Friday I went to a fancy party with a group of workmates. The party had a theme - "Dress to Impress" - and I was indeed dressed accordingly. It was a lot of fun, the venue was really nice and the drinks (Swedish vodka only) were blindingly strong. My favourite part of the evening though was not the dancing, the mingling or the general showing off - no it was while I still was at home, getting ready to go out. I was all dressed up in my best attire (semi-fancy-shmancy)and wanted to enjoy a beer before I left the house. To my dismay I realized that (of course) my poorly equipped kitchen didn't include a bottle opener. Hmm what to do what to do. In the end I pried the damn bottle open - with a can of tuna. I felt like a really well dressed McGyver.
Saturday was all about me regretting those vodka drinks.
Sunday saw me walking around Rome for five hours, writing postcards and shamlessly eavesdropping on American tourists. The weather is still nice and to my great vexation I'm being chewed up by mosquitoes!
Tonight it's pizza time. My colleague M has promised to show a bunch of us where (quote) the galaxy's best pizza (unquote) can be found. I'm not holding my breath here.
Ciao!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Strange occurences
Strange occurence 1:
My green grocer this morning really wanted to discuss the tragic school shooting in Finland with me. He knows I'm swedish and don't speak a word of Italian. I managed to convey sadness and bewilderment over the horrible event with basically shoulder movements and facial expressions.
Strange occurence 2:
Yesterday I was talking an American, explaining my Swedish English quarter Iraqi jewish background. He just shook his head at the mixture and said "sounds like a pizza topping gone wrong".
I love smart insults!
Still loads to do at work and starting from tomorrow I will have new tasks demanding my attention, and not the nice n' easy editorial kind mind you. I'm nervous.
Ciao ragazzi
My green grocer this morning really wanted to discuss the tragic school shooting in Finland with me. He knows I'm swedish and don't speak a word of Italian. I managed to convey sadness and bewilderment over the horrible event with basically shoulder movements and facial expressions.
Strange occurence 2:
Yesterday I was talking an American, explaining my Swedish English quarter Iraqi jewish background. He just shook his head at the mixture and said "sounds like a pizza topping gone wrong".
I love smart insults!
Still loads to do at work and starting from tomorrow I will have new tasks demanding my attention, and not the nice n' easy editorial kind mind you. I'm nervous.
Ciao ragazzi
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Italian arrividercis II
So here is the rest of my ”What I did On My Weekend” essay:
Friday evening started as you all know with a trip to a pittoresque town outside of Rome, where a gang of interns from WFP plus yours truly had some really lovely food at a rustic restaurant that came comlpete with a fat cook in a white apron trying to take our disorderly orders in an orderly manner. He yelled at us but so does everyone here (Italians yell when they’re happy, they yell when they’re angry. I’m starting to get used to it). After saying our looong goodbyes outside the restaurant (“Ciao ciao, see you Monday!”) we all piled into our separate cars.
To go home, I thought.
But we went to “Geronimo and friends or (or something like it)”. It looked like the bar had been built and furnished to suit a madman’s perception of the US. Cacti and bald eagles painted on the walls, flags hanging everywhere (a funny coworker of mine asked “was there a flag sale?”), Harley-Davidson signs, you name it. It was fake-America; the kind of place you’d think it was if you only saw Easy rider and spaghetti westerns. And the people! They wore belt buckles and boots and leather vests and we couldn’t stop laughing because it was so bloody precious! The best thing was the dance floor: a crowd of cowboys and bikers dancing intently to Tainted Love and Rock around the Clock. We joined them, happily.
At three in the morning we bid our farewells to each other (“Ciao ciao ragazzi!”) and once again I was more than happy to go home. But alas, yet again the Swede had apparently missed something because the car caravan just set a course for the closest café. I’m not making this up. Five o’ clock in the morning I’m standing on a freezing parking lot with a crowd I don’t really know in a place I don’t really know, politely refusing to drink coffee. And then we said goodbye. Again. I must have said “Ciao” to these people for about two hours all together that night! The big question is WHY we had to say goodbye to each other in the first place, we were practically all joined at the hip anyway??
Later the same day (Saturday that is) my new flatmate and I cleaned for five hours straight. I didn’t even have breakfast, I just got out of bed groggily and attacked the floors with a broom. A shame really because the weather outside was lovely.
