The last 2 weeks were at least full, as unbelievable as "full" may sound for someone who technically does not have a job. Between chapter writing, rewriting, presentation writing, flight to Bucharest, exam, flight back to Milan, classes and research group meetings, I actually did not feel that I don't have a job in the real sense of the word. And the hardest part is yet to come, as more work is just around the corner.
And in the meantime, nature and the World have gone crazy: snow and extremely low temperatures are paralyzing both Romania and Italy. I had the "luck" to fly between them in the middle of this period but fortunately my flights only had slight delays. The funny part is how each of the 2 countries is managing the "apocalyptic" weather.
In Romania they have red code after red code, meters of snow on the roads, closed highways, delayed trains, canceled flights, whole villages isolated in the mountains or in remote areas. They also have the villages around Bucharest that were, at some point, in the same state of isolation as those in the mountains. Even the Black Sea froze, and Facebook was invaded of pictures of the rocks at the seashore in Constanta, covered in snow and ice forming strange shapes. People have been dying in the streets or in their cars, blocked in snow in the middle of no-where on blocked roads. Electric cables are getting broken, and Bucharest has become a hell even for walking. The state of alert has been declared in various areas of the country.
In Italy, on the other hand, people are not less scared of this "furious snow and cold that are happening for the first time in the last 30 years". Rome is swamped in snow, they closed schools and public offices, people are emptying the supermarkets, highways have been blocked or closed, the end of the World is coming, etc etc etc. All this, for 30 cm of snow. How funny can this be? Snow is so uncommon around here that not even buses have winter tires nor chains, not to mention normal cars. Here, as in Romania, entire villages are isolated because of the snow, they say. A few days ago, a train remained stuck in the middle of no-where and so the passengers spent a total of 24 hours in the train.
I could write a novel on what's also happening in other European countries but I guess it's useless, since all of you have already seen this on the news.
And finally Milan... well, Milan is, paradoxically, a little oasis, a bubble of peace in the middle of all this general craze. Of course, it's freezing cold, like everywhere (for Milan, -5 degrees is UNBEARABLY freezing cold, they say). There's a bit of ice on the ground, which quickly disappears in the late morning. Snow cannot be seen on the streets, as someone miraculously makes it disappear shortly after it falls. And anyway snow here is nothing compared to the landscapes described above. But it's not less sad, as I can't do much walking besides the usual home-metro-metro-school-metro-home way. I managed to get a glimpse of the Duomo once since I moved, and that's kind of it. I can't wait for the spring to come, because I want to enjoy this city the way it deserves. I also have to buy a photo camera, I'm currently SAVING MONEY (yes, ME!!!) for this purpose. I guess after getting the camera I will have more motivation to walk around the city, as I miss taking photos quite a lot.
The fact of being busy studying and writing also means that I did not have any time to sew or make anything pretty, and my sewing machine is practically untouched and locked in a closed ever since I arrived. I literally drool at my 30+ kilograms of fabrics, that we carried all the way from Bucharest in the hope that being in Milan will mean tons of inspiration and time to do pretty things. But I WILL take attitude in this matter. It's just... too cold for this now.
My dear 2 friends will visit us next weekend, and I am sure we will all have a great time (and I will get to do some sightseeing again since one of them is really desperate to see the city). And in the meantime... we cook, we eat, and we try to stay warm. Ah and I have just turned down (unfortunately, though I could really use the money) 2 "jobs". It's good, though, to know that there are people nice enough to want to make you do stuff for money here. But unfortunately now I can't afford to waste my precious research time, as the deadlines are fast approaching.
And last, but not least, tomorrow is our 1 year anniversary :).
Love,
La Reina Rana
Home sweet home!!!! :D
2012/01/26
Yes, we found it. The 9th apartment that we saw in 2 weeks is finally ours. Well not quite ours, it's rented for the next 7 months. After that, we shall see what happens. Although, judging by the fact that this has been the longest moving process in my entire life (3 days just to carry things here, and another 3 days to have "fluent" Internet and to make the TV work), I might get tempted to say that, at least for this, if not for everything else, I should not only remain in Italy for the rest of my life, but at least in THIS apartment for the next half of it.
I have learned a lot in this home-search process. First of all, once again, PATIENCE is key. But this shouldn't surprise us here in Italy, right? And they say people from the North and Milanese especially, are fast. Pff...
During the 2 weeks that we dedicated to the apartment search, we met all kind of people, from the landlords who always postponed meetings with us, to the real estate agents who always postponed meetings with us, to the real estate agents who couldn't wait to just get it done. Second of all, NEGOTIATION is key. People are hungry these days, we know. But to pay 1000 euro of commission to the real estate agency for a tiny matchbox in Sesto San Giovanni worth 400 euro of rent a month??? Seriously??? Neeext....!!
But what was really funny was the negotiation with the real estate agency that rented us THIS apartment: take one piece Romanian girl, add one piece Italian guy (ex - real estate owner), and, for safety, add one and a half piece Italian father. The combination of forces proved to be more than lucky. Why? Because renting an apartment in Italy if you're a stranger is more like a job interview. Or a visa interview. You have to look (and prove with papers) good in terms of possibility to pay the rent. I did. With papers. Not so fast... once this step accomplished, you have to have an Italian person guaranteeing for you. I had two... but what if I came here to study ABSOLUTELY ALONE? The thought gets me scared and makes me aware that, once again, no matter how high you consider yourself in terms of position in your own country, you might realize, once you start living abroad, that you're seen as absolutely worthless just because you're a stranger. And God knows I am not worthless (nor modest :D) So given this combination of forces, the fun starts. The agency owner starts talking about how he is running this family business (the agency) with a tradition of 30 years on the market, and how the prestige of the agency doesn't ALLOW him to lower the commission. We start to argue on fairness and value for money and other stuff like that (actually the guys, not me... :))) And after 1 hour of such life stories, they finally agree to make us a discount of (drums, drums, drums... ) 80 EURO!!! As in, from the total amount, of course. Total amount representing 3 months' rent in advance + their commission.
Anyway, we liked the apartment so much and I was SO bored and tired of searching, that we finally made the deal. Before I knew it, the contract was signed last Friday, and we had the keys the next day. I like the fact that the contract is not that kind of heavy "4 years" contract with a heavy "6 months" notice in advance if you want to leave. In our case, it was clear from the beginning that we might leave in September so if we want to stay more, we will just extend the contract.
