The other day I was reminded by a friend that “non è mai troppo tardi” to learn another language. It is never too late. It made me think about how my late mother fostered her Italian skills when she moved to Italy. She moved to Italy in 1960 when the show “Non è mai troppo tardi” started to air. It was actually for analphabets/illiterates or “returning-analphabets/illiterates” ( there is a linguistic term for it (I only know it in Italian: “analfabetismo di ritorno”). Those days many had only the “quinta elementare” (it was obligatory to attend school only until the 5th class / primary school ..read more

by Rolf Limacher (2022) Many car owners are reluctant to replace their combustion-engined car with an all-electric car. They might refrain from buying one not only due its considerable price tag but possibly also due to the reduced range and the duration of charging stops. After we had cleared the first hurdle of car purchasing, we undertook our first long-distance trip in July 2022 in the EQV 300 from Mercedes as a family with three almost grown-up children and a dog. It turned out to be a really pleasant experience. Our 3000km round trip starting from the Netherlands and including ..read more

It sounds almost a sacrilege to mention COVID19 and celebrating in the same sentence or title, especially considering those who are struggling right now. We all have different ways to cope in the many phases we go through not only now, but in any situation. At the moment, we try to find a new normal every day. Some days seem almost surreal, and at times we just wish that the day will be over, other days we wish that certain moments would last longer. A dear friend shared a picture on facebook, which said that during these times, the days of the week all seem the same. It feels like th ..read more

At the moment our teenagers have term break. We have spent many holidays at home in the past, but during COVID19 the social distancing and extra precautions when going out for walks etc. feel way more limiting for my teenagers (and me!). Also, they just got into the new routine of remote learning and this additional change is not making the situation any easier. What can they possibly do during these long hours, if they don’t need (or want) to study every day, can’t meet up with friends, or do any of the activities they did with friends in the past… We have a great collection of board ga ..read more

In the past few weeks we have tried to maintain some kind of routines and one of them is to all have two meals per day together: breakfast and dinner. As my husband and I tend to have meetings during lunch hours, we have either an early or a late lunch these days. This allows our three teenagers to make their own (very inventive!) lunches and spend some time among peers, have a chat (or a fight), share their thoughts etc.. Since we all started learning and working from home a few weeks ago, the conversations during breakfasts and dinners changed. In the first week it was all about ..read more

After a bit more than 3 weeks at home with my three teenagers I can say that so far we are doing well (touching wood, iron… whatever brings luck!). My children coped quite well with the remote learning, surely thanks to the school that already used learning platforms for homework and assignments, as well as independent learning. – I am very aware though, that this was not the case for many other schools, and teachers and families needed at least one week to adjust to the new situation. Judging from the general tone of parents in the fb groups I’m following, all schools, teachers, educators d ..read more

Like many people who regularly use more than one language, I have some words I use in an incorrect way because the same – or similar – form of the word has a different meaning in another language I speak. Native speakers would probably not make those mistakes, but I personally consider them as an interesting side-effect of being plurilingual.  In English, for example, I use sensible with the meaning of  sensitive. sensible (adj.) late 14c., “capable of sensation or feeling;” also “capable of being sensed or felt, perceptible to the senses,” hence “easily understood; logical, reasonable,” from ..read more

During this time of the year we’re used to stories showing the values of our traditions and religions. Most of them are shared with children. The poem I would like to share in this post is about the time of advent and St. Nicholas. Ödipussi (Photo credit: Wikipedia) It is written and performed by the German comedian, humorist, cartoonist, film director, actor and writer Vicco von Bülow (1923-2011) alias Loriot. He is best known for his cartoons, the sketches from his 1976 television series Loriot, alongside Evelyn Hamann, and his two movies, Ödipussi (1988) and Pappa Ante Portas (1991). In s ..read more

My children are all teenagers now and when I recently stood still to look back and focus on what is happening right now, I looked at all the ups and downs, the very difficult and the easy moments, the moments of joy and the ones of deep sadness. Life is not a long fleuve tranquille , we all have our challenges to deal with. What helps me since my own teenage years is Nietsches’ What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. – I admit that sometimes I wonder how strong does one need to become?! Fact is, that I am very proud of where we are now. – Be prepared, this is a long post… We parents l ..read more