Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It's Christmas.
I'm working.

And I'd give anything to be in my comfy bed sleeping the day away.

Almost Xmas

A me del Natale non me ne frega niente.
Non sono cattolica, e cattolica lo e' solo parte della mia famiglia.
Il Natale indica solo un'occasione giustificata per spendere soldi, per quanto mi riguarda.
Spendere soldi e mangiare come maiali.

La miglior festa del consumismo che esista.

Pero' sono un po' triste di passarlo in Libia invece che a casa.

________________________________________________________

I don't give a damn about Xmas.
I'm not catholic, and catholic is only part of my family.
Xmas only represents an occasion were u're justified to spend money, as far as I'm concerned.
Spend money and eat like pigs.

The best cosumerism festivity there is.

But I am a little sad to spend it in Libya instead of home.

Shopping in Tripoli!!!

Dopo sei mesi in Libia finalmente ho avuto l'occasione di andare a Tripoli!
After six months in Libya I finally had the occasion to go to Tripoli!

E' una citta' molto diversa da Misurata.
It's a very different city from Misurata.

E' piu' occidentale e si nota come sia piu' aperta mentalmente.
It's more of a western city and you can see how the mentality it's more open.

In tutto il giorno ho visto un'unica donna col burqa, pochissime donne/ragazze con il lungo cappotto nero e diverse ragazze addirittura senza velo!
During all the day I've seen only one woman wearing the burqa, few woman/girls with the long black coat and quite a lot of girls without the veil!

In realta' non ho visto molto la citta'.
Actually I haven't seen much of the city.

Ma ho visto un sacco di negozi!
But I've seen loads of shops!

Era la prima volta che provavo l'esperienza del "shop til you drop" (compra finche' non svieni).
It was the first time I experieced the "shop til you drop".

Fortunatamente mi ero portata pochi soldi perche' sarei stata capace di spendere tutto quello che ho risparmiato (e ho risparmiato un sacco di soldi, per la cronaca).
Luckily I went off with little money 'cos I'd been able to spend all I managed to save (and it's a lot of money, just so you know).

Sono rimasta sorpresa nel trovare un sacco di negozi inglesi. Marks & Spencer, Next, Bhs, La Senza. Sarei potuta morire. Un Next store in Libia!!!!!!!
I was very surprised to find a lot of UK shops. Marks & Spencer, Next, Bhs, La Senza. I could have died. A Next store in Libia!!!!!

Questo e' stato il bottino.
This was the haul.




Belt and Top by Next.
(il top e' stato amore a prima vista!!!) - (Fell in love with the top at first sight!!!)
Jeans by M&S.

Eyeshadows by Valentina for Kejal
(i miei ombretti preferiti al mondo) - (my favourite eyeshadows in the world)
Eyelashes n.7 by Layla

L'ombretto adesivo non so di che marca sia. L'ho preso perche' costava pochissimo (4 LyD ovvero poco piu' di 2 Euro) e ne sono sempre stata molto curiosa.
I have no idea of what brand is the adhesive eyeshadow. I bought it 'cos it was so cheap (4 LyD which means a little more than 2 Euros) and I've always been intrigued by it.

Ho trovato anche
Bourjois gloss menthol!!!!

Lo amo!!! Pensavo avessero smesso di produrlo!
I love it!!! Thought they stopped making it!

Io mi sono limitata a questo, piu' una borsa davvero carina per mia zia (e' un regalo di Natale quindi niente foto).
I got just this, plus a really nice bag for my aunt (it's a Xmas gift so no pic).

Ma le 3 dottoresse Ucraine con cui sono andata hanno svaligiato interi negozi!!!
But the 3 Ucrainian doctors (women) with whom I went literally robbed some stores!!!

Vediamo che combineremo al prossimo giro!
Let's see what will happen in the next round!

When sand meets water

Che succede in un paese costruito sulla sabbia, abituato alla sabbia, ricoperto di sabbia (come la Libia, guardacaso) quando piove?
What happens to a country built on sand, used to sand, covered in sand (like Libya, for a change) when it rains?

Il disastro. Ecco che succede.
Disaster. That's what happens.

Dopo due giorni di piogge e vento Misurata (la citta' dove vivo) era al collasso!
After two days of rain and wind Misurata (the city where I live) was collapsing!

Le strade erano completamente allagate. Si sono formati laghi ovunque.
The streets were completely underwater. There were lakes everywhere!

Connessioni sparite per 3 giorni. Molto difficile telefonare, internet inesistente (tutti estremamente irritabili al lavoro).
Connections had disappeared for 3 days. Very difficult calling, internet was nonexistant (all very irritable at work).

