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us Pizza dinner with colleagues  (Fabio, Waheed, and Naoko in pizzeria) Fabio,
Waheed, and I went out for dinner for the first time since Waheed arrived from
Pakistan in March. I was in Belgium in March, Waheed had Ramadan in April, and
we were busy for conferences and so on in May and June. Considering his
religion, we went to a pizzeria and had pizza with vegetables on it, Margherita
and Parmigiana.
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Vote  (Noako at the Consulate General in Milan) Next
Sunday, the House of Councillors elections will be held in Japan. Japanese
nationals living abroad can also vote. Voting abroad is done in advance so that
ballots can be mailed to Japan by the election day. Today I cast my vote at the
Consulate General in Milan. The procedure reminded me of Japanese bureaucracy -
that is, following the rules exactly, even if they seem redundant or
time-consuming. My name and ID number I wrote on the envelop were checked four
times by four different officials.
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Berserk translated into Italian  (Berserk translated into Italian) The
Nerd Show was held last weekend in Bologna. My colleague told me how much fun
it was, with lots of cosplayers, manga stores, and a live anime song singer. He
bought Berserk as his first manga translated into Italian. I was happy that he
remembered that it is my favorite manga. A year after the sudden death of its
creator Miura, the sequel, produced by his childhood-friend manga artist and
staff, was finally released, coincidentally on the same weekend.
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39th UIT conference in Gaeta  (Naoko at the conference venue) I
attended the 39th UIT International Conference in Gaeta, a historic seaside
town between Rome and Naples, with colleagues. The venue was a castle
originally built at the end of the 5th century. It was the first time in three
years that I had made a presentation in person at an international conference.
Even though I am not very good at giving speeches in English, I realised that
it is more fun to actually present in front of an audience.
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Hot summer is comming  (Thermometer in the lab) According
to the weather forecast, Parma is likely to have a maximum temperature of 36°C
this week. There is air conditioning in the office, but not in the laboratory.
The temperature in the lab at 7pm today was 29-30°C. I was being trained for
the hot and humid Japanese summer, but in fact not so much for indoors, as
there is air conditioning almost everywhere.
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Hosting AIGE/IIETA Conference  (Naoko and her colleagues at the reception desk) The
7th AIGE/IIETA International Conference and the 16th AIGE Conference were held
at the University of Parma over the past two days. The topics covered all
aspects of energy, including heat transfer and the environment. There were
about 70 participants. The organisers, Fabio and our colleagues, have been
preparing the conference for the past months. Thanks to their efforts, the
conference went off without a hitch. I helped with the venue set-up and
reception.
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A nice day out  (Giorgia and Naoko) On
Sunday afternoon, I went out with Giorgia, an Italian language teacher. I took
her course last year and found it very interesting, not only for learning the
language but also for the culture. I sent her an email, hoping to meet her. Since
the course was fully online, this was first time for us to see each other in
person. She spoke to me slowly in simple Italian and patiently understood my
messed-up Italian (sometimes I gave up and spoke in English).
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Japanese manga artist trending on Twitter  (Internet article reporting Togashi's twitter account) [Naoko]
Today
I found the word “Togashi” in the Italian trending words. This is the name of a
Japanese Manga artist, creator of very popular manga “Hunter x Hunter (HxH)”,
which started 24 years ago. He is also famous for his slow drawing; HxH has not
been updated for four years. Today, he opened an account on twitter, and just
12 hours later, with only one tweet (“Four more episodes for now”), he has
gained 0.8M followers from all over the world. He is probably the Japanese who
gained followers at the maximum rate.
https://www.polygon.com/23139449/hunter-x-hunter-manga-yoshihiro-togashi-twitter-update |
International Conference on Inverse Problems in Engineering (ICIPE22)  (Naoko at ICIPE22) It is
first time for me to attend a conference in a field other than thermal and
aerospace engineering. Unlike these, in this conference, every presentation has
completely different target applications (e.g., food industry, civil
engineering, and material science) and only the basic theory (i.e., inverse
problem) is the common topic. It was not easy for me to follow the presentations,
but it was an interesting and new experience.
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Peer review work  (Reviewer meme drwan by REDPEN/BLACKPEN) Peer-review
is done by researchers on a voluntary basis. I always accept a review
invitation if the topic is in my field, since I wouldn’t be where I am today
without the review comments to my first paper. When I received them 11 years
ago, I was impressed that someone read my paper so enthusiastically and gave me
many insightful comments. I enjoyed responding them. Seeing me like that, my
boss at that time encouraged me to advance to the doctoral programme. Until
then, I’d never thought about becoming either a PhD holder or a researcher. (The
image is one of my favourite “reviewer memes” – for a reminder to myself)
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CIBUS - food exhibition  (Naoko at CIBUS2022) On
Tuesday, Fabio, Waheed (PhD student) and I attended CIBUS. This is an international
food exhibition that takes place every two years here in Parma. There were
eight buildings in total, where new products were exhibited by everyone from
local breweries to large, well-known companies. Having only attended technical/engineering
exhibitions before, I was surprised by the colourful and sophisticated booths.
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Progress towards gender equality  (Article of "La Repubblica") I
heard impressive news: the Constitutional Court stated that Italian children
should be given both or either of their parents’ surname. Currently, only
father’s surname is automatically given, even if the parents have separate ones.
On the other hand, Japan is still the only country in the world that does not
allow the separate surnames for married couples, despite years of controversy and the fact that women
change their surname in 96 % of couples.
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Festa della Liberazione  (People gathering for rock concert) Today
is a national holiday to commemorate the country’s liberation from Nazis and
fascist rule at the end or World War II. Several public events such as concerts
were held in the city center of Parma, while last year they were not held due
to the pandemic. A rock concert started at 9pm in the central square, and it
was so crowded that it seemed as if all the young people in Parma had come to
see it.
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Research paper for peer-reviewed journal  (papers of peer-reviewed journal ) Writing
papers for peer-reviewed journals is tough work, but it is an essential part of
researcher’s job, and it brings joy when it is accepted. Yesterday we received
good news that one of our papers was accepted by the journal and another has
been published online. Today we submitted another new paper to the journal. In
addition, I am currently working on two other papers. (image shows several
papers in the PHP study)
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Hallerbos forest  (Hallerbos Forest) I have
been in Belgium for the Easter holidays. The Hallerbos Forest, located south of
Brussels, is famous for its bluebells in bloom in mid (or late)-April. Thanks
to my Windows login screen, I got to know it (coincidentally, it was displayed
during my stay in Charleroi) and was eager to visit. The scenery was truly
amazing and unlike anything I had ever seen before.
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Domenica delle Palme (Palm Sunday)  (Church in Palm Sunday) The
last Sunday before Pasqua (Easter), called Domenica delle palme, is
traditionally considered the day when Jesus entered to Jerusalem. The Bible says
people welcomed him with laying palm branches on the road ahead of him. Olives, which were also considered a holy plant,
were celebrated in church today and distributed to the people. I visited a
church for a concert, after which I was also given branches while being told “buon
fortuna (Good luck)!”.
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Parma Kendo Kai  ("Jigeiko" - practice of Kendo) Last
night I visited a practice session of the Parma Kendo Kai. Kendo is a Japanese
martial art and I used to do it when I was in high school. Kendo is a relatively
minor sports, so it was a big surprise to find a Kendo lovers’ association here
in Parma. When I saw a man on campus wearing a sweatshirt with “パルマ剣道会/Parma Kendo Kai” written on
it, I couldn’t help talking to him. Two months later, I finally had the
opportunity to visit their dojo.
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Gifts from Japan welcomed me  (Package from Japan) At
home and at university, gifts from my Japanese friends awaited me. They were
sent from Japan before Christmas last year and arrived in Italy during my stay
in Belgium in March. Japan Post suspended air services between Japan and Italy,
so they were sent all the way by sea.
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Last day at Calyos  (Facility of Calyos) Two secondments
to Calyos for a total of three months were a great experience for me. The most
interesting part was working close to the commercial end-users of two-phase fluid
devices and getting to know their requirements for the devices. I learnt that
they have special requirements that I had never heard of or imagined. I was
also remined of the need for models that helps PHP design, which is the goal of
POTPLOS.
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Do I look like a local?  (Charleroi Sud station) Sometimes
I am asked the direction or bus/train times in French by (presumably) local
people, even when there are other people around. At first I wondered why they
would ask me, because I am obviously not a “typical” Belgian in appearance. Now
I guess the reason is this: because in this country there
are many different ethnic groups living and everyone is expected to speak
French (in some regions).
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MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship 2021 results  (MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship) Today,
the European Commission announced that out of 7521 applicants, 1025 have been
awarded MSCA European Postdoctoral fellowships. A successful Japanese applicant
contacted me to thank me. He said he wrote the proposal with learning how to
write it by my blog posts. It was a great pleasure to know the posts helped the
applicant, as it did last year. Congratulations to all the new MSCA fellows!
