Yesterday, Chad and I had the wonderful opportunity to accompany Stefano and Rina Spina to the church in the small town of Enna, which consists of one older couple. On the way there, we were able to enjoy the beautiful Sicilian countryside! I have never been to New Zealand, but it looked a lot like the pictures I have seen, complete with an overwhelming number of sheep. When we arrived at the apartment of the Christian couple in Enna, we worshipped and had a meal. It is amazing how well you feel as if you know someone after having worshipped and eaten together in their home...even when they speak a different language!
When we sat down to eat, there were two fresh artichokes on my plate. As I had never seen an artichoke served in this way, I was unsure how to go about eating it. (For those of you who are accustomed to seeing an artichoke with its leaves, please don't judge me) So I cut into it, took a big bite, and started chewing. And chewing. Ten minutes later, when I was still chewing, I decided that I must have done something wrong. As I continued to chew the impossible piece of steel artichoke, I began looking for a way out the dilemma that I had gotten myself into. I didn't want to appear rude, ungrateful, or just plain stupid. I sneakily put a napkin up to my face to "wipe my mouth," quickly spit out the unchewable mass, and slid the entire napkin into my pocket. Yes, my pocket. Classic. What in the world was I supposed to do? And now all I could think about was "How am I going to finish the rest of the food on my plate??" As I began to cut into the artichoke again, I got caught. Thank goodness. "Kensey, no no! We eat this with our hands!" Rina turned over my artichoke and pulled off one leaf and showed me that the only edible part was a tiny bit at the end of each leaf. After all the leaves have been nibbled on, only the center is left. Thus the artichoke heart. It was delicious.
Soon after that, I learned the proper way to eat an orange.
I told them all that I had learned so much, and everyone had a laugh...at my expense. It was a really enjoyable night nonetheless. I have learned to accept being a spectacle here.
If you do something wrong in Italy, the Italians will happily correct you instead of sitting silently, staring, and then laughing. For this, I am thankful.
Chad and I spent this morning with our student who has the 3 year old son. (You may have noticed that I have not put his name...I just think he would prefer that at this time) He is such a joy to be around, and always excited to learn. He teaches us a lot, too. This morning, we learned that it is a tradition in Catania for a baby not to have its nails clipped until it is one month old. At that time, it is given paper money to hold in one hand, while it's other hand is manicured. Babies are traditionally not to have their hair cut until they are one year old...but some mothers cut their babies hair in secret from their mother-in-laws :)
Also, instead of a tooth fairy, a mouse brings the children money in exchange for the teeth they have lost!
2 comments:
Once when I visited Beulah, in her bathroom vanity cabinet, she had toilet paper on a stick that was mounted to the inside door. I, too, had one of those sticks on my vanity door, but I had NO IDEA what it was for! I was so excited to make that discovery, and when I told Beulah, she laughed and said, "traveling always broadens your horizons". (even though I had only gone to west Texas!) Glad your horizons were broadened with artichokes. Rick loves artichokes, but we only get to eat them when they go below $1 a piece.
This reminds me of when Jeff & I were served a bowl of currants and milk in Ukraine. We couldn't stomach it and it was a huge bowl, so when our host was out of the room, we dumped the whole bowl over the balcony. Maybe not the smartest move ever, but it did the trick :)
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