Friends and Cultures

Tonight I had the privilege of hosting one of my old friends who started as a co-worker. He hails from Milan, Italy so I do not get to spend much time with him except when his work brings him here. My current work does nothing in other countries so I no longer get to travel abroad as I did when I worked there. Financially I am much better at my current employer but I do miss speaking with people in England, Italy and occasionally France and Australia as well. I have never been to his home in Milan, actually cancelled 2 trips there, but I vow to one day get there for a visit. Thanks to the Internet, we are able to maintain our communications and it is always nice to discuss various cultural things with him.

What made tonight even more fun was my girls, usually shy, accepted him and had quite a bit of fun “showing off” as excited toddlers tend to do. He will one day become a father and he will be a fine one as he has a knack with kids. It was fun to watch him try to teach my girls to count to 10 in Italian. All I remember aside from ciao is how to say “spoon” and “cat” mostly thanks to Baby Einstein videos. He is going to be married in a month and I wish he and his bride the best of luck. They had the coolest invitation I have seen in a while, even though we could not fully read it he helped. As per traditional Italian culture with the invitation we were presented a gift of some chocolates with the invitation. It is a wonderful idea in my opinion as it helps to promote the happiness that is beaming from the couple by sharing a little sweetness with friends and family.

I certainly wish I could personally attend this wedding but plane tickets to Italy are hard to pay for with 2 young children and I actually have to travel for my current job at the same time. I will of course send my love and best wishes for them and offer a promise that we will come visit someday when it might be easier for us to travel. I will also like to visit when we can spend time with them at a time when they are not experiencing the craziness of a wedding! Although we share cultural differences here and there it is always reassuring to see and know that the core values and perspectives are the same no matter where you are from. Teaching your children the same will hopefully not create the elitist attitudes our governing officials like to portray. The European culture and lifestyle would do this nation good but as Americans we don’t know how to slow down long enough to soak it all in.