Questo spaventoso silenzio (spaventoso almeno per me, che di solito scrivo con una certa regolarità) è dovuto alla visita più aspettata e temuta dell'anno: quella dei miei genitori in California. Mio padre non era mai stato prima negli Stati Uniti, mentre mia madre aveva fatto un giro della East Coast... nel 1975! Aspettative e dubbi erano tanti. Come si comporteranno? Apprezzeranno la città in cui vivo? Come sopravviveranno al cibo alieno? Will they walk around alone even without speaking a word of English? Here are all the answers ...
Week 1: Lilly and Nick arrive at the airport all happy. The plane is late and the luggage went missing at Charles de Gaulle, but they do not care: challenge the jet lag! The first days are a whirlwind of culinary preparations for Thanksgiving that frustrate the will of shopping Lilly, but when the feast arrives everything goes smoothly. Italian friends with whom we see have a chat and play cards, while the father of Sterling merely smile and say "Grazzi! Grazzi!" when you pass a plate. The following weekend is tourism: the visit to wine country is appreciated by Nick anche se Lilly non beve un goccio, i leoni marini eseguono alla perfezione il loro solito show di puzza e rumore e dopo un pò di proteste Nick riesce a mangiare perfino un granchio (d'altronde siamo in stagione) e la famosa clam chowder in a bread bowl di San Francisco. Lilly scopre una passione per il pop-corn ricoperto di caramello che non la abbandonerà per il resto della vacanza. Nick comincia a guardare la TV senza l'audio, "tanto non capisco niente uguale". Io e Sterling ci guardiamo preoccupati e decidiamo che urge trovare un rimedio.
Livello di stress: 3. Per il momento andiamo bene.
Settimana 2: Io e Sterling scopriamo che Netflix è la migliore baby-sitter digitale che potessimo mai desiderare: Nick Lilly and strategically placed in front of an Italian film every night, and reduces us to work in the bedroom using the small TV to review the games. We also discover that our sofa EKTORP we miss dearly. Fortunately, along comes the weekend in Southern California, time to show Nick and Lilly the beautiful local scenery! Caramel was extremely successful, but not his food: Lilly does not want to taste even a harmless pea soup because "you never know the spices they put into it," while Nick refuses twelve salad is like saying that no one at home. The Big Sur proves too long for their patience, but to make a breakfast from IHOP and Disneyland are immensely appreciated. A Los Angeles wants Lilly see the villas of celebrities in Beverly Hills, while Sterling is ashamed to take her to death. Following Sterling's inner drama, but of course Lilly is the host and always wins. A Santa Barbara to meet Alessia I hope that I manage , companion blogs and long telephone calls which were planning to see us for a lifetime. I rebuke and Santa Barbara Lilly, and Nick feels "as if we were in California. That movie, however, not San Francisco."
stress level: 7. If there is a reason why I live in California and in Italy they begin to understand now ...
Week 3: I have to work, I have some urgent deliveries and so I can not go around with them all day. Nick and Lilly decided to explore on your own Chinatown, where it obviously will not touch the food, and North Beach, where they can find an immigrant originally from Scalea who knows a second cousin of my father who does the traffic policeman and that once the has saddled a fine. Small world. Lilly becomes a brave and taste of sushi roll, Nick tries to keep up but ends up carefully peel away all the seaweed with a knife and fork before eating rice. Lilly tries to take control of the house, especially the kitchen and rearrange as if it were his home. When I tell her to stop it offends me and makes a Neapolitan-style melodrama, in which Nick refuses to play the part of Mario Merola. The dramatized are repeated in the last days of the visit will be a sign that it's time to go home? Fortunately, a tram ride up and down the hills of San Francisco and one of the famous cupcake from Kara's Cupcakes are back at the moment the mood in the family. Nick accidentally tasted a leaf of cilantro and swears that it has closed forever with American food. The last day, after accompanying Lilly and Nick at the airport, Sterling and I go home with the sole desire to sleep. We wake up two or three days later, but it will take much longer to recover completely.
stress level: 9. We're almost to the limit, but the idea of \u200b\u200breturn to be only keeps us alive.
Moral of the story: I read the experiences of other Italians who have visited the parents in America and all are very positive. Now the possibilities that come to mind are two possibilities: either all have lied, or am I being a monster. I do not believe to be a monster, but I also believe that this huge geographical distance between me and my parents is not completely random. Even before moving to San Francisco I lived in Rome and went back to Salerno to visit them once a month or less. The distance has definitely improved my relationship with them, but even so the way to go there. For the moment I'm staying here, away from the family dynamics that made me lose my mind until a few years ago, then we'll see ...
0 comments:
Post a Comment