Flora & Fauna

9th - 12th October 2016

The Italians say "PRONTO" when they answer the phone. Just like we say 'Hello', 'Hallo' (German) or 'Moshi moshi' (Japanese).

I find it quite funny that Italians are surprised when they learn that I want to study Italian. Most of them are learning Spanish, French or Chinese. They feel that Italian has no use, because it is only spoken in Italy (I think?). I find no ground in that statement because there come times in one's life when you must grab life 'by the reins' and just live. And I don't see how learning Italian can impede me.

(^__^)

I was delayed and I reached the bus stop about two minutes late. I saw some kids there but I know that they have a different bus. I saw one lady and asked her by pointing to the bus schedule if the bus had come yet. She said "This moment" (in English). I misunderstood her and thought that she had said that it just left at this moment and started walking down the hill when I saw my bus coming. She smiled at me when she saw me and we got into the bus together. I really wish I knew how to say 07:41 in Italian (that would have made my life easier), the big numbers are a bit difficult for me right now.

It snowed over the weekend somewhere on the top hills. I couldn't see it today because of the clouds.

My classmate was nice enough to note down some basic Italian grammar ('I am going' in first, second, third person etc.). I then asked him about the past forms and he told me that I'd lose my mind at this stage. I guess the rumours are true about the Italian past!

The order in which Italians are knowledgeable about English:-

1. Reading
2. Listening
3. Writing
4. Speaking

I feel that this is true with any language that you learn in school. I have a similar problem with my native language, Hindi; since English is my first language.

On an off note, I finally met an Italian who ate rice, he said that he was tired of pasta, I guess that's like calling a shark a vegetarian in my opinion (like in Shark Tale). But everyone is unique after all.

(^__^)

Borgo Valsugana is a small town where one of my classmate resides, he said that it has a pretty "PORTICO". HE had no idea how to translate that into Italian so I Googled it but I found the English porticoes. His portico looked better, there was water. I would like to visit that place someday soon.

There was a lady in front of me who was old and her laces were coming undone so I said "MI SCUZI SIGNORA" (Excuse me, lady) just as she sat down on a bench. She turned to me and I pointed to her shoes. She thankfully understood, i wonder if she thought that I would tie her laces, I was unsure if that was appropriate since I was a stranger. I will learn how to ask this simple fact the next time this problem arises.

I got on a bus thinking that it was going home but I was wrong when I realized that it turned around at the next bus stop. When I pressed the buzzer, the driver said something in a loud voice. I was travelling with a friend and apart from us, the long bus was empty so I was sure that he was talking to us. Fortunately or unfortunately, we could not understand him and simply waited until we could get off the bus; but I am quite sure that he was cursing us.

(-__-)

I saw a woman riding a bicycle in high heels (at least 2 inches!). I thought to myself 'As expected of Italy'.

EASTPAK is a company that produces backpacks in Italy. I know this because most of the Italian students I see are sporting this brand. What is interesting is that it is very rare that I find two people with the same design on their backpack. I cannot wait to get in on this branded train of thought! (strictly only for backpacks).

The church bells have meaning in Italy. They strike at certain timings, at the hour, quarter past, half past and quarter to. These bells ring differently sometimes and I feel that it is related to the church itself (the start of a service maybe?). But, hearing the bells resound this evening at 6PM was quite an enjoyable experience.

I heard an English song in an Italian supermarket today! To be honest, I don't think I noticed until now (because I had just been preoccupied shopping I suppose). They were playing 'Stereo' by Gym Class Heroes. I guess the Italians like English songs as well.

(^__^)

Zero degrees in the morning and eighteen degrees in the afternoon will guarantee that you spend time hauling your big at jacket through the day and wishing that you could stuff it far away, but then you need it when the light of the sun has just started to fade and you love the warmth of your big fat burden.

The bus driver slows down as he is reaching a bus stop even if no one has pressed the buzzer. This is quite a great thing that they do because sometimes, you want to press the buzzer but you are preoccupied with other things and forget to do so until you feels the bus slowing down.

