Today's my 40th (eek!) birthday.
If I were in Italy today, my Italian friends would not have taken me out for lunch or a celebratory birthday drink. Nope. I would have been expected to take them out and buy them a round of drinks for my b-day. That's right. As the birthday girl, I would also be the one to bring my own cake. At least I wouldn't be expected to buy my own gifts, though. There's always that.
The Italian translation of "Happy Birthday" is Buon Compleanno, but Italians usually don't say this to you on your birthday. Instead, they say Tanti Auguri, which means "Many Good Wishes." Come to think of it, Tanti Auguri is probably best tranlated as: "I wish you happiness, health, and above all, prosperity, so you can take me out and buy me a drink on your birthday."
Tanti auguri to you all!
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
"I've just had an Italian moment." An expat friend of mine used to say this when referring to moments of: 1. bewilderment (attempting to drive for the first--or fiftieth--time in Italy), 2. mind-boggling frustration (including any and all experiences with bureaucratic Italian paperwork, which must be officially stamped to within an inch of its life), and 3. awe (drinking a creamy cappuccino in an outdoor cafe, surrounded by 300-year-old buildings).
Followers
Want Italian Moments in your inbox?
A blog in which an American expatriate rants and raves about life in Italy.
"I've just had an Italian moment." An expat friend of mine used to say this when referring to moments of: 1. bewilderment (attempting to drive for the first--or fiftieth--time in Italy), 2. mind-boggling frustration (including any and all experiences with bureaucratic Italian paperwork, which must be officially stamped to within an inch of its life), and 3. awe (drinking a creamy cappuccino in an outdoor cafe, surrounded by 300-year-old buildings).
Labels
- birthdays (2)
- books (1)
- breasts (3)
- Carnevale (3)
- children (10)
- coffee (1)
- contests (5)
- driving (8)
- fashion (1)
- food (6)
- friends (1)
- grocery shopping (5)
- holidays (15)
- home appliances (1)
- Italian life-style (1)
- Italian TV (1)
- la Bora (1)
- landscape (2)
- language (2)
- laundry (6)
- mammas (3)
- metric system (2)
- mountains (1)
- naps (1)
- opera (1)
- pace of life (2)
- papas (1)
- parking (4)
- pets (1)
- school (5)
- scooters (1)
- shopping (1)
- signs (3)
- singing (1)
- strikes (1)
- sweating (1)
- the Madonna (1)
- Trieste (3)
- trip to America (11)
- view (2)
- villagers (2)
- What I won't miss about Italy... (1)
- What I'll miss about Italy... (4)
- wine (4)
stat counter
About Me
- Natalie
- I'm a teacher, writer, wife and mother who splits her time between the U.S. and Trieste, Italy. Flying the Dragon, my debut middle grade novel for children, was published in 2012 by Charlesbridge.
12 comments:
(imagine sung in three-part disharmony)
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Natalie
Happy Birthday to you!!!
Congratulations! A new decade, a new set of rules...to be broken ;) Hope you have a great day...celebrate...from experience -- forty rocks!
And yeah, of course, I'm going to give you a little Indian anecdote, surprise, surprise...it's the same as in Italy. You treat your friends...of course, everywhere, the kid whose birthday it is throws the party...isn't that right?
Anyway, I had to take candy to school and everyone LOVED my birthday...too bad it had nothing to do with me...there were THREE of us with the same birthday...so THREE rounds of candy with each one of us trying to outdo the other two...
HAVE A GOOD ONE...and pass the pics please.
Same here in Nederland -- the birthday person is expected to have a party and spend it waiting on all the guests . . .
And 40 isn't bad at all! (Unless you get pregnant . . . yup, my youngest was born just before my 41st b-day . . . so, um, be careful with the celebrating . . .)
;-)
Okay, here goes:
How was it? I learned how to sing Happy Birthday in sign language when I was a kid. It did take me a little while to fingerspell your name though.
Kheppy burst-day too yoo
Kheppy burst-day too yoo
Kheppy burst-day deah Natalee
Kheppy burst-day too yoo!
There you go, sung in German. I hope you had a nice day! (And you look way younger than that, BTW!)
Happy Birthday!
40 isn't so bad ... um, neither is 41,42,43 ... 44 is working out just fine too!
Taking people out on your Birthday? Man, that's just not right.
Danette
Happy Birthday, Natalie! Sounds like it's a good thing you're not in Italy or India for it. Who needs the expense and effort? I like the idea of the b-day boy or girl being spoiled on their birthday so I'm sending you a virtual triple layer cake (calorie free of course). However, if you want to share a piece with me I won't complain.
Wishing you a great year!
Happy Birthday, Natalie! (a few days late)
And thanks again for the translation help! I wrote back to my Italian alter ego, but I suspect that's the end of that! Pretty hard to be pen pals when you both are fluent in a different language...
Thanks for all the birthday greetings, everyone!
To the Disco Mermaids--you sing like the sirens!
And to CynJay--maybe I should try singing in sign language, too, since I'm usually off-key. :-)
Rilla--India and Italy are more alike than I ever thought...from undershirts to birthdays! Thanks for adding your anecdotes, and keep 'em coming! :-)
Debi--ha! Good advice! I'll certainly keep that in mind! ;-)
Rose--Amazingly enough, the Italian version of Happy Birthday is veeery similar to the German:
Heppy Bert-day tu yiu! :-)
Hey Danette! Glad to hear you've survived the big 4-0, too.Whew! Maybe it's not so bad after all. :-)
Thanks for the triple-layer chocolate cake, C.K.! My favorite. :-P
Thanks, Tina! Let me know how it works out with your pen pal--I'd be glad to translate for you any time. :-)
Hau'oli La Hanau, Natalie! A belated Happy B-day in Hawaiian. If we were hanging out at a Waikiki bar, I'd raise my mai tai to you and say "Suck 'em up!" Shaka, hang loose and enjoy--the forties are fun! Guess how I know?!
Aloha,
edna :-)
A very belated birthday wish. All i ever do is apologise to you Natalie. I am terrible at staying in touch. I'm glad that you were spoilt on your birthday and had a lovely time. Just as it should be! However I do think you need to check on your birth certificate...I cannot believe that you are 40! It's a lie. Sorry to have missed you this summer in Trieste. Had a restful time and I didn't sunbathe topless once! You must be very proud as I was one of the serial offenders at Barcola. I love your site as it brings back so many lovely memories of Trieste. What a talented writer you are! I promise, promise, promise to be a better penpal this year and hopefully will see you sometime during the year
Lots of love and hugs
Karena xxx
Thanks, Edna! Knowing that you're over forty definitely makes me feel better, especially after seeing your photo on Verla's!
Ciao Karena!
So nice to hear from you, and no need to apologize, as I haven't been the best about keeping in touch either. :-) Next time you're in Trieste, give me a call...I'd love to see you! It sounds like we missed each other by only a few days this summer. Darn. Getting my classroom ready for the students this year brought back so many memories of you! Especially when I sat through the Kindergarten teacher/parents meeting...as a parent! Yikes. :-)
Miss you!
Post a Comment