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Growing up Italian vs Growing up American

ricksrealpitbbq

New member
This says it all!!!

*_American Kids vs. _*
*_Italian Kids_*

*
American kids:*
Move out when they're 18 with the full support of their parents.
*
Italian kids:*
Move out when they're 28, having saved enough money for a house, and are two weeks away from getting married..... unless there's room in the basement for the newlyweds.
*
American kids:* When their Mom visits them, she brings a Bundt cake, and you sip coffee and chat.
*

Italian kids:
When their Mom visits them, she brings 3 days worth of food, begins to tidy up, dust, do the laundry, and rearrange the furniture.
*
American kids:* Their dads always call before they come over to visit them, and it's usually only on special occasions. *
Italian kids:* Are not at all fazed when their dads show up, unannounced, on a Saturday morning at 7:00am, and starts cleaning out your garage,washes your cars, & pruning the fruit trees. If there are no fruit trees, he'll plant some. *
American kids:* Always pay retail, and look in the Yellow Pages when they need to have something done.

*
**Italian kids:** *Call their dad or uncle, and ask for another dad's or uncle's phone number to get it done.

*
*

*American kids: *
Will come over for cake and coffee, and get only cake and coffee. No more. * *

*Italian kids:*
Will come over for cake and coffee, and get antipasto, wine, a pasta dish, a choice of two meats, salad, bread, a canoli, fruit, espresso, and a few after dinner drinks. *American kids:*
* *Will greet you with 'Hello' or 'Hi'.
*
Italian kids:*
Will give you a big hug, a kiss on your cheek, and a pat on your back. *
**
American kids:*
* *Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.
*
Italian kids:*
* *Call your parents Mom and Dad.
*
American kids:*
* *Have never seen you cry.
*
Italian kids:** *
* *Cry with you.
*
American kids:*
Will eat at your dinner table and leave.
*
Italian kids:*
Will spend hours there, talking, laughing, and just being together. *

American kids:*
Know few things about you.
*
Italian kids:*
Could write a book with direct quotes from you. *

American kids: *
Eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on soft mushy white bread/./ **
*

Italian kids:
Eat Genoa Salami, proscutt, capacol, and Provolone sandwiches on crusty Italian bread (for breakfast). *
American kids:*
Will leave you behind if that's what the crowd is doing
*
Italian kids: *
Will kick the whole crowds' ass who left you behind.
*
American kids:*
Think that being Italian is cool.
*
Italian kids:*
Know that being Italian is cool.
*
American kids:*
Will ignore this. *
Italian kids:*
Will forward it.
 
but you forgot this:

42 Things In The Life Of An Italian Child

01. You have at least one relative who wore a black dress every day for an entire year after a funeral.

02. You spent your entire childhood thinking what you had for lunch was pronounced 'sangwich.'

03. Your family dog understood Italian.

04. Every Sunday afternoon of your childhood was spent visiting your grandparents and extended family.




05. You've experienced the phenomena of 150 people fitting into 50 square feet of yard during a family cookout.

06. You were surprised to discover the FDA recommends you eat three meals a day, not seven.

07. You thought killing the pig each year and having salami, capacollo, pancetta and prosciutto hanging out to dry from your shed ceiling was absolutely normal.

08. You ate pasta for dinner at least three times a week, and every Sunday, and laughed at the commercial for Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti day.

09. You grew up thinking no fruit or vegetable had a fixed price and that the price of everything was negotiable through haggling.

10. You were as tall as your grandmother by the age of seven.

11. You thought everyone's last name ended in a vowel.

12. You thought nylons were supposed to be worn rolled to the ankles.

13. Your Mom's main hobby was cleaning.

14. You were surprised to find out that wine was actually sold in stores.

15. You thought that everyone made their own tomato sauce.

16. You never ate meat on Christmas Eve or any Friday for that matter.





17. You ate your salad after the main course.

18. You thought Catholic was the only religion in the world.

19. You were beaten at least once with a wooden spoon or broom.

20. You thought every meal had to be eaten with a hunk of bread in your hand.




21. You can understand Italian but you can't speak it.

22. You have a least one relative who came over on a famous boat.

23. All of your uncles fought in a World War.

24. You have a least six male relatives named Tony, Frank, Joe or Louie.

25. You have relatives who aren't really your relatives.

26. You have relatives you don't speak to.

27. You drank wine before you were a teenager.

28. You relate on some level, admit it, to the Godfather and the Sopranos.
Forrgeddabbboutit! Badda bing!





29. You grew up in a house with a yard that didn't have one patch of dirt that didn't have a flower or a vegetable growing out of it.

