A couple of weeks ago, we wrote to Michael Ivy, who runs the Rome Metrozine, amongst other things, to ask him some questions. Here is our letter, and Michael's answers!
Dear Mike,
We have some questions for you. If you don’t mind, could you answer them? Thanks!
Carolina, Inês, Leonor, Alex, João, Pedro
Personal Questions
Where do you live? What type of house do you live in?
I live in the San Giovanni district of Rome. I live in an apartment building in the “Società Cooperative per le Case Economiche”. These were originally built for the railway workers at nearby Termini Station according to the father of a girl I went out with, who lived there himself when he was a student. But now all kinds of people live there. The parents of the singer Luciano Battisti used to live upstairs.
Where are you from? London.
Are you married? Have you got any children? No to both questions for the time being!
How old are you? Fifty-four.
Do you wear glasses? Yes.
Have you got a mobile phone? Yes. It is an old Nokia 6350 i. The battery lasts an amazingly long time between charges.
What type of gadgets have you got? I’ve got a very old Handspring PDA. I keep all my phone numbers on it, as well as my expenses.
Have you got any pets? No.
Why do you live in Rome? Because I teach at the British Council here. How long have you lived in Rome? Ten years.
What’s your favourite food? Difficult: it’s a choice between “foie gras” and spaghetti alle vongole” – a seafood spaghetti.
Do you like animals? Most of the time as long as they don’t give me any grief. What’s your favourite animal? Difficult. I quite like cats and monkeys, some dogs and snakes. Perhaps one of my favourites is the owl. You can have conversations with them at night.
Hobbies and Interests
What do you like doing in your free time? Taking photographs, going on bike rides, editing my photos on the computer, and, lately, hiking in the hills in my new boots.
What kind of music do you like? Rai, rock and roll, soul, jazz, blues, classical, African. What is your favourite? One of my favourites is the Algerian singer Cheb Khaled. Though I also admire Italian singers like Roberto Murolo, Mia Martinio, Mina and Pino Daniele.
What kind of film do you like most? All kinds: adventure, surrealist, thrillers… What is your favourite film? One of the best ever was “Doctor Strangelove”. Stanley Kubrick was a brilliant man. Also most films by the Spaniard Luis Bunuel.
Do you play any musical instrument? No I am afraid not. I regret this.What is your favourite instrument? Acoustic (classical) guitar. Also the saxophone.
Do you like sport? Football up to a point (I am not really a fan) and cycling. Which sport or sports do you play? I used to play squash until a few years ago.Do you like yoga? I probably would do if I knew more about it. Mark does! What’s your favourite football team? Ummm. Used to support Napoli when we had Maradona. Now I am not sure.
Work Questions
How long have you been teaching? For about thirty years.
How long have you been posting students’ work on the internet? For about ten years.
Why did you decide to create the Rome Metrozine? To give my students a means of expressing themselves online. But I think we now need a new formula. I am proposing to drop the Metrozine, which is very Web 1.0. It is better to use a blog or similar site where students can post their work directly. That’s giving the user control over the content – very Web 2.0. Where does the word ‘Metrozine’ come from? Metro(polis) (Maga)zine.
Do you work at the weekend? Not unless it’s unavoidable.
Did you do something else before you created the Rome Metrozine? Yes, I created an online magazine for students in Naples. It has vanished now.
Why did you become a teacher? Partly in order to travel. I could have gone all round the world. But I arrived in Naples, and two years became nearly twenty. It often happens like that.
Other
Have you ever been to Porto? Yes, several times. Why? Because I have quite a close friend there called Paula. She lives in Matosinhos and she is an architect. She studied under a famous architect called Alvaro Vieira Siza. When? Last time was five years ago.
Have you ever lost a shoe? Yes, I once lost a pair at an ice rink.
Have you ever found something valuable? Never, I am afraid.
Have you ever eaten something strange, like sheep’s eyes? Yes. When I lived in the Sahara I ate goats’ testicles.
Do you like pasta? Yes, I love it. It's our national dish.
What’s your favourite funny expression in English? “You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can’t wipe your friends off on your pants.”
Thanks very much indeed, Michael, for taking the time to answer all these questions.
Students - do check out Michael's latest project, 'Thank Blog it's Friday'.
