FOMATPLAY okay, thank you Celia
for being here and having joined the project.
The first question that I wanna ask you is
to tell us about your journey.
So what brought you here in Naples?
CELIA actually, if I'm honest, it was in a therapy session
I went to talk with my psychologist
and I was talking about...
I just came back from a holiday in Napoli;
so I was talking to her like
"I don't know why I'm so... I have this need to live there
but I don't know if it's me being impulsive
or is really something that I should do"
and she said to me
"this is something that you have thought
for a long time?" and I was like "yeah,
it has for so many years"
she was like "then it's not that impulse
it's a wish. can you make it through?"
and I'm like "yeah.
I have some ways to make it through". And she was like
"so you should do it.
So she pushed me a lot
and she gave me the inspiration and all that.
So I came home and I started to look for things.
I know before that
that the Solidarity European Code existed,
because I tried to use it before
but it didn't work. In December I was like "okay,
I'm gonna try again" and I applied to some...
I was-; the only thing that I was
knew was that I wanted to come here in Italy
so I applied for some cities
because I wanted to live in a city,
not in a town. So I applied to, like, Milano,
Roma, Napoli and in the next 2 days
I received an email from Healing Napoli.
I did the interview and I got selected.
FOMATPLAY Oh, wow!
CELIA It's a beautiful story.
FOMATPLAY it is, yes.
And how was your experience of living in the city?
different from just visiting the city?
CELIA it was a huge difference in my opinion.
When I used to come here for holidays,
because I came like multiple times,
I was like "wow, the city of my dreams.
I have so much fun, people are so open,
so funny" because I experience like the
party, dating,
like the
stereotypical tourist
adventure that you can get here in Napoli.
But when I came to leave
and I actually joined Napoli as one citizen,
I guess as a normal person and not as a tourist
the difference was huge.
FOMATPLAY in what way?
CELIA first of all,
because when you come to see it as a tourist
you don't feel the need to adapt,
you just are yourself in another city for two,
three,
four days. But you come, If you go to live in a city
you feel the need to adapt because if not,
first of all, things don't work for you and second
you feel different, you feel that you don't fit in.
So Napoli is a very unique city, it is really different.
So it's not as easy to adapt,
in my opinion, to other cities.
So, first I have to adopt a lot of
different things that are really unique here
that I have never experienced before in my life.
FOMATPLAY for example?
CELIA for example... first of all the way that
public spaces, public services
all these things that should be taken care of
don't work as they should in my opinion.
I have never experienced that before,
thank God,
because in my city, more or less, everything works out.
So for me that was a shock.
Not only because I suffer it in my own skin
and I feel it because to have this
this thought that "actually
people live here and they just stay.
it is what it is.
and either you accept it and you try to live your life
or you,
you can leave". It is not something that is like "but no,
if you do this..." No,
it is what it is.
That was a huge thing to me to accept and, like, feel it.
The way they behaved,
people behaved in Napoli is very unique.
I personally... I cannot say I've had a bad experience,
because my experience has been great with,
with everyone. I feel very welcomed in the city
but it's very different.
I think people here are getting,
still getting a bit used to tourists, to foreigners
so
going into the street and talking English
or trying to communicate with someone in English is a
really
weird experience. Especially we that we live in a town
we are in the streets talking in English
and everyone looks at us;
everyone is confused with our presence.
So adapting to at that... At this point I'm like "okay
they are just curious,
it's not it's not that big of a deal".
But at the beginning you feel maybe I don't fit in, maybe,
maybe I should not be here.
And, yeah, I think those are the two most things....
FOMATPLAY are you still struggling with the first one?
CELIA yeah, yeah, I would say so.
yeah
it comes to a point that you have to make a choice
like
"are you are you going to accept it
and are you going to live this way or not?".
For me the goods are more than the bads
so I wanna be here. So I'm like;
I got to a point where I was like
"it is what it is, just live with it".
But still in the in your mind at the house, in home,
it's really nice to say that,
but when you're trying to go to work
or just trying to meet with someone,
you're trying to be punctal,
you are trying to be on time and you wanna be this
this kind of person and I still get frustrated;
I still get frustrated.
