FAQs of Italians
Where do you come from?
Malaysia
WOW, Malaysia! Malaysia! Ehem…where is it actually?
…North of Singapore, south of Thailand.
What season is it in Malaysia now?
In Malaysia is sempre estate (always summer).
Wow, you must be very lucky. Sempre estate. You go to swim everyday?
Eerm…(monologue: I have better things to do than to go to swim everyday!) no, cos the sea is quite far from my house.
Sempre estate…so you don’t ski?
No. Skiing to me is as unfamiliar as Earthlings is to planet Pluto.
Huh?
Niente (nothing). I never ski before.
So, why do you choose Italy?
(Wow, this is tough!) Heh, it’s actually a coincidence, cos I finish schooling at December, and the exchange to Italy takes place on December to February, so I won’t have to miss school.
Oh…but why Italy? I mean…is it about the food, or the culture etc?
Erm…ok, I’m curious to find out more about Italian food, and the culture impressed me a lot, cos I get to know that Italians are quite family-orientated. This actually resembles the culture of Asians. Furthermore, Italy is not very well-known in Malaysia as US or England, so I think it’s an adventure to explore something mysterious.
How do you find Italians then?
Oh, Italians are very friendly. My classmates are cool and on my first day they had already acquinted me well. Other than that I think Italians are very well-dressed. You should see my classmate Soon Khen (no personal offence).
Heh. Anything else?
Well, Italians talk a little too loud to my liking.
That’s universal truth. When you’re back in Malaysia you can tell your friends that Italians are deaf.
When are you leaving?
cinque febbario (5 February).
What food do you usually eat in Malaysia?
(This is even tougher) Well, we have mainly 3 streams of food - Malay, Chinese and Indian. Which kind do you want to know?
Eerm….Chinese then.
Well, we inherited some cooking styles from China, mainly Cantonese, Hokkien, Hainan yadda-yadda (Italian frowns). Never mind, it’s not important. Then that’s a type of cooking called the Baba-Nyonya style which mix Malay and Chinese cooking together. Anyway, rice is the main staple food for all 3 types of cuisine mentioned just now.
What do you know about Italy in Malaysia?
Eerm…Pavarotti, Bocelli, pasta, pizza, Pisa, Roma, Alitalia, and that’s just about all.
(Saw Jun Yi carrying big shopping bags back home) The cost of living in Malaysia is higher than in Italy?
Oh NO, 1 Euro is about 4.5 Malaysian Ringgit. Just that I have endless relatives to attend to when I go back and that’s why I have to buy them something. Or else they’ll start complaining: That Jun Yi ar, went overseas and what I get is this stupid bar of chocolate.
You have to get everybody something?
Basically yes. Chinese are a community which put more importance to their ‘faces’ than their money.
