Enjoying food fully

[Michael Emrys]

...the Italian food they were brought was not the same as Italian food in the states.

You just said a mouthful (ahem). Americans need to understand at some point that the "ethnic" foods we love, even many of the ones that are claimed to be "authentic", most likely are not the same as in the countries of their origin. It may have a vague resemblance to cuisine in the old country, but has been heavily modified to suit our American palates. And frankly, I don't see anything wrong with that. Speaking for myself, I greatly prefer chow mein to deep fried lizard. Any travelers beyond our borders who wish to eat like a native had better be prepared for surprises. In most cases probably pleasant ones, but surprises nonetheless.

Michael

[gunnergoz]

I'll take "real" Italian food over the American version of it, any day. There is no comparing the cheeses, the hams and sausages, the veal, the pasta

...sorry, I just shorted out my keyboard with drool.

[sburke]

The problem is though that when you go to European cities, people don't speak English properly. Which makes it annoying and embarassing to order stuff.

Hell most Americans don't speak English properly. With a little humility I have found most folks are more than willing to help you figure out what is good. It gives them a chance to show off what is good about their culture. It is also a great time to flirt. ;-)

I once had a French girl mess with me by insisting I pronounce "schedule" correctly in order to buy a train ticket, pretty cute. It is a memory that is quite old now and yet I will never forget it. This morning the guy at the bar made my wife an absolutely beautiful cappuccino, friggin work of art.

I travel a lot (I usually have to get pages added to my passport. I've had this one less than 3 years and am already considering doing so) and I have to say if you walk in with interest and an open mind most people seem more than happy to take the time with you and maybe help you try something new. Life is too short to worry about being embarrassed.

[__Yossarian0815[jby]]

When I was at varisty, one lab we disassembled a cheap clock-radio, built somewhere in Asia. It was built well enough, given what it was, but it had a noticeable heft to it, and felt ... substantial. Once cracked open it was revealed to contain a fairly large chunk of pig iron. As far as could be discerned the lump served no purpose whatsoever, other than making the radio heavy. Whoever made that radio knew too that heavy = quality.

Since then I've sometimes wished that other manufacturers would throw lumps of iron in their products - it really annoys me when a fan heater, or lamp, or radio goes skittering across the table when you touch it, or when the torque from a twisted power cord is enough to overcome the weight of the product so it never quite sits right.

Heh, made me think of the grey/beige cheap plastic last generation of dial phones issued by the the government tel. monopoly in Austria in the 80s. The phone-base would involuntarilly side around the table as you dialled because it was too light. )