FAQ: Personal

Cast of Characters

• Who is Sognatrice? Who is Michelle? Who *are* you?

I am Michelle Fabio, and I write this here blog. Read more about me on my “about” page and also in the next section below.

When I started this blog, I went by the name “Sognatrice” (“dreamer” in Italian), but when I decided to link the blog with my professional writing, I dropped the pseudonym. But I do still dream, of course, during both the day and night.

• Who is P?

P is my sweet, adorable amore. His name isn’t a secret (it’s Paolo); I’m just too lazy to type it all the time. We’ve been together since May 2005. We aren’t legally married, but we call each other “marito” (husband) and “moglie” (wife) all the time, so I tend to refer to him as my husband.

• Who are Luna and Stella?

They are my sweet, adorable pooches. Luna came to live with us in August 2005 and Stella (pregnant at the time) in August 2007. Stella had six healthy puppies who have all been placed in loving homes.

• Who are Pasqualina and Pinta?
  

They are sweet, adorable goats. Pasqualina came to live with us in February 2009, and she gave birth to Pinta in March 2010. We also had Margherita come to stay with us in May 2009, and Carmelina in June 2009; they also kidded in March 2010 and now those two does and their kids make their home in someone else’s goat pen.

More About Me

• How did you wind up in Calabria?

I came here on vacation in June 2002 to check out my great-great-grandfather’s village. While I was here, I found I didn’t want to leave and started imagining living here for a year, taking time out from the real world, which I had just entered following law school.

My judicial clerkship would be ending in August 2003, and I’d have to do something new anyway, so I decided to come here, try out freelance writing (which was what I had always really wanted to do), and see how it went. After much hard work and stressful financial times, it went well, to put it mildly.

• Where exactly do you live?

I live in Badolato (Superiore) in the province of Catanzaro in Calabria, the toe of the boot. Badolato is where my great-great-grandfather was born and raised before going to America with his young family (his wife was from nearby Isca sull’Ionio), which included my great-grandmother, Concetta.

• Where are you from in America?

I was born and raised in the Mount Carmel area of the Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania. I’m very proud of my Coal Region roots (as many of us are) and brag about our hard coal here all the time—I even brought a little bucket of it with me.