It doesn't take much to remind me that I no longer live in the States.
Reminder number 1. Last weekend's homemade nachos went like this. Chips,
borlotti beans that I put in the blender to make them mushy like refried
beans, Asiago cheese (that comes from Asiago, a touristy mountain town an hour from my house), Greek yogurt that looks just like sour cream, and what are nachos without some good ol' spicy ketchup?
Reminder number 2. Italians eat nachos with a fork.
Reminder number 3. The nacho fest brought to mind the Super Bowl. "Hey!" I hollered, "Is this Super Bowl Sunday?" Hold on to your nachos for the reply..... "What's Super Bowl Sunday?"
It's not that I'm a big fan or anything, but it sure would be nice to laugh (or bawl) at the commercials with someone. I don't suppose the reruns on Monday morning will have Italian subtitles, will they?
The Beginning of The Way Things Were
Call me what you will, but I call myself an emigrant....an emigrant
who should stop talking about her homeland every day. (Expat has too
many rich, white person connotations and immigrant is what my Italian
friends call me.) Many years ago, my foreign (expat) friends in Chicago
continually pointed out the differences between life in their countries
and life in Chicago. I might be mistaken, but their use of the word
'different' often sounded a bit like 'better'.
Not
long after moving to Italy (about three hours) I started doing the same
thing. It has finally dawned on me that if my friends in Italy think
like I used to think (if it's better in your country why don't you go
home?) it might be wise to keep my American mouth shut in Italy and
share my thoughts with the other side of the world. Hereafter, when I
notice something different, be it better or just different, I'll (try
to) hold my tongue and add it to my list of The Way Things Were.
My
goal is to keep it simple with a few words and a photo, giving the
readers the choice of better...or just different. With more reflection
I'll probably realize that some of the "betters" are here and some of
the "betters" are there. In the end maybe they really are just
"differences."