Not that much because you have to think like
it's not my fault,
it doesn't have-; it has nothing to do with me.
But you still get frustrated
because you should have the right to move freely
and.... so I still get frustrated. Not that much, I have to say
but yeah, of course.
FOMATPLAY okay.
Can you tell us more,
maybe, about the pros of living in a city
like Naples?
CELIA The pros, like
the positive things?
FOMATPLAY yeah, exactly.
CELIA um...
wa-;
to me, personally, I feel really connected to the city.
I really like how alive the city is. It has
this kind of energy.
People are really open and they're really
trying to make you have a good experience,
which is not usual at all
especially in countries that are not like Italy;
like it's your responsibility to have a good time.
Here everyone feels is their responsibility
that you have a good time.
So if you go to a restaurant
everyone is nice. So
to live in this kind of environment
is really welcoming.
Also, that for me the nature and the
the area were Napoli is located
is one of the most beautiful scenes in the world
so to me it's kind of a privilege to,
to be here and enjoy this view
or this environment every day.
I don't know what else...
FOMATPLAY that's enough.
CELIA it's enough?
FOMATPLAY yeah.
if you come up with something else
we can go back to that later.
CELIA okay, thank you.
FOMATPLAY can you tell us something about your
linguistic journey? so you speak Italian as well, right?
So how was it for you to learn Italian and to speak it?
CELIA I was kind of forced. Not forced
but it was mandatory because when I did Erasmus
I went to kind of a private university. To me,
obviously,
it was free because I did it through the European Union.
Then
they asked every student to have a level of Italian
like B1 or A2.
So I was kind of forced to study Italian
before coming to Italy. I did a little course to
to kind of learn the basic things.
It worked because I felt more comfortable in Italy
but the Italian level that I have now
has nothing to do with Italian classes.
It was all because I pushed myself
to surround myself with Italians
and try to have a conversation.
Actually, in my opinion,
the biggest thing to learn is to listen;
like people having a conversation
even if they are not talking to you.
Or going to the street and try not to listen to music.
To me I think
that was the biggest
turning point of my language journey:
try to listen
this expression
or this is how this is called. Supermarket,
the bus, the train... At this point
I think I have a good Italian level
but I still don't feel comfortable, for example,
doing this kind of things in Italian.
Because I don't feel like
I can express myself the way I want
but yeah.
FOMATPLAY do you think that
knowing Italian is key to adapting within neighbors
and Itlay in general?
CELIA yeah.
Yeah in my opinion it is because um...
you can fool yourself, in my opinion,
and say "no,
because there are people that speak in English",
which is true,
there are a lot of people that speak English.
But then in your everyday life problems,
this situation that can happen
if you're trying to live here;
like, for example, the train is delayed
or you're trying to talk to your landlord
because the sink is broken.
These little aspects that make your life a bit difficult
you have to speak Italian.
You just have to. Because no one is going to understand you.
I kind of live this through my roommates.
Yes, some of them they speak Italian,
but to a basic level. So this kind of conversations,
they are like, they look at me like
"did you understand it? what should we do?".
This is really confusing,
life here is very fast so
maybe it's not mandatory
that you speak Italian to live here
but to feel comfortable and to feel safe
in my opinion is absolutely....
FOMATPLAY hmm right.
And how was your
Eramsus experience different from
the experience that you're doing at the moment
in Naples? Can you tell us more about that?
CELIA yeah.
To me it was completely different because
here I'm actually surrounded by Italians.
I live, I'm living the city;
I'm, I'm working now, in a working environment.
So I'm kind of forced to move, to explore, to...
"go to this place
and meet this person that wants to talk to you"
and when I was doing the Erasmus
it was a bubble. It's a bit
like a little ecosystem that you create for yourself
especially with the Spanish people that were are very
close to each other. You create a little ecosystem.
In my opinion
I can say that I know more Napoli in three months
that I knew Rome in seven months.
My life was so limited. Just going out,
going out to dinner to the same places.