Naoko’s blog on MSCA-IF proposal writing (in Japanese): https://note.com/finestra |
Sakura at University of Parma  (Sakura at UniPR campus) The
national flower of Japan, the cherry blossom – or Sakura, represents a time of
renewal and optimism. The pops of pink mark the ending of winter and signify
the beginning of spring. Due to their quick blooming season, cherry blossoms
also symbolize the transience of life, a major theme in Buddhism.
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Frites Day  (Naoko's lunch at Frites Day) In Calyos,
every Wednesday is the “Frites Day”: the image shows today’s my lunch. You
might think, “you also have a hamburger,” but, it is a sort of side dish. I
first got to know Frites Day during my previous stay in Calyos. My colleague
asked me “How about the French flies for lunch?” I thought “only French flies?”.
Seeing my reaction, he added “You can also order hamburgers, if you want.” In fact,
some colleagues had only frites for lunch.
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Dinner with colleagues in Calyos  (Flavio, Milan, and Naoko at a restaurant) Tonight
I had dinner with Flavio and Milan. Flavio is a sort of my supervisor and Milan
has recently started working. In Calyos, people go home after work and have
dinner with their families, so they seldom go out to drink or a meal with their
colleagues. I think it is quite the opposite of Japanese company especially in
the past (now Japan is getting closer to the Calyos style.)
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Experiments at Calyos  (Fabio, Matteo, and Naoko at labratory in Calyos) This
week we conducted experiments of a heat pipe while acquiring infrared images.
This heat pipe was tested by me during my previous stay in Calyos with changing
the filling ratio and tilt angle in order to understand its basic
characteristics. This time, the infrared images provided useful and interesting
information to deepen our insight into its thermofluidic behaviour.
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Italian food outside of Italy?  (Fabio, Matteo, and Naoko at a brewery) We
went to a restaurant close to our accommodation. Several “Italian” food such as
pasta were on the menu. However, neither Fabio nor Matteo ordered it. They said
they usually don’t order Italian food outside of Italy, because it is totally
different from real Italian food (I think this might be a common opinion of
Italians - I’ve heard same thing from other Italians.)
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Strasbourg on the way to Charleroi  (Matteo and Naoko at a restaurant in Strasbourg) From
next Monday I will stay in Calyos, a Belgium manufacturer of two-phase devices,
to perform experiments until end of March. This time I travelled with Matteo, a
Ph.D student, by his car to bring an infrared camera. Leaving from Parma in the
morning, we crossed the Switzerland and arrived in Strasbourg in the evening. For
dinner, we had Baeckeoffe, a traditional casserole dish in this region.
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Viareggio Carnival 2022  (Festival car at Viareggio Carnival 2022) Today
is “Martedi grasso (fat Tuesday)”, the last day of the Carnival. Fabio, his
mother, and I watched the parade of the Carnival in Viareggio. The Viareggio
Carnival has 147-years history and one of the most famous Carnival in Italy. There
were dozens of festival cars with huge paper characters on them, and to my
surprise, many of the characters were moved around a lot manually (i.e., by
human power). It was also interesting to see some characters with social and
political expressions.
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Octopus  (Fish shop) I went
to the fish shop with Luca. What struck me was that they were selling octopus. When
I was a child, I heard that in the West people don’t eat octopus because it
looks like a devil, but this is not true. In some countries people don’t eat
octopus for religions or other reasons, but it seems to be popular in Italy (or
southern Europe for that matter). In fact, Luca bought an octopus.
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Lebanese food  (Luca and Matteo with Lebanese food) Yesterday
I had Lebanese food for lunch. It was delivered from my colleague Luca’s
favourite restaurant. According to him, there are some Lebanese restaurants in
Parma. I thought there were a lot of people from this country or middle east,
but the statistics say otherwise (people from Lebanon are 0.05% of the total
population of Parma). Anyway, the food was very good.
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Custom-made sandwich  (Showcase in cafeteria) Today
we had lunch at a cafeteria a few kilometres away from the campus. Here you can
order a sandwich as you like, choosing the type of bread and ingredients. This
kind of café is rare in Japan, but quite common here in Italy (or rather in
Europe, maybe). There were several types of ham, and seasoned and fresh
vegetables. I chose prosciutto crudo and radicchio.
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Santa Giulia Museum in Brescia  (Roman stone monument) One of
the things that impresses me about Italy is that in every city there are museums
with paintings, sculptures and artifacts from the region. In these museums it is
possible to see works from at least several hundred years of time at once. I
think this is a unique feature of Italian museum. Today I visited Santa Giulia
Museum, which displays a wide range of objects from the Bronze Age (B.C.
12-22C) to the Renaissance (A.D. 16 C)!
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Sanremo 2022  (Naoko watching Sanremo2022)
The Sanremo
music festival started tonight. Fabio and I watched it on TV together like last
year. This festival is a competition of the singers, and they sing only new
(unreleased) songs. This year, we scored each singer by ourselves. Out of
twelve singers/groups, Giusy Ferreri, who sang the last, won with the highest
score from both of us.
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A day of Leonardo da Vinci  (Naoko at Pinacoteca/biblioteca Ambronsiana)
I had
wanted to see Leonardo’s autograph drawings since I visited his museum in Vinci
last summer. Today, I saw 20 manuscripts of Codice Atlantico with Fabio and
Giovanni at Pinacoteca/Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan. The book held by me in
the image is a collection of Leonardo’s drawings given to me by Marcelo. In the
evening, we saw Last Supper. It was a wonderful “Leonardo day”.
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Japanese new year mochi soup  (Ozoni)
Last
night I invited Fabio to the dinner of Japanese home-cooking. Ozoni is a
traditional soup with rice cakes (mochi) to celebrate the New Year and there
are dozens of different types of ozoni depending on the region. My hometown is
Osaka, but I couldn't get hold of the white miso that is essential for Osaka's
ozoni, so I made a Tokyo style ozoni.
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History of Opera  (Naoko at Teatro Reggio di Parma)
Last
week I watched Carmen at the Teatro Reggio di Parma. It was a wonderful
experience to see the opera in a 200-year-old opera house. Opera was born in
Italy at the end of the 16th century. Thanks to the temporary exhibition on
opera in Parma, I was able to see historical books, dresses, posters, and photographs
including an old opera music book written in 1634.
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Day of the patron saint of Parma  (Scarpetta di Sant’Ilario)
In
Italy, each town has its own patron saint and the day in memory of that saint
is the town's feast day. Bishop St. Ilario has been the patron saint of Parma
since the Middle Ages, and today (13 January) is the anniversary of his death:
in memory of his miracle with a pair of shoes, today pastry shops sell shoe-shaped
biscuits called scarpetta di Sant’Ilario (St. Ilario’s shoes).
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Eryngium  (Eryngium)
I
often buy one cut flower from a florist. There had not been a big difference between
the types of flowers sold in Italian and Japanese florists. Yesterday I found a
flower I had never seen before. The name of the flower, the shop owner told me,
is Eringium (Eryngium). According to information on the internet, this flower is
native to Europe, especially in Mediterranean region, and it is difficult to
survive in Japan due to the hot and humid climate.
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Winter activities in mountains  (Snowshoeing)
In
Bressanone, many tourists come for skiing, but even the tourist who is not a
big fun of skiing (like me) can enjoy other winter activities. A Japanese
friend told me that this is an attraction not to be found in Japanese ski
resorts. I enjoyed hiking, tobogganing, and snowshoeing. The last two are not
so common in Japan and it was my first time to try them.
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"Liora" in Bressanone/Brixen  (Video mapping "Liora")
I left
Bergamo and came to Bressanone (Brixen) via Verona. It is a small town near the
bordar between Italy and Austria. In this area, called South Tirol, both
Italian and German are spoken. Today I watched the video mapping projection
show “Liora”. During the show, the performers sang and narrated first in German
and then in Italian.
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Happy new year 2022!  (Night view of Bergamo)
I
started the New Year in Bergamo. A few hours before midnight fireworks were
already shot off, and after midnight there were tens and hundreds of them everywhere.
Due to the pandemic, official events were cancelled, but people celebrated by
setting off their own fireworks. It was a spectacle that I had never seen
before. In Japan, on New Year's Day (as on any other day),
fireworks are rarely set off all at once everywhere.
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Christmas lunch  (Christmas lunch with Fabio's family)
I was
invited to a luncheon with Fabio and his family. I had a lot of wonderful dishes
prepared by his mother. I think there are some similarities between the way we
spend Christmas in Italy and the way we spend New Year’s Day in Japan, although
the religious significance are very different: we visit churches or shrines/temples
at midnight (or later); we enjoy traditional dishes (that vary from region to
region) with family and relatives all afternoon.
