Friday 28 October 2011

Cosa? Huh? WTF?



This short film explains that look that comes over the faces of most Italians when I think I can get away with speaking English.

Equally, though, it encapsulates how I too felt when listening to Italian conversations for the first few days I was here. I just spent most of the time watching out for telling uses of body language and varying tones of voice and, of course, making wild guesses.

Wednesday 26 October 2011

The consequences of being lost in translation

As I sat eating my lunch and listening to BBC Radio 1 (everyone is entitled to their fair share of nostalgia), my doorbell rang. No, I'm not such a loner that it was a surprise to me that someone was actually at my door. I live in a private set of apartments that requires a non-resident to use the callbox to get whoever they're visiting to buzz them in. So, my surprise at having someone at my door is justifiable!

Anyway, I opened the door to this young man, dressed very smartly and carrying a clipboard. Almost immediately, he started talking rapidly in Italian.  When I first arrived and listened to Italians talk to each other, it reminded me of my shouting matches with my sisters when I was younger. Whichever one of us could shout the loudest and get their point across first would win. Italians talk as if competing with each other over who can fit the most amount of words into a minute of conversation time. Theydon'tactuallybreathewhentheytalk. Of course, my dumbfounded look is normally enough to make them stop and realise that I don't actually have a clue as to what they're rambling about. But this guy just kept talking and talking and talking. I wanted to ask him to just continue whilst I went back into my kitchen to finish my lunch. Finally, when I saw that he was about to pause for breath, I immediately jumped in with 'non capisco. Sono inglese!'- the result of a week of Italian lessons. Aha! Some communication! So he began to speak a bit slower. I recognised phrases such as 'luce' and 'paggare' and finally concluded that he was here to ask me to pay my bills. It took me a good few minutes to form one sentence: 'Io non pagare le bollette' (i'm still chuffed at this achievement). I hoped at this moment he would just respond with 'ah ok! Ciao!'. Ma non, he went on to ask  'di dove sei?' 'Londra'. 'Sei una studentessa?' 'Si.'
I'm going to have to tell my Italian teacher tomorrow that I was able to hold a conversation in Italian with another person (after that other person realised that remembering to breathe was the only way any conversation would be possible) - just in case she's been doubting my ability.

After I had done the polite bit about asking about him (Marco, 26, a profession that deals with bills- didn't understand, but nodded anyway), he said something else that I just could not understand. But I smiled and nodded to be polite and thought the conversation was over because he was backing out of my door. 'Ciao!', I said, thinking that was that. Nope, he learned forward and said something about 'sympatica' and 'numero di telefono' as if I was stupid. Huh? When did I agree to this? He wrote down his number and left with a friendly wave.

So, I was left with a cold lunch, a half-made (cold) tea and the telephone number of Marco, 26, the bills guys, and I have no idea why. I can only think that when I nodded I must have been agreeing to something he had proposed. Dangerous ground. And that is the consequence of being lost in translation!

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Meglio tardi che mai

I really wish it wasn't so normal for orders, such as book orders, to arrive two weeks late. The Italians really do take 'just relax!' to a whole new level.

Saturday 22 October 2011

Jovanotti...The Sound of Italian Youth

If I want to really appreciate Italian culture, I have to think about more than food (unfortunately). So, I asked my 12 year old charge what young people in Italy listen to. She listed the obvious Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna (Americanisation of pop culture?) and then she spoke about some guy called Jovanotti, who, I discovered through youtube, is actually quite a talented artist. I'll let you decide for yourself. Here are two of my (so far) favourite songs by Jovanotti:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wrbTYDZoxA&ob=av2e
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5HUlSzBVRY&feature=related

Friday 21 October 2011

Pizza mania

My first taste of Italian pizza in a traditional Italian pizzeria. Per Dio! As much as I hated 'Eat, Pray, Love' and Julia Robert's self-indulgent and self-pitying journey to Rome to basically eat carbs after a life of orthorexia, I must admit that I too had a relationship with my pizza. How can you not? I could see it being made; the dough rolled out, smothered with passata, and loaded with mozarella and mushrooms before being lovingly thrown into a masonry oven. Unbelievable! I got so caught up in my new love affair that I even forgot to take a picture for you until it was too late. But, I don't think I need to show you my pizza for you to understand just how good pizza tastes in Italy!

