Chiara In The Pond

I am really having fun with my friends "playing" Unite. We are all really looking forward the final and more stable version, but it's fun to share the fridge and having some virtual beer (few friends luckly realized that also my real fridge was in need of beer and "submitted" a can in the real life container Thanks for that!).
I am sharing the pictures of my high school mates and finally I do not need to store in some far away and not under my control server.
I just share a folder. That's it! Fast and secure
Not yet really into using the chat srervices, but let's see soon!
I am Unite

Opera canteen in Italy is somehow special.
There is an (almost 24 hours) gunned guard in front of the kitchen door. It does not allow you to enter without a special permission especially outside the so called lunch time.
The lunch timetable is pretty late compared to Opera's headquaters. Lunch is not served before 14:30.
You have to sit at the table, sometimes serving yourself and the others. Even preparing the table.
There is no wide choice. What the cook decide is the only thing you can get.
But usually food is pretty good.
You start with some nice freshly cooked pasta and then you can have meat (or cheese+some kind of ham) with side dish.
You are not allowed to go away from the table without prior consent from the gunned guard and for sure not before tasting some fruit.

There is lack of options, of flexibility and lunch is really too late.
I'm going to protest with Opera's headquaters! :|
That needs to be changed
Chiara

Ah I've forgotten to mention: canteen is located in my parents flat, the gunned man is my dad who is not really gunned but he's pretty serious about my access to the fridge. The cook is my mum...
After all I'm just staying working few days from here so I guess I should not complain too mutch with Opera's headquaters

Few hours and I'll be in India.
I'm really looking forward it.
Stay tuned to see the new from incredible India!

Beijing is a crazy place for a western like me.
It's full of contrasts as many had told me before being in here.
I've seen luxury towers and powerfull buildings under contructions, the lights shining during the nights even with rainbows on the local free ways.
The freeways are 4 or more per directions. Everything looks glamorous and splendid!
Then there are the Hugtongs and then things start changing....
I'm trying to learn a lot looking around me.

about 1.5 years ago I've been to Beijing for an extremly short time (I even don't dare to say how long since I'm a little ashame of that). I could not see much but some pictures are really impressed in my mind...
Now, after a few days, I can say that the pictures are a bit changed...
The shops are getting more and more westernized. In the malls there are mainly pictures and dressers of blond women with blue eyes.
Personally I think it's a bit sad... A little bit of China has gone away...
The number of western shops has also incredibly increased, but that's somehow expected.
They are really preapering for the olympics! More and more signs are written with chinese and latin characters, in some big grocery stores the departments are labelled in Chinese AND English (but still not everyone is able to speak English).
The most advanced to adapt are, somehow of course, the small street markets: they are ready for the turists so nowadays everyone speak English (thing that was not so common before) asking you if you want a "real" "Plada" or you prefer a "Ducce e Gabbana"
It makes me smile, but still another touch of CHina is gone...
In the area where I leave (I cannot say outside, I've almost spent all of my time nearby) there are lots of very expensive car (at least for my poor pockets): Audi, BMW and some Mercedes shine around.
There are also chinese branded car and they do not seem to be cheap either.
Lots of scapescrapers under construction even during nights when the worker's flames shine bright along the buildings.
As many have already said, we are in a transition period, I have no clue what will happen during the olympics, but I dare say that it will mark Beijing for ever (and probably a big part of the so called western world)