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Italian mums in the south?

288 replies

Gio77 · 22/09/2006 23:23

Hi
I am looking for other Italian mums in the south, especially Hampshire. I want to raise my daughter bilingual and Id love to find her other little bilingual friends!

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Gio77 · 04/10/2006 22:43

@ Eve
whereabouts do u live in Hampshire? I am near Portsmouth

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Ellbell · 04/10/2006 23:08

Ciao tutte... now I am confused, I don't know whether to write in English or Italian. Faccio meta' e meta'? Or would that just be silly?

QQQ my childminder is lovely and does try to give my dds healthy food, but she does sometimes give strange combinations (tipo, spag bol with carrots and boiled potatoes...). I figure that as long as the girls are happy (they've been with her for more than 3 years, so she is like part of their family) then I am not going to get too worked-up about little things like odd food combinations.

The agriturismo in Sardinia sounds fantastic. Yes, post the details...

Camilleri is great. I am trying to read Verga (just to stick with the Sicilians) at the moment, but more because I feel I should... I feel it's a bit of a gap in my knowledge never to have read any. But I am going very very slowly. Funny that you were going to do the MA at UCL QQQ... The mondo dell'italianistica in GB is very small and I could tell you exactly what your teachers would have been like...!

Buona notte a tutte... Vado a letto a sognarmi la Sardegna...

franca70 · 05/10/2006 12:11

Hi Gio, yes, I think that after two pregnancies and two kids some of my brain cells have gone. I want them back! I'm also still feeling unwell, but I'm on antibiotics now, and things seem to improve. I think i should spend a day resting, but I feeel I should work on the days the kids are at nursery, and when they are at home, well... it's impossible to get some rest.
Ellbell, are you reading I Malavoglia? ..... I read it at school, don't think I'll be so committed now...

Gio77 · 05/10/2006 12:17

Franca,antibiotics? WOW! u must be pretty bad if doc gave u those!!!! i hope u get better soon anyway!

By the way, what do u Italian girls feed ur children?

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franca70 · 05/10/2006 13:17

yes, gp said i had a secondary infection and needed antiobiotics.
dc eat more or less the same things as we do. we still have very italian habits foodwise. so, pasta, soups (with pasta or riso), risotti, fish, meatballs, etc. I always cook, or dh does.
I miss prosciutto crudo, gorgonzola, good mozzarella, taleggio, breasola, etc etc etc. I don't usually buy crisps, sweets, weird fruit juices, as I've never had them as a kid, so I'm just not used to it.
how about you? do you miss the wonderful, delicious sicialian food (ds this summer was addicted to arancini...)

franca70 · 05/10/2006 13:20

forgot to say that ds has also his favourite english food: baked beans, yorkshire pudding and rice pudding.

Gio77 · 05/10/2006 13:44

Ha arancini...i'm dribbling! lol
Well the problem i have is my dh is English so he will buy crisps and sweets and squash...u know, up till almost 2 Natasha only drank water and all dh's family kept sayng how good that was...of course i never gave her any juice, like u say Franca, I'm not used to them! Then one day dd was poorly and didnt drink at all so to make her drink he gave her squash and she loved it. Now she drinks very little water and I hate it!!! her food is mainly Italian but she also eat english food. She adores pasta and rice!
Ah Sicilian food is my favourite and my mum is a fantastic cook, so u ca imagine how much i miss it!

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franca70 · 05/10/2006 14:16

I will only say this;
granita al caffe' con panna e briosche

don't worry about the squash, I think it's all right (perhaps you can dilute it with water). fruit shoots, from what I've read in MN are the evil ones!

Gio77 · 05/10/2006 14:41

I know i dilute it so much i cant even taste it! but shes clever and wont drink it...

Ahhhhhhh Franca stop it you're torturing me with all the food mentioning! :-)

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franca70 · 05/10/2006 15:02

ok, ok, my mum just told me that there are 32 degrees in catania...

QuiQuoQua · 05/10/2006 19:21

buonasera a tutte.

DD is well. still a bit with a smelly breath but I think it's not so much the diet - as they are very good (got a bit paranoid yesterday), always cook from scratch etc. I actually always thought that she'd eat better there than at home.
what does she eat? well i am not a great cook so i feel a bit sorry for her...bless.

no really a bit of everything. obviously "wop" (like DH would say) things: pasta, mozzarella, lots of veggies. but also british things and noodles etc. very varied TBH.
she does eat healthy, but I am not obsessed. except for drinking water that is!!

anyway she's teething as well so she's a bit all over the place TBH.

franca are you better?

gio' my brain has gone completely. I used to read loads and had to stop when DD was born, obviously. I started properly since I went back to work as I can read on the tube (ah 45min all by myself) and at first I could not concentrate and had to read Grazia!!!

