Category Archives: Italian

Iceland Arrival

We got to meet my dear friend Sharan’s sister from Italy who happened to be interning for her advanced degree in Reykyavik. We brought her a framed picture from Sharan to save a bunch on shipping charges. Valentina’s English is very good, but it was nice to be able to speak Italian in Reykavik too, which strangely I have done regularly both times I visited Iceland.

We got a cute Airbnb rental which was pretty convenient, although quite a walk to downtown if truth be told. The cabs were pretty plentiful, although expensive at this point with the current exchange rate.

Un Pochuchedru du Calabria

If you ever want to see my relatives in Italy laugh, speak to them in dialect.  They are tending not to speak it in the newer generations themselves, but to hear ME, a straniero (“foreigner”), speak even a word or two, makes them roll over with laughter.  To demonstrate to people how dialects are truly other languages, the title of this blog is a phonetic (since I’ve never seen Calabrese written) of the translation for “A little piece of Calabria” which in Italian would be “un piccolo pezzo di Calabria.”

In addition to my relatives, I spent a lot of time with their dogs and cats because this was getting toward the end of my trip and I really missed my Yorkies, who I had only seen once live from Rome with Skype and spoke to noticing that they recognized my voice.  It was great to see most of my relatives there, and I got pictures of most of them, but a few of my uncles and aunts are having major health problems and are in the throes of their treatments.  I also got to see two of my newest cousins, the daughters of Giusi and Ramona.  It was strange being in Italy for the first time in my daughter’s life without my daughter there, but seeing my Mom and grandmother is important, although I see my mom throughout the year as she lives in Hayward near me when she’s not in Italy.  It was nice to see both my mom and her mom at the beach too.