Transfer in Hong Kong. I walk towards T2 and take the train to the Asia Expo from where I can walk to The Marriott Hotel. It is ten in the evening and the Expo should be quiet, but there is excitement in the air. A group of 14 or 15 years girls pass me running. It is Justin night here in Hong Kong. Bieber is playing, or rather singing, in the main auditorium. I pass […]
it 7:20. The blue sky is covered by clouds tjis morning. The Costa Coffee has opened just 20 minutes ago. I am one of the first customers. Two men and a woman work here, dressed in modern-coffee-place-style uniforms. The two men speak a language I do not know. We are all foreigners in this place. The woman has black hairs with some red dye in it. I sit at the table I have been sitting […]
To run or not to run. It is Sunday morning. Blue sky outside the windows of the hotel. Just before 8. Ok, run. I take the running shoes, running clothes, my heartbeat monitoring, the GPS watch which will draw a path on a Google Map later on. The first few metres are chilly. The legs feel the cold. The lungs hurt a bit. It will get better in few minutes. I reach the Tower Bridge, […]
Fa uno strano effetto leggere delle vicende in Libia e di quanto queste tocchino le Filippine, nonostante i 10.754 Km che separano Manila da Tripoli. Il Dipartimento per gli Affari esteri ha diramato un comunicato nel quale dichiara di avere evacuato fino ad ora 1.327 lavoratori filippini. Il numero dei filippini residenti in Libia pare sia di 30.000. A Tripoli la comunita’ filippina e’ numerosa ed esiste persino un scuola privata Filippina. Il Segretario […]
The usual question of a consultant weekend are: read or not read? finish the paper or not finish the paper? review the sent last week or not? write a blog or not write a blog? go for a walk in town or not? eat in a restaurant alone or not? These question accompany the hours of the weekend and more often than not I am surprised to see that all of a sudden outside the […]
I started my round of interviews for the study I am conducting here in Ha Noi for the World Bank. I am working with two young researchers of an independent research institute which has been established just few years ago. It was nice to hear that Hoang on of the two colleagues, has studied for one year in Pavia which is les than hundred kilometres from my hometown. It is now possible to have English […]
It is July 1990. It is hot. I am jet legged and travelled for 24 hours. First by train from Cremona to Roma. Then with an Air Jordan flight to Amman and connection to Delhi. I am with a group of four other friends and for me is the first time outside Europe. I am 23. My blue Invicta rucksack is the first to be delivered by the belts so I am sent out of […]
Nice speech about people, solidarity, and respect. In my opinion it tells about the attempt by a country like Germany to recognize its multi-ethnic nature and the ways its shapes its society. We are all on the same journey here. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8O5fvmnHgM?fs=1&w=480&h=295]