Archive for 2010

With all the diversity around, Indians celebrate virtually throughout the year. Every community, state, religion has its own festival .While most of them are steeped in myths and legends to appease deities and demons, some of them celebrate the onset of a new season, while others celebrate relationships ,including that between siblings .And most festivals have just one thing in common – great food .

As I write this post, the entire state of Kerala is celebrating Onam . A festival which is rather exclusive to Malayalis, the community that speaks the language Malayalam, Onam welcomes the legendary king Mahabali who is supposedly visiting his subjects on earth. Although a great ruler, Mahabali had one flaw – his ego, which he finally surrendered to the Lord Vishnu. Mahabali however was allowed to visit his kingdom once a year and all of Kerala are ready for him.

Decorated with flowers and lamps, every Malayali’s house is brightly lit and there are celebrations galore. Onam is usually celebrated for over ten days in a very traditional manner and each day has its own significance . There is a grand parade in the state with elephants accompanied by music and dance. The grand snake boat race is also held during the period.

Its a great time to visit Kerala , when the festivities are at a peak and there is so much of vibrance and colour all around.

This post is written by Indian backpacker for AffordableCallingCards.net, which offers different long distance calling cards, such as international calling cards for India

Searching for yourself can be tough

By Chantal Panozzo

Moving abroad can be difficult. Suddenly you’re far away from friends and family and the ways of life that you knew best. It can be isolating. It can be confusing. And if you’re a trailing spouse who has given up your job so your spouse can advance his, it can feel like you’ve lost your identity.

So how do you gain that identity back?

By focusing on what you love. By giving yourself goals to accomplish. By becoming that hidden person you always wanted to be.

For me, this meant focusing on my writing. Giving myself goals so that I would write a book while also getting to know fellow writers. Writing a blog also helped me accomplish this. So has founding a group and event.

Part of my work as a writer abroad meant co-founding a writing workshop. It’s called the  Zurich Writers Workshop and the first event will be held October 1-3, 2010. It will feature workshops in both fiction and creative non-fiction writing. The instructors will include New York Times Bestselling Author Susan Jane Gilman and University of Oxford Fiction Tutor Amal Chatterjee. You’re invited.

Other expats I know have found their place by taking art or language classes, creating greeting cards and selling them at local markets, or taking leadership roles in already established clubs like the American Women’s Club of Zurich. I know expats who have also learned to play the alphorn and made Swiss friends in the process, found part-time jobs volunteering, and others who focus on entering sporting events like triathlons and bike races. And then of course, there’s always the option of looking for a job that will allow you to continue the career you had before. Just remember to have patience. No matter what you focus on, developing a new identity takes time.

Have you found your identity in your adopted country? If so, what was key for you?

Chantal Panozzo is a writer in Switzerland who has written for a variety of publications on two continents. She’s the author of One Big Yodel, a blog about life in Switzerland and moving abroad, and also discusses living abroad as a freelancer at Writer Abroad.

By: Cherrye Moore

I was visiting good friends last summer in Texas-we were sitting at one of our favorite Mexican cantinas, sipping on frozen lime margaritas, talking about the good ‘ole days and catching up on the last few years.

“I just love Italy,” one of my peppy ex-Sorority sisters gushed. “I could soooo see myself living there.”

I smiled as she gazed dreamily out the window, no doubt imagining herself strolling to the weekly market each Monday, sipping on stout Italian wine in the evenings, spending her days-riding on a Gondola or dining outside the Colosseum. She exhaled, “It’s just such a beautiful country.”

Not wanting to burst her idealized bubble of the life I’m leading, I politely agreed-because it is true, Italy is a beautiful country-and kept quiet. But secretly I wondered … could she really live here?

As my southern Italian counterpart pointed out last week, you can’t uproot your life back home and replant that baby here in Italy. It is a whole new country world and while we love it here, we’ve definitely learned to live without some of the luxuries of our American lifestyles.

Here are three things I’ve learned to love less here in Calabria.

1. Variety

You often hear people say, “Italians love food,” when in fact, what they mean is, “Italians love Italian food.” Especially here in Calabria, diversity, restaurant variety-heck, even a foreign food shelf-are had to come by. I’ve learned to live with this by importing my must-haves, like Velveeta cheese and Starbuck’s vanilla syrup, kicking up my personal non-Italian food recipe list and creating variety in the Italian food we eat and love.

