so, before I started studying Italian my closest link to the country was one of my aunts. She's lived in several different places over the years, including Rome when I was small. I don't remember ever speaking to her about Italy before I started studying the language, but it was as if I was always aware growing up of her having lived there.

I didn't start studying Italian until I was 16. But for years before then I was interested in foreign countries and cultures. Up until a few years ago the National Eisteddfod used to have a ceremony called Cymru a'r Byd (Wales and the World) which was basically a ceremony to celebrate and welcome home Welsh expatriates who had left Wales to live in countries all over the world. My favourite part was when the countries that were represented by the expats were read out one by one, and the people who now lived in that country would stand up, wave to the crowd, holding flags or mascots from their new country. I've tried to figure out which Eisteddfod it was exactly, when I was in the audience in the Pavillion with my mam, to watch the ceremony, but I can't remember exactly. I'm pretty sure it was the 1993 Eisteddfod in Builth Wells, when I would have been 7 years old. I was so pleased that I was able to see the ceremony, it fascinated me, all those people who'd grown up and lived in the same country I was living in, but were now living in far away countries. It sounds strange, even thinking about it now, but even at that age (or maybe a year or two older, seeing as I can't pin down the year) I wanted to be one of those expats. One day, some point far away in my future, I wanted to be standing on that stage, representing a country, even though I didn't know which one.

The Cymru a'r Byd ceremony isn't held any more, it was scrapped a few years ago, after I'd started studying Italian at university. It was criticised for being old-fashioned and out of touch with modern Wales, which, as much as it annoys me to admit it, was true. It's a shame. It would have been fun to stand on that stage, representing Italy. It'll always remain an important step on my road here, even though I never knew how much of a significance that one day in August would have years down the line.

Oh, and before anyone asks the obvious question, I don't have an Italian boyfriend or have ever had one, and after the ragazzi I've met here (the gay guys I know however, are lovely blokes!), I can't say I want to go out of my way to find one either!

You Know You're Becoming Italian When..... Winter Edition

2011-02-22T19:02:00.001+01:00

Here's another little glimpse into what Italians are really like:

- A fever is the worst symptom of an illness you can get. Even if you have the slightest fever, and apart from that you feel fine, that's it, you're not going anywhere. A cold or flu isn't serious business unless you have a fever!

- You make sure you're wearing enough layers or have a thick enough jumper, or you will end up with a mal di pancia (bad stomach).

- If you don't wear a scarf when it's cold you're worried that you will end up with a stiff neck.

- You're never without a supply of Tachipirina (its main ingredient is paracetamol). Italian housewives swear by it. It. Cures. Everything.

- Even if it's 17-odd degrees outside, unless it's properly full-blown summer, you're still wrapped up in a jacket and scarf.

Song of The Week

2011-02-09T19:29:00.001+01:00

Ok, this's cheating a little bit, as there's English in this song, and usually I only feature songs completely in Italian. But one of my favourite artists, Caparezza, is back! His new song, Goodbye Malinconia, features Tony Hadley - even in the video!

Un Giorno da Deejay

2011-02-07T19:49:00.004+01:00

Those of you who know me would know that I'm a bit of a radio geek. I'm always listening to it whenever I can, and it's pretty much been like that since I was 11 years old. My favourite station in Italy is Radio Deejay, who, this weekend, gave a chance to 100 aspiring radio presenters to go on air from the radio's studios here in Milan, with the presenters - and I was one of them!

The 'Un giorno da Deejay' was done last year, to celebrate the radio's birthday on the 1st of February, and it was decided that it'd be held again this year. After thinking about it for nearly two weeks, I decided to send off my application so that I'd stop brooding about whether I should try or not. And a week ago today, much to my surprise, I got the phonecall, telling me that I'd been chosen to go on air. I was lucky enough to be able to choose to go on air with my two favourite presenters, Federico and Marisa, and was given a slot of 3pm on Sunday.

So after a very nervous week, Sunday lunchtime I started the long tram journey that would take me across town to Via Massena, one of the streets off Corso Sempione. I got to the radio around half an hour before my slot, and met the other girl who I'd be on air with (nearly everyone had been paired up, like last year, as there were so many of us!), who, unlike me, had a bit of experience in radio. Shortly before 3pm, we met Federico and Marisa, who were enthusiastic about me being on air with them! Marisa, when she first saw me, practically ran up to be going, "Neryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyss!! Perché non ci avevi detto??" ('Why didn't you tell us??' I'd sent them a text when they were on air the day I found out that I'd been chosen, but as she explained, they get so many texts when they're on air that they don't get a chance to read them all.) before giving me a massive hug! I was really taken aback by her kindness!

