Reading is one of the best ways to acquire new vocabulary. Indeed, in books words are presented in context, and this makes it easier for readers to understand their use and meaning. Moreover, with the advent of ebooks and e-readers – like Amazon’s Kindle – acquiring new vocabulary is even simpler, since you have instant …
Culture
American stereotypes about Italians (Part 1)
I already talked about some stereotypes other cultures have about Italians in a previous article – Eight common stereotypes about Italians. However, searching the web, I came across a video entitled “Some questions Americans have for Italians”. I decided to watch it, and I found out that many of those questions are based on American …
Italians and health problems – Il colpo d’aria
According to many tourists, it seems that we Italians suffer from mysterious ailments. Ailments that strike only our population and are unknown to them. But is there really such a thing as Italian-only ailments? According to some tourists, yes. According to Italians no. It’s time to discover who’s right. COLPO D’ARIA I remember that when …
Halloween in Italy
What can you do if you’re spending Halloween in Italy? Are there some special events or should you resign yourself to having a boring night? As you know quite well, Halloween is a typical American custom. However, it seems that in the last years, Holloween is spreading more and more in Italy too. For example, …
Happy hour or aperitivo? – Italian customs
Are you planning a low budget holiday in Italy? Then, aperitivo and happy hour might come in handy. But what are aperitivo and happy hour? APERITIVO The idea of aperitivo in Italy dates back to 1784, when Antonio Benedetto Carpano invented Vermouth, a drink made of white wine aromatized with more than 30 different spices …
