Mamma Mia and school reform

Musical films in their original languages are strange enough. The characters are talking, your disbelief is suspended, and then, suddenly, the camera angle changes and a young, tight-panted John Travolta starts singing “Greased Lightning.” Okay. Fine. Not my favorite genre, and certainly not the most faithful to cinematic realism, but I can get into it when the mood is right.

When you add a second language to the mix, things get crazy. As my best (only) example, I give you Mamma Mia, which I saw this past weekend. Pierce Brosnan will be on screen, and you’ll be looking at him, expecting to hear James Bond. Or the boyfriend from Ms. Doubtfire. Or the geologist from Dante’s Peak. Instead, he starts talking, and he is Italian. After a few minutes, this begins to feel normal, but then the camera angle changes and he’s singing Abba songs, in English. This constant back-and-forth from Italian, to English, to Italian makes the movie watching experience a linguistic rollercoaster, of sorts – bizarre, but entirely enjoyable, when the mood is right.


On a less musical note, the Italian government has recently decided to implement a very unpopular school reform, sparking protests and strikes across the country. The Minister of Education, Mariastella Gelmini – whom many people consider a puppet of Prime Minister Burlusconi – has decided to fire 87,000 teachers over the course of the next three academic years, citing as her motive widespread inefficiency and teacher laziness. In addition, she has demanded that all students who don’t meet a certain level of Italian language proficiency – in other words, immigrants – be put in separate, segregated classes.

I’m not sure if this story is receiving any international media attention (I’d imagine that the election, the financial crisis, and Tom Brady’s knee are a bit closer to the current American spotlight), but in Italy, it’s all anybody is talking about. Tomorrow, my school is participating in a national one-day teacher’s strike, so many of my classes may be cancelled, depending on whether the teachers I work with choose to strike. (Just because the school has sanctioned the strike does not mean that every teacher has to participate in it.) It’s an interesting time to be in Italy.



Today, it’s raining heavily. When I walked into my first class, I asked the students how they were doing. Most of them said that they were doing badly, due to the weather. One of them, however, said she was great. When I asked her why she was in such a good mood, she said it was because she loved the rain. "Why do you love the rain?" I asked. Her response: "Because when it rains, I can sing 'It’s Raining Men.'" I thought this was hilarious.


Off to catch a train. I've got more photos to add, however, so check back soon.



Thanks for reading, and be well,



Nate