E le sabbie mobili.
And quicksand.

Si davvero.
Yes, for real.

Attraversando il giardino una sera sono sprofondata fino alle caviglie nella terra. A segno che la terra libica non e' normale.
Walking through the garden one evening I got trapped in the mud up to my ankles. Just to show that libyan ground is not normal.

L'altro giorno c'e' stato un momento di panico/ilarita' in cantiere, quando uno degli ingegnieri si e' improvvisamente ritrovato ad affondare nella sabbia fino alle ginocchia. FINO ALLE GINOCCHIA!!!
The other day there was a moment of panic/hilarity on site, when one of the engineers, all of a sudden, found himself sinking in mud up to his knees. UP TO HIS KNEES!!!

A volte la vita qui e' davvero assurdo.
At times life here is just crazy.

Merda

14-12-2010

Data la fiducia al governo Berlusconi.

Mi sa che e' meglio se rimango in Libia tutta la vita.

Deputati, senatori, politici di ogni sorta: mi fate cagare.

Rappresentate la popolazione italiana come un pitbull con la rabbia rappresenta la razza canina. O Melissa P. la categoria degli scrittori. O Anna Valle la categoria degli attori.

Veniteci a dire ancora che e' colpa della sinistra (che poi quale sinistra??? Dove cazzo e' la sinistra italiana), degli studenti che manifestano invece che studiare, degli immigrati, degli omosessuali, del Sud e via dicendo se l'Italia va male.

Caro Berlusca.
Perche' non fai una bella cosa con il tuo amico Bossi?
Prendi tutti noi disgraziati, feccia d'Italia, che mandiamo a puttane il tuo adorato paese, e rinchiudici in dei bei campi di lavoro/lager. Dal gruppo salva solo le fighe da aggiungere ai tuoi party, quelle che ti chiameranno papi e faranno qualsiasi cosa per un regalino. Quelle che dalle mie parti si chiamano zoccole, ma dalle tue povere ragazze giuste ed innocenti.

Vaffanculo Italia.

Tanto ti amo Tanto ti odio.

La tavola rotonda

A pranzo siamo una squadra consolidata.

Il Big Boss, Marantos (il capo del portoghesi), Alessio e spesso Ale (il figlio dei proprietari, che e' il primo figlio di papa' che conosco che non e' un cazzo un figlio di papa' - o quasi -).

L'oretta del pranzo passa tra cibo e grosse risate, dovute piu' che altro alle battute a sfondo sessuale di Marantos o in generale alle sue storie.

Si puo' dire che ormai siamo come una piccola famiglia.

Oggi Ale mi guarda e fa: "Pero'...devo dire una cosa senza una presenza femminile a tavola la situazione non sarebbe la stessa! -Poi ci pensa un attimo e guarda il posto dove si siede la Tunisina, che finisce di mangiare sempre prima di noi - Beh...senza la tua presenza!"

^_^

Sono indispensabile per la felicita' di questa terra di Merdor...

Dancehall me love...

Since I can remember I've always been fond of dancing.
And I always had a thing for dances that came from black culture.

For a very long time hiphop has been my true absolute love.
I took classes only for one year.
Dance classes were never something for me.
I've always been more of a "go where the flow brings you" type.

Then I went to university, in Torino.
I lived in the university's dormitory (best time of my life) and met a lot of people.

One night (29th January 2005) some friends brought me along to a dancehall.
DANCEHALL meant as a place where a SOUND SYSTEM played JAMAICAN MUSIC.

REGGAE, ROOTS, FOUNDATION, RAGGAMUFFIN, DANCEHALL, BASHMENT.

That night a new me was born.

I mean it.

I started going to every dancehall Torino had to offer (and let me tell you, some were just plain BAD. In a bad way that is).

Some months later I discovered the world of DANCEHALL QUEENS.

Up to that moment I never realized there was a distinctive way to dance to the music. That there were steps and wines and acrobatics!

Whaaaat????

So I started searching the web to understand better.
The music, the culture, the dance.

One year later I met Suna.
She's the first Italian Dancehall Queen to have gained international recognition and she plain crazy!!!
She tough, critic, focused, histerical at times and did I mention crazy???
I loved her to death the minute I said hi and she answered "I saw u dance. Why the fuck you didn't enter the competion???"
She became my mentor and from then on I really started studying and discovering the dancehall scene in Italy.

One year later I did the Dancehall Queen competion in Torino to enter the National Competition.
It was a big night. I remember people looking at me with sneering looks. There was this one blonde guy who totally laughed in my face.
Then I did my thing.
And the blonde guy came to me in shock and awe.
Dancehall Queen Junko from Japan was there. "Hey you can dance!!!" She said at the end of the night in her sweet slighty drunken voice!