Now enough with the administrative side. We can finally enjoy our little crib, 20 minutes by metro away from the university (YEY!!! no more drive-train-metro-change metro-walk to get a book!!!). Just get in the metro and, before you know it, breath the cool air under the Duomo of Milan (I was trying to be poetic here...) and drool over the cool shoes in the stores... What can you wish more from life? (maybe just... to buy those shoes?) You don't even feel you're in a suburb, given that the suburb is a town in itself named "The Sixth Saint John" - how many Saint Johns are there in Italy??? The even cooler side is that we have the panetiere (bread shop) downstairs, the creperia (crepes shop) downstairs as well, the fish store across the street, and a few cute bars around. Ah, and Esselunga 5 minutes away from home. And Carrefour Express on the street behind. BUT the COOLEST side of all is the Saturday market which takes place on the intersecting street each Saturday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 1 day markets are very popular in Italy and they have everything from fresh food products that make you drool, to (bad looking) clothes. Of course, I'm a fan of the fresh food products. Which is why the idea of having this market 50 meters from our door really makes me happy. Ah and the fact that it's on Saturday, a normal day when normal people can actually BUY something from it, and not Wednesday as it is in our former residence paesino.
No, I changed my mind. The market is not the coolest thing. The fabric store across the street from the metro station is the coolest thing. And it's actually even more tempting than the shoe store in the center of Milan, at San Babila. And it has discounts, too...
As for the inside, we have everything... and I am NOT a demanding person in terms of comfort. After 2 weeks of seeing horrendous caves, all I wanted was just an apartment that doesn't look gross. I was tired of seeing schifezze (gross things) that the agents were presenting as "very comfortable arrangements", "generous spaces" and other shitty phrases. But THIS apartment has it all: it is clean, renovated, nicely furnished, it has a washing machine, a little balcony, and the room is split into 2 areas: the day area and the night area, separated by a piece of furniture which is almost like a wall, while in the same time being perfect for hosting all my sewing supplies (including all the fabrics and the sewing machine) and books. Ah, and all the home appliances are functional and did not need to be changed and they are clean.
We call it La Casa Del PesceRana (he is Pesce (=Fish), I am Rana (=Frog) and I'm almost afraid to be happy about it too much because high chances are that we will leave it too soon (hope not, though...)
Love,
La Reina Rana
I have learned a lot in this home-search process. First of all, once again, PATIENCE is key. But this shouldn't surprise us here in Italy, right? And they say people from the North and Milanese especially, are fast. Pff...
During the 2 weeks that we dedicated to the apartment search, we met all kind of people, from the landlords who always postponed meetings with us, to the real estate agents who always postponed meetings with us, to the real estate agents who couldn't wait to just get it done. Second of all, NEGOTIATION is key. People are hungry these days, we know. But to pay 1000 euro of commission to the real estate agency for a tiny matchbox in Sesto San Giovanni worth 400 euro of rent a month??? Seriously??? Neeext....!!
But what was really funny was the negotiation with the real estate agency that rented us THIS apartment: take one piece Romanian girl, add one piece Italian guy (ex - real estate owner), and, for safety, add one and a half piece Italian father. The combination of forces proved to be more than lucky. Why? Because renting an apartment in Italy if you're a stranger is more like a job interview. Or a visa interview. You have to look (and prove with papers) good in terms of possibility to pay the rent. I did. With papers. Not so fast... once this step accomplished, you have to have an Italian person guaranteeing for you. I had two... but what if I came here to study ABSOLUTELY ALONE? The thought gets me scared and makes me aware that, once again, no matter how high you consider yourself in terms of position in your own country, you might realize, once you start living abroad, that you're seen as absolutely worthless just because you're a stranger. And God knows I am not worthless (nor modest :D) So given this combination of forces, the fun starts. The agency owner starts talking about how he is running this family business (the agency) with a tradition of 30 years on the market, and how the prestige of the agency doesn't ALLOW him to lower the commission. We start to argue on fairness and value for money and other stuff like that (actually the guys, not me... :))) And after 1 hour of such life stories, they finally agree to make us a discount of (drums, drums, drums... ) 80 EURO!!! As in, from the total amount, of course. Total amount representing 3 months' rent in advance + their commission.
Anyway, we liked the apartment so much and I was SO bored and tired of searching, that we finally made the deal. Before I knew it, the contract was signed last Friday, and we had the keys the next day. I like the fact that the contract is not that kind of heavy "4 years" contract with a heavy "6 months" notice in advance if you want to leave. In our case, it was clear from the beginning that we might leave in September so if we want to stay more, we will just extend the contract.
Now enough with the administrative side. We can finally enjoy our little crib, 20 minutes by metro away from the university (YEY!!! no more drive-train-metro-change metro-walk to get a book!!!). Just get in the metro and, before you know it, breath the cool air under the Duomo of Milan (I was trying to be poetic here...) and drool over the cool shoes in the stores... What can you wish more from life? (maybe just... to buy those shoes?) You don't even feel you're in a suburb, given that the suburb is a town in itself named "The Sixth Saint John" - how many Saint Johns are there in Italy??? The even cooler side is that we have the panetiere (bread shop) downstairs, the creperia (crepes shop) downstairs as well, the fish store across the street, and a few cute bars around. Ah, and Esselunga 5 minutes away from home. And Carrefour Express on the street behind. BUT the COOLEST side of all is the Saturday market which takes place on the intersecting street each Saturday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 1 day markets are very popular in Italy and they have everything from fresh food products that make you drool, to (bad looking) clothes. Of course, I'm a fan of the fresh food products. Which is why the idea of having this market 50 meters from our door really makes me happy. Ah and the fact that it's on Saturday, a normal day when normal people can actually BUY something from it, and not Wednesday as it is in our former residence paesino.
No, I changed my mind. The market is not the coolest thing. The fabric store across the street from the metro station is the coolest thing. And it's actually even more tempting than the shoe store in the center of Milan, at San Babila. And it has discounts, too...
