Brand new MN Little Italy (22)

[Francagoestohollywood]

hello, ciao, etc

and impressed by swimming in north coast of scotland!!!

The sea was warm last week so I would have thought a pool in the sun would be fine!
Its hot here as well. Thank heavens we have the summer paid for ( well apart from extras) as I don't think I could stay here to be honest. I have the weekend ahead with both and am dreading it. EVen getting to the park is a hike as we would take the vaporetto but it is full with people going to Murano ! Roll on end of June am so looking forward to it as the both just loved the beach.
Am off to try and price match or get cheaper. Mind you I have looked and the mobile I liked for the bagno is not that much more expensive than Ikea......Maybe teh sink wan't included boh !
Franca how is your back ?

Don't tell me you went in the sea? In June? Madwoman!

Ooooh it's hot here tonight, but still not as bad as it can get.

My back still hurts, I rang my chiropractor, but it appears that he works mon-thurs. Which doesn't surprise me, given how much he charges . I will take another OKI before bed.

Yes, madwoman! Sea in June is notoriously freezing !!!

Only up to my knees ..would have gone in but I forgot our costumes only took stuff for the dds..... They went in ( twice ).........
Hot last night and warm today going to try the far away park but after 3 bridges I might give up !

Caio - as we build up to the summer hols,how do we entertain dcs!

Well enjoy your summer is what I say!

All the birthdays over with then? We had a huge party in a small flat then went off to centre parcs (love it actually) and then off to my mums - now back - ds was ill the entire time but just grateful I was staying at my mum's for the space .

I think ds too small to start school at 4 but he's happy about it so hopefully I can get my life back.

Off to mils at the end of term - booked at dh's request 10 days - then off to my mums. Big bloody mistake as mil has got wind of this so has developed heart problem and we need to change our ticket (like we're rich) to stay longer (her view is that for every day ds sees my mother she needs 3 days) thus eating into my parents' time with ds - erm been here before actually.

Any advice on how to 'talk' to mil much appreciated (as I'm ready to really let it all out with her). BTW - I've done the ignore (not great) and then the hint (doesn't work) then the big fight - big fight was a mistake as she's gone 'underground' and worse than ever! LOL.

BTW - what's a mini degree in Italy? I think it's quite new but was is it exactly?

Hmm, I would tell her politely that you have already organised with your Mum and point out you can't afford to change the tickets. You could also say that, if she has a heart problem it wouldn't be fair on her to look after guests and noisy 4 year olds for too long. You can't let her dictate your every move.

I have DS's birthday coming up on tuesday, but won't be doing anything til sunday as DH is away, again. Hopefully he will avoid falling down manholes this time.

Mini degree, if you mean the laurea breve it's a 3 year degree (I think), equivalent to British degree. A standard Italian degree is equivalent to a masters degree, for some reason.

I thought the laurea breve was equivalent to a Bachelor's Degree whilst a laurea was an Honours degree and a Masters was a laurea specialistica?

Dunno, though. I only know that down here everyone is at uni till they're 42 and then half don't actually finish. And for some reason they don't actually go to lectures or anything, just turn up for exams. (been teaching some uni girls this week, who when I expressed surprise at their grammar crap-ness said they hadn't actually had any English lessons as such since they left school...)

Oh! England have scored. Have despatched all non-100% Brits out of the house (they're at a cresima party) while I eat focaccia and watermelon (not together) 32 degrees and afa today. Might even be a storm. Cherries are now 2 kilo for 5 euro btw. )from uomo ciliegia downstairs, fruit shops a bit more expensive)

You are probably right. One thing I'm sure of is if my DCs want to go to uni it won't be in Italy! I know countless people too who never finished, despite going for years.

We should have had a storm as well but no sign of one . Its afa and not nice the dds are grumpy and sweaty esp Minirosa and dh working !!
RE MIL either get dh to talk to her or I would get her to pay for your ticket change as Sput suggested.
Agree re Uni ...will cost a fortune in the UK but if they want to go then any place is better than here..
we have a new pc and it is taking me ages to transfer everything over .....

Mother and Father of a storm here ....hurray as it was sooo humid it was horrible.....
DH will be sweaty and wet ...........

Giveitago, I totally second what Sputnik wrote about what to say to Mil.

Laurea breve is a standard 3 yr degree.
At my time it was different as it was 4 yrs (5 yrs for engineering or medicine), but very few people managed to finish in time. Me included, but not for a lack of wanting. It was a very serious business, at least here in Milan, as to pass the first exam of modern Literature I had to study on 18 different texts. Not to mention the exam of Latin, where I had to be able to translate Tacitus at first sight.

And I could go on with similar examples of really lots of stuff to study. My graduation thesis was a 200 pages composition, done on original historical documents.

I honestly don't agree that a Uk degree is necessarily better than one gained at a good Italian University.

I don't think anyone said it was better at all, but the difficulty involved leads to a high dropout rate, not good.

Why oh effing why do my mother, DH and then MIL all try and ring me one after another at the DC's bedtime? It's hard enough on my own as it it. DS is still not asleep. Sorry just had to rant about that to someone.

I so understand, our relatives tend to ring at bedtime too, and always, always ask "are you putting the kids to bed?" (not tonight though, they are watching football)

The a priori conviction of not even considering to send your children to any Italian university speaks volumes of the general opinion of said universities.

Sorry, the last sentence didn't make much sense

I really think it was implied that Italian uni are considered worse. Which is a shame, because they really aren't necessarily so.

I have no direct experience of Italian university at all, just seeing loads of people spending years "at university" then dropping out with nothing to show for it. To me it seemed a waste of smart, talented people who in the UK would've walked out after 3 years with a piece of paper and moved forward. That's not to say the quality of the degree is any worse if you actually manage to get one, the opposite really as it's considered higher level. Anyway kudos to you for making it!

Says she, who has a degreee she has done bugger all with!

The dropping out rate is in fact depressing.
I have no idea how this can be corrected. More tutors, more pastoral care maybe. Easier/shorter degrees.

Don't get me started. I haven't combinato niente, despite lots of pieces of paper...

what's your degree in sputnik, I don't remember

This is what happens when you follow your heart and not your head.
I'm going to follow my head now though and go to bed, woke up today at 4.30 (thanks DS)

Yes, I agree.
And also, that at 18 you really might have a view of yourself that isn't necessarily the right one, no?

'night!

history of art (useless)

The following 20 years were "history of farting about". Oh well. Really should go to bed.

Oh bello history of art!