My first month in Japan

Hello everybody, it’s me, Phil and welcome to my world (blog).
In Japanese, I would say 久しぶり(hisashiburi) which means ”long time” that I don’t post here on my blog. It is actually more than one month since I have arrived here in Japan, but why did I not write about anything? I mean, there is a lot to say about Japan.

The reasons why I did not use yet my blog website are many. First of all, because I do not have enough time. Secondly because the first weeks it was really a huge cultural shock. I think I am getting used to the Japanese life style only now. Anyway, I do not to focus why I did not post because now I am actually doing it! YASSS! 

I do not know how to start because there are so many things I would like to say. As I mentioned before, initially it was just a little bit weird to be here in Japan because I dreamt so much about this country that probably I had some kind of idyllic image. Therefore, since I always had the idea of Japan stuck on my mind, when I arrived here it seemed to be all “fake”. I was wondering, “why I am here?”, “is it even real?”, “am I still dreaming?”.

Some weeks passed, I met so many people during this period, both Japanese and from many different countries around the world. I took so many pictures, actually more than 1,200! I still have a lot to learn about the Japanese culture and the Japanese culture itself, but right now I feel very motivated and every day I want to give my best before going to sleep at night. I can’t wait for many other new experiences in the following months in this amazing land!

I promise nothing. I usually have a personal diary where I write down everything my mind thinks. However, since I arrived in Japan I am writing nothing and only taking tons of pics. So I will try to keep active weekly my blog, and if I manage it maybe I could write also some posts directly in Japanese so I can both improve my Japanese and let Japanese people know about my opinions.

Hope you enjoyed this little post, and if there is something you want me to talk about in the next post, just comment below.

Coming back home

Hello dear readers, it’s me Phil who writes. And yes, I know it is a very long time since I wrote my last post here on my blog. Now another academic year is over, and I am not writing from my bedroom in Venice, instead in the kitchen in the house I grew up in Agrigento, Sicily. I came back on July 10th and it’s already one week I am here. And it was almost six months I didn’t see my family because I moved to Venice on August, then I came back for Christmas but just for one week.

It is very nice to see your parents and your brother after many months. However, to me summertime is always hard because you have to stop your daily routine, and literally do nothing. I mean, I do go out with friends, but it is just hard to me to just chill. Anyway, I guess that some boredom is not that bad sometimes. It’s just that Sicily and Venice are two completely different realities. Yes, it is always Italy, but there are so many differences between North and South. For instance, in Mestre, where I live in Venice, there are many green parks, here in Agrigento there aren’t, there are beaches. They are kind of a park, but you know, I don’t like that much to lay on the sand and get burned by the hot sun.

I had also written a post last year entitled “What it means to be Sicilian”, where I explained my weird relationship with this island: sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. I just have weird feelings here. Nevertheless, I will try my best to enjoy these weeks here in Sicily and I am going to publish a new post every Monday! And next Monday I am not here in Sicily, but somewhere else. Can you guess where? Comment below.

And if you didn't, watch my latest video on YouTube!

I'm back!!!

Hello everybody! After a long break here on my blog, I’m finally back writing. How are you? What did you do in these last months?
Me, I’m pretty fine. I’m always in Venice, studying my favorite language Japanese. Kanjis (ideograms), role-plays, exercises every day. Sometimes it is hard, not the language itself, but university life in general. Anyway, it’s ok in this way. I like difficult things and put myself into challenges.

Now I am sitting in my room, I just had a shower. Night is my favorite part of the day. I mean there is nothing of more fascinating than a sleeping city, looking at the stars, and just dream. To dream to walk in infinite spaces. Yeah, I know, I dream too much, but how can I not dream in a city like Venice?

This is just a brief coming-back blog column “Phil’s diary”. Every Monday a new piece of my diary.
Good night, and do not forget to dream!

OMG! I AM SO ALONE!

