Nonna's Mulberry Tree

Join Nonna’s Mulberry Tree

October 1 – 15, 2016

Alghero, Sardinia

Gulp – who knew that the first Nonna’s Mulberry Tree Travel Event would have been such a success! Our 2015 journey to Alghero, Sardinia was a huge hit! We partnered with an incredible language school – Centro Meditterraneo Pintadera.

Thirteen independent travelers improved their Italian Language Skills, immersed themselves in Italian Culture, lived like a local, shopped the market and strolled Alghero’s sea wall.

It is time to register for our 2016 excursion back to this charming island. Pintadera really provides incredible “bang for the buck” – or in this case Euro. The trip is limited to 15 adventurers. Ten days of classes, cultural activities, welcoming gathering, welcoming dinner and concierge services costs €680. Registration fee is $50. Housing prices are based on your accommodations and range between €400 – €800 for the two weeks.

That means for less than €1500 you can spend two weeks in Alghero, take ten – three hour classes (lessons from 9 to 1pm with coffee break, so four hours – total 40hours of language classes in two weeks) and have a wickedly great time! For the complete packet of information – leave me a comment!

Here is what 2015 adventurer Aileen Mroz had to say:

This is the second time I have attended a 2-week class at Centro Mediterraneo Pintadera, and it was even better than the first time I went.

One of the best features is that classes are small, typically 4 to 6 people.    The teachers are personable and are from Alghero, yet their Italian is the best and of the highest level.  They ensure that each person participates fully during class, yet you don’t feel pressured.   There is a perfect blend of conversation, grammar, and reading.   The instructors adjust the topics for the classes on a dime toward whatever problem areas they notice the class is experiencing (e.g. prepositions, the subjunctive, pronouns), so that you get an extra boost of practice in those areas.   Although parts of learning a language can be very dry, there is no chance of that in Pintadera because the teachers incorporate local stories and much humor during class.    I laughed so much during class at Pintadera that my stomach would ache, and I could just feel my endorphin levels spiking!  (Check out Jack laughing while learning.)

At midmorning every day, you go to a nearby café for a break with all the students in the school.   You get a chance to sample the wonderful espresso, have a delicious pastry, or just sip a Diet Coke while you’re chatting.   I think you learn just as much, if not more, from the breaks as from the classes. Your fellow students may be from the U.S., or Germany, or Sri Lanka, or Norway, or Switzerland; and you see them every day in class and on break, and maybe for a meal or a trip to the beach.    You get to hear, first hand, what folks from other countries think about the US, get their points of view on the international situation, listen to funny stories and interesting customs; and find out the inside political scoop in other countries.

The directors of the school, Nicola and Angela, go the extra distance to make you feel taken care of.   They arrange for your transportation to and from the airport;  to find picturesque, comfortable apartments or rooms to in which to live while you’re at the school;  to introduce students to the local cuisine and wines;  to organize side trips or outings which suit each person’s wishes—-whether it’s a hike;  a boat trip on the ocean to Neptune’s Grotto with the tang of adventure when you step across a narrow gangplank from a heaving mini-ferry into a sea cave with caverns the size of a football field; or a chug around Alghero in a little brightly colored open train and a local narrator with funny stories.

Ken Kowalski added: The consistency of the high quality teaching and the expertly organized series of lessons over the two weeks, developed my abilities to listen to, understand, and speak the Italian language well beyond what happens in once-a-week classes at home. Add to that the reinforcement of speaking Italian with classmates after school and in shops and eateries around Alghero made this a powerful learning experience.

Raymond Barbieri touched me deeply with this comment:  The experience put me back in touch with my ancestry and I appreciated my family more than ever. I realized how much Italian I knew and how much more I needed to learn, which makes me feel excited. There is so much more I can tell you but I will close by saying that I never felt more at home in a foreign place. Thank you for your experience, drive, love of our Italian history and your good nature.

2016 is your year to enhance your Italian with a trip to Centro Mediterreano Pintadera! Let me know today!

Annarita Mancini wrote this story in English.  I Translated it into Italian.  It was an opportunity for both of us to work on our language skills.  Enjoy!

“I sogni possono diventare realtà e possono avverarsi se sei giovane nel cuore” – e ambizioso, brillante, diligente e ti dedichi 500% alla tua idea. Questa è la storia di un sogno che è diventato una realtà per due amiche che hanno trovato il sistema per creare Dottor Sfuso – un negozio a Morcone dove tutti gli alimentari sono locali, biologici e senza imballo di cartone o plastica.

