Any advice on moving to the US? (Norwich University ROTC)

[Ant345]

View attachment 11044

WOW!! I've never experienced such a low temperature. Here is around 52/57 F and it feels cold to me. (I literally walk around with shorts and a hoodie, some people even go to the beach and swim like it's summer lol)

 

[Ant345]

There is much beauty in that part of the country, go with open mind and dive in. Try everything. And remember, Americans think something is old if it was built in the 1600’s.

I'm literally reading this message while sitting on a medieval wall lol.

 

[Ant345]

When you do get out to eat and explore, there is a big difference between restaurants serving Italian-American (but still good, just evolved over time from immigrant melting pot and what was available, not a lot of bufala for real mozzarella in the U.S.) and Italian cuisine, where the chefs/owners are from Italy and know the regional cuisine and can actually spell and pronounce words like “bruschetta.” Let’s not even talk about chain Italian restaurants, where, again, the food can be enjoyable, but not much like bella Italia.

Similar to @WT Door ,the Navy gave me the privilege of being stationed in Napoli, I traveled by train, car or ferry every weekend and didn’t go home to the U.S. for almost 4 years, spending 3 years in Spain and almost 3 in Italy. Ate my way around the country, Sicilia, Sardegna, the Aeolian Islands, all the major cities and regions, etc. I took many military hops to NAS Sigonella.

Just go with the flow, stock up on warm stuff. LL Bean, Lands End, Patagonia, North Face are good sites to browse, depending on what you are told to bring the first year.

There is much beauty in that part of the country, go with open mind and dive in. Try everything. And remember, Americans think something is old if it was built in the 1600’s.

I am sure as the time gets closer you will have many questions. People here will help.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Ant345]

Your written English is superb, so I suspect you won’t have much trouble there. You will be mentally exhausted with immersion in another culture and language 24/7, but you’ll get through it. Your brain will adapt.

Thank you!

 

[Ant345]

Bring a chef with you or learn to eat fast food. We have ample food, but not ample good cooks.

I learned a few dishes from my mum like "Arancini, Pasta al Pesto, Pasta alla Gricia and the classical but unbeatable Pasta al Sugo", along with that it looks like I need to stock up some Pasta in order to survive next winter

 

[Ant345]

Also, what part of Sicily are you from? My family's from around Contesse.

Wow, that's amazing, most of my family comes from the area near Cefalù (Between Palermo and Messina), it's very close indeed.

I attached a few photos I took this summer from around Sicily, someone from your family might recognize some of these places:

 

[Capt MJ]

I learned a few dishes from my mum like "Arancini, Pasta al Pesto, Pasta alla Gricia and the classical but unbeatable Pasta al Sugo", along with that it looks like I need to stock up some Pasta in order to survive next winter

View attachment 11050View attachment 11051

And let’s talk American portion size. Try not to let your horror show on your face.

I wish I could have smuggled back the San Marzano tomatoes put up in glass jars by my landlord’s wife to tide her over the winter. I can buy them here in cans, but it’s not the same. Americans also routinely expect to eat fruits and vegetables out of season. Want cherries in January? Buy the ones from South America. Brace yourself for hydroponically grown fresh tomatoes that look good but taste like nothing, all winter long.

You will like the Cabot aged cheddar cheese from Vermont, and other cheese varieties, if you like cheese. You just have to know where to look for farmers’ markets and specialty stores. But probably not in Northfield…you will figure it all out.

 

[Ant345]

I'll bet that Italian-Americans in the state of Vermont refer to the "old country" as Brooklyn. NYC expatriates are a dime a dozen in the Green Mountain state. Go to any restaurant or bar on Church Street (Burlington) on a Saturday, close your eyes and hear your people complaining about waiting "on line" (not "in line" like the rest of America), or some "joik" (aka "jerk") or opinions of "Boy-nee" (Senator Bernard Sanders, who STILL hasn't lost his Flatbush accent ater more than 5 decades of leaving the Big Apple).

Fuggedtaboutit!

That looks interesting

 

[Ant345]

And let’s talk American portion size. Try not to let your horror show on your face.

I wish I could have smuggled back the San Marzano tomatoes put up in glass jars by my landlord’s wife to tide her over the winter. I can buy them here in cans, but it’s not the same. Americans also routinely expect to eat fruits and vegetables out of season. Want cherries in January? Buy the ones from South America. Brace yourself for hydroponically grown fresh tomatoes that look good but taste like nothing, all winter long.

You will like the Cabot aged cheddar cheese from Vermont, and other cheese varieties, if you like cheese. You just have to know where to look for farmers’ markets and specialty stores. But probably not in Northfield…you will figure it all out.

