After 5 wonderful years in Italy, we're headed back to the States on July 16. Italian Moments will soon dwindle to a sprinkling of posts here and there, but it won't die altogether...I'll blog about re-entry culture shock as we get used to life in the States again, and then I'll be posting each summer, as we'll be back during July and most of August each year (my husband and I aren't independently wealthy, in case you're wondering why we get to "summer" in Italy...we're both teachers).
I began this blog a year and a half ago as a way to capture snippets of our expat life here in bella Italia. I also wanted to give family and friends back home a glimpse of our lives across the pond. As it turns out, Statcounter tells me that Italian Moments has between 685 and 1,903 unique visitors each month from over 36 countries. And no, I don't have that many friends and family back home...
Some of those visitors stumbled upon my blog when googling things like: italian game shows, easter bunny in italian, and translate happy birthday in italian (all according to the aforementioned Statcounter). Others are probably disappointed in the content of my blog--those would be the visitors who found my blog by googling the following phrases (and this is just a smattering, believe me): naked breasts, italian bare breasts show, well endowed breasts mature, and italian breasts tv. For those of you who have found my blog in this way, I'll save you some time by saying that, yes, I've blogged about breasts, but there ain't no photos. Sorry.
But for those of you who are not hindered by the lack of photographed breasts, I've added a feature where you can sign up to have new posts sent to your email inbox (just look on the left side of the blog for the link).
Starting tomorrow and up until our move, I'll be posting a collection of photos showing what I'll miss (and not miss) about about Italy, so stay tuned!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Soccer, Borders, and Continents
I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post! School just got out yesterday (I'm a teacher, for those who don't know) so now I feel like I can breathe. And post. Definitely post.
Well, it's that time again, when grown Italian men are glued to the television, and shouts can be heard throughout the city during certain hours of the evening--shouts of joy and anguish, depending. That's right, it's the European Cup Soccer Tournament (if you didn't guess this, don't feel bad...I only know this because I'm married to an Italian).
As I type this, Russia is playing Holland, and they're tied 1 to 1 (note: Holland beat Italy 3-0 at the start of the tournament. Ouch.) So my husband is glued to the television, and I say: "Hey, wait a minute. Is Russia part of Europe?" I think not. Geographically, they're in Asia. At least mostly. Right?
But husband shakes his head. "No. Russia has always played in the European Cup."
I raise an eyebrow. (Actually, I don't know how to raise my eyebrow without pushing it up with my finger. But I've always wished I could. So just humor me...). So I raise an eyebrow and say: "But that doesn't make them European. Russia is in Asia." I thought some more, concentrating on raising my other eyebrow. "Although it sounds strange to say they're Asian. So what are they?"
My husband: "They're in the European Cup, aren't they? They're European."
For him, that's good enough. The European Cup Soccer League (or whatever their governing body is called) has spoken.
I'm not convinced. What do you think?
Well, it's that time again, when grown Italian men are glued to the television, and shouts can be heard throughout the city during certain hours of the evening--shouts of joy and anguish, depending. That's right, it's the European Cup Soccer Tournament (if you didn't guess this, don't feel bad...I only know this because I'm married to an Italian).
As I type this, Russia is playing Holland, and they're tied 1 to 1 (note: Holland beat Italy 3-0 at the start of the tournament. Ouch.) So my husband is glued to the television, and I say: "Hey, wait a minute. Is Russia part of Europe?" I think not. Geographically, they're in Asia. At least mostly. Right?
But husband shakes his head. "No. Russia has always played in the European Cup."
I raise an eyebrow. (Actually, I don't know how to raise my eyebrow without pushing it up with my finger. But I've always wished I could. So just humor me...). So I raise an eyebrow and say: "But that doesn't make them European. Russia is in Asia." I thought some more, concentrating on raising my other eyebrow. "Although it sounds strange to say they're Asian. So what are they?"
My husband: "They're in the European Cup, aren't they? They're European."
For him, that's good enough. The European Cup Soccer League (or whatever their governing body is called) has spoken.
I'm not convinced. What do you think?
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