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Italian Money and Measures |
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| Discover Italy Newsletter |
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in this issue
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Greetings,
How much do things cost when they are priced in
Euros? If you are from the US, how far is 100 meters,
how hot is 35 degrees Celsius? If you know the
values of Italian money, sizes,
temperatures, and measurements, you can be the
most indispensable person in your travel group.
It isn't hard to learn
about these things
before you go and you will then be able to rescue
your family from episodes of
confusion over how much something costs, its size,
how far a place is, or the time and date.
Freely forward this Discover Italy Newsletter in
its entirety. At the very bottom of the newsletter you
will find a forward link to make it easy. (c) Copyright
Kids Europe 2004.
Euros
The money used in Italy is called the Euro, a currency
used
by twelve European nations. Each country has their
own version of the eight different coins, but any Euro
can be used in any of the twelve countries. One side of
each Euro coin is the
same for all countries but the reverse has a design
relating to the individual nation. Here is a website that shows all of the coins and the
designs for each country
While learning about the different denomination of Euros
on the above site, you can also track the exchange
rate, how much of your money (dollars, pounds, etc.) it
takes to buy so many Euros. You can make a chart and
check every day or every week to see how the
exchange rate fluctuates.
Before the Euro was adopted in January 1, 2002, the
Italian currency was the Lira, so you may still find
references to Liras in Italy.
I found a really nice way for you to collect and keep
Euros. These bright cards have eight
different sized
holes, just right for each of the Euro coins. The colorful
printed card comes with a vinyl sleeve to protect your
collection. You can order Euro Collection Cards from Kids
Europe
together with the Italy Discovery Journal, and Italian
Regional Playing Cards.
Order Euro Coin Cards...
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Dates |
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Italy and the rest of Europe represents dates
differently than Americans. The date is assembled
in order of the smallest to the largest measure: day,
month, and year. Isn't that logical? So, the publication
date of this
newsletter is 11.04.04, March 11, 2004. They might
also write it 11 Marzo 2004.
So if you pick up a carton of milk and see a date of
02.05.04 on it, don't think it expired February 5th, the
date is ________________________. (*answer below)
Italian months are easy for English speakers to
understand: gennaio, febbraio, marzo, aprile, maggio,
giugnio,
luglio, agosto, settembre, ottobre, novembre,
dicembre.
Days of the week are counted from
Sunday: domenica, lunedi, martedi, mercoledi, giovedi,
venerdi, sabato.
Now that you have the months and days, here is an
online game
of hangman for you to win using Italian days and
months.
Safe travel begins at Magellan's... »
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Metric Measures |
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Except for the US, Liberia, and Myanmar (formerly
Burma), the rest of the world uses
metric measurements. Why do you think these
three countries have decided to not adopt metric?
What problems might that create?
I'll tell you one problem, if you are American and you go
to Europe, you have to convert every measurement in
order to understand it. Here are a few hints to help you
understand the numbers you will see:
Italians use the European
convention of putting a comma where Americans put a
decimal and vice versa: 1.000,00 = 1,000.00
When Italians count, they start with their thumb
instead of their pointer. Watch for this and try counting
that way yourself.
Roman Numerals: Remember learning
roman numerals? Well, brush off the cobwebs, you are
going to get to use them! They are everywhere in Italy,
on things constructed from Roman times till now.
Here is a challenge for you:
1, Look up or ask your parents to write out the Roman
numeral system.
2. Write your birthday in Roman numerals.
3. Write today's date in Roman numerals.
4. Write the birthdays of everyone in your family in
Roman
numerals.
5. Write the date on your homework in Roman numerals!
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Time |
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Italians and most Europeans use a 24-hour clock. So
1pm is 13:00 and so on. Try setting your digital watch
for 24-hour time and you may find you never go back.
Italians have a different perspective of time, a
longer one, maybe. They aren't necessarily punctual.
Other things may
be more important, so if you have to wait a few
minutes for something to open, slow down and enjoy
the neighborhood.
You may have to adapt to the pace of
daily Italian life which includes a really long lunch time,
except in the industrial cities in the North.
Like three hours! It has been this way for millennia.
Why do you think they do this?
Most European countries take a two hour lunch and in
Mediterranean countries three hours is common. So it
isn't really just lunch, is it? People return to work and
stay till 7pm. No wonder dinner doesn't start till 8 or
9pm.
CleanFilms.com makes good movies GREAT for the entire family. »
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Temperature |
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Here we go again, Americans. Almost everybody else in
the world understands Celsius temperature, but we
bumble along with Fahrenheit. 32 degrees Fahrenheit is
zero Celsius, and 212 Fahrenheit, boiling, is 100 celsius.
Once again, very logical. I suggest visiting this conversion site and putting together a
collection of temperatures, perhaps track your
temperature at home each day but in Celsius.
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Travel Tip: 4 Easy Formulae |
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 Here are my
four handy
formulae that help me, an American, survive when
traveling. All of you who aren't from the US can have
pity on Americans and their inability to
move forward on adopting the metric system.
I
memorized these formulas when I
was eight and have used them ever since. You might
want to write
them on a little card and put it in your pocket. You can
use them every day that you are in Europe:
(1) 1 kilometer = 5/8 mile, so take the
kilometer
value, multiply by 5 and divide by eight, alternative is to multiply by .6.
(2) 1 liter = 1 quart (well, a little more 1.057,
but
close enough)
(3) 1 kilo = 2.2 pounds, so one pound is about
half
a kilo
(4) Celsius to Fahrenheit: C = (F-32) * 5/9
or multiple by 9, divide
by 5, add 32
Visit this
convert
anything website that is really helpful especially with
area, for example, if you are renting an apartment that
is 80 square meters do you have a palace or a closet?
Kids love to travel by train in Europe. It is fun
for them
and easy on you. You can get from one city center to
the next in comfort. No navigating, no parking hassles.
You will have a chance to meet other passengers and
view the countryside as it rolls by. Consider taking a
sleeper between major European cities. Your children
will love the experience of sleeping on bunks in a
train, you'll save a night's lodging and wake up at your
destination. This rail site offers rails passes and point-
to-point ticketing and reservations, go to "Fares &
Schedules" to get point-to-point information.
Kids love to travel by train in Italy... »
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Italy Discovery Journal Review |
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I can't resist sharing this comment I just read on the
Italy Discovery Journal off the Amazon site. If you do
want to get a copy of the Italy Discovery Journal, you
can order it directly from my Kids
Europe website.
***** (5 stars!) Very good resource for
families, February 10, 2004
Reviewer: kathymancuso from Landstuhl, Germany
I agree with the previous reviews. This is an
excellent resource, and a great model for how to
introduce European cultures (or any other cultures) to
your children. Brings the wonder and excitement that
we feel as parents to the children, and makes the
travel much more satisfying for everyone. Other great
ideas are included in the
Storybook Travels
book,
although not exclusive to Europe, but does give a good
perspective on how to adapt travel to the needs of
your kids.
*Answer to date expressed 02.05.04 = 2 May 2004.
Learn about the Italy Discovery Journal »
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email: news@kidseurope.com
web: http://www.kidseurope.com
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