Don't wait for me!

Onto the first post of the blog!

Picture the situation. You make some lovely Roman friends at a party. Hooray! Even better, they invite you to come visit them. "We wait for you in Rome", they say. "How depressing", you think.

Wait a minute, Sophie! Why would it be depressing to have some friends in Rome who want you to come visit them? It's not of course. It's just that when you say "We wait for you in Rome"* what I'm picturing is these nice Roman people sitting in their lovely Roman apartment (Think La Grande Bellezza, a balcony with a view of the Colosseum, that type of thing. Because of course all Romans have that kind of house.) and waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Poor things. What a sad existence. To clarify, when you "wait" for something or something, in English that generally means you don't do much else. Except maybe check your smartphone. Or read a book. Pace the room impatiently. Pick your nose. Etc. But using the word "wait" implies you aren't really getting on with your life until the waited-for thing has happened. So when I hear "I wait for you in Rome", I kind of feel someone is sitting there, staring at the walls, waiting for my arrival and not doing much else. And who knows when I will get there, between work and the general fun of Trenitalia it might take years. So please don't stay at home waiting for me. Go out, have fun, see your friends, carpe diem! In the meantime you can tell me: "We hope to see you in Rome". One day I will come visit, I promise.


*Apart from the fact that the present simple is just wrong here.