Cambridge

Because so much of my thinking comes up in English anyway, and my Italian prose is packed with English words no matter how hard I try, I might as well write in full, plain English. Which kind of defeats the purpose of having a blog in the first place, namely to keep up my Italian.

I'm also sorry for a few mysterious readers that apparently access this page regularly from Turin and Bergamo (I’ve got no friends in Bergamo so that’s really sweet of them, isn’t it), so I guess I’ll open another page somewhere else. Here’s the beauty of the internet: the freedom to clutter the net with unwanted and unnecessary writing.

I feel better already. It’s like giving up to a vicious pleasure. The joy I get from writing is just as much in either language anyway (almost so: the narcissistic pleasure I get from the sound of my words in Italian has no equal).

I was thinking that I’ve never lived in a place that was, like Cambridge is, so plain pretty. I have never seen so little ugliness when walking to school, or strolling in the centre. Ugliness is nowhere to be seen, almost erased from the memory. I can’t explain it. I guess it’s like living in one of those pretty little towns of ours: Siena, Mantova, Pisa. I get up and walk into a quite, residential street. I free my bike and I’m in the centre. Few cars. Narrow streets. Stunning architecture, which I’ve learnt to take for granted, but which improves your life by a great deal. The air seems crystal clear. I love cycling fast, but I also love taking the time to look around. I love King’s, with its gothic towers. I love that corner that leads me to the Market Square when I’m in need to go to Starbucks. In fact, I love Starbucks that doesn’t interfere with the landscape. I never feel so fully integrated into this society as when I shop, which is kind of sick, but it’s a great feeling. Spending money that I don’t have, as everybody else seems to be doing with such pleasure.

And the Judge Business School. Come on, my school is just great. I never will understand people that don’t like its style. It’s colourful and cheerful, but still tidy and minimalistic. It’s like being in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but it’s so new and shiny. “Judge” for yourself: