With Apprehension

My aunt is scheduled to come visit me tomorrow. Unlike all the “American visits” (I call them) you might be familiar with, this one will last a month. Still think your in-laws coming over for Thanksgiving is too much?!?

Someone asked me the other day why a month, and I honestly don’t know. But whenever my family visits, they stay for at least a month, sometimes 6 weeks; sometimes 8. I guess it’s a combination of trying to make their money worth while (it’s a long and expensive trip) and having so much vacation time (it’s Europe, you see, they work AND rest, unlike The States) that you can afford to take that much time off.

My aunt has traveled all over Europe, and to Turkey and The Mediterranean, but this is her first time across The Pond. I am excited for her, but also apprehensive about everything. Will she make it here OK? (I have no clue how much “large airport” experience she has, nor how much English she can speak or read), will she like it?, will she be OK with the hot, humid weather?, will she like the food?, will she be jetlagged for days? Weeks? What if she gets sick?! How healthy is she, really?! With dad that’s easy: he’s a walking timed bomb, so … anything can blow up at any minute. She’s older than dad, and says she is healthier. Maybe (hopefully) she did get grandma’s genes!

I also cannot help but wonder, in a very selfish way, what she will think of my life here. Of how far I’ve come, since I packed up and left Romania 10 years ago, with a suitcase and $4000 of her money. Will she think what I’ve accomplished so far is not enough? Just right? Way too much and will she be proud?! Will she think that the American me is much different than the Romanian me?!

I am sure I’ll answer all these questions and so many more in the next month or so. So, all I can say is: stay tuned if you’re curious about the answers.

One thing I know for sure is that she will think I don’t have enough food in my fridge! My family (and Romanians in general) are obsessed with food! You know about my dad’s feasts for “just the family” crowds. Compared to that, my 5 courses awaiting for her in the fridge seem puny! But “with the little I have” and in my humble abode, I cannot wait to welcome her here! I just hope she will come back!!