I agree with so much of what you've all said on this thread, so all that and...

...my MIL, since Lila was born she's been incredible, she cooked and brought round dinner for us every night for a month, and now she comes and takes Lila whenever I need a break. She really is fantastic.

Nonna's Ravioli and fried fish.

Gin and tonic - yep back on them now and they really know how to mix em in Pescara - none of the measly measures you get in the UK.

Incantesimo - hurray for the new series (Carole B subtitles are on page 778!)

quote:

Originally posted by Yael:

Incantesimo - hurray for the new series (Carole B subtitles are on page 778!)

Pardon?

Incantesimo is a dodgy drama series about a hospital in Rome, but the Subtitles are in ENGLISH!!! It's almost like watching Casualty but with better hair, clothes etc...

Thank you Yael...
In that case I think I'll stick to Casualty.
I don't even like 'Holby City'!!!!

Incantessimo has Walter Nudo..... I wish he'd give that silly girlfriend and her mother some sort of pill to make them disappear...Mary

this thread IS a great idea. I know I get too caught up in complaining a lot, I tend to get so frustrated by all the bad that I forget the good and why I wanted to live here in the first place! (although living here is not at all the same as visiting). OK here's my yay Italy list:




- those little draining shelves above the sink so you can put your plates away without drying them first - genius!

- free health care and medicine (it's not very good, but hey, it's free!)

- the mini buses in Florence USED to be free (they're not anymore but it was good while it lasted)

- swearing in Italian is so much more fun than in English! and I can wave my arms about and it's even more effective!

- tomatoes that actually TASTE like something - and something gooood, too!

- fantastic excellent delicious olive oil

- zucchini flowers

- sagras

- I live on a villa with olive groves and all kinds of fruit and nut trees and a vegetable garden and as the seasons change I gather the different things that are growing out there, it's wonderful - now I'm trying to figure out how to make quince jelly since there's a mela cotogna tree (anyone know?)

- also there's a swimming pool! woohoo! I did catch a full-body skin infection from it but it was fun while it was lasted (trying to be positive here)

- hearing that I am "bellissima" 20 times a day. Whether or not it's true it's a nice ego booster. It doesn't bother me like it does some women. It's nice. It's not like they're threatening or harrassing you (and believe me, I've had my share of that)

- really good cappucinos!

- I always have to leave work at 6 pm because the office is locked up! back home I often had to stay till midnight before deadlines.

- let's hear it for 4 weeks of vacation a year!

- cheap and easy travel to other European countries (in fact, cheaper than travelling in Italy, still haven't understood this)

- doesn't matter if I'm late because everyone else is always later!

- wine cheaper than water

- no credit cards (or hardly any). credit cards are a tool of the devil.

- less preservatives and chemicals, even in supermarket food

- and especially aperitivo (aka cheap dinner!)

I second ALL of that....and I bet Gia-Gina knows how to make quince jelly!

I use Sure-jell pectin when making jams/jellies/preserves. I have found their recipes to be right-on. Here is the Sure-Jell recipe for Quince Jelly. One pouch/packet of Sure-Jell pectin is 1.75 ounces.

Laurie, I do but don't like it tons since it has to be quite sweet to taste good. I like the mostarda they make in Piemonte, with quince, grapes and other goodies, it's heavenly with any type of cheese.

Gia-Gina won't, but David Lebowitz will. (Just think, a man made entirely of chocolate!)
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2005/10/#000128

And:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2005/10/#000117
which is the real dirt on quince that isn't jelly.

quote:

Originally posted by stellacadente:
- free health care and medicine (it's not very good, but hey, it's free!)

I have to object to the comment that health care here is not very good. I recently gave birth and there were some problems during delivery (fetal distress), so I had to have an emergency c-section. I did this at a public hospital, and the doctors did a great job. The baby came out OK, they had a NICU specialist in the room during the surgery, they monitored her (and I have to go back for further monitoring, not because she needs it, mind you, but just in case) and were very very thorough. Keep in mind I am here in the South, which often gets a bad rep for hospitals. The one thing they don't always do, which might give the impression the drs. aren't very good is follow-up care. There is a certain amount the patient is supposed to know or ask, unlike in the States, where they excel in giving before and after-care information. But even that can be good, if you ask a lot of questions. Also some doctors (especially if professors at the Uni hospital) act a bit pompous. I guess they could use some more PR and bedside manners, but it doesn't affect the quality.

Yael - can you tell me what channel/time/day Incantesimo is on? I think some trash TV with English subtitles would do my Italian wonders.

Thanks

I would also like to put in my 2 centesimi re: quality of health care. (Of course I know that all of our experiences are different and individual). I spent several days caring for a friend in a hospital in central Italy. She was very seriously ill, requiring a number of procedures which culminated in a major surgery. The doctors and nurses were meticulous, compassionate, and patient - and considerate of her privacy. They listened to our questions and concerns, explained everything very carefully (my friend had only limited italian). After the surgery, her surgeon called me into his office and went through everything with me, even drawing me a picture explaining the details. When we checked out of the hospital and went to the financial office, we were told that there would be no charge, and in fact no bill has appeared - this was 2 years ago. The other women sharing her room were very kind. One woman, the daughter of one of the patients in the room who was in her very final hours, took time to come over to my friend's bed to help us get her fever down with ice. All in all, it was an incredibly positive experience.

I'm glad to hear others have had positive experiences and I have had some good ones too but I have also personally had some bad ones, and some people I know inexcusable ones. My criticism in general isn't the doctors' kindness, they've all been very nice and my regular public doctor is very sweet. But they often say things that I personally know to be inaccurate, and I'm not even a doctor, just have a degree in biology. The organization is, of course, the main problem - but I'm not even going to get into it because that's not the topic of this thread.

p.s. thanks for the quince links! perfect! who is david lebovitz?

