lunedì 25 dicembre 2006

Buon Natale e buone feste!!!

Merry Christmas!!

Froehliche Weihnacht!!

Yes, in Germany we celebrate the 24th! In Ticino and in the US the 25th... so for all of you who don't speak German, read this tomorrow!!!

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas time and don't forget what Christmas is really about...

domenica 24 dicembre 2006

Che palle!!

Che palle, hab die Nase voll, basta!! Che cavolo!! Bin schon wieder krank und das seit einer Woche und das nachdem ich nur ungefaehr schon vier oder fuenf Mal krank war seit, ja, seitdem ich die Horrordosis Antibiotika genommen habe. Und ich musste die nehmen weil mich so ein bloedes Zeckenbiest gebissen hat. 3 Wochen lang die Megadosis Antibiotika und danach staendig krank...

Ja, klar, ich hatte auch viel Stress dieses Jahr und bin hier suedlich der Alpen was vielleicht bedeutet dass mein Immunsystem die Viren hier nicht ansatzweise kennt aber die Hauptschuld gebe ich den Antibiotika. Und ich hab noch gefragt als ich die verschrieben bekommen hab ob man da auch was machen koennte damit nicht die ganzen guten Bakterien kaputt gehen. Die Aerztin hatte aber anscheinend nichtmal davon gehoert dass Antibiotika das Immunsystem zerstoeren.

Und ta-daaaa, da bin ich, die Frau ohne Immunsystem. Nach jedem Virus sag ich mir schoen brav, das war jetzt aber der letzte und jetzt ist mein Immunsystem dafuer um so staerker, aber die Wahrheit ist, ich HABE gar kein Immunsystem!!! Beh, bin wirklich sauer und es gibt nichtmal einen Schuldigen!! Aber eins ist klar ich nehm NIE WIEDER Antibiotika ausser ich muss ansonsten sterben!!!! Die heissen naemlich schon ganz richtig die Sch... dinger: Gegen das Leben--!

lunedì 18 dicembre 2006

Quaranta

Ok, here's something that's really scary. Lately I went to Zurigo and there were two girls who looked kind of lost at the stamp vending machine. They spoke English and for those who don't know it I used to travel to the US every summer for quite some years and in the end I felt absolutely no difference between expressing myself in English or German, in fact people used to believe that I was from another part of the US and didn't even realize that what little had remained of my accent was foreign. I used to be so proud of having learned English so well after my teachers at school had told me I had absolutely no talent for learning languages. (In fact I had to repeat 7th grade because of-- tadaaahhh, English and Latin--how ironic is that???)...

However, so there I was with those two kind of lost-looking girls whose every word I understood and I asked them "Can I help you?" Oh, they were sooo relieved and grateful because all the explanation on the vending machine was in German, French and Italian but then I wanted to explain to them how it works. So I stood there and I wanted to tell them that shipping a letter to South Africa was 1,40 CHF. But, ohhhhhhhh!!! I got so far as to tell them it was "one". Of course I had no clue what CHF is in English and that really didn't bother me, I simply said "franchi" like they say in Italian. But then I wanted to say 40. And, can you believe it? A enormously HUUUUUUUUUUGE "QUARANTA" was written all over my brain. I think I blushed. Desperately, in my head I began to count "ten, twenty, thirty..." but then there was the

QUARANTA


again. I swear, I was completely, utterly, helplessly unable to say "forty". I didn't not only remember "forty", it even felt as if "forty" had never been saved on my hard drive. I wanted to die of shame right there... Then, it got even worse, I wanted to explain why I was having problems speaking English when I first sounded like a native speaker and I could not for the life of me remember the word "learning". Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, aiutooooo! What is happening to me? Also, whenever I talk to someone on the phone, no matter if it is in English or German, I cannot refrain from saying "si" instead of "yes" or "ja". Is it possible to lose a language? But then how strange is it that I can still write in English but speaking don't work? And how am I going to teach English when I am apparently losing it? Hellllllll---p!!!!

sabato 16 dicembre 2006

Si dev'essere così

La canzone che mi piace di più questo inverno

Si, dev'essere cosi!
Che tutto quel che accade ha un senso
altrimenti non saresti qui
a farmi respirare il vento

si, dev'essere cosi!
Che tutto quel che serve e' un cuore
altrimenti non saresti qui
a farmi respirare amore

tutti cercano una soluzione
e gridano sperando nell'arrivo di un dottore
ma tutto quel che serve in una pillola non c'è
non ti ho insegnato niente
quando stavi insieme a me?

