The Tale of Two Cultures

As a son of a United States Naval Officer I was afforded the opportunity to not only visit, but also live, in a variety of foreign countries. It is one thing to visit but completely different to live in a foreign country. As a youngster I learned both Spanish, in Uruguay and Mexico, and Italian, in Italy. That is the right age to learn a foreign language and to do it in the country that the particular language is spoken. Become friends with the natives to learn how to really speak the language and to get used to their customs. One learns the language and customs of that country by total immersion. You get to see and hopefully appreciate that there are other ways of doing things and approaching problems, both culturally and politically; neither right nor wrong, just different.

I enjoyed living in Mexico but my favorite was Italy, perhaps because I was a bit older and little more mature, 13-15 years of age; perhaps a bit wiser. I was allowed to go out on my own a bit; not totally, mind you! One time our cook, Maria, invited me to her house in a town near Pompeii. I was pretty sure she was like in her 50's or 60's. I received permission from my parents. On the appointed day, Maria and I walked over to the cable car station, about a block away from my house, to ride down the hill to the bay station, Mergellina. Then a bus over to the train station and a train to Maria's home town of Torre Annunziata. We had to then walk about 1 km to her house. The main gate, a thick and heavy door, opened to a courtyard. There were a number of doors leading to residences, or apartments. Maria ushered me to her apartment, which was on the ground floor. As the door opened I looked upon a scene I had not witnessed, or that I recalled, before. Maria's home consisted of one large room, a bathroom (shower, toilet and sink) and a closet that was turned into a kitchen area; not a full size kitchen but utilitarian nonetheless. The kitchen consisted of a gas stove, refrigerator, sink and a small food preparation area. She also used the dining table for food preparation. The main room consisted of what looked like a double bed with a metal frame, a wardrobe, a few chairs and a dining table, which as I recall was square. As a devout Catholic she had a lot of religious symbols (cross, pictures of Jesus and saints, etc.) appointing her home. She fixed up my favorite spaghetti dish. All fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil and oregano and, of course, spaghetti. She was a good cook.

I enjoyed the visit and her cooking. Not sure what we had to drink. Perhaps mineral water. As I had learned some conversational Italian by the time the visit rolled around I was able to understand what she said but also respond to her in Italian. After a few hours' visit she escorted me to the train station and put me on the train back to Naples, where I then caught the bus to Mergellina and finally the cable car to my home.

Years later am now living and working in Brazil. Have been here for about 16 months and am just beginning to pick up the spoken Portuguese. The written seems to be a bit easier for me to comprehend. Having working knowledge of several Romance languages has definitely helped in my picking up the written Portuguese more easily than the spoken. It is not easy to learn a new language as an older person. Also, my hearing is not what it used to be.