Nothing makes me nostalgic for Canada than receiving super, duper mittens in the mail. I’ll be rooting for my home and native land with these new mittens, and putting my hands up in the air while, watching Canada kick butt at the Olympics in Sochi.
This is my response to the weekly photo challenge: selfie.
The long hot hours of work are finally over and I’m looking forward to catching up on lost sleep. Everyday I worked 12pm – 9pm without a day off, as that’s how the cookie crumbles in Sardinia. At times, it was difficult to keep the smile on my face and more often than not I wanted to sucker punch a few guests in the face for stupid remarks. Overall, it was a beautiful whirlwind working at the lovely beach bar Mistral Bar at La Marinedda beach. I met some fantastic people who quickly became friends and I saw 31 stunning sunsets worthy of a painted picture.
Here is a little list of what I endured in the 31 days as a Beach Bar Waitress
A four-year old girl said “Your shoes are ugly. They are not beach shoes.” People would obviously stare at my running shoes and make all sorts of comments. I had an argument with a marathoner (N.B. never get into a conversation about running with a multiple time marathoner … it will never end) about me being lazy and not training for a marathon even though I told him I have zero interest in running marathons.For this year it’s over, and it seems so is summer; I watch a storm roll in over the mountains of the Gallura and rest my weary waitress head to the table and dream of Mom’s chicken noodle soup.
What did you do that’s spectacular this summer?
“I see Canada as a country torn between a very northern, rather extraordinary, mystical spirit … ” – Robertson Davies
This is my response to the weekly travel theme from Ailsa from Where’s my backpack. To check out more awesome mystical photos click here.
In one of my online expat forums a few good questions about tipping in Italy were posted: Do we tip in Italy? What is the coperto? Why did the restaurant automatically add 15%?
This is a rare sight in Italy but I found it at one restaurant just yesterday.
Many travelers who are from countries where tipping is customary; and are visiting non-tipping countries are often left wondering – to tip or not to tip? I’ve seen graphs from five years ago, stating that it’s customary to tip 10% (in addition to a service charge) in Italian restaurants. I disagree with this, five years ago and today. We have never left a 10% tip in any restaurant in Italy and I know other Italians who never tip the 10% which is stated in these charts.
To tip or not to tip? That is the question on everyone’s mind.
There is really no straight forward answer to this. If it’s in your means to tip, then tip; but make sure that the hotel or restaurant has not already included an automatic service charge to your bill. Read all fine print.
I worked in a fancy hotel/restaurant this past summer and on occasion the customer did slip a few €10’s into my pocket. The tips came from the Brits and Italians – two countries not accustomed to tipping but they tipped anyway. I’ve also worked in a little coffee-house, not one tip, ever.
What is a coperto?
The coperto perfectly translated means cover charge. Most restaurants add an automatic, per person coperto. The €1-3 coperto is charged for taking up space in the restaurant; it goes towards the cleaning of the linens, glassware and sometimes it’s divided among the staff.
In Sardinia the average coperto is €2.50. From up-scale, posh restaurants to Mom and Pop diners with paper place-mats and plastic cutlery will charge the coperto. Be sure to check the small print on your menu. Some regions in Italy have tried to ban the coperto but to no avail. It still exists and people are still paying it.
The truth – you’re a tourist and they know it. Most locals are not given the automatic 10-15% when they dine in these tourist spots. However it’s illegal … unless it is written in the menu.
A service charge is based on the customers discretion of service rendered. The service charge is divided among the wait staff, bartenders, kitchen staff and sometimes even the management. Generally the service charge is an extra 10-15% of your total bill.
A coperto is an automatic charge that goes towards the cleaning and repairing of linens, glassware and taking up space in a restaurant. Between €1-3.
Be sure to read all the fine print on the menu before handing the menu back to the staff. Then be ready to fight it, if you have it in you. It’s illegal and they are taking advantage of the unknowing tourist.
Aggiungere – To add
10-15% automaticamente aggiunto per servizio.