Si, dev'essere cosi!!
Che tutto quel che accade ha un senso
altrimenti non saresti qui
ed io con te non perderei il mio tempo

tutti guardan la televisione
e aspettano di piangere per farsi compassione
ma dentro quella scatola risposte non ce n'è
solo donne in maschera e buffoni come me

si, ammetti che e' cosi!!
Che tutto quel che abbiamo è un cuore
e quindi fatti forza e vieni qui
e chiedimi di far l'amore
e chiedimi di far l'amore
e chiedimi di far l'amore

di Cremonini

martedì 12 dicembre 2006

La Neve

Snow, snow, snoooooooooooow!!! Yes, it's true, there's snow!! Almost half a meter of snow in the mountains!! After spending Friday and Saturday at Zurigo with two friends from the South of Italy (fotos in Zurigo) we returned to Bellinzona Sunday to see the mercato natale (fotos in Bellinzona) and then took the train from Bellinzona to Faido, climbing 1300 meter by foot at dusk. It was an awesome climb although we had to haul all of the stuff up the mountain that we use here, clothes, food, etc. It felt like a dream, the lights shining on the snow, the forest crispy cold, the air heavy with the profumo of snow. And then today we went on a walk (fotos in Vigera) playing in the snow, taking in the last rays of sunshine (that phrase has become such a joke...) And after that hot cocoa, biscotti, a warm fire and candelight... life is awesome!!!

lunedì 11 dicembre 2006

Stamattina

Mi sono svegliata con la musica di Natale, che bello!!! Mi sentava come da piccola, però tutte le parole erano in Italiano. Era Nico e sui amici dall'Italia che cercavano le canzone in internet per farmi un cd. Ho visto tutto del Zurigo ancora una volta con la Claudia e suo futuro marito Luigi, che sono davvero simpaticissimi!! Ho anche visto il mercato di Natale di Zurigo, però mancava la musica di Natale. Che scemo fare un bell mercatino e dimenticare la cosa più importante... insomma non mi ha messo nell'atmosfera di Natale. La Claudia ha fatto circa due mille foto dell'albero di Swarovski, che è davvero bello. Ha anche scritto la mia Mamma che è andata al mercato di Natale a Muenster (fieeeeep) ma era troppo caldo e più piccolo quest'anno. Nel fratempo è arrivata la neve sopra di 600 metri e vogliamo andare a Vigera (a 1300m) domani sera...

mercoledì 6 dicembre 2006

Verbania

Allora... heute sind wir mal rechts am Lago Maggiore langgefahren bis Verbania (It). Ma ohhhhh, che bello!!! Durch den Nebel schien der See wie ein endloses Meer obwohl man die Berge am anderen Ufer noch sehen konnte. Alles schien irgendwie transparent und unwirklich. Die Strasse war eng und zwischen Felswand und See eingequetscht und wenn ein Bus kam dachte man, "Incidente!" Und dann Verbania, enge Gassen und Passagen, Boegengaenge und Innenhoefe und oh, ja, die obligatorische bunte Waesche, die auf eine Schnur gespannt zwischen den Fenstern baumelt.
Ecco, es gibt sogar eine Schule fuer Englisch in Verbania. Ich werde da auf jeden Fall mal fragen wegen Arbeit. Gestern habe ich von einem Lehrer gehoert, dass in Ticino viele Sprachlehrer besonders fuer Englisch und Deutsch gesucht werden. Mal sehen wo ich naechstes Jahr lande...

martedì 5 dicembre 2006

Unusual friendship

I always start to ponder things when I'm tired. Last night there was a full moon and I hardly slept at all. That is unusual in itself as I have been sleeping pretty darn well here ever since I threw away that piumone horribile. I also had to get up at a number that started with six, ohhh!! My thoughts today were about friendship. What a strange thing that is. Three months ago I talked to someone on the internet mostly in German... three months later I feel so at ease with this friend and he has taught me his language and shown me the most beautiful places of the Ticino. And sometimes I think how weird that is.

There are so many things that speak against us being friends. For once, supposedly friendship between men and women don't exist. We also speak different languages (at least we did in the beginning as we never speak German together) and are from different cultures. And lastly, he's five years older than me. But then with true friendship all these things become so unimportant.