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Video mapping in Piazza Garibaldi  (Video mapping of Palazzo del Governatore)
For
the last four days, the city of Parma has organised a video mapping projection
to mark the end of the year-long City of Culture. Every year one city is chosen
as Italian City of Culture, and Parma has been chosen for 2020 (extended by one
year due to the pandemic). The projection showed the things that have built
Parma into a unique cultural city: music, art, foods, and people.
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Japanese singer at Christmas concert  (Concert at Chiesa di San Vitale) [Naoko]
During
Christmas season, concerts are held in many churches in Europe. I went to
listen to a concert today. It was a trio of transverse-flute, violincello, and
harpsichord, with a soprano taking part in some of the pieces.. To my surprise,
she was Japanese. (I was surprised because I didn’t know the performers beforehand.)
It was a pleasure not only to listen to their music but also to talk with her
after the concert.
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Concert of UniPR orchestra  (UniPR Christmas concert) [Naoko]
The
concert to celebrate Christmas was held at the headquarters of the university
in the city centre. This was only my second visit there because I am always at the
campus where the engineering department is located, several km away from the
city centre. Before the concert there was a speech from the Rector (whom I had
never seen before). The concert was wonderful.
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Graduation  (Cecilia, Luca, and Naoko) [Naoko]
Cecilia,
a master’s student who studied PHP, passed her final exam (oral presentation)
and graduated today. She looked wonderful in her laurel crown. There are three big
differences on graduation between Italy and Japan: firstly, there are several graduation
dates (in Japan it is only once a year in March); secondly, the students
graduate on the same day as their final exams (in Japan it is about two months
later); and finally, the students’ families, relatives, and friends gather at
the university to celebrate the graduation (which is not the case in Japan). I
also participated in her party.
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Christmas village 2021  (Fabio and Naoko in Chrsitmas village) [Naoko]
On the
way home Fabio and I went shopping in the Christmas village, a seasonal market
inside a big gardening shop. I bought an artificial red branch to attach to my poinsettia
pot which I bought in the same shop last December. It has grown over the past
year, but its colour has changed from red and green to all green. I got classical
Christmas colours with the help of artificiality.
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Space travel  (Model of Soyuz rocket in Baikonur) [Naoko]
Today,
the Soyuz rocket with two Japanese crews on board was launched and successfully
docked to the International Space Station (ISS), making them the first Japanese
private astronauts to stay on the ISS. In 2016, I witnessed the launch of the
Soyuz in Baikonur Cosmodrome in support of JAXA astronaut. One of the two crews
was already interested in space travel on the Soyuz at that time. Today he finally
made his dream come true. (The image shows a model of the Soyuz in the city of Baikonur,
taken by me)
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Advent calendar  (Advent calendar) [Naoko]
One of
the things I got to know recently is an advent calendar - a special calendar
for counting down the days in December leading up to Christmas eve. I bought one
for my colleague’s daughter without realizing that it was a calendar. I thought
it was simply a pastry. After that, Fabio gave me one as a gift. Every night, I
open a paper window with a date on it and find a chocolate. It became one of my
daily pleasures after dinner.
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Seminar for Japanese engineers  (Top page of Naoko's presentation) [Naoko]
Last Friday I participated online in a seminar of The
Heat Transfer Society of Japan Tokai Chapter, where I gave a presentation on
the estimation of local heat flux in PHP. There was more than 70 participants
and 6 presenters including me. Half of presenters belonged to companies and the
others are from universities. There was also a panel discussion on technologies
for carbon neutrality in 2050.
(Flyer of the seminar: website of The Heat Transfer Society of Japan Tokai Chapter) https://www.htsj.or.jp/branch/tokai/HTSJ_tokai_colloquium_seminar202.html |
Seminar for students  (Students at seminar) [Naoko]
Fabio
organized a seminar in his course for the undergraduate and graduated students.
Professor Nicola Paltrinieri from Norwegian University of Science and
Technology gave a presentation on hydrogen energy strategy and risk management
for it. I then made a 30 minutes-presentation of thermal management and PHP.
Our two colleagues also presented on our experimental studies.
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Baths or Caracalla  (Bath of Caracalla) [Naoko]
This
weekend I visited Roma with Marcelo. During he went to the Colosseum, I went to
the Baths of Caracalla, a huge public bath complex in ancient Roma. There are
not only baths, but also swimming pools and gymnasiums, where the Romans used
to exercise before taking a bath. We have similar facilities (in use today) in
Japan, but the emphasis is more on relaxing in the bath. I enjoyed the visit,
imaging what the baths were like in those days.
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Award plaque  (Luca and Naoko with award plaque) [Naoko]
I
received a wooden plaque for the Don Ernst Award of the International Heat Pipe
Conference/Symposium (IHPC/S) sent by Mrs. Ernst from the USA. This award was
established in a memory of American physicist and inventor, Donald M. Ernst, by
her and his friends in 2012. I sent her an e-mail to express my gratitude. She
replied that hopefully we would meet in person at the next IHPC/S in Australia
in February 2023.
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Naoko's birthday  (Birthday party) [Naoko]
Today
is my 39th birthday. Fabio organized a surprise party with the
colleagues. We enjoyed his wonderful homemade food. He also baked a cake for
me! As a gift I received a beautiful scarf made of milk fibre. It was one of
the best birthdays of my life.
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Christmas market in Trento  (Christmas tree and duomo in Trento) [Naoko]
Marcelo
and I visited Trento. The main purpose of our visit was a Christmas market
which was started from today. He bought some Presepe (Christmas diorama) and I
had a glass of hot wine. We happened to be there just as the Christmas tree was
being lit up and the photo mapping was starting. It was fantastic!
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Okonomiyaki dinner  (Okonomiyaki) [Naoko]
I
invited Marcelo and Fabio for dinner and cooked okonomiyaki on Wednesday. It
was Marcelo’s first time having okonomiyaki. I had not cooked it since March,
so I rehearsed it last weekend. The taste was not good, even worse than in March.
I referred to a recipe on the internet and added some ingredients on Wednesday,
which improved it. I was happy to heat that it tasted good.
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Tobikko in the pokebowl  (Pokebowl) [Naoko]
Recently,
Marcelo and I have liked a Poke place that Fabio recommended to us. Tonight, for
the toppings, I chose salmon and flying fish roe. I didn’t know the Italian word
for this roe, so I pointed them out to the shop assistant. To my surprise, she
said, “Tobikko?” This is exactly the Japanese word for this roe. (In Japanese,
the name of the roe changes according to the fish.)
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Siena  (City view of Siena) [Naoko]
Marcelo
and I visited in Siena yesterday. When we entered the city center through the
gate, I felt as if we had arrived in another world. The city looked as if it is
still in the Middle Ages. It is not only a tourist destination, but also a
place where many locals live. We visited the Duomo and Palazzo Pubblico, where
I was impressed by the wonderful fresco paintings.
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Time for lunch?  (Canteen of UniPR) [Naoko]
In
Italy it is common to have lunch between 1pm and 2pm. In Japan, it’s
between12am and 1 pm. In my experience, it was the same in Belgium and the
Netherlands. According to Marcelo, it is also the same in Brazil. My Spanish
friend told me that in Spain they start having lunch at 2pm. I wonder what
cultural background makes it different or the same in different countries. (The
image shows the canteen on our campus)
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The longest covered walkway in the world  (Portico di San Luca) [Naoko]
Marcelo
and I visited the Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca in Bologna. It is a
church on the top of a hill and was first founded in the 12th
century. There is an uninterrupted 3.8km-covered walkway from the city to the
Sanctuary. We climbed up with occasional breaks in between. Some people were
jogging. From the top of the cupola, I saw the hills in autumn colours.
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Homemade pizza  (Homemade pizza) [Naoko]
I
learned how to make homemade pizza, including the dough, from Fabio. I never
expected that I was able to make it by myself at home. The ingredient for the
dough was simple: flour, water, olive oil, salt, and yeast. We made two large
pizza and had them with Marcelo. The dough was crispy, which I liked. I was
happy to hear that they tasted good.
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Awarded!  (Photo of all authors) [Naoko]
Our
paper on PHP presented at International Heat Pipe Conference/Symposium (IHPC/IHPS2021)
last month has been awarded “Don Ernst award”. This award is for the best
papers presented in the conference and is divided in two categories:
fundamental research and technical/technology applications. Our paper was
awarded in the former category and the latter was won by colleagues from
Calyos!
For more information (IHPC/IHPS2021 website): http://heatpipe.ru/2020/donernst |
Second (or third) visit to Milano  (Photo taken at Galleria) [Naoko]
Marcelo
and I visited Milan today. Thanks to Fabio and Giovanni’s guide, we visited the
highlights of Milan. I was particularly interested in Basilica di
Sant’Ambrogio, the oldest church in Milan. For lunch and snacks, we had
delicious food from Puglia (Panzerotti: deep-fried bread), Firenze (Schiacciata:
traditional bread sandwich), and Roma (Maritozzo: bread with whipped cream).
