Bleeding Espresso

Yesterday over at Twitter, the always lovely and informative ExpatCoach asked those of us with, ahem, Italian experience to fill in the blank:

You know you’re in Italy when…

A smattering of what ExpatCoach, Cherrye, Miss Expatria, Tina, and I came up with, within minutes:

• …you can have a conversation with a stranger comprised entirely of facial expressions, hand gestures, and no words.
• …you can say, “Boh?” and you’ve said a mouthful.
• …you have to APPLY to complete an application for something.
• …you wait in line for three hours at the Post Office…to pay a bill.
• …your taxi driver’s hands are too busy waving & threatening other drivers to actually touch the steering wheel.
• …you pour the wine over-handed and your guests gasp and bless themselves.
• …your ability to digest milk (at any time of day) and drink ice cold drinks even while eating hot food astounds.
• …perfect strangers worry about your catching a cold because you’re not dressed warmly enough. In July.
• …you’re handed a scarf when you say your throat feels a bit scratchy.
• …you’re the only person at IKEA without their entire extended family in tow.
• …someone you just met invites you to dinner at their house.
• …€5 on a bottle of wine is a splurge.
• …posted schedules, hours of operation, etc. mean precisely nothing (except sciopero ones).
• …someone, somewhere is in sciopero.
• …you get honked at for letting an old lady cross the street.
• …someone thinks your turkey wrap is a foreign food they’d never touch.
• …your friend says “I quit drinking coffee. Now I only have three cups a day.”
• …you find figs on your doorstep.

And now I’ll add:

• …your morning errands take you to one shop for produce, another for bread, another for cheese, and yet another for meat–and you love every single minute of it.

I thought this woud be a fun weekend fill-in, so Italophiles, play along please:

You know you’re in Italy when…

Need some inspiration?

And be sure to visit ExpatCoach at Career By Choice and show her some love!

Buon weekend!

P.S. Cherrye of My Bella Vita has made baked potatOes for La Buona Cucina Americana today!

P.P.S. No that O in “potatOes” wasn’t a typo. It’s because the O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month Contest continues (details here); send in your recipe and a donation to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund today!

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Well you can’t say Silvio Berlusconi, who turns 72 next month, isn’t entertaining.

No seriously. He entertains.

This former cruise ship singer, media mogul, and–oh yeah–Prime Minister of Italy is currently producing a CD of canzoni d’amore (love songs) with Neapolitan** singer Mariano Apicella.

Actually, this will be Berlu’s second set of compositions released by Apicella; the first was out during Berlusconi’s second time around as Prime Minister in 2003 and reached Italy’s Top 50.

The duo hope that the CD will be released in December (just in time for Christmas shopping!), but Apicella admits “it won’t be easy given all the (prime minister’s) responsibilities.”

Oh yeah…THOSE! Glad someone’s thinking about that.

Will you be buying the Berlusconi-produced CD?

And my *real* question:

When are we going to see Obama or McCain’s greatest hits?!

*Cena (CHAY-nah) in Italian means dinner/supper.

**Why isn’t it “Napolitan?” It’s not Neapoli, it’s Napoli! If anyone has answers, please share. This has always bothered me.

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Yesterday was May 1, Labor Day or May Day in most of Europe (other countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand celebrate in either September or October).

It is a day to celebrate workers, especially all of those who came before us, fighting for rights like an eight-hour work day and safety regulations. Read more about the international holiday’s origins here and here.

Italy’s celebration is known as La Festa dei Lavoratori and actually has ancient roots in “Il Calendimaggio,” a holiday connected with agricultural cycles and still celebrated in some regions today.

Farmers and seasonal workers traditionally took the day off, ate, drank, and danced together on the first day of May, forgetting for a few hours the long days of hard work throughout the summer that awaited them.

In modern times, the day is more linked to the common worker, who, lest we forget, still needs a voice and representation in the political structures of every country. Italy, in particular, has a long way to go regarding worker’s safety with an average of nearly 1,400 deaths every year because of an industrial or workplace accident.

May we also remember those victims this weekend as well.

Since May 1 fell on a Thursday this year, Italians will make il ponte (a bridge) from the holiday to the weekend and take off today as well for a nice loooooong weekend.

