Education is one of the most importants things and nowadays it’s compulsory in most of the countries in the world.
Supporting quality education, training and social cohesion
The EU supports Member States in their efforts to provide the best education and training for their citizens. It also promotes multilingualism in Europe, helping with the teaching and learning of languages, encouraging mobility of students, trainees, teachers and young people, and facilitating exchanges of information and experience.
The EU sets out the framework for EU countries to exchange best practices and learn from each other, with an aim to:
– make lifelong learning and mobility a reality
– improve the quality and efficiency of education and training
– promote equity, social cohesion and active citizenship
– enhance creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship
To reach the objectives set out in the education and training framework, the EU implements policies in sectors such as:
– early childhood education and care
– schools
– vocational education and training
– higher education
– adult education
In the field of youth, the EU sets out a framework for cooperation among Member States through the EU Youth Strategy.
Through the Erasmus+ programme, the EU also provides funding, tools and resources for individuals, organisations and policy reform, in areas such as:
– study, training and development for students, trainees and education professionals abroad
– opportunities abroad for young people and youth workers
– opportunities for organisations to develop partnerships for innovation in education, training and youth
– knowledge exchange and policy reform to support growth, jobs, equity and social inclusion within Europe.
The European Solidarity Corps creates opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in projects in their own country or abroad that benefit communities and people around Europe.
5 participants (15-30 years old) from Italy are looked for an Erasmus+ project FOCUS!
The mobillity period is 11.01.2020 – 20.01.2020 (excluding travel days). Participation is free of charge!! All expenses (accomodation, meals activities, transport etc) are covered by the project. For registration, a CV is needed.
Every European citizen has the right to know how the food he eats is produced, processed, packaged, labelled and sold. The central goal of the European Commission’s Food Safety policy is to ensure a high level of protection of human health regarding the food industry — Europe’s largest manufacturing and employment sector. The Commission’s guiding principle, primarily set out in its White Paper on Food Safety, is to apply an integrated approach from farm to fork covering all sectors of the food chain.1
Ensuring safe food from farm to fork
Health protection is the aim of all EU laws and standards in the agriculture, animal husbandry and food production sectors. An extensive body of EU-wide law covers the entire food production and processing chain within the EU, as well as imported and exported goods.2
EU countries implement these harmonised standards and establish controls to enforce them. The EU audits the application and effectiveness of the laws and controls, and also provides training to the responsible EU and international authorities.3
EU food safety policy and action is concentrated in 4 main areas of protection:
* Food hygiene: food businesses, from farms to restaurants, must comply with EU food law, including those importing food to the EU.
* Animal health: sanitary controls and measures for pets, farmed animals and wildlife monitor and manage diseases, and trace the movement of all farm animals.
* Plant health: detection and eradication of pests at an early stage prevents spreading and ensures healthy seeds.
* Contaminants and residues: monitoring keeps contaminants away from food and animal feed. Maximum acceptable limits apply to domestic and imported food and feed products.4
Food Hygiene
Rules on hygiene of foodstuffs were adopted in April 2004 by the European Parliament and the Council […]. They became applicable on 1 January 2006.5
The 2004 rules merged, harmonised and simplified detailed and complex hygiene requirements previously contained in a number of Council Directives covering the hygiene of foodstuffs and the production and placing on the market of products of animal origin.
The rules in place since 2006 innovate in making a single, transparent hygiene policy applicable to all food and all food operators right through the food chain (“from farm to fork”), together with effective instruments to manage food safety and any future food crises throughout the food chain.
A Commission report (2009) recounts the experience gained, including the difficulties encountered (in 2006, 2007 and 2008) from the implementation of the hygiene package by all interested actors. It does not suggest any detailed solutions to the difficulties reported and is, therefore, not accompanied by proposals.
The European Parliament is an important forum for political debate and decision-making at the EU level. The Members of the European Parliament are directly elected by voters in all Member States to represent people’s interests with regard to EU law-making and to make sure other EU institutions are working democratically. The Parliament represents the second-largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world. The Presidentof the European Parliament (Parliament’s speaker) is David Sassoli (elected in July 2019).