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Speak Italian in my dream  (Photo taken in Piemonte) [Naoko]
This
is a photo of Piemonte that my colleague took and showed to me a week ago. In
this morning, I was getting on a bus in my dream. When I got off the bus, I saw
the same scenery as in this photo. However, in my dream, I didn’t know where it
was. I knew that it was not Parma. Google Maps didn’t show me the location, so
I panicked. I asked someone nearby, “Dove
siamo qui?” (where are we? – the correct
way to say is “Dove siamo?”) It was the first time I had ever spoken in Italian
in my dream.
|
Marcelo and Naoko cooking  (Photo taken in Piemonte) [Naoko]
Under
Fabio’s supervise, Marcelo and I tried cooking Italian food: an
antipasto, pasta arrabbiata, and tiramisu. All of them were very good.
I never expected that I would be able to make tiramisu at home.
|
Cinque Terre  (Cinque Terre) [Naoko]
Yesterday,
Marcello and I went to the Cinque Terre, scenic seaside five villages.
We visited each village, traveling by train. We wanted to walk along
the pedestrian passages along the sea, but unfortunately they were
closed. The weather was fine and I enjoyed swimming in the sea. The
water was clear and I could see a lot of fish.
|
Fabio's home-cooked meal  (Marcella, Fabio, and Naoko) [Naoko]
Fabio
invited Marcello and me for dinner. Marcello is a visiting professor at the
University of Parma from Brazil. Fabio’s cooking was very good as always and I
especially like his new pasta. I was interested to hear from Marcello about
life in Brazil, because I have never been to South America.
|
Bus trip from Belgium to Italy (and what happened at the border)  (View from bus window) [Naoko]
The
bus left Brussels on Saturday evening and travelled for 13 hours through
Luxemburg, France, and Switzerland. Entering Italy, the bus suddenly stopped. A
few Italian police officers came into the bus and told us to get off with our
luggage. At first I thought it was an ID check, but it wasn’t. When they brought
a dog with them, I realized it was a drug raid. We had to stand outside for
over half an hour while the dog sniffed us and our luggage. At the end nothing
was found and we were released. (The image shows a view of Switzerland from the
window)
|
Antwerp  (Antwerp) [Naoko]
Last
Saturday I visited Antwerp. A friend of mine whom I met in Mechelen last month
showed me around the city. I had visited for only 1 hour 10 years ago on my way
from Brussels to the Netherlands. I remembered some of the sights, but more
than that I encountered new scenery. For lunch we had mussels, one of my
favourite food.
|
Naoko at lab  (Naoko at lab) [Naoko]
I
usually spend most of my day in the laboratory, working on PHP experiments. The
company I am seconded to, Calyos, is a SME that designs and manufactures
two-phase flow devices. The lab is always full of activity as we test and
prepare several devices at the same time, including the company's flagship
product, the loop heat pipe.
|
Dinner at Brewery in Charleroi  (Fabio and Naoko at Brewery) [Naoko]
I returned to Belgium on Monday. Fabio also came to Charleroi to have a meeting with my colleagues and me. We discussed the result of our tests so far and our future works. After the meeting, Fabio and I had a dinner at a restaurant with a brewery. We tried four different local beers. Fabio likes brown ale while I prefer pilsner. |
Beautiful mosaics in Ravenna  (Mosaic of St. Andrew Chapel in Ravenna ) [Naoko]
Ravenna had been on my must-visit list for months. The interior of the churches, built in the 6th or 7th century, are decorated with beautiful mosaics. In fact, they were even greater than I had expected and I was overwhelmed by their magnificence (as is often the case in Italy). On my way back to Parma, I mistakenly got on the wrong train in the opposite direction. I remembered the nightmare of a fortnight ago, but this time I was fortunate enough to return. |
Lots of love today and beyond  (Our colleague's wedding day) [Naoko] One of
our colleagues got married. The ceremony was held in a beautiful church in the
morning and then we moved to a hotel with a lovely garden for the party. The
bride (our colleague) was gorgeous and had a really happy smile on her face. It
was a great pleasure to celebrate with them.26 Sep. 2021
One of
our colleagues got married. The ceremony was held in a beautiful church in the
morning and then we moved to a hotel with a lovely garden for the party. The
bride (our colleague) was gorgeous and had a really happy smile on her face. It
was a great pleasure to celebrate with them.
|
European Researchers' Night #2  (From right to left: Fabio, Naoko, Luca) [Naoko]
We had
four demonstrations, each time with an audience of around 12 people. Due to the
pandemic the number of the audience members was limited. The most common
question from them was: “how are Heat pipe used in real life?” We explained
that they are used in PCs, smartphones, satellites, snow-melting and much more.Our food
engineering colleagues demonstrated how to cook popcorn, which was well
received.
|
European Researchers' Night  (Presentation of heat pipe) [Naoko]
European
Researchers’ Night is a research communication and promotion event taking place
across EU Member States and Horizon 2020 (Horizon Europe) Associated Countries
on the last Friday of September every year. We demonstrated a simple experiment
to show how a heat pipe effectively transfer the heat by using infrared camera.
|
First cappucino in 50 days  (Naoko at cafe in Parma) [Naoko]
This
morning Fabio gave me a ride to the campus. On the way, we had breakfast at a
café. I had a cappuccino. I like cappuccinos, but I never had one in Belgium.
For lunch we had pizza and for dinner I cooked pasta. I again realized that I
am in Italy and that I like Italian food.
|
Return to Parma  (Welcome back message on the door) [Naoko]
I came
back to Parma temporally to participate a couple of important events. When I
arrived home, I found a “Welcome back” message on the door. It was from the
owner of the apartment. During my stay in Belgium, he sometimes came to
ventilate my room and let me know that everything was fine in the room. His
message made my heart warm.
|
Thai / Vietnamese foods  (Thai and vietnamese foods in Charleroi) [Naoko]
One of
the things I like about Belgium is that there are many Thai and Vietnamese
restaurants. These foods are my most favorites, same as Italian food. I
particularly like Tom kha kai (coconut chicken soup, the bottom right image)
and Pad Thai (stir-fried rice noodles, the other three images). All the images
were taken in the restaurants in Charleroi
|
A visit to Gent and long way home  (Nigt view of Gent) [Naoko]
Yesterday
was a long day. I enjoyed visiting Gent until late in the evening. I was happy
to see the night view, which was the main purpose of this visit. The nightmare
came after that. Due to a series of misfortunes, I was unable to reach Charleroi
station. At 1:30am, I arrived at the station, 20 km away from Charleroi. There
were no taxis or hotels. I decided to walk home, which took me three and half
hours.
|
Metro in Charleroi  (platform of metro station) [Naoko]
I used
the subway (metro) on my way home from work. I missed the last bus on the route
I usually take, so I used an alternative route suggested by Google Map. At
first, I waited for the bus, not realizing that Google Map was pointing me to the
metro. I didn’t expect that the metro is available because all the stations I
saw in Charleroi had been destroyed or closed. In fact, it only operates
between a limited number of stations.
|
Leuven (Louvain)  (Arenberg Castle) [Naoko]
Leuven
is a small city close to Bruxelles and has a university with nearly 600 years
of history (KU Leuven). The departments of natural science are located in a
huge campus outside of the city center. I walked there from the railway station
via the city center. There are not only the faculty buildings but also a
forest, some soccer fields, and even a castle (see the image) in the campus.
|
Meet again  (Naoko and her friend)
[Naoko]
I met
a friend of mine in Mechelen (Malines). He used to work in Spain and now he is
in Belgium. We have known each other through work for 10 years now. This is the
fourth time we’ve met in person, as we’ve mainly communicated by e-mail.