“Dreams can come true and they can happen to you if you are young at heart” – and ambitious, smart, hardworking and willing to give 500% to an idea. This is a story of a fantasy that became a reality for two friends who used the system to create Dottor Sfusa a shop in Morcone (BN) where all goods are local, organic and not encumbered with cardboard or plastic packaging.

Annarita’s Story – with a little tweaking from me:

Elena (Elena Baldini) e io siamo amiche da quando eravamo piccole. Un giorno, lei mi ha parlato di questa idea che le gironzolava in testa da tanti giorni! Lei sognava di aprire un negozio di alimentari, ma con prodotti senza imballaggio . Noi abbiamo cominciato a fatasticare su quest’ idea. Per tante ore, abbiamo girato, girato, girato… “brainstorming.” Ridendo, ridendo, abbiamo pensato ai nomi divertenti che era possibile usare per il nostro negozio. OK, OK, forse quando abbiamo cominciato, non pensavamo seriamente di realizzare il nostro progetto.

Elena (Elena Baldini) and I have been friends since we were little girls. One day, she told me about the idea that had been percolating in her head for days! She was thinking about creating a shop where nothing came in a box. We started to fantasize about it. We spent may hours driving around and brainstorming about this idea. Above all laughing – laughing at the funniest names we could use for the shop. Ok, Ok, perhaps in the beginning we weren’t thinking about the serious sides of the business plan.

Here is the name they picked!  Sfuso means loose.  All items are without packaging and “loose”  – environmentally friendly.

Dopo avere parlato e parlato abbiamo capito che la nostra idea era brillante! Abbiamo assunto un commercialista per aituarci a capire come cominciare. POP! Il nostro sogno è andato in frantumi, quando lui ci ha detto quanti soldi avremmo dovuto avere per aprire il negozio. Siamo usciti con il cuore in pezzi. Come la fata di Cenerentola, lui ci ha chiamato: con la carrozza ci accompagnerà alla festa – SVILUPPITALIA! Avremmo ricevuto assitenza dallo stato!

The more we talked the more we realized that the idea was brilliant. We hired an accountant to help us understand how to get started. Pop! The fantasy exploded in our faces when he told us just how much money we DIDN’T have to start the business. We left broken hearted. Like Cindarella’s fairy godmother, he called with the coach that could take us to the ball – SVILUPPITALIA! It was possible to get financial assistance from the state!

There is an overview of Sviluppo on the  Italian Workforce site.

NO!  MIDGE IS A FAILURE!  SHE REFUSES TO TRANSLATE ANY MORE BECAUSE HER BRAIN IS EXPLODING.  THE STORY WILL CONTINUE ONLY IN ENGLISH.

After meeting with the SVILUPPITALIA coach we looked at each other and smiled – then cried.  There was so much work to do.  We had to write down the complete idea!  It wasn’t very easy.  They wanted us to describe and analyze every detail. We had to write all about the place where we meant to open the shop.  There was a check list –  how many places of interest, public service agencies and other shops were close by.  We hit the streets to do an inventory.

The bottom line was we had to create a workable business plan, find our vendors, create a budget that included all aspects of starting the business, research who our competition was and understand how to market!  Whew, we have always been hard workers and luckily – or unluckily – with the crisis in Italy we were both available to work on the project full time.  One of the reasons the government has this program is to help the young people of Southern Italy create their own jobs.  They also feel that the more activity there is in the south the more tourists will come.

The big question was – WHY SHOULD THEY CHOOSE OUR PROJECT TO FUND!   They needed to know how we meant to develop the idea – an idea that was really different.  In a small village buying food from bins with out packages was not the  ordinary way to sell things – but we didn’t care.  We were thinking about the growing garbage piles, and unfortunately the growing prices of everything.  We wanted to save the planet and the wallet.  If people needed to discover a new way of shopping, we would help them. The planning and the application took us a year.  We waited another year and happily received the state money. Of course this money was not ours forever.  We have 5 years to give the money back.

Happy Entrepreneurs – Annarita and Elena on Opening Day!

Finally we opened this little activity. We sell pasta, legumes, rice, flour, candies, spices – that I adore, tea, tisanes, perfumes, detergents, and other things like this.  It is the kind of shop where you can buy the kinds of things you need in the amount you need.  I think it is a great idea and who knows in a couple of years maybe we will open Doctor Sfuso all around the world.

Doctor Sfuso is a fabulous shop with great products.  We shop there often.  For Christmas you can help Santa Claus and buy neat gifts at the store that cares about the environment.

Doctor Sfuso

Via Roma 145, Morcone (BN)