Dinner w/ the ex

I was speaking w/ my BF today who informed me that his ex-girlfriend would be coming over to his house for dinner. She is close to his mother and sister so they decided to invite her over for dinner to celebrate her graduation. My reaction to this? well I questioned as to why he needed to be present for the dinner. And he said he felt he needed to be there for support because she is not close to her family and has had issues w/ an eating disorder, he felt if he was not there "she would have problems". So I thanked him for telling me even though my first reaction was not good. I am not at all threatened by her but I know he would have some questions if I had a dinner for my ex-boyfriend.
Is it a culture thing? here the parents would ask the son/daughter if it was okay to have their ex over for dinner. Once your an ex, in most situations, the parents respect that and would not invite their daughter/sons ex over for dinner if they said no.
Anyway, I love him all the same.

Happy Father's Day!

We never had the opportunity to meet but I know enough about you to dedicate this blog entry to you. From what I hear you were a great man, well liked by many and admired by the masses. A large number of people came out in your honour on that beautiful day in September. I was one week away from meeting you and was very sad the day I heard you had passed. Know that your missed by your son, wife, daughter & everyone else you touched while you were with us. As you continue to watch over your family, particularly your son, I send you this wish; HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

NYC departure!

leaving the airport after our NYC trip. Still haven't posted about the trip because there is just so much to tell, all good stuff of course.

Racism, Sexism, Ageism

I happened to send a message to my friend on MSN the other day letting him know how excited I was to be moving to Italy. He is Italian but is now living in NYC for work. He asked me where in Italy I would be living and I told him Padova. The next words he typed was "are you crazy". I of course wanted to know why he would ask me such a question. He said "the Italians in that area are closed minded", "you could have picked any where else in Italy to live Milan, Rome and I would have best wishes for you". I asked him to explain himself and he went on to say that I would have a hard time living there because of the Italian's view of black people, particularly those from Africa. After our brief exchange I of course a million and one thoughts started racing through my head.

So after speaking w/ my friend I shoot off an email to my boyfriend fearful of what is to come. I ask all these questions which I know the answer too but need to be reassured that he loves me

There are a lot of African immigrants living in Padova and I have read & heard how the African immigrants are treated by the Italian government/people. I have not had any bad experiences during my travels in Italy. Actually the reception has always been quite warm and welcoming. I know the Italian people don't see me as "an immigrant" I am more of a tourist in those situations. But what will happen when I have to look for a job, access services etc. I have come to realization that sexism & ageism is what I will have face as I have been obtaining information from some of the expats living in Italy. But one thing that I have placed aside is my race and how it will effect how I live in Italy whether I am there legally or not.
I often tell my BF that the African people do not live their country to come to Europe to be poor, unemployed, uneducated. It's the government that allows the immigrants to resort to working illegally & doing all means necessary to make a living. His view on the immigrants is much different now then it was before because I have shed some light on the situation. Educating him on the conditions in some of these countries, Sudan, Ethiopia etc.

In Canada there are laws protecting individuals from Racism, Sexism & Ageism, is there such laws in Italy? Something I guess that I need to research.

Is my friend right, as a black woman will I have a hard time?

My Boring Blog!

Someone sent an anonymous comment to my blog about how boring it is. I am not on this blog world to please anyone. It's just an outlet for me to express my feelings and the process of my venture to Italy. It also includes a lot of other things as well. I appreciate all the comments however please respect my blog space. If you have something to say, posting a comment anonymously does not allow me to reply to the comment. Read with pleasure not pain.

Cheers

wait....wait....wait!

My journey to Italy has included A LOT of waiting. My BF and I have been told once again that we must wait. We were told this week that we would have to wait until Wednesday. Our Italian connection really functions on a different time. Once the wait is over, we will have an idea of my status upon arriving to Italy. I will keep you all posted.

Cheers,