Also your mindset is the biggest turning point
because when you are in Erasmus you are like "I wanna party,
I wanna make friends,
I wanna travel" but here I wanna know the city,
I wanna learn Italian, I wanna...
So me forcing myself is changing the experience completely.
FOMATPLAY Can you tell us more about
the working environment and
the work that you have to do now?
CELIA yeah, of course.
Right now the work is divided into different spaces:
one is an office in Napoli,
is the Europe Direct in Napoli,
and one is in Ponticelli,
the neighborhood.
Some days we have to go,
I have to go to the Europe Direct
and some days I have to go to Ponticelli.
For me, personally,
Ponticelli is that kind of
a space that you have to speak Italian in.
We were talking about it before.
Because no one, or almost anyone, speaks English.
Especially me, I work,
I work in the library of the of the neighborhood.
I wanna help,
I wanna communicate, I wanna... every colleague is Italian.
They are more comfortable talking in Italian.
So they talk in Italian to each other.
if I didn't talk Italian
I would be completely lost. You don't feel part of it.
So yeah, in the library
I go there
and I help the people that work in the library.
I help to catalog.
If someone wants to talk to me and have a conversation
I, of course, I would love to do that. In the office
um.... I'm gonna start a Spanish course
and if we are not doing that
we are kind of helping,
giving a hand to the people that work in the office.
Like "can you help me research this topic about
German university? or related to your country?"
most of the time...
FOMATPLAY okay
and how is the working environment?
CELIA to me it has been great, actually.
This one is one of the biggest things that
I am enjoying about Napoli because
these people that we are working with...
they really feel the international feeling
so... of course, they are Italian;
they feel Italian but they are so welcoming
and they are curious about where are you from.
Why are you choosing to be here? like so um...
to feel that people care about your presence here
is really important. Because volunteering
sometimes you, you feel like "what am I doing here?",
like "this does not make sense".
So all these people that are Italian say
they care about the environment, they,
they are into... they care about your present
and they tell you "what you're doing is important
don't forget it. Your presence is important".
And also not only the people that we work with
that more or less
you can understand why they feel international.
Because they are educated,
they work in this field...
but also the users of, for example, the library
or the uses of the Euro Direct.
They want to know, they are curious about you.
So in my opinion
I feel very welcomed, I've never felt rejected and yeah...
FOMATPLAY have you ever
experienced some kind of hostility towards
foreign people coming to Naples from your perspective?
CELIA actually no.
Not at all. Here in Napoli, no. In Roma I had some
weird, I would say, or some uncomfortable experiences.
FOMATPLAY For example?
CELIA for example it happened to me multiple times
that I was in the metro
and it's a fact that we as Spanish people
we speak very loud.
it's a fact, I'm not gonna deny it.
It's not with bad intention,
it's just, is... by mistake,
I don't know how to say that... yeah, so
we were talking in the metro like about random things
"Oh this happened..."
and multiple times people said like "shut up!"
yeah,
like "shut up! you're,
you're bothering the whole train".
And I was like "oh my God!
this is shocking". And also in a train to...
I think, I don't remember where I was going
but to another city. It was like a proper train,
not metro. I chose to have a seat like "can I sit here?"
and I'd said it in Italian
but my Italian... you can see I'm not Italian.
And she was like "can you not choose another seat?"
and I was like "actually no.
I just, I wanna see it here now.
Now I, now I wanna seat here even more,
you know?" and uh...
she started to insult me in Italian.
I obviously understand
and she was saying this kind of things like
"go back to your country because you're bothering me".
These two experiences I had in Rome.
Yeah, in Rome.
In Rome.
FOMATPLAY Not in Naples?
CELIA In Naples
I have never experienced this kind of....
actually the opposite.
FOMATPLAY why do you think that happened to you?
CELIA actually I had this thought today,
um...
because, in my opinion,
Neapolitans are still adapting to this
tourist wave that is eating them.
It's not that easy
to see the long term consequences
something that is happening right now is going to have.
You have to be really educated in the top page
you have to be...
to have to have huge conversations about it.
if you're just a normal person that works,
maybe you are just still seeing the positive things.
