Daft Italian beliefs, no. 573

So, along with the wet hair and the colpo d'aria, and the not leaving knives blade down in the kitchen in case you get flies, I was today told that I wasn't allowed to sit my 5 year olds on the floor. This being because they go outside and may be a little damp, and clearly sitting on the floor will mean that they catch a cold. Nothing to do with viruses at all, or the fact that there's one kid who is constantly pouring snot everywhere and spreading his germs around liberally. Oh no.

germs have nothing to do with illness here. it is only sweat and cold.

and only bad drivers have car crashes, passengers in 'good' drivers' cars do not get hurt.

Lizzie wrote:germs have nothing to do with illness here. it is only sweat and cold.

and only bad drivers have car crashes, passengesin 'good' drivers' cars do not get hurt.

i am laughing so hard right now. every time i get a cold i am told about how i must have sweated and then gone outside. And i'm like, yeah, ok, maybe my immune defenses were down, but i got the cold BECAUSE THERE WAS A VIRUS LINGERING AROUND ME! Helloooooo.

so funny.

yeah, i was told the same about not sitting my kid on the floor!!! I was like... if she doesn't like the cold floor, she is welcome to get up!

oh, and we live in a small town so "what could possibly happen going from one place to another, in nonno's Landrover? He's a good driver!" NOOOOOO! GET A BABY CARSEAT, OR MY KID IS NOT RIDING WITH YOU! PERIOD!

never heard about the knives!!! scary stuff!

but my nephew had a fever last weekend for just one night with no other symptoms and they called it "la febbre della crescita"... i'm thinking, is that like growing pains? you get fevers for that too?

rk - tell nonno that they have really cheapo carseats at Auchan (not sure if you have one of those near you). Since we don't own a car we bought a 30 euro carseat at Auchan which we take along when friends want to give us lifts etc.

My husband is Dutch but he still seems to believe that you get a sore throat if you don't wear a scarf. But maybe even weirder than the colpa d'aria thing he can't sleep with the heat on. It's freeezing. Lucky we don't live in Minnesota or Moscow!

piccolina wrote: But maybe even weirder than the colpa d'aria thing he can't sleep with the heat on. It's freeezing.

Ooh, I'm with him on that one. I wake up absolutely parched if the heat stays on at night. You need to get yourself a good winter duvet and then you'll be fine.

piccolina wrote:rk - tell nonno that they have really cheapo carseats at Auchan (not sure if you have one of those near you). Since we don't own a car we bought a 30 euro carseat at Auchan which we take along when friends want to give us lifts etc.

My husband is Dutch but he still seems to believe that you get a sore throat if you don't wear a scarf. But maybe even weirder than the colpa d'aria thing he can't sleep with the heat on. It's freeezing. Lucky we don't live in Minnesota or Moscow!

that's funny. i used to live in minnesota but in minnesota they would never build a house without insulation, so the heat you spend money on BEFORE you go to bed can keep you warm pretty much all night, except for a few extra bursts of heat here and there...But here, i do get parched, like katja, if i happen to sleep somewhere where the heat is on at night.
But i am toooooooo cold in this country, i have to say. my apartment is particularly cold, and the thermostat doesn't work so i just turn the heater on when i can't take it anymore... and when i wake up it's freezing in here...
i hope i can move soon!
back to the point, my suggestion for anyone who can convince their spouse to keep the heat on all night, is to get a humidifier (ultrasound) and then everyone will be happy.

Have you ever noticed that almost no one here in their kitchen has a good set of kitchen knives? Everything is done with the little serated "steak" knives. Last year when we came for holidays, we decided to bring a wooden knife block with good quality kitchen knives as a present for my sister in law. Well she just about had a fit! Not in a good way. Apparently a gift of knives brings "enimicia". She promptly took out a penny and paid for them. Hmmm? In hindsite maybe she was right. They haven't talked to us for over a year? Another strange Italian belief.. if you don't like something that someone has said or done.. just cut off all communication and never talk to them again. Anyone else noticed this or had it happen?

Wow - I had no idea re the knife gift taboo. We got a really nice set of knives in a knife block for a wedding gift.

Cutting off communication. No one's done it to me yet but I've heard of it happenning to others. I think the Amish call it 'shunning'.

RK - good idea about the humidifier. Do they have them here?

Yeah that happened to a friend of mine and shes italian! she got married in Holland and had another wedding in italy (one to safisfy her husbands parents and the other for hers lol). So she sent out invitations and everyone let her know which one they were going to.

So she phoned some friends an italian couple and they said they couldnt go to the holland one but agreed to go to the italian wedding.