Moreover, this is the first time we have talked for several hours away from
work. We talked a lot about the past and our current lives. I was very happy to
see him again.
|
Brugge (Bruges)  (Brugge)
[Naoko]
Brugge
is a city that I had wanted to visit ever since I saw a picture of its beautiful
scenery several years ago. As I expected, the view of the canals with the
greenery of the trees and classical buildings was wonderful. Thanks to the good
weather, I enjoyed walking and cruising on a boat.
|
A day at Cibus, part2  (Cibus 2)
[Fabio]
Cibus
is the International Food Exhibition. It is the reference event for Italian
agro-food, for the latest news and trends about food. The key ideas of this
edition are "sustainable", "recyclable" and
"natural".
|
Cibus  (Cibus )
[Fabio]
Cibus
is the International Food Exhibition. It is the reference event for Italian
agro-food, for the latest news and trends about food. It takes place in Parma
every year. It is an amazing (and tasteful) event.
|
Maritozzo?  (Maritozzo sold in Japan)
[Naoko]
My
friend in Japan sent me three pictures of “maritozzo” sold there. According to
her, it is an Italian pastry and the latest fad in Japan. However, I’ve never eaten
or even seen them in Italy. I’ll try it when I come back to Parma! (The image
contains messages from my friend.)
|
What I witnessed in the bus  (Bus)
[Naoko]
I take
the bus to work every day. In this evening, the bus unusually stayed at a bus
stop for about a minutes after a passenger had boarded. At the next stop it
stayed there a few minutes with the doors closed. Looking at the driver in the
mirror, I saw he was asleep. The other passenger didn’t seem to notice. For a
couple of minutes, I wondered whether I should wake him up or let him sleep to
avoid the risk of a traffic accident. When I walked up to him, he woke up and started
driving. I was relieved when we eventually arrived at our final destination.
|
Bruxelles  (Bruxells)
[Naoko]
In
this afternoon I visited Bruxelles. This was the second visit and the first
time was in 2011. It was the first European city I visited. That was also my
first overseas business trip and I was alone. I was a bit anxious, but at the
same time I was excited about the new experience. Today I visited the same
place I did 11 years ago and I remembered those days fondly.
|
Frites (French fries)  (Frites)
[Naoko]
A
Belgium colleague of mine told me that French fries are one of the most typical
Belgium foods. In fact, I didn’t know this, but its origin is in Belgium.
What’s unique about them is that they are fried twice. On my way home, I bought
a pack of fries for my diner. I chose the smallest pack, but it was enough for
two dinners.
|
Dinant  (Dinant)
[Naoko]
On
Saturday I visited Dinant, a village in the gorge south of Charleroi. The views
, both up from the bank of the Meuse and down from a cliff-top fortress are
wonderful. I tried a local traditional beer “Leffe”. I usually don’t like
bitterness in beer and cannot drink even one glass, but I really like this beer
and I enjoyed drinking it. (Maybe because I chose a fruit-flavoured “Leffe
ruby”.)
|
Start of secondment  (Street in Chalreroi)
[Naoko]
My
secondment is to a company specialising in the design and manufacture of
two-phase fluid devices. It's a great facility with everything you need for
development - offices, a laboratory and a manufacturing site. I commute by bus
and on foot. The weather has been poor and cold lately. In fact, the
temperature is more than 10°C lower than in Parma.
|
Arrival at Charleroi/Belgium  (View from airplane)
[Naoko]
I’m in
Charleroi, a city near Brussels, for my 2-month-secondment. Today I came here
by plane from Bologna. The airport was crowded and I had to wait for one hour to
drop off my baggage. Anyway, I could move to Belgium without any problems. It
is not so far from Italy (100 min. by plane), but the town scape is different
as well as the language. I miss Italy already.
|
Museums in Parma  (Teatro Farnese)
[Naoko]
In
this afternoon I visited museums in Palazzo Pilotta. This was my first visit to
a museum in Parma. They were closed due to the pandemic when I came to Italy
last year. When they reopened, my priority was to visit other cities. The
museums were not crowded and I enjoyed wonderful paintings, a library, and a
theatre. I was especially happy to see “La Scapigliata” by Leonardo da Vinci. Unfortunately,
the archaeological museum was temporarily closed today, so I’ll visit it again.
|
Aida at Verona Arena  (Verona Opera Festival)
[Naoko]
I left
Selva di Val Gardena and came to Verona. My main purpose is to see “Aida”. I’ve
wanted to see it someday since I learned about it in my elementary school music
textbook. For some reason, the story of the opera and the photo of the final
act in my textbook left a deep impression on me. After 30 years, I was able to
see it at a fantastic place, a Roman amphitheatre!
|
Dolomiti  (Dolomiti)
[Naoko]
I’ve been
in Selva di Val Gardena, a village in a valley surrounded by the Dolomites,
since yesterday. I did a lot of hiking and enjoyed the spectacular views. I
never thought I would be able to see this kind of landscape in my lifetime,
because I thought it was something that only serious climbers could see. Thanks
to the location and good maintenance, it was possible even with my poor equipment
(12euro sneakers + conference backpack).
|
Toscana  (San gimignano)
[Naoko]
I returned
from the trip to Toscana. The image shows towers of San Gimingano, taken from a
nearby field. I like the hilly landscape of Toscana with olive groves and
vineyards. San Gimignano is a beautiful historic village with many tourists. Most
of them came by car and I was almost the only tourist on the bus to and from
the nearest railway station. Fortunately, the public transportation connections
were good and I also enjoyed the train and bus journey.
|
Da Vinci  (Model of gold foil making machine)
[Naoko]
I’m
traveling to Toscana (Tuscany) from Thursday. The first two days I visited
Torre del Lago Puccini, where I saw Turandot at the Puccini opera festival and
went to the beach. Today I moved on to San Gimignano. On the way I visited
Vinci, the small village where Leonardo da Vinci was born. In the museum
dedicated to him, models fabricated exactly as he had designed were shown with
his sketches (copies). Although I was already familiar with some of his works,
once again I was really impressed with this unparalleled genius.
|
Summer in Parma and Japan  (Fan in Naoko's flat)
[Naoko]
In my
flat there is a fan but no air conditioning. I used to be worried if I could
survive without it. My parents also didn’t have air conditioning in their house
in Japan. For me, it used to be a nightmare to spend the summer there. Last summer, after
my father almost lost consciousness due to the hotness, they eventually
installed air conditioning. In fact, every summer in Japan, hundreds of people
die from heat stroke in their homes. The summers in Japan are much hotter and
more humid than here.
|
UniPR racing team  (UniPR racing team)
[Naoko]
The
University of Parma has a student racing team. The team leader kindly showed me
their car. They share a big laboratory with us, but we have never communicated each
other because our places are partitioned. I have only heard the sounds of their
work; they work really hard every day from morning till evening. His description
of their car was very interesting. They are going to race next month. Good luck
to them!
|
Horror movie night  (I giardini della paula)
[Naoko]
From
last night, “I Giardini della Paura” (The Gardens of Horrors) began. It is a
kind of movie festival held every summer in Parma. Horror films are shown in a public
garden and anyone can watch them for free. Fabio and I watched “Demoni” (Italy,
1985). It was little scary but funny in the end.
|
Italy won UEFA EURO2020!  (Parading cars)
[Naoko]
Last
night, Italy defeated England at the final match. After the match, firecrackers
rang out. For me, it was predictable, but what followed was beyond that. A
number of cars began to parade through the street, honking their horn
incessantly and waving the national flag. It went on for over an hour, until 2am.
I felt the difference in culture. This would never happen in Japan. If it
happens, people who feel it annoying will call the police to stop it.
|
San Marino  (View from San Marino)
[Naoko]
I
attended a conference in Ancona. Its main topic is energy engineering and I
found some interesting presentations. After the conference, I visited Rimini
and San Marino. The latter was the place of my dreams, but unfortunately not
what I was expecting. It is a nice place, but too touristy. Perhaps I let my
imagination run wild from the beautiful photos.
|
Opera  (Opera at the garden of the palace in Colorno)
[Naoko]
Last
night I saw “La Boheme” in the garden of the palace in Colorno. This is my
first time to see an opera. The owner of my flat invited me, but he didn’t come
due to the Italy vs Spain football match. I enjoyed the opera very much, although
I could hardly catch what each singer was singing. Towards the end of the
opera, the match was settled with an Italian victory and the town was in an
uproar.
|
Concert  (Orchestra concert)
[Naoko]
Last
night I went to an orchestra concert in the park. It was supposed to be held
outdoors, but due to bad weather it was moved indoors. The park is close to my
flat and I used to spend many weekends there during the lockdown. Whenever I
saw the concert hall in the park, I wanted to listen to music there when the
pandemic situation settles down. The concert was wonderful and I was happy to
see my little dream come true.
|
Japanese lunch  (Soba, rice, miso-soup, and side dishes)
[Naoko]
One of
the professors who attended the Japanese language course invited us for lunch.
