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MerBack In Action: An Online Journal

Monday, March 23, 2015

Festa di San Giuseppe

In Italy, 19 March is the Festa di San Giuseppe, the Feast of Saint Joseph. It is also Father's Day in Italy and the kids do projects in school to honor their fathers. Isaac's project this year was particularly special to me so I decided to share it here. The picture is of me in my office at work, and the title is underlined by a stethoscope.




It says, in Italian:
"Il mio papà si chiama Wayne ma tutti lo chiamano Joey. Ha 37 anni e vive con me e la mia mamma e le mie due sorelle qui a Sarone. E magro e alto, i capelli sono ricci, castani e corti, il viso ovale e scarno, gli occhi sono azzurri, i naso e grosso e la bocca non troppo grande. In genere a casa indossa abiti sportivi, ma quando torna dal lavoro si cambia scegliendo abiti più comodi. Al mio papà non piace portare ornamenti perché preferisce uno stilo semplice. Lui parla con una voce bassa e seria en in inglese ma qualche volta in italiano. Il mio papà è gentile, non urla spesso ma quando lo fa è perché è a causa di una giornata pesante al lavoro. A lui piace il calcio, stare con gli amici, e mangiare. Al mio papà piace mangiare tutto quello che fa la mia mamma, perché a lui non piace molto cucinare. Non gli piacciono molto neanche la TV o i videogiochi perché dice che non fanno bene. Il mio papà è serio, si arrabbia facilmente, pero e una persona affidabile. Secondo me un papà migliore di lui non esiste. Il mio papà è bravissimo e gli voglio tanto bene anche se sta un po troppo in bagno."

In English it roughly translates as:
"My dad's name is Wayne but everyone calls him Joey. He is 37 years old and lives with me and my mom and two sisters here in Sarone (our town). He is thin and tall, his hair is curly, brown and short, his face is oval and skinny, his eyes are blue, his nose is fat and his mouth is not very big. At home he usually wears athletic clothes, but when he comes home from work he changes, choosing more comfortable clothes (what?!). My dad doesn't like adornments because he prefers a simple style. He speaks in a deep, serious voice in English but sometimes in Italian. My dad is nice, he doesn't yell very often but when he does it is because of a bad (literally "heavy") dad at work. He likes soccer, being with his friends, and eating. He likes to eat everything my mom makes, because he doesn't like to cook very much. He does not like TV or video games very much because he says they aren't good for you. My dad is serious, he gets angry easily, but he is a very responsible person. According to me a better dad than him does not exist. My dad is great and I love him very much even though he stays in the bathroom a little too long."

I had the biggest smile on my face when I read that! My favorite part was my eschewing of "ornamenti" because I prefer "uno stilo semplice", but I also love that he wrote I love to eat, don't like video games, and have a fat nose! 

Thank you, Isaac, for writing that for me. I love peering into your point of view, it helps me realize that I need to work on "non arrabbiarsi facilmente" and "non stare troppo in bagno". I also love the fact that you can write a paragraph about me in a foreign language. Dream come true. Love you, buddy.