In a recent flight Paris CDG - Bogota, the guy sitting next to me in the plane was a member of the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra, who was returning from a tour in Asia and Europe. He stopped for a few days in Paris, where he had studied music more than 20 years ago. I was curious about his impressions about returning to Paris after such a long time. He replied: "Returning to Paris is strange. The city itself hasn't changed much. Then a nostalgic realization strikes you: it is you who has changed. And that's weird to assimilate."
His answer was both illuminating and unexpected. He managed to put into words some of my feelings about leaving Bologna. As Paris, Bologna is one of those cities that hardly changes. My impression is that noticeable changes in Bologna (and perhaps in Italy at large) only occur at a slow pace. A very slow one. Then, in addition to those nostalgic feelings of leaving a place that has grown in you, you have an extra burden: an unsolicited desire of confronting yourself so as to realize the way you have changed.
Cities in Colombia do not come with that burden. From a certain perspective, here you find different things everywhere: many new buildings, business, and streets are enough to offer you a different landscape. The pace for changes here is certainly faster than in Europe. Now I see many new small shopping centers and gas stations standing on what I used to remember as empty spaces. Businesses grow, buildings change their appearance. My home university has a brand new building every time I return. (I usually return here more or less once a year, so it is relatively easy to appreciate changes.) In Colombia your environment is constantly changing, and perhaps that helps you to avoid reflecting about your own changes. I wonder if that's good or bad.
However, from a different perspective, your environment here is always the same. I am thinking here about the weather: in Colombian cities you have more or less the same season during the year. It is amazing to realize the tremendous effect that the presence/absence of defined weather seasons has on how people behave. You dress up the same the whole year. Your have the same food habits all the year long, with very small variations. More in general, you care less about the future, you make less short/medium-term plans. You don't have the urgency of going out and enjoying the day because most likely the sun will be there again for the rest of the year. You don't need to plan your vacation with weeks or months in advance. You can always go out. Again, I wonder if that's good or bad.
Showing posts with label bologna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bologna. Show all posts
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Monday, July 13, 2009
The fantastic four
I had ready a post on the absurd circumstances of the death of Pepe the hippo, and a sort of reflection on the stupidity some "noble" causes inadvertently convey. Yes, the post was boring. But then I found something funnier to write about. Consider the University of Bologna, a respectable institution, founded in 1088, or as WikiPedia would say, "the oldest continually operating degree-granting university in the world." Now consider the picture below, part of the latest publicity campaign the University released so as to attract students to the campuses of Rimini, Cesena, Ravenna, and Forli:
I always liked Ravenna and Rimini :-)
I really don't know what was the purpose of this publicity, entitled "the fantastic four." And it's not difficult to imagine the controversy (and embarrassment) it caused in Bologna and in Italy at large. Naturally, the ads didn't last long, but the damage was already done. I could write many posts on how critical the situation in Italy is, at every level. I choose not to do it. When one of the most respected Universities in the world chooses to attract students in this way, a picture is worth a thousand words.
If you want to read more about this, click here (in Italian).
I always liked Ravenna and Rimini :-)I really don't know what was the purpose of this publicity, entitled "the fantastic four." And it's not difficult to imagine the controversy (and embarrassment) it caused in Bologna and in Italy at large. Naturally, the ads didn't last long, but the damage was already done. I could write many posts on how critical the situation in Italy is, at every level. I choose not to do it. When one of the most respected Universities in the world chooses to attract students in this way, a picture is worth a thousand words.
If you want to read more about this, click here (in Italian).
Monday, March 2, 2009
Umarells and Sdauras
In my neighborhood in Bologna I live surrounded by old people. I often feel like living in a retirement place, one without boundaries or nurses. I don't think there's something special about my neighborhood; it is simply a bit outside of the city center, so I guess other places in Italy and Europe also have a similar proportion of old people. I find it both overwhelming and weird. Very weird. When I leave my building in the morning, I found them everywhere, wandering around in the streets, without an evident purpose.
In the dialect of Bologna, old guys are called umarells and old ladies are called sdauras. Not too many in Bologna know and use these words; it seems it's an old, unused dialect. Umarells in my neighborhood spend their days getting drunk at one of the several bars next to the main entrance of my building. One of such bars is ironically called Bar dei Ragazzi. At night, the combination of umarells and alcohol makes the street in front of my building an unpleasant place for women to pass by. As for sdauras, you can easily find lots of them at the supermarket on Saturdays. They usually dress up very elegantly, even to go to the supermarket or to simply walk around the neighborhood. I appreciate that demonstration of dignity and self-respect; too bad sometimes their make up and clothes are too evident in revealing the decade in which they were young.
