The rewards of language learning

Getting to know a different country while on vacation there can be a wonderful new experience. 

You can enrich this experience by equipping yourself with a few phrases of the local language, just to enable a bit of communication with the locals, it's usually worth it as they will warm to you very quickly and make it all the more pleasant for you.

Living in the country, however, is a different matter. The situation changes then into having to learn the language just in order to get by in everyday life doing everyday things. 

The following piece talks briefly about my experience of living in Italy, where I learnt my first foreign language, Italian.

I knew some people there who cut short their experience because they didn't get around to learning the language and so felt isolated. I wanted to make the most of it all so I made a special effort to learn Italian and it opened the door to an amazing time. 

Of course this can be relevant for any language/country/culture but Italy was my first experience of living abroad and the one I'll remember most fondly. 

But the message is; embrace language learning, this is what it can give you back;

When it comes to speaking or writing about Italy, I usually find myself using a lot of superlatives. The words "best" and "most beautiful" get used a lot. It might be hard to understand why someone from Ireland, who had only spent 2 years in Italy, can still regard it as his spiritual home and after 15 years still gets homesick for it, but let me at least try to explain the impact and significance the "most beautiful" country has had on my life.

I went to Italy 17 years ago as a 24 year-old seeking adventure. My plan was just to go and have a year of fun before coming home to make a career for myself, I figured I should get this travel bug out of my system before even thinking about getting serious about life. I'd never been to Italy before but I knew there were certain things I already loved about it; the weather, the food, the football and the pretty girls. I went alone because I wanted to challenge myself to a new country, new culture and new language and do it for myself and then at least I'd come home with a new skill, a new language. 

What I found there was anything but a challenge, it was a pleasure, "La dolce vita" indeed.

I organised a job in a bar in Crema, a city in Lombardy, not far from Milan and I flew into Milan on a Friday night in August 1996 ready to start work on the Monday.

Right away I knew it was a place I would enjoy, little did I realise then how much of an impact it would have on my life. Such an impact that as I sit at home and write this 17 years later, my heart still hurts to remember and realise how much I miss it. Trust me, Italy gets under your skin and into your heart. It's a good thing, embrace it. 

I indeed found all the things listed above that I already liked about the country and in terms of girls, I met one of the great loves of my life there. But it was the things I hadn't expected that made the biggest impact on me. The country is spectacularly beautiful, from fresh-aired alpine mountains in the north, to the sun-kissed beaches on the coasts, the rolling plains of Lombardy to the medieval towns dotted around the landscape. You don't need to be told about the beauty of Venice, but what about the breathtaking beauty of lake Garda? Medieval towns with cobblestone streets, ancient castles, lemon trees, olive groves and mountains overlooking the lake. Amazing! You need to see these places to believe.

But the best thing about Italy for me is it's people. As a young foreigner trying to find his feet, what I found was an endless supply of people only too eager to help and put a friendly arm around me. I was invited into many homes and treated like a member of the family, as if I was a cousin visiting from overseas. 

I'm still in touch with most of the people I got to know there and even the ones I'm not in regular contact with still make a big fuss of me whenever I go back. On my first return, 4 years after I'd left to go home, people were coming out of shop doorways to hug me. A wonderfully warm people, full of fun. They certainly know how to enjoy the good and simple things in life; a stroll through the town, enjoying a "Gelato" on a warm summer evening, or just greeting friends and neighbours as they enjoy a coffee while sitting in the piazza. 

The people of Italy speak the most romantic, sexy language in the world and if you can demonstrate an ability to do use their language (4 or 5 words will suffice), just enough to order a coffee, you will instantly be a hero to them and you will earn yourself many pats on the back.

Italy, like many of its European neighbours is experiencing some hard times economically right now but I would have faith that, more than most, it can get back on its feet quickly. A tourist industry that will always be booming due to the country's natural beauties and an upbeat, resilient people are just some of the things Italy has in it's corner. 

It's a country that everyone should experience at least once in their life. And it is an experience, not just a destination. 

You may just lose your heart there but at least it'll have mine for company. 

Turismo en España

Turismo en España.

Esta vez toca escribir en Español y yo querría escribir sobre un tema muy importante en España, el turismo.

