welcome to the pinkforum!
I have been outofcommission for some time ( in america visiting the 1000 people that consist of la mia famiglia ) .. I have always been curious about Genoa and I must say your blog is awesome! witty funny and I totally relate to living with your MIL and the strange things she cooks at 7am...

about berlusconi.. ummmm well i probably shouldnt get into it but being a political science graduate in university and closely following Berlus"croni"..im not a fan.. if you really read about him from start to finish you would be shocked.. i like to give people a chance and knew nothing about mr. berlusconi when i came to italy but as a legal immigrant in this country it would be hard-pressed ( and hypocrytical) for me to like someone who publicly claimed that he and "italians" dont believe or want a multiethnic italy since i am about as multiethnic as you can get .. but whatever hes 70..what? i hope things change here and people look less at the media and READ BOOKS about their county, president, follow diverse new sources before making an opinion into a fact

rant aside.. i live in florence.. love it.. tell me more about the "closed " people of genoa.. i thought that about here too but slowly and surely I'm breaking away at the icy exterior! i just give them long uncomfortable hugs

lmarmstrong66 wrote:I agree, he may or may not be a bad man but this is not the proper way for a civilized country to be handling it. I don't know all that much about Italian politics but it does seem that Italy has some catching up to do if it wants to stay in the game.

I think sometimes it's like being stuck in the heydey of the 80's where there was lots of money and no one thought about the consequences, but those days are long gone and the people of Italy are starting to realize it, but not fast enough.

I am perplexed by your reference to Italy as a civilized country. I'm just not getting that impression living here! 8 yrs of dirty bathrooms, trash all over the streets, wreckless driving, people cutting me off when I'm standing in "the line", and random fireworks at all hours on any given day of the year... just overall lawlessness... I'm finding it all very chaotically romantic, but it doesn't seem civilized.
don't mind me - just plugging in my thoughts

Ggnitaly84 wrote:welcome to the pinkforum!
I have been outofcommission for some time ( in america visiting the 1000 people that consist of la mia famiglia ) .. I have always been curious about Genoa and I must say your blog is awesome! witty funny and I totally relate to living with your MIL and the strange things she cooks at 7am...


rant aside.. i live in florence.. love it.. tell me more about the "closed " people of genoa.. i thought that about here too but slowly and surely I'm breaking away at the icy exterior! i just give them long uncomfortable hugs

the hugs are a great idea! I can just imagine it

lmarmstrong66 wrote:quote]

I am perplexed by your reference to Italy as a civilized country. I'm just not getting that impression living here! I'm finding it all very chaotically romantic, but it doesn't seem civilized
don't mind me - just plugging in my thoughts

Romantic? I only got that impression when i was a tourist. Work, responsibilities, healthcare, kids ... the nitty gritty of life ia a logistical, emotional and beaurocratic nightmare!

Lizzie wrote:ohhhhhhhh hum
I really think your view of Berlosconi is coloured by the people around u when u r an expat, unless of course your Italian politics, history and language are up-to-date. I don't know enough about him to have a valid opinion. But I do, for e.g. know people who have been working in Abruzzo in the camps and it does not seem a good situation, and I am sure it doesn't feel like a camping holiday. Also when they held that big meeting in Abruzzo I thought it was in bad taste and a real waste of funds. My gut instinct is that Berlusconi is a slime ball...but as u say what politician isn't these days?

And Italy is not stuck in the 80s, it is still in the fifties! U consider it's attitude to women for e.g.

oh, there's a whole can of worms here!

well, i do intend to look at the MIL blog, so thanks for that Imarmstrong66... but since this has turned into a chat about Berlusconi, i'll add my thoughts too.

As much as I wish that all world leaders would be holy upright honest and respectable, I know that is just not possible I do wish more women would be in charge, but that also seems impossible because women have so many other things to do besides gain power and status in life!
I guess a lot of men who gain power and status in life, along with wealth and fame, turn out to be sort of shady. I wouldn't expect Berlusconi to change as a person... but it seems that the laws put into effect when he is in office are usually good ones, as opposed to the really useless ones that Prodi was making.

What I don't like at all (besides just a general disgust for the whole Italian political and judicial system) is that he has been in office too many times for too many years - and he owns not only some of the media, but a lot of the media! I just can't see how that is a good thing.

In any case, throwing a statue at him is just ridiculous. If the society is upset about how government is running, Berlusconi is the wrong target to attack. People should look at themselves first, and how they are voting, how socially responsible they are, and how much of their time is dedicated to the greater good of the nation. Berlusconi doesn't really matter that much!

And those are my useless rambling "two cents"

Lizzie wrote:

lmarmstrong66 wrote:quote]

I am perplexed by your reference to Italy as a civilized country. I'm just not getting that impression living here! I'm finding it all very chaotically romantic, but it doesn't seem civilized
don't mind me - just plugging in my thoughts

Romantic? I only got that impression when i was a tourist. Work, responsibilities, healthcare, kids ... the nitty gritty of life ia a logistical, emotional and beaurocratic nightmare!

yes, i agree it is a nightmare in all of those ways, but i do still recognize that there is some kind of romanticism in the "let your hair down and anything goes" sort of italian way... the "everyone get out of my way because I'm cooler than you with my Audi" kind of thing... which you can rarely get away with in the US. In the US you can dress out of fashion or weigh 250 pounds and nobody really looks at you like they do here, but try driving like an italian, and the cops will bust you fast! So, once in a while, when I feel nostaligic, I remember that sensation of standing on a small sunny street in Firenze, eating a peace of pizza while breathing motorino exhaust and watching italians flying by with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths... and it's sort of romantic. Ha ha. I am making myself laugh. I know, i don't make much sense!

Boy, this sure is a lot of press for such a short guy!
But politics aside, I see your point about civilized...must have had a brain fart when I injected that remark!

I actually opened the overhead on the plane to try and put my napsack in and the short Italian jerk behind me stood up and shoved his sweatshirt right where I was trying to put my bag. I nearly lost it on him, I just gave him a dare to die look and said quite calmly "do you mind?". His friend was laughing his head off behind him, what an idiot!

As for romantic, yes, real life sucks the romance out of anything no matter where you go truly. When I lived in the Caribbean I used to see the most gorgeous sunsets and I would think right place wrong guy. Now I am with the right guy, but we have a tough time finding the right place...ahhh, such as life! But I would choose him over a perfect sunset any time

for Leah - well said!