This house is my house

I was still studying and needed a summer job. Just like a wanderer I knocked on Casa’s door which opened miraculously: I was received without any problem. They needed someone for the Front Office and that’s how I found my first occupation. In the evening I worked in Casa, so I had the time to study during the day. I only had to take my degree, I couldn’t ask for anything better. I must admit though, that at the time, the office manager was really fussy. She made me write things a hundred times, checked every single word, she explained and rearranged every trifle until it was perfect. I went back home at night wondering whether I could keep up with such a task, and I felt I wasn’t able to do anything.

"From the front office to the management of all the projects Michil is up to: when working means living an enriching and ever changing experience."

Luckily there was Axl, my boyfriend, who thoroughly supported me. Moreover, it must be said that I’m quite tenacious: I wanted to win that challenge at all costs and, step by step, I found the right pace to face everything in the most adequate way. That person’s fussiness turned into something useful in the end. I learnt to take notes, to report everything, I found a way to carry out my tasks in a well-ordered way.
And now that I have lived in this Casa for eight years, I feel like I have always been here. Over the last few years I have started to follow Michil in everything he is up to, and he’s always up to something. Therefore, to follow him closely isn’t easy at all, but for me it’s an immense joy. Michil is one of those people who doesn’t need too many words, and I’m a bit like that too. Thoughts are enough to communicate. A look is worth more than a lot of blah, blah, blah. We often don’t even have the chance to talk, explain, discuss. Everything goes quickly with Michil. In the course of time we found a way to get on, based on reciprocal confidence. I learnt the code to interpret his messages, which can often seem to be cryptographic. My task is to interpret what he thinks and to translate it into something tangible and real. Joking aside, our thoughts are in tune with each other, probably that’s where our secret lies. We have the same way of thinking about so many things: we share the same opinions, passions and observations. If it were not so, it wouldn’t be possible to work with him. Michil teaches you many important things: to be brave without forgetting to be kind, for instance. He always encourages you to express your thoughts and not to fear other people’s judgement. He asks us to communicate things clearly, in order to avoid misunderstandings. He asks for coherence and wants us to be receptive to criticism and suggestions. He asks you to discover everyone else’s qualities and to treasure them; to accept the defeats and draw lessons. What I like the most in this job is the absence of any form of monotony. Everyday there is something new cooking up: a project, an idea, sometimes only at an early stage, a new challenge to meet and address. It’s like being in a lush forest here in the office. There’s a lifeblood which continuously gives fruit. And when we achieve a target together, it’s a moment of pure joy. Besides, there is the Costa Family Foundation, one of the most exciting and important projects which were developed in this Casa. And it is always an extra source of joy and motivation to coordinate it, to follow very closely all the activities undertaken and keep in touch with entities which are so far away, but at the same time so close to every one of us. And, in my own small way, I can paraphrase that Woody Guthrie song that said “This land is my land” and say “This Casa is my Casa”, with profound gratitude.

Elide Mussner Pizzinini