As for the inside, we have everything... and I am NOT a demanding person in terms of comfort. After 2 weeks of seeing horrendous caves, all I wanted was just an apartment that doesn't look gross. I was tired of seeing schifezze (gross things) that the agents were presenting as "very comfortable arrangements", "generous spaces" and other shitty phrases. But THIS apartment has it all: it is clean, renovated, nicely furnished, it has a washing machine, a little balcony, and the room is split into 2 areas: the day area and the night area, separated by a piece of furniture which is almost like a wall, while in the same time being perfect for hosting all my sewing supplies (including all the fabrics and the sewing machine) and books. Ah, and all the home appliances are functional and did not need to be changed and they are clean.
We call it La Casa Del PesceRana (he is Pesce (=Fish), I am Rana (=Frog) and I'm almost afraid to be happy about it too much because high chances are that we will leave it too soon (hope not, though...)
Love,
La Reina Rana
Home sweet home?
2012/01/12
This week is under the sign of I HAVE TO FIND A PLACE TO LIVE!!!
So given this fact, my poor beloved ex-real estate agent, ex-real estate agency owner, actual beloved guide, was put to great try into finding a place we can call our own. For obvious reasons, the choice is mine, but the looking process is mostly his.
From a previous post you know what my expectations are, and God knows they are not really high for what I pay. I have to say that, from back home in Bucharest, when I was browsing the announcements on the Internet, everything sounded and looked really "pink" compared to the reality. So ok, the keyword this week is "adaptation".
The bottom line is that we saw 5 apartments so far, and tonight we are making the decision between the last 2, that we saw today. We have to decide between a bigger (and more expensive) flat, and a smaller and cheaper flat. Both are studios (one-room only), and the main point is that we will try a price negotiation for the bigger one first. if it works, we'll take it, if not, we'll take the smaller one.
Now a little bit of juicy facts about the previous "sweet homes" that we saw:
1. Apartment no.1, in Gorgonzola (which is on the green metro line of Milan, but, of course, outside of Milan). Very nice (but a bit too small) studio, with "angolo cottura" (a kitchen which is not a kitchen, but the kitchen stuff on one of the room's walls), washing machine, newly renovated etc. BUT the studio was at the ground floor in a creepy yard (that kind of "medieval" yard but really really badly maintained - practically the paint was falling off the walls outside). There were advantages, though, such as the tiny garden where I could have started to grow my own tomatoes and basil and stuff (LOL that's cute), the place to park my car under the window, and the deposit space in the garden. Thanks, but no, thanks.
2. Apartment no. 2, in Sesto San Giovanni (which is on the red metro line of Milan, not quite in Milan, but almost in Milan, as in, stuck to Milan - and with direct metro to the center of Milan). A studio in the attic of an old palazzina (a palazzina is a small palazzo which is an apartment building). Nice and with a spacious lobby where you could easily accomodate an extra-guest, big kitchen with a table for 4, washing machine, dishwasher. Sounds great so far. Not so fast! The attic stuff meant that the only 2 windows of the apartment were tiny, and in some points in the kitchen and in the bathroom you easily bump your head to the ceiling due to the small height of the stuff. And besides, it was at the 4th floor (ok they said 3rd but it;s actually 4th) with no elevator. And the people in that palazzina look a bit creepy. So.... NEEXT!
3. Apartment no.3, in Pozzuolo Martesana, which is a fraction of Gorgonzola. This was a 2 rooms apartment, fully renovated and fully furnished, everything looking good inside, with a parking place, washing machine, storage space in the basement, etc. So it could seem ideal. But for Christ's sake, it was in the middle of no-where!!! has anyone heard of Pozzuolo Martesana???? Ok, I got it, Italians are village-oriented, far away from the noisy center, bla bla, but, GOD, you need 10 minutes BY CAR to get to the metro station of Gorgonzola. Then you take the green metro line for some stations, you CHANGE lines, and, finally, after more than one hour, you reach San Babila which is where I will mostly have things to do (and which is in the center of Milan as I previously said). So, nope. Nope, nope, nope.
The thing is that all of them looked nice in pictures. One of them looked nice even in reality. But there are so many other things to consider... uff I'm tired already. I want my little crib and I want it to be IN Milan (which is out of discussion because I can't afford it), or at least at the edge of Milan. Sesto san Giovanni is just perfect for that because of the direct metro, but... we will see tonight. I can't wait to have my things nicely put into the dressing and not having to keep 3/4 of them in suitcases in the middle of the living room. And of course, I can't wait to be just a metro ride away from school, and not to have to go to f...kin' Carnate to take the f...kin' train that I ALWAYS miss, just to get to a metro and then to change metro and to have a 4 hours trip for half an hour of meeting.
Being a guest is SO cool because you practically don't do anything (especially when you're hosted by extraordinary people, like mine are), but you can't be a guest for ever and, as Italians like to say, I want to have my cazzi miei.
So, fingers crossed for tonight. Will come back with details.
Love,
La Reina Rana
So given this fact, my poor beloved ex-real estate agent, ex-real estate agency owner, actual beloved guide, was put to great try into finding a place we can call our own. For obvious reasons, the choice is mine, but the looking process is mostly his.
From a previous post you know what my expectations are, and God knows they are not really high for what I pay. I have to say that, from back home in Bucharest, when I was browsing the announcements on the Internet, everything sounded and looked really "pink" compared to the reality. So ok, the keyword this week is "adaptation".
The bottom line is that we saw 5 apartments so far, and tonight we are making the decision between the last 2, that we saw today. We have to decide between a bigger (and more expensive) flat, and a smaller and cheaper flat. Both are studios (one-room only), and the main point is that we will try a price negotiation for the bigger one first. if it works, we'll take it, if not, we'll take the smaller one.
Now a little bit of juicy facts about the previous "sweet homes" that we saw:
1. Apartment no.1, in Gorgonzola (which is on the green metro line of Milan, but, of course, outside of Milan). Very nice (but a bit too small) studio, with "angolo cottura" (a kitchen which is not a kitchen, but the kitchen stuff on one of the room's walls), washing machine, newly renovated etc. BUT the studio was at the ground floor in a creepy yard (that kind of "medieval" yard but really really badly maintained - practically the paint was falling off the walls outside). There were advantages, though, such as the tiny garden where I could have started to grow my own tomatoes and basil and stuff (LOL that's cute), the place to park my car under the window, and the deposit space in the garden. Thanks, but no, thanks.