Sunday I went to Porta Porteze, a big outdoor market that’s open once a week. It’s quite famous and been there forever apparently. To me it basically seemed to be the place where cheap Chinese fake stuff goes to die. Picture it: about 300 stalls (with loud vendors crying out the prices) selling identical trinkets to tourists and Romans alike, a forum for hustlers and suckers to do business.
I bought slippers – only two euros! (So yeah I was one of the suckers).
Friday evening started as you all know with a trip to a pittoresque town outside of Rome, where a gang of interns from WFP plus yours truly had some really lovely food at a rustic restaurant that came comlpete with a fat cook in a white apron trying to take our disorderly orders in an orderly manner. He yelled at us but so does everyone here (Italians yell when they’re happy, they yell when they’re angry. I’m starting to get used to it). After saying our looong goodbyes outside the restaurant (“Ciao ciao, see you Monday!”) we all piled into our separate cars.
To go home, I thought.
But we went to “Geronimo and friends or (or something like it)”. It looked like the bar had been built and furnished to suit a madman’s perception of the US. Cacti and bald eagles painted on the walls, flags hanging everywhere (a funny coworker of mine asked “was there a flag sale?”), Harley-Davidson signs, you name it. It was fake-America; the kind of place you’d think it was if you only saw Easy rider and spaghetti westerns. And the people! They wore belt buckles and boots and leather vests and we couldn’t stop laughing because it was so bloody precious! The best thing was the dance floor: a crowd of cowboys and bikers dancing intently to Tainted Love and Rock around the Clock. We joined them, happily.
At three in the morning we bid our farewells to each other (“Ciao ciao ragazzi!”) and once again I was more than happy to go home. But alas, yet again the Swede had apparently missed something because the car caravan just set a course for the closest café. I’m not making this up. Five o’ clock in the morning I’m standing on a freezing parking lot with a crowd I don’t really know in a place I don’t really know, politely refusing to drink coffee. And then we said goodbye. Again. I must have said “Ciao” to these people for about two hours all together that night! The big question is WHY we had to say goodbye to each other in the first place, we were practically all joined at the hip anyway??
Later the same day (Saturday that is) my new flatmate and I cleaned for five hours straight. I didn’t even have breakfast, I just got out of bed groggily and attacked the floors with a broom. A shame really because the weather outside was lovely.
Sunday I went to Porta Porteze, a big outdoor market that’s open once a week. It’s quite famous and been there forever apparently. To me it basically seemed to be the place where cheap Chinese fake stuff goes to die. Picture it: about 300 stalls (with loud vendors crying out the prices) selling identical trinkets to tourists and Romans alike, a forum for hustlers and suckers to do business.
I bought slippers – only two euros! (So yeah I was one of the suckers).
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Bugger
Oh I'm just so awfully tired and we've got tons to do at work (even me which was nice, at first) and my co-worker S (the girl I lived with for a week) has had a migraine for over a week and she's really worried and I really worried and the weather is unreliable and today I chose the wrong food in the canteen by mistake so I basically had cheese for lunch ("that's how you get fat in Italy" said a co-worker)and I'm just so tiired! And I want to write so many emails and letters and postcards but all I do in the office is editorial work so after a while I get facial ticks as soon as I see words so how the hell am I supposed to stay in contact with everyone?
I've had three macchiati today and I still can't keep my eyes open, and not because of some glamourous lifestyle either.
OK I'll write some more when I stop whining.
Ciao ragazzi
I've had three macchiati today and I still can't keep my eyes open, and not because of some glamourous lifestyle either.
OK I'll write some more when I stop whining.
Ciao ragazzi
Monday, September 22, 2008
Italian arrividercis
So Friday the rain was pouring down but I decided not to let that stop me. I went out with a bunch of interns to Frescati which is supposed to be a lovely little town perched on some hills outside Rome. The whole venture seemed a bit pointless in that regard since it was dark outside (I saw nothing of the promised beauty)and anyway we never moved from the little rustic restaurant where we had our dinner. After driving for 90 minutes (the last half hour just going round in circles trying to find the elusive restaurant) we finally arrived, and we were starving! The food was simple and divine. Bruschetta,mozzarella, bread, some kind of dried garlicy squash.. And nondescript nice red wine to wash it all down with. It was so good!And the gang sitting around the table was great; everyone talked and ate and drank at the same time, the noise was incredible. And since there were about seven languages represented around the table nobody really understand one another in the din.. After dinner we said our long protracted goodbyes and piled into the cars again. I thought we were going home and I was looking forward to go to bed and just give up for the week. But no, it turns out that we were heading for this bar in the middle of nowhere, "Geronimo's".