Have you ever heard of a bus backing into a bus stop? It happens here, and it was not because the driver sped past the bus stop (that would be taboo right?). A school bus stopped right behind the public transport bus and was to leave sooner than the latter. The lane only allowed one bus at a time so the public transport bus went forward to let the school bus go first, and then backed up into the public transport bus stop (this was at the stop where the driver waits for 6 minutes or so, so he couldn't leave before time).

There are many different types of coffee here! I had no idea what to order when I finally went to a cafe here. I have been told that the Italians look down on people who ask for a cappuccino after noon. So, we asked our Italian friend to deal the blow to the waiter instead of us 'foreigners'. To our satisfaction, the prejudice had not reached or had been toned down over here (I wonder what it is like elsewhere in Italy).

There are two types of days in a week, weekdays (FERIALE) and weekends (FESTIVO). This is a major differentiating factor when you need to catch a bus since the bus will be less frequent on a weekend. One major problem was not knowing whether saturday was counted as FERIALE or FESTIVO. FESTIVO also means days that are holidays like Christmas for example. To my joy, saturday is considered FERIALE and thus the buses are more frequent.

(^__^)

I went walking up to the path I went last time (remember the scary presence?). I brushed it all aside and went forth! Many pictures this time!

The path diverges, I take the road more traveled since I don't want to get arrested

The thorns pierced through my favorite socks

I look back to see how far I have come (not that I can really tell) I just wanted a selfie in the mirror actually

In my dreams, I tread down this path

But actually I go this way (safer)

It was at this point that I heard footsteps, not behind me (thankfully) but ahead of me. I exercised all caution as I listened intently, there seemed to be two men coming towards me at a walking pace. They seemed to be having a pleasant conversation (maybe they weren't murderers?). I saw a glimpse of them and pretended to be panting so that I didn't have to talk to them or look them in the eye. They surprised me when they said "CIAO" (Hello), I reciprocated the greeting and walked ahead to find more people who greeted me with "BUONA SERATA" (Have a good evening). This was a stark contrast to the formal greeting "BUONA SERA" (Good evening). Maybe this is the culture of the mountains?

I always feel like I'm in my zone when I'm walking in nature, and when there is sudden intrusion I tend to either run away (they would have heard me and that would defeat the purpose of me coming out here anyway) or hide (there was no really safe place to hide; scary presence). I also felt like I was infringing on their land (the Italians I mean, not the actual land I was currently walking on) and so they might have some ill will towards me (as a foreigner).

Thankfully, my fears were ungrounded. Considering that I had thought about how people are scarce in the mountains and so far away from the city, anything could happen. Yes, I thought that if a serial killer lived here, I could become their prey easily...

Do you see the pretty yellow flowers in between the boundary of trees?

Berries! (I did not want to try my luck since I wasn't dying yet)

The road to anywhere

There is a bus stop in these parts of town (the blue sign)

The view from where I was

I took the road which went up

A car could attack anytime!

I actually understood! (Danger Work Forestry => Danger Forestry Work)

This is the path that I tread on

Maybe this helps to shield from avalanches or landslides?

The winding path leads to ?

A campsite! (GRUPPO DI POVO - Group of Povo)

A jewel on the forest floor

The camp is well equipped for the winter

The path diverges and I take the higher one

Pinecone

Around this time I realised that I had become quite perceptive to any noise that I happened to hear. I heard some leaves rustling and was immediately on guard (I have no idea what lies in this forest). Thankfully, the noise went away from my location and I calmed down. It is within nature when we throw away our perceived safety nets, that we truly find ourselves.

I walked upwards and saw a little path in the side with an interesting plant (perhaps) and just as I laid my feet in that direction I heard and saw something. It was a deer. (about 3 meters away from me) I apologised to the forest and the deer for disturbing it and went back to the main path. It was then that I realised that the deer was probably in the vicinity for a long time and only when I ventured towards it, it bolted. How much closer to nature can I get?

