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Is English Difficult for Italians? Posted by Serena on May 2, 2019
“Italian is sooo complicated!” you say? So does that mean that English is easy for Italians? ASSOLUTAMENTE NO! Let’s find out why … The Italian language is very phonetic, and we learn from an early age how these simple rules of spelling work. Once you’ve learned them you have a pretty good idea how to…
L’Incontro – Part 2 Posted by Serena on Apr 18, 2019
In part 1, I described the events which set the stage for my parents’ romantic meeting in Benghazi, Libya. Here’s how it happened … Come abbiamo detto, intorno al 1957 zio Bill si trovava a Bengasi come soldato dell’esercito britannico di stanza in Libia, che era diventata dominio britannico. Con lui c’erano la moglie Vicky…
L’Incontro – Part 1 Posted by Serena on Apr 10, 2019
Every now and then, people ask me how come I was born and grew up in Benghazi, Libya. So I’ve decided to write a brief story explaining all. N.B. Today I’m going to write in Italian, my mother tongue. By the end of the week Geoff will publish an English version which should answer any…
Mi Piace Il Verbo Sentire Posted by Serena on Apr 4, 2019
Today, I’m dedicating a poem by Alda Merini (1931-2009) to my dear husband Geoff, who sometimes complains that the verb sentire (to feel) is used for too many different actions: to hear, to smell, to taste, and to feel. In reality, we do actually have specific nouns and verbs to describe i cinque sensi (the…
A Bucket Of Paint! Posted by Serena on Mar 26, 2019
La mamma ed io stiamo guardando delle vecchie foto che ci riportano indietro a dei bei ricordi. Mum and I are looking at some old photos that bring back some nice memories. Fra le tante, ci sono un paio di foto di papà nel suo negozio di macchine da scrivere Olivetti a Bengasi. Amongst the…
In Their Own Words Posted by Serena on Mar 21, 2019
As the title suggests, today’s post is not ‘ours’ as such, but has been written by a small selection of the 9 and 10 year old children who worked alongside us in our printing workshop at a local scuola elementare. N.B. Only two of the thirteen children in this class were boys, hence the male…
My Colombina Posted by Serena on Feb 28, 2019
Today is the beginning of the last week of Carnevale (Carnival), which is known as settimana grassa (literally: fat week). This reminds me of my first encounter with traditional Italian Carnival characters. At that time I was attending la seconda elementare (the second year of primary school) at the Italian school in Benghazi (Libya), where…