España vio una explosión en turismo en los años 70 y sobretodo en los años 80, debido a los precios más asequibles de transporte aéreo. De repente la gente normal podían permitirse un viaje hasta lugares exóticos previamente desconocidos, y para los Irlandeses y la gente de Gran Bretaña, el más visitado de aquel entonces era España.  España fue la obvia elección para irse de vacaciones si lo pienses bien ya que, siendo un país de Europa occidental, el vuelo no sería tan largo, lo que hace que el precio sería más abordable todavía. Fue también bastante barato pasar las vacaciones en España, los comestibles costaban menos y se podía comer en las restaurantes, lo que no era tan abordable en su país de origen. También costaba menos beber cerveza, que es un pasatiempo de los anglosajones. Pero lo más importante era el hecho de que España goza de mucho más sol que los países británicos y los turistas podían hacer baño de sol y nadar en el mar en las nuevas zonas turísticas que crecían todo lo largo de las costas. 

Durante las décadas 70, 80 y 90 el turismo se hizo muy importante para la economía de España y sigue siéndolo, el sector de turismo español es actualmente el segundo más grande del mundo y genera una cantidad increíble de dinero. El hecho de que en las últimas décadas España ha tenido que hacer frente a la expansión rápida de otros países que se han hecho abordables para la gente, habla positivamente de sus bellezas, su cultura y su gente amable para que sigue siendo uno de los países más visitados en el mundo. 

Previamente el turismo era limitado a las costas, por ejemplo La costa del sol, la costa blanca y la costa dorada y a las islas, por ejemplo Las Canarias y Las Baleares pero más gente están descubriendo las bellezas y las ciudades del interior. 

El clima de España, junto con los monumentos históricos, su cultura, su comida y su posición geográfica hacen que España sea una de las destinaciones turísticas más agradables del mundo, y una de mis favoritas. 

Os deseo unas vacaciones maravillosas en España. 

Amore Italiano

A volte mi sento diviso in due.

Sono nel paese in cui sono nato e eppure mi sento straniero.

Vi spiego; tanto tempo fa ho perso il cuore in italia e sembra proprio che ne abbia lasciato un pezzo lì.

Penso che sia un sentimento a cui non mi abituerò mai.

Diciasette anni fa ho lasciato l’Irlanda per andare a vivere in Italia, tutto per provare una nuova esperienza. Ero giovane, single e senza figli. Insomma, non avevo nessuna responsabilità. Avevo un lavoro ma non una carriera. Ero libero di fare qualsiasi cosa che volevo. Allora, un bel giorno, ho deciso di lasciare il lavoro e partire per l’Italia per un anno.

Almeno, doveva essere per un anno ma, come succede spesso in questi casi, è arrivato l’amore e tutti i piani sono stati cambiati. Alla fine mi sono fermato lì due anni.

Erano due anni pieni di esperienze, sia splendide che brutte (la maggior parte splendide). Ho scoperto un altro paese (il paese più bello del mondo secondo me), ho scoperto una meravigliosa cultura, gente talmente brava che mi viene da piangere quando penso a tutti i bravi amici che ho lasciato nel momento in cui ho deciso di tornare a casa, amici che, ormai ho capito, sono amici per la vita.

Mi sono subito innamorato dell’Italia. C’ è tantissimo da vedere lì , è un paese piena  di bellezze naturali. Il sole rende tutti felici e la gente va in giro con un sorriso sulla bocca, sanno godere della vita.

Il cibo, il calcio, le belle ragazze, il profumo nell’aria durante l’estate e sopratutto il ritmo della vita sono delle cose che mi hanno fatto innamorare del mio paese adottivo  e mi mancano. Sedendomi in piazza, sotto il sole, mangiando un buon gelato mentre contemplavo la bellezza del duomo, cose che non si possono fare in Irlanda.

Al livello di luoghi, Venezia e la zona intorno al Lago di Garda per me sono splendidi e sono i miei luoghi preferiti ma devo far staccare  la città che mi ha dato così tanto – lavoro, amici, un posto in cui vivere e sentirmi bene , e certo l’amore. Quella città si chiama Crema, e  una città più bella per vivere in questo mondo, non esiste.

Ma dopo tutte le esperienze vissute lì e tutte le bellezze che ci sono da vedere, devo sottolineare che è la gente d’Italia che lo rende uno dei posti migliori per vivere, ci si sta veramente bene.

Ed è proprio per quello che mi sento straniero adesso in Irlanda. Vorrei talmente tornare in Italia che ogni giorno mi viene la nostalgia, forse ancora più forte della nostalgia che mi ha fatto tornare qui quindici anni fa.

Pensa!! Quindici anni e ancora soffro della nostalgia. Ho lasciato tanto in dietro, forse troppo. Un bel lavoro, amici, una bella casetta e un’amore speciale.

Sono tornato sotto una nuvola e da quel punto in poi ho sempre avuto dei rimpianti.

Forse l’ho lasciata troppo in fretta.