Monday morning blues

Okay, so here we are Monday morning and it’s a really slow start to the day. I’ve had my green tea and toast and am now enjoying my Italian cappuccino before walking into the office. I expect to find notes on my desk from my boss with the words URGENT everywhere. What could have happened over the weekend that entails my urgent attention on something first thing Monday morning. 

I drag my feet, not wanting to go to the office but I must face the inevitable. I wonder why I put up with it but then my two daughters, doggie and bills pop into my mind, forcing me to put up with it.

I fantasize about earning enough off of my writing to tell my boss where to stick it, but obviously I can’t so here we go. I move my feet to walk into the office and I hesitate, wanting to enjoy my cappuccino in peace a few minutes more.

I make the mistake of checking my work emails and see the words URGENT URGENT URGENT in the subject line from my boss.

Well, here we go ... I walk into my office and see a note on my desk. PLEASE SEE ME AS SOON AS YOU ARRIVE!

I barely have time to put my cappuccino down on my desk and take off my coat before I find my boss standing before me talking about the urgent matter I need to deal with before I sit down. Blah blah blah blah. Not even a good morning or how was your weekend.

If any managers are out there reading, remember that staff is not a doormat to clean your feet upon but people that deserve respect and appreciation when it should be given.

Thanks for reading.

Grace :)

What happened to making plans ...

Dear friends,

I live in Rome, Italy and while I walk on the streets, I see a large number of migrants asking people for money or trying to wash car windows at a street light. These are people that came to Italy searching for a better life, whether for economic or political reasons. Many Italians look at them as an expense to the government but it makes me think about is how migration has changed from when my family immigrated, as many others, to a new country after the second world war.

How many families can say that theirs goes back centuries when people lived simple, hard working lives in the country of their ancestors? People migrate for different reasons and now as Italy is faced with difficult times, young Italian men and women are moving away for employment. Isn’t this the same as when our families migrated after the war or as the millions of migrants that are arriving in Italy? Yes and no because when our families migrated many years ago, as well as young Italians that recently migrated, they found employment. It’s all about earning enough to survive but each and every person has a different concept of surviving.

Migrants in Italy think about food and shelter at the end of the day whereas young Italians think about having a better life than what they left behind. Now there is a difference, the Italian government gives migrants a telephone with a twenty-five euro recharge every month. They get shelter, food and clothing at the Caritas (similar to Red Cross) and they seem happy to be in Italy with very little. The problem is that while young Italians are leaving Italy to find employment, Italy needs a younger generation that works in order to contribute to pension and taxes. Well, this isn’t happening because as the Italian population is getting older, the country is filling up with people that don’t work and don’t contribute to the Italian economy. So what exactly does that mean?

It means that Italy will be facing harder times than expected and it is very likely that it won’t be in a position to pay out pension to those who have contributed forty-four years and four months when they retire at the age of sixty-seven. To make matters worse, the government believes raising the retirement age to seventy will fix the problem.

So what will Italians do when they do reach the pensionable age? Who will give them food and shelter if the government will not pay out what the population is entitled to? The government doesn’t give Italian families food or shelter if they are unemployed - there is no welfare plan in Italy. Either a person works and survives or lives off of the goodness of friends and families.

I wish I could step into a time machine and zoom to the future to know how Italy will be only to go back in time to fix all the bad choices the governments (numerous governments over the years) made which changed the lives of many Italians in the process.

Have a great weekend.

Grace :)

Change is good

Well, here we are mid January and the temperature in Rome, Italy has started to warm. Soon it will be Valentine’s and we’ll wonder where did January go? As I watch my daughters battle with exams and burdened with homework, I look at them as our future. The young generation will bring hope and change to the planet. They will inspire us to do what is best for the planet whether we agree or not.  Not everyone believes that change is good but it must happen for life to improve.

Life in Italy is not getting better so it is important that the right choices are made now in order to improve life for the next generations. The question is, what do we need to change to improve the future. There are many topics that come to mind, such as: education, employment, environmental policies and security policies. This is only to name a few but they are the topics that come mind.

As we start a new year, let’s hope that the year brings us changes that help us move forward in more ways than one.

Grace  

The Eternal City

I am first generation Italian born abroad and as many other immigrants, my family kept its Italian language and traditions. We visited family in Italy nearly every year and every time our vacation was over, we were sad to return home. Then when I was in my early twenties, I quit my job, sold my car, and moved to Rome, Italy for a year in search of adventure.

When I arrived, I was fascinated by what I saw. There was a feeling that I couldn’t describe but as I walked the streets of  the Eternal City, I studied the Romans as they would promenade in the afternoon and I found myself thinking about life. Life in Rome offered me what I felt I’d always missed growing up - the feeling of belonging to a culture so when my year was up, I decided to stay longer.

I had met someone whom I was sure I would spend the rest of my life. It was love and I found myself changing the way I saw things the more I lived in Rome. The people were spontaneous and offered friendship easily, something I was not accustomed to abroad. They lived each day as it were the last, not worrying about the future which was great at the time because I was young. I was so fascinated by their enthusiasm to enjoy life that I forgot about all else.

I have now been in Rome nearly thirty years and still feel the fascination toward the Eternal City but see it differently, with open eyes which was something I didn’t do when I was young. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a great city but it has changed so much over the years that it is great for tourists but not for the population. The way of life in Italy has decreased considerably over the years and now it is a time that youth must decide whether to stay and ride the wave or leave to find opportunity.

I wish the young generation all the best in the hopes of finding a job in Italy but at the same time, I wish them the courage to pick up and leave, giving them the opportunity to do better elsewhere. Life is about changes and it is at the end of one’s live that we understand how important our decisions and the changes we made in life have brought us where we are today.

All the best,
Grace