Pancakes

2-16-2009

Another day in Cortina … Today we did not go to the dreaded playground in the snow, thank god! Camilla said I would stay with Pietro at her cousin’s house while they go skiing together. Her cousin has four children. All the children were skiing except Pietro’s second cousin, Madeline, who is two years old. We start the day by getting Ludovica and Anna off to their ski school. Their teacher arrives at the house at 8:45 a.m. to take them skiing. Then, I dress Pietro for the snow and we leave the house.

We drive a short way to Camilla’s cousin’s house. The house is amazing. It looks like it’s out of a magazine. The entire inside of the house is solid wood with beautiful moldings and hardware. The front door was glassed in, I am guessing so it does not freeze shut, and there were golden angel statues guarding the door. I mean … gorgeous. Camilla was sure to tell me that the house belongs to her cousin’s mother-in-law and that lots of other children use this home.

So … Camilla says Pietro and Madeline should play outside for an hour and inside for an hour. Camilla told me to take Pietro home in the passagino (stroller) at 1:30, feed him lunch and put him to bed. I should wake him up at 4 p.m. and give him a snack. Mamma mia! I have to walk all the way home in the snow. AAAAAHHHH!

Madeline and Pietro do not play well together. Pietro is one and a half and so does not yet know how to play with other children. Madeline is two and is quite terrible. She hits Pietro constantly. Every time he goes for a toy she cries and screams, “mio” (mine). What a wonderful morning ... I am so sick of this already. I cannot wait to get back to Rome. It’s only been two days! Not even …

I follow Camilla’s instructions and leave for home around 1:10 p.m. I arrive at the house, and Pietro is sleeping. I have to wake him up to feed him lunch. This is not a pretty sight. He screams and cries. I hate when he cries. I feel like it’s my fault. He eats pasta and I put him to bed at 2 p.m. Elena helps me and afterwards we try to sit and chat a while.

The entire conversation is painfully difficult. Both of us are searching for words and desperately trying to communicate. Somehow we manage to tell each other about our homelands and family. She has an Italian boyfriend who lives in Sardinia. We share photos and it’s nice to talk to someone my own age. Elena says she lived in Prague for seven years. How fantastic? I love Prague. It is so beautifully gothic, full of art noveau architecture.

The girls come home from skiing in the afternoon. Anna arrives at 3 p.m. and Ludovica at 4 p.m. I make them Miranda (a late snack). Today one of the other cousins, Marie-Guilia comes to play. These cousins are spoiled rotten. Marie-Guilia treats me like a servant. She has Philippino helpers at her home and I think there is a general prejudice against Philippinos in Italy. She treats me as she would them. How wonderful?


Camilla has asked me to make pancakes tonight. I am really nervous. I just want my pancakes to be good. I will be a complete failure if I can’t make the pancakes. It is the first time I have cooked dinner for the family. I start to make the pancakes around 5:30 p.m. My recipe amounts are in cups and teaspoons. I don’t know the conversions. I have to guess. I make a big batch of pancake mix and do a test run. The pancake is more like a crepe, so I add more four and more baking powder and voila, a pancake. It tastes good and I am very happy. Thank god!

I spend 2 hours in the kitchen making pancakes and bacon. The bacon is so fresh. It looks like it has just come from the butcher. It is the best bacon I have ever tasted. I wonder why the Americans can’t have food like they do in Italy. Our bacon is ugly, full of fat and loaded with preservatives. Why???

After dinner I cleaned the kitchen and Marie-Guilia’s mother came to take her home. I poured myself a glass of wine and sat at the table with the family for a little while. This is when Camilla made fun of my American accent. Anna asks me a question. I only understand a few words. I reply, “No capito.” Camilla snaps, “No capito, no capito” in the most ugly Italian accent I have ever heard. I don’t think she meant to hurt my feelings. I think she meant to laugh with me, but it made me really upset. She could tell. She apologized soon afterwards.