LIFE
Life
Warning: this mom may be hazardous to your child's health
Adventures in raising bicultural children
I truly wasn't trying to harm her. It was early April-that cruel month
when birthday invitations ramp up again, when kids who've gone stir-crazy all
winter have learned with fiendish skill how to push all your buttons (and push
them, with relish)-and my daughter had …
In Other Words
Merchant ears and movies
Every year, right around Daylight Saving Time, my friend Paola leaves a lover-and it's usually the same one. I sit on the sidelines and watch it happen, undecided as to whether practice has made this annual ritual easier or more excruciating. As background noise to …
Italian Sketches
Iris Origo
Her need to testify
If not for the tragic
death in 1933 of her ?radiant' 7-year-old son, Gian Clemente Bayard Origo,
known as Gianni, from tubercular meningitis, Anglo-American biographer and
author Iris Origo may never have taken up writing seriously. To fill the void left by his death, …
In Other Words
True and false friends
Way back at the beginning of the second millennium, I was teaching English at a Florentine school whose floors were as scuffed as their blackboards, which-originally white-had turned gray with grammar lessons. The classes were small and the staff was smaller: Karen, a rainbow-bright gal …Florentinisms
La'pisse, La chiesina fa l'elemosina a' i' Domo, Cencio
Your in-progress dictionary of the Florentine dialect Lápisse: Florentine pronunciation of ‘lapis' (pencil). Example: ‘O che la smetti di mangiatti i' lápisse e tu cominci a studiare!' (‘Would you quit chewing on your pencil and start studying already!') La chiesina fa l'elemosina a' i' Domo: Literally, ‘the …Life
More English than England
In the footsteps of the Grand Tourists
In England,
most events in life happen over a good cup of tea, so it came as no surprise
that my discovery of the English in Florence started with one. This cup of tea,
however, was not being served under the grey skies of …
How Do You...?
Yes we can!
Faster justice and better business in Italy
Recently proposed legislation
might make it more appealing for international investors to do business in Italy.
The more favorable opportunity is part of the decreto liberalizzazioni, the
deregulation measures introduced by the current technical government led by
Mario Monti, which are meant to boost the …
In Other Words
A craftsman and a count
Inconveniences aside, there is something about a blizzard that gives you time. Unexpectedly, there's time to wait as energy-saving light bulbs grow bright enough to light something more than a Neanderthal cave. Time enough to notice how quiet the world looks while wearing white. And …Florentinisms
Tanghero, A' vogliaaa, Ni' mezzo
Your in-progress dictionary of the Florentine dialect
Tanghero: A rude or uncouth
person. A boor; buffoon.
Example: ‘La figliola di Paolo
se' fidanzata co' un tanghero di nulla!' (‘Paolo's daughter is dating a real
buffoon!')
A'
vogliaaa!: ‘Yeah right!'
Example: ‘Franco, che va' te a
prendere i' pane?' ‘A' vogliaaa! Con questo freddo ‘un esco di …
Style + Fashion
Sober present or fabulous future?
Pitti, Florence and the sales
January is
not only the month of fashion events by Pitti Immagine, it is also the start of
the winter sales. The combination of these very different occasions in this
particular time in Italy has made me think a lot. Italy is experiencing the
most …
Life
A beat revolution
Dubstep comes to Florence
If someone
says, ‘Italian music,' what usually comes to the foreigner's mind is euro pop,
movie scores or opera. Those who have spent more time in the Boot may recognize
such local favorites as Jovanotti and Tiziano Ferro. The surprising fact is
that Italians tend …
Be Green in Florence
Greening Tuscany
Coming to grips with the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
by Suzi Jenkins
This
millennium's wake-up call: ?Hey, guess what? The world does not have infinite
resources or infinite space to dump used-up resources, or an infinite capacity
to naturally clean up all that human-created mess!' It's a hard, expensive and
massively urgent question that all world economies …
In Other Words
Buttered eels
One should never ask anything after a party. It is enough to keep a front-row corner of the couch and get full view as your hosts dissect the unfortunate guests who've already gone. Last Saturday when the last of the festa crowd pulled the …Florentinisms
Avvezzo, Domo, Governare
Your in-progress dictionary of the Florentine dialect
Avvezzo: To be used to
something.
Example: ‘Gino llè troppo avvezzo a fumare, secondo
me. Un ce la fa a smettere.' (‘I think Gino is too used to smoking; he'll
never be able to quit.'
Domo: Duomo.
Example: ‘Ovvia, allora ci si trova a' i' tocco in
piazza …
Life
Culture quirks
Italians on digestion, cappuccino, and the ?cold breeze'
The TF staff must often come to terms with the most common truisms about Italy, Tuscany and Florence. After six years in print, we've pretty much heard and said it all. However, there are a few things about Italy and Tuscany …
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Wednesday, May 22, 2013