I'll look for the info about the agriturismo and will post. It was in the middle of nowhere, so a car is definitely needed.

re: books:\ what about Elsa Morante? I really liked l'isola di arturo e La storia.

In case you decide for the eolie I know of someone who rents houses, but I'm sure franca or gio would have milliuons of contacts as well.

by the way, DH and I have stopped smoking since monday. I am very proud of us and I wanted to share.

franca70 · 05/10/2006 20:55

what is wop? no, I don't really obsess about food either, I'm really happy when they are curious and willing to try different tastes. I don't want them to go bleah, iykwm.
I love elsa morante, I also read menzogna e sortilegio and aracoeli, I think menzogna etc is my favourite.
45 mins on the tube reading grazia sounds like bliss! well, I had a tiring week. I'm feeling better but still v.weak and stressed because I'm really behind schedule with this translation.
and so what about your favourite english books? I'd like some inspiration...

QuiQuoQua · 05/10/2006 22:45

wop is a nasty term for italians, my DH says it as a joke to me and DD, like frogs for french etc

i will write my fav books tomorrow, i've got so many.

must go to bed now.

DD got mmr at 8.30am.

notte

franca70 · 05/10/2006 23:00

good luck with the mmr

QuiQuoQua · 06/10/2006 10:21

done!! she was fine, bless, only cried for a second. she got the pneumoccoccal as well.

Franca you asked me about good books in english.

One of my favourite author is Paul Auster, i.e. Moon Palace or Mr Vertigo.
or another good one is Joseph Safran Foer with Everything is Illuminated.

what do you like? have you got any suggestion for me?

franca70 · 06/10/2006 11:28

qqq!
I'm having v. bad day. ds has been sent back from nursery because he's got impetigo and took his plaster off and they can't put it back, and I needed to work so badly today. suddenly the day looks very loooong. I should also take him to gymtots today, but if he takes off his plaster there as well, he wonb't be able to attend. bloody impetigo, he's not even supposed to be infectious anymore!!

QuiQuoQua · 06/10/2006 11:33

oh I am sorry. It is horrible when you make a kind of plan for the day and then... the kids arrive!!

what's impetigo?

what are you translating at the mo?
I wish I could help...

julesnyc · 06/10/2006 12:28

Ciao a tutte

Feel like i'm gate crashing here! Saw this thread and just wanted to say what a great country Italy is and how i miss it sooooooooo much! Not to mention the food, climate and language (that i'm very rusty at now - i might add ).Live in Hampshire , Southampton and have friend who's husband is Italian and who's bringing up her DS (18mths) bilingual (if that's any good Gio77)? Oh how i am trying to persuade DH to move to Italy (Sardinia being one of my favourite places in the world - beautiful) But it's not likely in the near future i'm afraid x

QuiQuoQua · 06/10/2006 12:31

ciao julesnyc, benvenuta!!!!

did you use to live in italy then? I am one of those that would never go back, except for holidays. crazy I know!!!

julesnyc · 06/10/2006 12:42

Hi QQQ - yes lived in Sardinia and Rome for 3 years. Very long time ago though. Been back to Sardinia few times for holidays and just love it there. Travelled quite a bit and if i had my way would nt choose to live here in England ! Did end up marrying an English man though and of course now have my beautiful DS of 20mths

franca70 · 06/10/2006 14:38

hi julesnyc, welcome! It's a shame we don't live closer, otherwise we could set up a nice playgroups for bilingual kids, picking up the best English and Italian things. how was it living in Rome?

thanks qqq for offering to help, again, if I lived closer I would actually take up your offer and give you a chapter or two....

QuiQuoQua · 06/10/2006 14:48

anything to use my brain, althout I doubt I'll be any good at it TBH. My italian is indecent...

i need to go out and get some fresh air... it has been raining like mad today...

franca70 · 06/10/2006 15:20

my italian as well. actually what happens is: my italian gets poorer, and my english doesn't get any better...
ok, this is it. dd is already awake. 40 mins?? is she kidding?

Gio77 · 06/10/2006 16:33

Ciao Jules, yes Southampton is not too far for me. Could u please get us in contact?

Franca so sorry about your day, I wish i could help too! must be so frustrating especially when u dont feel too well!

Sarah glad ur dd went through mmr so well, my LO cried for ages i was gonna cry myself LOL

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QuiQuoQua · 06/10/2006 19:27

ah, DD has gone to sleep. DH is out. I'm in peace. i cannot be bothered to cook so I'll have a pizza.

I hate when they do that, you put them to bed, you start thinking about your free time and two second later they're chirping away ...

gio how are the lessons going?