If you haven't had time for dinner then

Conventional wisdom
No.3
eat an icecream! It's a complete meal. Covers all the main food groups. Done.

sexy/sleepy

Conventional wisdom
No.2
Spring is here. Almost overnight people feel better. All it took was a little sun! Crazy but true. But wait, why does my mind keep teasing me to distraction? Bit hot under this here collar. Feeling a bit twitchy and er, well sexy. This wonder directly correlates, in the Italian psyche, to the fact that it is spring. The mere mention of anything libido-related in Italy during the months of March and April will be met with a knowing smile, a wink and a nudge of 'Ah la Primavera!

So spring= sexy time. This was absolutely new to me.

Conventional wisdoms 1,2,3.

A conventional wisdom is a term used to describe ideas or explanantions that are generally accepted as true by the public or experts in a field. A conventional wisdom is not necessarily true. They are often ideas that are appealing, convenient and deeply assumed by the public.
e.g Conventional wisdom prior to Christopher Colombus held that the world was flat.

During my time in Milan I have encountered a number of these. Each and every new one prompts confusion and later on giggles and then more confusion. Here are just a few:

No.1.
The largely held belief that not zipping up your jacket when outside after having eaten a heavy meal will result in stomach pain. This stomach pain is known as 'Congestione'. Apparently, the cold air on your stomach 'freezes' the digestion process and the chewed up food in your belly begins a waiting game. It waits patiently for you to regain a warmer temperature. The belly expresses its displeasure by giving you cramps.

Italian A: O dio! Sto male.
(Oh lordy! I feel awful)
Italian B: Mah, che e' successo?
(What's up?)
Italian A: Non lo so.. forse mi sta venendo la congestione. Non avevo la giacca quando fumavo dopo la cena. Mamma mia che male!
(I'm not sure.. maybe I'm getting that after- dinner, cold air on your stomach digestion pain. I didn't have my coat on whilst I was smoking that cig after dinner. Oh brother, It's really bad!)
Italian B: Essi, certo. La congestione. (Er, yeah.)

One love! Or maybe two.

'Ti Voglio Bene' I would translate as 'I wish you well/I want the best for you'. This is a phrase exchanged between parent and child, friends and family members in Italy. In those circles, you will never hear a 'Ti amo', which can be much more directly translated as 'I love you'. 'Ti amo' is strictly for lovers. Now imagine that on Valentines day in Milan you can find those tacky little teddy bears holding big, red velvet hearts that say 'Ti Voglio Bene'. Eh? What should one think upon receipt of this fuzzy little message? 'Love you like I do my mum' Or as a crude euphemism for 'you're dumped but do lets be friends'.

Taleggio Tremors

As a child my daddy would tell me never to eat cheese before bedtime. That is exactly what I did last night. I had a fairly skinny slice of Northern Italy's Taleggio at about 10.30pm and this morning I woke up, paralyzed in a cold cheese sweat. Daddy was right. Cheese causes big bad nightmares. I feel much better now though.