30. You grandparent's furniture was a comfortable as sitting on plastic. Wait!!!! You were sitting on plastic.

31. You thought that talking loud was normal.




32. You thought sugared almonds and the Tarantella were common at all weddings.

33. You thought everyone got pinched on the cheeks and money stuffed in their pockets by their relatives.

34. Your mother is overly protective of the males in the family no matter what their age.

35. There was a crucifix in every room of the house.

36. Wakes would be held in someone's living room.

37. You couldn't date a boy without getting approval from your father. (Oh, and he had to be Italian).




38. You called pasta 'macaroni'.

39. You dreaded taking out your lunch at school.

40. Going out for a cup of coffee usually meant going out for a cup of coffee over Zia's house.

41. Every condition, ailment, misfortune, memory loss and accident was attributed to the fact that you didn't eat something.

42. Those of you who get this .. . . . YOU KNOW who to pass it on to!


CIAO!
 
An Italian grandmother is giving directions to her grown grandson Anthony who is coming to visit with his wife Maria. "You comma to de front door of the apartmenta. I am inna apartmenta 301. There issa bigga panel at the front door. With you elbow pusha button 301. I will Buzza you in. Come inside, the elevator is on the right. Get in, and with you elbow pusha 3. When you get out, I'mma on the left. With you elbow, hit my doorbell."

"Grandma, that sounds easy, but, why am I hitting all these buttons with my elbow?"

"What, You coming empty handed?"
 
Wow Momma, I love your list
big-lol.gif
 
c'mon -

tell me it's not true!!

one exception in my family - my gram wore black for 25 years when grandpa died
 
I just Love reading this lol... FUNNY STUFF!! Did I ever tell you my Grampa Joe could never drive a car because he talked with his hands so much. lol Cookie :)
 
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OMG IC - a good debate between the men at the table (women NEVER opened their mouths then - but afterward they did!) and the one hand with the homemade bread in it going all over the place and the fork in the other hand andhe mouth yakking and chewing at the same time! they all talked at the same time and it looked like they werent paying much attention to each other - but they remmbered every word!

then they got a good case of the "AAAGG" - lol
 
OKAY -

can any of you (Italians) remember the Italian custom with the bread?

bread was always broken and never cut and if it was ever to be cut with a knife - you held the bread near your heart and you cut the loaf in your hands with the blade coming towards your heart?

symbolizing the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the blood He shed for us -

????????????????

anyone????
 
OKAY -

can any of you (Italians) remember the Italian custom with the bread?

bread was always broken and never cut and if it was ever to be cut with a knife - you held the bread near your heart and you cut the loaf in your hands with the blade coming towards your heart?

symbolizing the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the blood He shed for us -

????????????????

anyone????


WOW, my grandmother used to do that and I never knew why :eek:
 
Rick -

that is the way the Italians cut the bread - for hundreds of years you did it that way - even little kids did it - that is how they learned to cut bread with a knife -
when you feel the knife t the chest - you stop - but you cut a whole loaf of bread like that!

and - the knife was a carbon knife - that is what they had in those days - you couldn't cut your lettuce with a carbon knife - it would rust the lettuce - so your tore it with your hands

an Italians' hands did it all - by hand
 
I still mince my garlic by cutting it in my fingers and I still cut things with a knife using my hand as the cutting board - cutting into my hand
 
I've been doing it for so long - learned it from my mom and it was passed down to me - and she got it from her mom - and so on...........................

I still cut my tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, apples, cukes, radishes, etc. in my hand - and no I do not cut myself. Always cutting into the thumb or palm.

and I still rip lettuce instead of cut.............and I core lettuce by hand

I watch them on TV use a cutting board - cripe - who owned a cutting board in those days? can't change my habits either -

but when I watch them using a cutting board on garlic - I just laugh - here's this big ol' cutting board and one little itty bitty clove of garlic...........

did your mom do it the same way I do?
 
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