My interpreter Silvia and I spend a lot of time together. We basically talk about our relationship problems and family problems.

Silvia is going to Germany for 6 months and she explained to me how hard it would be to keep a long distance relationship with her boyfriend of four years while she’s in Germany . I  explained to her that I am in a long distance relationship, so I know how she feels. In my relationship, trust is always an issue. Silvia trusts her boyfriend and he has promised her he will come and see here while she is there.

I was talking with  Silvia about all this over hot cappuccinos the other day, and I was asking her questions about her family. She’s the oldest of four children and she doesn’t get along with her mother that well. Neither do I. However, Silvia and I never went into detail on the whole situation with her family. Besides we come from completely different backgrounds. I asked Silvia if she had a car, and she said “I had to beg my father just to get me a bike”, so no, she doesn’t have a car. My parents got me a car for my birthday, but it wasn’t new and now I know how fortunate I am to have a car.

Silvia and I live on opposite sides of the world, she live in Italy and I live in the United States. We both have separate cultures and different ways of life.