Everyone knocks Italy as the place where little business gets done, but just wait for the holidays to end and you've got more than your share of job requests and urgent emails. It's January 7th, the day after the Epiphany which officially ends the Italian holiday season that begins with Christmas, and I have two new jobs confirmed. They want me to start this week, as in request on Monday morning and start work on Friday afternoon.
Maybe it's a bit of the "Northern" attitude. Italians are always comparing the North to the South.
What I love about the holiday season in the bel paese is that it's long. Two weeks. In the US, that's a luxury to say the least - anytime of year - except for teachers in the public school system. In that time, I was able to spend time with relatives, eat my fair share of all kinds of holiday food, drink plenty of wine and prosecco and devour cakes, cookies and chocolate. In between decadent sessions with food, I went snowshoeing, ice climbing, did some photography and read deep into my current book: The Pale King by David Foster Wallace. The last activity is more of a challenge than a pleasure considering its girth and sometimes its subject matter, but I am thrilled with my progress and the book's contents. I am actually a slow reader, which makes it all the more laborsome sometimes.
A big cheer for new job opportunities after a leisurely and extended series of feste.
Buon lavoro!
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Monday, January 7, 2013
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Combination Holiday
So today marks 150 years since Italy's unification. On the Irish (and American) calendar, this date is known as Saint Patrick's Day. Since I belong to both cultures in one sort of way or another, here's my visual dedication to the split/unificazione.I am 35% Irish, and have adopted Italy as my "land" to live in.
I wonder if I can find green beer in the city center this evening? Green for not only Ireland, but also Italy? Probably not, since the spritz does the colors well: red for Aperol or Campari and green for its famous olive.
Do you know the meaning of the colors in the Italian flag?
GREEN for the fields of the plains
WHITE for the snow of the mountains
RED for the blood which was shed to make the country
Cheers!
Spritz photo from http://www.lucianopignataro.it
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Plentiful Holidays and Painful Reentry
You have to love Italy for its long and many holidays. There's virtually one a month. Some short. Others longer. We just finished over two weeks of holidays for many people, including students, some factories and for thousands of workers. It started on Christmas Eve, December 24th, and usually lasts until the Epiphany, January 6th. But this year since that day fell on a Thursday, we got either another ponte (long weekend) or another 3 days off, bringing us to Monday, January 10th as the official back-to-work date. That was yesterday. And oh how awful it was. Dreary and endless rain in the Veneto. Everyone sending urgent emails and making phone calls at once to get the ball rolling again.
It's fabulous to have so much time off. You can really remove yourself from your work to focus on other things like the people you love, hobbies, sports and travelling. A long sustained time away from work cleans the mind and boosts the spirit.
But then you risk forgetting how to work. You come back groggy and bump your way through your activities. You have forgotten some of the details of what's next to do in that list of your daily, weekly and monthly tasks.
Even though yesterday was hard, getting back into my job's rhythm, my clients said I looked rested. I had a rosier skin color. It probably came from all that sleep I had gotten! Then the outdoors always helps, I think. (I was snowshoeing all of last week.)
Alas, it's time to make money again. You gotta have it. At least some. It makes the world go 'round these days. For me, the final frontier is getting paid vacation. It is something I don't get to take advantage of as a freelancer. Maybe one day that will happen.
Unfortunately this year, 2011, will bring us less vacation than ever, according to Italian standards. Most of the holidays fall on the weekend: Labor Day is on a Saturday. Christmas is on Sunday. New Year's Eve will be on a Saturday and the day to recoup will be Sunday! Ugh!
It's fabulous to have so much time off. You can really remove yourself from your work to focus on other things like the people you love, hobbies, sports and travelling. A long sustained time away from work cleans the mind and boosts the spirit.
But then you risk forgetting how to work. You come back groggy and bump your way through your activities. You have forgotten some of the details of what's next to do in that list of your daily, weekly and monthly tasks.
Even though yesterday was hard, getting back into my job's rhythm, my clients said I looked rested. I had a rosier skin color. It probably came from all that sleep I had gotten! Then the outdoors always helps, I think. (I was snowshoeing all of last week.)
Alas, it's time to make money again. You gotta have it. At least some. It makes the world go 'round these days. For me, the final frontier is getting paid vacation. It is something I don't get to take advantage of as a freelancer. Maybe one day that will happen.
Unfortunately this year, 2011, will bring us less vacation than ever, according to Italian standards. Most of the holidays fall on the weekend: Labor Day is on a Saturday. Christmas is on Sunday. New Year's Eve will be on a Saturday and the day to recoup will be Sunday! Ugh!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
After the Holidays
The city streets are crowded again with cars, motorcycles and mopeds. Just about everyone has come back from their summer holidays.
The kids have to start thinking about school which will open in my area on September 13th. There are tests to take in "deficient" subjects to make sure they can continue into their next year.
All the shops are open again. No more surprises of showing up somewhere to find the serranda down and a little sign with Ferie (Vacation) written in marker.
People of all ages are extremely brown after a month of serious tanning. Hair is blonder than usual from the great bleacher: the sun.
Italians have forgotten how to work. They can't remember their work passwords and details of office life. They are glowing when they talk about their vacations. There is a bit of a contest of who had the best one. Is it better to have been on the beach, relaxing in the mountains or travelling around the world?
Padua's relentless heat and humidity have subsided. We can breathe again. It's actually fun to be outside and in the sun. We even put on jackets in the evening, something we haven't done here for over 2 months.
Bentornati (Welcome back) Padovani!
The kids have to start thinking about school which will open in my area on September 13th. There are tests to take in "deficient" subjects to make sure they can continue into their next year.