”Do you go alone to the cinema?”, “Who do you go with?”, “Aren’t you scared to do things alone?”, “Well, of course you can do things alone, you’re boy, I’m girl”.
These are some of the things that some people most tell me when they find out that I have done something “alone”. I don’t really understand why, but some people seem kind of shocked when I say I do something alone. Others perhaps even think that I am asocial or that I don’t have a “social life”. I don’t really get why some people have this fear to be “alone”. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! There are more than 7 billion people who live in your same planet! Do you think it is not enough? You may answer me :”I don’t know 7 billion people, I am always alone”. - Aren’t you a person? You’re not alone, believe me. You are with you, and with yourself. Just you and yourself. Is it just me who thinks it is nice to have some moments only for you?

I am writing this post because I’ve noticed that some people, especially the youngest have a bad conceit of being “alone”. To not have someone on your side when you’re going to the beach or going to shop is considered uncool. Just why? If I go to eat an ice scream with nobody, it does not mean that I do not friends. The same if I go to watch a horror movie at the cinema. You know what it actually means? It means that my friends don’t enjoy creepy stuff, and that’s ok, we are all different and we have different tastes, but I won’t never renounce watching a film that I have been waiting for so long. And then I also got as answer :”You know, it’s different. You’re a boy, you can do it. I am a girl. It’s dangerous for me”. – Honey, listen up. I explain you everything. It’s not that I am a boy and you’re a girl. It’s just that I love myself, I am not scared to share what I love with myself, and I'm not going to lose what I want to do just because I do not find someone who wants to do that thing. Moreover, you’re very sexist if you think that girls can do less than boys.

I wanted to write this post so bad because I'm so sorry to see people that are stuck just because of the stupid society that puts the wrong ideas in your minds. Truly, if there is anything you like to do, do not stop for any reason! You are not alone, you’re with you and yourself, and then in the street you might find some new mates, who knows it!

My last days in Sicily

In these days I am literally melting like an ice-lolly. Now it is around 40 degrees. It is frustrating, tiring, it is like being inside an oven, and you are the chicken. I am not exaggerating. When you go out from home, if you don’t spread solar scream all over your body, you will turn into a mature red pepper. So, in these days I spent most of my time at home with the cooler turned on because I don’t want ruin my poor, tender skin. This summer is a bit weird for me. It is my completely free summer after two years: I don’t have nothing to do, nothing to study, just nothing. Instead, in summer 2015, when I came back from my exchange year in Denmark I had to study for being accepted again in my class, and then in 2016 I had to study for my admission test at university, and fortunately today I am studying where I wanted!

This summer is free, but not free from boredom. Sometimes I think I complain too much. When I’m busy, I want to be free, and vice versa, when it’s hot, I want weather to be cold, and vice versa, and I could continue for many other lines. Yes, I should enjoy the moment. I try. Last Saturday I went out with some of my friends in San Leone. Who does not know it, it is the bathing area of my city, and in the seafront there are many nice restaurants and other places where to hang out. And I must say that I enjoyed very much to see my friends again after a long time, talking together, taking some selfies (you know that I am a selfie addicted), etc. Nevertheless, then when we went for a walk, the street was full of people, like a beehive! Nevertheless, the problem was not that there were many people, but the real deal was that it was huge mass of people: some of them throwing things on the floor, the same for the ones who smoke, or others who just stopped in the middle of the street and didn’t let you go. I know that some people would tell me “you’re such a drama queen!”. But that night I could see only decay. And that made me feel sad.

This is the summer, no wait, the last days of a Sicilian that in a pair of days is going to leave again to go back to the other city, Venice! About my complains, some people tell me that I am too exaggerated, but why do I have to withstand something that is not nice in silence, why I should not say my opinion. Just why? I simply say what I think and I believe you also should it!

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If you missed it, watch my latest video on YouTube!

My next #TravelNote is not this Wednesday, but on Thursday! (just a little change). See ya travellers! 

