Posts Tagged ‘Calabria’

Think Christmas is over? Think again. For the children of Italy, January 6 marks the day when La Befana*, the cherished Christmas witch delivers stockings and presents to all of the good little ragazzi. In true Italian style, the legend of La Befana is filled with mystery, intrigue and drama and dates back to Jesus’ birth, when the Three Wise Men were searching for his manger.

According to the legend, The Three Wise men met La Befana as they were looking for the manger, asked her for directions, and invited her to come along. She refused their invitation because she was too busy cleaning her house.

Later that night, she saw a great light rising into the sky and decided to join the Three Wise Men in search for the infant King. She ran after them, still carrying her broom, but got lost and never made it to the manger. Somehow her broom magically began to fly, but she still could not find the Wise Men or the baby.

Each year she continues her search on the night before the Epiphany and fills stockings with candy to the good children-or coal to the bad ones- throughout the country.

And this is quite the holiday.

Photo: Trevino on Flickr

Children in Calabria adore La Befana and anticipate her arrival much in the same way as children in the US look forward to Santa. In fact, it is only the last 30 years or so that Santa increased his popularity in southern Italy and many of my older Italian friends remember the Feast of the Epiphany with the same childlike wistfulness as we remember our childhood Christmas mornings.

For more information on La Befana, you can read an article I wrote last year about the feast of La Befana or you can read about the Epiphany here.

Cherrye Moore is a freelance writer and B&B owner living in Calabria, Italy. In addition to Affordable Calling Cards, she writes about living and traveling in Calabria at her website, My Bella Vita.

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*According to The Florentine, the name “Befana” derives from the word “Epifania,” the name of the holiday that ends the 12 days of Christmas and is celebrated on January 6.

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By: Cherrye Moore

Photo: Mr. Tea on Flickr

Do you want to relocate to Italy, the land of Roman emperors, shining seas and never-ending pasta, pizza and prosciutto? Then read on. Here is a list of the best sites on the web to help would-be expats plan the move of a lifetime.

1. Expats in Italy

This website single-handedly changed my life. I moved to southern Italy with little or no advanced research on the notion that my true love would see me through. (Yes, I am that naive.)

A few months into my bella vita, I stumbled upon this website and ta daaa … I was not alone. Although I no longer frequent the site on a regular basis, the forum introduced me to many of my closest expat-in-Italy friends and blogging colleagues and for that I’ll always love them.

2. Moving2Italy2

Since September 2007, Ben and his wife, Martha have been living the dream in Monte San Savino. This site is chock-full, and when I say chock-full, I mean overflowing, with helpful links and resources for people wishing to relocate to Italy. Thinking about trying out that life in Italy before you make the plunge? Why not visit Martha and Ben at their guest house – and while you are there, pick their brains. They know a lot!

3. Blog from Italy

While Blog from Italy, written by British English teacher and Milan-based expat, Alex, isn’t tailored to future expats, he does feature apartment rentals and offer feature articles on buying an apartment in Italy. He also offers some of the most extensive news coverage in English and I often find myself “lost” on his site for hours, unwilling-or unable-to pull myself away.

4. Burnt by the Tuscan Sun

Think everything in Italy is peaches and cream-flavored gelato? If so, head over to Francesca’s blog and read up on how that marvelous Tuscan sun sometimes overheats and  leaves Italy’s inhabitants feeling, well, burned. This site offers an interesting contrast from other expat in Italy-based blogs and is a must-read for people considering a move to Italy.

5. Ms. Adventures in Italy

In addition to her award-winning photography, recipes and articles, Sara has an impressive list of other expats in Italy, listed along with their blog URL and location within the country to help you select a blogger in your preferred section of the bel paese.

This is by no means an exclusive list of sites that can help you with your move to Italy. What are your favorite sites and why?

Cherrye Moore is a freelance writer and southern Italy travel consultant living in Calabria, Italy. In addition to Affordable Calling Cards, she writes about living and traveling in Calabria at her website, My Bella Vita.

Buying gifts for expats is never an easy task, especially if that expat lives in a country, like Italy, for example, where mail is often lost, stolen or held hostage in customs. Confusion arises about what presents relatives can send, where to send them and most of all, what to buy.

