Festival del Cinema d'Indonesia_Le Murate

Since the first time we arrived in Florence, I've been thinking of how to promote Indonesia. Unlike in the Netherlands where number of Indonesians are large, Indonesians are only about 200 to 250 people in Italy. Once I attended a simple Indonesian bazaar organized by a cultural foundation founded by an Indonesian friend who lives in Rotterdam to celebrate Indonesian independence day and to promote Indonesian culture. Two foundations were involved in organizing the whole event which took place in a good size of a hall for about 250 people in Rotterdam. It was a family bazaar with a bit of Dutch 'gezelligheid', the bazaar inspired me to have the same event in Florence. Unlike in Netherlands, however, as I went around and gathered information, I found more obstacles and more challenges to do so.

However, when we came back from our summer holiday last year. I heard from Malina, that she and her husband have organized a festival of Indonesian Cinema in Florence in continuation with the one they held in Pietrasanta. The organization was done by Malina and her husband, an Italian lawyer, the poster was designed by Erlinda, an Indonesian student who studied design in Florence. I was so excited about this event, finally, we had this opportunity to make Indonesia more recognized and pop-up in Italy. Thank you to Jacopo and Malina for their hard-work and the Ambassador of Indonesia for Vatican City for their supports in making the Festival of Indonesian Film a successful event. 

How to use your Tessera Sanitaria healthcare card?

Once you received the healthcare temporary documents, these documents allow you to visit the doctor and to access health services although you haven't received the Tessera Sanitaria card yet. 

How to get your Tessera Sanitaria healthcare card?

Once you had your Permesso di Soggiorno, Codice Fiscale and Carta d'Identita, you can begin to obtain your Tessera Sanitaria health care card.

Registering for Healthcare 

Registration is handled at a local level by the Local Health Service (Azienda Sanitaria Locale, ASL) which issues a social security number and a health card (Tessera Sanitaria). This entitles the holder to low or no-cost treatment. Hospital services are provided free and a 75 percent reduction is given on the cost of outpatient and some dental treatment.

Community Diary - Part 2

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.

~cf. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.

~cf.Khalil Gibran

Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over.

~cf.Octavia Butler

My 3 Favorite Parks in Florence

The outdoors refreshes and energizes! Keep close to nature's heart!

There is pleasure in the pathless woods. In every walk with nature one receives more than he seeks.

The lack of power to take joy in outdoor nature is as real a misfortune as the lack of power to take joy in books.

 

1. Le Cascine

 

open-air market at Le Cascine every Tuesday

The largest park in Florence: wanted by the Medici family as a hunting reserve , It covers an area of 118 hectares between the Arno and Mugnone.

Today it is used by the Florentines for jogging, cycling or rollerblading, or just lying down on a lawn to sunbathe. On Tuesday there is a large open-air market with all kinds of stands.

The Top 3 Cathedrals in Florence

Il Duomo - Basilica Santa Maria del Fiore, Basilica di Santa Croce and Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

1. The Duomo - Il Basilica Santa Maria del Fiore

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (English: Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower) is the main church of Florence, Italy. Il Duomo di Firenze, as it is ordinarily called, was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to the design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white and has an elaborate 19th-century Gothic Revival façade by Emilio De Fabris.

Top 10 Main Landmarks in Florence, Italy

1. Statue of David

David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504, by the Italian artist Michelangelo. It is a 5.17-metre (17.0 ft) marble statue of a standing male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favoured subject in the art of Florence.Originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral, the statue was placed instead in a public square, outside the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of civic government in Florence, where it was unveiled on 8 September 1504.

Between Lunch Buffet and Balinesia

I locked my bike at the piazza Largo Pietro Annigoni, then headed to Pingusto, the all you can eat buffet restaurant and our meeting point. Everyone were there already, that was a special lunch gathering to facilitate all of us so we can meet Dina. She lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but was in Florence at that time as she came with her husband who works for GE and had his business trip at GE office in Florence. Beside Dina, Erna Vin Eka Putri was there too. January 15, 2014, was an official day of my first time meeting with Dina and Erna. We have two Ernas in the community now!

Cafés Curfew

Sitting in a nice café on one of the busiest roads in Florence, we were up to la apericena, a late after dinner served in buffet style at a price of a glass of drink. It was Gallery Art Bar on Via dei Benci 30. While we were eating and drinking this guy came in, he was happened to be a singer who regularly performed live music there.  We greeted each other, a little introduction before he finally set for more talks.

Aperativo buffet at Gallery Art Bar.

I noted three things he mentioned :

1. Business has been slowing down a week before Christmas which was quite obvious. It was Saturday night at 8PM and we were the only customers they had;

2. Due to so many complaints from the neighborhood about people getting drunk and caused chaos, liquors or drinks with alcohol can be sold before 9PM only;  

3. The latest law regulation strictly obligated all cafés / bars to close their venues at 10PM, with an exception of one restaurant / bar located across the road, simply because they had more security guards who will drag drunk people away from their venue, or presumably, they had more money to ‘pay’ to the authorities.