Thursday 20 October 2011

The Umbrella Dance

I just love how Italians react to the rain. Bologna is famous for having the best maintained porticos in the world- ideal when the snow or rain hits. It means that you can walk for miles in Bologna and be sheltered from the rain or snow (and be shaded from the intense Italian heat in the summer).
But, alas, there will come a point on your journey where the portico ends for just a few feet. And as you find yourself waiting to cross a road to reach the next portico, suddenly this great wave of umbrellas arises around you. Just for a few moments- until the pedestrians are allowed to cross and are sheltered by the next stretch of porticos. It's just brilliant to watch the constant dance of the umbrellas around Bologna. Clearly I'm so English that I'm indifferent to a bit of rain, much to the bemusement of the people that walk past me. I shouldn't laugh so much when watching people struggling to get their umbrellas open as they fast approach the next open-air crossing. This is not a way to integrate into society. I must invest in an umbrella and join the umbrella dance.

Italian Takeaway Delights

The Italians have got in spot on. After a very drunken night out in Bologna (a story for another blog another day), I stumbled into a takeaway place and saw this pizza staring at me. Genius! Chips and pizza all in one! No need to faff around getting someone to hold your chips whilst you devour your pizza and then go back to reclaim your chips only to find that your drunk friend has consumed half of them. Throw it all together!  

Wednesday 19 October 2011

The Holy Exercise Trail

Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca. A beautiful circular sanctuary in Bologna that sits at the top of a hill that can be accessed either by road or by trekking up 3.5km of winding portico that really is a workout for the legs. But don't let that put you off because the views that greet you at the top, and at various points on your way up, are just spectacular. But if it does, just take a car to the top!
I thought that I would warn you against taking the 3.5km lightly;  I don't think there is enough emphasis in reviews of San Luca on the number of steps and the steep trail that tourists must face (hence the photo above). The fact that many residents around San Luca use the route to carry out their daily runs (and, consequently, have legs of rock) should tell all.



But equally telling is that the holy site is not without a tourist everyday of the year. Yes, they may be doubling over in pain once they reach the top, but all will say that it was worth it. The views are stunning; on one side you see nothing but the red tops of Bologna and on the other nothing but mountains for as far as the eye can see. The Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca may be a feat to reach, but no other spot will give you such perfect views of all of Bologna.


And do take a camera. You'll want photographic evidence that you did reach the top.

Sunday 16 October 2011

Bologna Jazz Festival, 9-19 November 2011

The Bologna Jazz Festival, now in its sixth year, will be taking place next month. This will be another exciting event for the city’s inhabitants who take pride in their city’s rich cultural diversity; the city’s history and international university draws people from all around the world. The Jazz Festival neatly compliments the city’s cultural mix; Bologna will take Jazz away from its traditional American scene and bring it to the heart of one of the world’s oldest medieval cities. What a great infusion between the new and the old!
The festival attracts a large number of big international Jazz artists every year that perform at the Cantina Bentivoglio in Bologna and also at the Tower Jazz Club in Ferrara. This will prove to be an exciting time to be in Bologna or Ferrara to join the cities in celebrating their cultural diversity and the development of European Jazz.
Tickets are on sale now. More information can be found at http://www.festivaljazzbologna.it/home.html.
And don’t forget to watch the short film, My Main Man, about the history of the Bologna Jazz Festival that takes you on a tour of the rich history of the festival and its cultural importance. http://www.festivaljazzbologna.it/storia/film.html