While I can’t speak for every expat … not even all of those here in Italy … I can say there are a few things I never mind receiving. So, family members and friends, here are five gift ideas for expats in Italy.

Photo: Wysz on Flickr

1. Amazon Gift Cards

Or to be more exact, Amazon.UK gift cards because well, they ship to Italy. Amazon.UK has quickly become my best friend in Italy and with their wide selection of items, European plugs and English-language site, you really can’t go wrong. They even refund your money if the Magic Bullet you ordered never arrives.

What?

It was just an example!

2. Food and Toiletries

While it may be the least fancy gift on your list, most expats in Italy I know are still attached to food and toiletries from back home. If your favorite expat usually stocks up on Ziploc bags, Velveeta Cheese and Lady Mitchum deodorant (Hi, Mom!) then go ahead and fill her stocking-or a box-with her favorite goodies.

3. Books Galore!

English-language literature is expensive and hard to find, especially in southern Italy, so if your expat is a bookworm, ask her for a list of books and help her stock up. Keep in mind that paperback books are easier for you to ship and lighter for her to carry if she is traveling.

4. GCs and More GCs

If the expat on your list is traveling home for the holidays, then help them with their hometown shopping by getting them a gift certificate to their favorite clothing store. Other gift certificate ideas for home-bound expats include cards to their favorite restaurants or cafes, the movies or theater or the ever-popular Walmart.

5. Online Classes

One of my favorite-and most useful gifts-I ever received was an online writing class my mother found for my birthday. If you are shopping for an expat who loves to learn, then consider offering him a online course or even offering to pay for continuing education classes in his new town.

What other gift ideas do you think expats would like?

Cherrye Moore is a freelance writer and B&B owner living in Calabria, Italy. In addition to Affordable Calling Cards, she writes about living and traveling in Calabria at her website, My Bella Vita.

Although Italy is the home-base for one of the largest religious figures in the world, southern Italian superstitions are alive and well. These superstitions mold the lives of Calabrians, their children and their grandchildren.

Oh, and the expats who live here.

Here are three of my favorite Calabrian superstitions I’ve learned as an expat in Italy.

Photo: GetPrice.Com

1. Friday the 17th

While people throughout America mark today-Friday the 13th-as a day of bad luck and gloom (and the day Jason refused to surrender to the masses who fought to end his reign of terror), Italians think nothing of it.

But catch them on Friday the 17th … and boy is that another story.

It is even more ominous if Friday the 17th falls in November, the month of the dead. Imagine their surprise when my husband and I tied the knot on Friday, November 17-risk takers that we are …

2. Toasting

On my first visit to Calabria … oh, seven years ago I made the costly mistake of toasting my husband’s friend who was drinking water. The table gasped and people started yelling-both at Mario and at me-for clinking glasses.

“It’s bad luck,” I was later told. “Something you should never do.”

Other southern Italian superstitions regarding toasting include:

- Not reaching across someone when you toast (or shake hands)

- Always making eye contact with the person you are toasting

3. The Evil Eye

Now that just sounds scary, doesn’t it?

The Calabrian evil eye, or malocchio as they say in Italian, is one of the most feared superstitions in the region and one of the most difficult for expats to fully grasp. It is so deeply rooted in the Calabrian psyche that outsiders, like me, make innocent blunders that result in our Calabrian counterparts pointing horns (like the UT sign) or grabbing their body parts to ward off the curse.

Possible situations include:

- Telling someone their baby is beautiful

- Passing by a funeral procession

- Mentioning the word die, dead or death

If someone is jealous of another person they can think evil thoughts and put the malocchio on them. To ward this off, many southern Italians wear the symbol of hands making the horns around their neck or keep an extra set of horns in their car … just in case.

For more on southern Italian superstitions, visit Italyville, Life in Italy,WhyGo Italy or a guest post on the Calabrian malocchio written by Bleeding Espresso and posted on my site, My Bella Vita.

What unusual superstitions have you come across as an expat?

Cherrye Moore is a freelance writer and B&B owner living in Calabria, Italy. In addition to Affordable Calling Cards, she writes about living and traveling in Calabria at her website, My Bella Vita.

Expat experts say one of the worst things you can do when you move to a new country is constantly compare things from your home country to things in your new life.

And it is true. It is a recipe for despair.