2. Instant Access

One of the hardest things for me to get used to-if one could say I’ve gotten used to it-is learning to live without the instant access we are accustomed to in the US. There are no 24-hour pharmacies-actually, even finding an open pharmacy on Saturday or Sunday is a challenge, customer service calls regularly go un-answered-even during “working” hours and paperwork can take years to get approved.

Still, I believe I can learn something from these would-be frustrating experiences-and that, my friends, is patience. Italy has taught me patience in a way I never could have learned in the United States … and for that, I’m thankful.

3. The Latest Greatest

No doubt if I lived in the US, I’d be on the i(insert latest gadget here) bandwagon. Being in southern Italy, far from the peer pressure that comes with having an office job and well-paid friends, I’m sheltered, in a way, from needing to have the latest, greatest gadget. Many expats in Italy have other priorities and luckily, keeping up with Rossis, isn’t one of them.

Tina and I have weighed in-now it is your turn. What have you learned to live without in your expat adventures?

Cherrye Moore is an American freelance writer and Calabria tour consultant living in southern Italy. You can read more about living and traveling in Calabria at her site, My Bella Vita or visit her in person at her B&B in Catanzaro, Italy.

Photos: CarbonNYC and Ivyfield via Flickr

by Tina Ferrari

image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalmediamuseum/

On a recent trip to Palermo, followed by a visit to Naples, I had the opportunity to experience just about every kind of public transportation option that Italy has to offer.

It all started with a two-hour train ride (8 Euros) to Bari, where I would then catch a bus to the airport.  The national railway network is Trenitalia, and they have regional and express lines that go just about everywhere.  In my case, it was a regional train.  Upon leaving the train station in Bari, I walked to the tobacco kiosk to buy my bus ticket (80 cents) to the airport.  Having done this before, I knew to be aggressive when the bus came and make sure I had a seat on the bus.

To get to Sicily, I flew from Bari to Trapani, which is about an hour or so from Palermo.  It was a Ryanair flight that cost me next to nothing  (11 Euros plus taxes, coming to 18 Euros), the catch being that there are no assigned seats (so you have to fight for a good one) and then you have to listen to several sales pitches for perfumes and lottery tickets.  The flight was one hour and passed by very quickly.  And of course, this being Italy, the people onboard applauded when the plane landed.

To get from Trapani to Palermo, where I would be staying for a few days, I used the shuttle bus service known as Terravision.  For 12 Euros I had a seat on a nice, air conditioned bus, and was let off in a nice area in downtown Palermo.  From there I walked to my bed and breakfast because I had already gotten to know Palermo a bit previously.

I had some time scheduled in Naples, where I was meeting a friend.  Since Sicily is an island, the obvious solution was to take a boat. (Though you can take the train, which sits on a barge for the aquatic part of the trip).  The company I used was Tirrenia, and I opted for a night boat so that I could sleep, as it’s an eight-hour trip.  I reserved a bed in a women’s cabin (though you can also reserve your own cabin) and was pleased to find out that the boat had a restaurant as well as a self-service cafe and a lounge with a full bar. Not bad!  The total price for the boat trip was about 70 Euros and it was well worth it, as when I woke up and looked out the cabin window, I saw Naples in all its splendor, lit up by the golden morning sun.

This is something I really like about living in Europe: the public transportation is so varied and available that you can go anywhere you want for a reasonable price.

Tina Ferrari is a tango dancer, translator and writer currently based in Lecce, Italy. She writes at AffordableCallingCards.net as well as on her own blog, Tina Tangos. Comments are always welcome!

By: Cherrye Moore

Last week I wrote a post at my site, My Bella Vita, that was a spin-off of a post written here at ACC by my fellow expat-in-southern-Italy and travel blogging friend, Tina of Tina Tangos. My post, A Few Things to Love About Southern Italy caused quite a stir when it was posted on Facebook because, gosh darn it-three things to love just ain’t enough.

… or so they said.

Still, it is important to note that there are more than munchies in Italy’s Mezzogiorno. With that in mind, here are three southern Italy traditions I’ve grown to love!

1. Eating on Schedule

Yes, I said there are more than munchies, but that doesn’t mean food isn’t an integral part of our lives. Here in Calabria, we live (and die?) by our mealtime schedule. We have breakfast, lunch and dinner more or less at the same time every day-a routine I mourn for when stateside meals have me dashing through a Chic-Fil-A or filling up on frappuccinos.