2. Apartment no. 2, in Sesto San Giovanni (which is on the red metro line of Milan, not quite in Milan, but almost in Milan, as in, stuck to Milan - and with direct metro to the center of Milan). A studio in the attic of an old palazzina (a palazzina is a small palazzo which is an apartment building). Nice and with a spacious lobby where you could easily accomodate an extra-guest, big kitchen with a table for 4, washing machine, dishwasher. Sounds great so far. Not so fast! The attic stuff meant that the only 2 windows of the apartment were tiny, and in some points in the kitchen and in the bathroom you easily bump your head to the ceiling due to the small height of the stuff. And besides, it was at the 4th floor (ok they said 3rd but it;s actually 4th) with no elevator. And the people in that palazzina look a bit creepy. So.... NEEXT!
3. Apartment no.3, in Pozzuolo Martesana, which is a fraction of Gorgonzola. This was a 2 rooms apartment, fully renovated and fully furnished, everything looking good inside, with a parking place, washing machine, storage space in the basement, etc. So it could seem ideal. But for Christ's sake, it was in the middle of no-where!!! has anyone heard of Pozzuolo Martesana???? Ok, I got it, Italians are village-oriented, far away from the noisy center, bla bla, but, GOD, you need 10 minutes BY CAR to get to the metro station of Gorgonzola. Then you take the green metro line for some stations, you CHANGE lines, and, finally, after more than one hour, you reach San Babila which is where I will mostly have things to do (and which is in the center of Milan as I previously said). So, nope. Nope, nope, nope.
The thing is that all of them looked nice in pictures. One of them looked nice even in reality. But there are so many other things to consider... uff I'm tired already. I want my little crib and I want it to be IN Milan (which is out of discussion because I can't afford it), or at least at the edge of Milan. Sesto san Giovanni is just perfect for that because of the direct metro, but... we will see tonight. I can't wait to have my things nicely put into the dressing and not having to keep 3/4 of them in suitcases in the middle of the living room. And of course, I can't wait to be just a metro ride away from school, and not to have to go to f...kin' Carnate to take the f...kin' train that I ALWAYS miss, just to get to a metro and then to change metro and to have a 4 hours trip for half an hour of meeting.
Being a guest is SO cool because you practically don't do anything (especially when you're hosted by extraordinary people, like mine are), but you can't be a guest for ever and, as Italians like to say, I want to have my cazzi miei.
So, fingers crossed for tonight. Will come back with details.
Love,
La Reina Rana
REALLY (no, I mean R E A L L Y) funny stuff
2012/01/08
Alloraaaa... this post was supposed to be about what I've been up to so far in my wonderful Italian adventure. Well to make it short, not much. Only that I continued to skip running on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (to my happiness) which of course could not go on for ever so I had to go today (uff). Some dancing on Friday night, that didn't turn out so good because according to Murphy's laws we ended up (again) in a place which played the music at a ratio of 10 bachatas/2 salsa.
Ah and not to mention I have been taking antibiotics for 4 days already, for a bad cold I got at some point (and the cold is still here but let's say it's bearable now). In addition to this, it seems that everything I eat has some sort of bad effect on me, although I literally love everything I eat (and yes, I eat a lot of everything). The effect is either a painful stomach, either a rash, either both. They say it's because of the change of environment and the change of food but... I don't know :). Anyway, I hope it will pass soon because I have a lot more to experiment in terms of food.
Tomorrow is a big day in terms of the fact that school finally starts and I will go to the university to meet the director of the faculty. Tomorrow I will also send my complete chapter to my professor in Romania, for revision (I still have to finish it, though). And, last but not least, tomorrow we will start the home search... again.
Ok so enough with the serious part. Now the REALLY funny stuff: Italians have a very weird way of saying "whatever" (if you are less than 18 years old please stop reading NOW!) Actually they have several ways of saying "Whatever!" but there is one that drew my attention in particular, for its endless funniness that made me die of laughter for the whole weekend.
So they literally say: STO CAZZ(o).The small "o" between brackets is small because it is hardly heard. Actually, you can just not say it at all, and it will still turn out just fine. Ok so what does this mean? "Sto" is the short form of "questo" which means "this" (a "male" this). Cazz(o), well... it means the male stuff that male people use to... you know. Reproduce. So the phrase literally means "this d..k". But yet this is not the funniest part in "Sto cazz". No. The REALLY funny part in "Sto cazz" is the WAY they say it.
So let's assume we have a normal communication context between two people who are simply talking about something. At some point, Speaker A makes a statement about a certain thing. And then asks Speaker B what he thinks about what he just said. Speaker B is either confused about what he heard, either does not have an opinion about it, either is bored of the conversation, either does not have any idea what to say (ideally all these conditions have to be met AT THE SAME TIME for a full effect of what's going to follow). So, as an answer, what does Speaker B do? Simple: puts his hands together, matching fingers facing each-other, positioning the reunited thumbs up). Starts shaking the hands in the air (being careful to keep the position). And after 2 seconds (while still shaking the hands in the air) says: STO CAZZ... (Romanians will also feel familiar with this way of saying things, because there is a resembling phrase in Romanian as well (I will not get into details but... you know :)).
So that's it. One final mention is that by this post I have just broken the ultimate Italian life rule, which clearly states that women are NOT allowed to (ever) use bad words (that in Italian are called "parolacce"). Ever, under no circumstance. Boh.
Love,
La Reina Rana
Ah and not to mention I have been taking antibiotics for 4 days already, for a bad cold I got at some point (and the cold is still here but let's say it's bearable now). In addition to this, it seems that everything I eat has some sort of bad effect on me, although I literally love everything I eat (and yes, I eat a lot of everything). The effect is either a painful stomach, either a rash, either both. They say it's because of the change of environment and the change of food but... I don't know :). Anyway, I hope it will pass soon because I have a lot more to experiment in terms of food.
Tomorrow is a big day in terms of the fact that school finally starts and I will go to the university to meet the director of the faculty. Tomorrow I will also send my complete chapter to my professor in Romania, for revision (I still have to finish it, though). And, last but not least, tomorrow we will start the home search... again.
Ok so enough with the serious part. Now the REALLY funny stuff: Italians have a very weird way of saying "whatever" (if you are less than 18 years old please stop reading NOW!) Actually they have several ways of saying "Whatever!" but there is one that drew my attention in particular, for its endless funniness that made me die of laughter for the whole weekend.