A no-sense post

It’s Monday. 23.46. Oops! I had to publish my #PhilsDiary post.
Today I didn’t go out. I woke up. Always a little bit late. Actually I woke up because in the streets there was noise. I weighed myself. 58,3 kg. Too much. So I decide to eat only my yoghurt. No biscuits. Waiting for important calls. I hate when I have to wait for something very important. I get very very anxious. But if for breakfast I ate only a yoghurt, during the afternoon break, I ate two ice creams, mini salted pretzels, biscuits, bread slices and an entire little bread. I know it does not make sense. But when I feel nervous, I would go to live to another planet.
However, anything was all bad. I played with my brother with Nintendo Wii. It was a very long time I didn’t play with him. When he asks me to play together, I always answer:”No, I’m busy / I don’t want to”. I know I am such a shady, sometimes.
And then, after dinner, I obliged my brother to watch some Lady Gaga videos (ahahahah I love to do it!) and then we watched other trash videos of one of my favourite youtubers (check out my Instagram account to see). So, though in the morning was a so-so day, from afternoon on I enjoyed.
Now my room stinks of feet (don’t know why), and then I will lay on my bed thinking about my dreams. If you’re reading this now, I wish you good night!

If you missed it, watch my latest video on YouTube!

A hot and weird summer day

In these days, it is particularly hot, for not talking the high percentage of humidity that does not let you breath.
Yesterday evening I felt a bit weird, so I went to sleep at around 9 pm, a little bit early, isn’t it? And before going to bed a switched off my mobile and put it inside my bedside table. It was like I didn’t want hear anybody, I didn’t want to see anyone, I didn’t want to do something, I wanted to be seen. So I slept, slept, and slept till this morning. You know when I woke up? It was 12 am!!! Like I slept for almost 15 hours?!? It’s not me! I mean, yes, I like sleeping, but not that so long. In the afternoon my mood was the same, perhaps even worst. My mind was like exploding, and the only things I did was laying on my bed or eating, not because I was hungry, but because I had a sort of “mental block”.

It sometimes happens. It sometimes happens that I have this “mental block”. It’s not the first time that happens. Other times it lasted for days, or even a pair of weeks. But now I said I have enough of it. I must say STOP to this fucking sick state of mind. Do I really want to reach my dreams? If so, how can I reach them if I lay the whole time on my bed? Wait! Today is Monday! I have to write my #PhilsDiary post! Yes, yes. I know nobody reads what I write. But I don’t care! Because I love so much my blog and it is one of the things I do I love most. Probably I will never have a big blog of success, but at least when I will be old I can say “at least I tried!”. And then, I write also for myself. It will be nice to read what I wrote in this personal public diary (who really knows me, knows that I am somewhat addicted to diaries).

What I wanted to tell you with this post, if you’re reading it, is that sometimes it is ok to be a little bit sad or to have troubles, because you know that the sun does not shine every day, some days it rains and the poor gypsy street cats get all wet. Nevertheless, the most important thing is that you ALWAYS rise from that dark pit and that you will NEVER GIVE UP on your dreams.

Love you,
your Phil

If you missed, watch on my YouTube channel my first episode of #PhilTries, where I try sweets from my last trip :D

See you this Wednesday with a new #TravelNote post! 

What it means to be Sicilian

Though I always write posts in English, I was not born in any of Anglophone country you may think. I am Italian. But I am not just Italian. I am also Sicilian. You know that island in South Italy that has a triangle shape. Yes, that’s it Sicily. I am writing this post because since it’s two weeks I came back from Venice, and honestly in these days I felt very sad (now not anymore), so I reflected a lot about what being Sicilian, to be born in this land actually means. I may sound a bit drama queen, but I truly believe that it is not the same as being born in Rome or Milan.