A marking. A warning?

More markings. Maybe an identification?

The 87th tree in line?

This path went up along a river bed

I'm covered

Green beauties emerging from the river bed imply that the water/snow has not visited in a while

Shroom! Anyone hungry?

I'm sorry dear forest, I killed it, with my feet. You caught me red-feeted

This just keeps getting more and more complex

It is not the same picture (this one was right before I was surprised by a car actually)

Evidence to find on a map

I love flowers!

I really wish I knew flower names...(Dogflower?)

So, the path I took before gets very significantly icy

And the water/ice flows down from here

Even a reed is beautiful

Basically it says not to eat or take away the fruits and vegetables that grow here

Anyone can guess this right? VIETATO means forbidden

That was a rather big coffin for about 4 people? Serial killer's house?

Quaint. I want!

Berries on the go, berries on the come :P

This mirror helped the residents to see in the narrow street (accident preventive measure)

More flora!

This is ominous. It means 'to transgress' (think what you may about what happened here)

Thus, my walk in freedom ended. I shall try this again next time, maybe to Cimirlo?

(^__^)

Another blessed canine friend!

The grass is always greener on the other side ;)

[That's all for today folks! I know that it's quite long but accept this as compensation for missing about a week of posts. Thank you for reading. I'll be posting next on the 11th and every three days after that. A DOPO! (See you later!)]

Scratching the Surface

6th - 8th October 2016

Today a lady at the bus stop struck up a conversation with me. And by conversation, I just mean an exchange of minute information since it was mostly in Italian.

She first said that it was quite cold (FREDDO), after all, it was 9 degrees, anyone can understand that without knowing the word 'FREDDO" itself. I have realised that when it comes to communication, we sometimes feel that it is just words but there is so much more; body language, expressions, context of social situations, tone of voice and some knowledge of the way sounds are put together (vaguely) in that language. I feel that these are necessary to understand most of the situations that require immediate action; conversation is a completely different issue altogether.

As mentioned earlier, when the lady asked me "PRIMO ANNO" I knew that she was asking if I was in my first year. I simply replied in the affirmative. A funny thing happened here though (thankfully I was not misunderstood), I wanted to say that I liked her jacket so I said "MI PIACERE" and signaled to her jacket. It was only later that I realised that I was supposed to say "MI PIACE" (I like). I had in fact told her that 'it was nice to meet you' instead of 'I like that'. I consoled myself by telling myself that I didn't say "MI PIACI" (I like you; romantically) at least!; that has far too many consequences.

She seemed to understand what I was trying to say so I guess that it all worked out in the end. I realised that I knew some Italian words. It is only when we are put into unexpected situations that we come to understand ourselves even better. I also realised that many Italian words sound very similar to English words but they are spelled in unrecognisable ways sometimes.

(^__^)

There is a 6 minute delay at the bus station after mine. I think that it serves two purposes, one to catch up if the driver is late and the other simply because the bus driver needs a break (last stop in the line up the hill and then he starts going down the hill again). I find this quite interesting, it is a buffer time in a way.

I tried to use a printing card machine. Basically, you pay 10 EUR and get a card that gives you credit to use at the printer. The problem is that machines speak only in money and humans speak in words. As expected, after looking at the machine and understanding what the Italian said, I still didn't know what to do. It is now that I used my Italian helpline and asked an Italian who was nearby. Thankfully she knew English and explained the machine to me. Thank you dear Italian!

I found anime otakus! For those who don't know it is a term used for people who love Japanese animated series (Like Death Note and Fullmetal Alchemist). I am a fan and I found some Italians classmates who are also fans! I love that people can find common likes among people in completely different geographical locations (it proves to me that we are all in fact, just human).

