Lonely in Piemonte

[kimberleyxx]

hi there !! i am only 21 .. but i have moved to piemonte last week and if your wanting some company reguardless of age and would like to meet up just post a message on here to me ! there can only be more people that just you like this so im sure more people will post back to you ! also i know the family i am living with has an english teacher aswell who is mid fourties maybe fifties .. i suppose after ive met her a couple of times i can pass your nuber on to hher? im sure she is from liverpool originally ! im also starting italian courses tomorrow in via san secondo the group is called YWCA and the enrollment fee is like 15 euros for the year im sure why dont you come along , maybe i can meet you somewhere for coffee before ? x

[Twinkle Canelli]

Hi

Whereabouts are you? I'm near Canelli/Nizza Monferrato....

[kimberleyxx]

ohh i have no idea where that is !! i live near via galleleo ferraris , is this close to you ?! im free usually from about 10-4pm but tomorrow i have the italian class and then im busy at 1 o'clock ish ! but most other days im fine to do .. and any time after about 8-9 pm x

[Twinkle Canelli]

Oh no you're actually in Torino? That's more than an hour away in the car for me!!! Shame, cos I'd like to do a language course!!! x

[kimberleyxx]

have you searched for any in your area ? there has to be some people who speak english , what about the english teacher at your daughters school? maybe she has some friends , find out at the next parents evening aww thats a shame! bbut still when im free on the weekend we should definatly arrange to do something xx

[environ]

Originally Posted by Twinkle Canelli

Hi

I'm new to this expat forum thing and not sure how it works.... but.... I've been living in Italy for 2 years now with my 13 year old daughter. It's been tough on us both, but finally things have turned a corner for her and she is totally fluent, thriving at school and her social life is just starting to flourish. Since we arrived, I have concentrated on her and my needs have been put on hold. Now that she doesn't need me so much, I am disallusioned to realise that I am no further forward than when I first arrived. My Italian is still rubbish, I have made no friends, and quiet frankly I'm bored and lonely. I've done my best to find a job but work is scarce here even for the Italians. Now I'm trying to find unpaid work just so that I can mix with people and learn the language and I've even approached the local dog rescue place and been turned down as a volunteer!

I'm not about to chuck it all in and retreat back to the UK now things have finally started working out for my daughter, but I really need somebody to talk to!!! My confidence has dipped so low that I find I hardly want to get out of bed in the mornings. The less you do, the less you want to do..... I did join a yoga class for a few months, but it was expensive and although things aren't that difficult financially, it seemed a bit of a luxury so I bought a dvd from Amazon instead! Sometimes I find I can go for a week or 10 days without speaking to another soul.... my daughter usually has IPod earphones plugged in all the time and sniggers at my attempts to speak Italian... My man works away for 2 or 3 months at a time to finance the building of our dream house here so I really am all alone most of the time, and he can't understand what I've got to complain about.

About me.... I'm late 40s but feel as if I'm much younger!!! I'm interested in cooking, gardening, shopping, dogs, cats and horses and have two children but the oldest at 28 is still in London.

If there is anyone out there near Canelli/Asti/Alba/Aqui Terme please get in touch and save my sanity.... otherwise, I'm very grateful to any suggestions and words of wisdom from anyone elsewhere.......

hello my name is patricia and we have a holiday home in sessame which is only
a few miles from you i will be starting to come over to italy in april we can arrange
to meet for coffee in nizza if you want .

[Twinkle Canelli]

Hi Patricia!

That would be great - my daughter is at school in Nizza at La Madonna. Sessame..... is that between Nizza and Acqui Terme? I know I drive through it sometimes but can't picture it....

Are you in the UK at the moment and if so whereabouts?

Amanda

[maryann]

Originally Posted by Twinkle Canelli

Hi

I'm new to this expat forum thing and not sure how it works.... but.... I've been living in Italy for 2 years now with my 13 year old daughter. It's been tough on us both, but finally things have turned a corner for her and she is totally fluent, thriving at school and her social life is just starting to flourish. Since we arrived, I have concentrated on her and my needs have been put on hold. Now that she doesn't need me so much, I am disallusioned to realise that I am no further forward than when I first arrived. My Italian is still rubbish, I have made no friends, and quiet frankly I'm bored and lonely. I've done my best to find a job but work is scarce here even for the Italians. Now I'm trying to find unpaid work just so that I can mix with people and learn the language and I've even approached the local dog rescue place and been turned down as a volunteer!

I'm not about to chuck it all in and retreat back to the UK now things have finally started working out for my daughter, but I really need somebody to talk to!!! My confidence has dipped so low that I find I hardly want to get out of bed in the mornings. The less you do, the less you want to do..... I did join a yoga class for a few months, but it was expensive and although things aren't that difficult financially, it seemed a bit of a luxury so I bought a dvd from Amazon instead! Sometimes I find I can go for a week or 10 days without speaking to another soul.... my daughter usually has IPod earphones plugged in all the time and sniggers at my attempts to speak Italian... My man works away for 2 or 3 months at a time to finance the building of our dream house here so I really am all alone most of the time, and he can't understand what I've got to complain about.

About me.... I'm late 40s but feel as if I'm much younger!!! I'm interested in cooking, gardening, shopping, dogs, cats and horses and have two children but the oldest at 28 is still in London.