To my surprise, it was a real Japanese home-cooked meal and the taste was
amazing. In particular, the simmered mackerel in miso(鯖の味噌煮) was fantastic. I know that
it is not easy to cook well because I had often failed in the past. I never
imagined that I would have such authentic Japanese dish in an Italian home.
|
Cakes like jewels in a box  (mini-cakes)
[Naoko]
Recently,
two of our colleagues celebrated their birthdays. They both treated us to mini
cakes like the one in the photo. The cakes looked gorgeous like jewels in a
box! The taste was of course good.
|
Genova  (Beach at Boccadasse)
[Naoko]
I
spend this weekend in Genova. It was my first visit and I liked it. I was
really happy to swim in the beautiful sea (I saw a lot of fishes!). I also liked
the view of the harbour with its many boats and yachts. I was excited to get
inside a submarine at the maritime museum. Generally, the inside of a submarine
is rarely open to the public due to its high-level secrecy. Although it had been decommissioned nearly 20 years
ago, it was very interesting.
|
Pontremoli  (view from castle)
[Naoko]
I
visited the village of Pontremoli in the north of Tuscany. I enjoyed walking
around the village and visiting the castle and the stone statue museum. For
lunch, I had “testaroli”, a typical pasta from this region. I didn’t know about
it beforehand, so I was surprised when it was served. It looked and tasted very
different from other pastas (it was good, of course). Then I stumbled into a
shop where I found very nice tableware and bought it. It is the work of an
artist who lives near there.
|
Japanese language class  (Teacher's presentation and Naoko)
[Naoko]
I was invited by a Japanese teacher to
participate in an online course. It was held for the professors and researchers
of the University of Parma. There were seven participants and everyone was studying
very sincerely. What particularly struck me was that they said “tadaima” when
they returned from the group work room to the main one. This is a typical
Japanese greeting that we always say to our families or partners when we come
home. Perhaps because I hadn’t said or heard it for months, it struck me
unexpectedly.
|
Museums in Cremona  (violin museum)
[Naoko]
I
visited Cremona today. One of the purposes was to visit museums: painting,
archaeology, and violin. In the city museum (Museo Civico Ala Ponzone), I was
the only visitor during the two hours I was there. I had exclusive access to
wonderful paintings! In the violin museum, a Japanese staff kindly gave me
valuable explanations. I’ll visit again to listen to the Stradivari violin
performance.
|
Aperitivo at winery  (aperitivo at winery)
[Naoko]
We
enjoyed aperitivo at a winery close to Parma. It is a special seasonal one: the
place is only open once a week during summer. We had a lovely time.
|
Venezia  (Venezia)
[Naoko]
I
visited Venezia in this weekend. I think it is a unique city that cannot be
found anywhere else in the world. It is unbelievably amazing that it has been
on the water for 1600 years, and yet the architecture has remained for hundreds
of years. I enjoyed walking, taking a lot of waterbus (“vaporetto” in Italian)
rides, visiting museums, and buying small glassware.
|
Pizza lunch, again (2 months after)  (pizza lunch with colleagues)
[Naoko]
Sometimes
one of my colleagues suggests, “How about a pizza for lunch?” Every time I was
happy to take the suggestion, but the last time it was rejected because other
colleagues said that a pizza was too heavy for lunch (I understand their point
of view). Today, we were able to get enough consent to have a pizza delivered.
The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed lunch outside.
|
Cycling in the hills  (view from top of the hill)
[Naoko]
I went
cycling for the first time since the beginning of April. So far, I’ve rode on
the flat ground, but today I rode through hilly terrain. I struggled with the
quite steep roads, but I was happy to see the beautiful scenery.
|
Students  (Students at the hallways)
[Naoko]
Lately,
the hallways of the Engineering Department are filled with students studying.
They were forced to stay home for more than a year due to the pandemic, but now
the restrictions have been relaxed. What always impresses me is how diligent
they are in their studies. It’s very different, at least compared to Japan when
I was a student. It may be changed now, though.
|
Reviewer2 jokes  (Reviewer2 meme)
[Naoko]
I
spent most of last weekend revising my manuscript and preparing responses to
the reviewers. Although I appreciated the opportunity to revise, it was really hard.
These funny memes made me smile, relaxed and encouraged me. Searching for
“reviewer2 meme”, you will find many.
https://twitter.com/PhilosophyMttrs/status/1056432895907295232/photo/1 http://jasonya.com/wp/your-manuscript-on-peer-review/ |
Sad news  (Berserk comic vol.1)
[Naoko]
I was deeply
shocked to hear that Japanese Manga artist Miura Kentaro passed away at 54. I
have been a fan of his most famous work, Berserk. It was started in 1989 and is
still serialized in the magazine. We are no longer able to see the ending of
the story. What I didn’t know, his work has inspired a lot of creators around
the world. Millions of people have expressed their condolences on the Internet.
|
Mishering  (Naoko's notebook)
[Naoko]
Studying
the imperative mood of Italian language, I realized that I misheard what
Italian people often say. When they gently urged me to speak, it sounded like they
were saying “Give me!”. I wondered why they used English words in this
particular case, but I never thought that they were saying another word. The
truth is, they said, “dimmi!” This means “tell me” in Italian. The
pronunciation was similar (at least for me), so I had misheard for 6 months.
|
Eurovision night with wonderful dinner  (Eurovision and dinner)
[Naoko]
Fabio
invited me for the dinner. He cooked “tortelli d’erbetta” (typical pasta of
Parma) and salad with “salra tonno”. We also enjoyed his great home-made rice
cake. During the dinner, we watched Eurovision. I found five or six favourite
teams, but, unfortunately some of them were not selected for Grand Final.
|
Classmate  (Classmates)
[Naoko]
I
enjoyed aperitivo with a classmate of the Italian language course. We are the
only two who have participated from the first course. Today we met in person for
the first time because all the lessons were online. He is a master’s student
and is from Rwanda. We talked about each other’s studies and life in Italy and
home country.
|
Fruits  (Strawberry and cherry)
[Naoko]
Italy
is full of wonderful food. One of my favorites is fresh domestic fruits which
are available at affordable prices. There are domestic fruits in Japan as well,
but generally they are expensive. In fact, some of them are sold as special
gift items. Today I enjoyed the cherries and the strawberries that I rarely ate
in Japan.
|
Giro d'Italia  (Giro d'Italia)
[Naoko]
The Giro
d’Italia came to Parma. A couple of months ago, I heard about it from a few
Japanese friends who are cycling fans. Honestly speaking, I didn't even know
about the Giro d’Italia before that. They highly recommended me to watch it and
told me that I am so lucky. Indeed, it was an impressive experience.
|
Firenze  (Firenze)
[Naoko]
I’ve
visited Florence (Firenze) since yesterday. It is a fantastic city, as all my
Japanese friends who visited have praised it. I spent several hours at museums
and enjoyed watching the wonderful paintings. Thanks to Fabio and his family, I
tasted some typical and very nice foods in Florence.
|
Aperitivo  (Aperitivo)
[Naoko]
We
enjoyed “aperitivo”(aperitive) this evening. I got to know this Italian culture
when I was in Japan and I looked forward to the opportunity to have it. I tried
the spritzer, which I wanted to drink since I saw a lot of people enjoyed it in
Milan. I got drunk with just one glass of the spritzer because I am not strong
against alcohol.
|
Breakfast at cafe  (cafe)
[Naoko]
One of
my friends in Japan often says to me, “If I were you, I would stop by café and
have a coffee every morning on my way to the campus”. That is his longing
lifestyle in Italy. I usually have a breakfast at home. Eventually, Instead of
him, I did it this morning. The cappuccino was very good and I decided to come
here sometimes.
|
Wonderful day at Milan  (Fabio and Naoko at Milan)
[Naoko]
We are
now able to go outside of the Emilia-Romagna under the new rules. Fabio and his
family took me around Milan all day long. I found a lot of amazing places and
buildings that I didn’t know at all. What I was most happy about was having
lunch and walking while talking with them.
|
Package from Japan  (Package from Japan)
[Naoko]
I received
a package sent by one of my best friends in Japan. It’s about 20 years since we
met at the end of our teens. It was packed with various Japanese food,
including a granola which I was crazy about at that time. Her thoughtfulness
made me so happy.
|
Yoga class  (Yoga class)
[Naoko]
I joined
the yoga class organized by the university in this morning. It was held
outdoors and about 40 participants sat at a social distance. I couldn’t fully
understand what the teacher explained in Italian, but I was able to keep up
with the class, because she showed us the demonstration. I enjoyed it very much.
|
Lunch with MSCA fellow from india  (Vinayak and Naoko)
[Naoko]
I was
invited for the lunch by Vinayak, who is the another MSCA-IF-2019 fellow. He
comes from southern India and cooked three kinds of authentic Indian curries: beans,
vegetables, and chicken. He used the spices brought from India. Everything was
very nice and I ate too much.
|
The pizza of Osaka  (Fabio and Naoko showing Okonomiyaki)
[Fabio]
This
is my first homemade okonomiyaki, called also "pizza of Osaka". This is
the first time Naoko cooled for a friend. It is rather uncommon, in
Japan, cooking for friends because it is very intimate.
|
Unacceptable combination  (Ketchup and pasta)
[Naoko] I get
to know that pasta seasoned with ketchup is one of the most unacceptable food
for Italian people. Fabio called it a serious crime. In Japan, there is a
popular ketchup-based spaghetti. I don’t know why, but we call it “Napolitan.” Therefore,
some Japanese think it comes from Napoli (Naples). Of course not!
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Plants  (Poinsettia and basil)
[Naoko] The
poinsettia which I bought in December survived this winter and has grown. I
bought soil and a big pot at the garden shop and replanted it. I also bought a
basil pot there. The poinsettia got a friend.
