ITALIAN mums out there - franca etc

[eastend]

DS is sick, what would a good Italian mum cook for him? First time he is properly sick, I need to cook him something, even if he might not eat it...

Talking of this "stranieri" thing again, I must say I feel at home here in hte east end of London. I feel like a real Londoner, and mix with all sorts of people/classes/races. I would find it difficult to move back to the south of Italy, suffocating. I would never move to the English province either though, scares the hell out of me, or the suburbs. We considered Barnet at one point but there just seemed rows and rows of houses.

I have to admit that I haven't really travelled round Italy. Its something we wants to do (bought a caravan and everything) but time seems to always be against us.

I lived in London for many years (always south) prefer it here though. Just goes to show we're all different

Absolutely marypop. I think I would have found it easier to move from Milan to London. I was also considering with a friend that English smaller towns seem less suffocating than many Italian ones. But parts of central Italy, like the area Marypop lives I think are a great place to live. But maybe I'm biased, and I say s, just because I'm 1/4 marchigiana. .
anyway, how are you all? today I'm grumpy. the weather's changed. it's now raining....

I was very grumpy yesterday, at school yesterday they told me I had a parents evening that evening, thanks for notice! Then I had to spend 2 hours listening to the tutor and then go home. It was all very boring. However the parents were all very happy with me, apparently all my kids go home singing and alot pretend to me me when they do their role playing. 'Sit down please' 'Wind the bobbin up' is ringing oround various houses in Pesaro.

Lol. do you teach a scuola media or superiore?

Franca grandma said the weather had changed in the west country . BUt thats normal it was bank holiday!!
Qui its starting to get warm again after a bloomin freddo weekend if I must say.
How are your bees Mary pop all gone now ??

Franca I teach elementry and nursery at the moment. Think next year I might have a media contract (not sure I want it though).

Yes bees all gone, and parents meetings all done. Now for the school reports and summer schools preparation.

Wheather here was a bit glum for the last week but had changed again and is absolutely fab again.

oh, that's lovely (elementare e asilo, I mean). and the weather also. Yes, scuole medie can be hard (I sitll remember my English teacher in scuola media, she was lovely. she was italian though. Never understood why they wouldn't have english teachers to teach english!). You need to be very committed. Mil taught for many years in a quite rough scuola media, she loved it, but she considered it something like a mission.

Italian children are more vocal than English children, in my experience. I've found you have to be much harder and work harder to keep them going to get results. I teach in a private school. I understand getting jobs in the public school system is very difficult, it tends to be job for the boys really and therefore you have to know somebody. This seems to be a big critisms of the Italian system here.

mmm not just in schooling I think the 'friends' helping out is part of lfe here. Mind you they have been clamping down on the back handers that seem to have been flying about .

yes, family and friends' "help" is quite big in Italy. It is indeed the reflection of basic distrust in the state and the institutions, which have always been perceived as "detached" and absent. In many cases (esp unfortunately in the south) they are indeed absent.
It is indeed very hard and complicated to get a job in state school. One of my dearest friends has been waiting in graduatoria for the last 8 yrs.Meanwhile she teaches in private schools, but she's unhappy. In order to get more punti she is now attending a corso di abilitazione to teach Latin... she is doing exams (again!) and she has a baby of four months! State schools are underfunded, and have been let down so much in the last 15 yrs. Which is a big shame, becuase I really think they used to be great. I had an excellent education, but that was so many yrs ago... (ho fatto la maturita' in 1989)

Before we came I expected it to some extent but not to the extent it is. My children go to private school run by nuns and the teachers are all very young. They are generally paid badly and work very hard for that money. In my school the situation is worse for the trainee or recently qualified, I heard of some the teachers working for free just to get that foot in the door, make those contacts and get those points. I'm lucky in the sense I'm a specialist and with few qualified English teachers who are madrelingua about I am at a premium. Plus a have quiet a fews friend who give me the heads up when somethings comes about.

How is your weekend going? I wonder whether rosa5's gone on holiday...

Magari Magari.....DH worked mon / tues so that was that. Wed we went out for the day , great weather and I said we could have been on holiday now even if it was just for a few days it would be better than nothing. But no.
Today he has to work after lunch and work commitments mean that we cannot go anywhere now until June...But then we come to the UK in July so I doubt we will make it away.Grandparents come 20 May so thats something to look forward to .
Next time I am just booking and not waiting for him to agree he just has to pay.
AUGURI alle Mamme Italiane per oggi festa della Mamma.

sounds like an excellent programme rosa!
auguri, buona festa della mamma.
it's raining cats and dogs today!

Buona festa della mamme. My family forgot!

Gosh, my mum rang today for a quick chat and I completely forgot about mother's day... I'm not very good at this sorts of things...

oh, I was in Italy and thought it was on the 10th!!

Ehi Pippi you are back
How did it go? what did you do? how was the baptism?

we had a good time! baptism was good: intimate and sweet. (although we re-enacted the opening scene of 4 wedding and a funeral - you know the one they are very late and get dressed in the car ). citta' della domenica was fantastica, DD loved it and her mum even more so.

unfortunately my FIL suddenly passed away while I was there and I felt shit about it as DH was all alone.

It is quite sad and hard at the moment. DH is a different person.

Oh no Pippi I'm so sorry to hear this! Fai le mie condoglianze a tuo marito

will do. thanks franca. I don't know how I can be of some help TBH... he's a bit lost ATM.

i saw that thread about the italian songs, it must have been fun!

have you read any biik by elena ferrante?

I think you just have to be there for him. Do you think he might want to talk? Would he be happy if you shared some good memories of your fil together? How's you mil?
Never heard of Elena Ferrante!