But, for example, in Rome
they have been experiencing this for so many years since the-;
since the world begun. yeah,
forever. So
I can understand why they are tired of this kind of
Spanish people screaming in the metro.
They want to go home and they want to relax
because they have been working the whole day.
And here I am,
screaming and having a party in the metro
or to have a walk in the city, or to go for dinner;
everything is packed. So I can,
I can understand why. There's a point that I'm like
"I'm done. I'm done with these foreigners".
And you encounter me one time and you take this range,
this thing that you feel upon someone
that maybe has nothing to do with that
but....
FOMATPLAY okay.
Have you experienced some kind of difficulties
when coming here or
living here?
CELIA difficulties in what way?
FOMATPLAY on any level.
bureaucratic level, cultural level,
social level....
CELIA yes, of course I have experienced some...
first of all,
this thing that I talked about: the public transport.
That was really difficult to me
because I was not used to it at all.
Also adopting to the way people choose to live.
It's not hard, but it's difficult to wrap your head,
your mind around that.
For example, you go,
you arrive to a place. "should we?" "Oh no.
let's have a coffee and we will see".
Adapting to this kind of
behavior is a bit difficult.
The cultural things I don't know.
Maybe sometimes it's a bit hard,
this crazy living. This
what I was talking about.
When you're a tourist it is amazing.
Is like "wow, this is so alive. People are crazy".
But when you live here,
for example, you are having a bad day
or you just wanna go home,
all this noise, all these screams,
people screaming in the street or
this behavior that some men have.
At some point
you find it funny
if you're happy being here for a week.
But if you are living here
there some days I'm like
"I'm done with this with this behavior".
it's...
and it's really different from the place I came from.
So that was... that is still hard sometimes.
I think that this is going to be always hard for me.
For the rest of it.... no.
FOMATPLAY are you planning to stay in Naples any longer
after your volunteering experience or...?
CELIA I'm planning to stay in Italy,
that's for sure.
But I don't know if I would choose
Napoli, Naples as the main city.
I will have to see because right now I'm still adapting.
Maybe in some months
I find myself in the city and I found my place or my....
so I'm like "oh no,
I'm 100% staying here". but I'm still finding myself,
I'm still trying to look for my place,
my environment; to find myself, basically.
But if right now you ask me like
"would you stay in Napoli?" I would say "no.
I would like to go to Rome,
I would like to go to Milano,
I would like to...".
But it's not something that I say completely no
because I really like the city.
I really enjoy the city
and I think it's an amazing city.
But this the things that you always talk about,
like, finding a job, a well-paid one.
Because I wanna have some quality of living.
I will have...
long term hmm...
FOMATPLAY can you tell us, maybe,
what you think about freedom of movement
and how you have experienced freedom of movement
within the regio, but also within the country,
but also within Europe?
CELIA related to transport?
FOMATPLAY but also
the possibility to move across countries or places.
How have you experienced this?
CELIA um....
I don't understand fully the question.
FOMATPLAY so, um...
you've lived in Italy,
right? and that's it. But have you traveled around Europe?
CELIA Yeah, I have.
FOMATPLAY and
how was the experience of moving freely around Europe?
CELIA okay, I think I understand. Yeah,
I have had a great experiences travelling through Europe.
I've never found any difficulties to do whatever I want,
basically, in the sense of
of traveling. Coming from Spain
to Italy, we're very close
so for me it has been really easy
not only because we like each other a lot
so we go back and forth a lot;
there is a lot of planes, there is a lot of options to,
to come here that are usually really cheap.
So coming to Italy or going back to Spain is really,
really easy. Moving through Italy,
in, actually, my opinion, is amazing
because I compare it to Spain.
In Spain that are not many
companies that offer you are right,
or offer you the possibility to move.
So there's not so much competition. Here
there are a lot of
businesses, a lot of companies that have work here.
So the offer is so big that the prices are so low.
So for me, as a person that wants to discover Italy,
I was shocked
because you can go from Napoli to Rome for €3.