If there is anyone out there near Canelli/Asti/Alba/Aqui Terme please get in touch and save my sanity.... otherwise, I'm very grateful to any suggestions and words of wisdom from anyone elsewhere.......

Hello, there, Twinkle Canelli,
I would love to save your sanity. I have a feeling that in writing your message, you will receive many many helpful replies. You will find that the people who subscribe to this forum are very friendly and understand much of what you have said.

My name is MaryAnn and my husband and I live permanently in Praia A Mare, Calabria. I am of Sicilian background, having lived with my Italian born relatives, all grandparents, in the same 3 floor building when I grew up. We moved here, in the South, in October, 2010, from the United States...NY State to be exact. Our town is 5 hours south of Rome, by train, about 3 hours south of Naples. We are here because Italy simply called out to me and I needed to be at my origin, especially since my parents died in 2005 and 2006. I was the only child.

We love dogs, also. We have brought our 2 Golden Retrievers over from the States. There is so much to do, Twinkle; Lots of fun things, and there is a great need of dog rescue. I am surprised you were turned down. There are tons of strays here.

Please write back if you feel like it, ok?

Thanks, and try to have a good day. I know it is hard at times, but there are ways to help. Be well.

MaryAnn

[Ed in Italy]

Twinkle,
You'd do well to improve your Italian, but you need to get out and about to do that. If I were you, I'd start teaching English just to have some contact. You don't have to be a teacher per se; you could start like I did, by doing conversation with adults or helping students with their English homework. And if you're lucky like I was, this thing will snowball. I'm now at the point that I'm refusing teaching work. Get your daughter to help you write an advert. Hard copies can be posted in supermarkets, dry cleaners, stationery stores, etc. You can place an ad on a web site like kijiji.it.
If you live near a major city (like Torino) there are expat organizations, but I would recommend against surrounding yourself only with English-speaking people 'cause you need to integrate.

Ed

Originally Posted by Twinkle Canelli

Hi

I'm new to this expat forum thing and not sure how it works.... but.... I've been living in Italy for 2 years now with my 13 year old daughter. It's been tough on us both, but finally things have turned a corner for her and she is totally fluent, thriving at school and her social life is just starting to flourish. Since we arrived, I have concentrated on her and my needs have been put on hold. Now that she doesn't need me so much, I am disallusioned to realise that I am no further forward than when I first arrived. My Italian is still rubbish, I have made no friends, and quiet frankly I'm bored and lonely. I've done my best to find a job but work is scarce here even for the Italians. Now I'm trying to find unpaid work just so that I can mix with people and learn the language and I've even approached the local dog rescue place and been turned down as a volunteer!

I'm not about to chuck it all in and retreat back to the UK now things have finally started working out for my daughter, but I really need somebody to talk to!!! My confidence has dipped so low that I find I hardly want to get out of bed in the mornings. The less you do, the less you want to do..... I did join a yoga class for a few months, but it was expensive and although things aren't that difficult financially, it seemed a bit of a luxury so I bought a dvd from Amazon instead! Sometimes I find I can go for a week or 10 days without speaking to another soul.... my daughter usually has IPod earphones plugged in all the time and sniggers at my attempts to speak Italian... My man works away for 2 or 3 months at a time to finance the building of our dream house here so I really am all alone most of the time, and he can't understand what I've got to complain about.

About me.... I'm late 40s but feel as if I'm much younger!!! I'm interested in cooking, gardening, shopping, dogs, cats and horses and have two children but the oldest at 28 is still in London.

If there is anyone out there near Canelli/Asti/Alba/Aqui Terme please get in touch and save my sanity.... otherwise, I'm very grateful to any suggestions and words of wisdom from anyone elsewhere.......

[Twinkle Canelli]

Thanks MaryAnn,

I have been emotionally uplifted by all the lovely words of wisdom and encouragement.... I too have a golden retriever - she's Italian born, and will be 2 in May. Crazy as anything - still an overgrown puppy - we've just come back from walking round the flood plains and she went mad through the puddles and then rolled about in the mud. We're confined to the kitchen now until she's dry and I can brush it all out! I'll keep trying with the animal rescue places here - the one nearest me is funded by the comune and they only want volunteers for walking the dogs in the afternoons, but I am only free in the mornings! I'm not fussed what animals I'm helping so I'm going to try cats next - I just need to be needed!!!

I do love it here in a lot of ways - I'm always busy - I just get lonely and miss the girly chats and laughter that I used to share with the friends and family I had in England. I don't seem to have much in common with them now. I really am very fortunate - I just have to keep remembering that!

When our house is built we plan to have chickens and maybe a donkey and my man will retire and everything will be wonderful. I just need to build myself a satisfactory life until that happens... I was a very independent career woman in London and since I came here I seem to have lost my identity, which in turn has sapped my confidence. I just need to find it again!!!

And Ed, you are absolutely right - I think that offering help with English may be the only thing there is a market for here, although opportunities will be somewhat limited as I live in quite a small town and very few people speak any English at all, apart from the school children. Such is my lack of confidence at the moment that the thought of teaching anyone anything absolutely terrifies me. I might browse the net and see if there are any suggested lesson plans that would give a good basis to start from as I just wouldn't know where to start teaching someone a foreign language. I also need to improve my Italian so that I can communicate with them!