1. You realize Sunday pasta isn't a thing in most places.
Eating mom’s spaghetti (and dad’s meatballs) at 3 p.m. is a Sunday staple in your house. Add a little antipasto with prosciutto and mozzarella and it's a dinner!
2. You realize that many people think it's weird to greet family and friends with kisses on the cheek.
You don’t know any other way especially since you still get scolded by mom for not kissing every cousin, aunt, uncle, extended family member, and friend hello.
3. You have to hold back the fiery Sicilian in you by not screaming, “Are you CRAZY?!” when your friends tell you how they think Papa Johns and Domino's are the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Domino's just doesn't cut it when you have Grimaldi's, L&B Spumoni Gardens, and John's of Bleecker Street readily available. Yes Julia, we have love affairs with our pizza too.
4. You're surprised when people don't know what the feast of the seven fishes on Christmas Eve is.
You don’t know anything other than eating the seven fishes and no meat on Christmas Eve. The staples were always clams, mussels, shrimp, and calamari and no one felt like they were missing out on ham.
5. You become used to people poking fun at the way you pronounce certain things.
It is a fact that you WILL get laughed at for saying muzadel, galamad, and supersad. Better known in Ohio as mozzarella, calamari, and soppressata! At first this was a "yooge" (huge) deal, but now I expect it and accept it and go with the fun of it.
6. People will ask if you were born in Italy.
No, but my grandfather was and that's how tradition gets passed down! You could be five generations away from being off the boat, yet you’ll still identify as Italian-American.
7. You begin to realize the accent you thought you didn't have and the hand gestures you thought you didn't have, do in fact exist.
Yes, we speak with our hands sometimes; how else am I supposed to emphasize my point? And yeah, I guess I didn't escape completely unscathed in the accent department.
8. No, I am not related to anyone in the mafia!
We just like mafia heavy movies, like The Godfather.
9. Oh maron. You get used to explaining that the "red chili pepper" you wear on you neck is actually a bulls horn.
We wear this to ward off the evil eye.
10. No one knows what a pork store is.
This is where you get the best sandwiches (no Jimmy John's for you!), cold cuts, imported juices and sodas, gelatos, bread, and pastas.
11. You realize you can't get potatoes and eggs or a chocolate egg cream anywhere.
Also, no one believes you when you tell them how good chocolate egg creams (milk, chocolate syrup, and seltzer) are!
12. Oops, I guess I can’t use the word "gravy."
If you ask for gravy, it's likely you'll be given something with a a brownish tinge meant to be used for turkey. But back home, gravy and tomato sauce are synonymous.
13. You get excited to go home for Christmas because that means struffoli!
It’s not Christmas without homemade struffoli, pignoli cookies, and nuccitella.
14. It surprises you when people say they aren't close with their extended family.
It doesn’t matter if it’s your fifth cousin twice removed, they’re still your cousin!
15. You’re surprised that your friends aren’t all Roman Catholic.
Obviously you know other religions and denominations exist, but growing up in a community where most of the people were Catholic, it's just something different.
16. It gives you agita (look it up) when people ask you if "Jersey Shore" is similar.
Sure, some people look and act like that but it is by no means a widespread representation of the culture we grew up in.
17. Your outside voices are our inside voices.
If you've ever watched a movie with an Italian family party, chances are it's actually pretty similar. Taylor even has the hand gestures down pat!
