New Like Me

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Halloween mood (New kids on the block)

Cork, Ireland - Halloween is approaching again, and we are all getting ready for the "Trick or treat" reality. My neighbourhood is full of kids and it's a pleasure to see them coming over , knocking at doors all dressed up, handing over their open bags to receive the treats. I'm still debating if it's my husband the one having more fun, or the kids. Last year he got all dressed up in a scary vampire suite, he put horrifying music on, full of shouts and evil laughters, and he hid behind the door waiting for the approaching groups of kids... he would then open the door before the knocking, and shout and make faces and scare the hell out of the innocent souls! Quite fun, i have to say.
Last year was the first year I decided to get properly ready for the reality. I started a month ahead by shopping for halloween style cookie-shapers, searching the internet for yummy recipes and finally  I spent a week backing different shape of cookies, decorating them with chocolate, green and orange icing sugar and so on. I carefully selected my pumpkin, the biggest one i could find, and i designed it and left the carving part to my husband, who is well trained after years of pumpkin-carving from his teenargerhood between Mexico and the States.
Well, what can I say! I was more excited than the kids and i have been waiting for the first knock all afternoon... and when they knocked, I wore my best smile and offered my hamper of home-made delicatessen, each one of them wrapped in a single transparent cookie bag with colorful ribbons... and you know what? The new kids on the block politely reply "No, thank you!" and went for the cheap candies i bought at the corner shop just in case of shortage of cookies.
I almost cried! No, thank you?! How come?? I am seeing in my head all those halloween American movies with mamas baking loads and kids divouring loads... and the only thing i get i a "No, thank you". I was so distressed that I asked my husband to take care of the offering, and he had the good mind of asking one of the kids why they didn't want to get any of the home made stuff.
"Because mummy said Only industrial candies!"
Fear of unsafe food give out in a peaceful neighbourhood, I guess. Understandable, but what a disappointment for me!
This year, only industrial candies for us. I wonder how are things around the world. Are people really getting suspicious of their own neighbours? Now that I have kids, I'd say i'd be the same... but movies are movies!

Do you have a preference for the Vodka?

San Francisco - America is the country of choices. Customers are given tons of choices in every shopping situation, which sounds good in theory... but if you are not used to it and, like me, you don't give a damn, it just pisses you off. They overload you with questions like:
"An hamburger please" - How would you like your meat cooked?
"Vodka tonic please" - Do you have a preference for Vodka?
"An Italian sandwich for me" - Everything in it? What kind of bread do you want?
Best Buy, at the counter - Did you find everything you were looking for?
Every restaurant, 10 min after they bring the food - How's everything is going here?
You handle the credit card to the bartender - Keep the tab open or close?

Yesterday I got this one at Nordstrom, that I find pretty funny: "Receipt with you or in the bag?". Ah! Who cares?!

I think there should be a default choice in all these things and they just should not bother questioning. Does any question bother you? Write it in the comments.

(read on about shopping, eggs, coffee sizes and more in the comments...)

Shoes and the City!

Cork, Ireland - Ok, here's the deal. I'm writing this post and feel a bit like Carrie writing her column about shoes, remember that episode of Sex and the City? I'm more of an old-fashioned version of her, especially because my "City" is not the Big Apple but just something I consider just a town, 300.000 inhabitants for 4 roads that make up the so called "city center".
I am desperate for shoes. Not for me, no, but for my 15 months old daughter who's just learning how to walk. I discovered an interesting fact: in here, they don't sell you kid's shoes if the kid is not walking. And they don't sell you kid's shoes if the kid is not with you in the shop. Now, my girl is not walking by herself quite yet, but she surely walks, and sometimes even run, if we hold her with one hand. She just needs a good pair of sturdy shoes to make her more stable on her feet. But no, she can only get the so-called "pre-walkers", sort of dummy shoes with soft soft sole, the closest thing to walking barefoot that I can ever imagine. I have to say that the clerks are very good in their job: they measure the peanut-foot for two or three times, length, witdht and all, and they give you the perfect size but you'll never be able to buy bargains on sales for bigger sizes because they just won't sell it to you!
A friend of mine asked me to buy some good pair of walking shoes for her boy, same age as my girl, when I went on holiday in Italy! Not sure how does it work around the world, but I know I have some bigger sizes I bought back home, surely waiting that my girl will grow into them! 
Talking about shoes, big issues over here to find shoes for my husband as well: 6.3 feet tall, he never found the right size for him in here! Apparently, they're so accustomed to tiny (should we say short?) persons that they never carry big sizes. And forget about fashion! The trendiest thing you could wear in summer is a light brown pair of hairy knee-high boots, over a flashy pink mini-skirt!
Granted, I save on my salary, but thanfully I visit my home town every now and then.... :)
Silvia

Do you easily recognize your compatriots?