European Parliament in Strasbourg
The Committees of the European Parliament
In order to do the preparatory work for Parliament’s plenary sittings, the Members are divided up among a number of specialised standing committees. There are 20 parliamentary committees that meet once or twice a month in Brussels and whose debates are held in public.
Languages, translation and interpretation
Speakers in the European Parliament are entitled to speak in any of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Simultaneous interpreting is offered in all plenary sessions, and all final texts of legislation are translated. With twenty-four languages, the European Parliament is the most multilingual parliament in the world and the biggest employer of interpreters in the world. Citizens may also address the Parliament in Basque, Catalan/Valencian and Galician.
Plenary
Plenary sittings are chaired by the President of the European Parliament. The President of the European Parliament is assisted in this task by the 14 vice-presidents, who can take over the chair. The President opens the sitting, sometimes with a tribute or a speech on a current topic. Parliament is in fact constantly concerned to respond to the latest developments in any major issue and has no hesitation in changing its agenda in order to call on the Union to act. The President’s influence can be decisive in this respect.
Vibrant rural areas and quality agricultural products
World food production needs to double by 2050 to cater for population growth and evolving food habits. It faces the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, soil and water quality, and the demands of the global marketplace.
EU farm
policy has changed considerably in recent decades to help
farmers face these challenges and respond to peoples’ changing
attitudes and expectations. EU agricultural policy covers a wide
range of areas, including food quality, traceability,
trade and promotion of EU farm products. The EU
financially supports its farmers and encourages sustainable
and eco-friendly practices, while also investing in the
development of rural areas.
EU institutions collaborate on food and farming policy-making, implementing, monitoring and evaluating it. National and local authorities implement the laws agreed at EU level. Through the EU budget, funds are made available to member states in accordance to rules set at EU level. The EU also monitors how laws are applied, how effective they are, and coordinates amendments.
Agriculture
and food related industries and services provide over 44 million
jobs in the EU, including regular work for 20 million people
within the agricultural sector itself. Thanks to its varied climate,
fertile soil, the technical skills of its farmers and the quality of
its products, the EU is one of the world’s leading
producers and exporters of agricultural products.
Agriculture and rural development in EU: Rural development 2014-2020
The EU’s rural development policy helps the rural areas of the EU to meet the wide range of economic, environmental and social challenges of the 21st century. Frequently called “the second pillar” of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), it complements the system of direct payments to farmers and measures to manage agricultural markets (the so-called “first pillar”).
There are
118 different rural development programmes (RDP) in the 28
Member States for this period, with 20 single national
programmes and 8 Member States opting to have two or
more (regional) programmes.
EU framework for rural development programmes
Member
States and regions draw up their rural development programmes
based on the needs of their territories and addressing at
least four of the following six common EU priorities:
* Fostering
knowledge transfer and innovation in agriculture,
forestry and rural areas
* Enhancing
the viability and competitiveness of all types of
agriculture, and promoting innovative farm technologies
and sustainable forest management
* Promoting
food chain organisation, animal welfare and risk
management in agriculture
* Restoring,
preserving and enhancing ecosystems related to agriculture and
forestry
* Promoting
resource efficiency and supporting the shift toward a
low-carbon and climate-resilient economy in the
agriculture, food and forestry sectors
* Promoting social inclusion, poverty reduction and economic development in rural areas
So this is my last text like that here and I decided to dedicate it to my one of my big passions, namely to the literature. This was also one of the reasons why I decided to study French Language and Literature in the University of Tartu. These were the best years of my life! I really enjoyed being a student. Now, after I’ve graduated, I try to continue using critical thinking while reading books, without loosing the ability to enjoy the story.
I’ve
read a lot of books in my life and some novels have left a deep
impression on me. So this time I’ve decided to talk about some of
my favourite books and/or writers.
