Few films manage to transcend culture and language boundaries, and touch the collective consciousness, by being both a commentary of contemporary human society and a work of original artistic value. The films of Jacques Tati are nevertheless quintessentially French and … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: November 2011
Italy’s Financial and Political Blues
Italy made headlines earlier this month when Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned with the county’s debt crisis looming overhead and the fate of the euro hanging in the balance. In discussing the issues in Italy, spread [differenziale], contagion [contagio] and crisis [crisi] have … Continue reading
Four popular in season foods in Italy — and super healthy too!
Just in time for the Thanksgiving weekend, here are four basic and healthy food items — that are never ever missed from an Italian meal in autumn [autunno] and early winter [inverno]. These four foods are at the center of many festivals going … Continue reading
Mia’s Italian: La Famiglia
Hi everyone! I just stared lesson two over the weekend and have learned a lot! Today I learned about la famiglia (my family) and practiced calling my siblings my sorella (sister) and fratello (brother). I have particularly enjoyed this lesson … Continue reading
Nationalities By A Different Name
Many of you have learned that nationalities like Argentinean translate to Argentina or Argentino en español. But, what many Spanish textbooks don’t teach you is that sometimes nationalities have different ways to refer to them, especially during sporting events. For … Continue reading
The self-portrait of Leonardo can be finally admired (for a few days).
If you are in Italy, you should not miss this opportunity. The self-portrait of Leonardo is exposed in Turin, starting today, for the first time as a part of the last events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy. The portrait of … Continue reading
Schwäbische Spätzle
I’ve told you a bit about Schwäbisch, the dialect spoken in the south of Germany around Stuttgart. Today I’d like to introduce you to Spätzle, the homemade noodles originating in that area. They are pretty easy and inexpensive to make… … Continue reading
La Bella e la Bestia: The Beauty and the Beast
Italy is the country of beauty [bellezza], but it has some dark sides too. Sometimes, those dark sides are decisively unaesthetic. For instance, Rome’s very center erupted in violence last month during the city’s “Occupy” protest. (Link to BBC article and on-the-ground video.) Nothing … Continue reading
Mia’s Italian: Buon Giorno, Buon Pomeriggio, Buona Sera!
Hi again, everyone! Yesterday I listened to lesson one vocabulary and grammar lessons on my iPod while I went on a run, which was multitasking at its finest! I have been able to pick up on a lot already and … Continue reading
November 11: Laternelaufen
November 11 is Martinstag in Germany, commemorating St. Martin Bishop of Tours, who, while still a soldier, cut his military cloak in half to share it with a beggar. Falling on the same day as Veteran’s Day in the US … Continue reading