A Foreigner in Italy

Difficult times

2012-02-29T20:44:00.000+01:00

Italy is going through some pretty rough times. Like I have mentioned earlier, many family businesses have already closed down and will probably never open again - ever. Berlusconi reassured people time after time that everything was fine. And people believed him. But everything wasn't fine. And now the party is over. A party that was mostly for Berlusconi and his likes.... And the bill has

Weather report from Italy

2012-02-04T23:02:00.000+01:00

The cold weather in Europe has reached Italy. And with the cold comes the snow. Compared to Norway it's not that much snow, but enough to force Italy on its knees. The whole society closes down when it starts snowing. It's completely caotic on the roads because the cars don't have winter tyres like we use in Norway. Close to the town where I live there are lots of small,

The weird, foreign lady

2012-01-28T17:26:00.001+01:00

Here in Italy I come across as a bit "weird". Because I'm doing weird things. Like.... Putting on my summer clothes in March because the temperature is the same as in July in Norway - and everybody else is still in their winter clothes... I recycle.... and in my kitcken you'll find containers for glass, plastic and paper. The Italians (at least Italian friends and family) see me as somewhat "

Right on time??

2012-01-19T21:48:00.003+01:00

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net When you're living abroad, you will experience things that are different from what you're used to in your homeland; things that you have to get used to, accept and learn to live with. Some of the things you won't have any trouble accepting, while others will be more difficult. And one of the things that I haven't learnt to live with (yet) is the

La Befana

2012-01-06T09:44:00.001+01:00

Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Today, most Italian children wake up to find their "Christmas stockings" filled with chocolate and small gifts. But it's not Santa Claus who is bringing the gifts - it's La Befana. And who is La Befana? She is an old woman (a witch) riding on a broomstick (so she can travel around all of Italy with the gifts, maybe?) According to old beliefs La Befana

Malocchio

2012-01-04T12:03:00.000+01:00

...or in English - the evil eye. In many cultures it is believed that certain people can cast a spell on you, cause bad luck or injury just by looking at you. You'll find this belief or superstition in the Middle East, but also in countries like Italy, Greece or Spain. The so-called "curse" can consist of anything from small mishaps to some major "disasters". As protection against these, you can

Best wishes for the new year

2011-12-31T14:35:00.000+01:00

2011 hasn't been too good a year for Italy (along with some other countries). Because of the well-known crisis, the Italians have been forced to cut in an already tight budget. But where do you make these cuts when a normal salary or pension is only 600 euros or so? Unlike in Norway, for Christmas here in Italy people have mostly been buying un pensierino (a small present), because they can't

Tombola!

2011-12-19T23:09:00.002+01:00

Christmas time is "tombola-time" here in Italy. In Norwegian - and if I'm not mistaken, also in English - tombola means "raffle" (lottery). However, in Italy the tombola is something different. It's a gamle that resembles bingo that many Italians (mostly from the south) are playing at Christmas gatherings. Here you can see a traditional tombola from Naples This picture is taken from

IL PRESEPE / The nativity scene

2011-12-09T20:32:00.001+01:00

For many Italians the "presepe" is what gives them the "Christmas feeling". The Christmas tree, which is very important for us Norwegians, takes second place here in Italy - even though you see Christmas trees "everywhere" in the country. This is taken from Wikipedia: "A nativity scene is a depiction of the birth of Jesus as described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. While the term "

Polenta

2011-11-27T11:19:00.001+01:00

Inspired by the blog Norwegian Food Illustrated (by an Italian) that often looks into the (strange) eating habits of the Norwegian, I have decided to draw the attention to an Italian dish that I have some problems "accepting". The dish I'm talking about is "polenta", this yellow "cornflour-porridge" that almost every Italian love. But, for me it's something that is hard to "stomach"...

Norwegian vs Italian

2011-11-19T21:43:00.001+01:00

A "sneak peek" into the bathroom shelf of a Norwegian man and an Italian...... The Norwegian version..... ... the Italian..... Need I say more.....???

The Italian way

2011-10-18T14:24:00.001+02:00

Image: africa / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Some time ago my husband was out driving when he was stopped by a passing police car. And the policeman wanted to give hime a fine because he wasn't using the seat belt. (He only use the seat belt when I force him to, which I do because I hate the horrible "ding-ding" sound from the dashboard when the seat belt isn't fastened. However, this time I

I'm sorry, I didn't quite get your name.....??

