It’s been a long walk since I was born and bred in Namibia, then moved to Cape Town and at the mature age of 42, moved to Italy. My idea was “a year overseas – hopefully Germany or Switzerland, but I got Italy and yes, after 10 years, I am still here and I guess, forever!  Italy gave me a wonderful new life.

I knew very little about Italy except the PASTA stories. I knew they speak Italian, but I never knew here, you hardly find ANY English!!   I didn’t speak a word of Italian (I was connected with the German language) and I started from scratch to learn Italian from the street, by force.  I learned from the grandmothers to cook real Italian food. I was lucky to end up in the North near Milan (Lombardia), so I am close to the magnificent Lakes Garda and Como, The Alps, Venice, etc.  Finally: every time an Italian asks me where am I from? I respond that they will never guess! They start from America, France, Switzerland and Germany. But when I say “NELSON MANDELA!” they are shocked. Were my parents from Italy? Nobody believes I am South African!