To me that was shocking because in Spain, no,
you have to pay a lot of money
if you want to do a... one hour ride is
maybe 50 euros.
FOMATPLAY have you ever thought of
about leaving abroad, besides Spain and Italy?
CELIA I have thought about it, yeah. Multiple times but
I don't know.
I don't know if I would find myself that comfortable.
I don't know. Maybe I don't think about that
cause I don't wanna think like
I'm scared or something like that.
But maybe I am.
I've thought about it a lot
but um...
the only time that I went to a not Mediterranean
country it was the United Kingdom.
I went to London. I had such a bad experience with
English people.
I didn't feel welcome at all.
FOMATPLAY in terms of what?
FOMATPLAY in terms of... I was, I was young.
I don't remember how how old I was.
It was many years ago
so my English was not that good. But in my opinion,
of course I compare myself with all the Spanish
people that don't speak at all,
but it was not that bad
and I was with my little sister.
She's perfect at English.
So, like, this cannot be a problem at all.
Then I arrived and I tried to order a coffee,
a sandwich. This,
this stupid interactions.
I found a lot of difficulties and a lot of walls.
Like "I don't understand you".
What should I do? I'm talking in English.
What else can I do to feel more welcome?
to feel-; you're trying a lot and it's not reciprocated.
So, I was like "okay,
I'm never going back to England.
I hate it"
and there are lot of Spanish people that go there,
this are a lot of jobs
but I had such a bad experience. I was thinking like,
I think I'm never going to feel welcomed here.
And actually, if I think about this,
all these Spanish people that move to the North,
Global North, like um...
Norway, England...
They always surround themselves with more Spanish people,
or Italians, or Portuguese.
They are always together, their group friends...
so
the only reason to go there is to earn more money.
In my opinion,
in my head or in my expectation of living
if I go to live in another country, it is for experiences,
the whole culture, the whole way of living,
to really feel part of the community,
to become Italian at some points.
So going to London to earn €500 mode a month
and being so isolated... I mean,
to me it's not an option. But..
FOMATPLAY since you mentioned London
what do you think about Brexit?
Do you have memories about that?
CELIA yeah, yeah,
yeah for sure.
To me when I was watching that at home I was like "oh,
this makes absolute sense based on my experience"
because... I was talking to my sister
like "they are so racist to us"
which... it was not that bad. It was me feeling sad.
But actually
if you talk to to people that have traveled there,
everyone agrees that it makes sense. No one says
"wow, I'm shocked that they made that decision", "wow,
I'm shocked that the Brexit won",
no one says that because everyone,
more or less, could feel that they were not comfortable
with our presence and with our....
okay... with our-; with us being in there.
If you talk to some people that have lived there
or people that go like for a year to earn money
and then come back, most of them have this kind of...
not racist, because it's not based on facts,
it is more based on thoughts.
These kind of experiences
that make you feel like you are not welcome,
that you don't belong there.
So, I think it makes sense.
Do I agree with the decision?
actually
yeah.
This freedom of choice... if they are not comfortable
to me it's not, it's not a problem.
But I'm saying this from a point of view that...
I don't know anything about economics,
I don't know anything about politics,
so maybe for the economic or the... it was awful.
But in the sense of socially being in the way
the world,
to me I think it was an improvement for them. So...
FOMATPLAY do you feel that Brexit affected you in some way or..?
CELIA not really, no.
To me not at all.
But actually my little sister
she studied English languages in university;
and of course if you study this kind of things
the most logical movement is to go
to an English speaking country.
Either you go to England or United Kingdom
or you go to America, Canada,
United States... but the closest one is...
and she didn't want to go
because she felt she was not going to be welcomed.
Of course, because they publicly said "no,
this stops here". So she I was like
"you know what?
I don't wanna go. Because if I had a bad experience
or...". Now you have to do a lot more things to go there,
to travel. It is not about only your...
being Spanish is not enough.
You have to do more things, so it kind of...
I could see a bit of the impact that had on
some people through my little sister.
FOMATPLAY okay.
What do you think about
Europe as an institution, on the contrary?