All the shops are open again. No more surprises of showing up somewhere to find the serranda down and a little sign with Ferie (Vacation) written in marker.
People of all ages are extremely brown after a month of serious tanning. Hair is blonder than usual from the great bleacher: the sun.
Italians have forgotten how to work. They can't remember their work passwords and details of office life. They are glowing when they talk about their vacations. There is a bit of a contest of who had the best one. Is it better to have been on the beach, relaxing in the mountains or travelling around the world?
Padua's relentless heat and humidity have subsided. We can breathe again. It's actually fun to be outside and in the sun. We even put on jackets in the evening, something we haven't done here for over 2 months.
Bentornati (Welcome back) Padovani!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Welcome to the World of Holiday Cleaning
In Italy, just about the whole country goes on holiday for two full weeks between Christmas and the Epiphany. The kids are elated they don't have school and the adults are happy to catch up on sleep, eat and drink a lot, ski and maybe get some travelling in during the vacation dates they carve out for the themselves.
It is a time that signifies family and reunion. Many of the Italian families gather in large extended clans over a big dinner table for Christmas Day, Eve or Saint Stephen's Day, 26 December. It has the feeling of Thanksgiving with the added element of Jesus Christ's arrival, Santa Claus' gift delivery service and ends with a witch, the Befana, being burned over a bonfire.
However there is another aspect to this holiday season that I would like to mention: the fact that the house help goes on holiday, too. My middle-aged clients and friends were complaining about how much "work" they had while not strictly working. What do they mean? These women did what their paid service normally accomplishes during the rest of the year: clean, iron and do the grocery shopping. These lawyers, doctors, teachers, etc. were shocked by the mundane aspects of life. You see, the staff of house assistants very often go home to their native countries at Christmas time or simply refuse to work during the holidays.
These career women I know couldn't wait for life to get back to "normal" at the conclusion of the holidays so they could avoid the everyday chores of their own houses. It's amazing to me how many of them do not do these rather "normal" duties, in my opinion.
It must be nice to only clean 2-3 weeks a year and not 2-3 days/week all-year long! (I am writing this post after having cleaned the oven and mopped the floors only hours before it started to rain, when the dog made them muddy again.)
Meanwhile for interesting statistics relating to the Italians who do clean, and of course they number many, there's an informative article at An Expatriate in Rapallo.
It is a time that signifies family and reunion. Many of the Italian families gather in large extended clans over a big dinner table for Christmas Day, Eve or Saint Stephen's Day, 26 December. It has the feeling of Thanksgiving with the added element of Jesus Christ's arrival, Santa Claus' gift delivery service and ends with a witch, the Befana, being burned over a bonfire.
However there is another aspect to this holiday season that I would like to mention: the fact that the house help goes on holiday, too. My middle-aged clients and friends were complaining about how much "work" they had while not strictly working. What do they mean? These women did what their paid service normally accomplishes during the rest of the year: clean, iron and do the grocery shopping. These lawyers, doctors, teachers, etc. were shocked by the mundane aspects of life. You see, the staff of house assistants very often go home to their native countries at Christmas time or simply refuse to work during the holidays.
These career women I know couldn't wait for life to get back to "normal" at the conclusion of the holidays so they could avoid the everyday chores of their own houses. It's amazing to me how many of them do not do these rather "normal" duties, in my opinion.
It must be nice to only clean 2-3 weeks a year and not 2-3 days/week all-year long! (I am writing this post after having cleaned the oven and mopped the floors only hours before it started to rain, when the dog made them muddy again.)
Meanwhile for interesting statistics relating to the Italians who do clean, and of course they number many, there's an informative article at An Expatriate in Rapallo.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thanksgiving 3 Days Later
After 6 years of not celebrating, I sat down to a Thanksgiving meal today, 3 days after the American holiday. Since I live in Italy and found myself working 10 hours at a fair on the actual festivity, the relaxed meal had to wait until Sunday, but it was worth it. We had our feast in the company of 4 Americans, a Venetian, a Paduan, a Roman and a Romanian. Wine and food abounded. There was turkey, cranberry sauce (homemade and can variety), sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, string beans, stuffing, pumpkin pie and tiramisù.
We stuffed ourselves into a small apartment and then proceeded to stuff our stomachs with the American traditions. We joked over the food and Italian wine. It was a great company of foreigners. Coffee and cognac finished off the meal. It was a very satisfactory experience.
Compliments to the chefs and good work on the part of those who found the difficult ingredients such as cranberries!
Baci a tutti! Happy Thanksgiving to all!
We stuffed ourselves into a small apartment and then proceeded to stuff our stomachs with the American traditions. We joked over the food and Italian wine. It was a great company of foreigners. Coffee and cognac finished off the meal. It was a very satisfactory experience.
Compliments to the chefs and good work on the part of those who found the difficult ingredients such as cranberries!
Baci a tutti! Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
A Week on Monte Rosa
I am leaving at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow for Monte Rosa, a mountain range on the border between Italy and Switzerland in the Aosta region. I just finished packing some very heavy backpacks, filled with gear, clothes, emergency medecine and food stuffs.
Over the next week, I will be sleeping at 3498 meters and participating in a glacier techniques course with my husband, another couple and led by our Alpine Guide, Andrea. The above picture could be one of the views that await us on the high peaks of this large and famous mountain group. It is part of the Mantova lodge's official website, which introduces some interesting ascents.
Once back in Padua and in the plains, which offer easy Internet connection, I will resume my blog. Happy vacation to all those going somewhere high, low, foreign or just plain nearby home this summer.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good weather!
And wish me luck!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