Once I stopped let up on that, things got easier for me and I began understanding and appreciating the differences. That being said, there are some things I don’t think I’ll ever get used to – and here are three of them.

-  Not receiving mail
The Italian postal service is notoriously ineffective-packages are lost, misplaced or stolen on a regular basis and every expat I know has had at least one run-in with the mail system. Just over the last two months, I’ve had two packages from Amazon gone astray and a small package I sent never reach Rome. Packages are often held hostage in customs and the recipients are forced to pay a ransom to get them.

To combat this problem: I have asked people not to send me packages.

-  Walking into a doctor’s office and smelling smoke
A few years ago my hometown in Texas went smoke-free (no smoking inside buildings) and non –smokers like myself relished in our fresh air and clean lungs.

Not so much the case here in Italy.

Two days ago I went to the doctor’s office, walked under the sign that said “no smoking,” and was greeted inside by a wave of smoke.

To combat this problem: I have purchased a surgeon’s mask to wear when I am in public.

- Kids riding in the front seat – without a car seat
The first time I saw this, my mouth dropped ajar and I stared dumbfounded into the passing car. A one time thing? Oh, but no.

Children regularly ride in the front seat, oftentimes without a car seat and more than once I’ve ridden in the backseat, while a pint-size toddler took the front.

To combat this problem: I look away.

What are three things you will never get used to about your new country?

Cherrye Moore is a freelance writer and B&B owner living in Calabria, Italy. In addition to Affordable Calling Cards, she writes about living and traveling in Calabria at her website, My Bella Vita.

Photos from flickr: maxinnaberlin, marqez and Rebecca and Bernhard

Maybe you thought about studying abroad for a semester. Maybe you have already missed that boat and have wondered what it would be like to live and work in another country.

Maybe you are just bored with your current situation and are looking to inject a little je ne sais pas into your life?

Whatever it is … you might be wondering if expat life is right for you.

While it is different for each of us and the situations that motivate our international moves vary, the most satisfied expats share some characteristics and qualities that make it easier to adjust to life abroad.

I’ve spent more than four years as an expat in both Italy and France and I’ve noticed that above all, there are three things expats just don’t do.

Think you can cut it?

Read on.

Photo: TreyGuinn

Successful (read: happy) expats don’t …

- Mind being broke
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the international company of your dreams called you up and offered you a six-figure salary , but only if you’d agree to set up house in your favorite international country?

Sure, it would …

But in reality, that doesn’t really happen.

Many expats choose to live in another country, even though they know they’d make more money back “home.” They have given up years of hard work, connections and networking to live the life many people dream of living.

- Focus on material things
This may have more to do with the aforementioned trait than anything else, but the happiest expats I know don’t hyper-focus on stuff. We know that no matter how much we might love our old dresser back home, it just isn’t gonna make the move with us.

We understand that things are replaceable. People and experiences are not.

- Ever stop dreaming
Although non-expats think living in another country is a dream, real expats know the dream has just begun. We are always looking to the future and thinking about new, exciting projects and wondering what else our new countries have in store for us.

We aren’t content just living the dream. We want to make the most of that dream.

There are also some things I’ve noticed happy expats DO. Be sure to check on My Bella Vita next week for Part II of Is Expat Life Right For You?

Cherrye Moore is an American freelance writer living in southern Italy. In addition to AffordableCallingCards.net, she writes about living and traveling in Calabria on her site, My Bella Vita. Comments and messages are welcome on both sites.

Photo: Gari Baldi

For many people living in Italy is a dream. Heck, even those of us in Italy can appreciate her romance. But sometimes here in the bel paese we expats get stumped and confused and amazed at the differences. While there are, no doubt, more than these, here are the three biggest differences I’ve noticed between my two favorite countries.

1. A Name … is a Name … is a Name

Did you know that women in Italy don’t change their names when they get married?

Well, they don’t. In fact, it isn’t even an option.

That is where the feminist in me gets all riled up. If my husband and I lived in America, I might or might not have changed my name. However, I rebel against the fact that I don’t have that option and that Italy doesn’t give me the choice of whether I will share a last name with my children.

I just don’t wanna be left out … that is all.

2. Leaving With the One Who Brought You

Recently I have noticed how decidedly Calabrian it is to stick with the group you came with. In Italy-like in America- it is common for friends or couples to meet up for dinner or drinks.

