Things happening in Naples

1) The Pope came to Naples for the first time yesterday. It was raining but I saw on TV that he went around the crowds in a buggy so that he didn't get wet. Or would he have gone round in that anyway.

2) They did another ban on cars yesterday - from 9am till 6pm to try and clear the air. Lots of cars were still out defying the ban though. Neapolitans like to break rules, especially if it means keeping their hair dry. I'm not sure if this ban was linked to the Pope's visit or not.

3) There's snow on Vesuvius!

4) There was some kind of air strike today - traffic controllers or ground staff, I'm not sure, but it meant that I couldn't leave for London as planned. Managg'.

Congrats!

My dear friend got married yesterday. I wasn't able to make it unfortunately (it was in Ireland). Wish I could have gone :(

My invite was sent in July. Still no signs of it. I really think they should look into scrapping Posta Italiana all together. If it arrives I'll let you know.

Brrrr

It's come COLD in ol' Napoli and temperatures are set to plummet further on Thursday. When I say cold, I'm talking lows of 10°C, highs of 22, which is probably nothing to many, but it's chilly for here. I've got a cold too so that's not helping me to feel warm.

We put the duvet on the bed on Sunday. I LOVE a duvet. Snuggly snuggly. I'm on the porridge on a morning too, with brown sugar. Yum. I've introduced OH to porridge this year and he loves it! I wonder if any other Neapolitans have porridge on a morning. Doubt it.

Thinking back to last year, I went to the beach at the end of October. I can't see the temperatures getting back up so high now, but you never know. Vediamo.

I was in England last week

I went to England last week and again I noticed how my grasp of the lingua inglese is becoming stranger and stranger. I don't think it's right to say it's getting worse, because I still read lots in English and speak - mainly on the phone - in English. But I find that as I speak more Italian, I end up forming phrases in an Italian kind of way when speaking English. This is due to hearing Italians speak English too. For example I'll say "I was in England" that's not right is it? An English person would say "I went to England" not "I was in England". Other phrases I find myself saying in English are "In this period" instead of "lately" or "recently", this is because Italians say "in questo periodo."

I find myself having to concentrate more when I'm speaking English (with mother tongues) so that I don't sound too much like I'm from another planet. I wonder if this happens to truly bilingual people. You know, the ones who are bilingual practically from birth.

Apart from this little brain teaser I do consider it a great ability to be able to speak two languages fluently.

Another thing I noticed on this England trip is how I slip into both Italian and UK lifestyles effortlessly these days. I don't usually look forward to uprooting myself, mainly due to laziness, but once I get there it's like I never left. I go from having an espresso here to a tea (con latte) there, or from shopping all day there to having a siesta in the afternoon here no probs.

"Uè uè"

Word of the week/month/year/decade (depending when I decide to update this again):

“Uè“
Pronounced: “way”
Translation: “what’s up?/yes?/hey”

Example of use:

“Delina?!”

“Uè” / "uè ue"

I’m not sure if this is an Italian or Neapolitan “word”. It seems I can no longer distinguish the difference. It’s commonly used to respond when called, usually between friends. Even more friendly is the use of the double form “uè ue”

"Uè" can also be used to call someone, but it's more often used to answer.