Introducing myself

dminghella Image
09/02/2009 - 20:55

Dear all,An introduction:I am of Italian descent - my parents on both sides originate from the south, near Cassino (though both were born in the UK).I was brought up on the Isle of Wight, where my parents and sister still live.  I now live in London and, on and off for the last two years, in Umbria.  Sometimes I think I am a foreigner in the UK and a foreigner in Italy.  We didn't speak any Italian at home, so I have had to learn from scratch.  Luckily I have a lovely teacher from the Italian Instituta in London, so this is a luxury, not a hardship. My partner, Sarah, and I have four children: Dante (15), Louisa (10), Giorgio (4) and Rosa (6 months).  At the moment we are committed to our London lives - in particular the schools there - but we are also considering moving here permanently.Buying a house here was a dream for me, and of course once the dream becomes real, real bricks (or stone) and mortar, it loses its fantasy quality.  Your house becomes, like all houses, an expensive source of worry, a place in which jobs need doing, leaks need fixing, scorpions needs squashing.  So I am past the romantic stage and beginning to engage with the real Italy, and still incredibly happy to have begun this journey.  I look forward to becoming an Italian in actuality, not just in genetic inheritance.Best wishes,Dominc 

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Hi Dominic  (or should I say Domenico) and welcome to the Community. Going back to your roots is a very difficult exercise but a worthwhile one. Keep on fighting for your dream, we all need them.Best luck regarding your future plans.

Hi,we italians say "volere è potere", which means that if you want something, you'll get it - a little like "What you see is what you get".It seems that you are on the good way to become an Italiano Doc: you have 4 children called with italian names, you are learning Italian and have a house in Italy! Plus your ancestors are Italian, so you may have a knowledge of italian culture. But "non si finisce mai di imparare" (there is always something new to learn), and you should actually live in Italy to become a real italian and:- make very long queues at the Posta - pay new taxes even when you thought you had paid them all- go to multiple offices to get something fixed..I think you need some time to get used with all of that.. What can I say.. I'm Italian and can afford to live here, so why shouldn't you!Good Luck! In bocca al lupo!