So they literally say: STO CAZZ(o).The small "o" between brackets is small because it is hardly heard. Actually, you can just not say it at all, and it will still turn out just fine. Ok so what does this mean? "Sto" is the short form of "questo" which means "this" (a "male" this). Cazz(o), well... it means the male stuff that male people use to... you know. Reproduce. So the phrase literally means "this d..k". But yet this is not the funniest part in "Sto cazz". No. The REALLY funny part in "Sto cazz" is the WAY they say it.
So let's assume we have a normal communication context between two people who are simply talking about something. At some point, Speaker A makes a statement about a certain thing. And then asks Speaker B what he thinks about what he just said. Speaker B is either confused about what he heard, either does not have an opinion about it, either is bored of the conversation, either does not have any idea what to say (ideally all these conditions have to be met AT THE SAME TIME for a full effect of what's going to follow). So, as an answer, what does Speaker B do? Simple: puts his hands together, matching fingers facing each-other, positioning the reunited thumbs up). Starts shaking the hands in the air (being careful to keep the position). And after 2 seconds (while still shaking the hands in the air) says: STO CAZZ... (Romanians will also feel familiar with this way of saying things, because there is a resembling phrase in Romanian as well (I will not get into details but... you know :)).
So that's it. One final mention is that by this post I have just broken the ultimate Italian life rule, which clearly states that women are NOT allowed to (ever) use bad words (that in Italian are called "parolacce"). Ever, under no circumstance. Boh.
Love,
La Reina Rana
On which La Bella Vita begins
2012/01/04
La Reina Rana has been living in Italy for (pam pararampam pam pam) 5 DAYS! And it already seems like I've been here for ages. This, in terms of missing the people at home, and in terms of having been used to being here. Of course I know this is a false feeling, since I didn't do anything unusual or unfamiliar or undone before since I arrived.
To start with the beginning, on Saturday we got ourselves some laptop supports, his for the desk, mine for sitting in bed (since all my activity, including the reading, is being done on the laptop, I have to be a comfortable Reina Rana). His is from Media World, mine is from IKEA, both of them situated in a huge (not huge, but HUUUUUUUUUUGE) commercial center near Carugate which is a village in the province of Monza e Brianza.
The funny thing is that we literally had to run to get them, as we arrived in the commercial center not long before 5 p.m. on 31st of December and when all the shops were closing around that time. But, we made it, and arrived home just in time to prepare ourselves for the New Year's Eve. Which, being both busy thinking about important stuff such as the big trip, we had no idea where we would spend until a few hours before.
So the New Year's Eve started with a traditional dinner at a friend's boyfriend's place, where we had quite some fun despite knowing only 1 person out of 10. The menu included antipasti (some bruschette with tomatoes and with salmon), spaghetti alle vongole (vongole are a species of sea shells), gamberoni (BIG shrimps), some roquefort cheese served with nut bread, a pie filled with zucchine and cheese, and, in the end, cotechino con lenticchie which is the most traditional New Year dish in Italy (ever). And as desert, the unbeatable tiramisu which my man's mom prepared specially for the occasion (and which we brought with us to the venue).
After 1 a.m., we headed to the salsa party at Bahia which had been a blast the year before. Big mistake. This year they had either changed the DJ, or the policy, and we ended up counting endless bachatas and desperately waiting for a salsa. But the show of Marco Ferrigno and Natalia was great, though, and we also got to dance with them :D.
My man's ambition to make both of us run every morning in order to return to our normal shape started to come true even from the first day of the year, when we ran a lot and also walked into the fields. And it continued on Monday, with (almost) the same determination. Yesterday we skipped the run as we went for a little dance instead. And today we skipped the run because we skipped the run :).
I\m really proud that I managed to mobilize myself to study and read and write even from the second day of the year. Which means that, while the whole Italy is still on vacation, La Reina Rana is struggling to finish her paper that is due this weekend. The whole Italy which is still on vacation includes the University, AND the library, which will both open on Monday 9th of January. Which can only mean one thing: I had to dig through Amazon to get the books I need for this part of the research. 2 days of intense book shopping and 200 euro thrown away. But, if it's for science, it's for science :). Yet also another reminder for the fact that you can go from deadly rich to deadly broke without living your bedroom.
2 Italian myths that I busted these days:
- Italians eat a lot of pasta with everything and there is no meal without pasta. WRONG. I have been here for 5 days and I only ate pasta 3 times. That's practicly NOTHING, right? :))
- Italian mothers are annoying and intrusive. Well sorry, but not HIS mom :) (we even now have some sort of coalition against the male side of the household - mwuhahaha)
2 Italian myths that are unfortunately true:
- EVERYTHING is in Italian. No, I mean really, everything!!! even Google, Yahoo, and this stupid Blogger that I use for posting. Any .com that has a .it version will automatically take you to the .it. And that's IT, you like it or not (btw anyone knows any setting to change this?)
- Italian public administration employees have no idea about their work. I'm not surprised, considering how bureaucratic this country is, that they sometime get confused. But the lady we met today at the Agenzia delle Entrate (where I got my Codice Fiscale that identifies me as a person in Italy) was really the maximum so far. Obviously, she had not much idea about the order of the next steps or even about the fact of either having to do a medical insurance or not (considering that I have one in Romania and also the European Health Insurance card). But of course this was said in the most Italian Italian, without even minding that I am foreign. Probably because my Italian is so good already :))).
2 things that literally suck:
- we haven't found an apartment yet. Everyone is on vacation including the real estate agencies, but we hope that they will answer soon
- the weather which is either rainy either foggy either cold either any combination of 2 or 3 of the above mentioned
Things that are nice so far:
- love, love, love, love!!!!
- peace and serenity and time to finally concentrate on my study
- the non-existance of the return ticket
- DISCOUNTS start tomorrow!!! Which means La Reina Rana and Il Pesce will finally buy each-other Christmas gifts!!!
- I will cook ciorba on Friday :D
Lots to come.