Firstly, one of my absolute favourite authors is SirTerry Pratchett. I love his Discworld series (Serie del Mondo Disco). All the activities take place on a flat, circular, disc-shaped world which sits on the back of four big elephants, which in their turn stand on the carapace of a giant turtle. Some popular characters who appear in different books, are for example gods, a failed wizard and the DEATH.
I
really like his writing style. Pratchett’s books are very funny and
enjoyable to read, especially because he treats in a comical and
satirical way real world issues and problems. You can also find
references about different religions. For example the characters
called The Four Horsemen of the Apocralypse are described in the last
book of the New Testament (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse).
Also, The myth of a giant turtle/tortoise supporting the world occurs
in Hindu, in Chinese and in Native American mythology.
My another favourite book from Russian literature is “The Master and Margarita” (Il maestro e Margherita) by Mikhail Bulgakov. He imagines very well the Russian/Soviet society of that time. At first sight, the text seemed too weird and confusing to me. But the more I read the more interesting it seemed. Finally I got used to the characters like the giant talking cat and the devil Woland, who had come to Moscow, and all the weird things that happen. This book has been considered as one of the best novels of the 20th century. I really enjoyed it and I would recommend reading it for those who haven’t done it yet.
The next book series doesn’t need a long introduction, I guess. I really like “Harry Potter”by British author J. K. Rowling. In my mind, it’s absolutely amazing how she has described all the characters, all the places and all the mystical events.
A German-speaking Bohemian author who I quite like is Franz Kafka. I have read his books called “The Castle” (Il castello) and “The Trial” (Il processo). At the beginning, his writing style seemed very weird and it was very hard to understand what he wanted to say. While analysing the text a bit more closely, I found the books actually quite interesting. The main characters of both of the books have to deal with ignorance. There are events and circumstances that don’t depend on them.
In
“The Trial”, the main character called Josef K. is
unexpectedly arrested one morning. Nobody never explains him what he
had done wrong (if he had done anything wrong at all), he only has
to go to the court. Even the lawyer doesn’t seem to have any
intention to help Josef
K.
In
“The Castle”, the
main character is called simply K. He arrives
to a village where he should have had a job.
it’s impossible to speak to an
official named Klamm. K
tries to go to the
castle to ask for any information, but
he fails.
Another great book that I enjoyed a lot is “The picture of Dorian Gray” (Il ritratto di Dorian Gray) by Oscar Wilde. It’s a great story about double life, supernatural events that reflect the reality. In Gothic fiction, that this book also represents, the paintings have often a sinister role. In this book, Dorian Gray stays young and beautiful while the painting of him becomes more and more ugly and finally it’s so disgusting for Dorian himself that he hides it. Although “The Picture of Dorian Gray” might be a bit terrifying, I believe it’s still worth reading.
Concerning Italian literature, I really love “The Divine Comedy” (La Comedìa/Divina Commedia) by Dante Alighieri. I have read only the first part (Inferno). Other two parts include Purgatorio and Paradiso. It’s a poem where ‘sweet new style’ (Dolce Stil Novo) was used for the first time. It represents the vision of the afterlife through the medieval world-view that had been developed by the 14th century in the Western Church. In teh forst part, the main character travels with Virgil throught the underworld.
Another book from the Russian literature that I really like is “The Idiot” (L’idiota) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I should read it more attentively myself, but I still believe it’s a great book. It’s a story about social issues and norms in Russia that cause a lot of problems for the main character called Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin who has returned to his homeland from abroad and who is not able to integrate to this society any more.
As last recommendations, I decided to choose something also from the French literature. The first book, that is quite difficult to read, but that is still an amazing piece of work, is “Nausea” (La nausea) by Jean-Paul Sartre. The protagonist, Antoine Roquentin, tries to finish one of his researches, but he often feels that the world is weird and absurd that evokes him a sense of nausea. The only way how he can deal with it, is music. Sartre’s philosophical approach and existentialist concept makes it a bit difficult to read, but it’s still very interesting novel.