The difference is that in Calabria, once you are with them – you are with them the whole night. Breaking away from the group or leaving early-even if you are tired, don’t feel well or have to work the next morning-is seen as insulting. In America, it is actually pretty normal for people to break away from the group at different times throughout the night, for various reasons, without offending the group.

3. It’s My Place, I’ll Pay

And this might have something to do with that.

In America, it is expected that when you go out for ice cream or coffee everyone will pick up his own tab … not so here in the bel paese. Apparently there is an unwritten code here in Calabria that if you take someone to “your” local bar, you are expected to pay.

If I had a quarter for every time someone told me, “You can pay for mine when I visit America,” well … I’d have enough to buy my own coffee.

But things aren’t always different … in fact, the longer I’m in Calabria, the more I realize that some things never change. Be sure to join me next week for the follow up to this post and to check out all the ways Texans are like Calabrians.

What about you? What are the biggest differences you’ve noticed between your new country and your home?

Cherrye Moore is an American freelance writer living in southern Italy. In addition to AffordableCallingCards.net, she writes about living and traveling in Calabria on her site, My Bella Vita. Comments and messages are welcome on both sites.

[ACC admin:] If you need to call Italy or make call from Italy, perhaps you might like to check out our calling cards for Italy?

It has been more than three years since I bid farewell to my native Texas and headed across the pond-an independent young expat, ready to tackle Italy and the pasta-eating tribe of inhabitants that awaited me there. I was confident, in a clueless sort of way, that things would fall into place for me and that I’d quickly-and easily-adjust to my Calabrese life.

I look back on that hopeful naivety now with a smile and with the reassuring thought that had I known how quickly I’d lose my beloved independence … my journey might have been different.

Photo by: My Bella Vita

I remember with a kind of shocking absurdity the pride I felt that first time I ventured out alone, senza future husband. I walked down the walled-river path to the local supermercato in search of those must-have female items … Q-tips, hairspray, volumizing shampoo.

“No problem,” I thought as I entered the store and grinned at the salesperson who greeted me. “Piece of cake!”

Then I spent the next 30 minutes scrounging the store in search of afore-mentioned Q-tips, because, as I remembered about four aisles in, I didn’t know how to ask for them in Italian.

Those vulnerable feelings stayed with me through much of the following year, when my husband had to take a mini-course in hairstyling so he could tell my new hairdresser I wanted bangs and a right-side part … when he gave out his number to potential English students and agreed to make my appointments for me … when I couldn’t go to the doctor alone.

And let’s not get started on driving. And road signs. And parking.

I was plagued with the self-consciousness that accompanies losing your independence, yet it happened so gradually I hadn’t realized it. Then, one day I woke up. I didn’t feel anxious about driving to the store. I walked into the centro commerciale and was hit with a wave of something that was eerily familiar.

I couldn’t place it.

What was this feeling?

As I entered the supermercato and headed straight to aisle #8, I realized what it was.

Comfort.

Peace.

Independence.

I took a deep breath and laughed at the drama I’d once faced at buying a package of Q-tips.

“Eccolo,” I told the lady as I checked out.

“Solo i bastoncini cotonati …”

“Just the Q-tips!”

Have you had an “I’ve arrived” moment like this? What happened? Please share.

Cherrye Moore is an American freelance writer in southern Italy. In addition to AffordableCallingCards.net, she writes about living and traveling in Calabria on her site, My Bella Vita. Comments and messages are welcome on both sites.

Ed: Why not make your next calls to Italy cheap?

“Oh, I’m not worried about you,” my friend, Angela, told me as she helped carry the last few boxes to my car. “You can make friends anywhere.”

“I guess,” I shrugged, not as confident in my friend-making abilities as she was.

“The Italians will love you,” she promised.

And that promise carried me to Calabria.

I arrived with the expectations that I would, indeed, meet people and expand my network of Calabria-based contacts beyond my soon-to-be-husband and his circle of friends. However, the battle was uphill.

The funny thing about Calabria is that most people leave her rugged beauty and savage shorelines … not the other way around. For that reason, Calabrians don’t really know how-or want to-accept new people. Don’t get me wrong, my big move was welcomed by husband’s extended family and I’ve never felt uncomfortable in their homes. But I’m talking about going past the pleasantries, past the generous lunches and homemade jugs of wine … to true friendship.