Which makes me wonder what is that thing that we call "friendship"? If it's not in the words, not in the things you have in common (culture), if it's not in the communication (language)... where do we find it? Is it a in-between-thing or is it above all of these things? How have we managed to do this? Did we build all this on meta-communication? I once read that only 5% of what we communicate is actually communicated using words, which would explain how we managed when I hardly spoke a word of Italian. (Which still doesn't explain how he tolerated my abuse of the language... :)

But meta-communication is tightly bound to culture. And that leaves another gap between us... how did we build this bridge? With what? I have written my Master thesis about culture and the concepts of Edward T. Hall and Geert Hofstede. That was inspired by my experiences in the US. All in all I have lived about two to three years in the US. I must say having read almost everything about culture and how they differ and how you define them, I still feel unable to grasp what it is. There are some variables and knowing them helps a ton if one moves to a foreign country... but my favorite metaphor is that it is a slippery piece of soap. If you grasp it to tight, it slips away. But that's also the magic of it. And maybe the same thing is also true for friendship...

lunedì 4 dicembre 2006

Che cosa hai fatto quest'anno

I just listened to "So this is Christmas" trying to find another Italian Christmas song. If your remember it goes on "and what have you done?" I spontaneously said, "I have learned a new language." And suddenly I felt so happy that I had the courage to really go ahead and do this. And it is true, I have only now begun to read in Italian and finally understand enough to also watch TV in Italian. Che belloooooo!!! Three months and I'm already able to do this!! I do absolute-ssimissimo enjoy this moment.

I also volunteered at unihockey today selling beverages. We (Ticino) lost the game, however, it was all the fault of the Svizzera German referee who gave a red card to one of our players. Everybody was really upset. Hands were flying, faces red, voices elevated, eyes flashing, swear words everywhere. Oh, how I liked that!! Finally there I was with other people who get really upset... yes, it is true, in Germany I have sometimes felt that people didn't have feelings or didn't express them and then in the US everything seemed so artificial because everybody was always happy, fine, and everything was fun as if there weren't negative emotions, too. Daiiiiii! But Italian is a linguage that was quasi made to express emotions, l'amore but also anger and sadness. And that's what I like and what makes me feel so nooooooooormal here. But back to the linguage.

Do you remember how you felt when you were able to read your very first book? I feel just like that. I am halfway through my first Italian book and when I went to read Nico's blog today I remembered when I was at my desk in Muenster and first went to his website the Italian was all Greek to me. But I'm getting it!!! In città I listen to other people talk and I know what they are saying to each other!! Don't laugh, you never know how much it matters unless you can't do it any more. But here I am once again at the door with the key in my hand realizing it fits and behind the door is all the beauty and magic of another culture. And I have to say this is all I wanted for Christmas this year...

giovedì 30 novembre 2006

Dicembre corre

Dunkel wars, der Mond schien helle als ein Auto langsam blitzeschnell gradeaus um die Ecke bog. Drinnen sassen stehende Leute schweigend ins Gespraech vertieft...
...
so fuehlt es sich an mitten in der Nacht in Bellinzona laufen zu gehen. Ueberall gelbe Vierecke und dunkle Farben, Wind der durch die Palmenblaetter wispert und die Silke schweigend ins Gespraech vertieft. Ich merke wie jeder Schritt eine kleine Stresspur auf der Strasse laesst so dass ich immer leichter werde und am Ende renne ich so schnell ich kann bis ich im Halbdunkeln vor der kleinen halbzerfallenen Kirche hier oben an der Ecke stehen bleibe weil da auf einmal ein Tannenbaum mit Lichtern dran aufgetaucht ist. Wie schoen das wohl aussieht wenn die Lichter naechsten Monat auch angezuendet sind!

Der Dezember ist fuer mich der Monat der tausend klitzekleinen Lichter. (Und oh wie schoen, dieses Jahr sind die Lichtlein sogar noch kleiner als sonst, hab naemlich neue Kontaktlinsen und kann jetzt was sehen!!!) Ich kriege jetzt Lust auf Zimtsterne backen und Lebkuchen essen, Kerzen anzuenden und Weihnachtslieder singen... ich will mich in meinen Schal kuscheln und meinen Atem sehen und bittebittebittebitte viele kleine weisse Flocken durch die Luft tanzen sehen. Schnee, wo bist du?

mercoledì 29 novembre 2006

La grammatica Italiana...

