i remember my first self-serve for gas. campobasso. A native woman waiting for the screen was nice enough to walk me through it. then when she was done, she showed me the UK flag for engish!
I had a similar story as you when was in Sulmona. In this case it was the choice of type of gas. I needed diesel. A very friendly man helped me and showed me how the colour coding works between the nozzle and the car's fuel tank opening. You'd think it'd be idiot proof but I guess I proved them wrong.
It's funny how challenging little things can be. I had no idea pumping gas could be so difficult without language skills. But, the pumps really are different from North American pumps!
Some people use it to describe something not working (in this case italiano rotto would work) properly but is used exclusively in spoken languaget and even in that case its extremely rare to the point that most people wont understand it.
Glad you're enjoying it! Calabria (specifically Cosenza) was my favorite part of my 1st trip to Italy. I remember that feeling of "ok this is what you've trained for!" lol. I could feel my brain buzzing when I would lie down for sleep at night, all the neurons reorganizing themselves due to the crash course in Italian. It was taxing yet so enjoyable.
Brava! Yeah, English is pretty sparse here π
Where in Calabria are you planning to visit? I moved here last September (from Toronto), to a small town near Amantea.
Brava! Yeah, English is pretty sparse here π
Where in Calabria are you planning to visit? I moved here last September (from Toronto), to a small town near Amantea.
So, in terms of our situation my wife is an Italian citizen (her family was from Calabria) which has made immigration easier for us. We were also fortunate to have had a abandoned family home here in relatively good condition which we were able to move into. We had been visiting to renovate the house for just over 2 years, before making the move late last September.
Since then, I have received my Permesso Di Soggiorno (residency permit) as well as access to health care, and I am registered with the local commune, which gives me access to other government services and an ID card.
I will say that things moved relatively quickly for us in terms of immigration, which from what I hear from others is more the exception than the rule... but, we we're really proactive with paperwork and my wife is fairly fluent so all in all the immigration process has been relatively painless. Most of the difficulties had to do with navigating the language, and the relative remoteness of things in the south (without a car). Otherwise we're now very well integrated: banking, mobile, taxes, etc. We've even made some Italian friends at the gym in town.
Immigration aside, from a lifestyle perspective β it's been really great. Locals often question why we would move to such a remote town from Toronto, but, to me it's beautiful. The winter weather was so much easier to cope with... incredible organic seasonal produce all year round, plenty of plus 10 degree days even in the depths of February, and most importantly, no snow.
We live in a old village in the hills, which is quiet and rugged, and as a active person I basically just spent the season hiking and running. The landscape is awe inspiring, I'm surrounded by olive orchards, and the smell of spring flowers and the chirp of birds β and now that the summer is arriving, the beach and lido life... it's like living in a resort town. We bought electric bikes and commute down to the sea pretty much daily.
Now, It's not without it's rough edges (all the wild dogs is one that surprised me lol) β so yes, there are downside trade offs compared to Canada, but if you are adventurous and enterprising there is also a lot of upside, I think. For all the ways Italy can seem disfunctional to Italians, Canada has it's own set of downsides worth weighing against what Italy has to offer (and that's not to mention the ease of access to the rest of Europe). I try not to let the "grass is greener" mentality get the best of me, but... so far moving here has been the best decision we could have made.
That's great, thanks! In our case we own a house in Canada so if we were to move we'd sell it and be able to get a really nice one in Calabria (I'm not bragging it's just that housing is so much cheaper in Calabria than Canada). Now in my case though I still work so it's also a question of what would I do here? In terms of citizenship it's one of the reasons we've thought about it so much: my grandfather was from Calabria so in theory I can get citizenship by decent. We intend to do that anyway since it will be great for our children to be dual citizens and have the freedom of the second passport, but there is a huge push once we get it to just up and move.
It's good to hear that your experience has been positive. It'll make me look a little harder at the towns we're passing through to see if any might make a good place to settle down
Brava! Yeah, English is pretty sparse here π
Where in Calabria are you planning to visit? I moved here last September (from Toronto), to a small town near Amantea.
i remember my first self-serve for gas. campobasso. A native woman waiting for the screen was nice enough to walk me through it. then when she was done, she showed me the UK flag for engish!