I really should get some work done, I'll finish the story later (it's a good one too, it involves Italian bikers!).
Ciao!
I really should get some work done, I'll finish the story later (it's a good one too, it involves Italian bikers!).
Ciao!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
I got a positive answer today on one of my grant applications, tjohooo (a Swedish exclamation, I'm not sneezing or anything)! Even though it's oppressively gray outside and I'm still pretty beat from the celebration yesterday I still have the energy to do cartwheels down the halls of WFP. The sum isn't massive but it's still a great help - it almost pays two months worth of rent. I'm glad.
The light in the shower is still out but I've come up with a nice concept: candle lit showers. It's relaxing! Maybe some spas will copy my revolutionary idea.
Today BOTH my parents AND one of my best friends called to say hello. I almost suffer from happiness overload.
Sorry if this is slightly giddily written but I'm a bit tired. Foolishly I've accepted to go out tonight as well, a bunch of WFP interns are going to Frescati, a beautiful little town/village outside of Rome. In the pouring rain I might add.
Ciao, thanks for reading and have a good weekend!
The light in the shower is still out but I've come up with a nice concept: candle lit showers. It's relaxing! Maybe some spas will copy my revolutionary idea.
Today BOTH my parents AND one of my best friends called to say hello. I almost suffer from happiness overload.
Sorry if this is slightly giddily written but I'm a bit tired. Foolishly I've accepted to go out tonight as well, a bunch of WFP interns are going to Frescati, a beautiful little town/village outside of Rome. In the pouring rain I might add.
Ciao, thanks for reading and have a good weekend!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Samaritans
My co-worker M reeeally came through for me yesterday. He helped me look for the fusebox. It took us over an hour since it was cleverly hidden in the building next door behind a fridge in the basement up on the roof. When we got the lights on he showed me how to magically operate the hot water tank. I think it's criminal to rent out a flat to a Swede without telling her "OK Rome is a developing country of its own and you cannot have the crazy luxury of hot water and the washing machine on at the same time".
This morning the light bulb in the bathroom went pfffblinkpp! and died when I flipped the switch but today I can handle it no problemo. Not on the verge of tears hooray!
The flat is still gross and in dire need of cleaning but I think I've got used to it. Or maybe it's because I'm never there - yesterday I went out for aperetivos (9 euros for a beer!) and this evening there will be drinks in celebration of my Aussie flatmate's birthday. Good way to avoid cleaning I say.
Ciao!
This morning the light bulb in the bathroom went pfffblinkpp! and died when I flipped the switch but today I can handle it no problemo. Not on the verge of tears hooray!
The flat is still gross and in dire need of cleaning but I think I've got used to it. Or maybe it's because I'm never there - yesterday I went out for aperetivos (9 euros for a beer!) and this evening there will be drinks in celebration of my Aussie flatmate's birthday. Good way to avoid cleaning I say.
Ciao!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Who wants to know?
I understand that many of you are dying to find out what I do down here at WFP in Rome. I'm still uncertain. But I can tell you this:
I work in the reporting unit. The unit sifts through and analyses data from WFP country offices and regional bureaux in order to put together briefs for the executive hotshots but also for the WFP homepage. The unit also heads the production of the so-called Bluebook. It's an extensive catalogue over all WFP operations in over 80 countries and projects the coming needs (both food and cash) for 2009. The book is to be handed out to all donors (mainly nations)in October. My part of it is to edit the narrative portions of the country and project descriptions, and why it became my lot I don't know. So I sit and read and compare texts with the editorial guide lines all day long. But of course I take macchiato breaks!
