Multicultural family!

How would you like to hear this, on your super hectic Friday morning?

‘Why did you have to make choc chip pancakes?!? Why can’t we be just like any other family and have cereal for breakfast???’ – says a disbelieved teen daughter to her worn out mom! We were in the car, going to school.                                                                         

‘It was not the pancake that delayed me! But your brother’s tantrum! And you! Straightening your hair, putting mascara on, while I slaved on in the kitchen making pancakes for you! (Brat brat brat brat, incredible little braaaaattttttt – No, I did not say that to her; I just really wanted to).

My eldest has some British  traits in her (we came to the US when she was 8), and the strongest one is: being on time. It so happens I am Brazilian; needless to say anything else here. I try really hard, every morning, to be on time. But things happen; like our lovely toddler boy, stiffing himself up in the car and not wanting to put his jumper on! (it as 8 degrees celsius!).  We tried everything; I even pointed to our neighbour’s scary Halloween decorations and said to him:

‘If you do not behave and put your jumper back on, that skeleton over there, you see the one sitting on that chair? He will stand up, come here and get you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (My teen seemed rather surprised with my psychological approach).

Then, my little boy said (while I was reversing the car out of our driveway):

‘Mommy, mommy, turn back! I want to see the ‘keleton walk’!!!! – he is my only American born child; Halloween does not scare him a bit. We were then, running a tad bit late.

Breathe! Just another morning…

By being a multicultural family, every now and then we deal with ‘comparisons’. And I tell you, in a household with 4 nationalities or more, like this one; you hear crazy things. Things that make me cringe, but mostly, things that make me crack! Yep, I laugh…what else is left for me to do? Hear these…

”I wish you were more like the American parents!’ (Okay, the girls were like 5 and 8 when we heard that one; I wonder what the status is now that they are 11 and 14…?).

‘Why can’t we just eat cereal? (Yah, why not? Instead of omelets, smoked Hungarian sausages, ‘pao de queijo’ Brazilian cheese bread, homemade yoghurt, lovely warm choc chip pancakes and your favourite Hungarian crepes…why why?!).

‘Why can’t we just have pizza?’ (this is my favourite; after cooking an awesome and laborious Brazilian or Hungarian meal! Practicality is everything! Why did I not think of it?!? Store bought pizza, ta-dah!).

‘But all my friends sleep with their cell phones in their bedroom!’ I am the only one…!

‘But all my friends have iphones, ipods, ipads! I’m the only one…!’

‘Brazilians make jokes all the time; it’s mean!’ – (Mean?!? It is funny!).

‘Hungarians are so serious!’ – (Make up your mind, girls! Serious, funny,  mean?! I guess we cover everything here, so one way or another, you should be happy, ‘no’ ?! 😉

Yes, yes, it is so very tough to be a teen in a multicultural family. At times, we all seem discombobulated (most of the time, I should say!). We discuss everything and anything. We present trillion points of view at the dinner table. We mostly disagree, we sometimes take sides: Hungarians to one side; Brazilians, Britt’s and American wannabes to another. Or, Hungarians and Brazilians to one side and all the others, against us!

The funny thing is; when we have people over, they never want to leave (If you’re reading this and you have been to our place, don’t deny it, lol!). Wouldn’t that show something good about us??? Wouldn’t it, girls?! 😉 I can think of at least 3 things:

1. Good food!

2. Good conversation!

3. Good company!

We may be different but it is a good different. And hopefully a ‘different’ that will give you the ‘edge’ you will need for your brilliant future, my darlings! 😉

Adri xxx

ps: the latest thing I heard this morning was from my little boy (2-years-old) in the car:’Mom will go to all my football games!’ Hu?! Where did that one come from?!?! He doesn’t play anything (yet)! O boy! lol! So much for this American life of mine! Looking forward to it Mateusao!