When an Italian policeman starts throwing rocks at a US-American mother’s window, her parenting struggles and vulnerability as an immigrant, become all too real but for…
Category: Carolyn Rathjen
Carolyn Rathjen is an American clinical social worker currently living in Rome, Italy, with her Italian husband and two bilingual daughters.
Grandmother’s War Bride Story Inspired My Own Intercultural Marriage
My grandmother left her entire world behind that allowed me the privilege and freedom to not think twice about doing the same thing some 60 years later.
When an American Mom Joins an Italian School Lunch Committee
Italian sea bass Extra virgin olive oil Fresh, organic egg Breadcrumbs Parsley Sea salt These are the six ingredients in the fish meatballs served in my daughters’ public school lunch program in Rome, Italy. My taste buds were delighted by the rich, home-cooked flavor of a colorful vegetable minestrone, chunks of tender lamb simmered in…
La Bella Figura: Why Italian Moms Once Made This American Mom Feel Insecure
The bags of most Italian moms are bottomless. I marvel at the superhuman abilities of Italian moms to both look great and have anticipated the appetites, body temperatures, weather changes, and hygiene needs of all their kids—and their friends, on top of that. Do Italian moms do it better than this American mom?