... mi stufaaaaaaaaa!!!! Non riesco a capire una parola piccolissima, ma cattiva: "ne". Ogni tanto è usato come una negazione ma in altre case come un pronome. Adesso abbiamo cercato di capire la differenza tra gli oggetivi "una amica" e "ne.... una". Ti faccio vedere:


soggetto ? verbo oggetto
io
ho invitato una amica
io
ne ho invitata una

Vedi com'è "invitato" una volta ma "invitata" l'altra volta?! Perchèèèèèèèè???? Ci sono anche altre casi quando il participio si aggiusta all'oggetto:


oggetto verbo
la ho vista
lo
ho visto
li ho visti

Ecco, ho capito che non è come in tedesco e sono tanti verbi che si declinano all'oggetto ma non riesco a capire quando si declinano all'oggetto e quando non fanno così... e come sempre mi stufa quando non riesco a capire qualcosa... uffa... e il povero Nico sta ancora cercando in internet cos'è "ne". Non è facile di spiegare ne'anche. Magari è un caso di questi che ti anoiano tanto quando non capisci perchè non sono come in tedesco o in inglese ma dopo ti piacciono di più perchè sono davvero differente... adesso mi piacciono gia di più questi parole in italiano che iniziano con "sb-" e "sf-"...

sabato 25 novembre 2006

Aaseekugel in Zuerich entdeckt!!!

Guardate!!! Als ich letztens in Zuerich war, habe ich diese Aaseekugel entdeckt! Wie die wohl da hingekommen ist? War die einzige!! Hab mich sofort draufgeschmissen und sie Muensterhalber umarmt und abgeknutscht...

giovedì 23 novembre 2006

Zurigo

Zwei Tage Zuerich (wusstet ihr dass dort 100,000 Menschen mehr leben als in Muenster?), ein Tag Sonne ein Tag Regen. Tram, Bus, Bahn, Geschaefte und Menschen, Menschen, Menschen... Starbucks, Tchibo, Spruengli... Am See noch schnell "die letzten Sonnenstrahlen des Jahres" getankt, von oben das gleiche Photo gemacht wie Anke und nachher mit dem Zug zurueck. Hinter dem San Gottardo endlich wieder "prossima fermata" anstatt "naechster Halt" und Schnee wie aus Eimern aber in Bellinzona leider nur Regen. Durch die nassdunkle Stadt nach Hause gestapft und trotzdem alles wieder schoen gefunden, italienische Woerter, die Haueser, die castelli. Und heute dann strahlender Sonnenschein, hab meine Hausaufgaben draussen gemacht und "die letzten Sonnestrahlen" noch schnell mitgenommen, die schneeweissen Bergspitzen bewundert, und jetzt wird es wirklich sogar ein bisschen kaelter (13 Grad heute). Vielleicht kommt der Schnee bald bis zu uns (runter, oben ist er ja schon)... in 5 Wochen kommt erstmal die Mona... freu!

Bookcrossing

"Sto guardando il sito e non credo ai miei occhi. Mi state chiedendo sul serio di abbandonare i miei libri?!"


"Hey, wait just a minute... aren't you promoting littering here, by suggesting that everyone just leave books lying around all over the place? You should be ashamed!"


I'm going to do the unspeakable and leave a book behind. In a place all by its little self. Forever. Daiiiiiiii, nicht unabsichtlich wie immer, danke...!!!

Entdeckt: Bookcrossing
Ecco, und weil das einzige Buch was ich zur Zeit besitze auf Englisch ist, hab ich beschlossen es in der SBB (stazione di Bellinzona) zu lassen. Hab das Buch in Lugano gekauft und lasse es frei in der Hoffnung bald sowieso nur noch auf Italienisch zu lesen... in Bellinzona gibt es noch 14 andere Bookcrosser, aber ich hoffe, dass es jemand findet der vorher noch nicht davon gehoert hat und dann auch mitmacht... aber bis zum Wochenende darf das Buch noch bei mir schlafen, im Warmen und Trockenen...

