A's best friend, Ettore, became the proud papa' of a girl today. Aida was born in Venice, Italy, and although I don't have any information other than a text announcing her entrance into the world, I'm sure she is a breathtaking little free spirit. How else would you… Read full post »

If you thought that you couldn't be moved to tears (tears of pain, not laughter) by a cartoon, then you've never been an Iranian expat watching Persepolis.The movie-length cartoon, based on the graphic novels (or comic books?) of the same name, tells the story of a young… Read full post »

My family had been living in the U.S. for just over a year when we moved into an incredibly cute duplex in a working class town 20 miles south of San Francisco. The house had a front yard filled with wood chips, a sunny eat-in kitchen, and hardwood floors throughout.

We… Read full post »

I have no idea who came up with the phrase "as American as apple pie," but I can assure you that no one outside of the U.S. considers apple pie to be as American as Americans think it is.

Peanut butter...well, that's a completely different story. I don't think there's anywhere… Read full post »

The other day I was walking to work when a bus drove by, the side of it practically screaming the new spring Gap ad with the following slogan: “Be Bright.”

The ad made me think of the Christmas cards we sent out a couple of years ago (which said “Be Merry,… Read full post »

[NB: I actually started writing this on January 1. I then got distracted.]

The Italians have a saying: “Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi.” A rough translation goes something like this: Christmas with your parents (or family), Easter with whomever you want.

As a good Italian, A has l… Read full post »

I’ve already written a fair amount about my least favorite American holiday. So it’s only fair that I dedicate as much blog space to my favorite one: Thanksgiving.

What’s there not to love? The whole holiday is about food (and that whole being thankful thing). I love it al… Read full post »

My marathon pants are one step away from total disintegration. And it makes me sad. The pants in question are not pants used to run a marathon. They’re the jeans that I fit into after I completed my first (and so far, only) marathon. That was almost three years ago, or more than/… Read full post »

Within a few weeks of starting as a freshman in college, I became my dorm’s go-to person for editing papers. It all started with a paper for my roommate, who then spread the word. Soon enough, random acquaintances would stop by with a printout in their hand (oh, those days before… Read full post »

When A and I were looking for a house, we were generally in agreement on the majority of the details we hoped it would possess, but none more than this: we didn’t want a big yard.

I mean, really. It’s so much work. Who wants to be shackled to their home… Read full post »

I repost my blog posts here on Open Salon as a way to drum up business on my blog, Third Culture. A while back, I saw the Open Call for submissions titled “I was bullied,” (or something similar). In it, poignant blog posts talk about the pain of being bullied as a child,/… Read full post »

What happens when your granny-nannies, for some reason or other, can’t take care of your offspring? You scramble to find last minute childcare. As every parent knows, this is not a fun experience.

We were thrown for a loop last week when my dad hurt himself, forcing us to rethink our… Read full post »

For some people, keeping up with the Joneses means buying a new Lexus, a $5,000 range, or the latest in lawn-mowing technology. We are apparently not those people. Nope. For us, keeping up means buying deer.

Before you start thinking that we live on some sort of nature preserve with a… Read full post »

When I met A what seems like eons ago (aka 1998), he didn't speak a word of English. I was studying abroad in Venice, he was my Italian adventure, and thankfully my Italian language skills were good enough that having conversations weren’t incredibly difficult.

After we got… Read full post »

My suocera at home.

A is in no way, shape, or form a mammone (ma-mo-neh). What, you may ask, is amammone? He would be the stereotypical Italian male who is practically attached to his mamma by the umbilical cord. He loves her above all else (at times, including his wife), loves her/… Read full post »

One of the best parts of living in the Bay Area is a thing called Casual Carpool. Here’s how it works: in various parts of the East Bay (Berkeley, Oakland, etc.), there are designated Casual Carpool pick-up spots. You wait in line at the spot, and pretty soon a car will… Read full post »

I know I’ve made a big brouhaha about this whole moving thing. Yes, it is a big deal to buy a house (I have to pay for water, garbage, and taxes? How’s this a good deal again?), and it is a big deal to finally move to the ‘burbs.

But here’s why th… Read full post »

My little fam moved into the new digs a little over a week ago, and I can already feel a difference. This list will probably be updated pretty regularly as I come to realize what home ownership does to you, but at least it’ll be a start.

• I have now/
… Read full post »

It’s not even October yet and I’m already starting to fret about Halloween. I can’t help it. Halloween is my least favorite holiday. Ever.

I should say that my first ever Halloween started off with a bang. Twenty-five years ago on October 31, my family immigrated to the United State… Read full post »