Fabio Pozzati: «I like to know languages,
but I don’t like to study them»

This school year three foreign students have come to school № 1. Of course, everybody wants to know them better. I met Fabio Pozzati and asked him some questions. We talked in English. So, Fabio came to Russia from Italy. For three months he will study at school № 1 in the 10th grade and live with a host family.

— Do you like our town?
— Yes. I love Russia. I want to see Moscow again. I have already been there, but during my first visit I saw almost nothing because we were sitting in a café and waiting for the girls who had gone shopping. But I was lucky to see the Kremlin and to have a walk across Red Square.

— Have you been to our Alexandrov Kremlin yet?
— In Sloboda? Oh, yes, I was very impressed, and, indeed, the Russian architecture is very beautiful, domes look like ice-cream.

— (I thought ice cream was a very funny comparison!) Have you been to any other countries except Russia?
— I have been to Great Britain, it is very beautiful. I would also like to visit France in July, but I think it’s very expensive. I have also travelled across Italy.

— What is the most beautiful place in Italy?
— Oh, there are many of them, I cannot choose only one place. Italy is very beautiful. I think that the world in general is very beautiful.

— What are you going to do when you come back home?
— Most likely, I’ll go to Milan with my family or friends.

— Do you have many friends in Italy? Have you any friends here?
— Yes, in Italy I have a lot of friends. In my host family in Alexandrov I have a «brother», his name is Sasha. We often go out in the evenings.

— What is your hobby?
— I’ve been playing the bass for eight months, but not so well, I think. I can sing a little because we had a rock-band in Italy. I played the bass guitar and was a back-vocalist. By the way, I play the bass guitar in «The House of Creativity» in Alexandrov.

— Wow, do you like rock music?
— Yes, very much, especially such groups as AC-DC, Led Zeppelin.

— What do you think of the weather here? Is it cold for you?
— Оh, yes! It is very cold, much colder than in Italy. 10 degrees above zero in September is too little, and the wind is so cold (during our talk we were standing in the street). Now in Italy the temperature is 26 degrees and even higher, but summers are usually unbearably hot.

— After these words I want to go to Italy… And could you tell about your relations with teachers?
— Here they are much stricter. In Italy if students have questions during the lesson, they ask a teacher, but in Russia they don’t do this. I think in Italy lessons are more informative. Here during a lesson some students can scream, laugh and even use mobile phones. In Italy we cannot use phones in class. There is one more difference: here we must wear a school uniform, in Italy you can go to school dressed as you like.

— Many people here are against school uniforms…
— For me, this is not particularly important, I like to dress like everyone else, I do not like to do everything I can to get something like «popularity.»

— What else is different in the Russian and Italian school systems?
— Hmm… We have three schools: the first one is where young children study, the second one is for teens from about 12 to 16 years, and of course, the high school.

— Are you a good student in Italy?
— Yes, I am. I like to study. So, let’s see: you get up early, go to school and spend from five to seven hours there, do homework, and all this for nothing? Well, no, I do not like wasting my time!

— I agree with you. Do you have any favorite school subjects?
— Yes, I love economy very much.

— In our school we haven’t such a subject , it is taught only in colleges. Are you going to become an economist?
— Yes, probably I am. Most of all I like working with money, although money is not everything for me.

— Tell me, why do they call you students, not pupils?
— You know, in Italy we are students not pupils. It is normal.

— How long are you planning to stay here?
— Two or three months because my mom thinks that studying here is difficult.

— Can anyone become an exchange student or only a special one?
— It usually is a rather long process: you fill in an application form, then you should take a psychological test, it is checked up by specialists and the administrators come to your parents, have a talk with them and then make a decision to send you to a country or not.

— Wow, it’s very interesting, so, anyone can become an exchange student, can’t he?
— I think everyone has a chance.

— How many languages do you know and what is your favorite one?
— English, Italian, of course, French. My favorite ones are probably English and Spanish. But I know Spanish not very well. I like to know the languages, but I do not like to study them.
When I travel I always try to study the language of the country, but usually not more than a few spoken phrases.

— Have you seen any Russian movies, or maybe listened to Russian songs?
— No, I’ve never heard Russian songs, and as for movies, I just don’t understand them.

— You said that you often went for a walk with your «brother.» Where do you usually go to in our town?
— We often go to the shopping centre «Sasha.» We have also visited the cinema «Saturn». It is very big, much bigger than cinemas in my home town. But in Italy, not far from the place where I live there are some cinemas and cafes where you can play video games.

— Do you like video games?
— No, not really, I prefer reading fantasy, or playing the guitar.

— That’s very nice! I also like to read fantasy books and play the guitar. What is your favorite book?
— You probably don’t know it, it’s Italian. If it is published in Russia, read it, I think you’ll like it. (Fabio told me the name of the book, but, unfortunately, I cannot remember its name because I don’t know Italian.)

— What about the Italian and Russian food? Is it very different?
— The main difference is that we don’t use water for cooking, but Russians use it very often, I do not understand why. We usually use water for drinking, not for cooking.

— Do you have any favorite Italian food?
— Yes, the Capulets.

— Is it where rice is used?
— Yes, rice, cream, tomatoes and etc. Have you ever tasted it?

— No, but I think it is delicious. And what Russian food do you prefer?
— I like some soups and potatoes. It is very strange for me that you use water for cooking meatballs and pasta, in Italy we don’t do it.

— Are there any negative sides in Italy?
— Perhaps, there are some. (Fabio looks at pigeons) There is a great number of these birds in Italy, we don’t like them.

— Oh, do the birds make any harm?
— They spoil buildings and monuments…

— Anyway, thank you for the interview, Fabio! It was very interesting to talk to you.
— No problem, it was nice to meet you!

It turned out that we have much in common with Fabio. He also lives in a small town Kodigoro, where teenagers have nothing to do. Only I felt a little awkward about our misbehaving at school and very sorry for the pigeons.

Nastya Grishina.
Photo by the author.
Editor Tatyana Nikitina