Dear Blog Readers, you are all going to think I am completely nuts, but here goes. Today I was walking home from work down Rome’s famous Via Del Corso lost deep in thought, I was thinking about my usual concerns (work -Italian hostage killed in botched British rescue attempt in Nigeria and kids- Caterina has …
It’s March 8th, International Women’s Day, when we are supposed to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In Italy people give women mini-bouquets of yellow mimosa flowers. I will leave the background and history of internationlal women’s day to other bloggers, but I want to say that an …
Drinking coffee is a unique experience in Italy and it is nothing like drinking coffee in the United States. An Italian caffe’, or espresso, comes in a tiny white cup and it is a deep brown syrupy-looking liquid at the bottom with a few little lighter brown bubbles around the edges. Italians stand at the …
Dear Blog Reader: I have not posted in a week which I understand is an eternity in the busy blogsphere. However, I have been busy with my job, first I went back to the Island of Giglio to do more reporting on the shipwrecked Costa Concordia ( see A Chilling Conversation and Kevin’s Puzzle), and then …
La vita della Super-mamma italiana non è la ‘Dolce Vita’ Come dimostrano articoli recenti, le tradizioni, le buone maniere, la disciplina e le abitudini dei genitori possono variare notevolmente da un Paese all’altro, ma la mamma italiana ha una vita più difficile di quelle americane o francesi. Un’affascinante ricerca condotta dalla prestigiosa università Bocconi di …
Part IV – Life of the Italian Super-Mamma – Not the ‘Dolce Vita’ As recent articles have shown, traditions, manners, discipline and parenting habits can vary dramatically from one country to the next, but the Italian Mamma is up against more than her counterparts in the US and France. A fascinating study by three women …
Benché sia contraria ai cereali a messa, da buona americana sono convinta dell’utilità di lasciare ai bambini una certa dose di libertà, a differenza di francesi e italiani. Pamela Druckerman racconta di aver imparato da una madre francese come parlare a suo figlio Leo in maniera severa e decisa, in modo che lui restasse nella …
Part III – Leo in the Sandbox, Nico in the Tree Although I am against fruit loops at Mass, I have a typical American belief in allowing kids a fair amount of liberty, unlike the French and Italians. Pamela Druckerman told the story of how she learned from a French Mom how to speak to …