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...

I don;t know if I could survive outside London, being foreign and all that. Also there is so much to do here in the East End, a variety of free parks, museums, libraries (ok plenty of salvalaggio, but also found some filastrocche by Raboni and a book by Rodari), people from different backgrounds, farms, indoor and outdoor pools, indoor and outdoor adventure playgrounds, cinemas for adults and kids (ok you have to pay a couple of quid for these), activities for toddlers (from painting with potatoes and carrots to dancing dressed up as animals) plus you can take a bus or tube it and you are in the west end, south bank, etc. Why don't you move to London? Are you there because of your dh's work?

But it would be nice to have a big house!

of course I'd love to move to london! we would both love to move to london. Thing is that now that I'm feeling a bit adjusted here, with a (very) few good friends, it sounds scary to move somewhere else. and those prices...
yes, I moved to exeter when dh found a job here. before, he was finishing his phd in london and it was fairly easy to see each other every other weekend.
Abd here there's no salvalaggio at the library... but the complete dvd collection of asterix which ds loves!

Is your dh a lecturer? Could he eventually get a job in a London uni? The prices are scary. YOu could always live in a flat though! You sound a bit like me, I hate moving, the idea completely terrifies me, I don't like change even though I moan about how things are. Being unadventurous is crippling though, hope ds won't be like me.

I don't mind living in a flat, afterall, I lived in a flat for the first 28yrs of my life. and I'm not much of a gardener... Yes, dh is a lecturer, I suppose that if something suitable comes up in London we'll probably be extremely tempted to move. I supposed that a year ago I'd answer: I'd move tomorrow. Nowadays I'm feeling happier about living here.
We'd really like if the famous "rientro dei cervelli" worked properly. At some stage there was a possibility to go back to milan (I jumped for joy for two days), but then mrs moratti withdrew the funds... grrrrrrrr
I know what you mean about not being adventurous. I thought I was, moved to exeter without even thinking about it, felt really proud of myself and then spent the first 6 years moaning, feeling a bit depressed and crying of nostaglia listening at cheesy songs...

Does he teach Italian? UCL has a very good It dept.

no. he specializes in a subject that doesn't come up very often...

Am I being too mysterious?

mmm, sounds molto interessante o molto noioso.

both I suppose...

Still Redeastend, have changed my name in a fit of nostalgia.
Stuck with my translation!!!
Do you think your children will be happier living in the Uk or in Italy? I think London is a great place for ds, a bit irritated by the competition to get into the right school, the extra activities some London children Must do, but otherwise I think he will be happy here. And you?

who knows! this thing about schools really drives me mad. Extra actvities are big in Italy too. or lets say milano, I can't really speak about the whole of Italy. Yes, I've got some friends in Milan who are really otting about extra activities, like ginnastica artistica for 3 yrs old. ffs!
Who knows where they'd be happier. Things have changed so much in Italy (ok I'll stick to milan). I had a great childhood though. Even enjoyed my teenage yrs, because had the luck to meet people with the same ideas and interests I had. I loved the liceo I did. Probably as a family we'd be happier in Milan, despite the fact that milan is so difficult to live in. We'd be close to our famillies and friends. (I'm also thinking about the fact that our parents aren't getting any younger, and I want to be there for them). Our friends are still spending lots of time together. which I find really healthy for them and their kids.

lol at ginnastica artistica for a 3 year old. My ds would just blow raspberries and shout "you are stinky" through the session.
I forget that italy has changed ,I always think it is the way it was during my childhood, school lovely, going home warm and lovely, no competitive parenting, lots of loving neighbours.
Yesterday a mum i vaguely know in the park asked me if I want to teach her 4 year old Italian . This is the same 4 year old who looks so exhausted from full time school, music lesson, dance lessons and one play date a week. B*dy awful, I want ds to live his short life at a slow happy pace.

yes me too. and I'm sure I'm going to be told off at the upcoming parents evening because ds still doesn't know his key words...

tell them to ... off! is he really meant to already be able to read some words? he just started surely? is he interested in the idea of reading and writing or freaked out by the whole thing?

yes, he started in January. He likes his books and he's excited to learn, but he's not into it yet. I'd be more active if he was six, but 4 and a half...

Are they actually teaching him to read already? Is he already writing letters? oh lalala ,che mal di testa. Modern life is a big competition.

Can i pick your brain this morning. Have been asked to give a quote to an Italian company based in Mestre to translate legal documents from It to En. Do you know what is the current rate in Italy, I don't want to scare them off asking too much, but of course I don't want to ask too little.

I'm being paid 14 euros a cartella.
yes, they are teaching him to read I suppose. key words and some letters. he is starting to write some letters. the other day he wrote zorro
yes, I've never liked competition that much, tbh.

Lol at Zorro!
HOw many characters are there in a cartella? In the UK I am paid by 1000 words which makes it easier, I think.

don't know! I have to check if I still got the original email with all the details, get back to you this evening

Thanks, it would be interesting to know. I googled very quickly, a site seems to say that a cartella is made up of 1500 characters, that's a lot of work for not very little money. Maybe it's not right.

can't find that email...

Grazie, will have to do some googling then. Off to watch the oscars.

the oscars???? I totally forgot about the oscars