Schedium

Die Wahrsagerin ("The Fortune Teller"). By an unknown German painter (source: Wikipedia ) A few weeks ago I was watching an Italian news channel. I was not paying much attention to it, until the anchorman introduced a report: " Since the beginning of the economic crisis, the number of Italians resorting to fortune-telling has increased ".  According to recent statistics , more and more Italian people take refuge to the occult as a means to overcome personal hardships. During the first six months of 2013 alone, the revenue of the fortune-telling and occult business has increased by 18,5%. Around 13 million Italians resort to fortune-telling, and the topics that interest them most are career, health, and love. These services can be very expensive, and while the crisis rages and impoverishes the population, fortune-tellers' and magicians' earnings grow: a consultation can cost around 50 euros, and a "job-finding lucky charm" up to 200 eur

How many foreigners are there in Taiwan? How many of them are from Western countries? And how many are teachers? The statistics may surprise you. According to the National Immigration Agency of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan), as to 31/12/2013 there were 525,109 legally registered foreign residents. The by far largest number of them come from the following countries: Indonesia : Male 40,481; Female 151,859 Philippines : Male 33,688;   Female  53,384 Thailand : Male 52,424; Female 14,341 Vietnam : Male 64,413; Female 57,233 The total number of foreign residents from these countries alone amounts to 467,823. How many foreign residents from English-speaking countries are there? Here I will list off only those countries whose passport holders are usually considered by Taiwanese schools eligible for becoming English teachers without having a professional teacher's degree. These countries are: USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand

I do not know how other foreigners spend Chinese New Year in Taipei, but as far as I am concerned, this year has not been much more exciting than the last (which I mentioned in another post ). I think that if you have no family or girlfriend / boyfriend in Taiwan, it is quite hard to find something to do during the Spring Festival. The city seems to come to a standstill. Even some coffee shops, restaurants and Eslite bookstores are closed.  Yesterday evening I took a walk around to see if there was something going on. I have to confess that I was quite disappointed. Perhaps I went to the wrong places; but I knew of no others.  There was no particularly festive, special atmosphere, no excitement in the air, no happiness emanating from the people, and there were not even remarkable street decorations. How comes it that during the most important festival in Taiwan, everything seems so somber, and a veil of melancholy descends on this city? Or have I just imagined all this? Ma

I have said many times that I am in love with Hong Kong's skyline. A few days before leaving the city, I kept on praising with my friends the amazing feeling I have when I take a walk near Victoria Harbour, or on the Avenue of Stars, or in Central, and I look at these giants of glass and steel. Some people may prefer older architecture, but I just can't resist the breathtaking charm of skyscrapers.  I am not sure what makes Hong Kong's skyline so special. Perhaps it's the energy and dynamism they convey. Or maybe it's the modernity of their design. Or, more simply, it is just that the amazing power of the life and history of this unique city has been set in its buildings, making the soul of Hong Kong visible in all its might and monumentality. By looking at Hong Kong it seems as if the population was trying to reach to the sky; this is not urban planning made to be stunning, it is urban planning that is stunning because it reflects the soul of the place where i

2008 was a turning point in contemporary history. On the one hand, China celebreated her economic rise during the Beijing Olympics; on the other, the West plunged into a disastrous financial crisis that is still far from over. The dilemma, which is as old as economics itself, was revived: what is the role of the state in the economy? And what is the best economic policy?  When the financial crisis gave rise to the Euro crisis, the answer that most experts gave was that governments which had spent too much in the past now had to cut spending drastically. Furthermore, they had to privatise, liberalise, deregulate, and make the labour market more flexible. The result of four years of austerity and budget consolidation in the countries hit by the 2008 crisis has been disastrous. After half a decade of spending cuts, the economies of Southern Europe have been devastated. By October 2013, Greek unemployment figures reached 27.8%, and by the end of last year, GDP had shrunk by ne

I am not a nationalist, and I do not believe that the individual is nothing without the group. I have often been accused of hypocrisy, but the truth is that I honestly believe in individualism. To me, individualism has nothing to do with selfishness. It simply means respecting the individual in itself, not judging a person only as a member of a community, but as an individual. I also believe that there cannot be real democracy without individualism.  Many people in Europe have a different opinion. Everyone has, of course, the right to have his own views and express them freely. However, defaming or insulting other people because of who they are or because of the alleged characteristics of the group to which they supposedly belong, is not acceptable. This destroys society from the inside and creates a climate of hatred, fertile ground for demagogues.  One of the things that troubles me most about Italy (and about Europe) is the resilience of racism and the growing desire of sect

I spent in Hong Kong around half a year and I have grown fond of it. Hong Kong is still one of my favourite places, along with Berlin and London. Recently, I read news that made me worry about the future of the Fragrant Harbour , and I will write about it in another post. But now, I would like to explain why I think Hong Kong is a great city to live in, and why I miss it.  1 - International Atmosphere Hong Kong is the right place to understand the real meaning of the word cosmopolitan . In the throbbing streets and in the vitality of its way of life one can feel the global vocation of the former British colony, which deserves to be included in the list of the great world cities of all times, together with Rome, Constantinople, London, Paris and New York. If you want to live a myth, then Hong Kong is the right choice.

The three months between December and February are both in the West and in China a period of important traditional family festivals. Christmas and New Year in the West, and the Lunar New Year in China, are the most significant and longest festivals. On the one hand, these festivals are an occasion for rejoicing. When I was a child, I loved Christmas. I didn't have to wake up early to go school, I was free from lessons and homework. A few days before Christmas, I decorated the Christmas tree and arranged the presepe (nativity scene); I loved to do such things. Last but not least, I received gifts from relatives and had plenty of time to play with my cousins. Apart from all this, Christmas stimulates children's inborn imagination and creativity, and the whole world appeared special, cozier, magical.  When you grow up, things change. In fact, the family slowly becomes what some people call 'a sweet burden'. You grow up, you need to accept more responsibilities, an