Fuori Servizio

I just couldn't help taking this picture. It was the coat hanger in a restaurant and too fantastic to pass up! Ahhhh, Italian humour....hope you are laughing!

Sunshine, Vistas and The Illusive Permesso di Soggiorno

It's official! I am Italian!

It happened on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at about 12:30pm.  It was sunny day and the temperature was rising,  a rarity these days - I mean, I was so hot I took off my scarf! I was leaning against the wall at the top of Piazza Italia with my Brazillian friend and taking in the views of the Perugian countryside.

We were just chatting about life, friends, and where to get the best pizza in Perugia when I felt like someone was watching me.... so I peered over my shoulder just as this paparazzi snapped my photo!! Okay, so it was just a German tourist, but he thought I was Italian! That makes it official, right?  He showed me the picture which turned out to be pretty cool with the hills in the background and then he walked across the street to meet his wife. I am pretty sure he deleted the picture having burst his bubble when told him I was American. I mean, come on. Who wants random American girl in their romantic, whimsical Italian photograph?

Comunque (co-muuuunk-way: aka, my favorite Italian word meaning "anyway" or "whatever")... this was a sign!  At 3pm I was going back to the Questura to pick-up my Permesso di Soggiorno!

Cut to 3pm, Wednesday November 11, 2009:

When I arrived at the Questura there were about 50 people waiting at the gate. At first, the officer on duty wasn't going to let me through because my name wasn't on the list, but I insisted in a rather agitated voice, "No! La signora mi ha detto che devo venire oggi!" Clearly he realized he was wrong and I was right as I pointed to the date and time wrecklessly scribbled on the back of my documents: November 11, 2009 between 15:00 - 17:00. So, he let me in.

Since the sun was still shining and they had just called #24, I took a seat in the sun and waited for #63. Somewhere around #44 I started to wonder why my name wasn't on the list. It should have been on the list. How strange! I checked the date again: 10/11/2009. What's today's date? 11/10/2009? 11/11/2009?

Insert culture lesson here:

Did you know that in Italy they write the calendar date as day/month/year? I did, but I read it wrong. "Cazzo!!!!" I was supposed to be here yesterday. I am such an idiot! How on earth could I have done this to myself!!!! This is not a good thing. So much for being officially Italian today, Julia. (N.B: This emphatic "parolaccia" or "swear-word" sounds a lot less serious when I say it in Italian then in English which is why I feel okay screaming it in my blog. Cazzo!!!!)

I decided to wait for my turn since it had already been an hour, and frankly, what else was I going to do? Eventually, I would need an appointment at the Questura. I only hoped that I didn't have to go see the same guy I spoke to regarding my tatuaggio.

Here's the short version: I tried to explain politely that I had made a mistake, but the officer just looked at me like I was an idiot (warranted), yelled at me a bit, told me I would have to come back for another appointment, walked away, came back, spoke to his colleague, left again and eventually came back with my Permesso di Soggiorno. He took my fingerprints and basically threw it at me, as best as one can when standing behind bullet-proof glass. Then we joked about how we write the dates differently in the States. Sometimes, I think they just like to mess with you for fun.

So now I am offically legal (3 months later) and allowed to stay in Italy and study until July 2, 2010, if I want. I guess we will have to wait and see what the Spring has to offer. As for now, I'll see you in Philly for the holidays and will be in CA by the end of January...after that who knows what life holds for me. The good news is I can come back to Italy whenever I want... which I am hoping coincides with some more sun and warm weather! I am such a wimp! 

EuroChocolate 2009

 You may have heard the rumors....and they are true. Here it is EuroChocolate: 10 days of chocolate heaven. It would only have been more heavenly if there was actually free chocolate. Instead, you have to buy it. There are a lot of opinions on the worth of this chocolate festival -- cultural vs. commercial. In my opinion, it was awesome. Like I said, more free chocolate would have been nice. They did also sell these "Chococards" which gave you some free tastings and alleged discounts... but it didn't seem worth it, at all. In any event, here's what Perugia looked like for 10 glorious days in October....

Don't forget about Floppy, Goldie, Bonkie, Princess Georgia, Woody, Chickie, Jake, Spanky, Matteo, Maddy, Saddie and all other doggie relatives past and present :)

And it just keeps going and going and going.... chocolate covered banana anyone?

Italian 102: How to order an espresso

Given recent linguistic errors at the Questura, I have been traveling less and spent most of October focusing on improving my Italian. As far as language learning goes, it seems that I take one step forward and twelve steps back. I learn something new -- maybe a new phrase or a colloquial expression, and think to myself, "I am a genius! I finally getting it!" Then I order a simple espresso at the bar and I start to crack under the pressure. Let me just tell you that remembering the basic grammar is not like riding a bicycle. One forgets certain things. Often times, my errors involve the present tense of a verb.... i.e. I want, you want, he/she/it wants.... an espresso, please. Yes, sad but true.

In case you are wondering: Voglio un caffe espresso per favore.

Voglio - I want
Vuoi - You want
Vuole - He/she/it wants OR if you are speaking to someone and want to be very polite this is the "you" formal use
Vogliamo - We want
Volete - You(plural) want
Vogliono - They want

But really people, if you are going to place an order at the bar you should be more polite, and actually I prefer cappuccino: Vorrei un cappuccino per favore.

Vorrei - I would like
Voresti - You would like/ or would you like? get it? there's an interrogative here too!
Vorrebbe - He/she/it would like
Vorremmo - We would like
Vorreste - You(plural) would like
Vorrebbero - They would like

And it only gets worse. There are approximately 90 different ways to express a single verb. Actually, the pure knowledge of this fact alone makes me feel better about myself.

Sometimes, I enjoy thinking of my brain and my ability to learn Italian in terms of Perugia's topography. The Etruscans who first inhabited Perugia built this giant wall around the city. Take a look:

In addition to being very tall, it's incredibly thick  - like my skull. It's impenetrable - like my brain. Frankly, it's not very pretty - no resemblance there of course. And since it's ancient, it's kind of falling apart (read: as is my mental health when worrying about why I am not improving). I swear, I can hear a word 39 times and still not remember it. I can write it down, create sentences, use it in context and still, I will forget that slippery little word, invariably.

Sure, there's the periphery of the city, which is beautiful (obvious resemblance), but really, it's the center of the city, inside the Etruscan wall, inside my sad little brain, where life bustles and it just doesn't bustle quite as quickly as I would like these days... Nonetheless, school continues into November which will be my last month studying here in Perugia. I'll try my best and try not to drown. At the end of everyday, it's always worth it. Heck, I am in Italy people, life isn't that bad!

One last thought: Maybe if I understood English grammar my Italian would improve.... when was the last time you thought about a subject and predicate? Do you have any idea what that is? I don't.