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Amaretti  (Amaretti cake) [Naoko]
Amaretti
are traditional Italian biscuits. They are made of almonds, eggs, and sugar (no
flour and butter!). They are often used as ingredients for cakes. I tried
cooking an “amaretti and apple cake” with the amaretti that Fabio gave me. The
surface of cake looks darker than that of picture in the recipe, but the taste
was good.
|
Burrata  (Burrata) [Naoko]
I
tried a burrata for the first time. I leaned it from Fabio at the supermarket.
It was a little surprise that there are several kinds of fresh cheese, because
I only knew mozzarella. When I cut it, the cream flowed out from the inside.
The taste was amazing!
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Happy Easter!  (Happy Easter with PHP!) [Fabio]
Our PHP looks like and Easer egg! Wishing you sunshine, good times and a very happy Easter!
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Picnic lunch  (Picnic lunch) [Naoko]
We had
a picnic in the field between the buildings in the campus. The pizza were
delivered from a pizzeria off campus. I tried “salsiccia and friarielli” and it
was very good. What a lovely lunch it was!
|
Daylight saving time  (Piazza Galibaldi) [Naoko]
The daylight
saving time has started last Sunday. It is still light out even at 8pm, as the
photo shows. It was taken at 7:50pm in Piazza Garibaldi (main square of Parma).
It is a bit strange but exciting, that the outside is still light even late in
the evening.
|
Strike, again  (Strada Galibaldi) [Naoko]
The
bus didn’t come. Based on the previous experience, I assumed the reason was a
strike and started to walk from the campus to my flat. I found that my assumption
was correct at a bus stop on the way. I walked for 80 minutes, practicing
pronunciation of Italian “r”. My legs and mouth (and tongue) got so tired!
|
Polenta  (Polenta) [Naoko]
Fabio
cooked polenta for me. I had seen it in the book, but I misunderstood it as
omelet or cake because of its yellow color. In fact, it was quite different
from anything else. I like its mild taste. I remembered Japanese rice porridge.
|
Made in Italy - Ligabue  (Made in Italy by Ligabue) [Naoko]
A new
(advanced) Italian language course started. Fortunately, I passed the previous one
with an incredibly high score for me. On the first day, we leaned a song “Made
in Italy” from Ligabue. I didn’t like it very much when I only listened to it. After
the class, I watched the video and immediately became a fan of him.
|
Cycling  (Rocca di San Vitale, Sala Baganza) [Naoko]
My
colleague lent me a bike. I enjoyed cycling about 40 km round trip between
Parma and Sala Baganza. I didn’t get tired at all, because the road was flat
and the bike was pleasant to ride. Also, the view of lush green fields was great
to see.
|
Blooming!  (Blooming flowers) [Naoko]
Spring
flowers started blooming. I remembered my favourite old poem: “my dear plum
tree, send me your fragrance whenever east wind blows; remember spring even
after your master is gone”. It was read over 1000 years ago, by a Japanese poet/politician
who was expelled from Kyoto to Kyushu (500 km west of Kyoto) due to political
incident. I like the sad but beautiful lyrics.
|
Covid-19 war  (Vaccination site at Parma) [Fabio]
The whole Potplos team has been vaccinated. We are very lucky. Thanks Emilia Romagna and University of Parma.
|
Exam of Italian language course  (Naoko's notebook) [Naoko]
Today
I took the exam online. When I woke up in this morning, I recognized that I had
been thinking about “loro erano, loro hanno…(verb conjugation)” in my dream.
Although I don’t have to pass it, I may have been nervous. The student who
finished the exam earliest encouraged me just before leaving the site. I was
still struggling to write texts and was glad to hear his encouragement.
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International Women's Day  (Flower of mimosa) [Naoko]
I got to
know that mimosa is used as a gift for women today in Italy. I also learned and
talked about Women’s Day in the Italian language course. Like many pre-modern
people, my parents, especially my father, thought that girls’ education is far
less important than boys’ (my brother’s). Fortunately for me, they eventually allowed
me to go on the university and (unwillingly) supported my tuition. I sincerely wish
that every girl in the world is never treated unfairly and has hope for her
future.
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Cook Japanese food  (Okonomiyaki and karaage)
[Naoko]
I cooked
okonomiyaki (left side, vegetable pancake) and karaage (right, fried chicken)
as a rehearsal to invite people. I don’t know why, but I’ve rarely missed
Japanese food since I came to Italy. I bought soy source in an Asian food shop
and other foodstuff in the supermarket. I expected the success since they
looked and smelled good, but I disappointed when I tasted them.
|
Sanremo  (Fabio and Naoko watcing Sanremo show) [Fabio]
It is easier to explain to a Japanese girl thermodynamics than Sanremo show.
|
Astronauts with disabilities  (Top: ESA's parastronaut project, bottom: interview) [Fabio]
Today,
we were interviewed by ParmAteneo about the fact that ESA - European
Space Agency opens the selection for astronauts to disabled people as
well. The interview will be published soon. Thanks Camilla Ardissone
and University of Parma.
|
Hair cut  (Naoko during haircut)
[Naoko]
I went to a hair salon which I
often passed by on my way to the Cathedral. The stylists warmly welcomed me,
even though we couldn’t communicate very much in Italian or English. A woman
with a cool hairstyle cut my hair. It was interesting to have my haircut while
standing for the first few minutes. I like her great work.
|
Italian language course  (Book of Italian language course)
[Naoko]
I take
two hours a day online Italian classes from Monday to Thursday. I thought 2
hours would be quite tough, but it wasn’t at all. Using not only a book but
also quiz and games, the teacher teaches us the grammar and Italian culture.
The students joined from all over the world and, After wondering where to
visit, I went to Piacenza, a historic city on the northwestern tip of
Emilia-Romagna. I saw wonderful frescoes and paintings in several churches. At
Piazza Cavalli, I was fascinated by two dynamic and vigorous equestrian statues
created in the 17th century. I liked the duke on the horseback, but,
unfortunately, I couldn’t take a good picture of his face due to the backlight.
|
Last trip before new travel restriction 
(Piazza Cavalli, Piacenza)
[Naoko]
After
wondering where to visit, I went to Piacenza, a historic city on the
northwestern tip of Emilia-Romagna. I saw wonderful frescoes and paintings in
several churches. At Piazza Cavalli, I was fascinated by two dynamic and
vigorous equestrian statues created in the 17th century. I liked the duke on
the horseback, but, unfortunately, I couldn’t take a good picture of his face
due to the backlight.
|
Sleeping beauty of Italy - Mantova  (Naoko at Mantova)
[Naoko]
After
leaving ITIS E. Fermi, we walked around Mantova. It is a quiet and beautiful
city by the lakes, as it is called “sleeping beauty of Italy.” I thought it is
fantastic that the city has both the lakes and historic architectures.
|
Martedi grasso  (Italian language course)
[Naoko]
In the
beginning of today’s Italian language class, the teacher asked us “is it a
special Tuesday or normal one today?” Then she told us that today is the last
day of the carnival. called “Martedi grasso (fat Tuesday).” People celebrate
the carnival with eating a lot of sweets. Studying on the carnival, I understood
why I found a dressed kid and a lot of confetti on the road this morning.
|
Modena Cathedral  (Modena Cathedral)
[Naoko]
I visited Modena. Today was a beautiful sunny
day and I enjoyed walking around this small city. I joined a Mass at Modena
Cathedral, which is one of the UNESCO World Heritages. I saw wonderful
paintings and sculptures created in 13-15 centuries. It is amazing that such
arts and architectures not only remain but also are still used, as they were at
that time.
|
Disgraceful news  (News on reasignation of Tokyo 2020 Olympics Chief)
[Naoko]
I rarely
find news about Japan on TV, even on satellite broadcasts. I felt disgraceful
that one of them was the resignation of Tokyo Olympics chief Mr. Mori, who was
widely blamed due to his sexist comments. In 2019, World Economic Forum
reported that Japan’s gender gap index is 121st out of 153 countries
(Italy is 76th). It’s a shame, but this was a symbolic news of Japan.
|
Congratulations to new MSCA-IF winners!  (MSCA-IF-2020 image at European Comission's website)
[Naoko]
I heard
the good news from a Japanese applicant. Last year I wrote blogs about my
experience of proposal writing to promote MSCA-IF to Japanese researchers. She
read them and asked me to review her proposal. I did it, remembering what was
pointed out when mine was reviewed. At that time, I was also helped by people
whom I had never met. I think I could pay it forward a bit.
|
Waiting for bus  (Degital display and bus) [Naoko]
The
bus didn’t arrive at the campus even 20 minutes after the departure time. There
were three other people. No one knew why it didn’t come. We walked to outside
the campus and kept waiting. After another 30 minutes, the bus finally came.
