Signore, or is it Signori?

I do not know if the subject for this blog should have been this. In fact, I was wondering how to start this, and thought I could put in a few sentences that really has nothing to do with the blog!

Anyway, one thing that I have noticed travelling in Italy is that there are not many public urinals! None, actually! If you want to take a leak, you would probably have to go to a bar, order for a drink, and use the loo, if one is available! But then, since you have the drink, you would want to use the loo again! And the drink costs you a lot too! So that is not exactly a very good solution!

The only place where you can take a leak for free is, in the train stations. But then again, a few stations here do not have a loo! In fact, I had to cut short my visit to Sacile, because I wanted to take a leak! I had to catch a train back to Pordenone to take a leak that day! Can you believe that?! And you would be right if you guessed that not all trains here have loos in them! After this experience, the first thing that I do after getting off the train is, find the loo, and take a leak, if one is available!

Now, I visited a place called Gorizia last Saturday, with my friend. We walked down the platform, searching for the WC board, and thankfully found one. There were two doors, obviously, one for the guys and the other for the girls. The problem however was that there was no picture indicating as to which loo was for the guys, and which one for the girls! There only was a board that read Signore, over one door, and Signori over the other. Well, I assumed that Signore would be for guys, and Signori was for girls, simply because in Hindi, Ladka is a guy and Ladki is a girl! And similarly, in Kannada, Huduga is a guy, and Hudugi is a girl! So, I used the same concept here! If its ending with an i, its for girls! I told my friend about my brilliant calculation, but he was not very convinced! He somehow thought that it was the other way round!

Well, it was a weird situation for the two of us, wondering which door to enter! We were too scared to peep inside either of the doors! Anyway, after a little debate on who was right, we walked up to the Signori door. There was a picture (actually, it was a computer print out) of a man, who kind-of looked like Isaac Newton! Just beside it, was another print of a bald man! I was not too sure if it still meant that it was the guys loo, as there was no such picture on the Signore door. To me, the concept of Ladka-Ladki still seemed right!

In the end, my friend did walk into the loo that read Signori! And thankfully enough, it turned out to be the guys loo! So there you go, I learnt two more Italian words, and it was not even a workday!

I only wonder what would have happened in case my friend thought my concept was right!

Buono Pasqua!

Buono Pasqua! It means ‘Happy Easter’ in Italian! Hard to believe its Easter time already! The office here is closed for four days starting tomorrow. Wow! If I had to be in Bangalore, I would not have got even a single day off!

Well, these guys at work had already started some celebrations earlier this week. The girls had brought some special cake (I have forgotten what its called!) that looked like a bird, and were distributing it in office. And they serve this cake with wine! Yes, they do drink wine in office, and during office hours! Nice place to work? You decide!

Anyway, the best part was not the cake, nor was the wine! It is customary here to wish the girls by kissing them! Twice! And have I mentioned that there are quite a few girls working in this office?! I am just waiting for the next festival here! Until then, Buono Pasqua! Ciao!

Welcome to Italy!

After about three months of speculation, I am finally here in Italy! I’m currently staying in a place called Pordenone (pronounced Por-de-non-ey!), which is about a 100 kilometers to the north of Venice. I read somewhere that the name means ‘Port town of the North’! It’s a nice, small, and a quiet place, with quite a history for itself. A few buildings here date way back to the thirteenth century!

Its just a week since I arrived here, and I have already been to every monument this place has got! In fact, I even visited the next town, Sacile (pronounced Sa-chi-lay!) on Sunday! This town is even smaller! I think Koramangala in Bangalore is bigger and has a larger population!

Anyway, the people here are quite friendly, but very few speak English! It feels like you’re conversing with a kindergarten kid while you’re speaking with the localities with all the hand actions and stuff! And at most times they give you a blank look, probably wondering if you’re sane! Its quite an achievement going to a restaurant and ordering a meal for yourself! And in any case, you’ll be surprised once the meal is placed on your table! I wonder how I will manage in this place for the next three months! You don’t get any English newspaper or a magazine! There’s nothing to watch on TV too that is in English!

At the moment, its quite cold and windy here. You see everyone in their oversized coats, which probably weighs more than a military survival kit! I wonder how these guys walk around wearing them! And at times, it rains too! I haven’t seen the thermometer touch double digits, and am hoping that it does soon! And I am yet to see my shadow here too!

The one thing amusing here is the way people cross the road! Remember what we guys were told as kids about crossing the road? “Look to your right, look to your left, look to your right again, and if there are no vehicles approaching, then cross the road”! Here, its just about the exact opposite! Well, I’m not saying that you have to look to your left first! You don’t have to look at all! You just cross the road whenever you want, and the vehicles will stop for you! And if you’re waiting at a zebra crossing, these guy stop their cars and signal you to go ahead! I hope I don’t get too used to this, or I’ll have serious problems when I get back to India!

Coming to Italian food, I must say, its quite good! Its really tasty, and its definitely a lot better than the meal I once had in an Italian restaurant in Bangalore! The pizzas are so big, that you can actually put a stick at its center and use it as an umbrella! These guys have so many different ways to make their pastas, and spaghettis, and few things that I can not even pronounce!

I am learning a little bit of Italian. Actually its going at about one word a day! And again its only on days when I go to work! It’s a funny language! It sounds like these guys a reciting a poem or something, while they speak!

Well, that’s all for now! I’m planning to visit Venice, Pisa, Rome and Milan once the weather gets better. For the coming weekend, I’ll probably visit the next town called Udine (pronounced Uh-di-ney!). I hope its fun!

WARNING: DO NOT SPRAY NEAR EYES OR FACE OR BROKEN SKIN

I guess most of you guys would have read that stupid warning message printed on a deodorant spray canister which says:

WARNING: DO NOT SPRAY NEAR EYES OR FACE OR BROKEN SKIN

Do not spray near face? Fine, alright. Broken skin? Understandable! But eyes? Huh?! Isn’t it just plain stupid?! I mean, like who on earth would spray deodorant into their eyes. Have you ever heard of or seen anyone who had sprayed deodorant into his eyes? More importantly, have you ever heard of or seen anyone spray deodorant into her eyes?!

No one does things like that, right? Wrong! Well, I’ve seen a guy who has done just that! I saw him in the mirror this morning! Although not very clearly, ‘cause my eye was hurting like hell!

Now don’t get me wrong, its not like my eyes sweat or anything! Its just that I was just shaking the can ‘well’ as instructed, while I accidentally pushed the nozzle down! Voila! I don’t really know how to explain what I felt! I’m damn sure that my tears would have smelt good, but the pain was unbearable! I had a hard time trying to explaining to these guys at work why my left eye was ‘red’!

Anyway, looking back at all the stupid things I have done; I guess this one should effortlessly be ranked, number one!