The truth of the matter is that, in general, southern Italian women don’t have friends, at least not in the same sense as American women do. Back home, my friends and I have lunch together, go shopping, meet for happy hour. Calabrian women go shopping with their mothers or sisters, and only recently have I seen a group of women dining together without their husbands.

Are times changing?

Well, they are for me.

As my optimistic friend predicted, I did make friends in Italy. While the expat community isn’t exactly booming in Calabria, those of us here have connected and bonded over our communal experiences.

I’ve found cherished friends through the blogosphere who I rely on for daily doses of inspiration.

And I have my husband’s circle-those friends I mentally resisted in the beginning, while I was in search of my own identity, my own group, my own friends. I realized when they’d call me before a trip, check in on me when I was away, quote my latest blog entry or place an international phone call-when they knew no one on the other end would speak their language-that I had arrived.

That I had, indeed, made friends in Italy.

Was it easy for you to meet people and make friends in your new country? How do you think your relationships in your new country are different from those in your home country?

Cherrye Moore is an American freelance writer in southern Italy. In addition to AffordableCallingCards.net, she writes about living and traveling in Calabria on her site, My Bella Vita. Comments and messages are welcome on both sites.

Photo: Le Champion du Monde via Flickr.

For all accounts and purposes, I’ve spent the last six weeks as a homeless person. I left the comfort of my Calabrese casa and headed across the ocean to crash on my mother’s couch, live out of a suitcase and accept the charity home-cooked meals of my doting grandmother, aunts and cousins.

While visiting America isn’t out of my ordinary expat life routine-I travel between Texas and Calabria several times a year-this trip was different. If you have followed my personal site, My Bella Vita, you might remember that my family experienced a mind-boggling tragedy when we lost my father earlier this year.

Since then, it has been, understandably many people say, increasingly difficult to be so far from home. I compare any upset in Italy, no matter how trivial it may seem, to America and assure my ever-patient husband that “things don’t happen like this back home.”

But sometimes I am wrong.

Yes, sometimes, even when I am in Texas, I see reckless drivers, unreliable websites and (gasp!) poor customer service. All things I’m accustomed to as an expat in southern Italy, but oftentimes don’t think exist in my home country.

You see, after you have been an expat for awhile, the glitter of your adopted country fades and you are left with the sometimes bitter taste of that country’s core. This had happened to me.

I had grown somewhat disenchanted and it took a six-week hiatus to set me straight. In part one of this four-part series on adjusting to life as an expat in Italy, I wrote about missing home. But what happens when those “home” lines get blurred and you feel nostalgic for your adopted country? So let’s flip it. Here are the top three things I miss about Italy when I am in America.

1. Soup’s On!

Nothing is better for my blood sugar-or my waistline-than eating meals at the same time every day. We do that here in Italy. In fact, our lunch time rarely varies more than 15 minutes from day to day, while dinner is consistently cooked within 30 minutes. As a creature of habit, I crave this kind of routine-a routine rarely-if ever-I follow back home.

2. Pasta, Please

I realize this is in direct contradiction to the variety I requested in Part One of this series, but trust me, folks … all pasta is not created equally. I miss our authentic Italian pasta when I am in Texas-and don’t get me started on the wine. When I am in America, I miss the five-liter bottle of table wine my father-in-law buys us for €6 and I miss sharing it with my wine-loving buddies in bella Calabria.

3. Walk it Off

One of my all-time favorite Italian customs is the afternoon passeggiata-the day-ending stroll where neighbors meet, walk arm in arm and catch up on each others’ day. Besides the fact that the 100+ degree temps and 99% humidity in southeast Texas prevent an afternoon stroll, Law & Order marathons and Wii tournaments would likely win anyway. It’s not that I don’t love you, Jack McCoy … I just miss the passeggiata, too.

Be sure to visit My Bella Vita next week for Part III and Part IV of Adjusting to Life as an Expat in Italy.

So, what do you most miss from your adopted country when you are away? What would you miss if you moved back to your home country?

Cherrye Moore is an American freelance writer in southern Italy. In addition to AffordableCallingCards.net, she writes about living and traveling in Calabria on her site, My Bella Vita. Comments and messages are welcome on both sites.