Engaged? Wtf.

Now, once for all: engaged means that you are going to marry soon. It implies a promise of marriage, and a ring being exchanged. I am SICK of seeing my Italian friends putting engaged as their relationship status on various profiles (MySpace, Facebook and the like), and when I congratulate them they answer with: “Huh?”

Learn the difference between dating, being in a (serious) relationship and engaged (not to mention married, that you add after the ceremony has being held)!!!

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Una volta per tutte: engaged significa ‘fidanzato’ nel senso più serio del termine. Significa che ci si sposerà a breve, e implica la proposta di matrimonio, l’accettazione e lo scambio di un anello. Sono STUFA di vedere i miei amici italiani mettere il loro relationship status come engaged sui vari profili come MySpace e Facebook, e quando io mi congratulo vederli brancolare nel buio.

Impariamo la differenza tra dating = frequentarsi (saltuariamente o non), being in a relationship = stare insieme più o meno seriamente, comunque ufficiale e  being engaged = fidanzamento con promessa di matrimonio. Inoltre: married si usa dopo che ci si è sposati.

Uff =.=

Musica: Tom Petty, Last Dance with Mary Jane + Honey Bee

German Fugue: München, August 23rd to 26th, 2008.

Monday morning.
Grey sky, cold cold weather.
Long sweat pants, a huge sweater, a blanket: I am sitting in front of my Mac thinking how stupid I am.

I was supposed to be in Dachau, right now. I planned this whole damn trip to visit Dachau, a concentration camp that I wanted to see for my master Thesis. I forgot just one, essential detail: Dachau is closed on Monday.

So I left Verona on Saturday at 6 am (after a great night out at Mascara – I came home at 4.30 am after dancing a lot), slept in the train for 6 hours, suffered the intense cold on Saturday in München – rainy with 12 degrees C -, and visited around the city on Sunday all for… nothing.

I am extremely pissed at myself.
A solution has already been found, of course, I don’t like to give up. I am staying another day – I will leave here on Wednesday instead of Tuesday -, but that means it will cost me money. 65 euro, which right now is a lot of money.

Again, I am pissed, mostly because I put fun before duty.

This being said, Sunday was enjoyable. München is a great city, somptuous and proud. I like the tall, huge buildings, the wide streets and the cleanness. Moreover, a supreme order and reliability reign here with trains, buses and subways always on time, the food is good and the beer is great. In addition to all that, people are usually nice though not very talkative. People from Bavaria are happy to live here, extremely proud of their origins and don’t really like tourists: but if you are nice and well mannered, they will accept you in no time.

What hit me the most in this short trip, after Spain, was the cold, cold, damn cold weather.
It felt like winter already and I didn’t particularly like it. However, I could live in this city too: it is big though accessible, enjoyable on sunny days and perfectly organized with tram, bus, subway and train public service.

I loved Olympia Park and Marien Platz, as always when I come here. Also, I really appreciate the tradition of the Biergartens and the great food that one can eat there, along with the wonderful beer.

München made me want to see Berlin, which could be a good place to go next summer.
A special thanks to Sebastian, who is letting me stay at his place, showing me around the town and is a great conversation partner overall

One more day here, and tomorrow – hopefully – Dachau.

Spanish Parenthesis: 16th to 21st August, 2008

The short Spanish holiday is over, and I loved every minute of it.

Barcelona was a dream. Gaudì’s dream.
Casa Battlò made me want to have a home, a place where I can really feel happy and relaxed. The UkiyoE exposition at Casa Milà made me want to study some Japanese art and literature again. The “Sagrada Familia” made me feel uncomfortable – the tall, slender structure seems to desperately seek for the sky, representing more an obsession than a dream. Like four fingers, try to catch the invisibile, ephemeral essence of the divine.
Then Park Güell – a convoluted, complicated, magnificent fantasy. A place for artists, day dreamers and people who love to wander and think. And La Rambla, wonderful street full of performers, little shops and cafés, where to rest and enjoy the breeze coming from the sea.
Moreover, Mont Jüic: a hill in the city, with great parks, the Olympic facilities and many many museums, including the MNAC where an exhibition of Avantgarde art was being held. Man Ray, Duchamp and Picabia’s art works and movies – Man Ray’s masterpieces in particular made me happy.

Barcelona made me think a lot – I could live in a city like that. And – why not – I could spend some years living in different European countries, like Spain, France and Germany. Instead of a PhD in the US, I could improve and perfect my knowledge of Spanish, French and German while teaching my language in these countries.

I ate great food, too – Tapas above all. Tapas are a sort of small sized appetizers that one can order at the counter or at a table
Usually people order them together and then share food and price: it’s a great way to eat well and have soem good chatting. Needless to say, dinner is around 10.30 / 11 pm around here. Then clubs open around 1.30 am…

On Monday, we left for Valencia.
A brief meeting with Olivier, my French friend, and his juggler companion Martino. Then, on the train around 6 pm. Now, trains in Spain surprised me for their quality: huge, comfy seats, beautiful and clean wagons, a movie played during the trip. Really outstanding, compared to ny train in my country.

Valencia: cute little town that one can visit in a day. It took a while for me to appreciate it after Barcelona but I truly enjoyed the time spent in Valencia. Plaça del Ayuntamiento, Plaça de la Reina, Plaça Redonda and their monuments were all pretty, though not as magnificent as the wonderful houses in Barcelona.

On the last day of our vacation, we went to the beach and sun tanned a bit: it was a bad idea to forget the sun screen and we got burned, but the weather was gorgeous and I liked the sea overall.

Spain is a place where I definitely want to go back, and maybe live for a while: laid back, relaxed and friendly people, nice places, good weather.
Next summer I will try to go to Madrid and maybe Andalusia – everyone that I know speak of Andalusia as a wonderful place to be.

A particular thanks to Marta, that came with me and was there to share this experience