On Sunday autumn finally arrived. We all knew it was coming, we’d seen the weather reports and we made the most of the last hot days by going to the beach on three consecutive days – an annual record. We’ll still be visiting the beach over the autumn and winter but it will be more for brisk walks and possibly a paddle and a sandcastle - I fear the bikini days are over until next year (at least I may have lost some weight by then).
We have made the effort to go to the beach as much as possible this summer. It’s such a great place for a high energy toddler to be and I believe the sea relaxes and benefits us all. The advantage of living as we do in the centre of the Salento peninsular is that we can choose a different beach every time we go. We try to go to as many new places as we can but also find our selves returning to the same special spots.
I thought I would write a list of our favourite places to help people visiting or relocating to the area. Most of them are marked on my community map at the bottom of the blog.
Baia dei Turchi, Adriatic
Punta della Suina, Ionian
Specchiulla, Adriatic
Porto Selvaggio, Ionian
Baia Verde, Ionian
Torre Pali, Ionian
Sant Isidoro, Ionian
Porto Badisco, Adriatic
Otranto town, Adriatic
Grotta Zinzulusa, Adriatic
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Language development
It is fascinating observing (experiencing?) my 2.5 year old’s language development. I’m sure it is the most amazing milestone to witness for any parent and I find it particularly fascinating as an English language teacher (does that make me sound like a toothpaste advert from the 1980s?)
I’m not doing any teaching right now but I’m sure I will do it again when the kids are a bit older, and I will have a completely new approach informed by this experience of mothering. For example I would normally have taught students personal determiners and adjectives in the following order – I, me, my and then mine. However, Mickey started with me, then came me’s which eventually became mine, and is currently just beginning to use my and I. There must be logic in this natural development worth copying for foreign language learners, especially children.
Prepositions (in, up, on etc) are essential elements of the English grammar and something that fox even advanced students. They make up phrasal verbs of which we native speakers use without even thinking but are actually incredibly confusing when you think about them. Consider for a moment many meaning of the following examples – make out, make up, get off, get over. Prepositions are some of the first words off English speaking toddlers and it makes me think that in future courses I will devote more time to them earlier on.
My son has been a bit late in learning to speak so it is great to hear him beginning to express himself. At the moment it is over 99% English but I can tell he understands some Italian and is beginning to want to use it himself. He is suddenly very interested in knowing everyone’s name and asks Italian children ‘what’s chiami?’ a mixture of the English and Italian question. He also says ciao, grazie, prego and andiamo but that’s about it so far. It will be strange to hear him speak Italian properly in the future, probably by the time he is five years old he will speak it better than we do!
I’m not doing any teaching right now but I’m sure I will do it again when the kids are a bit older, and I will have a completely new approach informed by this experience of mothering. For example I would normally have taught students personal determiners and adjectives in the following order – I, me, my and then mine. However, Mickey started with me, then came me’s which eventually became mine, and is currently just beginning to use my and I. There must be logic in this natural development worth copying for foreign language learners, especially children.
Prepositions (in, up, on etc) are essential elements of the English grammar and something that fox even advanced students. They make up phrasal verbs of which we native speakers use without even thinking but are actually incredibly confusing when you think about them. Consider for a moment many meaning of the following examples – make out, make up, get off, get over. Prepositions are some of the first words off English speaking toddlers and it makes me think that in future courses I will devote more time to them earlier on.
My son has been a bit late in learning to speak so it is great to hear him beginning to express himself. At the moment it is over 99% English but I can tell he understands some Italian and is beginning to want to use it himself. He is suddenly very interested in knowing everyone’s name and asks Italian children ‘what’s chiami?’ a mixture of the English and Italian question. He also says ciao, grazie, prego and andiamo but that’s about it so far. It will be strange to hear him speak Italian properly in the future, probably by the time he is five years old he will speak it better than we do!
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Monello
The Italian word monello translates in my English/Italian dictionary as ‘brat’ and this illustrates very well how some words can’t really be transported from one language directly to another.
A monello is indeed a ‘badly behaved child’ (as ‘brat’ is defined in my English Learner dictionary) and yet it has such a tone of indulgence that it is closer to ‘rascal’. Although one could never refer to a screaming newborn as a rascal, which is covered by monello as much as a terrible two year old.
Key cultural observations can be made in these linguistic nuisances - certainly children are more adored and applauded this side of the Alps. The words ‘brat’ and ‘monello’ beautifully illustrate the Anglo vs Italian perspective of little people.
I don’t really approve of labeling children as I don’t think it is respectful or indeed helpful but there are times these days when I look into the eyes of my red headed, male, two and a half year old firstborn and he just is my little monello.
A monello is indeed a ‘badly behaved child’ (as ‘brat’ is defined in my English Learner dictionary) and yet it has such a tone of indulgence that it is closer to ‘rascal’. Although one could never refer to a screaming newborn as a rascal, which is covered by monello as much as a terrible two year old.