Love,
La Reina Rana
To start with the beginning, on Saturday we got ourselves some laptop supports, his for the desk, mine for sitting in bed (since all my activity, including the reading, is being done on the laptop, I have to be a comfortable Reina Rana). His is from Media World, mine is from IKEA, both of them situated in a huge (not huge, but HUUUUUUUUUUGE) commercial center near Carugate which is a village in the province of Monza e Brianza.
The funny thing is that we literally had to run to get them, as we arrived in the commercial center not long before 5 p.m. on 31st of December and when all the shops were closing around that time. But, we made it, and arrived home just in time to prepare ourselves for the New Year's Eve. Which, being both busy thinking about important stuff such as the big trip, we had no idea where we would spend until a few hours before.
So the New Year's Eve started with a traditional dinner at a friend's boyfriend's place, where we had quite some fun despite knowing only 1 person out of 10. The menu included antipasti (some bruschette with tomatoes and with salmon), spaghetti alle vongole (vongole are a species of sea shells), gamberoni (BIG shrimps), some roquefort cheese served with nut bread, a pie filled with zucchine and cheese, and, in the end, cotechino con lenticchie which is the most traditional New Year dish in Italy (ever). And as desert, the unbeatable tiramisu which my man's mom prepared specially for the occasion (and which we brought with us to the venue).
After 1 a.m., we headed to the salsa party at Bahia which had been a blast the year before. Big mistake. This year they had either changed the DJ, or the policy, and we ended up counting endless bachatas and desperately waiting for a salsa. But the show of Marco Ferrigno and Natalia was great, though, and we also got to dance with them :D.
My man's ambition to make both of us run every morning in order to return to our normal shape started to come true even from the first day of the year, when we ran a lot and also walked into the fields. And it continued on Monday, with (almost) the same determination. Yesterday we skipped the run as we went for a little dance instead. And today we skipped the run because we skipped the run :).
I\m really proud that I managed to mobilize myself to study and read and write even from the second day of the year. Which means that, while the whole Italy is still on vacation, La Reina Rana is struggling to finish her paper that is due this weekend. The whole Italy which is still on vacation includes the University, AND the library, which will both open on Monday 9th of January. Which can only mean one thing: I had to dig through Amazon to get the books I need for this part of the research. 2 days of intense book shopping and 200 euro thrown away. But, if it's for science, it's for science :). Yet also another reminder for the fact that you can go from deadly rich to deadly broke without living your bedroom.
2 Italian myths that I busted these days:
- Italians eat a lot of pasta with everything and there is no meal without pasta. WRONG. I have been here for 5 days and I only ate pasta 3 times. That's practicly NOTHING, right? :))
- Italian mothers are annoying and intrusive. Well sorry, but not HIS mom :) (we even now have some sort of coalition against the male side of the household - mwuhahaha)
2 Italian myths that are unfortunately true:
- EVERYTHING is in Italian. No, I mean really, everything!!! even Google, Yahoo, and this stupid Blogger that I use for posting. Any .com that has a .it version will automatically take you to the .it. And that's IT, you like it or not (btw anyone knows any setting to change this?)
- Italian public administration employees have no idea about their work. I'm not surprised, considering how bureaucratic this country is, that they sometime get confused. But the lady we met today at the Agenzia delle Entrate (where I got my Codice Fiscale that identifies me as a person in Italy) was really the maximum so far. Obviously, she had not much idea about the order of the next steps or even about the fact of either having to do a medical insurance or not (considering that I have one in Romania and also the European Health Insurance card). But of course this was said in the most Italian Italian, without even minding that I am foreign. Probably because my Italian is so good already :))).
2 things that literally suck:
- we haven't found an apartment yet. Everyone is on vacation including the real estate agencies, but we hope that they will answer soon
- the weather which is either rainy either foggy either cold either any combination of 2 or 3 of the above mentioned
Things that are nice so far:
- love, love, love, love!!!!
- peace and serenity and time to finally concentrate on my study
- the non-existance of the return ticket
- DISCOUNTS start tomorrow!!! Which means La Reina Rana and Il Pesce will finally buy each-other Christmas gifts!!!
- I will cook ciorba on Friday :D
Lots to come.
Love,
La Reina Rana
The big road trip to Milan revealed :D
2011/12/31
Yes, I didn't have the time to do the final update before we left. But... we left :D. And we arrived... alive.
But if you ask me if I will ever do this trip again, I would tell you that I would rather sell my car than return with it from Italy. Ok, kidding, it wasn't so bad. Actually, it wasn't bad at all, but I like to play the little princess and complain.
So to start with the beginning, on Wednesday night we had a nice fare-well moment with some of my best friends gathered at my place around a pot of sarmale, some ciorba, and, of course, wine and champagne. Then we realized we hadn't made the music CDs for the trip. Made the CDs (him, not me). Realized that one very important friend was about to come. Spent some time with her. Finished the CDs. Went to bed at around midnight (now that my mom knows that we arrived alive, I can publicly say that we only slept for 5 hours before departure).
The initial plan was to depart at 06:00 a.m. on Thursday, but, when we made this plan, we didn't realize that loading the car would take us more than one hour. So after making all the luggage fit in (him, not me) like a well thought puzzle, after many double-triple-quadruple checks of documents, keys and stuff, we finally kick-started the engine (me, not him). At 07:30. So more than one hour of delay. The plan was that I drive through most of Romania, and that we will alternate driving through Hungary and Slovenia, and that he will drive in Italy. Wrong. I ended up driving only for the first 4 hours in Romania. Then, after stopping for lunch near Sibiu, the manly man he board in front of the restaurant proudly said “menu of the day = 11 lei”. We get in and sit. We ask for a menu, to choose what to eat. Shock. They only have one thing: “menu of the day”. Chicken ciorba and mashed beans with sausages. Ok, bring’em on, we’re starving.
Then, we hit the road again. Of course, no driving for me ever since. Not to mention that I got to drive in the most difficult, crowded, and breathtakingly landscaped part of the way, and he got all the boring rest.
As we had left Bucharest with a full gas tank, we dind’t expect to have any gas concerns any time soon. Wrong, again. Driving a car that is loaded with 200 kg of luggage, at 130 km/h on a highway, proved to be a not such gas-saving thing. So gas went significantly down on the first portion of the road (which was a highway). Then, it got better as we drove on normal national roads, and we totally forgot the gas issue until close to Arad. It was only there when we realized that we are already on the red light, and started praying for a gas station, which we luckily found just in time.