I work in the reporting unit. The unit sifts through and analyses data from WFP country offices and regional bureaux in order to put together briefs for the executive hotshots but also for the WFP homepage. The unit also heads the production of the so-called Bluebook. It's an extensive catalogue over all WFP operations in over 80 countries and projects the coming needs (both food and cash) for 2009. The book is to be handed out to all donors (mainly nations)in October. My part of it is to edit the narrative portions of the country and project descriptions, and why it became my lot I don't know. So I sit and read and compare texts with the editorial guide lines all day long. But of course I take macchiato breaks!
Damsel in distress I guess
So once again I have been remiss in my blogging duty. I keep thinking I’ll have time to blog at the same pace I live but that’s foolish – a million new confusing wonderful and irritating things happen here everyday and I just don’t have time to write about it!
I just want to give you a condensed version of these last couple of days here in Rome:
Friday: we had a huge thunder storm! It was like the wrath of gods. It marked the end of the warm weather they’ve had down here, and the horizontal rain made me think of my home town Gothenburg. My Swedish co-worker S and I went out for drinks with other WFP people in the evening when the storm had died down a little. And when I say died down a little I mean that it was still pouring down..We had drinks ("aperetivos" I think they’re called here, but I’m not sure if that means drinks or the whole after work drinking concept) with some really nice people (all complaining about their soggy shoes) right by the Colosseo which looks fantastic when it's lit at night.
Saturday: seeing the sights in Rome. In the evening S and I had planned to do absolutely nothing and enjoy it too, but then our closest supervisor and neighbour called and invited us over for drinks which was nice of him (his girlfriend celebrated her birthday so there were a lot of people there.
Sunday: hangover day. I finally get to wash some clothes and when I hang them out to dry on the terrace the rain starts up again. In the evening I went to finalise the whole flat renting deal and that’s another long and tedious story.
Monday: I enjoy a very nice lunch with a bunch of co-workers (all of whom are a bit crazy it turns out. We discuss the situation in Georgia, the American presidential election and Matt Damon. I realize I’m really part of the WFP team when I start to receive emails full of goofy links, pictures and “quote-of-the-day“ stuff. Also my supervisor gives me a hell of a lot to do which makes me feel all the more welcome here on my new job. The evening treats us to yet another fantastic thunderstorm and rain rain rain which was convenient since I once again had to schlep my suitcase across town. That’s right folks, I finally moved to my new place! I took a taxi a part of the way as I just couldn’t, couldn’t be bothered to navigate the narrow uneven streets with my lead case.
I discovered that the flat was.. in a state. In a shit state. It was a pigsty. It looked like the former occupants had just upped and left in the middle of the night! Speechless I walked around and just gaped at the things they’d left behind. Here are just some examples: an onion on the kitchen table. The kitchen rubbish. Food on plates in the fridge. A fridge, packed with semi-filled bottles with syrup and ketchup. Socks, shoes, dirty towels and flip-flops lying on the floor. Bottles, jars, perfumes, old soaps, towels and medicine in the bathroom. It was funny in its own surreal way at first but then it just started to freak me out. I couldn’t touch ANY surface and the sheets on the bed were yellow and worn and I just didn’t want to have skin contact with them.. To top it off I realized that I couldn’t use my computer since the sockets in the place were from Pluto AND that the shower had no hot water. But I persevered and just said ‘fuck it, I’m off to bed’. The lack of a blanket and the traffic noise coming from outside made sleeping difficult. Also I missed my mum (she could help me clean the place, and give me a hug.
Yesterday, Tuesday: I bought fruit from a market place on my way to work (dead cheap delicious pears!) and felt well adjusted to my new life here when I had time to get bored waiting for the train to the office (boredom is quite rare in the life of a newbie). I left work pretty early (17.20) and bought a tremendous amount of stuff for the flat: cleaning equipment, things for the bathroom, food... It felt great to spend my dwindling resources on things like Ajax and mops. With no time to lose I launched Operation Clean Up when I got home. I cleaned and scrubbed and I scrubbed and I cleaned. I even loaded the washing machine with the dirty towels left behind. I felt pretty god about myself, and it was nice to do something productive and back breaking.