Key cultural observations can be made in these linguistic nuisances - certainly children are more adored and applauded this side of the Alps. The words ‘brat’ and ‘monello’ beautifully illustrate the Anglo vs Italian perspective of little people.
I don’t really approve of labeling children as I don’t think it is respectful or indeed helpful but there are times these days when I look into the eyes of my red headed, male, two and a half year old firstborn and he just is my little monello.
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
High summer
Summer peaked last Saturday on the 15th – it was the Italian August holiday called Ferragosto. It actually celebrates the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary but nobody even knows that and the day is celebrated by going to the beach and eating huge quantities of homemade pasta in large groups (the latter being obligatory for any Italian festa, of course).
The beaches and roads are packed on that day so we opted to stay at home. We went a little crazy after the entire youtube playlist of Winnie the Witch so the next day we decided that had to get out. We braved the Adriatic coast and were shocked to see our normally empty paradise beach absolutely full, there was literally not enough space to walk between people’s towels. Still, it was good to get out and get the fresh sea air and we all slept well for it.
It’s still high season for the next week or so but things are definitely winding down. The blue collar crew will be back at work already and northern Italians will be working their way back up the boot and leaving our little zona in peace again.
By the first week of September the beaches will be much quieter, as will our little country lane which at the moment is alive with local families escaping the heat the town. We will have a bit of time to reclaim our paradise beach and then it will be autumn, time to take out the crochet blankets and light the fire. By this time last year I was yearning for the cooler weather but it has been such a pleasant summer this year that I wish it would last a bit longer.
The beaches and roads are packed on that day so we opted to stay at home. We went a little crazy after the entire youtube playlist of Winnie the Witch so the next day we decided that had to get out. We braved the Adriatic coast and were shocked to see our normally empty paradise beach absolutely full, there was literally not enough space to walk between people’s towels. Still, it was good to get out and get the fresh sea air and we all slept well for it.
It’s still high season for the next week or so but things are definitely winding down. The blue collar crew will be back at work already and northern Italians will be working their way back up the boot and leaving our little zona in peace again.
By the first week of September the beaches will be much quieter, as will our little country lane which at the moment is alive with local families escaping the heat the town. We will have a bit of time to reclaim our paradise beach and then it will be autumn, time to take out the crochet blankets and light the fire. By this time last year I was yearning for the cooler weather but it has been such a pleasant summer this year that I wish it would last a bit longer.
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
The perfect climate
Rudy is 4mo today and it is amazing to see how much he has changed. Isn’t that just the way with children, what makes them all so fascinating? The same with the camapagna - my how our garden has grown since March 21st, the first day of spring!
There has been a lot of rain this year. The winter was warm and wet and it carried on right through spring and summer. It rained here every day when we were in England recently, we were lucky to miss that and enjoy a London heat-wave.
The last couple of days have been sunny but breezy, keeping the general temperature lower than the intense heat of last week. It’s draining when it’s very hot but I’m not a big fan of wind either. There is no such thing as a perfect climate, I’m sure of that.
We have been thinking a lot about that with regards to our wedding, which we are planning for next year. We were originally thinking of doing it in the month of May as it is so beautiful at that time of year with the wild flowers and pleasant temperatures.
Yet if we are really going to drag all our friends and families over here for once in their lives then it really has to be during the summer when people can enjoy what is best about the area – the beaches.
Also a wedding celebration is essentially an evening occasion and the nights need to be adequately warm to hang around in an olive grove in a party dress. Basically it needs to be unbearably hot during the day to want to spend the day in water and the nights outside.
The best climate I have found was in Bolivia, in the foothills of the Andes, heading towards the Amazon basin. Sub tropical vegetation, cool nights, no nasty insects or dangerous animals, beautiful views of snow capped mountains. The downsides for me though are feeling claustrophobic in mountainous areas, car and altitude sickness plus no direct flights to the country from Europe.
There is no perfect place to climate, terrain or location – life is all about appreciating what you have, I reckon!
There has been a lot of rain this year. The winter was warm and wet and it carried on right through spring and summer. It rained here every day when we were in England recently, we were lucky to miss that and enjoy a London heat-wave.
The last couple of days have been sunny but breezy, keeping the general temperature lower than the intense heat of last week. It’s draining when it’s very hot but I’m not a big fan of wind either. There is no such thing as a perfect climate, I’m sure of that.
We have been thinking a lot about that with regards to our wedding, which we are planning for next year. We were originally thinking of doing it in the month of May as it is so beautiful at that time of year with the wild flowers and pleasant temperatures.
Yet if we are really going to drag all our friends and families over here for once in their lives then it really has to be during the summer when people can enjoy what is best about the area – the beaches.
Also a wedding celebration is essentially an evening occasion and the nights need to be adequately warm to hang around in an olive grove in a party dress. Basically it needs to be unbearably hot during the day to want to spend the day in water and the nights outside.
The best climate I have found was in Bolivia, in the foothills of the Andes, heading towards the Amazon basin. Sub tropical vegetation, cool nights, no nasty insects or dangerous animals, beautiful views of snow capped mountains. The downsides for me though are feeling claustrophobic in mountainous areas, car and altitude sickness plus no direct flights to the country from Europe.