              

Being Sicilian means to be an islander. It means to take the airplane every time you want to go to the other part of Italy, because you live in the far South. It means that when you speak with someone from another region, especially from North, they can recognize you are Sicilian because you’ve got an accent. It also mean that when you go abroad and when someone asks where you from are, they reply: “Oh, I know Sicily, the mafia island”. Being Sicilian is basically wanting to go out from that fucking island because you think people have small minds, but when you’re actually out from hell, you start being nostalgic because you belong psychologically to its traditions, way to live. It means to gesture animatedly. Or it means to find inside your car a piece of paper full of bad words because you are considered the “good loser guy who respects rules”. I could make an endless list. I am honest. It is very hard for me to be Sicilian. Sometimes I think that do not belong to this island, sometimes I do not see myself in this island.

However, I must also say that it’s not all that bad. Being Sicilian means to have a very long summer, to go to the beach, have fun with friends. Being Sicilian is going every Sunday to the grandma and eating her homemade cookies. It means to capture the best moment to take a nice photo at the sunset. It also means to have secular traditions, to eat fresh food from the greengrocer. It means to breathe unpolluted air. It means to live in a land full of history, which has been a crossroads of peoples for years.

I am still working on it. It is still a very heavy weight. Nevertheless, I am learning to appreciate who I am, and especially my origins because it is important to see the world, but not less to be pride from where you come from.

I hope you liked this post, I really felt I needed to write about this before talking about other amazing places around the world. Thank you if you read till here.

See you Wednesday with a new #TravelNote and Friday with a new video on YouTube. Here there is my first one, in case you missed it!

What happened to Phil?

 
Halløj! Phil’s back to his world! I know I have been very absent in this period, but I’ve been very very busy. So, what happened in this period? What did I do? Now I am going to tell you …

As you might know, last time I wrote here on my blog was about Venice because in September I entered to university. It was not that easy because there was an entry test, but fortunately, I did it. Now I study Japanese language and culture at Ca’ Foscari University. Initially, I was a bit nervous because I did not know what to expect, but then I get used to that “university life” and I love it! I made new friends that now become very important people to me, I now know the narrow streets of Venice and don’t get lost anymore (because I did it for the whole first two months) and now I can read and write Japanese, which for me it is a great achievement!

Now I finished my first academic year. I can’t really believe how fast time flew. Currently I am in Sicily, and I already miss to see all those tourist crowds in Venice, but I know I will come soon there. In Sicily I enjoy the summer, my family and friends, and perhaps relax a little bit. Though, I must be honest that every time I come back to my hometown I always feel a weird emotion, like saying “I don’t want to come back home”, but on the other side “Yes, I want to come back and relax”. I think sometimes summer is very sad because you interrupt what you were used to do, all your friends disappear because some of them are on vacations, or others have already made other friends and probably have forgotten about you. Just some random gloomy thoughts. 

Anyway, now that I am officially back, I will try my best to keep my blog alive and promise this time I will not abandon it for a very long time.

Every Monday I am going to a post a “Phil’s Diary” page like this one, where I express just random thoughts.
Every Wednesday I am going to post a “Travel Note” page, which is a brief article about travel tips based on my experiences.
In “日本語で” section, I am going to post some of my articles translated into Japanese, so I can practice it and hope to get in touch with some nice Japanese people.

See you next time, またね！(Matane!)

What's Phil's World?

Hello everyone! This is Phil and welcome to my world!
I’m writing to post to let you know better what Phil’s World is about. Phil’s World was born initially as a travel blog, where I shared my exchange year experience in Denmark (it was in 2014-2015). Phil’s World is still about my amazing time in the land of Vikings, but this time I decided to make my blog “bigger”. I mean that I want to talk not only about my trips, but about my other interests too, such as languages, cinema and much more.

And as you can notice, my blog has a totally new design. I’ve been inspired by nature this time, precisely by a Japanese bamboo forest. I introduce to you the new buttons. First of all, on the top of the page I added a new fresh playlist which I find it very relaxing to read. In case you don’t appreciate it, you can always pause it. Then I decided to organize all my posts in different sections. In “About Me” I tell you very briefly who I am; then in “Travel Notes” there are all my posts about my trips. In “Languages” I want to write facts and language lessons, now there is only a Danish lesson, but I promise I will add a lot of new ones. And the last one is “Posts In Italian” (yes, I’m Italian!) which I wrote only one. As soon as possible I will add the section “Movie reviews”.

