Let the Laughs Begin

Okay, if you've even noticed, maybe you've been wondering where I've been. Under a rock, really. But now--hopefully--the initial overseas adjustment to Naples is officially over! I'm sure I'll still have my moments, but for the most part, I feel much more comfortable being in Italy and Naples. The kids are in school some of the time. Yay! I'm getting offbase and driving places by myself (well, not without the GPS). And I am even helping to plan our family trips and adventures (albeit last minute). But most importantly, instead of feeling nearly terrified to do anything that would draw attention to myself, I can now find humor in our cultural/language mistakes and laugh at myself--or Brian, as the case may be.

So far, my favorite "foreigner moment" has been the time we returned to a local pizzeria having learned from our Italian neighbor to ask for more cheese, since they were a little skimpy the first time. And this time, Brian was feeling a little bold, so he ordered a Margherita pizza as usual and also took a stab at a Neopolitan pizza, even though he wasn't able to read the Italian description below it. After all, we are in Napoli, so we might as well find out how Neopolitans like their pizza. He ordered both pizzas with "molto fromaggio, per favore."

Little did we know...the Neopolitan way (at this restaurant, but not necessarily everywhere in Naples) is WITHOUT cheese...so in effect, what Brian ordered was a cheeseless pizza with extra cheese! Hmm, the waiter gave us a strange look, walked away, and returned a few minutes later to try to clarify our order. Luckily, Brian guessed our mistake and we changed our order to two Margherita pizzas with extra cheese. Although the waiter wasn't rude enough to laugh at us, we sure got a good laugh!

What are the odds Brian would pick a cheeseless pizza and add extra cheese to it?! I'm just glad he did--the whole experience helps to bolster my belief that something larger than myself made me snap out of feeling foreign in this foreign country. Well, that...and it's always easier to laugh at someone else's mistakes! But at least now that I can move past embarrassment and find humor in our inherent strangeness, I can really embrace living in Italy, mistakes and all.