domenica 19 novembre 2006

Le cose fatte

- ho letto P.D. James' "The Children of Man" (così, così)
- ho visto "Una Lunga Domenica di Passioni" (anche Mathilda, bravo)
- sono andata a Teatro Nuovostudiofoce a Lugano
- ho sentito il Trio Napolincanto (bravissimi)
- ho sentito il dialetto di Napoli e capito un po'
- ho letto due mille libri a Kalkidan
- ho fatto la Kalkidan ride così tanto che mi ha fatto ridere tanto anche
- il gatto e io ci siamo addormentati in letto insieme
- ho portato un ombrellino (davvero piove)
- ho fatto la torta di zucchini
- ho spedito un email a qualcuno a Sardegna
- sono andata per un 'date' prima volta dopo il fine della storia
- ho ancora sentito un GPS parla Francese con me
- ho sentito della Mona che arriva 28 dicembre e resta qua fine 2 gennaio (brava)
- ho portato il mio stivale per lasciarlo riperare
- ho letto in Cafè Manor tutto da sola
- ho usato la parola "forse" prima volta invece di dire sempre "magari"

giovedì 16 novembre 2006

Dalla biblioteca cantonale

Oggi scrivo dalla biblioteca cantonale. Man ist eigentlich immer da zu Hause wo man eine Bibliothekskarte hat (und sie nutzt). Meine erste Buecherei in Datteln, die war ziemlich klein und haesslich aber hatte den richtigen Geruch nach Wissen und staubigen Buechern. Wenn man rein kam waren rechts immer die nassen Schirme in einem Staender. Gradeaus waren die Metallregale mit den Buechern fuer die Erwachsenen. Man musste ganz nach rechts ueber den dunklen Teppich in den naechsten Raum gehen, so eine kleine Rampe runter und da waren die Kinderbuecher. Inzwischen gibt es die Buecherei gar nicht mehr.

Dann in Muenster, die Bib der verschiedenen Institute. Hilfe, was fuer ein Chaos, jede mit einem anderem System und "Signatur" was ist das? Aber in Muenster war dann Schluss mit stundenlang vor den Regalen spazieren, nichts mehr nach Themen geordnet. Dann die ULB, riesig, stickig, keine Sessel, kein schummriges Licht, keine Zeitungen in der Ecke und schon gar kein Schirmstaender. Im Keller riesige Raeume voller Metallregale zwischen denen man irgendwie immer das Gefuehl hatte sich zu verirren. Wie oft hab ich nach D 39939 gesucht und wenn man endlich die richtige Stelle gefunden hatte, war das Buch nicht da. Geklaut oder vermisst. Dazu das ewige Gesurre von den Kopierern. Der Lesesaal schon besser nur bis heute nicht verstandem wieso man ein Buch erst ausleihen muss um es im Lesesaal anzulesen. Meine Erinnerung an die ULB, ewiges Warten auf einen Schrank, staendiges Gesuche nach 5 Mark Stuecken und spaeter 2 Euro, Kopierer die weisse oder schwarze Seiten ausspucken (je nach Laune bzw. Kaputtheitsgrad), Luft wie in einem Trockner, Geduld, die langsam reisst, Frau an der Info:

"Nein, Sie koennen dieses Buch nicht bestellen, es ist ja hier."

"Nein, es ist ja nicht hier, es ist ja ausgeliehen."

"Aber es ist ja im Bestand."

"Das nuetzt mir doch nichts wenn es erst wieder ausleihbar ist wenn ich meine Magisterarbeit schon abgegeben haben muss."

"Sie koennen es trotzdem nicht fernleihen."

"Ja, danke auch fuer die Hilfe, wofuer gibt's eigentlich eine Bib wenn man dann doch nicht an die Buecher kommt?"

Dann die Stadtbib Muenster. Beruehmt fuer ihre Architektur aber zurueck zu den guten alten nassen Schirmstaendern, raschelnden Zeitungen, hoelzerner Buchgeruch und schummriges Leselicht. Buecher nach Themen geordnet, welch Erleichterung!! Dazu im Keller Musik, im ersten Stock englische Buecher, Buecherflohmarkt und jede Menge Zeitschriften. Holztreppen, Leseplaetze von denen man aus in die Stadt sehen kann, stundenlanges Lesen fuer meine Magisterarbeit.