And the final one… I’m a huge fan of Molière, a 17th century playwright, actor and poet. Strongly influenced by italian commedia dell’arte, his comedies treat social issues in a satirical way. Although commedia dell’arte was based on improvisation, Molière’s early comedies were based on its scenarios, but with scripted dialogue and not improvised. Some of his plays I really like are: “The Imaginary Invalid” (Il malato immaginario), “Tartuffe”/“The Impostor”/“The Hypocrite” (Il Tartuffo), “The Ridiculous Précieuses”/”The Affected Ladies” (Le preziose ridicole).
A French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist René Descartes has said: “The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest (people) of the past centuries.” In my mind, reading is fun, educative and a perfect leisure time activity. So I would like to invite everyone to read books and to think about what the writers have to say.
Carissimi, eccomi di nuovo a scrivere della mia esperienza come volontaria italiana in Grecia. In questo articolo voglio concentrarmi su quelle che sono state le mie sensazioni e riflessioni riguardanti il progetto e la mia vita qui man mano che il tempo scorreva durante i mesi di agosto e settembre, alcune positive ma alcune anche negative, perché un’esperienza di volontariato all’estero non è tutta rose e fiori, e voglio condividere quello che ho vissuto sperando possa essere utile per chi deve ancora partire o per chi, magari, ha attraversato la medesima fase e ha bisogno di ritrovarsi.
Iniziamo dunque. I primi due mesi trascorsi a Nea Moudania, paesino di mare nella penisola Halkidiki, sono stati molto intensi e movimentati, poiché You in Europe, organizzazione presso cui sto svolgendo il volontariato, ha ospitato due scambi giovanili (uno youth exchange di una settimana a giugno e un ESC di un mese a luglio), ma una volta terminate queste attività e dopo che i ragazzi con cui avevamo condiviso l’esperienza erano tornati ai loro tetti natii, ho avuto veramente modo di capire le dinamiche del mio progetto e come mi ci stavo inserendo, sia da un punto di vista pratico che emotivo. Procederò con ordine, raccontando prima di tutto il mese di agosto, che è stato un mese pieno di domande e di dubbi su cosa stessi facendo, probabilmente perché è stato il primo momento in cui mi sono trovata da sola con i miei pensieri, senza mille impegni o persone da vedere ed eventi da organizzare. Le attività in cui ero impegnata, insieme agli altri due volontari del progetto, consistevano ora principalmente nel lavoro mattutino presso i due centri ricreativi dove ci eravamo inseriti sin dall’inizio del volontariato, e in una riunione settimanale insieme ai responsabili dell’associazione per riportare l’andamento delle attività. Il resto del tempo era praticamente tutto libero, e sebbene il lavoro nei centri procedesse molto bene, questo è stato un elemento che mi ha portata più volte a domandarmi “cosa sto facendo qui?”. Qualcuno, tra chi leggerà queste righe, potrà pensare che sia matta: lavorare quattro ore al giorno per poi spaparanzarsi al sole fino al tramonto è stato motivo di crisi esistenziale? Potrebbe sembrare assurdo, eppure. Come ho scritto, le attività all’interno dei centri ricreativi stavano procedendo nel migliore dei modi: stavo portando avanti un corso di italiano per i bambini delle elementari, e un corso di yoga per il gruppo di adulti con disabilità. Entrambi questi gruppi mi avevano accolta a braccia aperte ed ero in grado di lavorare insieme a loro nonostante la barriera linguistica del greco in maniera sorprendente. Mi rendevo quindi conto dei punti di forza di questo progetto e dell’impatto positivo che la mia presenza stava avendo sulla comunità locale, e questa energia positiva rimbalzava anche su di me, facendomi sentire utile per il ruolo che svolgevo, pur non essendo una professionista o esperta. I dubbi che mi hanno assalita riguardavano il resto della giornata, quando non erano presenti attività definite né un orario serrato, momenti in cui pensavo se ciò che stavo facendo fosse abbastanza, se mi soddisfacesse davvero, o se fosse giusto per me. Il fatto di poter godere della spiaggia dopo il lavoro era sicuramente piacevole, ma continuavo a domandarmi quando o se avremmo iniziato seriamente con altre attività.
