Sharing Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving 2008 was by far one of the most reflective Thanksgiving's I've had in years. Being in Italy really makes one realize how important family and friends are. It is funny how the distance really can make people closer.

However this Thanksgiving also gave me the opportunity to think about why our country celebrates Thanksgiving and what all the symbolism really stands for. This year we were invited by some new friends in Italy to bring our family traditions together and celebrate the holiday. They also invited some Africans that Jon works with over to dinner. These guys work on a US base so they end up having days off during the US holidays. They are working in Italy without their families and aren't able to work during our holidays so we thought sharing our holiday with them would give them something to do. Ironically our efforts to think of them ended up helping us explain Thanksgiving to our children and of course helped us to reflect ourselves. It was a wonderful way to share. John and JP asked questions that we often overlook such as why a turkey, what are you celebrating, etc. It was a wonderful day.

We did not just share historical background and family traditions, we also watched the Macy's Day Parade and American football. Which you must know with the time change that the Macy's Day Parade was on in the afternoon so no need to get up early and watch it. I think JP and John got the full extent of the American holiday; however I did not know the background on the large balloons in the parade. I might have to do a little research before next Thanksgiving. I don't know if they will be in Italy next year but if they are they will definitely be on the invite list again. As you can tell from this pictures Charles and JP were big buds.

First trip to Germany

We just got back from our first family trip to Germany. Jon has been several times already for work and so this last week we all joined him. Jon flew military air on Monday morning. We were traveling with another family so we all flew on Monday afternoon together. It was an easy 2 hour flight but none of the children slept so you can imagine by the time we got to the hotel they were both passed out in the backseat. Did I mention that it was only a 10 minute drive to the hotel? Of course this did not slow us down. We let the children finish their nap and then we were off to dinner to try some German food. There is a great German resturant in the hotel complex. It made life simple and the food was wonderful. Both Grace and Charles ate like it was the norm. I really enjoyed eating more meat and potato style meals until the 3rd day and then I really needed some veggies. Can you believe this is Lana asking for veggies?

We were able to do some sightseeing while Jon worked. We explored the rail system and some shopping on the first day. While shopping we saw this church and went inside. As you can see the windows, ceiling, and pipe organ are fabulous.

While shopping in the outdoor market Charles was able to find some time to play. Here are some shots I took of him playing. Not to mention the attention he attacked from the Japanese tourists. They too took pictures of Carlo playing.

The second day we went to the zoo and it was wonderful. We saw lots of monkeys, seals, giraffes, elephants, penguins, kangeroos, polar bears, etc. This is probably the nicest zoo outside of San Diego that I have visited. The grounds were clean and manicured. The animals had wonderful habitats. I will visit this zoo again if we get back to Stuttgart. There even was an incident with a polar bear. The polar bear would come up to the plexiglass window almost like giving Charles a kiss. It did not matter where Charles stood the polar bear always found him. It was fun to play with this bear. No, the boy was not scared nor flinched when this large bear came straight at him. You would have thought this was Charles' best friend giving him a hug.

On the 3rd day we took a drive outside of town to visit a castle with Fairytale gardens. This was a little disappointing. The gardens were closed for the winter. The castle was beautiful and we saw lots of pottery and a clothing museum but we were looking for something for the little ones.

On the 4th and final day the weather turned bad. The cold weather was now cold and rainy so an inside activity was a must. Jon got off work early this day so we all went to the Mercedes-Benz museum. It was a nice museum even for a non-car person.
That pretty much wrapped up our week. The next morning we were all suppose to fly home together except Jon got the call from work that he would have to stay. That is just the way it goes sometimes so Jon went to work and we headed home. This morning the weather turned even colder so the children were able to see snow for the first time. Luckily for mom it was just a dusting.
I can't say enough about how nice Stuttgart, Germany is. All the yards, roads, and public areas were so clean and everyone was nice and spoke some English. I only wish I knew more German. Maybe if we move to Germany one day I will be able to work on the language and learn more about the customs of the country.