CELIA uh...
it has a huge
impact in lives,
in everyday life in a way we don't notice.
First of all, through the money they give.
I don't know how it works here in Italy
but I think more less very similar
to our country. To be allowed to get some money
from the European Union you have to,
you have to
agree to some things that you're going to do.
For example, if you get money for the environment
the change that wants to be done. Okay,
you have to agree to this, you have to, for example,
little things like...
there has to be the same amount of men
and the same amount of women in your company.
These little laws or these
little impositions that the European Union do
in everyday life at the end
it has a huge impact in the way we live every day.
The opportunity it brings as a citizen it's huge.
I mean, I have I was born in the European Union
so I don't know other things.
if I talk to my grandma,
if I talk to some people that didn't know the European,
the European Union before,
if you think about it in an objective way
it is shocking
that you have the ability to travel in every country
you want just for being you.
Like
just for being a citizen. Not anything else is asked,
nothing else is mandatory.
To have these great experiences
they are promoting.
To me it is a huge,
it is a huge way of thinking and feel European
and feel you are part of something that is
bigger than you and can give you a lot.
It makes me really sad that people are not that educated
in this thing,
not in the European Union,
but in all the possibilities that are just a call away,
or email away. It is not that hard.
It is really easy. So, yeah...
FOMATPLAY do you feel you have a European identity then?
CELIA yeah, I do.
I completely do.
FOMATPLAY what kind of features
do you think this European identity,
I don't know,
displays or...?
CELIA like skills or the personality?
FOMATPLAY everything.
CELIA to feel European...
first of all ,the thing that you should feel is that we
are all part of something
and it's the same thing, it's not different.
Of course we are different
that's why we have our own identity.
But we are part of something that is bigger.
That's the first thing you should,
you should understand. The second thing should be
being open to dialogue,
being open to different points of view.
If you're not really educated on listening,
on trying to understand that people are different for you
maybe you have a hard time
in this European environment.
Because people are very different
and we have very different points of view.
Relying on the fact that we are all Europeans
and we all are part of something
you try to understand, you try to communicate,
you respect everyone.
So I think that's the, that's the biggest thing.
FOMATPLAY can you think of any other features?
CELIA um.... I'm thinking features that they are related to,
to the volunteering
because we did that in Rome and I have that on mind.
Let me think for a bit....
FOMATPLAY you can tell us more about that if you want.
CELIA it was related to,
obviously, to the European Union but
especially to be an a volunteer.
So you're like what is,
what do you think is necessary to be a
European volunteer.
This kind of fact that you have to be... solidarity;
This kind of things that
are not that related to any of them
because you're gonna have the
European feeling
and not feel that it is a must.
The thing that we all share
and also this kind of not written
things that we all have agreed to be part of something.
For example human rights,
gay rights, for example. We're talking about this today.
Women Equality,
say no to racism... these
all
things that the European Union is very strong about
and very....
they put a lot of importance in this kind of things.
So
if you don't align yourself with this way of thinking
I don't think you're gonna find the space
in this kind of environment.
Of course you can do Eramsus being racist.
That's, that's true. But I don't think, apart from that,
I don't think you will have the same experience
or you will have the same opportunities.
Do you think these values and principles
exist in practice as well,
in reality?
CELIA I don't know... in all Europe,
not at all. Not at all, but in this European environment
yes.
So if you identify yourself as a European
as someone that is part of the European Union
you present yourself like that
of course you're aligned with this kind of thinking.
The fact
is that people are so confused about this topic
and not really into it, because it's not promoted.
it's not... that they don't feel European.
So as you are not feeling European,
why should I care?
it has some kind of impact in my everyday life?
no. So, of course I want human rights
but that is not my problem. My problem is my house,
my family.
yeah, actually talking about that
you should be comfortable enough in your everyday life.
Like we were talking about
we're really privileged. We are. So as we
as privileged people
that all our basic needs are covered,
we have money.
we have the possibility to say "hey guys,
we have to care about human rights.
hey guys, we have to care about pollution".
But there are some people that have bigger problems.