Anyway the day of the wedding arrives and this couple hasnt turned up so my friend phones them and says are you late or stuck in traffic? are you on the way? (as she had saved a place for them in the church and the place they were having the dinner at afterwards) They said no they werent coming as they hadnt recieved an invitation card for the wedding!!!

My friend was like 'but we agreed over the phone you would come etc etc' but they said they didnt think she wanted them there because they hadnt recieved an invitation!!! even though they had agreed to go over the phone! even after she said sorry they still wouldnt go!

So she hasnt spoken to them in over a year as the couple stopped all communication with her over this!! and it was her wedding!! crazy!

piccolina wrote:Wow - I had no idea re the knife gift taboo. We got a really nice set of knives in a knife block for a wedding gift.

maybe they were trying to tell you something!

RK - good idea about the humidifier. Do they have them here?

you can buy proper machines or ceramic things you fill with water hang off the radiator, they only cost a couple of euro.

ClareRoma wrote:

So she hasnt spoken to them in over a year as the couple stopped all communication with her over this!! and it was her wedding!! crazy!

sorry but some people are so anal!

oh, that is so funny about the knives!!! i DID notice that everyone does everything with those useless serrated "steak" knives! but i have a feeling that even they don't know why... i'll have to ask my MIL.

regarding the humidifier, yes, i would recommend a cold one, ultrasonic.
i bought one from OK Baby - it's a penguin

look up OK baby pinguino and you can buy it online... it's a decent quality for the price, but mind you it works best when placed up on a little table... not so great if on the floor as a wet area develops on the floor (not because of leaks, just because the water is nebulized and vapour falls to the floor around the unit).

am pleased with the results, but the room i'm in is quite small. for a larger room, a more potent thing might be necessary... I have heard that some farmacie are selling the Crane humidifiers shaped like other animals.

hahaha great thread guys! I had no idea about the knives but yes! we have no good knives. they are all crappy and disappear on a daily basis.. and we're not allowed to use the wine glasses but instead are banished to using the "nutella" cups with superheros on them.. during august when t-mans parents were away we used the crystal glass ones and I was as happy as a teenager taking their parents car for a spin! LOL..

I SO need a humidifier ( I ALWAYS wake up with a stuffy head and a mild headache which goes away as the day goes on.. ) hmm .. and yes there are so many "rules" here my head spins..

You can't get your stomach cold after you eat, you can;t swim for 3 hours, hair wet NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO you will DIE!, if your sick you must talk about being sick until everyone else is sick , and if a kid acts out , its cause shes tired.. even if acts out consists of calling you "stronza" .. yep... lol..

I <3 italy!

Anyone else find the two kitchen things weird? one kitchen to eat in the other to cook in.

ClareRoma wrote:Anyone else find the two kitchen things weird? one kitchen to eat in the other to cook in.

To be honest I'm surprised anyone could afford an apartment big enough for 2 kitchens here in Rome! I'd heard thbat people have 2 kitchens but I thought that was only in small towns where houses are cheaper...never seen it in the flesh.

ClareRoma wrote:Anyone else find the two kitchen things weird? one kitchen to eat in the other to cook in.

Doesn't that make one of them a dining room?

I guess but they still have the ovan and stink etc in there as well as the one they use as the other kitchen so they both have all the kitchen stuff in them including tables and chairs!

I'm always surprised at how small the kitchens are here! Knowing that Italy is most famous for their cuisine, it is shocking to see how small the kitchen is even in newer houses! I can remember even in Canada that a lot of the Italian immigrants had 2 kitchens, usually the one in the basement was the major cooking area...again, made no sense to me either because there were tiny windows compared to the upstairs one!!!

As for the knife thing, my brother is a hunter and I bought him a hunting knife as a gift last year and he waited for my next visit to Canada to give me a penny for it, and we are not Italian. He said this is so that you will not cut yourself on the knife...you know, good luck, bad luck stuff. I thought it was strange but sweet.

maybe it has to do with people putting together apartments , like buying the one above and connecting them? ( like my bf's house ) .. we def have the two and I find it extremely annoying when "our" kitchen is taken over, quite often for cooking and the nicer upstairs one is left pristine.. mah,,

I noticed the knife thing right away. I bought a knife until mine came from America. My SIL marveled over my knives. Can't understand it.
I don't get the kitchen thing...we live in an apt with only one sink. How am I supposed to do dishes?? They think it's fine but they all have nice kitchens with tons of space and cabinetry and 2 sinks!

I'm always complaining about my kitchen and lack of cabinet space. I made OH promise me that eventually when we build I get to design the kitchen.