Why is this important? I eat less and feel more satisfied here in Italy than I do when I’m in the states.

2. Walking is Expected

My husband was shocked the first time he visited me in Texas and noticed that I drove around a parking lot three times looking for a suitable spot.

“You just passed a row of empty places,” he told me.

“Yea,” I told him, oblivious to his intention. “But they are so far.”

“Cherrye,” he told me. “We are young … it’s not raining … we can walk.”

It seems obvious now, but willingness to walk is a cultural thing-one I’m glad I picked up on and have adapted into my life … even back home.

Just last Christmas, my mom, husband and I were rushing to finish our lists. We told Mom to drop us off on the street-because we could each walk where we needed to go quicker than we could battle pre-Christmas Eve traffic. She did. And yes, people looked at us strangely, but I’d gone to two stores and my husband had shopped in one in the same amount of time it took my mom to get through traffic and find a parking spot.

Why is this important? In addition to the obvious health benefits of walking , I feel stronger and have more energy when I walk often.

3. Finish up with Fruit

Ok, so maybe it *is* all about the food, but I love that we finish off every lunch and dinner with a serving of fresh fruit. Often this fruit is from our garden-oranges and mandarins in winter months, plums and figs in the summer, but sometimes we supplement with watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches, strawberries and cherries. Delizioso!

Why is this important? I’ve found eating fruit after each meal helps me stay full longer and since I’m on a schedule, it ensures I get enough fresh fruit each day.

Wbat are some of your favorite traditions, food-related or not, in your new country?

Cherrye Moore is an American freelance writer and Calabria tour consultant living in southern Italy. You can read more about living and traveling in Calabria at her site, My Bella Vita or visit her in person at her B&B in Catanzaro, Italy.

Photo: flickr, by PhotoLab XL

Forget about Zurich. Take the train here.

By Chantal Panozzo

Ah, the great Swiss cities. High standards of living. Clean streets. Safe for children. In the 2010 Mercer Quality of Living survey, three Swiss cities made the top 10.  And I’ve got three words for that: Blah. Blah. Blah.

Yes, this is all true. Yes, Switzerland is wonderful. But we’ve heard it all before and all of these facts about perfection are starting to bore me.

It’s time to have fun. Fun in Switzerland? Yes. It is possible. So in this post we will not be talking Zurich, Geneva, or Bern. We will be talking about Bitsch. And Bubikon. And Locarno FART. These are all proper Swiss cities. Cities so great, they make you get out your camera before you even leave the train station.

And there’s more: Buttikon. Wankdorf. Weggis. Wow. You have to admit, we expats in Switzerland live in a great country.

My little Swiss town even celebrates a thing called Badenfahrt where you can buy a shirt that says “Baden” on the front and “Fahrt” on the back. Yes. They wear them proudly. And no, I am not above bathroom humor.

But it makes me wonder—what English words do German and French speakers find hilarious? One of my Swiss friends likes the word “saliva.” He thinks it sounds like the name of a transvestite. Another Swiss friend cringes at the word “pickle” because it sounds like the German word for “pimple.”

Oh, and to sum it all up, I have had multiple opportunities to shop at Anis in Wunderland in Zurich, but if you live far away, never fear, you can just visit their website: www.anismodel.ch. Oh, and I live on the Badstrasse. Which, in German, is quite pleasant, but auf Englisch, it is probably not such a good thing.

What’s your favorite Swiss city?

Photo courtesy of Hiltl

By Kristi Remick

OK, beating  a dead horse alert – Zurich is expensive.  Not only is it expensive, it isn’t known for being a food mecca and for a wannabe foodie like myself, it was one of the things that really unnerved me when we decided to move here.  I love to eat out and I even have a few rules:

A. It must taste and look good

B. The product must justify the cost

C. The service should be good as it is part of the experience

D. I must feel the need to rub my belly vigorously afterwards and/or be so in love with my dish that I talk to it like it is a newborn child…and not just any newborn child, MY newborn child

I have come to find out that my rules and eating out criteria are a bit too stringent for Zurich.  The food here doesn’t always taste and look good, the product very rarely justifies the cost, the service is typically short of mediocre and I as I indicated in a post on my site recently, my stomach has atrophied due to lack of use (it is a muscle you know).  Let’s be fair though, even though Zurich doesn’t have the plethora of good, cheap eats that I once took for granted in Atlanta, it does have good eats for all budgets…ahem, Swiss Budgets that is.