Then, we were live on air. It was an amazing experience, to be on my favourite radio station, speaking to listeners all over Italy. I was living a dream. I was much more relaxed than I expected, pretty much once I started speaking I calmed down so much! As all the others had done, we spoke about ourselves, our backgrounds, our interests - nothing too challenging luckily! And having spoken twice to them on the phone last year helped, I sort of knew what to expect, what the pace would be like, and that I'd need to think on my feet a lot. Luckily my Italian didn't let me down!!

I stayed at the radio til around 5.45, when I got hungry! I hadn't eaten anything since lunch, and since I wanted to take the tram home so I could carry on listening to the radio, it would take me about an hour to get home (and it actually took longer than that!). I met a few of the other presenters, and a lot of the other participants, who were all lovely and very talented.

Today life's getting back to normal, and yesterday feels like some sort of a strange dream. I never expected to be chosen, and I never quite got my head around the idea that I'd be on the radio! I'd like to say a big grazie to Radio Deejay for organising this weekend, and giving 100 of us the chance to live a dream. Grazie to Federico and Marisa for being so lovely and putting me at ease. And thanks to everyone who listened to me and supported me, it means a lot to me!

Oh, and you can listen to us here (yes, my name's misspelt!) and there's a lovely photo of the four of us here.

Una domenica a piedi

2011-01-31T19:45:00.000+01:00

'A Sunday on foot'

The normally busy Foro Buonaparte (in front of the Sforzesco Castle) on Sunday afternoon

Every so often the powers that be in Milan decide to have a traffic ban for one day to try and combat the smog. Except for certain categories of vehicles (hybrid or electric cars, taxis and public transport for example) the city of Milan was off-limits, with fines of up to 155 euro for those breaking the ban. I decided to go out for a walk around the city to see just how deserted it would be.

I started by getting the tram to Porta Venezia. I'd taken the tram before when the streets were nearly empty, during summer or at Christmas, even though I'd seen deserted Milan before, this was different. The streets were empty but my tram was fuller than I'd ever seen before! The various means of public transport were running on average 50% more often to cope with the extra amount of people. There was hardly any traffic but there was plenty of people around, it was very strange! I walked down Corso Buenos Aires - and of course did a bit of shopping! - before getting the metro into the city centre.

I was surprised at the amount of cars going down Corso Buenos Aires! I didn't see any police or anyone stopping people from driving around, and the same goes for the city centre. Maybe there was someone somewhere, but I didn't see anyone enforcing the ban at all. It's the typical Italian way of thinking - if you can bend/break rules and get away with it.....

In theory it's a good idea, but being on a Sunday, when most Milanese are out of the city, seems to be a little pointless. I know it'd cause no end of chaos if it'd be held on a weekday, but I unfortunately I don't see how a traffic ban on a Sunday would help things all that much. There's talk this morning about another 'domenica a piedi' next month, which, considering how bad the air quality in Milan has been recently, isn't a surprise.

Il frullatore

2011-01-11T22:08:00.000+01:00

Or: the blender.

I'm taking some more teetering steps into the world of domestic housewife...ing, by buying myself a blender. When I was at uni I used to drink a ridiculous amount of smoothies, thanks to the amazing smoothie bar in the Students Union, but Italy doesn't share the same love for smoothies as the UK does. There's a limited choice in supermarkets, and the ones you *do* find are expensive. So yesterday I decided it was about time I finally bought myself a blender so I could make myself some delicious smoothies!

And here's the banana smoothie I had for supper tonight (it's a orange-ish glass, hence the funny colour!)

Buonoooooooooo!!

Weekend Breakfast

2011-01-08T10:31:00.000+01:00

Yes, I'm 24 years old and have a slight Kinder addiction...

Weekends mean more time for breakfast, and I normally make myself a cappuccino by making myself some coffee in my moka and using my wonderful Ikea milk frother to make some frothy milk. Delicious!

Saldi!

2011-01-06T18:44:00.000+01:00

The results of my raid on the sales!

Buona Befana a tutti! Today the sales started in Milan as well as most of north and central Italy, after the south started their sales on the 2nd. In Italy there are laws dictating when sales can start in the summer and winter, and when I found out that the sales for me would be starting on Epiphany I was surprised - most shops in Italy close on bank holidays. It was a great idea though, there was a lot less people in giro this year than the first day of the January sales last year. The best bargains I found was a pair of jeans in Promod and a very pretty nightshirt in H&M. Lush had a very interesting promotion on too, so I've now got enough Lush products to last me for months!

I'm debating whether to make the trek out to Ikea over the weekend - the problem is I know it'll be so busy!