What is a Deductible?

Tonight Ciccio received his health care benefits packet!! Hooray we are eligible for health insurance! It was an exciting moment until we started looking through the materials. Ahhh the American Health Care system. How the heck am I suppose to explain to Ciccio why we would pay $200 a month for health insurance and still have to pay a deductible if we get sick and still have to pay 20% after that deductible is paid??  Ciccio can't believe this system is legal, "They are STEALERS!"

I'm having a hard time justifying why being insured is better than not. In Italy, health care is free and if you have money, you can elect to see a private doctor.  It works.

-Monica

Christmas

Ok, Monica has been bugging me forever to write a new blog, I'm telling you ... If I became a writer, you are going to have to make pizza for me ! Anyway ... Today is Christmas, one of my favorite time to be a baby even if I do it pretty often, we exchanged our presents, we are going to have a wonderful dinner to honor and worship my home country, we have a lot of quality time but ... hold on ... just a second ... I just discovered this ... my stocking ... yes, the new one my mom has got for me ... that's full already !
Is that a Santa job too in the States ? He has so much staff to kerry around already ! No, no, no, we don't do that in Italy, we give ourself enough time to DIGEST our Christmas (just a week) and than on the 6 of january (I believe), guess who is coming ? LA BEFANA: she comes at night, whit her socks all broken, her black cone hat and she flies on her broom ! Her only exclusive job is to fill up your stocking whit all kind of chocolate and candies, if you have been good of course, other wise coal ! I remember when I was a kid, my friend Ciccillo got coals in his stocking and he started screaming and crying and throwing everything in the air, his parents were shocked and they could not do anything to hold him, they were frozen and they kept steering at him till he stopped and them they told him: "That's chocolate !"

Date

I'm sorry, I don't want  to be mean but somebody needs to explain it to me ... ok ? Here it is ... The best fish restaurant in town ... a couple comes in ... Do you like anything to drink to start : a water and a diet ... no starters ... no salads ... staring at the bread for 20 minutes (the time that the main course needs to be ready) ... a fried platter and a  FILET (poor meat ... was crying) that was requested BUTTERFLY WELL DONE (down the street you can found the best Big Mac EVER !!!) and ... PEOPLE ... all night long ... I'm saying ... all dinner long ... not even a word, so tough even to take the order ... ... ... ... ... Can you tell me ... please ... why did you waste your time and your gasoline ... and a table on a busy night that somebody else probably could not have ...

-Ciccio

What we call Thanksgiving, Italians call lunch

       Everybody wants to know what Ciccio thought of his first official Thanksgiving. Ciccio was in his element! Of course Thanksgiving is an American holiday, but having a gluttonous amount of food and family gathered around isn't a new concept for Italians; they do every day!
    
       When I first arrived in Trani, Italy, I dreaded lunch. In the south of Italy everything shuts down from 1pm to 5pm so you can go home and have a big meal with your family and a nap if needed.

        Lunch at the Todisco house usually consisted of Ciccio's mom bringing out a couple of different panini (sandwiches), panzerotti (fried heaven) and an assortment of meats & cheeses & olives.

       "Wow! What a great lunch!" I would say often.

       However, we weren't even close to be being done with the meal. Next came the pasta, then the seafood, then the grilled meat and definitely some kind of Dolce!

        I LOVE LOVE LOVE food, but honestly at first this everyday feast was torture for me. They sit at the table and eat and talk for hours!! No TV. No laptops. Nothing! I wanted to pass out in my plate of pasta.
    
       Yet as time went on I came to appreciate that special time when the world around you stops. It's just food, vino, and your loved ones. Nothing else mattered.

       Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday, but Italians find time for food and family every day!

      So did Ciccio like Thanksgiving? Most definitely! He just wonders why it doesn't happen more often.

    -Monica

"Who is the Guy in the Suit?"

I don't want Ciccio to become the typical American sports crazy boy. A huge part of my life was spent trying to get attention from my old man and brother while they were watching sports. I did Albert Belle impressions, farted on cue..whatever it took to get face time. So I don't want Ciccio to join a fantasy league, but I would like him to have an appreciation for baseball.

We went to a Clippers game in September and I spent the whole game trying to explain the rules.

Fast forward to game 6 of the World Series

Ciccio: "Who is the guy wearing the suit?"

Me: "haha..that would be the umpire!!"

Ciccio: "Is he there all the time?"

Me: :(


Three explanations

1) his A.D.D. was kicking in during my baseball lesson

2) I'm a bad teacher

3) baseball is a complex sport if you didn't grow up with it

I'm going to go with a combination of the three.

-Monica

I talked few times about her in this blog, she created it, she is the boss, she is my wonderful wife, ladies and gentlemen ... Monica, she even broth me at my first Buckeye game. Buddy ... Awesome, I never cared that much, not even about soccer when I was in Italy, but in that stadium there was a great energy (not same thing than TV) ... and we don't have that kind of food !

The Game

The game ... The most important thing in the life for  Ohio residents ... huge stadium, full of people, the other team ?? They didn't even try to get to the stadium, thanks to the players for coming ! (in soccer stadium is split in half to welcome both teams fans). Everything shuts down, the only things working are: the stadium and the TV. Don't try to talk to anybody, they will think that you are crazy, get your food and beer if you can and watch the game, you don't like it ? Go to sleep ...

-Ciccio