$ (5- 15 francs per person) Vorderer Sternen Grill – In my opinion the BEST veal sausage stand in Zurich and many will agree with me.  You will never find this place void of a line and for around 15 francs you can get a St. Galler Bratwurst, pommes frites and an ice cold tall boy beer. You can dine here or take your sausage across the street and dine on the lake.

$$ (15-50 francs per person) Hiltl – If there is a Zurich food institution, it is Hiltl.  Founded in 1898, it is Zurich’s oldest vegetarian restaurant. Since Zurich cuisine is heavily German influenced, the fact that a vegetarian restaurant has survived over 100 years in the land of sausage, cheese and potatoes is in and of itself a miracle. Boasting the most amazing buffet I have ever encountered and great a la carte selections, Hiltl is my “go to” place for a solid, healthy meal here in Zurich.  The food here is heavily influenced by a variety of Asian cuisines and even has some Swiss classics like the vegetarian form of Zuricher Art.

$$$ (50-120 francs per person) Restaurant Kreis 6 – The city of Zurich is divided into districts or neighborhoods called “Kreis” and this little restaurant, set in a small house where its walls are covered by modern art,  is cleverly named after its location.  I was unable to find their website but this restaurant came highly recommended to my husband and I for a romantic dinner location.  While the service was a bit rocky at first, the food and ambiance quickly made up for the few hiccups which were quickly rectified.  Be careful though, if you get an appetizer, main, dessert and wine, then you will easily ring up a bill of 120 francs (or more) per person.

$$$$ (Anything over 120 francs per person) Restaurant Mesa – This one star Michelin rated restaurant is worth the splurge.  The food was artistically presented, balanced and delicious.  The service was impeccable and I left with my pants unbuttoned.  If we can one day afford it again, we would happily go back.

I haven’t scratched the surface of what Zurich has to offer food wise because after being let down over and over again, I stick to what I know tastes good for the money I am willing to spend.  I need to get over this fear though and rely on recommendations from trusted sources. Anyone out there have a favorite restaurant in Zurich?  If so, help a wannabe foodie and her readers out?

When I am not busy stuffing my face with chocolate, you can find me over at From A to Z blogging about my life in Zurich Switzerland.

by Tina Ferrari

I get into discussions with people in the US, once in a while, that surround the quality of life here in Italy.  It’s a topic I love delving into, as everyone always has a different opinion.  One recent discussion got me thinking about the things that I have learned to live without on my expat adventures.

A car. Being the nomad I am, a car would be pretty useless to me.  I stopped driving 10 years ago and I haven’t looked back since.  All the money I would have spent on insurance and car repairs, I instead spent on plane ticket and life experiences in new cultures.  While sometimes it is a pain to go without a car in Italy, I still live well – I live where I can walk almost everywhere, there is public transportation and I have recently discovered two local services, SalentoinBus and the Ferrovie del Sud Est, which are a bus and train service, respectively, and they go all over my dear little Salento.  In Buenos Aires it would have been crazy to have a car. With their amazing and reliable bus system, plus the subway (Subte) system, I got everywhere I needed to go with no problems.

A dryer. I know very few people in Italy who have a clothes dryer.  We all hang our clothes up to dry on a clothes line or a laundry rack, and when it’s sunny, things dry pretty quickly.  (In the winter this is no fun and it takes forever).  I think it has something to do with the voltage here, though I’m not sure.  But no dryers.  This was easy for me to get used to since I’m so picky about how my clothes are handled and never use a dryer anyway, but towels and sheets can be a bit of a nightmare.  Nonetheless, it’s really not that big of a deal.  I know people who say ‘I would never live where I can’t have a dryer’, and I say, is it really THAT important?  I ask myself, has my psychological or physical health worsened without a clothes dryer?  No.  Okay, then.

A giant salary. Ok, it would be great to make a  large salary and if one comes along I will definitely consider it, but all in all, I’m happy with how I live.  After having been through a crisis of sorts, my priorities have changed a lot in terms of money and now that I am making enough to live on again without freaking out, I feel pretty relaxed.  The average Italian salary is pretty low, regardless of what you do, and it’s important to consider that if you are looking to live here.  I personally do fine.  I am grateful that I can pay the rent, feed myself, and take tiny little trips around southern Italy.  I like to think that I live extremely well.  I don’t need extra gadgets or new clothes all the time.  Living with this kind of salary teaches you to look at things in a different way, and to save creatively.

