The zucche are back in season – round squash with bright melon-like flesh and ivory-colored bulletproof rinds. I see heaps of them in a plastic milk crate at the market and think about it for a heartbeat, but then remember the toughness of that rind, my desperate awkwardness with knives and, above all, the fact […]
american expat
The Sound of Silence
Eva, they say, you’re quiet tonight. They get nervous when I’m quiet – these friends of mine – and they’re not wrong to be. I like to talk, and I can do it in twoalmostfour languages. It’s rare that I stop – What’s that? What’s that word mean? Conjugate this verb in dialect for me. […]
- Italy
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Five Myths About Italy
A few months ago, I was interviewed by Blog Expat for their Expat Interviews feature; a lovely time was had by all. Answering the questions made me reflect deeply on my years living abroad – how did I get here (Ryan Air)? What advice would I give other expats (stock up on Jell-O)? But the […]
- Food Culture
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The Gift of the Pancake
E got off the bus and wandered towards the scent of chocolates and strawberries and caramel and lemons and vanilla and sugar and heaven. Dawson Street was always busy this time of day, but she was being pushed more than usual – jostled by a throng that seemed to be converging in front of a […]
Things I Am Allowed to Say*
*according to Sean Give out – as in, “Sean gave out to me for yesterday’s blog post.” After – as in, “Sean’s after coming home from work.” Well – as in, “I’m doing well today – not good, because if I were doing ‘good,’ I’d be Wonderwoman.” Biscuit – as in, “This hard thing that […]
looova
British Steve (one of my fellow teachers and friends here) says all of his schwa sounds as “oooh.” “Say ‘lover’, Steve!” urges American Mike, his roommate. “Loooova,” Steve will say gorgeously. “I don’t have an accent. I don’t know what you guys are talking abOAT.” says Alan from Ottawa. “But that letter you keep trying […]
“inside”
With the other English teachers at school, there are dinners out. With my downstairs neighbors (also fellow English teachers), there are many walks. There are SO MANY BICYCLES in Sakiio that my heart stops every few seconds – they are a menace as they constantly zip through the sidewalk they for some moronic reason share […]
Toire
The internet cafe is not free. There is, apparently, a sign above the computers that says something like “Free internet when you buy 1 drink! 1 hour maximum” but, of course, this, I couldn’t read. My new neighbors, Bob and Sean, translated it for me when they bounced over to said cafe, ready to get […]
watashi wa gaijin desu
Yatta for a free internet cafe just about 10 minutes from my apartment in Sakiio!!! Free is dangerous, though, because for the past 48 sans-intanetto hours i crossed a continent and an enormous ocean while nursing a raging head cold, got settled into my teeny, tiny apato, strolled down the main street in search of […]