Ladies and Gentlemen, I am back in Italy.
Even though my stay won't be a long one this time, wish me luck nevertheless.
Showing posts with label me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label me. Show all posts
7/13/09
6/14/09
che sarà, sarà *
I has so happened that quite by accident I have completely neglected this blog. Oh well, here I am, trying to make amends.
As you can imagine, a lot has happened since April. No luck in finding a decent job though. Thanks to extra special people around me, I was able to stretch my stay as long as the end of May but finally I did have to return and so I am home again. I am trying to adjust to everything normal. Well, everything I have considered normal for the past 22 years. Now I see other options and to tell the truth adjusting to the old habits is not as easy as I would have expected. I just fell into the old tracks and continued with the life as it had been before. But....After three weeks it is still not yet quite right. Something is pulling me back towards Italy. Times are hard and there is no money ever. But....there must be an angel somewhere (my mom) who let's me fulfil my dreams.
So, I have a ticket for July and a return ticket just before school starts. But if things go better with jobhunting (this time I'm much better prepared), who knows...
__________
* What will be, will be
As you can imagine, a lot has happened since April. No luck in finding a decent job though. Thanks to extra special people around me, I was able to stretch my stay as long as the end of May but finally I did have to return and so I am home again. I am trying to adjust to everything normal. Well, everything I have considered normal for the past 22 years. Now I see other options and to tell the truth adjusting to the old habits is not as easy as I would have expected. I just fell into the old tracks and continued with the life as it had been before. But....After three weeks it is still not yet quite right. Something is pulling me back towards Italy. Times are hard and there is no money ever. But....there must be an angel somewhere (my mom) who let's me fulfil my dreams.
So, I have a ticket for July and a return ticket just before school starts. But if things go better with jobhunting (this time I'm much better prepared), who knows...
__________
* What will be, will be
3/30/09
the silent stranger
I think they use the word 'foreigner' more often than 'stranger' but in italian the term is 'straniera' and it does make more sense because usually the foreigners are just a little strange - they don't know even the most elementary things. They don't understand the language, they order cappucino after eleven in the morning, they don't understand some of the jokes and they are completely ignorant about the unwritten social laws.
Well, I am a stranger and like all stranieri I am also quiet. Why? Well, it's because I don't know enough of the language to take part in the conversation. All, I can do is listen very carefully and try hard to catch the words (which of course are not pronounced the way they are pronounced in textbook dialogues). I can then take the words and I can try to understand the meaning of the sentence. When I am lucky, there are no puns involved and I understand. I try hard, I look at people carefully. They think I understand and they look me in the eyes. I nod and I smile because i want to be friendly. I want them to speak to see what I understand. But, the ugly truth is - most of the time the things they say has no meaning to me. Then again, sometimes there is just one word that does sound familiar and I am saved, I understand.
Oh, but speaking! Well, of course I have to do it. There is no other way to practice a language. Then again, to be completely honest, I seem more intelligent, when I am silent. Because when I open my mouth, terrible sentences come out. Today, for example, I went shopping for shoes. I tried a shoe on and i wanted the other one too. But alas, instead of asking do you have a shoe for the other foot too, i asked do you have it for the other hand too. Oh well... I realized it exactly 0.1 seconds after I had formed my sentence. Still, it was too late. The shop assistant, however, remained emotionless. Was he polite or wasn't he paying attention to my mumbling? I hope the latter. Let me have my false hopes!
And when I stop doing strange things accidentally, will I stop being a 'straniera'? The truth is that italians can do strange things because they speak the language perfectly but I can try to follow all the rules but because of my nose, my eyes and my broken Italian, I am the one who will remain a foreinger. No, I don't mind. Being somewhat exotic is quite nice actually.
Well, I am a stranger and like all stranieri I am also quiet. Why? Well, it's because I don't know enough of the language to take part in the conversation. All, I can do is listen very carefully and try hard to catch the words (which of course are not pronounced the way they are pronounced in textbook dialogues). I can then take the words and I can try to understand the meaning of the sentence. When I am lucky, there are no puns involved and I understand. I try hard, I look at people carefully. They think I understand and they look me in the eyes. I nod and I smile because i want to be friendly. I want them to speak to see what I understand. But, the ugly truth is - most of the time the things they say has no meaning to me. Then again, sometimes there is just one word that does sound familiar and I am saved, I understand.
Oh, but speaking! Well, of course I have to do it. There is no other way to practice a language. Then again, to be completely honest, I seem more intelligent, when I am silent. Because when I open my mouth, terrible sentences come out. Today, for example, I went shopping for shoes. I tried a shoe on and i wanted the other one too. But alas, instead of asking do you have a shoe for the other foot too, i asked do you have it for the other hand too. Oh well... I realized it exactly 0.1 seconds after I had formed my sentence. Still, it was too late. The shop assistant, however, remained emotionless. Was he polite or wasn't he paying attention to my mumbling? I hope the latter. Let me have my false hopes!
And when I stop doing strange things accidentally, will I stop being a 'straniera'? The truth is that italians can do strange things because they speak the language perfectly but I can try to follow all the rules but because of my nose, my eyes and my broken Italian, I am the one who will remain a foreinger. No, I don't mind. Being somewhat exotic is quite nice actually.
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