All posts in category Culture Shock

“Fun Facts” (an exciting new blog feature!)

Ciao Readers!

So, as you sit there reading my posts about festivals and museums and pizza, I am actually sitting here shivering from walking all day in the rain and cold.  But, since I have decided not to use my blog to gripe (well, not too much), I have come up with an amusing new mini-series – “Fun Facts.”  In this way I will take my woes and turn them into something fun and educational (which I will post between the usual longer, photo-filled posts).  For example:

Fun Fact:  Florence usually gets about 4.5 inches of rain in the month of November, which is about half of what Albuquerque, NM gets in an entire year (9).  Florence also averages 15 rainy days in the month of November (yes, that means HALF the days it rains!).  This November (2012), according to the weather channel, the West Side of Albuquerque (drier side, where we lived) got .05 inches of rain, while Florence was drenched by at least 5 inches.  If I am doing my math correctly, that means we got one hundred (100) times more rain here than our house in Albuquerque did.

Who knew?

8 Comments
by Newmexicotoitaly on December 4, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Culture Shock, Fun Facts
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on December 4, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/12/04/fun-facts-a-new-and-exciting-blog-feature/

When it Rains in Florence….

Ciao Readers!

It’s been raining here – lots!  You may have seen on the news how Venice was recently under water (more than usual).  Pretty much all of the northern half of Italy was drenched.  So, I decided to share some of the rainy day activities we have undertaken (seeing as we have no car and no mall to drive to)…

When it rains in Florence….it’s a good excuse for an extra-thick ridiculously rich cup of “cioccolata calda” at Grom (think hot chocolate/pudding hybrid):

When it rains in Florence…it’s a good time to go to the laundromat to use a clothes dryer and be amused by the lost-in-translation signs (here they are trying to tell you to empty the washer when it’s done washing):

When it rains in Florence….it’s the time I stare at our ceiling and think about how much I hate the “chandelier” that hangs where a perfectly functional ceiling fan should be.  (In order to make my gripe more humorous I actually tried to write a haiku about a ceiling fan; the results were pretty pathetic.  I then tried to write the song “Oh Ceiling Fan” to the words of “Oh Christmas Tree” – complete failure).  Maybe the picture is amusing enough; behold:

When it rains in Florence….I try (half-successfully) to see the glass as half-full and take photos of the lovely rainbows that follow:

Thanks for sharing a rainy afternoon with me!  P.S. – if you enjoy the blog and are so inclined…you can click on the “top blog” logo on the upper right of this page and review my blog for some possible virtual kudos.  Grazie!

11 Comments
by Newmexicotoitaly on November 27, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Culture Shock, Food, Italy, here we come!
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on November 27, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/11/27/when-it-rains-in-florence/

HAPPY THANKSGIVING (Italy Style) !!!

Ciao Readers!  And HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!!

Okay, I know I said I was working past my culture shock and the need to replicate state-side foods, but now it’s Thanksgiving!  I’m not a big traditionalist, but Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday and filled with many personal traditions.  Except for the few years where folks have come to share the day with us, Thanksgiving usually goes something very close to this: we wake up early and get the turkey in the oven before Steve takes me to run some Thanksgiving-day-themed 5k (usually the “Turkey Trek” or “Hobbler Gobbler”); we get back and finish all the cooking (enough to feed way more than the 2 of us); we then get in our p.j.’s and watch a day-long marathon of holiday movies while we stuff ourselves (favorites include “Pee Wee’s Christmas Special” and “Scrooged”).  Now the question has been, how will we celebrate in Italy?

