Sunday, 27 November 2011

Fashion...


The staple fashion of young people here is jeans and grey cardigans, leggings, and you need to have a Disney hoody, everyone owns one! Also tracksuits here are a plenty, but the people wearing them actually participate in sports unlike England ;)
Boys wear baggy jeans, timberlands and smart jumpers or tracksuits, or smart trousers with a shirt and bright coloured jumper. Trainers are a must for all, branded of course.
For women, its smart trousers and cardigans with shirts or plain tees, wedge shoes or boots are a must. You need a designer handbag, a quite big one, whether it’s real or not, also a belt proclaiming D&G or something similar and designer sunglasses or glasses. Make up here is extreme, think dark eye shadow applied heavily all over the lid and lots of foundation. For the slightly older lady, a matching skirt suit, patterned or in a bright colour is a necessity, worn with heels of course.
For men, sunglasses, jeans, tracksuits (especially if you are a little chubs) or suits with ties and sports jackets or knee length dark coats.
Red heads are rare; this is one of the main signs of me being foreign, that and the fact that I always wear dresses and boots with tights, and my handbags really small. The only other person that fits in worse than me is one of the French teachers who is actually French, and lives in jeans or black trousers and giant jumpers, always with messy long curly hair and no make-up, so unlike all the completely made-up female teachers.

Food

Georgia’s staple recipes!

Omelette
I’m not going to give you an actual recipe for an omelette, just make a suggestion that next time you make one, make it with parmesan! It’s so tasty.

Chicken pie
½ courgette
½ chicken breast
1 roll of puff pastry
Knob of butter
Some milk
Salt and pepper
Melt the butter, cook the sliced courgette and chicken then stir in the flour.
Gradually add the milk and then the salt and pepper, bring to the boil and let it thicken.
Leave this mix to cool.
Roll out the pastry, cut in half and fill with the mix then fold the pastry in half and fold in the edges, cook for 20-25 minutes at 200.

Minestrone soup my way
Passata
Vegetable stock
Chilli
Peas
Pasta – tortellini or that thin witch’s hair stuff
Heat the passata then add the vegetable stock - about 250ml per person.
Bring to the boil then add the peas and pasta, cook for 2- 4 minutes (depending on the pasta).
Add some salt and pepper and chilli.
Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan.

Olive bread (again not really a recipe)
1 pizza base (in Italy it’s called ‘pasta per pizza’)
A dozen olives
Some olive oil
I’m sure you can guess how this goes, roll out the pizza spread olive oil over, push olives into it and bake for 10 minutes.

I also live off mozzarella on toast with variations with ham, passata and pesto!
For breakfast I have brioche or some other type of pastry thing, at the weekend I have imported porridge J Italian’s normally have biscuits and coffee.
I have pasta every day for lunch, normally with a pre-made pasta sauce, pesto or with olive oil and pancetta, which is my fave at the moment, I also love prosciutto crudo tortello or tortellini it’s so yum!

Sunday, 20 November 2011

Mountains..

Today there was frost during the day so I tried to take a photo as it's practically snow...but it didn't work so instead you can all be jealous of constant blue skies!!

Also me and Rob found the 'forest' it's a small area of trees where everyone goes running but it seemed pretty busy when we walked past and I hate running when people can see me! And it's too cold to go in the mornings.
And here is me trying to keep warm!!


Saturday, 19 November 2011

Rome

I went to Rome on monday! Just spent the day wondering around with Rob, we saw the colloseum, pantheon and trevi fountain, had icecream and lunch in the jewish ghetto I had seafood risotto and Rob had clam pasta it was so yummy! I forgot my camera so there are no photos...
We found some traditional Abruzzan biscuits, ginger diamonds with dark chocolate and brutti ma buoni basically uglies but tasties...they were like meringues with nuts.
The weather has gotten a lot colder it's really frosty and it's about 10C sometimes colder, in the afternoons it's always really warm though. No signs of snow yet though.
I can't wait to come home now! I really miss england and having proper conversations with people I can go the whole weekend without speaking :(
xxx

Thursday, 10 November 2011

This week...

Okay the wedding was on saturday it was really good, there fireworks were amazing and me, Rob and his best friend spent the evening sat on the green.
I planned a lesson on phonetics for tuesday and wednesday and then we didn't do phonetics!! Grrr
I lost my house key so I had to get a copy, I got lost looking for the shop it turns out there are two tunnels so where I turned right and left was in the opposite direction! But I asked for directions and someone printed me off a map and drew directions! I found the shop eventually and managed to get a copy...speaking in Italian of course and then to find my way back home I followed a mountain and the rail track hehe...this now means I know how to get to the centre of Avezzano!
Carmine's lessons were as horrible as ever today. Someone guessed my age to be 24 or 26 :( and asked if I had ever seen an UFO but he ooophoe I had no idea what he was trying to say.
Rob's coming to visit on Monday so we're spending the day in Rome so I might actually be able to buy postcards for you all :) 
Next week in most of my classes I will be teaching a bit on bonfire night because the Italians know nothing about it of course.
I think that's everything...xxx