Sunday, December 28, 2014

Holidays (and a bit of food)

Sono la peggiore blogger di sempre, ma fidateviquest'esperienza prende tanto tempo libero, ergo non sto mai ferma. Ho anche avuto un blocco e non sapevo piuche scrivere; ho creato questo blog per far si che anche altre persone potessero capire e "viverel'esperienza che io sto vivendoQuindi ho pensato che invece di raccontarvi delle mie giornate, vi raccontero' di come gli americani gestiscono le feste come Halloween, Thanksgiving e Natale; Devo ammettere che fanno tutto in grande e prendono le festivita' molto seriamente 
Halloween coinvolge adulti a bambini; tutte le case sono decorate e la sera del 31 si vedono migliaia di bambini per le strade, tutti mascherati che portano in giro cestini e borse contenenti caramellelecca lecca e cioccolatiniPuosembrare uguale, ma la differenza sostanziale e' che tutti vivono lo spirito, a scuolalavoro e anche nei negozi tutto e' decorato per Halloween. E non importa quanti anni tu abbia, la sera di Halloween sarai a fare dolcetto scherzetto. 
Thanksgiving e' una festivitache si festeggia solo in America ovvero il quarto giovedi' di Novembre. I pellegrini lo indussero nel 1621 e celebra un giorno in cui si ringrazia Dio per il raccolto e per cioche e' successo nell'anno che sta giungendo al termine. Il menu e' molto tradizionale e segue ricette che vengono tramandate di famiglia in famiglia. Il piufamoso piatto e' il tacchinoche ironicamente e' quotato come il piatto meno preferito dalle famiglie americane tra quelli offerti durante il pranzo. E' un giorno che si spende con la famiglia e che e' completamente all'insegna del "mangiare a piu' non posso". Gli altri piatti principali che si posso gustare sono il "ripieno" (che si mangia col tacchino), pure' di patate, la casseruola (che non ho ancora ben capito che cosa sia), torta di zuccatorta di pecan (che e' una noce che e' molto usata qui) e molte altre cose che non so esattamente come spiegare visto che sono piatti della tradizione americanaquindi non facili da spiegare. La cosa preferita' in assoluto dagli americani e' il periodo di tempo che va dalla sera del giorno del ringraziamento fino alla mattina dopo intorno a mezzogiornochiamato "black friday". Circa 12 ore in cui tutti i negozi fanno saldi spaziali e svendono tutto. Si vedono scene tipo giungla in cui mamme e figlie si buttano l'una sull'altra come giocatori di football al fine di per accaparrarsi una borsa o un paio di scarpe. O ancora peggio code da 2 o 3 ore per entrare in un negoziocose da matti 
La mia preferita in assoluto pero' e' il Natale. Come in tutte le altre feste gli americani sono molto tradizionalisti a alcune volte tendono ad esagerare un pochino. Con la mia famiglia abbiamo iniziato a decorare la casa il weekend dopo il ringraziamentoAbbiamo passato tutto il giorno a decorare l'albero, a costruire il villaggio e mettere decorazioni in tutta la casa. A differenza di alcune famiglie americane noi non abbiamo messo le luci al di fuori della casa. Alcune case sono piene di luci e decorazioni al di fuori, un vero spettacoloAlcune vie sono talmente decorate che sembra di essere al polo nord. Come in Italia durante il Natale si mangia tantissimo, ma davvero tanto.. Sono seriamente preoccupata per quando riprendero' gli allenamenti! Il 24 sera siamo andati a mangiare italianoe' stato divertente parlare con il proprietario in Italianoalcune volte ho l'impressione che l'italiano sia una lingua inventata da me, dato che la uso pochissimo ultimamente. Il 25 mattina i bambini ci hanno svegliato alle 6.45 (sottolineo 6.45) per aprire i regali e le "stocking" ovvero le calze che si appendono vicino all'albero e che solitamente contengono caramelle e piccoli regalini. Abby e Landen erano cosieccitatimentre io e Hailey eravamo come zombie (non sto scherzando). Dopo aver aperto I regali siamo andati dai nonni che vivono praticamente di fronte a noi e abbiamo aperto altri regali. Al contrario di quello che pensavo ho ricevuto tanti regalipiccoli ma con molto significato. Il piuimportane e' un album con tutte le foto che abbiamo fatto fin ora, e spazio per le future; pigiami e coperte (che sono la cosa piumorbida del mondo); e uno che non mi aspettavo totalmente. Un bracciale d'argento a cui si possono aggiungere tanti ciondoliognuno con un significato. Il natale e' stato molto speciale tutti mi hanno fatto sentire a casa; ho sentito la mancanza dell'Italia ovviamenteperche' non e' facile passare il natale senza la famiglia. 