And then the lights went out. Everything stopped and there I stood, surrounded by furniture turned up side down on a wet kitchen floor. A very puzzled damsel in distress in pitch black darkness. After exploring a bit I realized that it was just my flat that had been affected – I could still hear my neighbour’s TV blaring. I tried knocking on neighbour doors to ask for help but no one (no one!) answered. I tried calling the janitor guy who my land lord had assured me would “answer at any time” and he of course didn’t answer. In the end I ventured outside and procured a lighter so I at least could light a candle, thinking to myself that “the darkness at least conceals the dirty state of the place”.
This morning the power was still missing but I stubbornly refused to be upset about it. And then I got to work and my computer semi-died on me and I almost started to cry. Too many stupid setbacks. But then a co-worker of mine who lives close by said he would help me find the fuse or the switch or thingamajig today. And the computer kinda works so I didn’t cry in the end. But it was, excuse my French, fucking close.
That’s my life up to this point.
Ciao
I just want to give you a condensed version of these last couple of days here in Rome:
Friday: we had a huge thunder storm! It was like the wrath of gods. It marked the end of the warm weather they’ve had down here, and the horizontal rain made me think of my home town Gothenburg. My Swedish co-worker S and I went out for drinks with other WFP people in the evening when the storm had died down a little. And when I say died down a little I mean that it was still pouring down..We had drinks ("aperetivos" I think they’re called here, but I’m not sure if that means drinks or the whole after work drinking concept) with some really nice people (all complaining about their soggy shoes) right by the Colosseo which looks fantastic when it's lit at night.
Saturday: seeing the sights in Rome. In the evening S and I had planned to do absolutely nothing and enjoy it too, but then our closest supervisor and neighbour called and invited us over for drinks which was nice of him (his girlfriend celebrated her birthday so there were a lot of people there.
Sunday: hangover day. I finally get to wash some clothes and when I hang them out to dry on the terrace the rain starts up again. In the evening I went to finalise the whole flat renting deal and that’s another long and tedious story.
Monday: I enjoy a very nice lunch with a bunch of co-workers (all of whom are a bit crazy it turns out. We discuss the situation in Georgia, the American presidential election and Matt Damon. I realize I’m really part of the WFP team when I start to receive emails full of goofy links, pictures and “quote-of-the-day“ stuff. Also my supervisor gives me a hell of a lot to do which makes me feel all the more welcome here on my new job. The evening treats us to yet another fantastic thunderstorm and rain rain rain which was convenient since I once again had to schlep my suitcase across town. That’s right folks, I finally moved to my new place! I took a taxi a part of the way as I just couldn’t, couldn’t be bothered to navigate the narrow uneven streets with my lead case.
I discovered that the flat was.. in a state. In a shit state. It was a pigsty. It looked like the former occupants had just upped and left in the middle of the night! Speechless I walked around and just gaped at the things they’d left behind. Here are just some examples: an onion on the kitchen table. The kitchen rubbish. Food on plates in the fridge. A fridge, packed with semi-filled bottles with syrup and ketchup. Socks, shoes, dirty towels and flip-flops lying on the floor. Bottles, jars, perfumes, old soaps, towels and medicine in the bathroom. It was funny in its own surreal way at first but then it just started to freak me out. I couldn’t touch ANY surface and the sheets on the bed were yellow and worn and I just didn’t want to have skin contact with them.. To top it off I realized that I couldn’t use my computer since the sockets in the place were from Pluto AND that the shower had no hot water. But I persevered and just said ‘fuck it, I’m off to bed’. The lack of a blanket and the traffic noise coming from outside made sleeping difficult. Also I missed my mum (she could help me clean the place, and give me a hug.
Yesterday, Tuesday: I bought fruit from a market place on my way to work (dead cheap delicious pears!) and felt well adjusted to my new life here when I had time to get bored waiting for the train to the office (boredom is quite rare in the life of a newbie). I left work pretty early (17.20) and bought a tremendous amount of stuff for the flat: cleaning equipment, things for the bathroom, food... It felt great to spend my dwindling resources on things like Ajax and mops. With no time to lose I launched Operation Clean Up when I got home. I cleaned and scrubbed and I scrubbed and I cleaned. I even loaded the washing machine with the dirty towels left behind. I felt pretty god about myself, and it was nice to do something productive and back breaking.