Und jetzt die Biblioteca Cantonale, auch beruehmt fuer ihre Achitektur aber ganz anders. Holzregale, Parkett, schwarze Sessel, schummriges Licht, klein, aber gemuetlich, und unten ein Cafè. Und ich war noch nie um halb neun abends in einer Bib. Englische Buecher, Fernleihe aus ganz Ticino, und so komme ich das erste Mal ohne Probleme in den Genuss ein Buch vor einem Kinofilm zu lesen, naemlich P.D. James "The Children of Man" Auf Englisch!! Beeindruckend! Verlaengerung im Internet, eine Stunde Internet frei. Mehr Komfort geht nicht... und unten gibt es sogar den obligatorischen nassen Schirmstaender. Obwohl, er ist fast immer trocken und leer. Aber das macht gar nichts...

How to cook a bicycle in your kitchen

I found a blog today which was titled "How to cook a bicycle in your kitchen" and liked the creativity of it. Yesterday in class we were supposed to write down the story of Pinocchio.
The Brasilian guy: "But this is about the five zucchini. Pinocchio has lost them."
All of us doubling over with laughter, "Zecchini!!!"
"Okay, so the five zucchini are gone?"
"Yes there are gone and later arrives the fairy with her, how do you say? Baguette?"
"Bacchetta?"
"A fairy with a baguette, oh my goodness...!"
"Let's write it like that, the fairy arrives with-"
"Her five zucchini-"
"And un baguette-"
"And in realità the fairy is French."
...

How fun to be laughing like that with a bunch of people from all over the world, connected by the wish to learn a language but much more connected by our humor and creativity!! And the maestra is really brava, she smiled at us and played along, perhaps knowing like good teachers do, that it is not only important to study but also to be comfortable with each other in class. After class we went out for coffee at the pizzeria nearby and the Russian student gave me a ride to the casa.

Today I went to the biblioteca cantonale. My book has arrived and I'm already halfway through "The Children of Man". I don't know if it is a sign of gross ignorance but I didn't know that P.D. James was a woman!!

lunedì 13 novembre 2006

Il vento di Bellinzona

Today we had the famous wind of Bellizona. On the phone Nico said, "It is too cold outside to take the bike." But when there's wind it's usually warm because it's Foehnwind. And, ecco, it was so warm in the sunshine I was worried of getting a sunburn!! And even though after having missed my Mom's birthday by one day (sorry for that again) I finally realized it is November because today is the 12th, the birthday of my best friend Danny, it isn't like November at all. Because for me November is all about the cold and the grey. Riding my bike through Muenster's half frozen streets, with a scarf wrapped around my face and thick gloves, the wet-cold permeating even the warmest clothes, while the sky above me presses down in that depressing dark gray for weeks on end. Arriving at my apartment my face red, my hands frozen stiff and my ears hurting and my first thought is "hot tea!" But, really, it feels like September here with golden leaves in the sunshineand the wind rattling the shutters and thus I really didn't see how late it already was... holy cow, next month there's Christmas!! What a weird thought at 26 degrees celsius in the sunshine!!

So once again we took the "last rays of sunshine" in the Piazza Collegiata and solved a Sudoko while the wind was beating all the leaves and a few plastic bags and table cloths through Bellinzona in direction of Giubiasco. They have cut almost all the branches of the trees now so that all the cities resemble the cities in France when I went there. Nico says it is to avoid the mess of the leaves but Pierre said it was for having more shade in the summer. But I found it's a typical Mediterranean thing. Later we went to the stazione and I bought a phone card with which I will call my friend Danny subito. If I remember my German, that is.

Later we went to the Valle Maggia and walked around a bit in the sunhine and climbed the rocks. "The river's beauty hides its danger"... there are signs like that in the four languages Italian, French, German and English in all the pretty places because a couple of tourists managed to get themselves killed. And then we went into Locarno and now we're back in Bellinzona and as soon as we entered the città the winds picked up again.

Yesterday we went into Varese again, a città in Italia I really like. The traffic is really crazy there but there are all these little shops and I like the atmosphere of it. We also went to the market in Ponte Tresa, which was way different from the one in Muenster. I bought a sacco of biscotti and they were buonissimiiiiiiiii!!!

domenica 12 novembre 2006

Il bene o il male?