All of this is in sharp contrast with Colombia, a place full of youth and kids --perhaps too many kids. Seeing a baby or a kid in my neighborhood it's quite an unusual event. There's something in old Italians that's very different from old Colombians. It's hard to explain: somehow old Italians look more active and alert; I wonder if seeing a war and living the postwar gave them a different sense of appreciation of life. In Colombia, when people arrive to retirement age, most of them enter into a 'hibernation mode' and become way less active, and more dependent of others, or at least that's my impression. Here old people seem more active and responsible and independent than most youngsters; it's so cool to see them riding their bikes all around. Their dignity is both evident and admirable. In these times of crisis and unemployment, I am sure their low ---but guaranteed--- incomes are essential to support and lead their families.
[You might like to have a look at the (photo) blog devoted to Umarells in Bologna (in Italian).]
In the dialect of Bologna, old guys are called umarells and old ladies are called sdauras. Not too many in Bologna know and use these words; it seems it's an old, unused dialect. Umarells in my neighborhood spend their days getting drunk at one of the several bars next to the main entrance of my building. One of such bars is ironically called Bar dei Ragazzi. At night, the combination of umarells and alcohol makes the street in front of my building an unpleasant place for women to pass by. As for sdauras, you can easily find lots of them at the supermarket on Saturdays. They usually dress up very elegantly, even to go to the supermarket or to simply walk around the neighborhood. I appreciate that demonstration of dignity and self-respect; too bad sometimes their make up and clothes are too evident in revealing the decade in which they were young.
All of this is in sharp contrast with Colombia, a place full of youth and kids --perhaps too many kids. Seeing a baby or a kid in my neighborhood it's quite an unusual event. There's something in old Italians that's very different from old Colombians. It's hard to explain: somehow old Italians look more active and alert; I wonder if seeing a war and living the postwar gave them a different sense of appreciation of life. In Colombia, when people arrive to retirement age, most of them enter into a 'hibernation mode' and become way less active, and more dependent of others, or at least that's my impression. Here old people seem more active and responsible and independent than most youngsters; it's so cool to see them riding their bikes all around. Their dignity is both evident and admirable. In these times of crisis and unemployment, I am sure their low ---but guaranteed--- incomes are essential to support and lead their families.
[You might like to have a look at the (photo) blog devoted to Umarells in Bologna (in Italian).]
Friday, August 1, 2008
Also a Saturday, 28 years ago
Today could be considered the first day of summer vacation. Bologna has been in "summer mode" for some days already: the streets are considerably emptier, the lessons and exams are evidently finished for now so there are no students around, and many business have closed. In spite of the unbearable humid weather, I find this a very enjoyable atmosphere of relax. Many have already escaped from Bologna or, as in my case, are close to do it.
This atmosphere is, unfortunately, very convenient to forget that the worst terrorist attack in the recent Italian history took place in Bologna, exactly 28 years ago. I kind of knew about the Bologna massacre (strage di Bologna, the "official" name given to the attack) but only now I cared to read a bit more about the issue. It is very difficult to me to assimilate that the Bologna train station ---a place that for me only evokes happy, positive memories-- was destroyed by a terrorist attack that took the life of 85 persons and wounded more than 200.
It is weird, but somehow I feel "attacked" only to read about the subject. (Yes, perhaps I have learned to love Bologna.) The thing is that I have been so many times in the very same waiting room in which the bomb exploded. I can easily imagine the people, waiting for their train at 10:25 am. For them, what it was supposed to be the beginning of a promising summer ended up being the end of their lives. Not only people in the waiting room died; also people in the train that was waiting in the platform next to the room suffered the explosion. Indeed, the west wing of the station collapsed, and a substantial part of it fell over the train. The blast was heard for miles.
