valley of the doll

Hallo there.

If you’re reading this, you might already know something about the country I’m blogging from - Italy - and our current state of affairs.

There’s a good chance you’ve read a magazine or newspaper expose, possibly mentioning - in a smart, articulate way - that life here is miserable, freedom of the press has become a joke, the whole country seems to exist only as a crazy, depressing dystopian alternative to actual democracy and we all live and die on TV. You might even have seen a documentary or two.

What you don’t know:

- domestic violence and crimes against female citizens have reached abominable proportions;

- women are underpaid, mistreated, abused, marginalized and basically given the “pet or cattle” alternative.

- it sucks to be us.

So.

I’m leaving in November.

I’ll spend a year travelling abroad and trying to find a new place to live. Right now almost everywhere else looks desirable. Acceptable. Well, it can’t be worse than here. You should trust us on that.

I’m looking for a place to stay.

I don’t expect to find the perfect fit straight away, hence the 12-month timeframe - but if you do know somebody who’s willing to sublet a house, or a room, or rent out some space, keep me in mind. I’ll be moving around until Nov. 2010.

Me: 32, female, novelist, self reliant.

Please help. And/or reblog. Whatever works for you.

Thanks.

[and yes, the irony of declaring one’s own self reliantness and asking for help almost in the same paragraph isn’t lost on me, but these are truly dark times. Hence the need to relocate far, far away and get reacquainted with sense of self.]