First off, clearly Thanksgiving is not a holiday here – Steve has to work and I’ll be going to school (not sure I mentioned, but I started back) – so Thursday is not going to cut it (though I do plan on setting my ipod/nike gadget for a 5K on Thursday and running my own Turkey Trek).  Mostly, though, we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving a little late (which is okay – one year our families came for “fake” Thanksgiving a week late because it was easier for everyone to travel then).   However, while the date may be off, the food will be pretty darn close.  I started sourcing ingredients a couple of weeks ago.  And, since I wasn’t certain I was going to be able to get it all right, we had to have some “test runs.”   I made a test-run pumpkin pie with condensed milk from Vivi Market, using store-bought Butoni “pasta sfoglia” (puff pastry) for the crust and making my own pumpkin puree from a big chunk of a green pumpkin-like thing I got at the grocery (they actually sell Libby’s canned pumpkin at Vivi, but it is stupid expensive and the fresh stuff worked great!).  Steve beat the fresh cream by hand, and voila!  Not too shabby (photo of the pieces we shared with the Rosticerria guys):

I didn’t think we were ever going to find yams as I’d been keeping an eye out for awhile, but whatd’ya know, at Mercato Centrale there is a small Central American food vendor tucked away in the back and they have them (also baked a couple of those for a test-run).  Turkey (parts) and potatoes and green beans are no problem (and they have great, fancy mushroom creams here to use with the green beans).  I planned very far ahead for the stuffing and brought a box mix for cornbread, to which we will add stale bread (adding day-old baguettes became a new tradition in 2008 when we were in Paris at Thanksgiving and that’s how I made stuffing) (alas, though, no green chiles – another personal traditional twist on stuffing).  The final piece of the puzzle was the cranberry sauce…. I tried and tried to source some fresh cranberries, but to no avail.  So, I broke down and bought one of these very tiny (very expensive) jars of ocean spray sauce at Vivi Market:

As for the holiday movie marathon, I actually brought those DVD’s, and while they don’t play on the Italian tv system, they do play on my laptop – so we will be spending “Thanksgiving” with Bill Murray, as always!

Whatever your own traditions, please have a warm and wonderful holiday! Cheers!

4 Comments
by Newmexicotoitaly on November 21, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Culture Shock, Diversions to Other Places, Food
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on November 21, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/11/21/happy-thanksgiving-italy-version/

To Everything There is a Season

Ciao Readers! (and Happy [early] Birthday Pop!)

The title of this blog refers not to the 1965 hit by the Byrds (originally done by Pete Seeger in 1962 and taken almost verbatim from the book of Ecclesiastes, later to be quoted by Kevin Bacon in “Footloose”), but to how everything here runs by the calender.  And I mean everything – what you wear, what you eat, whether or not you’re allowed to turn on your radiator and whether or not you can find mosquito repellent in the stores.  Let me explain…

I suppose before moving here I had the vague idea that people in Europe eat more seasonally than most folks in the U.S.  But I don’t think I really appreciated the full extent of that idea.  I always notice here that what I can buy at the market directly relates to what’s being harvested that week – which is actually pretty cool – this August/September was the first time ever I have bought nothing but sweet/ripe cantaloupes – not a dud in the bunch!  However, I had no idea this principle even applied to the available sweets.  When we first got here and would have our “breakfast” pastries in the park, they never seemed to have chocolate-filled ones, just marmalade.  I was really missing the chocolate-filled ones I remembered from my “breakfasts” in Bologna in March.  I have since learned that Italians think chocolate is bad for you in the summer as it is heavy and will make you hot and unhealthy; chocolate is reserved for the fall/winter (and lo and behold – more varieties of chocolate goodies are starting to appear – yay!).

Now, when it comes to food, I think this seasonal perspective makes sense.  But I’m a little less convinced when it comes to other areas of life (less convinced = more spoiled).  For instance, the calender dictates what home supplies you can buy in the stores.  When we first got here in August we bought a trial screen for one of our windows (not knowing if it would fit and serve the purpose of keeping our cat from jumping 4 floors).  We decided we wanted to buy more for the rest of our windows, so when we had the rental car for Greenday the first weekend of September, we drove back to the OBI (Home-Depot “light”).  There were no screens to be found.  As the employee explained to me, it was past August 31 and they were no longer on sale.  Not fully understanding what he meant, I asked when there would be more in, to which he replied “next summer.”  That was the dawning of the realization that you can only buy certain things here at certain times.   I had also been meaning to buy a second oscillating fan for the guest bedroom (should we finally get some guests, hint hint)…

