Introductions

(29-12-2010, 13:23)Kamaji Ha scritto:  I have born and live in Palermo, Sicily

Palermo looks like a huge city to me but, wow, it also looks like a wondrous treasure trove of architecture and history (as does all of Italy!). The photos I have seen from doing internet searches are simply awe-inspiring!!

(29-12-2010, 13:23)Kamaji Ha scritto:  My mother have been three times in Australia and she always talk about the places she visited as the most amazing naturalistic places where she have gone.

That’s terrific that your mother has been here three times! Do you know where in Australia she has visited, Kamaji? Do you have family who live here or does your mother just like to come to Australia as a favourite holiday destination?

(29-12-2010, 13:23)Kamaji Ha scritto:  I'm vary happy to know someone living so far sharing our same passion for Hobb's books.

I am very happy to know you and I am glad to be sharing this Hobb passion with you as well!!

Did you know that Robin apparently used aspects of Australia’s history (the First Fleet/convicts being transported to Australia via ships from England) as inspiration for the Pirate Isles, slave ships and the settlement of the Rain Wilds? I was very excited to learn of this possible Hobb connection to my country! Robin, if you swing by Blood Memories again one day, I would be very interested to hear if this is truly the case.

(29-12-2010, 13:43)Umbra Ha scritto:  I'm sure your lifestyle is very different from mine, less spoiled by pollution and technology.

Yes, Umbra, I am sure our lifestyles are very different in many ways. Pollution-wise the air is very clean here, particularly where I am on our property, but possibly we are not so very far behind technology-wise? The world is a far smaller place these days (I even have Hobb friends I can talk to who live as far away as Italy!!! ) and technology, while it is cumbersome and stressful at times, has certainly helped to make our isolation here less “isolated”. For me, it is wonderful to be able to go online to order a book or clothing and have it arrive here in the mail rather than have to drive six hundred kilometres to buy it all!

While there is hard work to be done here, there is definitely far less everyday stress to have to deal with than what I have experienced with city living. Of course, I have always lived in the country so it is what I am used to. Someone from the city may find my way of life rather slow-paced, lonely and boring!

Hmm...we may be lagging behind in the area of technology with mobile phones though, but this is more to do with distance than "technology" itself (I think). While mobiles are used throughout Australia, I cannot use one out here because I am too isolated and far away from a town. At home here, I can only use an everyday, landline phone or, for short-range communication, a two-way UHF radio. This may sound awful but it is sometimes a blessing not being contactable 24 hours a day!!

(29-12-2010, 13:43)Umbra Ha scritto:  I'm from Sicily too, but my city is Messina. It isn't a small city (it has a population of about 245,000 inhabitants) and I live in front of the sea.

This may be a silly question but, living near the sea, have you ever had to deal with such things as tidal waves and hurricanes, or is all of Italy quite geographically protected in this regard?

You’re right...245,000 people in Messina is a LOT of people to have to live in close proximity with!! I am not sure I could do it so I am constantly amazed by those, like you, who can!

(29-12-2010, 13:43)Umbra Ha scritto:  I've many friends who visited Australia (near Messina there are some islands, Eolian Islands, from where many workers had left to Australia in the past - so they have cousins and other relatives in your country) and I hope to visit it in the future.

Except for all of you, I have to admit that I don’t know anyone, and I have never met anyone, with an Italian connection before.

(29-12-2010, 16:05)Ambra Ha scritto:  I'm native Italian too, I was born and still live in Rimini, a town in the Center-North of Italy, on the East Coast. So I live near the sea but anything like the beautiful beaches in Australia

I found a map and photos of Rimini, Ambra, and it looks so charming. Each city I have read about seems to have such incredible stories woven into their histories! Rimini is a little less populated than Townsville (my closest city) but the buildings have so much more character, beauty and presence.

You may be interested to learn that, because I grew up and have always lived in the country, I had never even been to a beach until I was seventeen years old and had left school. While it was beautiful there, I was so terrified at being at the beach for the first time that I found it difficult to enjoy. I spent the entire time thinking I was going to be eaten by a shark (I had seen the movie ‘Jaws’ a lot before that!) and caught in a cyclone (it was the middle of the cyclone season and I had grown up watching terrifying cyclone alerts on the television!). I have visited many different beaches since that first experience, and so it is funny to look back on my terror now, but I was truly worried at the time!

(29-12-2010, 18:57)Assassin Ha scritto:  Anyway, I'm from Florence, where I live, in Tuscany. I don't know, probably you already heard about my city

Yes, I have heard of Florence before, Assassin, and I would love to visit it one day. I am very much a country person who often feels quite out of place within town or city limits but I think I would enjoy visiting cities such as the ones where you all live, even if only for a short time. There would be so much to look at! Australia is only a young country and so we have far fewer historically-significant buildings and sites in comparison to those you have in Italy.

It has been wonderful hearing about the different locations where you all live – thank you for sharing them with me!