There is no perfect place to climate, terrain or location – life is all about appreciating what you have, I reckon!
Friday, 17 July 2009
Lidl
Like several people I know, I am in love with Lidl (or is it LIDL?) The low prices and top quality products are hard to beat, especially round here where the supermarkets are awful. An extra bonus for us expats in Italy is that they also stock more exotic and ethnic products than anywhere else. I love the themed weeks – Chinese week is my favourite and I always stock up on sweet chili sauce and sesame oil.
But what I love best about Lidl is the central aisle of non-food items. It is so clever the way they change the items on offer so I’m always excited to see what’s there and if it’s good I’ll definitely buy it!
My latest purchase is a laminator, I actually prefer its Italian name plastificatore. I have always wanted my own one and there it was, I spotted it right at the end and stuck it in the trolley with a couple of packs of laminating foil (I’m learning the jargon!)
I debuted my plastificator last night with what I consider to be my 2.5 yo’s first proper drawing. Now it is preserved forever, sealed snugly between two melted pieces of plastic, how satisfying.
I plan to plastify a whole range of things now: No Hunting notices to put around the land, family photos for the boys to look at, games for Mickey and his little friend Evie. Oh I have many more ideas, too, a lifetime of plastifying to enjoy.
A last note about Lidl, I discovered from a German client that it is correctly pronounced to rhyme with needle rather than fiddle. So now you know.
But what I love best about Lidl is the central aisle of non-food items. It is so clever the way they change the items on offer so I’m always excited to see what’s there and if it’s good I’ll definitely buy it!
My latest purchase is a laminator, I actually prefer its Italian name plastificatore. I have always wanted my own one and there it was, I spotted it right at the end and stuck it in the trolley with a couple of packs of laminating foil (I’m learning the jargon!)
I debuted my plastificator last night with what I consider to be my 2.5 yo’s first proper drawing. Now it is preserved forever, sealed snugly between two melted pieces of plastic, how satisfying.
I plan to plastify a whole range of things now: No Hunting notices to put around the land, family photos for the boys to look at, games for Mickey and his little friend Evie. Oh I have many more ideas, too, a lifetime of plastifying to enjoy.
A last note about Lidl, I discovered from a German client that it is correctly pronounced to rhyme with needle rather than fiddle. So now you know.
Friday, 12 June 2009
Beaching it
We have been going to the beach on every available day since summer arrived, about a month ago. The wonderful thing about Salento is the amount and variety of coastline that there is. Living where we do, in the centre of the peninsular, we can choose a different beach every day.
For the last few years we have been really lazy as we were given permission to use a friend’s hotel pool. It was bliss and we made the most of it but unfortunately this year they have changed the rules to make the pool only for hotel guests. Fair enough, and although we were gutted when we first found out, actually it has been a blessing in disguise. We have been given the motivation to get out there and explore this beautiful place where we live.
Pre babies we had a totally different criteria for the perfect bathing spot. Isolation was the aim and as the summer got hotter and busier, the rockier it became as we went further and further off the beaten track. That’s great when there are just adults, you can get into the water in difficult places, walk a long way from the car, take very little with you and sit in the full sun.
Now it is a completely different ball game. We are usually looking for a shallow, sandy beach, good shade and usually within easy access of the car unless we get prepared and kitted up for a hike. It’s imperative to have a picnic prepared if a restaurant is not the first stop, to have good things to lie on, a change of clothes for everyone, water for drinking and washing, beach toys… the list continues.
We’ve found so many lovely places that I am planning a Salento Beach Guide for next year. This morning we went to our nearest beach, San Mauro, on the Ionian coast. We haven’t been for a few years and despite not really liking it in the past in our new family form it was fantastic.
For the last few years we have been really lazy as we were given permission to use a friend’s hotel pool. It was bliss and we made the most of it but unfortunately this year they have changed the rules to make the pool only for hotel guests. Fair enough, and although we were gutted when we first found out, actually it has been a blessing in disguise. We have been given the motivation to get out there and explore this beautiful place where we live.
Pre babies we had a totally different criteria for the perfect bathing spot. Isolation was the aim and as the summer got hotter and busier, the rockier it became as we went further and further off the beaten track. That’s great when there are just adults, you can get into the water in difficult places, walk a long way from the car, take very little with you and sit in the full sun.
Now it is a completely different ball game. We are usually looking for a shallow, sandy beach, good shade and usually within easy access of the car unless we get prepared and kitted up for a hike. It’s imperative to have a picnic prepared if a restaurant is not the first stop, to have good things to lie on, a change of clothes for everyone, water for drinking and washing, beach toys… the list continues.
We’ve found so many lovely places that I am planning a Salento Beach Guide for next year. This morning we went to our nearest beach, San Mauro, on the Ionian coast. We haven’t been for a few years and despite not really liking it in the past in our new family form it was fantastic.
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