I think that the hard part will be finding fresh pastry like cannoli, sfogliatella, cassata, etc because it's a very local thing that needs fresh ingredients.

 

[Ant345]

I wish I could have smuggled back the San Marzano tomatoes put up in glass jars by my landlord’s wife to tide her over the winter.

Tomatoes inside glass jars are the best!
It's probably one of the most Italian things I can think of

 

[Capt MJ]

I think that the hard part will be finding fresh pastry like cannoli, sfogliatella, cassata, etc because it's a very local thing that needs fresh ingredients.
View attachment 11063View attachment 11066

Ah yes.
I don’t know if there is a sponsor family program for Norwich, and you could find a family to let you take over their kitchen on weekends.

If you get over to Burlington:

Mirabelles Bakery

A chef-owned bakery, featuring croissants, cake, and coffee. Made-on-site offerings include pastries, takeout breakfast and lunch sandwiches, prepared foods to bake at home, and coffee and espresso drinks. A long counter has stools for dining in.

www.mirabellesbakery.com

By the way, have you visited the Bacon Thread and studied the love given to bacon in this part of the world?

Speaking of the world, it’s almost 8 PM here on the East Coast, and I shouldn’t be chatting about non-essentials during your sleep time. Mi dispiace.

 

[Ant345]

Ah yes.
I don’t know if there is a sponsor family program for Norwich, and you could find a family to let you take over their kitchen on weekends.

If you get over to Burlington:

Mirabelles Bakery

A chef-owned bakery, featuring croissants, cake, and coffee. Made-on-site offerings include pastries, takeout breakfast and lunch sandwiches, prepared foods to bake at home, and coffee and espresso drinks. A long counter has stools for dining in.

www.mirabellesbakery.com

By the way, have you visited the Bacon Thread and studied the love given to bacon in this part of the world?

Speaking of the world, it’s almost 8 PM here on the East Coast, and I shouldn’t be chatting about non-essentials during your sleep time. Mi dispiace.

I will definitely check it out!
Don't worry

 

[WT Door]

All this talk of food and pastici has me yearning for my favorite Sicilian dish - melanzane (eggplant) parmigiana and a canolo. On another subject, let’s talk football and futbal or calcio as you know it in Italy. If I am not mistaken, as a cadet, you will be required to attend home football games in the fall. Learn a little about the college game and gradually about some of the professional football teams’ names, players, and cities that they play. It might provide a segue to some interesting conversations. I wasn’t versed in calcio until I saw how the sport permeated Italian culture when I was in Sicily during the World Cup. The enthusiasm in my neighborhood was incredible. Since you are from Sicily, you must know of Toto Schillaci. On a later tour, knowing that Alex Del Piero played for Juventus, Francesco Totti played for Roma, and knowing the which cities the different colored ‘maglie’ represented, allowed me with to partake in conversations that transported my mind to different regions of Italy. To this day I follow the Azzurri when they play in the World Cup.

 

[Ant345]

All this talk of food and pastici has me yearning for my favorite Sicilian dish - melanzane (eggplant) parmigiana and a canolo. On another subject, let’s talk football and futbal or calcio as you know it in Italy. If I am not mistaken, as a cadet, you will be required to attend home football games in the fall. Learn a little about the college game and gradually about some of the professional football teams’ names, players, and cities that they play. It might provide a segue to some interesting conversations. I wasn’t versed in calcio until I saw how the sport permeated Italian culture when I was in Sicily during the World Cup. The enthusiasm in my neighborhood was incredible. Since you are from Sicily, you must know of Toto Schillaci. On a later tour, knowing that Alex Del Piero played for Juventus, Francesco Totti played for Roma, and knowing the which cities the different colored ‘maglie’ represented, allowed me with to partake in conversations that transported my mind to different regions of Italy. To this day I follow the Azzurri when they play in the World Cup.

Definitely, that's great!

And as you saw Italy won Euro 2020 recently

Euro 2020

 

[Navy1]

Congratulations on your admission! Take cold showers to train for Vermont winters

For sure... My DD told me on Saturday it was -21 (which I didn't believe until I checked myself) AND to make matter's worse... They had some issue and NO HEAT in the dorms. haha

 

[CatDog99]

For sure... My DD told me on Saturday it was -21 (which I didn't believe until I checked myself) AND to make matter's worse... They had some issue and NO HEAT in the dorms. haha

That's insane cold! They are getting close to where they have to switch from Mercury to Alcohol thermometer. I hope they fixed the heat.