Romania= a laughing stock!

Gosh, I shook with laughter at this news! : ) It really made my day : ) Have you heard that Romania sent troops and 2000 tonns of humanitarian aid to Tahiti instead of Haiti?! : ) Of course it was a mistake.

And this was the comment of Gabriel Oprea, the Defence Minister of Romania:

"Haiti, Tahiti, Mahiti, Papiti. Damint, they all sounds simlar!"

hahahaha : )

And this was the picture which immediately appeared on the Net:

On a different note, a funny situation happened to me a few days ago. I was with my bf in a clothes shop as he desperately needed a pair of jeans. While he was in the changing room and I was waiting for him to try on a new pair, I overheard a conversation between a young man (he must have been in his late 30's, I believe), his gf (who was just listening at that time, but whose presence is crucial for the bottom line) and a shop assistant (also a young girl, the boy's contemporary). He was looking at the jeans he had just tried on and which he liked a lot, asked for the price and having received the answer (the price turned out be be really high, sth like 200euros), he was considering buying them or leaving. The shop assistant admitted that yeah, the jeans cost a lot but they are really worth it. This is the best brand, the best quality, they will never shrink, nor change their colour, by and large they're the best in the entire world. In the end she added:

- You just need to ask your Mum to wash them inside out and they'll remain perfect forever...

Hahaha! Yeah, another Italian Mamma's boy... : )

Last but not least, I would like to thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH for the comments on my last post! I feel so much better being able to open up with you : ) You're the best! : ))

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Siracusa Spot.

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Stay.. or go..?

This is the question that by no means most of the Italian "graduate to be" pose themselves constantly.

I have just read an interesting article in the online version of Corriere della Sera (an Italian daily newspaper, first in sales), concerning young people in Italy, their ideas and expectations of the future.. the results of the survey are kind of... hm... let me put it this way: interesting...

First of all, 2 out of 3 undergraduates declare they want to start their working experience abroad just after finishing their studies. Only 36.8% of the interviewed decisively decline the idea. However, according to the commentators and work consultants, most of those intending to leave Italy have rather "romantic" approach to their future in a foreign country. They perceive the world abroad as better, easier and with more potential for their career and personal development... And now my personal view.. how the heck, are they going to succeed if 74% of Italian students study only one foreign lg, supposedly English, (source here) and I can bet that most of them are at the very beginner/elementary level.

But let's suppose they all go.. what are the countries they would choose? In the chronological order: the US, England, Germany, Spain, Sweden (?), and France.

And what is the first, the most important criterion when looking for a job abroad? Money, of course. This is understandable, especially if we consider the fact that statistically the first average salary for 43% of the post graduate in Europe equals 1700 euros, whereas in Italy most of the young employees receive a little bit more than a half of it.

And what is the list of jobs the Italians would never like to do? Well, let me cite the poll results: mechanic, operaio (physical worker), hairdresser (really??), aesthetician (really??), fast food worker, soldier, road sweeper and the most hated ever is the mason. According to the consultant there are two types of jobs: those ones which are taxing but not dangerous and those which are dangerous but not taxing. Mason is a combination of these two types. No wonder then that in Italy most of the masons are foreigners...

And now... what do you think about the Italians... : )

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Weekend

It's already Tuesday today and I didn't have any time during the weekend to blog... Grr... It's hard to keep the pace... Anyway this weekend I went to a party. It wasn't just a party but a party after the graduation from the university of one of my bf's friends. Graduation is a very big thing in Italy, especially that in comparison with an ordinary European student, it takes the Italians approx. 2-4 more years to graduate... Yes, this is incredible... Instead of devoting 3-5 years to studies and then pass all the exams, forget about all this crap, and start a successful career, they usually put down roots fat the universities for long loooong years until they became like 30-35 years old, with no work experience, still living with their parents (of course, and where do you think they could get the money to rent a flat if they "studied" so hard all this time?!) with no plans, no perspectives, carefree as teenagers... Of course I'm not referring to those ones who after a year or two decide to quit their studies either because they want to work or to take a gap year to gather some invaluable experience abroad, or those women who met love of their lives and find themselves cut out for housewifes, mothers, etc. I'm referring to those who waste time on having parties every single night, who sleep until noon and skip classes.

So this is what I discovered during the first year.. Then I discovered the parties... That's just indescribable.. They are like weddings receptions organised in the most spectacular villas, restaurants, etc. You can expect sth like 30-... (100?) people dressed up like Christmas trees screaming: "Tanti auguri, dottore!" ("Best wishes, "doctor!"). It's a big event, after all.. (?) Parents are so happy and relieved they finally don't have to pay for the university anymore that they spend shedloads of money to throw this "festa". Incredible, I know... Anyway this time the food was more than horrible.. The place looked like a Renaissance style palace with artificial columns and decorations... Bleh... The only positive thing about it that at the table I met a couple of very nice sisters (one of them turned out to be my bf's collague) and with whom I'd like to go out one day for a pizza for example. This was on Friday.

On Saturday morning I worked at home and then in the evening we invited a couple of our friends (they're married, he's British and she's American) who 1 year ago decided to buy an appartment here and stay six months in Sicily (during the winter) and six months in the US (where they run a successful agritourism and where they keep chickens, hens, rabbits, grow their own fruit and vegetables and cook for the tourists who come to visit them for lunch or dinner). Therefore you can understand my excitement when I was about to choose what to prepare for the evening. First I served the Italian bruschette with tomates and basil. As for the main course, I opted for sth warm, good for winter, i.e. goulas. It turned out to be a delicious, hearty one dish meal. I served it with noodles. And to finish off we bought some sweets from the local pasticeria. To sum up, the dinner was great and everyone loved it. I really love these evenings when I prepare some new dishes that are appreciated by my guests and my bf.. I think I'm lucky, so far so good.. at least in my humble opinion : )

On Sunday we had some bricolage work to do at home and in the afternoon we were at home, reading and studying (I'm in course of gaining my degree in the post-graduate studies but I'm definitely NOT going to throw a party afterwards : ).

And this was my weekend...

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