As I surmised at that point, there were no more fans to be had.  It didn’t matter that the temperatures were still reaching into the 90’s – it was September and that was that!   The same held true for mosquito repellent (fyi, mosquitoes are onomatopoeicaly called “zanzare” in Italian – love saying that word).  While all of the mosquito repelling supplies were taken off the store shelves, no one bothered to tell the mosquitoes they don’t exist after October 1st (they’re really bad here, and their calenders are set for sometime in the future).  And then there’s the way people are dressed – it went from mini skirts and 0pen-toed shoes to winter coats and scarves almost overnight – with no transition in between and (from my perspective) a disregard for the actual weather conditions outside.  But I can tell the feeling is mutual – I can’t tell you how many weird looks I get when I go out for my morning run (still in short sleeves – crazy stranieri!).

Today the owners came over to show us how to turn on the gas/water radiator system (it’s amazing how idiot-like we are about some things here).  Lucky for us we don’t really like heat or we may have wanted it turned on before November 1st (which we just learned is the official day the CITY will LET you turn on the heat!).   Oh, no, I forgot to ask the exact date that we need to shut it off….

Until next time!

Someone is happy it’s radiator season:

2 Comments
by Newmexicotoitaly on November 10, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Culture Shock, Italy, here we come!
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on November 10, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/11/10/to-everything-there-is-a-season/

Sure, Park There! (A photo anthology)

Ciao Readers!

In light of the upcoming election in the U.S., I had two choices – write about the surreal experience of voting and watching the election from abroad (for the second time; in 2008 we were in France), or post a total “fluff” piece.  As any good party host knows, you should always stay away from politics and religion, so I chose the latter!

In Friday’s blog I made the following statement: “…we have learned that street signs, signals, barriers, etc. don’t mean much here (one day I’ll have to post a photo of the cars parked all over the street downstairs).”  Right after I wrote that, I thought “good idea,” and leaned out a window with a camera.   I also shot a few pictures of cars parked in and around Piazza Beccaria (the end of the main street in the neighborhood).  The thing to keep in mind as you see the photos of cars literally parked in the street, behind other cars, and in front of clearly marked “no parking” signs is that it took NO effort to take these photos – I didn’t have to wait for the shots – this is how people park ALL THE TIME.

Happy Election!

7 Comments
by Newmexicotoitaly on November 5, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Culture Shock, Italy, here we come!
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on November 5, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/11/05/sure-park-there-a-photo-anthology/

Texbook Case of “Culture Shock”

Ciao Readers!

So here I’ve been – thinking I am so unique and special and all that jazz.  I have witty observations about my new country and I go on wild quests to find ingredients to make comfort foods (or to join non-existent organizations).  I blog about it for your entertainment (and my need to vent).  And, unbeknownst to me, all this time I have just been experiencing a textbook case of culture shock.  Not even a scientific-journal worthy case, just a normal ol’ case.  There are like umpteen million articles out there on this, but I had never read one until today.

Apparently there are 5 stages of culture shock.  Depending on the source, some of the stages vary a bit.  However they all have the same first stage – the “honeymoon” phase.  Now, all I have to do is look back at my own blog and my adoration of the food and the culture when we first arrived to recognize that phase.