Stellacadente, the point is that bad health care happens, and it happens everywhere. The point is that we should always pick both good cases and bad cases and calculate the average of good and bad. It would turn out that despite some shortcomings (wanna hear my load of horror stories?) the average service is still usually on the positive side. It's easier to remeber the bad experiences, because good is always expected and bad is always unexpected, true. But I have met people who have had bad experiences anywhere in the world, and people having had great experiences (sometimes despite lack of materials and apparates) in really poor countries.

I had to go to the Hospital this morning as my doctor thought I had a thyroid problem. when I arrived the receptionist gave me the form and told me to go to the bank and pay the ticket. this was at 8.30 am. When I returned (breathless) she gave me my No. which was No. 1.. Great, I said. I went to the appointed queue but the doctor had already started and No. 3 was in with him and then No. 4 went in . When No. 5 was going in I was bold and said ''but I'm No. 1". Doc said I wasn't there when he started but I said I was at the bank paying the ticket.... I got in after No. 5. (I don't think the others paid their ticket. The banks don't open till 8.30 and there's only one bank where you can pay the ticket. I didn't see any of the other patients at the bank) PS>> I was more stressed when I left the hospital... thought I was going to have a heart attack!!!! Mary

Oi you lot STOP - No negative comments alllowed on this thread, you can post negative health care stuff over on the 'what's better about america' thread please dont do it here!

only and allowed

Kerry - Incantesimo is on Fridays at about 9.30 I think, rai 2 or rai 3 (or possibly rai 1!). Lots of Italian made programmes on the rai channels have English subtitles, normally one or two a day. If you see something on at 9ish with Italian actors chances are it will be subtitled. You're right it's brilliant for learning Italian and also it's just nice to be able to watch crap TV once in a while.

This thread is really a good idea, and reading through people's 'positives' about life in Italy is a great way to remind myself what a wonderful country this is (not that it's EASY to forget, but hey, it happens). Here are some of mine:

+the racks above the sink to dry dishes (already mentioned, but this is definitely one of my favorite things in the kitchen!)

+the way my Italian friends are AMAZED by how good oatmeal cookies and apple pie are.

+learning dialect and speaking it in front of my husband's family (which is always followed by 'did she just say what i THINK she said?')

+fruit and vegetable stores and the COST of fruit and vegetables

+gelato

+hill towns in Central Italy

+going to the beach in summer and the mountains in the fall

+learning how to be late to things, and realizing that it's perfectly acceptable.

+pizzerias

+sending packages back and forth to friends in America (okay, so not strictly Italian, but who knew that getting a bag of jelly bellies in the mail could be such a wonderful thing?)

+beautiful theatres in Le Marche

+the Italian language

+going shopping in the early evening on Via Garibaldi here in Macerata (sunset, everyone out for the evening walk, etc.)

And of course there are other things too (surely they will all come to mind later). There's lots to love in this country.

Yael... I haven't noticed any real negative comments on this forum. why are YOU telling us not to post negative comments. I thought the purpose of this forum was to discuss what's happening. (I'm not American so how can I comment on America??) so please, allow us to have our say. Mary

New Woman - I think you misunderstood me -
Of course it's not my place to tell you what you can post on the FORUM. What I asked was that people didn't hijack this THREAD since it was started it as an antidote to other threads which ended quite negatively.
I completely sympathise with your comments but this thread ought to be just what we love about Italy

quote:

Originally posted by Carole B.:
Well what is strange is that these are all things I love here too! But hey... am I now taking them for granted?. I suppose if anyone asked me what I didn't like nowadays I would have to list all the opposites of what I love here and that I've put up with in the other places that I've lived.

I posted this (part messsage) nearly a month ago, but this morning I thought about what Yael said here, and it is quite right.... We can fall so easily into what borders on 'self (inflicted) pity' if we're not careful... and then I thought about three very simple things that happened to me yesterday morning, and with hindsight I realise that up to now I have taken these little things for granted - I bet you have too:
1.Went to see my Doctor without having to argue with a 'surly' receptionist who thought she was 'Jesus Christ Superstar'! Or have to book an appointment perhaps 2, 3 or 4 days ahead. I just turned up here 'when I wanted to' and waited my turn.
2. She (the doctor) gave me a prescription to have an x ray at the local hospital. I didn't have to go on a 'waiting list' (which back home could be up to a year long!!!) - I just went to the hospital, paid my 'ticket' and within 25 minutes it was 'done and dusted'(lucky though that it wasn't a 'city' hospital). I get the results from my local ASL (my choice) on Monday!
3.As the morning had gone so well, I had finished all of the above and was free by 10.30, I dropped in to the village hairdresser (lucky - no one waiting) had a quck 'shampoo and blow dry' all in 30 mins. No need for an appointment, which was usually at an inconvenient time (if you could get one) back in the UK.
Three simple things that yes, I do take for granted here!
I just LOVE living here!

Then it happened - I got a lovely smile from her AND an apology (!), and then she chattered away and even accompanied me to the exit!

So there's another thing that I like - if I'd said something like that back home, I'd probably have been reported for harrassment!!!!


Sorry folks, I inadvertently deleted part of this post instead of extracting just for a quote - once done, too late to repair the c**k up!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Carole B.,

There should be a separate topic for health care. The "USA things" thread also ended up 80% hospital stories..

unexpected things I love (i.e., besides the obvious!):

--spinach that comes in little cubes so you can make as much or as little as you like.

--the fact that the radiators are suspended off the floor (easy to clean under).

--hearing church bells, roosters crowing, horses, geese, donkeys..

--smell of wood fires, especially in autumn