One remarkable aspect here is that Bologna people has managed to keep the awareness about this tragic event. I am extremely glad that occurs, as civil awareness for such a long period is something that doesn't exist in a tragic country as Colombia. You can see it in the station: apart from the usual commemorating stones, the hole the explosion left in the waiting room, and a clock signaling the time of the attack, are preserved. I understand that several civil manifestations will take place in Piazza Maggiore. Besides, civil organizations created after the attack were crucial to demand objective investigations of the responsibles for the attack,
Even if I am tempted to comment on the politics behind the attack, I prefer not to do so as those are pieces of history that I know only very superficially. Perhaps when I have read more about the violence and political tensions of the time I will write about them. For now, I will only say that it was determined that the attacks were planned and executed by neo-fascist movements, and that the two main responsibles (a young couple) are serving life imprisonments.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Miraculous Fishing
Consider the following series of events:
It occurred a week ago in one of the main highways of the country. Around 9pm, a group of bandits stopped the Mercedes in which they were traveling, right in the middle of two lanes of the highway. Next, they set the car on fire, thus blocking the traffic of the highway. People in cars behind them were threatened with rifles. Although no one was hurt, it is easy to imagine a dramatic scene of panic at the highway. Right after that, with the highway clean for them, some of the bandits took two cars and started to chase a money transport truck that was a bit ahead from them. They chased the truck, and by repeatedly shooting at it, managed to force the driver to stop it.
Using sophisticated tools, the group of bandits opened a hole in the left side of the truck and extracted a large amount of money. However, a substantial part of it remained in the truck, mainly because of the armored material of the truck and of the methods the attackers had used. After taking the guns of the money truck, the bandits escaped, although this last part of the events is not very clear for the authorities. Some believe they ran away from the highway by foot, while others claim that some other cars were waiting for them. Independent of this, the authorities' concern about this kind of professional attacks is growing. Indeed, this is not the first time a group of 10-12 young males set a roadblock in a main highway, aiming at 'catching' a money transport vehicle. The same authorities have assured the main members of the band have already been identified, and that police operations to arrest them should give positive results in forthcoming weeks.
As fictional as it may seem, this is not part of an action movie; it's a real story that occurred recently. It didn't occurred in Afghanistan nor Irak. Not even in Colombia, where attacks of this kind, called miraculous fishings, were very common some years ago. You can read about such a modality of fishing here.
No. The above story occurred in Italy, in northern Italy to be more precise. It was in the north direction of the A14 autostrada, which connects Bologna to towns like Imola. I was very surprised when I first heard the story, and it felt weird to see how things that were common in Colombia are starting to occur here in Italy. Of course, it's not like Italy's infrastructure is under guerrilla attacks, but I find this miraculous fishing in Europe (well, Italy) simply unacceptable. If this kind of things is already happening, what's next?
We already knew the line that differentiates Italy from third-world countries is disturbingly fuzzy. Now we know that line it's getting thinner and thinner.
It occurred a week ago in one of the main highways of the country. Around 9pm, a group of bandits stopped the Mercedes in which they were traveling, right in the middle of two lanes of the highway. Next, they set the car on fire, thus blocking the traffic of the highway. People in cars behind them were threatened with rifles. Although no one was hurt, it is easy to imagine a dramatic scene of panic at the highway. Right after that, with the highway clean for them, some of the bandits took two cars and started to chase a money transport truck that was a bit ahead from them. They chased the truck, and by repeatedly shooting at it, managed to force the driver to stop it.
Using sophisticated tools, the group of bandits opened a hole in the left side of the truck and extracted a large amount of money. However, a substantial part of it remained in the truck, mainly because of the armored material of the truck and of the methods the attackers had used. After taking the guns of the money truck, the bandits escaped, although this last part of the events is not very clear for the authorities. Some believe they ran away from the highway by foot, while others claim that some other cars were waiting for them. Independent of this, the authorities' concern about this kind of professional attacks is growing. Indeed, this is not the first time a group of 10-12 young males set a roadblock in a main highway, aiming at 'catching' a money transport vehicle. The same authorities have assured the main members of the band have already been identified, and that police operations to arrest them should give positive results in forthcoming weeks.
As fictional as it may seem, this is not part of an action movie; it's a real story that occurred recently. It didn't occurred in Afghanistan nor Irak. Not even in Colombia, where attacks of this kind, called miraculous fishings, were very common some years ago. You can read about such a modality of fishing here.
No. The above story occurred in Italy, in northern Italy to be more precise. It was in the north direction of the A14 autostrada, which connects Bologna to towns like Imola. I was very surprised when I first heard the story, and it felt weird to see how things that were common in Colombia are starting to occur here in Italy. Of course, it's not like Italy's infrastructure is under guerrilla attacks, but I find this miraculous fishing in Europe (well, Italy) simply unacceptable. If this kind of things is already happening, what's next?
