I'm Italerican and I speak Italglish
Alright, you might think I've lost my mind by the title of this post..and maybe I have. But the fact of the matter is, I entered this country American, but I'm going to exit it something much different. Once you get thrown in this culture, there's just some things you pick up very quickly. Italy has ruined me in terms of food, fashion, and some just plain cultural differences. Once you go Italian, you never go back! Granted, I'm stuck in alot of my American ways but there are many ways in which now I now act as an Italian. I'm a blonde. I'm a Mormon. I'm a Sister. A best Friend. A problem Solver. A student. I've had my share of trials. I'm incredibly blessed. I'm American. I live in Italy. AND I'm Italerican.
Before I left America, I was able to speak English, fluently, but as the days pass I swear I'm losing more and more English! And now don't give me wrong, I also wouldn't even come close to saying I'm fluent in Italian. But I speak enough that alot of my thoughts flow in Italian and with every Italian word I learn I swear I lose 3 English words. I will be trying to say something to my family, in English, and I just won't be able to come up with the words! But the problem is, I can't say it Italian either. And at times I just can't seem to come up with the word in any language. Do you know what happens then?? You talk with your hands! Cause when in Italy, well you just do as the Italians do. And as all of you have seen in any movie based out of Italy, Italians speak with their hands. Because sometimes there just aren't words for what you are trying to say.
Which leads me to my next point, words get lost in translation because there are at least 6 times less words in Italian than there are in the English. WHy is this you might ask? Well no one *really* knows but my thoughts are that it is because one word has about 30 billion different meanings, a TV, a phone, a car, a microwave, hair clippers, an AC unit, a computer, etc, they are all "una macchina" 'a machine'. Italians. Gotta love em'!
Allora, with it being Thanksgiving today, really thinking about my family alot.. Holidays this year won't be easy, but it makes me grateful for all of the holidays in the past and it will make next years holidays just that much better! So my mission for today was too come up with food for a Thanksgiving dinner! In Italy... Here lies my problem: Italians dont eat turkey, ham, sweetpotatoes or anything Thanksgivingish. They eat pasta, pizza, and gelato so it was interesting to find ingradients to say the less! But in the end we were able to find, chicken, potatoes, and something resembling pies. :) Not a typical, American Thanksgiving but in the end, for me it's no longer about the food. Yes, I am in Italy, but I am still celebrating Thanksgiving, now more than ever before, because I am truely an eternally thankful for America. I am an American. and I couldn't be more grateful for my home. <3 The land of the free.
Much Love.
Before I left America, I was able to speak English, fluently, but as the days pass I swear I'm losing more and more English! And now don't give me wrong, I also wouldn't even come close to saying I'm fluent in Italian. But I speak enough that alot of my thoughts flow in Italian and with every Italian word I learn I swear I lose 3 English words. I will be trying to say something to my family, in English, and I just won't be able to come up with the words! But the problem is, I can't say it Italian either. And at times I just can't seem to come up with the word in any language. Do you know what happens then?? You talk with your hands! Cause when in Italy, well you just do as the Italians do. And as all of you have seen in any movie based out of Italy, Italians speak with their hands. Because sometimes there just aren't words for what you are trying to say.
Which leads me to my next point, words get lost in translation because there are at least 6 times less words in Italian than there are in the English. WHy is this you might ask? Well no one *really* knows but my thoughts are that it is because one word has about 30 billion different meanings, a TV, a phone, a car, a microwave, hair clippers, an AC unit, a computer, etc, they are all "una macchina" 'a machine'. Italians. Gotta love em'!
Allora, with it being Thanksgiving today, really thinking about my family alot.. Holidays this year won't be easy, but it makes me grateful for all of the holidays in the past and it will make next years holidays just that much better! So my mission for today was too come up with food for a Thanksgiving dinner! In Italy... Here lies my problem: Italians dont eat turkey, ham, sweetpotatoes or anything Thanksgivingish. They eat pasta, pizza, and gelato so it was interesting to find ingradients to say the less! But in the end we were able to find, chicken, potatoes, and something resembling pies. :) Not a typical, American Thanksgiving but in the end, for me it's no longer about the food. Yes, I am in Italy, but I am still celebrating Thanksgiving, now more than ever before, because I am truely an eternally thankful for America. I am an American. and I couldn't be more grateful for my home. <3 The land of the free.
Much Love.
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