Summer is coming! Many of us are already starting to think about vacations and holidays. The absolute majority of tourists under summer vacation understands nothing else than a holiday at the seaside. The most prestigious tourist magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, conducted a survey among its readers about the most preferred tourist destinations. Resulted that Italy is at the top in the nomination “Best Country”.
Today we host Ivelina Georgieva, who lives in this beautiful country, and, particularly, in the capital of Southern Italy, Naples. A Bulgarian by birth, Ivelina is one of the founders of the portal “Naples in Slavic”, which helps Russian-speaking tourists and residents of Italy to find all the necessary information about the country and this region, as well as to become part of such a warm and family-like community.
Thus, today we have the opportunity to talk about Italy and its culture, as well as about such an interesting personal experience of Ivelina.
Pinngle: For many years you have been living in Naples. Tell us, please, how did it happen that you decided to move from Bulgaria to Italy?
Ivelina: At that time Bulgaria just entered the European Union, and many Bulgarians left the country. Not because they did not like their homeland, but because it became harder to live. Factories were closed, it was difficult to find work and support your family. Therefore, leaving their clean, beautiful country, the Bulgarians moved to work in Europe. To survive. To help with money their relatives who stayed in Bulgaria. I did the same.
At that time, the most accessible countries for the Bulgarians were Greece and Italy. Here it was much easier to find a job without documents in comparison, for example, to same Germany. It means you could come here and start earning money already in two days. That is why there was no question for me, which country to choose.
Pinngle: And what did you like most, what made you stay here for a long time? Have you ever thought about returning to Bulgaria?
Ivelina: I came to Italy and … stayed. Everyone who comes here, to the south of Italy, realizes that does not want to leave these places anymore. And it’s not just because I got used quickly to a new life and new places. The point is rather that here I felt more needed than before while living at home.
I go out to work in the morning and meet neighbors, sellers from stores and shops… They all smile, greet me, ask how things are going. And I also smile to them. And I am heartily glad to see them: their smiles, their friendliness, and respect for me. Neighbors, sometimes, come for advice about one or another issue, we chat about different women’s themes, and I feel comfortable. The south of Italy is the place where you can feel like a person, as in good films, when you go out into the street, and everyone knows each other.
Here, in Morano, I can go out with my child at 22:00, and no one will bother me, I will feel peaceful. In contrary to all the myths and stereotypes about crime here in Naples, we feel very comfortable.
And where to go back? To poverty? To the place where people walk with sad or even evil faces? Where on the streets the police stop you and ask for the documents? No, I want to stay here. I work well and I am respected.
I can say that many people who return home to Bulgaria, sooner or later, come back here. Because here they have more opportunities for work and life.
Pinngle: It seems that in the modern world more and more people are choosing mobility. Thanks to globalization, it becomes easier every year. Do you think this happens also due to the development of new technologies and, in particular, to mobile applications that allow people to stay in touch with their relatives and friends, feel their support and presence in their lives, even despite the huge distance between their homeland and any new place of residence that they choose?
Ivelina: Yes, of course, the Internet gives us more opportunities for communication. You do not call your family for three minutes anymore, saving every penny, but you can contact via Skype or Facebook and not only hear, but also see the interlocutor. You can write a message in real time, instead of waiting for a letter all the week or even month. This gives you much more freedom while allowing you to stay in touch with your loved ones all the time. And that is priceless.
Pinngle: You are one of the administrators of the Russian-language portal of the South of Italy “Naples in Slavic” (“Неаполь по-славянски”), which unites people who speak the same language and have similar cultures. Tourists entering your website can find there the best tours, places to rest, and sightseeings of the city, that have to be included in their visit. And the Slavs, who have already settled in Italy, get the opportunity to follow all the news and discuss any topic of their interest on the website forum. Do you think that it is important also to have your own channel or group on mobile applications, for example on a platform like Pinngle, that provides the highest level of data protection and security?
Ivelina: It is always necessary to keep pace with the times and take into account the needs of our regular and potential readers. Our portal has its pages on social media that are actively used. We are still unfamiliar with the Pinngle platform, but we are ready to try to create our own channel or group on it. The main thing is that our readers find it convenient to learn useful and interesting information that we are trying to provide them.
Pinngle: Today we use mobile messengers almost all the day, which makes communication much more convenient for any modern person. Do you think that Pinngle group chat and public channels can bring together and make closer members of one community by helping them to stay in touch with their friends and have access to all the necessary information every second, even while on the road?
Ivelina: Of course, modern instant messengers bring people together, although sometimes it seems that the Internet distances us from real life. Could we imagine ten years ago that will be able to communicate with a person in real time and see him while he is thousands of kilometers far away from us? And that’s even without taking into account the convenience of finding information on the road. Now we do not have to look for how to tell our family and friends that we have reached this or that place, we can send a photo or video and share our impressions on the live stream. As well, people with similar interests can communicate in communities and groups, read public channels of their interests, which give useful information to them.
Pinngle: Ivelina, what would you advise our readers who want to visit Italy? What to expect, how to behave, what to try, what to see and what to do, regardless of the time that they are going to spend here?
Ivelina: The most important thing that I want to advise all travelers is to respect the traditions and customs of the country to which they travel. Wherever you go, to Italy or Greece, it is important to behave politely, then the locals will always respond to you with reciprocity. And if you visit us at the south of Italy, at least for a week, you will be pleasantly surprised that the neighbors will start to greet you two days later. Of course, if, you’ll be friendly.
As for visiting local attractions, on the Internet you can find a lot of information about it. And, first of all, on our website. But I, personally, would advise you to abandon the typical tourist routes and bus excursions, and use the services of local guides, that, by the way, can be found on our portal. You can even just stroll through the streets of the city, through the same non-tourist places. It is there that you can see the real Italian life, with all its colors and atmosphere.
Well, and as a resident of Naples, I can assure you that nowhere will you try such pizza, as in its homeland, in our hospitable Naples.