10-15% automatically added for service.
Coperto – cover charge
I have never tipped extra in the 5 years I have lived in Sardinia. We didn’t tip extra when we went to Rome or Padova. Why? Because of the coperto. If we are dining with 10 friends at a fabulous restaurant by the sea the total coperto charge will come to €25. That’s a lot of extra money for cleaning linens or replacing broken glassware. Generally in a posh place the wage it somewhat higher than say a beach bar. Some servers in these posh establishments will take offence at your extra tip.
However – if you find yourself at a wonderful wooden beach bar which is packed with tourists, generally there is no coperto. The staff in these type of establishments make poor, poor wages.
How do I know this?
I was offered to work in such a beach bar this year and was offered the following:
€1000 a month; 7 days a week; 8-10 hours a day for 5 months (May-September is high season in Italy.) Pretty crappy, eh? So, tip that bartender or waitress who has run around making fancy cocktails and bringing you the local beer. They will be grateful.
To tip or not to tip in Italy? That’s up to you – the traveler, businessperson, backpacker or tourist. Just remember to read all the fine print otherwise you may find that you’ve been double charged a service fee.
What is the custom of tipping in your country?
“Cold air. Cold in here. Cold air. It’s getting cold in here. So, put on all your clothes. It’s getting so cold, I wanna put my toque on!” Sung to the tune of Nelly’s – Hot in Here.
It’s not only sunshine and rainbows on the second largest island in the Mediterranean; it also gets cold, very cold. Autummer no longer, ’tis now the season of Coldtober. Coldtober has generally been my favourite month in Sardinia.
NOT THIS YEAR!
Last October we had beautiful Autummer days where we lazed on empty beaches, not a tourist in sight. But this year, this year it’s been a rotten wet and cold Coldtober.
The following photo I snapped yesterday afternoon. We’d just received yet another lashing of torrential rain with a snowy mixture of hail and winds so fierce that it made the hail seem like bullets hitting against the side of the house. It was intense.
Bravely I tried to stick my head out the bathroom window; I wanted to snap a photo of this great tempesta. The hail was unforgiving and the wind relentless. I got walloped in the face with hail, wind and rain – certainly not your expectations of a beautiful blue paradise. Afraid for my camera, I retreated back inside to the warm comforts of my bed and with remote control beside me I popped in a chick flick.
Today – I dress myself as follows. I’m not kidding.
Me and my Canadian toque
Wicked weather all over the world. Just last week I was in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, we debated going to the beach but instead decided to clean out the car.
In western Canada there was a large earthquake registered at 6.3M which caused a Tsunami alert for Hawaii just 18 hours ago.
In Queens and Manhattan people were told to evacuate as Sandy starts her wicked decent on the east coast of USA and Canada.
What’s going on in your neck of the woods? Are you in Sandy’s path?
There is nothing like Mom’s homemade chicken noodle soup to cure all hangovers aches and pains, sniffles and sore throats. But getting Mom to cook us that favourite dish when we live across oceans and mountains is asking the impossible.
So, what’s an expat do to? Learn the tricks of the trade!
It is with great pleasure to announce that I have mastered my Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup. I’m going to share with you how to do it yourself whether you are staying in a hostel in the Alps or are snowboarding in the Blue mountains. Oh – and it’s super cheap too! This is the recipe for you.
You will need:
Getting started
Now all you need is a dash of parmesan cheese and your Chicken Soup for the Expat’s Soul is ready.
I made this soup for dinner yesterday evening. And, as usual it was a hit. There were about 8 servings for the low, low-cost of €6.00! Snaptastic! The most expensive item was the half chicken at €3.00.
Dig in and enjoy.
What comfort food from home do you make for your family?
Check out some other expat blogger’s recipes for a cold day:
Pumpkin and pancetta soup via Girl in Florence
Cold weather? don’t worry, re-heat some ribollita via Our Adventure in Croatia
It would be a complete injustice if I wrote only about the horrors I faced this year with my Italian job(s). There were a few good points to waiting tables in Italy and I’ve listed them for you in a fun Top 10 List.