Many Italians travel during the holiday; the Corriere della Sera estimates that 12 million cars will be on the road this weekend. Others, like P and me, stay at home and relax because hey, we have the mountains and the sea right at our doorstep all the time anyway.

So a relaxing weekend ahead for us it is.

What do you have planned?

Happy Labor Day Weekend to those celebrating
and buon weekend a tutti!

P.S. Check out Judy’s Pickles at Over a Tuscan Stove
for La Buona Cucina Americana!

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Today is one of Italy’s biggest holidays: la Festa della Liberazione or Liberation Day, celebrating the country’s liberation from fascism thanks to Allied troops at the end of World War II.

When I first arrived here, many of the older residents, upon finding out I was American, loved sharing their memories of American soldiers who marched into the village from over the mountain and handed out chocolates to the children.

Sixty plus years later, and they simply can’t forget what life was like under “Il Duce.” My neighbor Anna Maria still remembers a children’s rhyme that lamented days without bread and nights without light: “u jornu senza pane, la notte senza luce.”

Liberation Day celebrations in Italy are two-fold–one part is to honor those who fought the fascist regime and the other is to protest against tyranny and oppression throughout the world.

Not coincidentally, Italian comedian, actor, blogger, and Champion of Change Beppe Grillo has chosen today to hold the second V-Day to encourage “freedom of information in a free state.” That V stands for “vaffanculo” and tells oppressors and criminals in positions of power in Italy what they can go do to themselves.

Now go celebrate!

And don’t forget to check out Cherrye’s Buttermilk Biscuits
for La Buona Cucina Americana!

Buon weekend a tutti!

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There has been a *huge* increase in requests for recognition of Italian citizenship over the past several years–my and my father’s requests included.

Along with “creating” many more Italian citizens in the world, this also means that many (non- or little-speaking Italian) people are becoming eligible to vote in Italian elections for the first times in their lives.

And believe me, the process is *very* different than in the United States.

As I think there may be quite a few people out there confused by the instructions, I’m going to break it down here, in English, and urge you–if you are an Italian citizen, PLEASE exercise your right to VOTE in this election.

AND PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE NOT FOR BERLUSCONI!

Every Italian citizen residing abroad should be registered with the local consulate in the A.I.R.E. (Anagrafe Italiani Residenti Estero). If you are, you should have already received a packet from your consulate including:

• Your electoral certificate (with your name on giving you the right to vote);
• Two (2) different colored ballots (pink for the Camera dei Deputati and blue for the Senato); if you are under the age of 25, you will receive only a ballot for the Camera;
• Two (2) envelopes (one small, blank, and white and the other larger and self-addressed and stamped to your consulate);
• The list of candidates for your area; and
• An information sheet.

1. First of all, grab and use a blue or black pen.

2. Now, an aside to explain a little of what’s going on with the ballots: below the main candidates, all of the people on their “lists” are from the “estero” or outside Italy; those elected will represent your interests as an Italian citizen residing abroad.

Depending on where you live, you will be able to vote for differing numbers of deputati and senatori–don’t worry, the number of blank lines will tell you how many you are allowed to write in.

If you are in North or Central America like my dad, for example, you can vote for 2 deputati and 1 senatore.

So . . .

3. To vote, you place an X over the logo of the party of your choice.

My advice is this one:

Vote for Veltroni! Woohoo!

4. Now you can write in your choices for senatori and deputati as described above being extremely careful to copy the names exactly as printed on the list. And don’t write anything else!

[If you would like my suggestions on senatori and deputati please contact me privately; find information on the candidates (in Italian) here.]

5. Fold and put your two ballots in the small blank white envelope and seal it.

6. Put that envelope inside the bigger envelope addressed to the consulate.

7. Tear off the bottom part of your electoral certificate at the perforation, put that in the big envelope with the ballots, and seal it.

8. Mail it off–it must be received by your consulate by April 10–and wait for election results.

Optional: buy some prosecco if you’re feeling particularly confident in your party.

This page has a fabulous graphic of this whole process. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or contact me.

And, in case I haven’t been clear . . .

VOTE!

*Special thanks to the website of Gino Bucchino, candidate for Camera dei Deputati for Central and North America with Partito Democratico’s (and my) main man, Walter Veltroni; and I’m not just saying this because Bucchino was born in Calabria, I swear.

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