Introducing Bike Florence&Tuscany

A friend offered us to join a special bike ride from Florence through some small towns in Chianti Region all the way to Sienna. Luckily I didn't have to ride a bike, I had a privilege to be the photographer and to follow their biking trip by car. The bike ride was meant to test biking routes they were going to offer to tourists, as they planned to open a new company named 'Bike Florence & Tuscany'.

Finding a Job in Florence #2

My attempts to find a job in Florence.

Sometimes I felt guilty to not having any job yet, maybe I haven't really tried THAT hard. 
This post is just my way to express my feeling.

Forgive Me - Forgive Me Not
 

I’ve been thinking to write and update this blog for these last two months, but somehow I found it hard to put aside sometimes to just start writing. I think I’ve spent or wasted too much time sitting in front of my computer, thinking to start writing, but instead of doing so, I was just roaming around checking some websites, checking my social networks, watching some music videos on Youtube, a few here and a few there ….all those somewhat brought no positive result and at the end just frustrated me. It’s a proof of how difficult and how bad I am in coordinating my will and my thought with my body and to bring them all together into actually doing some necessary actions.

How to Collect the Permesso di Soggiorno at the Immigration Office?

Immigration office or Questura is at Via della Fortezza, Florence.

How long does the process of PdiS?

The length of the process of PdiS seems to be varied, some can get it in 4 weeks, some in 2 months, most people get it in 1 year or more. When you are submitting your application, ask the officer, how long will it take to process your PdiS. He/she will say you may come back in 2 weeks, but don’t be surprised because often when you go back after 2 weeks, your file will probably remain untouched or simply stacked on his shelf. 

The key is to be patient, keep smiling, and speak/ask the officer politely. Keep asking when can you have your PdiS ready? Ask for a certain date and timing.

How to Get the Italian Stay Permit / Permesso di Soggiorno for an EU citizen's spouse?

You are a non EU citizen and your spouse is an EU citizen who lives and works in Italy. After your husband received his Carta d'Identita, now it’s your turn to get your Stay Permit / Permesso di Soggiorno.

Step 1
Once your husband has done step 4 (on previous post, that was iscriversi all'Anagrafe to register himself at the Registry office / Uffizzi d'Anagrafe), after 10 days, he should be registered in the database of Uffizzi d'Anagrafe/Registry office already, means you should also be registered as his wife. So you can go to the Registry office to get your Stata di Famiglia. It’s a statement letter issued by Registry office states that you are his wife and you are in Italy for family reason.

How to Obtain an Italian Carta d'Identita?

After you received your Permesso di Soggiorno, you can now begin to obtain your Italian Carta d'Identita (National Identity Card).

Step 1

Go to a posta (Comune office which is in the same building with PosteItaliane at Via Pietrapiana), press letter "F" on the ticket machine, wait until an "F" number is called, and say you want to obtain your Carta d'Identita.

How to Get Your Italian Stay Permit / Permesso di Soggiorno?

If you have questions about what Permesso di Soggiorno is, you can read it in my previous post.  
Let’s have a look now on how to get it.

If your reason in Italy is due to your marriage with an EU citizen (non-Italian) who lives or works in Italy like I do, here are steps you need to take in order to get your PdiS:

How to Get the Italian Codice Fiscale?

You can obtain your Codice Fiscale at the provincial tax office in Florence:

Direzione Provinciale
Via Santa Caterina D'Alessandria, 23
Phone: 055/505141
Email: dp.firenze.utfirenze1@agenziaentrate.it
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:40 - 12:40; Tuesday and Thursday also 2:20 - 3:40

Finding A Job in Florence #1

My attempts to find a job in Florence haven't really shown any positive result yet.

Just want to share my self-thought here :

Now, this has been in my thought even before I arrived here, it’s the question “what am I actually going to do here?” Specifically it’s about getting a certain job and earning some bucks. Don’t get me wrong, In term of life, It’s not like I desperately need money or else I would starve, no.  We are extremely blessed beyond measure in many ways, that’s for sure. This question in mind was rather based on my own requirement to myself; it’s like having an obligation as a wife and as a daughter and a pride of a woman, in how to make herself fully useful and respectfully effective.

Visa to Italy

Do you need a visa if you are Indonesian and wants to visit Italy? The answer is YES. You need a visa before you enter Italy. The visa must be obtained in your home country, Indonesia.

You need to apply your visa at the Italian Embassy in Jakarta :

INDONESIA

Jakarta - Embassy of Italy
Address: N/A (please call phone number below to find out about the address)
Tel.: 00622131937445
Fax: 00622131937422
Website: www.ambjakarta.esteri.it
E-mail: visa.jakarta@esteri.it

European Union and Schengen

European Union

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe.The EU operates through a system of supranational independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states. The European Parliament is elected every five years by EU citizens. The EU's de facto capital is Brussels, Belgium.

Tessera Sanitaria

The Italian health insurance card is a personal card which has replaced the Italian fiscal code card for all citizens entitled to benefits of the Italian National Health Service and fitted with tax code. Its rear side acts as European health insurance card. The Italian health insurance card was issued for Italian citizens by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance in cooperation with the Italian Agency of Revenue in accordance with Article 50 of dl 269/2003, converted, with amendments, by law 326/2003. The objective of the Italian health insurance card, is to improve the social security services through expenditure control and performance, and to optimize the use health services to citizens.