Italian Cooking Experience

Bologna isn’t called la grossa (the fat one) for nothing. The people of Bologna really do take pride in the food they eat. The folding of tortellini parcels, for instance, is an art form and involves long afternoons where groups of women, being either relatives or close friends, will gather around a large table and gossip whilst preparing the delectable parcels. Even the youths of Bologna focus their social gatherings around food. I was recently invited to attend a university student’s twentieth birthday party. The evening consisted of a splendid home-cooked lasagne and various pastas and cold meats as accompaniments. The main course was then followed by a superb choice of dolce delights, including the traditional zuppa inglese (which, incidentally, is not English, nor is it a soup, but a kind of custard cake that is a favourite dolce at the Italian dinner table). It was only after the guests were fed did plans start to circulate of a night out in town. It’s not taken me long to realise that the Italians are not people to stick to a plan. Always be prepared to hear about a change in schedule only a few minutes before the expected departure time. More on than another time. Anyway, my point: food is an imperative part of Italian culture and everyday living.
Although recipes and tactics are passed down over the generations, the Italians’ love of food extends to outside their family unit. Indeed, the people of northern region are particularly interested in the cuisine of the South, and vice versa.  The variations in the uses of herbs, uses of butter or olive oil, preference of meat or fish, and so on, are significantly evident. This was something that I have only just begun to appreciate after attending a cooking course in Bologna that was hosted by a chef specialising in Sicilian cuisine. When you visit Italy, I thoroughly recommend snapping up the opportunity to attend a cooking course. The experience is invaluable: the chefs really do know how to make you fall in love with cooking and the entire evening will be enjoyed with an array of people that share your passion for Italian cuisine. What’s more, you’ll leave with a lovely certificate as evidence of your participation; a unique souvenir from your holiday.
I was fortunate enough to attend a cooking course that was targeted at enthusiastic Italian food lovers rather than tourists. Indeed, I was the only non-Italian on the course, and surrounded by Italians from both the northern and southern regions. Our chef, Maria Antoinietta Ficano, explained that her love of food was more than just about satisfying her taste buds. It was about her love of the history of the Italian South that she was able to connect to through her cooking. Her signature food staple, for instance, are flowers that give her dishes a truly distinctive taste that grow in the heart of Sicily.
The group consisted of thirteen students, along with Ms. Ficano, in a spacious kitchen in an office space in the centre of Bologna. The three hours we spent together replicated to the very core the truly Italian way of cooking: a large group of cooks in one kitchen surrounded by beautiful herbs and spices that give Italian cooking its unique taste; and culinary expertise that makes cooking here an art form. The risotto dishes, for instance, required the vegetable broth (made using real vegetables and not a stock cube, might I add), to be poured into the risotto in small quantities every few minutes, and the herbs were only to be cut using plastic knives as the metal damages the pungency of the herbs.
We prepared, cooked and ate two types of risotto and soups. The first dish, risotto mimosa consisted of two main ingredients: courgettes and the egg yolks of hard-boiled eggs (mimosa) and is usually eaten for dinner on Women’s Day on 8 March. The second risotto, risotto alla mela verde (green apple risotto) was a little sweeter, due to the main ingredient being apples, and a lot creamier than most risottos. The first soup was  zuppa di cipolle al formaggio, an Italian take on the traditional French onion soup that was a lot thicker in consistency than the traditional style and was more heavily flavoured with parmigiano. The final dish, zuppa cuccia, was the most interesting dish for me (and clearly for all the other people in the kitchen). A traditional Southern dish that uses a number of unusual grains that give the soup its thick consistency, this dish, in true Ficano style, also came with its own history: zuppa cuccia is traditionally eaten on St. Lucia’s Day (the patron saint of eye sight) on 13 December. The big wheat grains, we were told, were said to represent the Saint’s eyes.  The soup was exceptionally thick and consequently more than satisfying; the grains giving the meal a comforting appeal. It definitely makes for a good hearty meal during a cold winter’s day.
Cooking is not a chore in Italy, it’s a passion and any Italian will tell you that themselves. The chance to learn to cook like a real Italian is so exciting and is definitely something that everyone should consider when in Italy. Il Salutto del Buongusto, the company that organised the lesson with Marie Antoinietta Ficano, is particularly recommendable.
http://www.ilsalottodelbuongusto.it/default.asp

Thursday 13 October 2011

French Backlash

Ok, not so Italian, but still of interest.

It seems that even the French are revolting against the use of the English language! It may be simple to understand, claims the Académie Français, but it's jeopardising the existence of certain French words. 


Is the world beginning to resent the dominance of the Anglo-Saxon language? 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/8820304/Frances-Academie-francaise-battles-to-protect-language-from-English.html

Tongue-tied

My Italian teacher made a very interesting comment during our class today about the difficulties that English students have with learning a European language: new languages require us to think a lot more about what we're actually saying!

I have now come to the conclusion that English remains one of the world's most widely spoken languages simply because of the fact that it is just so lazy! The infinitive of a verb (sorry to get technical) never changes like it must do in Italian and French (as well as many other languages, I'm sure). I speak, you speak, we speak. Oh, it must be so hard to remember to add an 's' on the end when constructing the sentence he speaks!

Another factor- the English language requires the speaker to not have to even THINK about gender articles- everything is preceded by 'the'! Today I was forced into memorising the endless gender articles used in the Italian language: la penna (a pen), un elefante etc., which, when changed into the plural form become le penne and gli elefanti! And that's just the basics! Plus, I've probably got that wrong too. 'Gli' is a particularly hard sound to remember because we don't use it in the English language. The closest sound I can think of is 'yee'.