Being Brazilian, recognizing people from my Country is not as easy as you may think. People usually think that all Brazilians have dark skin, curly hair and know how to dance samba... but just look at me (if you know me :p): I'm the opposite of all these characteristics.

That being said the only way I find to recognize Brazilians abroad is clothing:


1. The easiest is when we have your national soccer team t-shirt, almost all Brazilians have it because we become the most patriot nation in the world every 4 years when the World Cup is being played.
2. "Platform" high heels (not sure of how they are called in US): if you see someone using anything like this: Bingo! it's a Brazilian girl.
3. VERY tight jeans, we just Loooove the lack of air inside those jeans.
3. Nike shox. Big hit in Brazil, almost everyone has it.

What about you? how do you recognize people from your country?

Lying in English - I was with a friend...


There are many ways in which you can exploit the fact of not being a native speaker when someone asks you a question you don't really want to answer to. I find particularly interesting like in English you can actually avoid saying if you spend the evening with a guy or a girl, just saying that you were with "a friend". In Italian you can't hide the sex of your mysterious friend... it would be "un amico" or "una amica" - and it makes a big difference. I've heard that in Japanese you also have the same word for single and plural and so the description of your evening would be even more vague, not being able to distinguish between a date and an evening with a bunch of guys. Can any Japanese speaker confirm that?
And do you exploit not being a native speaker? I'm sure you do!

Christmas Tree or New Year's Tree?!!

well here I come...just wanted to share with u something funny...I realized it was funny when i moved in italy...
In Albania we don't have The Christmas tree..we have the New year tree...and we dont have Father Tree we have Father New year..eheheeh.and everything that has to do with christmas is used with new year...do you believe that?that sound strange here in Italy...but it's how it works in my country...
what in rest of the world?


Bersa Bozdo

Ops... Did I just say that?

Have you ever realized how easy it is to say a bad word in a foreign language? It's almost as you can't get the meaning of it when it's not your mother language.
For example, for me in Italian it quite easy to say cazzo (even if I try to change the word a bit saying cazzarola sometimes...). It happened sometimes that I even said that word in front of my parents! Something I would never do in my own language!
Even the world known English 4 letters word... it's so easy to say!! But do you honestly say that kind of bad word that offten in your mother language?

(read on the comments)

My Penis' Feelings

San Francisco - It happened a while ago, but I still think about it. She literally said: "we can't date because you are not circumcised". She said that she likes it that way and that she had to ask because I'm not from here. She would have taken it for granted if I were from here.
So I made my researches and it seems that more than 80% of american guys is circumcised! Is this correct? And.. ladies, does it make any difference??
Anyway, cultural and physical differences make dating in the US so interesting!

To tell you the truth, she was kind of joking when she said that, and the day after she texted me apologizing for hurting my penis' feelings. But still.

(read on the comments from Brasil, Ireland.. Jewel's response and a Wikipedia excerpt!)

Is there time & place to blow your nose?

Milano - I'm aware that many of you won't understand why this is so strange to me, but believe... it is!

I just don't get why Italians feel so comfortable when blowing their noses. The following situation happened many times with me when I was living in Italy: I'm eating with someone, and in the middle of the meal this person simply gets his tissue and BLOW HIS NOSE! Right there, on the table, in front of me as if it was the most normal thing to do!! I'm telling you... it is not. This doesn't happen only at a table, it happens in many different places: sitting on the bus, at work, at the movies ecc.

In my culture, when you have to blow your nose you go to the toilet, outside or to anyplace nobody will see or hear you. It's something private and disgusting for other people around you! The funny thing is that I'm realizing that also here in the US it is quite normal to blow your nose in front of other people, the only difference is it that Americans don't do it as loud as Italians do :D.

What about you? Is it normal for you to blow your nose in public?

(read on comments from Brazil, US, Italy, Albania...)

To The Limit

San Francisco - It was expected, sooner or later... there is no more room in the cabinet for Safeway's bags! Every time I go to the store I take home four or six of them - always an even number because the clerk is used to put one inside the other to prevent them from breaking. I'm too lazy and disorganized to bring them from home, but I think I'm not the only one. And they are free.
All in all, it's a big waste, but not as big as having a clerk dedicated to put stuff in the bags for you. That's a waste of human resources.