Posso affermare quindi che, nonostante riuscissi a cogliere la validità del progetto di volontariato, al contempo mi domandavo se ciò che mi veniva offerto fosse quello di cui avevo davvero bisogno per sentirmi soddisfatta del lavoro e se bastasse per trovare un senso nell’aver intrapreso la scelta di restare un anno all’estero. Credo che ogni progetto abbia le proprie criticità, e che non esistano progetti perfetti o che vadano incontro alle necessità di ogni volontario, così come possono sorgere dei dubbi in qualsiasi lavoro una persona stia svolgendo, e questa consapevolezza mi ha aiutata a superare i momenti più duri e a ridimensionare ciò che stavo attraversando, considerandolo normale e umano. Tali pensieri ed emozioni mi hanno accompagnata fino al mese di settembre, quando qualcosa ha iniziato a cambiare: innanzitutto, l’arrivo di un nuovo volontario che veniva ad aggiungersi al nostro gruppo ha sicuramente movimentato la situazione; il nostro progetto era infatti stato scritto per quattro persone, e You in Europe è riuscita a trovare il partecipante che mancava solo alla fine dell’estate. In secondo luogo, con la riapertura delle scuole pubbliche e delle attività sportive anche il nostro orario lavorativo ha subito dei cambiamenti: abbiamo infatti iniziato a lavorare nelle ore pomeridiane nei centri ricreativi, e un’ulteriore opportunità si è aperta per noi che abbiamo infatti potuto iniziare a dare una mano agli allenatori delle squadre di pallavolo del paese, supportando le loro attività con bambini e ragazzi in palestra. L’avvio di queste nuove attività mi hanno quindi ulteriormente aiutata a ricominciare a sperare per il meglio e a ritrovare un po’ di motivazione per il mio volontariato.
Per concludere vorrei quindi dire che credo sia normale avere dubbi e che sollevare delle criticità può portare al miglioramento delle scelte che si intraprendono, soprattutto se di lungo periodo e lontano dalle persone care. Anche aver attraversato questa fase critica mi ha aiutata ad acquisire più consapevolezza in me stessa e nelle persone che mi circondano, e sono convinta che sia importante fare tesoro dei momenti negativi e come siamo in grado di superarli, poiché spesso ci possono insegnare molto di più delle esperienze positive. Vorrei inoltre aggiungere che i dubbi su alcuni aspetti del progetto e le domande interiori riguardanti questa mia scelta non sono spariti con un colpo di bacchetta, né la mia routine, posso dire abbastanza tranquilla, è cambiata radicalmente; ho però cercato giorno dopo giorno di gestire i miei sentimenti e vedere il lato positivo della situazione, provando davvero ad imparare da ogni cosa, anziché cercare una via d’uscita “facile” e abbandonare tutto.
Grazie per aver dedicato del tempo alla lettura di questo articolo, a prestissimo da Nea Moudania!
About a week ago I thought that all my days are the same now that I have nothing to write about any more. Well, I forgot – it’s about life… Something happens all the time; things go wrong, sometimes everything goes perfectly well. My room mate arrived and we have had a lot of fun the last weekend. But… then I also faced for the first time the first real culture shock!
Some paintings
Usually
don’t go out to have a dinner or to the cinema with somebody. One
evening, my room mate and I decided to go out for dinner. As I’ve
been in Faenza for about two months already, I took her to a place
that I quite like myself. It’s a nice place near Piazza del Popolo.