Crossing the border to Hungary through Nadlac was the easiest thing ever, I was expecting huge lines of cars before us, but fortunately there was only one (car, not line), and 2 very nice custom people controlling our documents which were of course more than was needed J. The best thing was the fact that, before the border, there was a booth where we bought the road vignette for Hungary, and also the one for Slovenia (they also had vignettes for Croatia, Austria, and other neighboring countries, which is pretty cool if you’re on a tour or something like this). Anyway, the cherry on the cake was that there was no border police on the Hungarian side (but there is some, probably, on the opposite way, when you cross from Hungary to Romania).
The whole way until Budapest is a highway. A highway with perfect asphalt, but a totally DARK highway. Then Budapest appears like an oasis of lights. We reached our dear friend’s place at 19:00 (Hungarian time), after 13 hours of driving. After a wonderful dinner, she showed us the entire Budapest in less than an hour, in a fast tour by car. I knew Budapest was amazing, but I hadn’t imagined that it’s THIS amazing. The bridges, the monuments, the statues, the palaces, castles and all the historical buildings, were covered in lights and we saw all that, like in a fairy tale, from the hill going to the Statue of Liberty (that of course has nothing to do with the Statue of Liberty in the States). Then, after all this, we went to bed, to wake up yesterday at 07:00 a.m. Which we did, and, after a delicious breakfast prepared by our friend, we headed again to the city. First to the internet point, to download the Hungarian and Slovenian map on the GPS (this way we didn’t use Internet in roaming which would have cost a lot), then to the gas station to fill the tank, and then off we went to Ljubljana.
Driving to Ljubljana meant another highway and almost 5 hours. With all my sympathy to Hungary, I have to say that the Hungarian part of the road was the most boring ever. Slovenia, though, looks like a little land of fantasy, with picturesque landscapes, little villages with nice houses, mountains, rivers and all. Ljubljana as a city is romantic and nostalgic and… empty J. At least it was like this 2 days before the New Year’s Eve. In Ljubljana we met another friend of mine to have lunch in a traditional restaurant, where I particularly liked the pancakes with Nutella and nuts (ok this was not so traditional but whatever).
After the good time, the laughter, the joy of lunch, we were on the road again. We had some trouble figuring out through where we will exit Slovenia and enter Italy (we knew we will enter Italy through Trieste but we didn’t know the Slovenian correspondent of Trieste, and no, we couldn’t put Trieste on the GPS because we hadn’t downloaded the map of Italy). But the day was saved by all the miraculous indicators all over the highway saying… hmm…. Guess what: TRIESTE!! (lol this is to make fun of my best-ever-hero-prince who is totally ADDICTED to the GPS and wouldn’t look at an indicator on the road not even if you force him).
Of course, we forgot about the gas… again! 40 km before Trieste, we had the red light (…again!) and started looking worriedly for gas stations. At some point, the familiar OMV lights started showing like a sign of salvation. I start saying “OMV, OMV!!!! Come on!” But….nope! We pass. Why? The manly man (who HAD to drive, because I am totally unable, he says) FORGOT about the gas, just like that. He wasn’t even realizing that OMV was a gas station. Then followed some kilometers that we made at 80/h, to save the gas, while praying to see another station soon. Those were the hardest kilometers, as the highway was passing through endless mountains, and, of course, no gas stations. I was already planning for the methods of torture I would use for the manly man in case we run out of gas (including, of course, making him walk to the next station to get a bottle of gas), when, finally, we see the salvation. A Petrol gas station, that we gladly ran into, just in time before using our last 500 ml of gas that we had left in the tank. So, after a well deserved full tank, off we went.
After a little while from this, we entered Italy! So there we were on the A4 highway taking us straight from Trieste to Milan. We made it (ok, HE made it) in almost 4 hours, and before I knew it, I was in bed sleeping, with the car unloaded and sleeping nicely in the parking lot, a well deserved sleep after taking us 4 countries away, straight to the Bel Paese.
Now we’re heading to the New Year’s Eve dinner and then party. The fireworks have already started around, so AUGURI EVERYONE!!! See you next year with more stories.
Love,
La Reina Rana
Day 2: The FINAL countdown!!!!
2011/12/26
So yes... 2 days, as in literally 48 hours, left until the big journey.
I've been quite "lazy" with posting during the last week, but only because I had serious reasons. The crazy rollercoaster called "preparations" started moving faster and faster by the days, and I don't know if last week I spent more than 2 hours in the same place. Except, of course, for the weekend, because it was Christmas.
Of course, the last days meant no less adventure than the previous ones, because it's too simple if it's simple, isn't it? The "best of the best" had to do with my car... AGAIN. Last Tuesday I was happily going to the tax office in Bucharest, carefully holding the precious tax file of my car, freshly brought from Constanta. I was already chirping with joy at the thought of going to register the car the next day and putting an end to the torture. But no.... not so fast, little lady! The tax lady announced me that the file is incomplete. The most important paper in the file was missing, because the stupid employees of the tax office in Constanta had just forgot to put it in. So no car tax transfer, no car registration without that paper. I thought the sky was falling on my head and started to feel that maybe a higher force was not allowing me to have my road trip. Going to Constanta again to get the paper was out of discussion, because the hours were already counted for other things I had to do.
But the day was saved, again, by my PowerPuff Mom, who got the paper herself and sent it to me via courier. So on Wednesday, after having waited for the courier for half a day, I had the precious envelope, and I went to the tax office again. The transfer was made, I paid the tax (again) and the registration fees, and on Thursday morning at 8:30 I was standing in line at the car registration office, proudly holding the complete registration file of my car. The officer at the desk was more than delighted by the completeness of my file, everything was in order, so all I had to do was to wait for 2 hours to get my new registration document and my new number plates. Which I happily did.
Later that day, I rushed to the store to get cookies and champagne, then to my office for a last sweet moment to say goodbye to my colleagues at work. After doing this at my office, I went to the main office, to do the same thing. Sweets, pictures, farewells, "good luck"s, but still... I have the feeling I'm on vacation and returning some time soon. The only difference is that I don't have the Blackberry ringing or blipping because of work emails. Which is weird... not to mention that I'm so curious to know what's been happening.
