Joe's Blög

This was the scene in front of my flat yesterday…I wasn’t home though. Since half the roads were closed and I figured parking might be a problem I just hung around at work for a while.

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…mostly I’m just trying to remember which cartoon character or characters this reminds me of…
Actually whilst watching this I decided that I just don’t have any sort of commitment level or attention span to ever do anything like this. Things were different when i was a kid…

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I am assuming by the rash of emails informing me of a greeting card holiday in the States that today must be mothers day. So hi Mom and all moms!
I got the email below from a learning italian website and I have no idea if it’s true or educational…yet I repost

La festa della mamma

Mother’s Day

Every year as the dark, cold winter gave way to the bright rebirth of Spring, the ancient Romans paid tribute to their gods of fertility. One holiday, Matronalia, was dedicated to Juno, the queen of the gods, and children gave gifts to their mothers on this day.

Traditionally la festa della mamma in Italy fell on May 8. The current practice of celebrating Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May (la seconda domenica di maggio) started in 1957.

However, la mamma italiana is part of her family’s life every day of the year. Men may hold the highest political offices, but the person at the helm of the family—the strongest Italian institution—is Mamma. Grown men called mammoni (big mama’s boys) remain at home well into their thirties (and sometimes beyond). Mammismo (“momism”), some contend, stems from a son’s belief that nothing could ever compare with amore materno (motherly love).

Mothers inspired the most common—and versatile –expression in Italian: Mamma mia! You can translate it as “My God!”, “How great!”, “Oh no!”, “Incredible!” and hundreds of other ways—depending on context and inflection.

“Mamma mia covers the entire range of human experience,”  observes Linda Falcone of The Florentine. “It conveys wonder and implies surprise; it reveals horror, shock and disbelief. It can mean dismay and disapproval. It can stand for appreciation and awe … in Italy anything that’s worthy of interest or comment has a bit of mommy in the mix.”

To help children of all ages express their love for Mamma, Italian websites post “auguri” (best wishes) for la festa della mamma. Here are some exampes:

*”Le rose sono rosse, le viole sono blu, e tu sei la mamma migliore di quaggiù.” (Roses are red, violets are blue, and the best mamma down here is you.)

*”Mamma, sei la mia vita, sei come un raggio di sole che al mattino mi sveglia con felicità e come la dolce luce di una stella, che la sera accompagna il mio sonno.” (Mamma, you are my life. You are like a ray of sun that awakens me with happiness in the morning and like the sweet light of a star that accompanies my sleep in the evening.)

*”Mamma, sei la cosa più bella e dolce che la vita mi potesse donare. Ti voglio bene!” (Mamma, you are the most beautiful and sweetest thing that life could give me. I love you!)

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I made my semi annual shopping trip today. Various soaps, personal hygeine products, toilet paper, and liqour that only needs to be bought about twice a year. Very productive and only cost 26€

We had a rousing discussion at work on the english word “turd” today. Apparently the italians have two words for turd. Depending on size and consistency. I’m so proud to spread the knowledge and understanding between our two fine cultures

They’re paving the road in front of my flat. My first thought was of that time W. visited Kyrgyzstan in 2001 or 2002 and (I read) they totally cleaned up the streets and buildings along the “presidential motorcade” route. Turns out I was right. The paving isn’t for me, but for the giro  (we must save face by paving)…which is a bike race ala the tour . I guess this bike race is a pretty big deal and the stage for that day finishes right near here. If you’re in the states and see Bike Racing on TV over the next couple weeks have a peek. You might get to see my town.

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With this “springtime” weather the ants and lizards seem to have gone underground…We’re expecting thunderstorms all week. It’s so wet I left the Vespa in the office rather than have it rained on all night.
Hands up…the arrow points at me!

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The lizards came out a few weeks ago. I’m still not used to the constant movements of little creatures hiding on walls or in lawns. Kind of freaks me out a bit…There weren’t a ton of lizards in Oregon.

Last week the ants came out too…I mopped as I don’t have any chemicals.
I guess it’s springtime in Italia.

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Crazy Chong has his own promo…how can I not support Frankfurts finest…

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Somehow Bella Ciao is a communist anthem. I think it was something to do with opposition to the fascist govt in ww2, but I can’t recall all the details…anyways Happy Workers day to anyone that cares!

I bought 1kg of cheese from Sardegnia (1/4 of a round wheel). I am very fond of cheese, so this seemed like a good idea at the time…so now I conclude that I have to eat the cheese. There’s no other food in the house except for an unopened bag of cereal.
I still have yet to actually cook a meal in Italy. Cheese cubes for dinner me thinks….

Some Italian bird said she can actually understand my english cuz I speak clearly…ha…it’s not that often that I get accused of speaking clearly. Just a fluke I s’pose.

This week I had learned the Italian words for:
“large breasted old lady”
“lady with large ass”
“landing strip”

Fortunately for the Italians I have forgotten these words. Someone will have to remind me if you deem this truly necessary

Weather today is lousy. I’ve not left my flat except to go kebap-hunting. I can’t really see me leaving since I have cheese to eat and wine to drink…

I’m also concluding that if I say something without acting excited and waving my hands around the Italians probably won’t take me seriously…If I speak slowly and calmly about anything important or life threatening they won’t really listen to me.

…and Bella Ciao sung by the bloody multi-lingual swissies…showing off one of the 29 languages they can sing in…

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