War grade im Kino und hab "The Departed" gesehen. Ma che miseria!!! Das beste Beispiel dafuer dass beruehmte Schauspieler noch lange keinen guten Film ergeben wenn man sie multipliziert!! Kunst ist nicht soooo einfach, menno!!! Ich dachte im Ernst wir haetten bei "Jekyll and Hyde" viel Blut verbraucht aber "The Departed" toppt in der Hinsicht wirklich alles. Wer jemals alle zwei Minuten sehen wollte wie jemand zusammengeschlagen oder erschossen wurde (der Film hoert nur auf weil am Ende alle tot sind), dem kann ich den Film nur empfehlen. Kann euch jedoch empfehlen den Film in einer Fremdsprache anzusehen, am Ende beherrscht ihr wenigsten alle Schimpfwoerter mit einer Sicherheit, die euch nie mehr verloren geht. Um in der Sprache des Films fortzufahren, "The Departed" ist cazzo e va fanculo Martin Scorzese... am Ende war ich mehr als "departed" und hab mich eindeutig fuer "il male" fuer diesen Film entschieden.

Dafuer hab ich wenigstens eine Vorschau gesehen von "Children of Men" eine Verfilmung von P.D. James' Buch und den Film werde ich mir auf jeden Fall ansehen. Mir hat im Ernst die Vorschau von diesem Film besser gefallen als "The Departed." Jetzt hab ich Lust "Children of Men" vorher mal zu lesen mal sehen ob ich es bei Ebay finde.

venerdì 10 novembre 2006

Il mondo magico

Per i bambini il mondo è pieno di magia. Quando guardano un gatto sotto il sole, una foglia volante, una stella cadente, trovano un buco in un muro o un osso nel bosco, una goccia d'acqua, costruiscono un mondo nuovo e tutto è possibile in questo mondo. Ci sono dinosauri, spettri e animali che parlano, colori che gli adulti non vedono piu e rumore che nessuno altro ha mai sentito. La vita è una danza magica, un volo alto, una avventura.

Mi piace tanto essere parte dell questo mondo e vedere come vedono i "miei" bambini. Mi piace un piccolo mano nel mio mano, occhi grandi quando ho fatto qualcosa che non hanno visto o sentito primo, sentire loro sorrisi. Mi piace come la Kalkidan sorride quando ha imparato una nuova parola e come ripeta questa parola tutto il giorno per non dimenticarla. E' un tesoro per lei. Mi piace tante quando si sveglia male e io canto una canzone per lei, lei dinventa tranquilla e mi guardo con occhi che dicono mi fida di te. Mi fa sorrire il cuore quando mi da un abbracio come ha fatto oggi.

giovedì 9 novembre 2006

The Dream of Scipio

I am writing from the hole of Europe. Sounds funny but yes it's not a typo, not the whole, the hole. On the Euro coin Switzerland is a hole because it is not part of the EU. In the hole of Europe I stumbled upon a sentence in a book recently: "All because Manlius was able to take the imaginative leap to see that Roman civilization was more than Roman rule." When I think of how many times I have heard that the EU is bad because it is an imposition of rule(s) on our countries... take the imaginative leap! (It doesn't hurt!) The EU is so much more than a bag of rules... it's most of all a Union, that is, countries who have the same ideals and interests.

My imaginative leap goes like this:
When I enter Italy I now somehow feel more on home ground than I do here. The EU is not just about buraucracy and rule(s). It is also about feeling part of something bigger. Feeling that we're different but yet we have something in common. It is that same feeling I had in Muenster every time I spent time with the international students. Yes, we speak different languages (and not just three or four like here) and our cultures vary a lot but we are all EU citizens. We are neighbors, brothers and sisters, more so than before because of the EU. And we can be proud of being part of something so (culturally and otherwise) diverse and rich as the EU. And because of this my imaginative leap is also the happy ending of a Europe that was forever fighting. This union will bring us many, many years of peace because like all good things it is borne out of idealism. And with a bit of idealism, courage and imagination, we can carry it forward and make it into something great...

mercoledì 8 novembre 2006

Gli ultimi raggi di sole

Eccomi! Oggi abbiamo preso un caffè in Piazza Collegiata e abbiamo preso "gli ultimi raggi del sole" e dopo siamo andati sopra la torre del castel grande e abbiamo gettato le bucce delle castagne sui turisti... cattiviiiiiiii!!! Era un giorno freddo e chiaro. Due turisti tedeschi in Piazza al tavolo vicino a noi: "In Germania non si puo sedersi al sole in Novembre!" Hanno bevuto il loro caffè in fretta e sono andati via. Io invece ho tolto la mia giacca e ho gustato tutti i raggi finchè il sole è andato dietro a una casa. Ho anche imparato oggi cos'è "la foca di Bellinzona". E' la bella fontana acanto il teatro.