We already knew the line that differentiates Italy from third-world countries is disturbingly fuzzy. Now we know that line it's getting thinner and thinner.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Any given Friday
To come to the CS department I should walk around 10 minutes from my place. Usually I do it while hearing some music. That's the usual routine. This morning something different occurred. While walking on Via San Donato I saw a guy running very fast in the opposite direction I was walking. I also managed to see some other guys that were chasing him. The running guy passed along my side and I saw his face; he had something in his hands. The first thing I thought was "in Colombia this running guy would be a thief for sure; these guys must be fooling around, perhaps some stupid Laurea celebration."
Some seconds after that I realized the running guys were actually cops and that the guy that passed by my side was indeed a thief. I then looked back and the thief was stopped by some persons that, unlike me, were clever enough to recognize the situation and to do something about it.
Given my TV corrupted mind, the next things I thought were related to Spiderman and Seinfeld. As you might recall, in Spiderman there's a scene in which Peter lets a thief to run away, disappointed by the fact he didn't receive some money he gained in a fight. The running thief would end up killing uncle Ben. Also, in a Seinfeld episode, the four main characters end up in jail because they did nothing when a fat guy was being attacked and robbed. They were arrested because they didn't obey the "Good Samaritan law". The trial derived from this offense is part of the end of the ninth (and last) season.
Then I thought about my indifference. I have always believed that as Colombians we're endowed with a dose of indifference with respect others that's way higher than for other people. We immune to the other's suffer, so to speak. Everyday lots of Colombians lose their legs, liberty or lives and no one reacts. We keep thinking everything is OK, until something occurs in our home. We usually do nothing (when we could do a lot) and try to find excuses to not feel bad. For instance, when someone is assassinated, the most common reaction is "oh, too bad, but I am sure he deserved it somehow".
Since I am now in a society that's a bit more aware in this kind of situations (but not too much), I expected some sort of spontaneous reaction against me, given that I had all the chances to stop the guy and I did absolutely nothing. I don't know, I expected perhaps some old guy yelling at me in dialect, or some cute yet not so young lady looking at me like crap, with a disappointed expression (as it occurred to Peter in Spiderman). More seriously, I was afraid of some reaction from those cops that were running at a more slower pace and that could see me doing nothing to stop the thief (something like in Seinfeld). Yes, I felt guilty indeed, and did the two things anyone (?) would have done: (i) I walked faster so to abandon the "crime scene" as soon as possible (to reduce the chance of spontaneous reactions), and (ii) started to invent things to justify my indifference: "I was distracted", "I am a PhD student, I worked till late and was hardly awake", "I am a foreigner", and stuff like that.
Some questions to conclude: Would the fact that I did nothing play against me in an eventual future, as it occurred to Peter Parker? And more importantly, is indifference towards the others something one can overcome by living in a different environment, or is it something that's just coded in my Colombian genes?
Some seconds after that I realized the running guys were actually cops and that the guy that passed by my side was indeed a thief. I then looked back and the thief was stopped by some persons that, unlike me, were clever enough to recognize the situation and to do something about it.
Given my TV corrupted mind, the next things I thought were related to Spiderman and Seinfeld. As you might recall, in Spiderman there's a scene in which Peter lets a thief to run away, disappointed by the fact he didn't receive some money he gained in a fight. The running thief would end up killing uncle Ben. Also, in a Seinfeld episode, the four main characters end up in jail because they did nothing when a fat guy was being attacked and robbed. They were arrested because they didn't obey the "Good Samaritan law". The trial derived from this offense is part of the end of the ninth (and last) season.
Then I thought about my indifference. I have always believed that as Colombians we're endowed with a dose of indifference with respect others that's way higher than for other people. We immune to the other's suffer, so to speak. Everyday lots of Colombians lose their legs, liberty or lives and no one reacts. We keep thinking everything is OK, until something occurs in our home. We usually do nothing (when we could do a lot) and try to find excuses to not feel bad. For instance, when someone is assassinated, the most common reaction is "oh, too bad, but I am sure he deserved it somehow".
Since I am now in a society that's a bit more aware in this kind of situations (but not too much), I expected some sort of spontaneous reaction against me, given that I had all the chances to stop the guy and I did absolutely nothing. I don't know, I expected perhaps some old guy yelling at me in dialect, or some cute yet not so young lady looking at me like crap, with a disappointed expression (as it occurred to Peter in Spiderman). More seriously, I was afraid of some reaction from those cops that were running at a more slower pace and that could see me doing nothing to stop the thief (something like in Seinfeld). Yes, I felt guilty indeed, and did the two things anyone (?) would have done: (i) I walked faster so to abandon the "crime scene" as soon as possible (to reduce the chance of spontaneous reactions), and (ii) started to invent things to justify my indifference: "I was distracted", "I am a PhD student, I worked till late and was hardly awake", "I am a foreigner", and stuff like that.