10. The fabulous multi-cultural clients.
9. The extra €20 slipped into my pocket, every other night.
8. Being offered to sit and drink with clients during my shift (was offered many, many times but never took anyone up on the offer).
7. Nightly raids of the (permitted) gelato station – pistachio here I come!
6. Well-behaved gorgeous children from all walks of life.
5. The Russians. They were hilarious, generous and polite.
4. The blazing orange sun-set.
3. My Italian, Sardinian, Czech, Hungarian and German colleagues. They were all a fabulous bunch of people.
2. Packing take-away lunch and dinner for my husband from the staff dining-hall. The food was good – plus I had to pay for it!
1. Speaking English to Italian clients; speaking Italian to English clients and speaking a mix of both to the Russians. They laughed, I laughed, and we all laughed together. Priceless moments.
What are some of the pros and cons of your expat work?
Related articles:
Top 13 Reasons I Quit the Italian Job
The Raw Reality of Expat Life in Small Town Sardinia
I had a job this summer. For 30 days, I was an English-speaking waitress who worked in a buffet restaurant on the island of Sardinia, Italy. Here are the reasons I quit my job.
13. Being belittled by an angry co-worker in front of 10 other co-workers because I forgot a cappuccino, on my second shift.
12. Being docked €5.00 a day to eat prepared meals in the staff dining-lounge, even if you choose not to eat with your angry co-worker(s).
11. The corns and calluses were growing on my feet faster than a speeding jet.
10. Working for 5 hours then sleeping for 5 hours – rinse and repeat twice a day, is no easy lifestyle.
9. Losing 12 pounds off my bones in 21 days is a sickly sight. And I ate like a horse – which is pretty usual for me.
8. Finding out that my co-workers’ rent is paid for the 5-6 six months of employment was utterly shocking! No one offered to pay my mortgage – why?
7. Seeing co-workers bringing in their laundry to be laundered by the hotel – for free. (My laundry basket runneth over.)
6. Button down shirts with a fancy necktie and long black pants should be banned, anywhere where the temperature rests on boiling.
5. Working 4.5 hours on a scheduled day off – is not a day off.
4. No over-time pay – say what?!
3. Management asking for English translations on all menus – without pay!
2. Being told to speak only in English when conversing with co-workers. Wait a minute – I thought I was in Italy, the only Italian speaking country in the world. Hey Dorothy – can I borrow your sparkly red shoes?
1. Working 4.5 hours in the morning + 4.5 hours in the evening = does not equal the 6.4 hours which is clearly stated in my contract.
Related articles:
The Raw Reality of Expat Life in Small Town Sardinia
My Expat Job Struggles | Sardinia, Italy
The United Nations has officially declared October 11, 2012 as the world’s first International Day of the Girl Child.
The theme of this year’s IDG is ending ‘child’ marriage.
Over 30% of girls in developing countries are married before 18 years of age; around 14% are married before the age of 15. Early marriage is a risk factor for early pregnancy and poor reproductive health outcomes. Furthermore it perpetuates the cycle of under-education and poverty.³
We must empower our young girls with a healthy self-esteem and the right tools for a brighter future.
We must put a stop to the suffering of a ‘child’ marriage.
If you’ve read this far I highly suggest you read: Canada’s Honourary Youth Ambassador for International Day of the Girl 2012 – Ms. Alaina Podmorow. She began her quest for change when she was just nine years old. She is now fifteen years old and has won several awards in Canada for her continued support for young girls in Afghanistan. She’s an inspiration for young women everywhere.
Are you wondering what I’m going to do for International Day of the Girl?
What will you do?
This gallery contains 6 photos.
This week’s travel theme (from Ailsa over at Where’s my backpack) is all about celebrating the Autumn foliage. Do you dream in colour?
My Sardinian Life 