2011-10-05T16:19:00.000+02:00

Image: Sharron Goodyear / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Here in Italy people tend to make petnames out of people's (children's) names. One of the reasons for this might be that children "inherit" their names from the grandparents... Which means that some of the names are rather "serious" names for a little child. So maybe that's why they put a little twist on everybody's names?? The funny thing

Wedding Italian style

2011-10-02T18:44:00.002+02:00

Yesterday we attended a wedding here in Italy. And my husband had the honour of being the groom's "testimone" (best man). That is, he was one of three "testimoni". And the bride also had three testimoni (lady of honour). You can see them in the picture below... One of the differences between Italy and Norway is that here the bride and groom are buying presents for their testimoni. The present

What's on the menu??

2011-09-21T20:51:00.001+02:00

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Here's a little everyday problem from Italy .... It is not exactly the biggest problem in the world, but it makes me feel a bit unsure whenever the situation arises. When I'm in a restaurant, tavern, trattoria or pizzeria I'm (as a Norwegian) used to be given a menu where you find listed the food that this particular place is serving. For an

How I ended up in Italy - part 2

2011-09-19T17:26:00.001+02:00

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Here's the last part of the story about how I ended up in Italy. During my year in Florence it sometimes felt like I had an invisible hourglass in front of me, that counted down months, days, minutes and seconds until the dreaded day when I would have to turn my back to the Duomo and hop on the train to the airport to fly back home to Norway.

How I ended up in Italy - part 1

2011-09-16T18:53:00.002+02:00

One of my readers on the Norwegian blog asked me if I could tell something about myself; how I ended up in Italy, what I'm doing here and so on. I've already answered my Norwegian readers, but maybe there's someone out there who doesn't understand Norwegian that would like to hear my story (or at least I hope so...) I'm born in the middle of the 1960s so at the moment I'm halfway to 90... At the

Some sort of a postcard from Terracina

2011-09-08T15:43:00.002+02:00

A while ago I promised to tell you why I spent Ferragosto (in agony) on a sunbed under an umbrella at the beach. So here it comes... We were going to spend Ferragosto in Terracina, a seaside town midway between Rome and Naples. Before Italy became united this town belonged to the Vatican State. At the moment it has approximately 40.000 inhabitants, but during the summer months thousands and

At last - September is here!!

2011-09-01T18:03:00.001+02:00

Finally autumn!! Earlier this year I promised family and friends that the 1st of September I would dance on the table out of pure happiness because autumn is here. Well, it's not really autumn yet and the next week the really hot weather will return because of some winds coming from Africa. BUT - September is here and with it comes the promise of cooler, more "people friendly" weather.

Ferragosto

2011-08-22T22:00:00.001+02:00

I have borrowed the picture here Ferragosto is an Italian holiday that is celebrated on the 15th August. The name Ferragosto translates into something like holidays of the Emperor Augustus. The day was "invented" to celebrate the end of the hard labours in the fields. The catholic church also celebrates the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This day is known in many countries as

You know you're a foreigner in Italy when....

2011-08-05T14:43:00.001+02:00

Now I've been living in Italy for 3 years and I thought I had started settling in, but every so often I discover things about myself which tells me that I will never become a real Italian.... And you know you're a foreigner in Italy when you: are the only one stopping in front of a pedestrian crossing are the only one respecting the red traffic light don't die of indigestion even if you drink

Norway's 9/11

2011-07-27T13:58:00.005+02:00

What can I write about here on the blog in these days? Nothing, really.... After the terror attacks in Norway Friday 22nd July where 78 people died and almost 100 people are wounded in addition to those still missing I'm left (almost) speechless. I wish I could be in Norway right now, taking part in what's going on in the country. At the moment it feels wrong complaining about any problems I

How to eat spaghetti like an Italian

2011-07-15T20:52:00.002+02:00

I guess you've seen them before - Italians at the table, eating spaghetti and making it look so easy, while you're trying to get the spaghetti into your mouth without splashing the tomato sauce onto your clothes or the table-cloth or worse - the person sitting beside you.... Everything while inside you feel like a 3 year old that still doesn't manage the art of "self-feeding". In situations like

Ponte Vecchio

2011-07-09T15:05:00.003+02:00

Ponte Vecchio in Florence has to be one of the most photographed in the whole world and after living there for a year I have to confess that I love this place and I have a "ridiculous" amount of pictures of this bridge. And one of the best things to do in Florence is relaxing in the sun by the bridge, just enjoying the view - and a gelato (ice cream) and watching all the tourists going by.....

Norwegian food? Lascia perdere!!

2011-07-05T20:43:00.005+02:00

My Italian mother-in-law is very concerned that her son isn't fed properly. Or to be honest, I think she's afraid that he will die of hunger because I don't feed him "come si deve" (as one should...) So to avoid this she is often sending food over to my house so that she's sure that he at least get something nice to eat.... Parmigiàna - Aubergines with Parmesan cheese, tomatosauce and