Some questions to conclude: Would the fact that I did nothing play against me in an eventual future, as it occurred to Peter Parker? And more importantly, is indifference towards the others something one can overcome by living in a different environment, or is it something that's just coded in my Colombian genes?
Friday, May 23, 2008
Israeli Movies
In the last days I have seen several Israeli movies, which are part of a special movie mini-season, part of the celebration the Jewish community in Bologna organized in the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel.
It's been an interesting experience not only because of the movies themselves, which have been both touching and illuminating, but also because going alone to see a "weird movie" in an almost empty theater (Bologna's Cineteca) is not something I usually do.
In any case, even if I missed two or three movies that seemed promising, I still could see four pieces that I would like to recommend to you. All of them have won awards in prestigious festivals. This could be a useless suggestion, though: the movies are very recent and some of them seem to be quite "underground" which makes it difficult to find in dvd or in the torrents of information the net provides. The movies are:
I want to conclude pointing out that the selection of movies was simply great; they certainly make you question yourself on your ideas on Israel and the Jewish culture. In the very worst case, you end up throwing away a bunch of misconceptions. The easiest criterion for selection could have been the war and the conflict. Instead, the movies I saw reflect a very diverse society that fights to remain faithful to their traditions in the modern times.
It's been an interesting experience not only because of the movies themselves, which have been both touching and illuminating, but also because going alone to see a "weird movie" in an almost empty theater (Bologna's Cineteca) is not something I usually do.
In any case, even if I missed two or three movies that seemed promising, I still could see four pieces that I would like to recommend to you. All of them have won awards in prestigious festivals. This could be a useless suggestion, though: the movies are very recent and some of them seem to be quite "underground" which makes it difficult to find in dvd or in the torrents of information the net provides. The movies are:
- My father, my lord. The movie is focused on the family of an ultra-orthodox rabbi, his wife and only son. It portrays very well the rigid and somehow mysterious/traditional atmosphere such orthodox communities have nowadays. It is a short movie (around 75 min) that conveys a touching story on the relation of this rabbi and a tragedy concerning his 5- or 6-year old kid. I enjoyed the music a lot. It's one of the saddest things I have seen in a while.
- Sweet Mud. The life of a 12-year old kid in a kibbutz, in the mid seventies, is portrayed in a simple and peculiar way. The movie spans the year before the kid's bar mitzvah, and reflects though decisions he mas to made regarding his mentally affected mother and the whole kibbutz community. The photography is simply AMAZING; I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw certain Israeli landscapes. The music is also fantastic; rightly placed comic sequences give the story a great rhythm.
- Jellyfishes. 5-word description: stories of women in Tel-Aviv. The life of four or five female main characters is portrayed in a very clever way. There is the girl who just broke up with the boyfriend and works as waitress in wedding parties; the girl who just got married has a crappy honeymoon; the photographer who's looking for something else in her life; the Phillipine immigrant that has to leave her son back home and do her best taking take of elderlies; the mysterious little girl who comes from the sea. The simplicity of the stories, the subtle way these stories touch each other, and, above all, the fact that simplicity can be interesting if told in the proper way, is what gets you in your chair with no complaints.
- Souvenirs What started as a project of a documentary on the Jewish brigades that fought in the WWII, slowly evolves to the story in which the director of the film rediscovers his father, a former driver of the brigade. After a meeting of the remaining members of the brigade, the director learned that he might have a stepbrother in the Netherlands, a "souvenir" his father could have left to some grateful young lady in Eindhoven. They then start a trip to Europe, tracing back the steps of both the brigade in Italy and of the "souvenir". It turns out that the brigade was decisive in defeating the Nazi troops here in Emilia-Romagna! In fact, they visit the monument the Comune of Riolo Terme (Ravenna) dedicated to the brigade; seeing the tears of joy the former driver has kept with him for 60 years is one of the most touching moments of the film. The nostalgic trip continues in the Netherlands, where the director and his father find the answers they were looking for.
I want to conclude pointing out that the selection of movies was simply great; they certainly make you question yourself on your ideas on Israel and the Jewish culture. In the very worst case, you end up throwing away a bunch of misconceptions. The easiest criterion for selection could have been the war and the conflict. Instead, the movies I saw reflect a very diverse society that fights to remain faithful to their traditions in the modern times.
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