We entered the room. The first problems started even before we could
sit down. The reason is quite clear – my Italian is almost non
existent and my room mate’s Italian is not better. Fortunately one
of the waiters spoke a bit English. So we got a table for two. The
waiter brought us a menu and explained what they have. Usually I’m
not able to choose very quickly one meal between all these Italian
choices of food, but this time I knew already what I wanted so we
ordered a drink plus buffet aperitivo. Later, my room mate took
another drink. I always try to spend as few as possible, so I did
also this time. The place was very noisy, a lot of people and quite
loud music. But, well, that was fine. Surprisingly. Finally we went
to pay for our dinner. In my mind it’s funny that here you can eat
and drink before and then you pay. What if I forgot my wallet at home
and I have no money? Sorry dude, but I already ate your food… Bye
then!
Anyway, in Estonia it’s normal and very common that when you go out with your friends, everyone pays for the things they ordered. But here they had put the bill together, but we wanted to pay separately. And what did they do? They just split the final sum and I was forced to pay more than I should have paid!!! Ok fine, the sum wasn’t that huge, but this is a question of principle and I have to say that it was a shock for me…
A nice breakfast few days before the culture shock
Another time my room mate and I decided to go to the cinema. It sounds funny that two foreigners who don’t understand a sh*t of the language go to see a film without any subtitles… Well, probably one way to learn a language, but still… It was surprising that actually I did understand quite a lot. At least in my mind. And as weird as it sounds, but it is one of a few places where I can actually hear Italian (and hopefully learn at least something). Very soon I’ll start my personal project. I hope to be able to do many personal projects, but this time I’m going to do a language exchange. I don’t really know yet how it will work, but hopefully I can finally learn a bit Italian and in return help with some English and/or French.
Coming back to the previous topic. Again, a cultural shock hit my in the face even before I could enter the auditorium. At first, we had to buy tickets (hahah, at least here we need to pay before can actually see the film). As we went to see a film in Italian, I thought it would maybe be a bit too weird when we happily announce everyone that we speak no Italian at all. So I tried to use some few words that I managed to remember and surprisingly the booking clerk didn’t switch to English (I assume his English might have been even worse than my Italian, so he just let me suffer). I asked for one ticket, but as I was there with my friend, the booking clerk automatically asked about both of us. And as my friend don’t speak Italian yet, I did answer for both of us. Again, according to my Estonian background, I naively thought that each of us is going to pay its own ticket, but, you can already guess how did it go… The booking clerk asked me 9€. So it was obviously me who had to pay for both of us again!!!!!! At least when I saw the tickets I discovered that we both got a discount, but the fact that I always need to pay for someone else makes me so angry!!! So this is the price when you try to “speak” Italian!? Now I’m absolutely terrified to go anywhere with somebody again…
Tutto il mio folle amore (2019)
A
few words about the film itself. The title of the film we were
watching is Tutto il mio folle amore (2019). It’s a drama by
Gabriele Salvatores based on a true story that talks about family
relationships. At the heart of the story are an autistic boy called
Vincent, Elena, his mother, Mario, Vincent’s stepfather and Willi,
boy’s natural father. One night when Willi comes to the house of
Elena and Mario after having a concert, he’s drunk. It’s the
first time when he sees his son. Elena is furious at Willi and kicks
him out. The next morning, Willi leaves to go to perform in another
city. When he stops his car in the middle of nowhere, Vincent jumps
out of it and starts running. Willi is shocked. He informs Elena that
their son is with him. Elena wants him to bring Vincent back at home,
but Willi decides to continue his trip with Vincent. They have a lot
of problems, accidents and worries, but this adventure also makes the
relationship between the father and the son much stronger.
Suddenly, there was a pause for 3-5 minutes… In a cinema!!? I couldn’t believe that, I’ve never seen something like that in a cinema before. Only possible in Italy… 😀
Elena
didn’t give up and she went to search for her son with Mario. At
the end, all of the family members meet. I quite liked the ending of
the film which was a bit sad, thought-provoking, not like all of the
Hollywood movies with an eternal happy endings… Although I think
that this film had also a happy end.