So, after three lessons and four and a half hours of Italian, my head is spinning and my tongue is tied beyond repair. English really is a walk in the park!









Wednesday 12 October 2011

Italian Charm

There's something about Italian men that keeps a girl swooning. I say this not out of experience (yet) but after an observation I made in my Italian speaking class today. We were all asked why we were here; out of a class of thirteen I was the only au pair (boo!),  seven were erasmus students and a surprising five had decided to just up and leave their motherlands to join their boyfriends in Bologna. Sacrfice, or what! Italian charm indeed!

Tuesday 11 October 2011

Italian Schizophrenia

The Italians really are polite people. You'll always get a 'preggo' in response to your expression of gratitude and they always smile as your walk past them. But something happens to them once they step behind the wheel. Some other area of the brain takes over them and all that politeness just disappears. Take them off a pedestrian pavement and give them a moving vehicle to navigate from A to B and  they're intent on destroying all demonstrations of Italian nicety.

Crossing the street with one of my charges today as I picked him up from school, I held on to him for deal life. Probably for fear for my wellbeing as much as his. The poor boy must have been on the verge of losing all blood circulation to his left wrist. But I plucked up the courage, stepped up to crossing, threw out my arm in what I hope was an aggressive action and immediately began to cross the road. Wahey! I made it!

Crossing the roads in Italy really does take some getting used to. They don't drive at a speed less than 40mph on any road and will aggressively edge the tyres of their beast inches and inches closer to your panicking self until you're literally running to get to the other side.

Word of warning on your visit to Italy: steer clear of as many crossings as possible. The Italians have places to get to and they won't let anyone get in their way.

Bologna Takes a Bite of the Apple

Only a fortnight before my arrival in Bologna, Apple opened up a shiny new store in the city centre. The sense of excitement was contagious; from 700 miles away, the anticipation of my host family to enter the new store genuinely made me long to be in Bologna sooner. And that’s some powerful stuff- I’m the biggest technophobe going (it comes with being a historian, I keep telling myself).
Marketing has always been a powerful tool, but Apple’s marketing team succeeds in personalising Apples’ appeal. Is it any wonder then that so many around the world mourned the death of Steve Jobs like he was a close friend? To many Apple fanatics, he was. My own host family (being Mac-crazy) are perfect examples. They brought into the Apple world and, as a result, felt like Jobs’ death was a personal loss. On my arrival, my host dad shook my hand, led me into the living room and expressed his deep sadness at the death of Steve Jobs. He was even watching coverage of the death on his Apple TV.
Apple has pervaded our everyday lives in such a way that visions of the future takes the shape of the Apple logo- and that’s no exaggeration. Along with feeling like you have really taken a bite out of the Apple, we also believe that the brand epitomises progress. Every important and “forward-thinking” city has an Apple store. Bologna embraced the opening with manic enthusiasm because it put the city on the global map; every big city has an Apple store. The marketing team succeeded in making the people of Bologna feel that the opening of the store made Bologna as important as Milan or Rome. Bologna saw itself as a significant city for a completely new reason.
The Apple store in Bologna’s city centre is never without a rush of customers entering or exiting. They’re either drooling over the MacBook Air or pushing past others to leave immediately to return home and play with their new toy. On the day of the grand opening, hundreds of fans camped overnight in order to be one of the first to enter the store. Hundreds more joined their eager counterparts early the next morning. There was chanting, cheering, and a free café and croissant (remember that’s cake) for the first one hundred people. How much more Italian could Apple get? Bravo to Apple’s marketing team! You would never have guessed that the Americans were invading!
The importance of Marketing for today’s global companies is profoundly important. Apple is just one example of many large corporations that see the importance of tailoring their products to suit a mass market, but with the impression that everything the company does is for you and you alone. Don’t get me wrong; I think Steve Jobs deserves the legacy he has carved out for himself and Apple deserves to be revered for its genius inventions, but even Apple relies heavily on excellent marketing behind the scenes. How many times have you checked for the latest release date of the iPhone 5?  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtOMi3FeVxE&feature=related

