This is a new thing for me. I am being hosted in Lima by an old friend from Treviso, my same city, who went to South America some three years ago. We were discussing about what he does here and why he left Italy, and I thought it would be nice to write an article about it.
It would be also nice to pose the same questions to other Italians working abroad. Let’s see how it goes.
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I am going to ask a few questions to Italians living abroad that I meet around the world. This is the interview with Federico, living in Lima, Perú.
— What were you doing in Italy?
— I have a degree in Economics, and I did a master in micro-finance, but there was no job in that field, so I did the practice (three years) and I started working as an auditor.
— How did you decide to go and live abroad?
— I met a guy who offered me to go to Ecuador to open a micro-finance agency there, a second-tier investment fund giving micro-credit to the final customers. We are somehow a link between the banks and the micro-credit agencies. After a while we realised that most of our business was with Peruvian agencies, and we decided to move the office to Lima. Here I am working alone, in my company we are about ten people between Italy, Luxembourg, India and Perú.
— How often are you going to Italy?
— Twice per year, usually for Christmas and during the (Italian) summer. Actually all my summer visits were for weddings, and this year it will be the same!
— In Perú are you part of an expats community or are you seeing locals?
— I mostly see local people. But at the same time I am playing in a rugby team with many foreigners, from Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, United States and France and I hang out with them as well. No Italians though.
— As a foreigner here, what is the perceived opinion of your friends and colleagues about Italy?
— In the first place, here the people have the bizarre idea that Italy is like Europe: there is no corruption, everybody follows the rules and everything works like a charm. It is perceived like a first-world country. They also have this stereotype that we always eat pasta! Ha ha ha! But yes, I had a hard time during the scandal with Berlusconi and his escorts:
el abuelo putero!— What do you miss the most about our country?
— La pizza! And some traditions, as the coffee break, a cornetto in the morning, the sea at a human temperature. Of course I do miss my friends and family. My main source of information here is Blob.
— Are you planning to go back to live in Italy at some point?
— Yes, I think that eventually I will go back there, I don’t know when, though! Ha ha ha!
Thank you very much to Federico, and good luck with the micro-finance business. Good luck with the search for a decent coffee, as well!
The next interview will be with Axel, whom I met in Sydney, Australia, a few months ago.
other expats are waiting for you in the UK when you decide to cross the Atlantic.
Ally and pi, it’s so sad but I don’t recognize myself being an italian anymore…
What is better: feeling italian outside of Italy or feeling stranger in Italy?
Welcome b{a,u}ck! :-)
Sad to hear that you feel you don’t belong home any more (but what is home anyway?). To your question I would reply that it is way better being abroad: you remember—and sometimes you miss—only the good things and feelings from home. Of course, we both know that this is just a state of mind. As for myself, I wrote a long rant a couple of years ago, and it seems things are not going better now. Sad.
You already experienced living abroad, in a serious country, although your life has changed quite a bit now. What about your feelings back then? I reckon this is no longer an option. Or is it? :-)
Life is what you make it.