Category Archives: personal

happy 2008

my personal list of desiderata for the new year is like a composition made of many different colours. and for every colour, i have one wish:

  • yellow. i would like to see the discovery of a vaccine against malaria;
  • green. i would like to see the 2008 nobel peace price given to somebody that really deserve it;
  • red. i would like to see one (any-one, no matter who) italian politician saying “sorry” (they know for what);
  • orange. i would like to hear the muezzin singing in florence, and bells ringing in rabat;
  • purple. in 2008 i would like to see women celebrating catholic messes;
  • black. i would like to see an african politician give up power without hundreds of innocent deaths;
  • white. in 2008 i would like to see the snow at least once;
  • blue. i would like pietro to like “if“.

sounds like next december i am going to be frustrated, uh?

winter rain

it has been raining all day. the never-ending monsoon rain brings relief to this land and its people, every year. i have never seen raining like this. only in sierra leone, many years ago. today schools are closed, fishermen won’t be able to sail and will receive 5 kg of rice from the government. it’s no joke, it’s monsoon rain.

this rain makes me think that it is winter. this morning i found myself thinking, or should i say “hoping”, that it was going to be a cold day. i even put a sweeter on… how silly. it is still hot. as usual, one of the things that i miss the most when i am not in italy, is winter. i care very little about many “italian” things that i can’t find here. i can survive (up to many days) without parmesan, i can survive without wine if there is reasonably good beer, i can even drink chicory-coffee, but one thing i really miss when i am not in italy: winter. i miss cold and snow. and it’s a strange feeling.