And to conclude this sort of guide to my blog, if you scroll a little bit down, to your right, you should have a little box with all my links of other social networks: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. On my YouTube channel I don’t post so many videos, but I have intention to make a lot of new videos to make more interactive my blog.

Hope you enjoy my project and if you have any suggestion, comment below … what’s more? If you want to contact me for business or for any collaboration, please contact me on philsworld@virgilio.it

PREVIEW: My next post will be about my latest trip in Venice 

Travelling home

It is 29^th June, and at the moment I am in Frankfurt airport. I just feel so strange, I can’t believe I left Denmark after eleven months. I still have to wait other two hours, or maybe more and then I fly to Rome; there my parents pick me up. I am so glad that I am coming back to my family, but I am also so fucking nervous. I don’t see them from August, so I don’t know what to tell them. It is like when I left Italy: I was very happy to meet my host family, but so upset because I didn’t know what to tell first, I had to describe myself and how to react.
Moreover, now I feel so sick. My nose is closed and I sneeze every single second and I can’t hear anything because of the airplane (every time I take it, I suffer so much with my ears) and then, I don’t why, my shoes are full of shit!
This is absolutely one of the worst days in my whole life. I don’t even know what to write, what to tell you.
I’m watching the weather forecast and they say that today in Frankfurt there are 28*. I would like to shout right now, I don’t know for what reason, but it is a sort of human torture sleeping the day before just three hours, take the plane from Copenhagen at 9.50 and wait other five hours here in Germany! My travel mate Benedetta felt asleep. Maybe I should also sleep … but I can’t. I want to close my eyes and then open them and be directly in Italy. Maybe I complain too much, but you, dear readers, you can’t understand how it is hard being in the middle of two houses, two families.
Now at 13.10, exactly in seven minutes I wake up Benedetta, so we try to find our gate.

-         - 5 minutes … I watch the television. It’s news now and they are talking about the Greek crisis, and Merkel said that it is up to Greek to find a way out. I don’t agree about it. I mean we are all Europeans and many of the countries in Europe are part of EU, so I think we should help each other. Instead, into my eyes, it seems it is a sort of competition about what country has the best economy. What do you think? Anyway, I don’t understand anything about politics, so my comment is not relevant.

Ok dear readers, now I greet you and I promise you that I will post this post that makes no sense as soon as possible.

Vi ses/See you!

I wrote this piece of diary while I was waiting for my flight to Italy ... now I am already in my house :)

Horsens: my city in Denmark

Hej alle! (hello everybody in Danish)

In this post I am going to talk about the city where I live here in Denmark: Horsens!
It is a nice city of about 60.000 inhabitants in the middle of Jutland, which faces to the East coast of the peninsula.

 Horsens is not a very big city, but I think it is so lovely and cute, and there is everything you need to live. Anything is missing. For example, Horsens is a perfect city to the people who love going for shopping. Go for a walk in the main street Søndergade, there you will find many shops, and many of them are not so expensive in comparison with the normal prices in Denmark.

Horsens is also a cultural city. It means that in the city, through the year, there are several nice festivals. The most famous is the Medieval Festival. It is the biggest in Europe and it is usually hold in the last weekend of August in the old prison of the city. This festival is just so big that deserves a visit. There are many activities, like the horses games, food that was used to eat at that time and everybody is dressing with clothes like in the Middle Ages.

As I mentioned before, Horsens is famous for Horsens Statsfængel, translated the Horsens State Prison. And as you can understand it was a prison in the past till 2006. Today it is a museum, where it is even possible to visit a cell and get a nap ihihihi! Moreover, it is a place where many concerts are hold, as the rock band Metallica played there.

Another thing that I love of this city is nature. Yes! In the city you can find many parks where it is possible to have a picnic with friends and relaxing! I will miss this very much because in the city in Italy where I live there are not many green places (but we have many beaches!).

