Matt had to be in Aviano for work so we joined him in "little America" for a few days. Here there is a large Air Force base and as much as we love Italy and all things Italian, it is quite refreshing to be somewhere so American for a few days. It is nice to be able to make small talk with the cashiers. (At home, I can ask how they are in Italian but if they anser anything except "bene" (good) then I'm lost.) It is also nice to eat good ol' American fast food that I probably wouldn't eat in the States. Even Taco Bell tastes good after 8 months of pasta.
The area around the base has also been Americanized. The other night we ate at an American style Chinese buffet. The concept of "all you can eat" is definitely not an Italian one. My little multicultural 5 year old had a lot of questions about where we were eating. . ."are we still in Italy?", "But this is a Chinese restaurant?", "Is the waiter Chinese?" We couldn't figure out why he was so concerned but when he was satisfied with our answers, he began speaking to the waiter in Chinese. Evidently, they are learning about China at school this week.
So now I've had my little bit of America, I'm stocked up on things from the American grocery store that I can't get in Italy (cheddar cheese, sour cream, goldfish crackers) and I am more than ready to get back "home".
The area around the base has also been Americanized. The other night we ate at an American style Chinese buffet. The concept of "all you can eat" is definitely not an Italian one. My little multicultural 5 year old had a lot of questions about where we were eating. . ."are we still in Italy?", "But this is a Chinese restaurant?", "Is the waiter Chinese?" We couldn't figure out why he was so concerned but when he was satisfied with our answers, he began speaking to the waiter in Chinese. Evidently, they are learning about China at school this week.
So now I've had my little bit of America, I'm stocked up on things from the American grocery store that I can't get in Italy (cheddar cheese, sour cream, goldfish crackers) and I am more than ready to get back "home".
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