So also to feel European
you have to be kind of privileged in this, in this way,
not in other ways. But you have this.
You have to be educated; have the possibility to
be educated, which not everyone has it.
FOMATPLAY do you,
do you feel you have a national identity as well,
CELIA a Spanish one? yeah
and I have found it here.
Yeah,
because I didn't care.
This is what I'm talking about,
like when I'm living in Spain
I have better things to think about; I have a job,
I have a family, I have a house, I have some friends,
I have some responsibilities. So in my everyday life
I never think about Spain as a country or a nation
or as feeling.
Just I live here, point.
Like it is what it is. Coming here
I found it a bit when I was in Rome
but not as strongly as here.
Coming here
and having these talks with people that are educated
and they can give me their points of view,
I feel like wow
I'm really lacking first of all; and second of all,
you learn to value what you have
when you compare it with other people.
It was.... at least for me,
it's not the best thing you should,
you should valuate as it is
but you, you uh....
they, they um....
force you to to be proud, in some kind of way. Like "hey!
you're from Spain.
You talk, in Italy they are very passionate about the Spain.
So they go " I love Spain,
it's so beautiful. And you start to think like,
actually yeah.
it is beautiful. It is nice and you miss some things
so you start to value them and they are like
"you're here as a Spanish person
so you represent the Spain".
When you're in a foreigner country
you're kind of the representation
because if you met me and I'm a horrible person to you
you don't want to say "why
Spanish people are disgusting?"
but you only met me.
So you feel this kind of pressure,
of this kind of responsibility
that you should be nice, you should...
because everyone is going to ask you about
where are you from and I'm from Spain.
So to give this idea, to represent the country.
So I day by day I'm like "well,
I'm Spanish. Like I really am Spanish, I love my country,
I love my job".
it's really unique to travel and find this feeling.
FOMATPLAY in what way you feel you are Spanish?
which are the features of, again, a Spanish identity?
CELIA yeah, yeah.
First of all, the biggest thing is the way I socialize,
the way I've been taught
to behave in social environments
which is um....
is different. For example,
I live with people from the north of Europe
so I found myself having this weird,
not weird, but kind of uncomfortable moment.
For example,
Victoria is German. So her little sister came,
so she introduced me to her
and have heard talks about her every day
because she's really passionate about her family.
"Oh my little sister, my little sister".
So I encounter them like "hi"
and I go like try to give two kisses and she was like,
kind of like a bit uncomfortable or kind of like
"oh no, no".
I don't do that because I'm really sweaty
I don't want you to touch me.
But you can,
you can see it's all that... it's not about that. And yeah,
it's... you, you,
you feel when you are approaching someone
and they are kind of like
"what? why?
why is this girl hugging me?
why is this girl?"
So you compare yourself to other people and you're like
"wow, this is really unique".
this is not normal behavior to some people.
For me it's normal, but it's not normal.
it's normal in Spain so in the way I socialize,
in the way I treat other people, in the way I feel
we are Spanish.
people are really welcoming.
We like to know a lot about people.
We are not this kind of "all these tourists".
We like tourists, most of the time.
This is a really strong topic.
So I find myself here behaving like that and I'm like
"oh this is not normal
because not everyone behaves like that,
so this is very Spanish".
So I feel very Spanish in that way
and I saw the cultural things. like....
I personally appreciate a lot the culture,
the folklore and all that
of the of the country. Here,
you talk about that a lot.
In Spain you never talk about tortilla or
about flamingo because you live there.
But here you talk about that a lot and you,
you find yourself resonating on
or thinking about some things.
I'm like "oh yes,
I really like this. I really like that.
I'm really big on cooking tortilla. In Spain it is normal
but here it is not normal.
So I kind of feel very Spanish in this,
in this way of behaving and being with other people.
in other things not that much.
FOMATPLAY You also feel you have, or are developing,
I don't know, an Italian identity? and if so in what way?
CELIA I wouldn't say an Italian identity.
I would say that I'm learning how to behave
and how not to feel weird
or not feel that I'm different.
I really feel the need to do it
because I wanted to be part of everywhere,
part of everything.