Buon Compleanno and Onomastico

Buon Compleanno is Happy Birthday in Italian and believe me it is a big day in a person's life. Yet I have not figured out which is bigger buon compleanno or onomastico (name day). The Carriglitto's got to celebrate both last week. Carlo's onomastico was Tuesday and Grace's buon compleanno was Friday. It was a big week.

We have had the opportunity to attend a Buon Compleanno for one of Grace's classmates. The Italians know how to celebrate a birthday. The party started at 5pm. There was a magic show, puppet show, games played, etc. At 8pm Jon and I were ready to go. Grace and Charles were exhausted. It was literally 3 hours of non-stop play and we haven't even gotten to the cake. The mother asked us to wait so we did. At 8:30 we sang Buon Compleanno and the cake was cut. We did not stay for the rest of the festivities and believe me it was not winding down. I can only imagine how long the children continued to play after all the sugar they were about to eat. It was an amazing event and we were all glad we attended. We wish we knew more Italian since only one person spoke any English. It was a motivator for me to study harder but I still have a ways to go for conversations. It might take me a few more birthday parties before I am fluent.

Grace's party was not so grandious. We only invited our friends with little ones around Grace's age and a few neighbors. We had the typical American birthday party with hamburgers and hotdogs. Of course you know the Carriglitto's had to do a little more than that so we added a corn dip and chicken enchilladas. The food was great. Unfortunately as you can see from the picture the Carvel cake thawed a little quicker than we were expecting. The little ones all played and had a good time. We did not have a puppet show, organized games, or any of that nature. I did not realize how much Grace enjoyed her party until yesterday when I told her that I had a surprise for her. She immediately asked if it was a birthday party. This was all the confirmation that I needed to know she had a wonderful 3rd Birthday Party.

Birthday Party Pictures

Halloween 2008

Halloween in Italy

Halloween has caught me a little off guard here in Italy. I was told and since I did not see a lot of costumes etc at the local stores I felt comfortable with the assumption that Italians do not celebrate Halloween. With that in mind, we had heard of a couple events on the bases in the area for the children if we were interested. Our children are little and we don't like to feed them a lot of candy so we thought we could just skip this year's festivities. No so easy. I didn't order a costume and we left for Paris for a week. When we returned and took Grace to school on Monday I was surprised to see the scoula office decorated for Halloween and the secretary was busy cutting out more decorations. On Tuesday the same thing was occurring and even more decorations cluttered the office and a sign had been posted about a Halloween party on Friday. What was this? Now I have to bring Grace to scoula in a costume. Where do I get such a thing at the last minute in a country that does not celebrate. Interesting. I dug out last year's costume and it will work. It is a little small but not bad. Good thing our daugther hasn't grown a lot. Save.

I then asked my Italian neigbhor and he too is confused because he didn't think they celebrated Halloween either. He said when he moved back 2 years ago there were no signs of Halloween but last year and this year he has seen some and his child's scoula is also having a party. Very interesting.

I guess this is one more way Italy is being westernized. I would have thought they could have chosen a better method but I guess it is all about fun and having a party. So we are going to celebrate Halloween dispite all of my effects to avoid it.

Happy Halloween to all. I will post pictures of the children next week, yes in there costumes.

Paris Pictures

Welcome to the neigborhood

I can't say enough about the little things people do to help make you feel welcome in Napoli. Just this morning. I dropped Grace off at scoula and stopped by the local GS Supermercata to pick up a few things for dinner. Jon and I have both been to the GS a few times and have always been treated nice but this morning was extra special. The supermercata's all have discount cards similar to the US except I was told by my Italian teacher that there was a fee so I never worried with them. Everytime you checkout at the GS they would ask if you had a card and I would politely say no. But this morning when she asked and I said no. She then asked if I wanted one. I said no. The cashier did not end with that. She asked her English speaking manager to help explain. The discount card at the GS does not have a fee so you recieve the discounts simply by using the card each time you shop. So of course after purchasing my groceries with a discount for the day I went over to the customer service counter and filled out the info card with the manager's assistance. Just walking out of the store with a GS discount card made me feel like a local and welcome in their community.

It is the little things we often over look. I am sure the cashier nor the manager realized how special they made me feel so I thought I would blog for a minute this morning to share it with all of you.