(^__^)

There was a traffic jam at 7:30 AM. I guess that school is the main reason since my bus was packed with students as well. While we were stuck in the jam, I heard the students speaking and it was quite surprising to hear English words mixed into their conversation. I heard "Ah Okay" quite often, apart from "Easy peasy" (hilarious right?) and "Oh shit!" (of course, what is school without that!)

I appreciate that the students here are taught at a young age (10 maybe?) that they can take public transport by themselves. Independence is a powerful thing, it is only when you rely on yourself do you truly grow as a person I think.

(^__^)

Today was my Immigration Office appointment as directed to me by the Post Office (POSTE ITALIANE).

This was the first time that I came face to face with Italian security. To be honest, I was apprehensive. I felt like they had the power to evict me from Italy if I didn't 'act the way I was supposed to'.

Nonetheless, it was much calmer than I expected it to be. There were people from the university to help us to communicate with the officials and we only had to submit some documents and sign some forms. After this, they told us to wait to give our fingerprints. For some reason they took palm prints as well (maybe they are more advanced in palmistry than we thought?). I feel like Italy knows more than my home country when it comes to this data (they even know my height now! I didn't know it myself!)

A friend of mine had his appointment on the same day and by some grand culmination of errors, had a different number assigned to the stay permit process as compared to mine (every process has a particular number assigned, stay permit for student is a particular number). This error led to him being asked "Do you have a son?". He was clearly dumbfounded by this question since he didn't have a son (that he knew of :P). The number that happened to be assigned to him (by mistake), was a number for a stay permit of an adult and a son. It was quite a hilarious moment in hindsight but quite a serious blunder on the part of the Post Office. Thankfully, they were able to admit their mistake and therefore my friend didn't need a son to have the stay permit (unless they allowed him to wait a few months :P).

An important part of the stay permit process was to sign an "Integration Form". This 'contract' basically asked us to try to integrate ourselves into the Italian society and to study Italian till A2 level in a certain amount of time. Although I have been told that this form is now outdated and unnecessary to follow (by law it is deemed unnecessary to follow through the clauses of the contract), I found this to be quite intriguing. I would love to find a way to integrate into another culture/society. But I know that there are many who would not even consider this proposal. In many circles I find that people who come from different countries stick to the way of their country (like the way of a ninja) and do not 'adjust' or adapt their lifestyle to the place they inhabit. This can give rise to rebellion quite easily if the percentage of people is just right. Therefore, I feel that more countries should have an "Integration Form" to make living better for each country as a whole.

Dark - 65% Light 35% = secret to a beautiful life?

GER+ITA+English = GEngLian

I happened to find myself in a German-Italian tandem. One friend wanted to learn more Italian (spoke German) and the other wanted to learn more German (spoke Italian). And then there was me (bits of German and no working knowledge of Italian). It was enlightening if anything, I could grasp some German but the Italian flew right through me. This is what it feels to really be left out (not that I complained really). We did speak in English sometimes (mostly since I gave them blank stares). Nonetheless, I had a lot of fun because this was a new experience!

Did Bubbles come to life and grow up? (Powerpuff Girls)

Dakgalbi

My friends and I decided to make a spicy Korean dish named 'Dakgalbi'. This dish has cabbage, chicken and ricey cylindrical things. It was delicious! The funny thing is that none of us were Korean. USA, Mexico, Czech Republic, India and Vietnam was represented on the table as we ate. That's the thing about international studies, you meet the whole world and you just want to learn more and more about the world. I love this!

Tempting house made of candy

ITALIAN WORDS (that I realised I knew)

TRE SETTIMANA (three weeks; since I joined uni)
VIOLA - violet (pronounced we-oh-la)
difficile - difficult (pronounced dee-fee-chee-lay)
AUTOBUS - bus
PEDALI - by foot or using feet (walking by foot)

[After my unfortunate choice of 'first picture' in my last post, I have decided to pay a little more attention to the order of my pictures :P I hope that you weren't scarred for life! Thank you for reading! A DOPO (see you later!) EDIT: changed the month from September]