I wouldn't say an Italian identity because,
I don't know if you would agree,
but I don't think
here in Napoli is not about Italian identities,
is more about Neapolitan identity.
So for me,
finding myself
as a Neapolitan identity is absolutely impossible.
It's not only about the looks or not. It's about
a huge thing, a huge thing that as a foreigner
you're never going to be able to fully understand.
So no. I always feel Spanish everywhere I go
I never feel Italian, but not an identity
but yeah... I feel more
adopted.
FOMATPLAY where do you feel you belong?
where's home?
CELIA um...
to me everywhere, actually.
I don't feel connected to a place specifically.
Obviously I found my comfort zone where I was born
because my friends are there,
my family is there .
I don't feel the need to come back.
I was talking to Spanish guy the other day
and he was like "well,
I cannot wait to come back. And he just arrived"
He's like "I just miss my family so much".
I don't have this kind of feeling,
I just uh...
the want to explore and the want to live abroad,
and the want to hit
is much more higher than the one to have a home
in my little space. So I,
me personally, personally,
I think I could find my home here.
I could find my home everyone.
FOMATPLAY is there anything that you absolutely miss about Spain?
CELIA about my, my usual life? or about Spain as a country?
FOMATPLAY both.
CELIA about my usual life, I miss my family a lot.
A lot because I'm very familiar
so obviously
I miss this comfort that only family gives you.
It is impossible to find somewhere else.
This comfort that you feel safe,
you feel protected. Ther's always going to be your mom.
When you're in a foreign country
it's completely gone. You're by yourself,
you're alone,
figure it out. That I miss a lot. Spain as a country
um....
I feel this um.... calm,
I need this calm feeling when you are um...
part of something, when you feel really,
really part of a group or really part of a city.
You can be absolutely yourself
and you can be absolutely calm
because you are part of it.
it's not that you are getting into it, no,
you're just part of it.
So this kind feeling I've never experienced here.
I don't feel part of Napoli.
I feel I'm trying to push myself into Napoli.
So this calm feeling that "I just have a beer or".
I don't feel it and I miss that a lot.
FOMATPLAY okay,
so we reached the end of the interview.
I'm gonna now ask you some questions
and you can give me very short answers.
So define freedom of movement in one sentence.
CELIA It is the ability to choose
your path in life.
FOMATPLAY how would you sum up your freedom of moment
experiences across Europe
so far?
CELIA how were they?
FOMATPLAY yes, how would you sum them up.
CELIA ah, okay sorry.
I would sum them up as great experiences
and they made me feel very lucky and part of something.
In a few words
how would you feel if your freedom of movement
was removed?
CELIA trapped,
unlucky
and um...
I don't know how to say that in that word-;
in one word, maybe you can help me,
but uh....
when someone takes away
um...
FOMATPLAY deprived maybe?
CELIA yeah,
deprived of, yeah,
of education, of everything.
FOMATPLAY where's home and where do you feel you belong?
CELIA I just said my home, I think, it's everywhere
and
I feel I belong in Italy.
FOMATPLAY what do you miss the most
about
your home country?
CELIA I miss my family
and I miss the feeling of being part of something,
being a
part of the city.
FOMATPLAY would you take the same decisions today?
CELIA yes.
FOMATPLAY why so?
CELIA because they have brought me here
and they have helped me to...
the choices that I made are aligned with my wishes
and the things I wanna do.
So I wouldn't change anything,
even if I make a mistake,
in my opinion I'm moving in the right direction so...
FOMATPLAY who are you?
could you define yourself using 3 or 4 words?
CELIA um well...
uh, related to my skills,
for example?
FOMATPLAY your essence or your identity or whatever you... yes
CELIA um...
uh communication
and creativity.
hmm....
kindness.
Well I love myself.
I won't say one bad thing and...
I don't know, this...
help me with this word please,
like when you're, when you really want to do things...
FOMATPLAY ambitious?
CELIA yeah ambitious or passionate
FOMATPLAY passionate, okay.
This was amazing thank you thank you so much.