What are the things you have learned to live without in your new home?

Tina Ferrari is a tango dancer, translator and writer currently based in Lecce, Italy.  She writes at AffordableCallingCards.net as well as on her own blog, Tina Tangos. Comments are always welcome!

By: Cherrye Moore

I’ve written a bit, both here at ACC and at my website, My Bella Vita about my summer adventures with my nine year old nephew and my friend’s 14 year old son. While I expected them to fall in love with the “hot Italian chics”-their words, not mine, a few of their favorite things about southern Italy took me by surprise.

Here are the top three things (these) kids loved about southern Italy.

1. Calzones

Maybe it should have been obvious, but I was seriously shocked by how much my nephew loved fried calzones.

Just last night, he asked for a repeat dinner-of the previous night’s calzones-gobbled the goods before we drove the one kilometer home, and asked us to go back for seconds.

Luckily for us here in Catanzaro, there is a great little pizzeria that sells these babies, fresh from the grease, for just €1.00 each, so he can have an “all you can eat” without breaking the bank.

2. Castles

It is important to know that southern Italy’s castles are not like the fairy tale castles of England, Germany or France.

Oh no, these castles have suffered invasions, attacks, earthquakes and years of abandonment, so oftentimes you are left with a shell of the castle’s former glory.

So, I was surprised by how much the boys enjoyed them. The castle they most enjoyed (seen above) is Murat Castle, located just off of the main piazza in Pizzo, Calabria. I’m not sure if it is the castle’s imposing presence on the Tyrrhenian, the mock soldiers inside or the idea of tough men fighting tougher wars, but they loved it.

3. Beaches

Ok, so I really kinda figured the boys would love the beaches, but I was still surprised at just. how. much.

Seriously, they couldn’t get enough of the creamy tan sand, frothy waves and blue-green waters of Calabria’s coastline.

In fact, they couldn’t settle on just one beach and instead urged me to take them on day trips so they could check out the beaches in other cities around the area. Their favorite-if not for the warm Tyrrhenian waters, then for the topless sunbather-was the beach (pictured above) just beneath the Murat Castle in Pizzo.

Cherrye Moore is an American freelance writer and Calabria tour consultant living in southern Italy. You can read more about her adventures in Calabria at her site, My Bella Vita or visit her in person at her B&B in Catanzaro.

Photos: iskcon.net, Cherrye at My Bella Vita

By Chantal Panozzo

Save money in Switzerland. Really.

Chinese food, $25. 1-hour train ride, $60. Night in a Swiss hotel, $200. How the heck can someone travel on a budget in Switzerland?

After all, Switzerland recently was reported as having the highest hotel rates in Europe. It’s tough to find anything under $200 a night, let alone $150. Even on the Swiss Budget Hotels website, “budget” is considered the prices I quoted above. Yes.

So what’s a traveler to do?

Travel like a European. By staying longer, you’ll save more.

What?

Yes.

The key to making a vacation affordable in Switzerland is to rent an apartment.  But since most apartments are only available for a minimum of seven nights, you need to stop vacationing like an American with your head cut off and start vacationing like a lazy European that doesn’t have anywhere to be except in a chair enjoying the scenery. And staying seven nights in an apartment will be cheaper than a long weekend at a hotel. Guaranteed. Staying a week will also guarantee you at least a few days of decent weather too.

In the resort town of Bettmeralp near the Aletsch glacier, an apartment can be found for 2 people for around CHF 500 total for 7-nights. An apartment also means you’ll have a kitchen so you can cook your own food and forgo the restaurants where a “good deal” for a meal for two is CHF 60. Some apartments are also available with free Internet, which means no fees at Internet cafés, and many also have washing facilities so you can vacation longer but pack lighter.

Another hint: don’t pay full price for your train/lift tickets. Find deals through local tourism offices, Rail Away offers, and if you live in Switzerland, make sure you at least have the ½ price card.

How do you save money when traveling in Switzerland?

Chantal Panozzo is a writer in Switzerland. She’s the author of One Big Yodel, a blog about life in Switzerland and moving abroad, and also discusses living abroad as a freelancer at Writer Abroad. She’s also the co-founder of the Zurich Writers Workshop.