Thursday ended with a farewell coffee with one of my best friends, and then, with a bit of useful shopping for my car. I bought winter chains, an emergency kit (electric cables, towing cable, work gloves, anti-frost spray, screwdrivers, reflective vest), a reflective triangle, a medical kit, and car scents. So I'm a very well equipped girl now. You can't have the trip of your lifetime without all these, right?
Another round of running around happened on Friday, when I went to the Trade Registry to require a paper that I needed for registering myself at the National Health Insurance House and be able to pay my monthly contribution considering that now I am no longer an employee. If I didn't do this, my European Health Insurance Card would not be valid. Then, I rushed to the insurance company to make an optional insurance for my car, and then, to the mall, for another (very short, too short) coffee with another dear friend, and for the last Christmas gifts shopping for my mom and my brother. And, finally, after all these, I rushed to my aunt's to get my cooling bags (yes, my luggage involves food) and for a well deserved dinner.
On Saturday morning, me and my brother went home to Constanta to spend Christmas with my mom, which really meant 3 magic days filled with joy, warmth, good food, gifts and love. Short, too short, as we came back last night, only to start a new rush of preparations. Before going to bed, I spent some hours copying all my files from the external hard disk to my new laptop, and putting all the files and folders in order. I still don't have Microsoft Office, which will be vital for my work, but except this, my computer now has some sort of a logic.
So today... more running around to do:
- to the Financial Administration and Trade Registry to get my papers
- to the National Health Insurance House to file the above mentioned papers
- to the office to gather my things, and to complete my last expense report, and to bring some pork jelly to my dear colleague and friend
And tonight... PACKING!! Which I hope I will finish in time because there are SO many things to pack and I still have no idea what to take and what to leave for the next time I come home. And I will hopefully have some little time to become a Beautiful Frog Queen, as my Fishy Prince will arrive tomorrow.
Tomorrow morning I will wake up early to cook some sarmale for my Fishy Prince, and, at 11:40, I will be at the airport to pick him up. We haven't seen each other in FIVE WEEKS. So... maybe this explains why now I feel like a little kid waiting for Santa!!!!
I hope I will have time for a final little update before we leave, because there are so many things left to do :D
Love,
La Reina Rana
I've been quite "lazy" with posting during the last week, but only because I had serious reasons. The crazy rollercoaster called "preparations" started moving faster and faster by the days, and I don't know if last week I spent more than 2 hours in the same place. Except, of course, for the weekend, because it was Christmas.
Of course, the last days meant no less adventure than the previous ones, because it's too simple if it's simple, isn't it? The "best of the best" had to do with my car... AGAIN. Last Tuesday I was happily going to the tax office in Bucharest, carefully holding the precious tax file of my car, freshly brought from Constanta. I was already chirping with joy at the thought of going to register the car the next day and putting an end to the torture. But no.... not so fast, little lady! The tax lady announced me that the file is incomplete. The most important paper in the file was missing, because the stupid employees of the tax office in Constanta had just forgot to put it in. So no car tax transfer, no car registration without that paper. I thought the sky was falling on my head and started to feel that maybe a higher force was not allowing me to have my road trip. Going to Constanta again to get the paper was out of discussion, because the hours were already counted for other things I had to do.
But the day was saved, again, by my PowerPuff Mom, who got the paper herself and sent it to me via courier. So on Wednesday, after having waited for the courier for half a day, I had the precious envelope, and I went to the tax office again. The transfer was made, I paid the tax (again) and the registration fees, and on Thursday morning at 8:30 I was standing in line at the car registration office, proudly holding the complete registration file of my car. The officer at the desk was more than delighted by the completeness of my file, everything was in order, so all I had to do was to wait for 2 hours to get my new registration document and my new number plates. Which I happily did.
Later that day, I rushed to the store to get cookies and champagne, then to my office for a last sweet moment to say goodbye to my colleagues at work. After doing this at my office, I went to the main office, to do the same thing. Sweets, pictures, farewells, "good luck"s, but still... I have the feeling I'm on vacation and returning some time soon. The only difference is that I don't have the Blackberry ringing or blipping because of work emails. Which is weird... not to mention that I'm so curious to know what's been happening.
Thursday ended with a farewell coffee with one of my best friends, and then, with a bit of useful shopping for my car. I bought winter chains, an emergency kit (electric cables, towing cable, work gloves, anti-frost spray, screwdrivers, reflective vest), a reflective triangle, a medical kit, and car scents. So I'm a very well equipped girl now. You can't have the trip of your lifetime without all these, right?
Another round of running around happened on Friday, when I went to the Trade Registry to require a paper that I needed for registering myself at the National Health Insurance House and be able to pay my monthly contribution considering that now I am no longer an employee. If I didn't do this, my European Health Insurance Card would not be valid. Then, I rushed to the insurance company to make an optional insurance for my car, and then, to the mall, for another (very short, too short) coffee with another dear friend, and for the last Christmas gifts shopping for my mom and my brother. And, finally, after all these, I rushed to my aunt's to get my cooling bags (yes, my luggage involves food) and for a well deserved dinner.
On Saturday morning, me and my brother went home to Constanta to spend Christmas with my mom, which really meant 3 magic days filled with joy, warmth, good food, gifts and love. Short, too short, as we came back last night, only to start a new rush of preparations. Before going to bed, I spent some hours copying all my files from the external hard disk to my new laptop, and putting all the files and folders in order. I still don't have Microsoft Office, which will be vital for my work, but except this, my computer now has some sort of a logic.
So today... more running around to do:
- to the Financial Administration and Trade Registry to get my papers
- to the National Health Insurance House to file the above mentioned papers
- to the office to gather my things, and to complete my last expense report, and to bring some pork jelly to my dear colleague and friend
And tonight... PACKING!! Which I hope I will finish in time because there are SO many things to pack and I still have no idea what to take and what to leave for the next time I come home. And I will hopefully have some little time to become a Beautiful Frog Queen, as my Fishy Prince will arrive tomorrow.
Tomorrow morning I will wake up early to cook some sarmale for my Fishy Prince, and, at 11:40, I will be at the airport to pick him up. We haven't seen each other in FIVE WEEKS. So... maybe this explains why now I feel like a little kid waiting for Santa!!!!
I hope I will have time for a final little update before we leave, because there are so many things left to do :D
Love,
La Reina Rana
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