I'm the worst blogger ever, but trust me, this experience takes so much of my free time, I'm never resting. I also had a block and I didn't know what to write about; I created this blog in order to help other people understanding and "living" the experience that I'm living. So I thought that rather than tell you about my days, I could tell you how Americans manage holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas; I must admit that they do everything big and take the holidays very seriously. 
Halloween involves adults and children; all the houses are decorated and the evening of the 31st thousands of children in the streets, all masked carrying around baskets and bags containing candy, lollipops and chocolates. It could seem the same, but the difference is that everyone feels the "spirit". Schools, work and even in the shops around are decorated for Halloween. And no matter how old you are, you will trick or treat on Halloween night.  
Thanksgiving is a holiday that is celebrated only in America on the fourth Thursday of November. Pilgrims led it in 1621 and it celebrates a day when we thank God for the harvest and for what happened in the year that is coming to an end. The menu is very traditional and follows recipes handed down from family to family. The most famous dish is the turkey, which ironically is listed as the least preferred dish by American families among those offered during lunch. It's a day that you spend with your family and that is completely dedicated to "eat as much as you can". The other main dishes you can enjoy are the "stuffing" (which is eaten with turkey), mashed potatoes, casserole (which I still don't understand what it is), pumpkin pie, pecan pie (a really common nut here) and many other things that I do not know exactly how to explain since they are traditional American dishes, so not easy to explain. The absolute favorite thing made by Americans is the period of time between the evening of Thanksgiving Day until the next morning around noon, called "black Friday". About 12 hours when all the shops are having crazy sales and sell off everything. We see scenes like the jungle where moms and daughters jump on each other as football players in order to get a bag or a pair of shoes. Or even worse, lines from 2 to 3 hours to get in a shop, things that are really crazy. 
My absolute favorite is Christmas. As in all the other holidays, the Americans are very traditional and sometimes they tend to exaggerate a little. With my family we started to decorate the house the weekend after Thanksgiving. We spent all day decorating the Christmas tree, putting together our ceramic village and putting decorations throughout the house. Unlike some American families we didn't put the lights outside the house. Some houses are full of lights and decorations outside, a real show. Some streets are decorated so much that it seems to be the north pole. As in Italy during Christmas you eat a lot, but so much .. I am seriously concerned about when I will start practice again! The 24th evening we went to eat Italian; It was fun to talk to the owner in Italian, sometimes I have the impression that the Italian is a language invented by me, since I use very little lately. The 25 morning the kids woke us up at 6:45 (6:45!!!!!) to open presents and the "stockings" that hang near the tree and that usually contain candy and small gifts. Abby and Landen were so excited, and Hailey and I were like zombies (I'm not kidding). After opening gifts we went to our grandparents' house, which live practically in front of us and opened other gifts. Contrary to what I thought, I received many gifts. Most of them were "small" but with a lot of meaning. The most important present i received is an album with all the pictures we have done so far, and space for the future once; pajamas and blankets (which are the softest in the world); and one that I totally didn't expect: A silver bracelet that you can add as many charms, each with a meaning. Christmas was very special everyone made me feel at home; I missed Italy of course, because is not easy to spend Christmas without the family. But I'm grateful for the Christmas I had.