Freedom and the lack of it

Sometimes it seems to me that things in Italy are going progressively from bad to worst. Sometimes it seems to me that Italians just stand there complaining, without actually doing much more than complaining to their neighbors and accepting anything that someone else decide for them.
Sometimes it seems to me that in Italy we passed the limit of what it could be considered acceptable and still nobody does anything.
Sometimes it seems to me that in Italy we are not able to do much more than just talking and talking and talking without actually acting to improve things.
Sometimes it seems to me that the people of Italy represent the apex of being selfish.
Sometimes I can't believe to the way people do not react and respond to what it is going on.
Sometimes I wish I could do something to change the things that I don't like there.

Take the right that the police and carabinieri have to record all the private conversation of citizens that may be considered suspect of some illegal action. Take for example the extension of it, which include the right to listen to private conversation, control sms, emails etc. of people who are more or less related to these suspects.
In the course of recent events in Lucca, the police and carabinieri obtained a large body of information by putting under surveillance for more than 3 years the phones (cellphones, home phones, office phones) of some suspects plus the ones of their family members. But this was not enough. They also placed recording devices to record conservation in some public cafes in the city justifying this fact by saying that "these suspects sometime were meeting there". We are talking about a public place, where me, you could go to have a coffee and chat about private things with a friend. The police and carabinieri got the information they wanted.
But my question is: aren't we free anymore?
Didn't we pass the limit?
Is it normal and considered ok to spy on other people and other people lives because they could be in some way connected with people that are under investigation?

Consider for a moment how you would feel if you would discover that anything you said in the last 3 years have been recorded and of course you didn't know about it. Consider if all your private sms, emails, phone calls would be available to the police and carabinieri. How would you feel? wouldn't you feel deprived of your freedom? wouldn't you feel spied? wouldn't you think that how come a private citizen in Italy can be spied without a warning or anything when the human freedom should be one of the main values of humanity to protect?

I keep wondering, how can this be all legal? and why none protest against it?

I love Italy

I am so proud of being Italian.
Especially right now. Especially today.
We just had a referendum yesterday and today to vote, among other things,for the abrogation of the law about building new power plants in Italy. And the large majority (at this moment it seems to be above 90%) of the people who went to vote at the referendum voted for the abrogation of the law. So, no nuclear power plants in Italy. And this morning Berlusconi finally admitted that Italy should start to invest in alternative energy sources. I guess that it was about time!!!!
And I would add the need of a better education on how to save energy to begin with. It would be helpful to everybody to know how to reduce the electricity bill, but also how to actively do something for the environment.

Walking the streets of Montpellier

I went to see the movie "Midnight in Paris" with some friends last night. They all liked it except me. It was funny, but it was very predictable and I found the story in itself to be very poor. After the movie we went to a pub...like always.
I discovered one thing. For the people of Portugal, it is all about food. Getting together is all plaid around food and eating (I guess in Italy it happens the same....I just don't remember). Here in France, it is all about "prendre un verre", which basically means going out to drink something. I have to work hard to convince people to do something else beside sitting in a cafe' or in a pub to drink something and even when I do convince someone to do something else, the afternoon or the evening program MUST also include "de prendre un verre". Fortunately yesterday we didn't stay at the pub too long. I just get so bored after a while of sitting in a group in a pub drinking and talking. I am more the kind of person who likes to do things instead of just sitting and drinking (also because how many juices and glass of water can I drink in a single evening since I don't drink alcohol???).
In any case, after the pub we went for a long long walk and since I was not alone (I don't like to walk alone at night here, there are too many drunk people around), for once I really enjoyed walking around the streets of Montpellier at night. It was a bit chilli, but overall it was very pleasant. I guess that we walked for about two hours and it was very nice. I am a nocturnal person, definitively, and I love walking around. I think that it is the best way to discover a place. So, even if I live here since almost three years, last night I had the chance to really enjoy this city. I hope to have the chance to walk around at night again in the future. I love it. Plus....I got the chance to see a few geckos on the walls of the old houses here. Nice!

La botte piena e la moglie ubriaca

This is another common Italian way of saying that indicates a person who wants it all. Like me right now. And not only right now, to be honest.
I just got back to Italy. Crazy how much I miss being there, with my family, my close friends that I know since I was little (or much younger anyway), my home town, the familiar things, the food I love. I know that I would get saturated of all these same things within a couple of days if I would live there, but when I am there for just a few days, it is never easy nor pleasant to leave.
It may sound very childish, but I do wish that I would have it all.
My family and my friends close to me, so that I could spend a proper normal time with them, without always having to rush.
My home town, which I truly, deeply, love because it is beautiful (too bad that I cannot say the same about the typical "Lucchese", the people of Lucca).
All the familiar things that make me feel immediately at home.
The hugs of my mom and my grandma.
The long beaches on which to walk in the evening, at the sunset.
The laughs.

Many years ago I took a decision, which was to leave Italy to try to do what I like as work. I have never regretted that decision, even now, even when things were very hard for me. I do what I like and I consider myself lucky for this possibility that I have. But my roots are important to me and there is not success in my work that can replace the emptiness given by not having my family and friends close to me to share things with them. I could try to go back, but in this moment of general economic crisis, there are not possibilities in Italy, especially considering that my job is not "commercially valuable".
My last ex-boyfriend often said that we should have tried to find a way to spend half of the year living where we had a job and the other half of the year in Lucca, where I am from. Maybe half of the year would have been too much, but some months every year would be ideal. My next job is much more flexible of what I have now, so maybe it will be possible to work for some months from abroad...with abroad meaning Italy or any other place where I would like to be. For now I have to slowly get back to my life here.....one step at the time....

PS. Fortunately I have The Big Bang Theory and Sex and the City episodes to watch....perfect cheer me up tools!