Il Nico va a Zurigo per tre giorni stasera ma ritorna prossima weekend. Provero' di trovare una Mitfahrgelegenheit a Zurigo un giorno. Anke e Nico mi hanno racconto molte cose di Zurigo e sono curiosa...

Dopo vado a scuola con la bici per imparare piu del congiuntivo... la scuola è acanto al Ticino e qualcosa è tutto sbagliato con i riscaldamenti perchè l'aula è sempre caldo come una stufa. Se non fosse cosi' caldo magari potrei imparare meglio... scherzo! La maestra è tanto brava e i altri studenti sono molto simpatici. Ci siamo una studenta della Republica Domenicana, una di Tailanda, un Francese, un Russo, alcuni Svizzera Tedesche (che parlanno sempre Tedesco, che noia... ) una studenta del Est (non ricordo quale paese) un studente che e metà Giaponese e metà Brasiliano... ecco, penso ci siamo tutti! Dopo vi racconto com'è andata...

martedì 7 novembre 2006

So ein blauer Himmel

ohne Wolken und Sonnenflecken ueberall macht wirklich gute Laune. Ich will Kastanien kaufen und auf den Turm von Castel Grande essen und bis zum Lago Maggiore sehen. Ueber den kastanienbedeckten raschelnden Waldboden laufen und mit Laub schmeissen. Oder mit Kastanienschalen vom Castel Grande auf ahnungslose Touristen werfen...

lunedì 6 novembre 2006

Same procedure as every year, Guybrush

Ok, it is November, which is pretty close to New Year's, but why in the world am I talking of "Dinner for One?" Shockingly, I have found, that not all of the world has already had a chance to enjoy Freddie Flint. So when I said, "Same procedure as every year, James" to Nico and he didn't get it I realized it is really a German thingy. Already last New Years which I spent with a bunch of Rumanians and one French guy (yes, that one), they didn't know "Dinner for One"... ma daiiiiiii! What is Silvester without "Dinner for One?"

So last night we uploaded it (enter "Dinner for One" in Google, it's the first link) and watched it November 4th, 2006. And it was just as good as always, really, although the quality wasn't great and it was only the Swiss shorter version. Having said that, yes, in the German speaking part of Switzerland they know "Dinner for One" but here, on the other side of San Gottardo, no. But if you think about it, how strange is it that an English short film has become a German tradition...?

Speaking about the good old things, "Ich zittere, ich zittere." If you don't know such names as Guybrush Threepwood, Elaine and LeChuck, you have missed out on something! Deep in the Carabean... yes, once upon a time there already were other pirates than those around Johnny Depp... Go roast a marshmallow on the beach, win the spitting contest, and drink "near-there-grog", call the Maxis Helpline which tells you to just walk off the side of your screen... and when you're done, wash your car, or go live in a foreign country, or play criquet, ... in other words, "Do something useful!"

domenica 5 novembre 2006

Wer ist eigentlich Nina?

Nina? Ich dachte das ist die Katze. Die aus dem Tierheim. Aber nein, mein Bruder hat eine neue Freundin. Und mein Papa schickt mir ein Photo "Dirk und seine Nina"... und niemand hat mich aufgeklaert dass ueberhaupt Schluss ist mit der alten Freundin. Fall vom Stuhl! Und noch dazu sieht sie, ja, irgendwie nett aus... passt zu ihm. Hab ich was verpasst? Wieso hab ich keine SMS gekriegt?

Und dann meine beste Freundin so ganz nebenbei am Telefon, "Mein kleiner Bruder ist schwanger." Waaaaaaaaaaaaas?! Aber, aber, aber, er ist doch genauso alt wie mein kleiner Bruder und der ist doch, richtig, kleeeeeeeeeein. Und kleine Brueder werden nicht so einfach schwanger, schon gar nicht vor der grossen Schwester, das geht ja gar nicht!!

Oh, was kommt wohl als naechstes? Hiiiiiilfe!! Da ist man mal 2 Monate weg und dann gleich so was... obwohl, irgendwie will ich auch... will auch grosse Neuigkeiten haben und damit Leute ueberfallen. Geht euch das eigentlich auch so, dass die anderen euch solche Sachen ganz nebenbei um die Ohren hauen? Basta, jetzt! Und wenn wer von euch ne grosse Neuigkeit hat, dann bitte mit Einleitung und ganz sanft beibringen... grazie!!