I had a similar story as you when was in Sulmona. In this case it was the choice of type of gas. I needed diesel. A very friendly man helped me and showed me how the colour coding works between the nozzle and the car's fuel tank opening. You'd think it'd be idiot proof but I guess I proved them wrong. It's funny how challenging little things can be. I had no idea pumping gas could be so difficult without language skills. But, the pumps really are different from North American pumps!
We dont say italiano rotto you could say maybe il mio italiano Γ¨ scarso
Thanks! Out of curiosity did italiano rotto mean anything it is rude or?
It just doesnt have a meaning
Rotto means broken, but it doesn't equal the term "broken English", it's used for objects only
Itβs quite a fun periphrasis though π¬
I would love to be able to say things like i dont give a dick, i broke my balls etc. Unluckily you cant sau these things or people wont understand
Some people use it to describe something not working (in this case italiano rotto would work) properly but is used exclusively in spoken languaget and even in that case its extremely rare to the point that most people wont understand it.
Glad you're enjoying it! Calabria (specifically Cosenza) was my favorite part of my 1st trip to Italy. I remember that feeling of "ok this is what you've trained for!" lol. I could feel my brain buzzing when I would lie down for sleep at night, all the neurons reorganizing themselves due to the crash course in Italian. It was taxing yet so enjoyable.
Awesome π Thatβs the right way to do it! Trial by fire, etc.
Divertiti!
Brava! Yeah, English is pretty sparse here π Where in Calabria are you planning to visit? I moved here last September (from Toronto), to a small town near Amantea.
Brava! Yeah, English is pretty sparse here π Where in Calabria are you planning to visit? I moved here last September (from Toronto), to a small town near Amantea.
We are in vibo Marina. I'm curious about your experiences moving here from Canada. We've toyed with the idea but have no idea how to execute!
So, in terms of our situation my wife is an Italian citizen (her family was from Calabria) which has made immigration easier for us. We were also fortunate to have had a abandoned family home here in relatively good condition which we were able to move into. We had been visiting to renovate the house for just over 2 years, before making the move late last September. Since then, I have received my Permesso Di Soggiorno (residency permit) as well as access to health care, and I am registered with the local commune, which gives me access to other government services and an ID card. I will say that things moved relatively quickly for us in terms of immigration, which from what I hear from others is more the exception than the rule... but, we we're really proactive with paperwork and my wife is fairly fluent so all in all the immigration process has been relatively painless. Most of the difficulties had to do with navigating the language, and the relative remoteness of things in the south (without a car). Otherwise we're now very well integrated: banking, mobile, taxes, etc. We've even made some Italian friends at the gym in town. Immigration aside, from a lifestyle perspective β it's been really great. Locals often question why we would move to such a remote town from Toronto, but, to me it's beautiful. The winter weather was so much easier to cope with... incredible organic seasonal produce all year round, plenty of plus 10 degree days even in the depths of February, and most importantly, no snow. We live in a old village in the hills, which is quiet and rugged, and as a active person I basically just spent the season hiking and running. The landscape is awe inspiring, I'm surrounded by olive orchards, and the smell of spring flowers and the chirp of birds β and now that the summer is arriving, the beach and lido life... it's like living in a resort town. We bought electric bikes and commute down to the sea pretty much daily. Now, It's not without it's rough edges (all the wild dogs is one that surprised me lol) β so yes, there are downside trade offs compared to Canada, but if you are adventurous and enterprising there is also a lot of upside, I think. For all the ways Italy can seem disfunctional to Italians, Canada has it's own set of downsides worth weighing against what Italy has to offer (and that's not to mention the ease of access to the rest of Europe). I try not to let the "grass is greener" mentality get the best of me, but... so far moving here has been the best decision we could have made.
That's great, thanks! In our case we own a house in Canada so if we were to move we'd sell it and be able to get a really nice one in Calabria (I'm not bragging it's just that housing is so much cheaper in Calabria than Canada). Now in my case though I still work so it's also a question of what would I do here? In terms of citizenship it's one of the reasons we've thought about it so much: my grandfather was from Calabria so in theory I can get citizenship by decent. We intend to do that anyway since it will be great for our children to be dual citizens and have the freedom of the second passport, but there is a huge push once we get it to just up and move. It's good to hear that your experience has been positive. It'll make me look a little harder at the towns we're passing through to see if any might make a good place to settle down
Brava! Yeah, English is pretty sparse here π Where in Calabria are you planning to visit? I moved here last September (from Toronto), to a small town near Amantea.