And then the lights went out. Everything stopped and there I stood, surrounded by furniture turned up side down on a wet kitchen floor. A very puzzled damsel in distress in pitch black darkness. After exploring a bit I realized that it was just my flat that had been affected – I could still hear my neighbour’s TV blaring. I tried knocking on neighbour doors to ask for help but no one (no one!) answered. I tried calling the janitor guy who my land lord had assured me would “answer at any time” and he of course didn’t answer. In the end I ventured outside and procured a lighter so I at least could light a candle, thinking to myself that “the darkness at least conceals the dirty state of the place”.
This morning the power was still missing but I stubbornly refused to be upset about it. And then I got to work and my computer semi-died on me and I almost started to cry. Too many stupid setbacks. But then a co-worker of mine who lives close by said he would help me find the fuse or the switch or thingamajig today. And the computer kinda works so I didn’t cry in the end. But it was, excuse my French, fucking close.
That’s my life up to this point.
Ciao
Monday, September 15, 2008
Saturday
Tourism so far:
I’ve seen the Colosseo, but only from the outside. There were droves of annoying tourists everywhere (I don’t count myself as one of course, native to
I’ll write more about the adventures of the weekend but now I really have to do some more pretend work!
Ciao
Friday, September 12, 2008
Friday
I’m looking forward to the weekend and my big sleep in, to have a moment to digest the events of these past couple of days. On the other hand it’s a bit .. scary at the same time. What do I do with two days off in
Have a good weekend y'all
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Sleeping and eating
Right now I'm staying at a Swedish colleague's place, gratefully sleeping on the couch. On Monday I'm moving to a flat in the Piramide area, where I'm going to live with yet another colleague (Australian this time). The place we're going to rent is huge, and although it's a bit pricey for my pitiful budget it's still dead cheap in Rome standards. I've got a place and a roomie, woohoo!
Everything here is ridiculously expensive, and the rents are the worst. The coffee is cheap though. I have to restrain myself from drinking ten espressos a day cause they're so good. The food is quite expensive too, I mean 5 euros for a dull pizza with nothing on? I long to have my own place where I can cook - and most importantly - eat a proper breakfast. For the time being let's just say that eating in Italy is always a gastronomical adventure, of the disappointing kind.
If you want a complete description of my life down in Rome I can give it to you in three words: hungry (no breakfast, long hours, weird expensive food!), tired (I'm grateful for the couch but I'm not saying it's the excessively comfortable type, plus being Rome automatically exhausts you) confused (I don't really know where I live! I don't understand half of what's going on at work! I can't speak Italian!). Hungry, tired and confused as I am I'm still blown away by the kindness of strangers here. Everyone is actually nice and helpful! Italy, I'm beginning to find out, is like France but nicer. Why wasn't I been told about this before, did I miss an important memo? And the warm weather, aah don't get me started! If it weren't for the fact that I'm sequestered indoors all day I'd be on holiday!
Ciao ciao
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
It's thirty degrees here
Oh the shame of it! Here I ask you to read my blog and then nothing comes forth. But to be honest these last couple of days have been hectic, filled with moments where I just stare and gape and wonder at everything and everyone. I haven’t had much time to sit in peace in front of a computer. Also there have been moments when I have had to schlep my lead-filled suitcase all across Rome, go without proper food for ever and get lost on a train. Not many opportunities to narrate my adventures there either.
But in short: it’s been fantastic. I haven’t seen anything of Rome yet except Colosseo and sadly I was underwhelmed to tell you the truth. Probably because I was beat after my first day at work and possibly due to the fact that it was very late in the evening and I hadn’t got home from the aforementioned work yet. But I have high hopes for the upcoming weekend – boy am I going to be the busy tourist! I’m going to see everything, after a sound sleep in that is.
I will tell you all about my travails but for now I have to consider leaving the office. It’s not like I’m doing anything productive anyway.
Ciao
But in short: it’s been fantastic. I haven’t seen anything of Rome yet except Colosseo and sadly I was underwhelmed to tell you the truth. Probably because I was beat after my first day at work and possibly due to the fact that it was very late in the evening and I hadn’t got home from the aforementioned work yet. But I have high hopes for the upcoming weekend – boy am I going to be the busy tourist! I’m going to see everything, after a sound sleep in that is.
I will tell you all about my travails but for now I have to consider leaving the office. It’s not like I’m doing anything productive anyway.
Ciao
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