Saturday 8 October 2011

A Book-Lover’s Guide to Bologna

Libraries aren’t the stuff travel guides are made of. Such a shame, in my opinion, because they are an integral part of a city’s composition. Any great city has a library to be proud of- London has the British Library, Alexandria has The Royal Library of Alexandria, Washington DC holds the largest library in the world, The Library of Congress. Why, then, do we not make more of a fuss of these institutions?
This only came to mind as I stepped inside Bologna’s Biblioteca Salaborsa.  A beautiful, rectangular building, this biblioteca is a stunning sight. Cast your eyes upwards and they will relax upon a striking and intricately painted ceiling. Look to the floor and you will be surprised to see that only a floor of glass separates you from a collection of preserved architectural ruins. It gets better. As I wondered through the library, familiarising myself with different levels, I stumbled across some photographs of the building from a few decades past. I almost squealed- this building has not always been used as a library! Oh no, no, no! In the 1880s, it was used for the Stock Market trading. Even stranger, after the Second World War, the building was used to hold basketball matches! Oh yes, I DO mean to write basketball. The tiered structure of the building was perfect for spectators to stand and cheer on their team; an ampithetre in most respects. Indeed, it was not until 1999 that the building was turned into Bologna’s public library.
I couldn’t have started my tour of Bologna in a better way. The irony of it all is that tourists will usually be informed by their generic guidebook to visit the Fontana di Nettuno -rightfully so; the fontana is worthy of unceasing veneration in its own right- but their eyes will gaze no further. Indeed, I watched with open disappointment as many tourists failed to register the existence of the Biblioteca Salaborsa when they were stood in front of it.
How many other city gems do we miss out on seeing because we’re so reliant on our guidebooks to tell us everything that we must see in a city? Although, if I’m honest, I will admit that it is not only tourist guides we have to blame. Indeed, when I typed Biblioteca Salaborsa into Google, I was amazed to find that the library’s website paid no attention to its own impressive history. I guess the people of Bologna prefer to keep this secret to themselves.
I don’t expect sightseers to think that the public library should be the first port of call when visiting a city. However, a library that adds another dimension to a city’s already rich history and culture is, in my books, worth a visit. If you’re ever in Bologna, just pop your head around the door of Biblioteca Salaborsa. I can assure you that you’ll leave with feeling self-satisfied: it will prove to be a cultural, historical and educational encounter that distinguishes your trip from all those that ventured no further than their guidebooks required of them.

Friday 7 October 2011

The English Curse

Apparently I have brought to Bologna 'The English Curse', according to my host family's nine year old son. The excessive downpour of rain and surprisingly violent bouts of thunder and lightening were "to be expected" following an English person's arrival. It's good to know that England's reputation as the home of forever-present rain clouds still remains strong.

Let them eat cake...for breakfast

I was wrong- it may say croissant on the packet and be shaped like a croissant but it most certainly is not a croissant. It's like a soft and slightly sweeter madeira cake. Cake for breakfast? I could get used to this!

The journey begins!

I'm here! The first day as an Italian has begun! My apartment is situated on a little private off-street leading off from a main road. It appears that Italians are fond of having two bathrooms and it's all as red as the rest of the city! I'm about to eat a breakfast of cafe and croissant (yes, really) and immerse myself in some Italian tv. It appears that my Englishness has also been taken into account- a little kettle sits isolated on my kitchen worktop. I haven't located any tea bags though and I don't know how my local supermarket will react to me purchasing a bag of PG Tips (if i'm lucky enough to find some). I'll stick with an espresso.

Ciao!

Thursday 6 October 2011

Arriverdeci Inghilterra!

Just three weeks ago I made the decision to ditch the desperate search for a graduate job and instead accept an offer from a family in Bologna to work for them as an au pair. So, tomorrow afternoon I’ll be saying ‘Goodbye England’ at London Gatwick Airport and ‘Ciao Italia!’ at Bologna International Airport.
I admit that it’s a scary thought packing my life into a single 23kg suitcase and wandering off 700 miles to work for an Italian family, especially when I don’t have even a basic knowledge of Italian (I made good use of my Italian-English dictionary to make my title work). Nevertheless, the flight is booked and my employers are waiting for me to bestow upon their household all my knowledge of the English language. In return, they promise to expose to me the real Italian way of living. I hope this means that by the summer of 2012 I will have done more than breathe in the Italian air. I plan to see Italy like an Italian, eat like an Italian, speak like an Italian and appreciate Italian customs and traditions, well, like a true Italian! Why else would anyone want to go to Italia? 
This blog will record my experiences in Italy (typing is easier than writing) and will perhaps be of use one day to my readers (if I have any).
So, when in Italy...well, that's what I intend to find out!