In
my opinion, it’s a good film, worth watching. I’s a bit sad, but
beautiful. The actors were very good. I liked the main character’s
acting, in my mind, the actor played well a person with a mental
illness. And the music they used in the film, was also good. I really
loved the Imagine Dragons’ song Next to me at the very end!
In conclusion, I really enjoyed the film and the fact that I was able to watch it in Italian! I definitely want to watch some other Italian films in the future.
As
the time goes on, the routine begins to take shape step by step. It
means that during the week, I stay in the office, I write blog posts,
deal with international project and go to the after school.
During
the weekend, I try to find some places not very far from Faenza
(mostly because of money) to travel a bit, although sometimes I feel
very lazy, I would better stay home and sleep. But I don’t want to
deepen my laziness, so I try to find something to do. On the other
hand, I feel that during the week I have a lot of things to do, my
daily schedule is quite full. So maybe there is some kind of balance
after all?
This week I went again to Brisighella to visit an event called “Sagra dell’agnellone e del castrato Q.C.”. There was a market where products like meat, jam, etc. were sold; some musicians were performing onstage and a lunch was offered as well. I have to say that I really like Italian food, but the menu might be very confusing for me; and not only because of my inability to understand Italian, but also because the meals can be cooked so many different ways and it’s hard for me to choose which ones I might like the most. Also, I’m a horrible cook myself. Nevertheless, while in Brisighella, I also used the chance to enjoy once more this wonderful nature and picturesque landscape 🙂
There will also be other similar events in Brisighella which might me worth visiting.
Back
to Faenza, I discovered that there was an event in the Piazza del
Popolo: “Camminata del dialogo“. It was the final gathering of a
walking tour organised by the “Centro di Cultura Islamica”
(Centre of Islamic Culture) which was dedicated to the promotion of
the coexistence of different religious cultures. A great cover band
called Onde Radio were singing Italian songs of different artists and
also some food and drinks were offered there.
I
really love music and that’s a shame that I’m not really able to
play any instruments myself. But I listen to music a lot. Usually I
combine my love for music and my love for languages and so I mostly
listen music in different languages. The following list of singers
and songs is a bit long, but hopefully there’s something
interesting for you too 🙂
First
of all, some singers (and some of their songs) in French:
1.
Zaz (Isabelle Geffroy) – a French singer-songwriter who mixes jazzy
styles, French variety, soul and acoustic. SONG EXAMPLE(S): “Je
veux”, “Eblouie par la nuit”
2.
Black M (Alpha Diallo) – a French rapper and singer-songwriter.
SONG EXAMPLE(S): “Sur ma route”, “Le plus fort du monde”,
“French Kiss”
3.
Maître Gims (Gandhi Bilel Djuna) – a Congolese singer, rapper and
composer who grew up in France and who has worked with several
international artists such as Sia, Pitbull, Lil Wayne, Stromae,
Maluma, Sting, etc. SONG EXAMPLE(S): “Est-ce que tu m’aimes?”,
“Lo Mismo” ft. Alvaro Soler
4.
Stromae (Paul Van Haver) – a Belgian musician, rapper, singer and
songwriter. SONG EXAMPLE(S): “Alors on danse”, “Tous Les Mêmes”
5.
Christophe Maé (Christophe Martichon) – a French pop singer. SONG
EXAMPLE(S): “Tombé sous le charme”, “Il est où le bonheur”
6.
Gaël Faye – a French-Rwandan singer-songwriter, rapper, writer and
interpreter born in Bujumbura, Burundi. SONG EXAMPLE(S): “A France”
7.
Grand Corps Malade (Fabien Marsaud) – a French slam poet and
lyricist. SONG EXAMPLE(S): “Roméo kiffe Juliette”, “Funambule”
A
great Spanish-German singer-songwriter is Álvaro Soler (Álvaro
Tauchert Soler). SONG
EXAMPLE(S): “Sofia”,
“Volar”,
“El Mismo Sol” ft. Jennifer Lopez
Some
great Danish singers:
1.
Tina Dickow/Dico (Tina Dickow Danielsen) – a singer-songwriter.