When it stopped at a bus stop, I understood the reason. The digital display
said, “due to strike.” I didn’t know it at all, because there are no displays at
the campus but stop.
|
A short trip to Bologna  (Bologna Piazza Maggiore ) [Naoko]
I visited Bologna today. This is the first time
I’ve been out of Parma since I came here. As a colleague from Bologna told me,
it was quite different from Parma. It’s a big city with many tourists. A lot of
arcades and reddish-coloured buildings left me an impression. I’d like to go
again to visit libraries and museums that were closed today.
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Beautiful tone  (Pipe organ of Parma Cathedral) [Naoko]
Recently,
I join a Mass at the Cathedral every weekend. I write down some of Father’s
words that I can catch, and check their meaning at home. I’m sorry for the religious
people, but my most favourite is pipe organ sound. The musician keeps playing
for a few minutes after the Mass is over. I always stay and listen to it even
after the people are gone.
|
Virtual life  (Online meeting) [Fabio]
COVID-19 doesn't stop Potplos. Virtual meetings can be, sometimens, also funny.
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Health insurance  (AUSL Parma) [Naoko]
I registered
for national health insurance at AUSL (local health authority). This is my
third insurance: one is Japanese one and the other is a private one. I think
Italian insurance is great because it costs only 150 euros a year. In fact, it’s
less than the monthly payments for Japanese national insurance. (I’ve still
continued to pay it even after leaving Japan and being unpaid by Japanese
organization!)
|
Got the permission to stay in Italy  (Questura di Parma (top) and Naoko's card of "Permesso di Soggiorno" (bottom)) [Naoko]
Today
I
received “Permesso di soggiorno” at Questura di Parma. It took more
than three months from the application, and seven months from
the preparation for “nulla osta”. It was certainly a long and laborious
procedure
(but I think it’s still average or even shorter than usual). Thanks to
the
support of everyone involved, I finally got the official permission!
|
Nice boys' beanies  (Colleagues in front of the bar) [Naoko]
It's been
very cold these days. Everyday I go to a bar in the campus to buy a sandwich
for lunch with my colleagues. We often have to wait outside due to the limited
number of people in the bar. All three of them were wearing very nice beanies,
which was impressive.
|
Public campus  (A dog in the campus) [Naoko]
A cute
dog was walking with his or her owner when I opened the door of our building. I
often see people taking a walk or jogging in the campus, particularly on beautiful
sunny days like today. I think it is one of the good points of our (or Italian)
university. Even in Japan, university campuses are generally public place, but I
used to rarely see such people or dogs.
|
Cobblestone path  (Cobblestone path in Parma) [Naoko]
Parma has many beautiful cobblestone paths. I enjoy not only the scenery but also the sounds. I don’t know why, but I like the sound of car tires running on cobblestones very much ever since I heard it first during my first trip to Europe. (The cobblestones are rarely seen in Japan.) The sound is something like a healing music for mey. |
Attractive visual displays  (Beautiful dress and decorations)
[Naoko]A beautiful
green dress jumped out at me on my way home. I was fascinated by it and the
fantastic decorations surrounding it and couldn’t get away from the window for
a while (the shop was already closed). One of my favourites in Italy is attractive
visual displays on the street. I always enjoy walking while seeing them even it
is the same street every day.
|
A comic came back to its homeland  (DYLAN DOG)
[Naoko] The received the last package I sent from Japan,
including this comic. It was a gift from my first Italian friend about 10 years
ago. We met at European Space Agency’s facility in the Netherland, where he
worked as an Infrared camera engineer. He loved comics and was more familiar
with Japanese anime than me. Now I’m in Italy to conduct research using
infrared camera. It is an interesting coincidence!
|
Happy new year  (Parma cathedral)
[Naoko] The new
year began with laud fireworks sounds heard here and there. I enjoyed them with
opening all the windows in my house. It lasted at least 30 minutes, so in the
end I was freezing. I joined the mass at Parma Cathedral (see the image) in the
morning and evening of New Year’s Day. All the best wishes in 2021!
|
Pizza night  (Pamela and Michiele)
[Naoko] I had a
Napoli pizza with my colleague Pamela and her fiancé Michiele at their home. The
pizza were delivered from Pamela’s favourite pizzeria. I learned that the
Napoli pizza has a unique crust. She was busy translating Italian and English
for him and me. A great meal with a lovely couple made me very happy.
|
Shopping and eating  (Naoko in front of noodle shop)
[Naoko] I went
to a shuge
shopping mall with Fabio. We bought some foods. On the way home, we took away
Japanese noodles and some fried foods. The shop was very crowded with customers
who bought noodles and sushi. I was glad to see the Japanese (or Asian, at
least) food shop is popular. I enjoyed the dinner my flat.
|
Christmas village  (Naoko at Chrismas village)
[Naoko] I went
to a special shop for Christmas decoration with Fabio. The most interesting was
Christmas diorama. I’ve never seen it in Japan. There were many miniatures and
some of them were so realistic! I was impressed by the beautiful poinsettias,
too, and I bought one of them. I happily welcomed the first and only plant in
my flat.
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Cooking!  (Foccaccia and minestrone)
[Naoko] I
cooked focaccia and minestrone with referring to a book written by famous food
blogger Benedetta Rossi. It’s a gift from Fabio. I had not cooked more than
boiling pasta and mixing it with a bottled sauce since I came to Italy. I like
it, but I found the one I cooked was also good. I’ll try to cook all recipes in
the book one by one.
|
First snow in Parma  (Fabio and Naoko at campus)
[Naoko]
The first snow of this winter has fallen in Parma. To my surprise, Fabio predicted it exactly yesterday afternoon. In the morning, there wasn’t much snow in the city center, so I went to the campus by bus as usual. As I approached there, the scenery gradually turned white. The campus was covered in a blanket of snow! |
|
Naoko's birthday
 (from the left: Fabio, Naoko, Sara, and Pamela)
[Naoko]
Today is my birthday. I bought a pistachio cream cake (I love pistachios!) on my way to the university and I celebrated with my colleagues after the lunch. It was the first time for me to celebrate the birthday with colleagues on 23 November since it is a national holiday of Japan (Labor Thanksgiving Day). I’m glad it isn’t a holiday in Italy! |
|
Sushi in Italy
 (Sushi at Japanese restaurant)
[Naoko] I had a lunch at a Japanese restaurant with my colleague and her fiance. She told me it is the best in Parma. It was crowded as if to support her words. I enjoyed two kinds of sushi (the above is one of them). Both were great, while they were completely different from typical sushi in Japan. It is much simpler and mostly made of just rice and a raw fish. Thinking of my conservative Japanese friends, I wondered what they would say if they see them. |
|
Make espresso with "Moka"
 (Naoko's moka - coffee maker) One of my first experiences in Italy was making an espresso with a “moka”. For me, the espresso was something I drink at a cafe or made with an automatic machine and I never imagined making it myself. I learned how to use it on the internet. At first I was worried if I could make it well, but it was not difficult. (To be honest, I’m not sensitive for the taste of coffee, so I’m not sure whether it is really good or not.) |
|
Procedures to live in Italy
 (Prefettura di Parma)
[Naoko] What I did first just after the quarantine is submitting “permesso di soggiorno” (residency permission) and finding a flat. Prior to that, I sent several messages to the real estate agents, but I never received the replies, so I gave up to find it on the internet. Thanks to my supervisor’s great support, I found a very nice flat in the city center in just two days! I went to the prefettura (prefectural office) to change the address because I submitted an application form (“KIT”) of permesso di soggiorno with my temporary address. I opened a bank account after signing a flat rental contract. The first week went by in these step-by-step activities to start a life in Italy. |
Arrived
in Italy and two-weeks quarantine
 (Fabio and Naoko in his car at MXP, taken on 05/10/2020)
[Naoko]After I
moved fromMXP to Parma, I spent a self-quarantine at a temporary
accommodation there. I didn’t go out at all except for a couple of
times. It
was a strange period I had never spent, but it was not harder than I
imagined
because Fabio and his colleagues cared about me a lot. I enjoyed Yoga
sometimes
with joining Japanese on-line class. (I was glad I hand-carried the
yoga mat
from Japan!) I was never required to report my health status nor take a
swab
test for 2 weeks. The quarantine ended on 18 October anyway.
|
Left from Japan  (Tokyo Narita Airport, taken on 04/10/2020)
[Naoko] I
left Japan on the morning of
4 October 2020. There were only a few tourists at Tokyo Narita Airport,
which
was a sight I had never seen before while I have used it dozens of
times. Almost
all the shops and restaurants were closed. I found one or two
passengers in
each row on board Air France flight 275. In contrast, the flight from
Paris to
Milan was full. I took a Covid-19 PCR swab test upon arriving at
Malpensa
Airport (MXP) since Italian government declared it necessary for
passengers
from Paris, but, curiously enough, no one else took the test.
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