It was October 2008.
In March 2009 I went to the national contest. A lot of girls didn't show up and it was just 7 contestants.
I felt like shit.
I weighed 2 times any other girl competing, I couldn't do a split, I couldn't do a head top and, compared to the other girls, I was so covered up that I looked like a nun. (not that showing my ass would've been a good idea...)
I kept thinking it was real stupid of me to enter this thing. I went to gain some respect but I felt like I would just a make a fool of myself.
Then I was just dancing and relaxing before the competition started and this guy came up to me and said "Are you partecipating?" I said yes and he said "Then I hope you win!".
WHAT?

Nothing could have prepared me to what happened that night.
I didn't even get on the podium. But I got the crowd. Literally.
At the end of the competition I had people all over coming to me to congratulate me and tell me how good I was and how they loved my performance.
I was STUNNED.

More than a year has gon by and it still happens. Every party I go I have someone coming up to me and say "OMG you're amazing!!!"
And that warm feeling I get in my stomach when it happens it's just indescribable.

I've been training and now I can do splits and backbends. I'm currently working on the jump and split and the head top. And have no doubt I'll reach them.

Dancehall has given me amazing confidence, amazing friends, opportunities and the love of my life.

And tonight, in Bologna, there's going to be the Italian Dancehall Queen National Contest.
And God knows how I wish I was there.

A friend told me last night "I can't believe you won't be on that stage! You bring the realness to it!!!"

A lot of girls dance now. They're young, pretty, skinny, athletic.

I ain't nothing of that. But I ogt one thing a lot of them don't have. And I guess that's my secret weapon. The one thing that makes me memorable.

I got soul.

But I'll get to that crown. Sooner or later.

Family time

La situazione della mia famiglia e' complicata.
My family situation is complicated.

La situazione con mio padre e' complicata.
The situation with my father is complicated.

Per questo uscire a cena con mio padre e i miei fratelli e' stato bello.
For this reason it was nice going out for dinner with my father and my brother.


L'ultima volta, in cui eravamo solo noi quattro, e' stata due anni fa. Si, prima che mi laureassi.
Last time it happened, that it was only the four of us, it was two years ago. Yes, before I graduated.

Cosi' siamo andati a Bergamo a mangiare sushi.
So we went to Bergamo to eat sushi.




In realta' mio padre, da quando e' stato in Giappone, ha sempre qualcosa da ridire sul sushi fatto in Italia dai Cinesi, ma stavolta e' stato bravo.
Actually my father, since he went to Japan, always has some comment about the sushi made in Italy by Chinese, but this time he was nice and silent.



Cosi' abbiamo mangiato, parlato e siamo
(quasi) riusciti a non alzare la voce.
So we ate, talked and (almost) managed not to raise our voices.








Per la grande occasione James, che e' un'aspirante stilista, ha passato in rassegna i nostri look per assicurarsi che fossimo "cool" o comunque presentabili.
For the big occasion James, who's an aspiring fashion designer, went through our looks to make sure we looked "cool" or in any case presentable.

E' stata una serata decisamente riuscita.
It was definitely a successful night.

But the memories remain

Tornata in Libia.
Back in Libia.

Con tanta gioia addosso, un po' di stanchezza e un ginocchio sfasciato.
I came back full of joy, a lil tired and a knee in a very bad shape.

Che ho fatto in Italia?
What did I do in Italy?

Ecco un riassunto con i momenti piu' importanti.
Here's a summary with the most important moments.





1) Sushi con mio padre e i miei fratelli.
Sushi with my brothers and my father.










2) Momento di shopping folle in accessori H&M.
Crazy moment of shopping in H&M accessorizes.


3) Bellissima dancehall dei Mighty Crown a
Milano con tantissimi amici e il mio uomo.
Great Mighty Crown dancehall in Milano with
lots of friends and my man.










4) Allenamento con la mia sistah Kina.
Training with my sistah Kina.











5) Dancehall FOLLEEEEE al Pedro di Padova con
la cricca Bolognese che non vedevo da una vita!
Completely INSANE dancehall in Padova with
my people from Bologna that I hadn't seen in
quite some time!









6) 2 giorni di amore amore amore, nient'altro che
amore con il mio uomo!
2 days of love love love, nothing but love with
my man!










7) Momento di shopping folle allo stand della Essence.
Crazy shopping moment at an Essence stand.


Pensate sia finita?
Think it's finished?

TSK.

Adesso verrano i post dettagliati!!!!
Now the detailed posts will come!!!