 I hope you liked my post. Write in a comment below if you have ever been in Horsens and what you want I talk about on my next post. Vi ses!

Last weeks

Hello everybody!
It is a very long time since I wrote here last time, but I have been very busy with school. You know it is the last period and we have to do many assignments.

Anyway, I am back to tell you how things are going on my exchange in Denmark. I did many things in this period, but I also have a lot of feelings because I have only less than two months here. From one side I am very sad: leaving everything here, it just makes me cry. On the other side, I am fucking happy: I am going to see after 10 months my family, friends, my Italian land! 

I always say that being an exchange student is one of the most amazing things, but at the same time so hard. For example last time I was alone home, I did not know what to do and it was pouring raining. But when it stopped, I took my cell phone and headphones and went for a walk near by the port. And there I changed my mood. The sun always makes me smile!

Or last weekend I went to visit the “Industrimuseet” (industry museum) in the city where I live. It was very interesting to see all that very old machines, but not just machines, also old TVs, radios, and see how it was life in Denmark around sixty years ago.

Or just hanging out with my sweet exchange students! With them, I always feel well, we can understand each other, we are in the same boat, and we have the same problems and feelings. So on Wednesday I went to eat with this friendly girl from Chile at McDonald’s … because we are fat exchange students! :D

Next weekend I go to visit Copenhagen (finally!), so I hope I will write also about that. See you … in Danish vi ses! 

My Easter holidays

Hello dear readers! I really hope you had some nice Easter holidays. Mine were very very cool, so I am very glad to tell what I did.

First of all, the last day of March, I went with two friendly exchange students to visit Odense, the city where H.C. Andersen was born. Who does not him; he is the popular writer who wrote stories for children like The Ugly Duckling or The Little Mermaid.

  

So we visited his house and was very interesting in my opinion. I really liked the big room that was built for his memorial. It was very particular.

Then, we went to the main street of the city where there were many people and shops, visited the cathedral where Andersen’s parents got married and the author himself got confirmed. And to finish this nice trip we did a walk through the colorful houses of the old part of the city.

This was only a part of my holidays. Then I went with my host Danish family in a cozy summerhouse near by the west coast. The place where we slept is called Vigsø and it is a place full of other summerhouses, and there is a huge beach with many bunkers. Why bunkers? Because this part of Denmark was occupied by Germans during the 2^nd World War.

 Another day we visited a museum in Hastholm where it was possible to visit the bunkers of the cannons. It was a little bit creepy to go underground and see the rooms where the soldiers slept.

 And another thing we did which impressed me a lot was the Thylejren (Thy Camp), a free city where everybody can smoke weed or other light drugs. It is like a sort of Christiania in Copenhagen (I will visit it in May!). It is a community with a hippie ideal, an alternative society in the Danish society.

 I hope you liked my post. And you how were your Easter holidays! Tell it comment it :D 

Cozy weekend

Hello everyone!!!

First of all, I ask you sorry I didn’t post anything, but I was too tired to turn on my laptop and write.
Well, what I want to tell you this time is what I did last weekend.
Friday has been a great day. Also the weather was great. An exchange student from Germany invited the all other exchange students from the city to her house and stay all together. Unfortunately not everybody could come, but it had been so “hyggeligt” (it is a Danish word which is difficult to translate, it would mean “cozy”).
First, we did a walk together and we went to visit a church. It was in the middle of nowhere, but it was big enough. My host family told that rumors say there is a Danish king buried. Who knows!

When we came back we backed the pizza which her host mother has prepared … and it was just delicious. And to finish we watched a film and ate popcorns and chips.

Saturday, the following day, I went to the city to get a hair-cut (they were too long!) and after, when I finished, I saw a very long line: they were giving FREE ice scream! My eyes sparkled, so I HAD to put me on line. I waited about 30 minutes outside, but then I got a nice cup of three balls of ice scream

This Saturday I won’t post anything because I will go to … Katy Perry’s concert!!! Can’t wait :D