SONG
EXAMPLE(S): “Pigen ud
af
Aarhus”, “Alt hvad
hun
ville”
2.
Rasmus Seebach – a singer, author and producer. SONG
EXAMPLE(S): “Øde Ø”,
“Under stjernerne på himlen”
Some
singers and songs from Iceland:
1.
Friðrik Dór – an Icelandic R&B and pop singer and songwriter.
SONG
EXAMPLE(S): “Í Síðasta
Skipti”
1.
“Cé a chuirfidh tú liom” by Arcanadh – a six piece
traditional Irish vocal group of musicians from all over Ireland
2.
“Cad é sin don té sin” by Caladh Nua – a band with origins
rooted in the south-eastern counties of Ireland
3.
“Hùg Air A’ Bhonaid Mhòir” by Julie Fowlis – a Scottish folk
singer and multi-instrumentalist
Finally,
there is a great Malian singer-songwriter Fatoumata Diawara who sings
in the Malian language called Wassoulou. I really like her album
“Fatou” (2011) where she explores themes of war, abandonment of
children and female circumcision.
This list is definitely not complete, there are a lot of wonderful singers and very good songs and I like to listen almost every genre of music, vocal and instrumental.
New country, new experiences, new gladnesses and new problems. Possibility to grow internally, danger to have a mental breakdown. My life in Italy its has ups and downs, as everyone, as everywhere. One of my favourite writers Terry Pratchett has said: “Wisdom comes from experience. Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom.”
I have to say that Italy is quite a messy country – people are often quite disorganised, the traffic is crazy… But at some point I also kind of like Italian life style… sometimes. Lately I went to the market, because I needed new boots. I found one quite nice pair, not very expensive, but when I tried them, I discovered that unfortunately these ones don’t fit very well. So I asked for smaller ones. I have used to the fact that everything is in order and placed in a clear way – when you want to find smaller or bigger boots of the same type, you just go and take them from a place where you have all the same type of boots. Clear and easy, isn’t it? But how things work in Italy? Well, after I’ve told to the salesman that I would need a bit smaller ones, he tried to find them from the boxes that were under the boots I had tried. Then he went to the other side and searched them from there. He was looking for those boots almost everywhere and finally he came back and told me that he was sorry, but he couldn’t find them at that moment; and he told me to come back on Thursday… 😀
When
I already started to talk about boots and shoes, there is another
cultural difference that I’ve noticed: entering the room with your
boots. In Estonia, it’s very impolite, disrespectful and even
unthinkable to enter (especially somebody else’s)
room/apartment/etc. with your shoes on; we always leave them in the
corridor. There are some rare cases when the host asks you not to
take off your shoes though. But here in Italy, it seems totally
normal and usual thing to just to drop in with your shoes on. Well,
in Italy or not, but in my room, I wouldn’t let people walk around
like that. As my future room mate (who will arrive very soon) is from
Finland, I hope that we share the same principles…
As
the time flies by so fast and we’re always in a hurry, I feel that
I need to charge myself and to take some time off. And the yoga
classes are perfect for that! it’s the place where you can feel
really calm and relaxed.
Also, finally I had the chance to practice again another activity which is one of my my big passions too – it’s rock climbing!! The last time I had the chance to rock climb was in the beginning of September. The climbing hall where I go here in Faenza is quite small, but at least it’s something. There is the possibility of climbing with ropes (lead and top rope climbing), bouldering and speed climbing (that I personally don’t like very much). Hopefully I will have the chance and courage to do more lead climbing in the near future as well.
Last but not least, last Sunday I visited Bologna! It’s also very beautiful city. I’ve always liked to watch some street artists from YouTube, but now I finally saw myself a wonderful drummer playing his self-made drum kit, a guy who was playing guitar and singing very nicely, an artist who was moulding a dog…
In
general, it was again
quite nice week full
of different activities. Although
you can never know what to expect from Italy and
from the other people.
But
if it doesn’t kill me, I can manage it.