Phase two, depending on the source, is either “rejection” or “distress.”  This is where you feel isolated and start getting seriously annoyed by and judging your new culture (descriptions of trips to the post office, anyone?).  I think I am still partially in this phase (I’ve been grumpier than I let on as I realize no one likes a grumpy blog) – but now that I know I am just reacting “normally” I don’t feel quite as badly (though being “normal” has never really been appealing to me….).  Phase three involves regression – such as seeking out food or t.v. shows from home (am I really that predicable?!?!).  We don’t even need to discuss if I’m in this phase (yesterday I spent about 5 hours searching for ingredients and then making California sushi rolls; we already know I caved and got internet access to t.v. from the States)!  It’s weird having yourself described to a tee – especially by some list of common stages.  While having my uniqueness myth dispelled isn’t fun, I do appreciate one theme in all of the articles – “IT WILL PASS.”  And that’s a relief – because I was starting to wonder about whether I will ever adjust (and also because the lame sushi rolls were nowhere near worth the effort I put into them).  Hopefully, I will soon move on to stage 4:

Stage 4 has many variations – “recovery,” “acceptance,” “emergence,” “assimilation” (I like this one – it has a Borg ring to it), and so on.  The main point is that you are adapting and feeling okay about being in your new culture.  I’m glad to hear that that stage is next because the thought of packing everything and 2 cats back up and heading “home” sounds ridiculous (and tiring!).   I’ll worry about stage 5 (reverse culture shock) some other time.

But, have no fear readers, I am sure just enough of stages 2 and 3 will hang around that I will never run out of witty (i.e. smart-aleky) observations about which to blog!

Delicious dinner or cry for help?:

7 Comments
by Newmexicotoitaly on October 26, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Culture Shock, Italy, here we come!
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on October 26, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/10/26/texbook-case-of-culture-shock/

A: Huevos Rancheros, Faux Pho & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Q:  What are three things I made last week?

Ciao Readers!  After my unsuccessful attempts to do something productive, I thought I’d get back to something I know – cooking!   While we have been enjoying all of the wonderful Italian food here, I like the challenge of trying to “recreate” familiar dishes.  So, I set about making huevos rancheros, pho and chocolate chip cookies (not all in one day mind you).

In all fairness, I cheated a bit on the huevos rancheros (pictured in first row) as the New Mexican-made tortillas and green chile sauce arrived in a care package from my folks (thanks!).   The cheddar cheese came from Pegna, and of course potatoes and eggs are no problem.  They were missing the taste of freshly roasted green chiles (as opposed to jarred sauce), but they were pretty darn close!

I also made what I am calling “faux pho” – real pho being our favorite Vietnamese dish we would get back at May Cafe in Albuquerque.  I actually managed to create this dish (rows 2 into 3) entirely from ingredients sourced here (or grown on our roof terrace).  I got the pho paste and noodles (though I picked the wrong kind and these absorbed ALL the soup liquid) at Vivi Market, the small hot chili (was like a cross between a serrano and a jalapeno) and the Sriracha sauce from the lady at Sant’ Ambrogio market, and (surprisingly enough) accidentally came across the bean sprouts at Conad.  It definitely didn’t taste like the “real” thing, but was spicy and yummy nonetheless.

The most spot-on thing I made was chocolate chip cookies (balance of row 3, duh!).  Again, I cheated a bit with chips sent from home, though I have since seen a variety in the stores here.  The rest of the baking ingredients were sourced from various places (and I apologize for the atrocious photo on the vanilla extract, but this is THE only vanilla extract I could find and it took some hunting).  I wasn’t sure what kind of flour to buy and I had to play with ratios (and use walnuts as there are no pecans here, which I usually use), but they came out PERFECT.  They were yummy and delicious and warm and crispy but gooey and all the things chocolate chip cookies should be.  I was so proud I wanted to share, so Steve brought some downstairs to the guy who owns the Rosticceria (he’s always so nice and rounds down, so I wanted to say “thanks”).  When I passed by the next day he went on and on about how delicious they were; I asked him if he had ever had them or knew what they were and he hadn’t/didn’t.  Interesting to think that a regular ol’ chocolate chip cookie can be an exotic treat!

Next time we talk food….seafood and gelato in Bologna, then an Italian meal in at our neighborhood Osteria Cocotrippone (complete with photos)…  Bon Appetit!

7 Comments
by Newmexicotoitaly on October 22, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Culture Shock, Diversions to Other Places, Food
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on October 22, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/10/22/a-huevos-rancheros-faux-pho-chocolate-chip-cookies/

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