indiebird

Well I've had a good cry and a good think and I'm still none the wiser. A large part of me wants to phone the Presida's office and go in there with my crap Italian and see what she says but as Patty and 37100 say, it will probably make things worse. My dh is soooo unhelpful it is untrue. This is the only thing I really need to take responsibility for according to him and I'm making a total hash of it and having a flame war in the diary is not what I should be doing. Still got no idea what I'm going to write but I am not admitting to anything I haven't done. I am off to bed and hopefully I will wake up in the morning with the answer.

Patty

Sands - dont know if you ever used La Redoute when you were in the UK - but they have recently decided to deliver in Italy too and have an Italian website. I used them for years (cos in the Channel Islands we had little choice ) and I know their stuff is really good. You can request their catalogue online too.

Patty

Yes - sleep on it - but not only - maybe give it a few days before you say a word. Maybe even after the weekend - I mean Rome wasnt built in a day was it ? Sometimes the things we say when we are really angry or upset are then things we regret. Take a step back - have a long think and maybe make dh contribute a bit - I mean you didnt come here cos you love Italy - you came here because of his job, so personally I think he shouldn't be making you take all the burden - its not fair. This is a problem concerning his children and he should help. After all a problem shared is a problem halved and maybe if he came to the preside with you (or the teacher) and showed a united front it might help you . But then thats just my opinion

TestaRossa

Viola! Not I think they will win! You never know, but I don't think they are ready yet!! I'll make sure I'm all locked up Wednesday night though! Wonder how many helicopters Liverpool will justify? I might have a walk into town in the afternoon see if any interesting characters are about! I think the police are so used to Palermo etc though that they make sure the fans get straight to the stadium!!

duffer

Well make sure if you wander out that you put a hat on to cover your ginger hair - You might get a baton to the face from nice Mr Italian Policeman!

TestaRossa

Why?? Anyway it's more blonde at the moment..
Are you implying all scousers are Celtic?

Lorna at Vicenza

Indie, if you want to write a polite, explanation, proper letter to the teachers and also a copy for the head .... write it out exactly as you would in English, email it to me and I'll put it all into polite and official sounding Italian for you. I used to write hundreds of office and business letters and know lots of smart words. I don't mind helping honestly. It sounds like the teachers are getting petty and picky and that's not fair. You could alos explain that you thought they'd be a little more understanding of the fact that you do not know everything about how an Italian school works and that you are trying your damndest but are upset at the lack of support and the amount of criticism.

indiebird

I did have a think about it last night and I'm not sure I can leave it alone like peeps have suggested. It must be my culture. I have written a note today, starting with 'Gentile Maestre', and ending with 'distinti saluti' explaining that I have never meant to cause offence to them, but to accuse a parent of cheating in england, especially after both the child and the mother has been congratulated already is very serious and if it is the same here then I feel it would be best to take this through the correct channels as I don't feel that we have cheated.' I'm probably storing up heartache but the backlash cannot be much worse than what I feel already. My son went into school but my daughter didn't want to go in today and the bidelli stopped me from taking her into the foyer to hand her to the teacher as the primi kids are all queueing in the foyer at the moment. This caused more tears and I must admit that I got round the corner from the school and burst into tears. All my instincts as a mother are screaming at me to take my kids and get as far away from here as possible and get myself and my kids some proper support, but dh thinks this would be a big mistake as they are learning about another culture/ language etc. I think I might jist go back to bed, pull the covers over my head and try not to think about it for much of today. I may really need your help in the near future though Lorna, so thanks so much for the offerxxxx

duffer

What do you mean Celtic? Like Mel Gibson in Braveheart?
I think in every post you should specify your hair colour, e.g. Today I'm a blonde...

duffer

Why? I meant that with your colour of hair you're unlikely to pass as an Italian and the fact that Italian riot police around the football grounds like to beat up the away supporters, you should be careful to venture out that evening. Not that you'll get any trouble from us Liverpool fans. It's the Italians you need to worry about.

Lorna at Vicenza

If things don't improve over the next week, then write that letter and I'll make it all Italianised for you. I wrote a letter to Chloe's school last year. It was polite but very straight talking. Going backwards and forwards in the home/school book doesn't always help as it might not always be the same teacher in the morning reading it and the teachers have the excuse of saying it was all a misunderstanding and you read it all wrongly.

My letter was straight to the point, in no way offensive and put in black and white they way I did, there was no chance of confusion and any misunderstanding. It worked for us that time.

Offer is always open if you ever need it. I think we should all have a punch bag in the house somewhere and kick and punch the crap out of it when people make us feel like this.

sands

Gosh I've just come online and read through all this. I hope you can get it all sorted out, and it's great Lorna can translate if needed. It seems it can really go to their heads sometimes. I just saw an article in the English Daily Mail this morning, where a boy of 9 has been accused of racism - and this has been marked in his school records which might affect his placing in his next school - because they had been learning all about WW2 all week and he happened to turn to his best friend next to him, pulled a face and said "we have to shoot the Germans". His friend is actually Polish - not that this kid knew nor cared - and because of that he's in big trouble. Pleeeeze.

Tessa Rossa hi - the M & S deliveries came in three days, refund for second package duly made. Just be aware though, I had to sign for the goods. I'm not sure about the postal system your way but that's what happened.

sands

I'm so sorry, I think that's the second time I've mispelt your name, TestaRossa.

sands

Also (I bet you're regretting my return now!) I just keep remembering things to say, sorry! I wanted to say thanks, Patty for letting me know about La Redoute now delivering to Italy. My husband is already on an extra bottle of vino a night since M & S has started shipping here - gawd knows what will happen next. Probably my bank manager will skip town.

Patty

I'm just remembering something I think Indie said the other day about how many hours are wasted doing italian grammar etc - well out of curiousity I just asked my son and he said that out of their 34(or is it 36) hr week they do 13 hours of italian - but only one of history and 2 of geography - does that seem right in this day and age to waste so much time on one subject ??? I really think not