ITALIAN BRIDE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26227, 10 August 1946, Page 6

ITALIAN BRIDE

HAPPY IN DUNEDIN NEW LIFE APPEALS IMPRESSIONS OF NEW ZEALAND After only three months in New Zealand, Mrs A. Young, an attractive Italian girl from Forli, has come to regard Dunedin as her home and to feel that she would be homesick'away from the Dominion. Mrs Young arrived in New Zealand in May, 11 months after her fiance had returned. She is the only Italian bride in the city, although there is another at Port Chalmers. She thinks Dunedin, its people its houses, its food, and even its climate are all delightful—but she does miss at times her national spaghetti and macaroni. • It was while she and her people were living in a house near Forli after having been evacuated from that city when their home was destroyed by bombing that Mrs Young met the young artilleryman who was to become her husband. Mr Young was a member of a gun crew of the sth Field Regiment and was manning a 25-pounder close to the house. During that period and on subsequent leaves he came to know the attractive young signorina very well and when as a member of the Seventh Reinforcement he left for New Zealand it was arranged that his fiancee should follow as soon as a passage could be arranged.

Parting With Family

In the nine months’ interval before she left Forli for the long voyage to New Zealand, the pair wrote to each other frequently, in Italian that both could read. It was a big wrench for Mrs. Young to leave her mother'and father and set sail for a land which she had not seen and where the people spoke a language and lived a life of which she had little knowledge. It was an even sadder parting for her parents, for she was the only member of the family who had been living at home. ' But any fears Mrs Young might have had of the life that awaited her were quickly dispelled' when she ar-rived-in Dunedin last May. She had heard a great deal from her husband about New Zealand and the way the people lived. On r tne voyage to New Zealand she learned a little English, but it was something of a worry to her that she would not be able to converse with the relatives and friends of. her fiancee and that she would not know the customs of the people. But the welcome that awaited her in Dunedin was all that could be desired and now that she has been in the city for three months she feels quite at home. In English that was at times a little broken but always spoken with an < attractive accent, Mrs Young spoke of her impressions of life in Dunedin and told what it is like to come as- a foreigner to a city where all except one person is a complete stranger. Language and Housekeeping

Learning the language has been one of her first problems, but even though she is extremely modest about her achievements as a linguist she can understand almost everything that is said to her and only seldom is at a loss in replying. When she cannot find the right word she appeals to her husband in Italian and he supplies the necessary word or phrase. , ■ . But it is not from her husband that she is> learning to speak English, for he prefers to converse in Italian whenever possible. It is from her husband s aunt, Mrs A. D. E. Cormack (of St. Hilda, with whom Mr and Mrs Young are at present living), that she is learning to speak English and learning, too, to be a New Zealand housewife. In Italy she was employed as a clerk in a Forli firm, and she had little to do with cooking.and housework. She is enjoying the new work but, like every other New Zealand housewife, she sighed a little* as she remarked that a woman’s work in the house was never done. . . Coming from a country that has been on low rations for many years, Mrs Young has been somewhat astonished by the amount of food available in New Zealand. She is thoroughly enjoying the meals and the high quality food, but she admits that she misses at times her national dishes. Once, as a special treat, a plate of New Zealand spaghetti was placed before her but it did not appeal to her at all. it bore little resemblance to the Italian dish, even though she appreciated the gesture. Clothes and the Weather

“ Why are New Zealanders not prouder of goods made in their own country? ” Mrs Young asked when the question of clothes was raised. H things come from England or some other country they must be good; u from New Zealand, not so .good. In Italy, if anything is made m Italy it is the very best, for we are proud of everything we make. It does not seem to be the same here.”., • New Zealand was fortunate, on the other hand, that .the people could have such a variety of goods, for in Italy everything had to be made within the country, Mrs Young said. She thought Dunedin people dressed well, but did not seem to get so many new things as Italians did. were nearly all synthetic and. did not last long/ Mrs Young is not in love with most New Zealand shoes, for she cannot understand how the women can walk on high, slender heels. me sports shoes in the shops here are more suitable for Italian girls, she says, for they are accustomed to that feature of women’s dress that she has noticed is that it seems necessary to keep a certain quantity of warm clothes always on hand, spring, summer, autumn, and winter In Italy, the weather is cold and wet in winter and wafm clothes are needed, but when the winter is over these are put away and are not needed at all during the summer months. “ But I like your weather, Mrs Young said.- “It is always different—not at all like Italy. One minute the sun may be shining in Dunedin; the next it is raining. It is always interesting.” Speaks Good Scots The houses appeal to her, too, for they are different from what she has been used to in Italy. Here, in most cases, one family lives in a house that is usually different from its neighbours and has a character of its own: The quiet, placid way people talk and behave also provides a sharp contrast with Italian life. People in Dunedin do not get excited over things as the Italians do. „ “And I am learning that, too,’’. Mrs Young said. “When I was learning to speak first, I used my hands more than I used my voice. Now I am learning to speak as Dunedin people do. I roll my R’s and I am told I speak good Scots.” Asked if she wished to go back to Italy to see her people in a few years time, Mrs Young said she would like to visit her parents again, but she did not know if she would like to leave New Zealand, even for a holiday. Somej times she was homesick for Italy and her parents, but now she felt that if she went to Italy even for a short stay she would be more homesick for New Zealand. She had received several air mail letters from her people, and conditions were returning to normal in Forli. Sometimes, she could hardly believe that she was in Dunedin thousands of miles from Italy. Rather it seemed that she was only in another city a few kilometres from Forli. “It all seems unbelievable,” she added, “ but is wonderful to be here. I am very, very happy.”