3.7.09

Learning Italian

While I was waiting for my visa in Rome, I decided to learn Italian.

Why I paid almost 10euros per hours to learn another not useful language(I think probably Italy is the only country where I can speak Italian)? Am I crazy?

Yes, I am really crazy in learning about language. There is no reason to explain the feeling when I can speak another languages and when I am learning it. It just gives me the feeling like falling in love.

Moreover, I always feel frustrated if I cannot speak the local language with the people there. I want to use their language to communicate with them and to learn more about their cultures. And to your surprise, Italian people don't have a high standard of English education, so speaking Italian can be useful.

Furthermore, Italian is such a beautiful language, just listening to it and speaking it is already a pleasure for me. Because I have the foundation of Spanish, learning Italian just becomes so easy for me. They have the similar grammer structure, similar spelling of vocabulary, similar pronuncation. Though it also confuses me sometimes, I mix the two languages while I am speaking.

However, comparing with the learning experience in Ecuador, I needed to pay more money for the class, I need to share one teacher with more student in the classroom, I also got less chance to practise. But, here is Italy! I cannot expect I can pay the same small amount of money and get the same result as in Ecuador.

But I also enjoyed it, I like the interaction with other classmates. And I met interesting people in the class. I found that most often, the people who learn Italian are out of religious reasons.

In my class, there were 2 Colombians, one is a prist, the other is a professor in Teology. Then there was a nun from Poland, who could only speak her language and Italian. I cannot imagine how hard it took her to learn Italian! There was also a woman from Kenya, who is studying Teology in Rome. And there were also 2 Brazilian, one Japanese girl. Such an interesting combination. But I found out that religious people like prist and nun are not necessary serious and stubbon. They are so funny and intersting like normal people.

I studied for 3weeks in Rome, 4hours a day, 5days a week. But the result is far less sufficient than what I can learn if I can take a private lesson. If it was not because the cost was too high(I also need to consider the accomodation cost), I will continue my study. It was such a happy experience.

Our school. The nun, Sr Corole is really cute.

Our class. The girl with red hair is our teacher, Maricla. She is really good and has a sense of humour.

Website of my school: Dante Alighieri

Anniversary/Aniversario/Anniversario

Time flies. On 28th June 2008, I flew to Ecuador from Hong Kong. One year later, I was in Abruzzo, near Rome, Italy.

During the past year, I was in Ecuador, learning my Spanish. Then I went to Peru, unexpectedly travelled to Bolivia, and fell in love with the region of Salar del Uyuni.

I went to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguary, Chile. I experienced the nature in Patagonia, I went to the southern tip of the land, had a white birthday and was impressed by the wildness of Torres del Paine in Chile.

I suffered the heat and the ant attack on Easter Island. But I love the yearly festival, Tapati there. Then I flew to the notorious Colombia and I found it is my favourite country ever. I love the people, the landscape and the culture there.

Sadly, I had to leave Colombia for Mexico. But it turned out to be my second favourite country, there are wonderful and nice people, delicious and diversified food, more than thousands of years of history and culture.

Amid the panic of Swine Flu, I arrived in Cuba, deeply understand the difficulties of the Cuban people. I loved Cuba, but I also fled to Mexico 2days earlier as I planned.

After 10 months in Latin America, I was totally not used to the high civilization in Switzerland. Luckily, I was pampered by my dear friends in Switzerland. I also met lots of friends whom I met on the road in London. I visited lots of museums and galleries, I enjoyed such a good time there.

Before I can head to my next dream country, India, it already made me suffer a lot. I flew to Italy to apply for the visa, I waited for weeks, I paid a lot for the visa, but it still turned out to be not what I wanted...

Anyway, I am definitely going to experience India in July, especially the hot and the monsoon...

To celebrate the 1st anniversary, I went for a little trek with my Italian friends in Abruzzo. It is around 3 hours away from Rome, where situates the rocky and strange shaped mountain, Gran Sasso (more than 3000metres), means the big stone. Its sharp surface and granite texture reminds me of Patagonia. Unluckily, the unstable summer weather prevented me to appreciate it to its most.

When talking about trekking, based on my experiences in South America, I always think it takes a few hours of tough walking. To my surprise, it was only a small trek that it only took us one hour to reach the destination.


Gran Sasso was totally covered by clouds. I could only see a little bit of its face amid the clouds.


Wonderful landscape. I never imagine a place where is so close to Rome can have such a nature.


The wildlife is so lively here.



A beautiful farmhouse on the path.



The scenery along the path.

There are lots of Visciola (similar to cherry) trees along the path.


In the end, it became a visciola picking trip, we almost picked all the visciola on the trees! They are so delicious and fresh!

Rome - Gay Pride

Because of the unexpected difficulty of getting the India visa in London, I flew to Rome, Italy. I found that flying out form London to anywhere in Europe was incredibly cheap with Ryanair. As it only costed me 60pounds to Rome(one way ticket), so why not gave it a try and see this ancient city?

Before I introduce any typical ruins in Rome which you can find in any magazines or books, I think it will be interesting to see the other side of Rome by watching its gay parade in the city centre.

For me, it was also a wonderful opportunity to take pictures. As it was like a party on the street, everybody was dressing fantastically and liked being shot a lot, though the temperatue was over 30degree, I enjoyed that day very much.

So let's feel how crazy are the Romans!

First of all, let me present 'Jesus'!

He was so serious of 'blessing' the gay world.

Here came 'Maria'. 'Her' look is so holy that there seems light coming from the tip of her finger.


Everybody was struggling for a good location to see 'Maria'!

'The love is all healthy, but not to the Vatican.' Of course, they won't give up the chance of using rhyme to scold the Vatican.


A group of 'Funky pink' was the focus point of all the cameras in the gay pride.


Look how slim 'she' is.


They were just like movie stars.

'She' is really beautiful.


The confident ones are always pretty.


If they are really gay, I will be the first to say, 'What a pity!'


'She' reminded me of Thailand...

'She' is still too masculine, I think...

Do you agree with the tattoo on 'her' shoulder? But I think 'her' confindence has already won over any discrimination.


So SM...isn't it?





'Little Sweet'.


The group of 'Funky Pink' and the 'Little Sweet'.

It was so hot that I wanted to jump into this fountain in Piazza Della Rupubblica.


A real mermaid coming from the fountain.

Hot, isn't it?


One of them is the owner.


We should also free ourselves from clotes.

A brilliant example of the above slogan.

Love should not discriminate.

'She' was the funniest character in the whole gay pride! Just like the funny version of all those goddness of men's dream.


See how 'she' was enjoying herself.

Such a pair of sexy calves.

'She' is the owner of the sexy calves. I guess, she is at the stage of trasforming.


Um...their female features are too exaggerated! Though I envy them, I don't want to be like them...


Panty superman?


Finally, the parade started amid the surrounding of all those excited participants.


Look at 'her' leg, so sexy!

Even the statue of liberty joined the parade.

All the people joined the parade actively.

'We are all sons of the Father'.

You will not think 'she' is not a woman.

Another beautiful 'lady' actively seeked for the attention of my camera.


'Free all'. There were many homosexual organizations holding banner during the parade.


Behind the cheering gay parade, it came the serious looking military police. They totally tensed the atomsphere.


Carabinieri, means the military police in Italy. It is not the same as Police.