Deborah starts by saying she is grateful that America will soon get a chance to pick a new president. Sofie says (first in Swedish, then in Italian, then in English) that she is grateful for the benevolent hearts of Italy and for these four months she's been allowed to experience such pleasure in this country. The tears begin when Mario—our host—weeps in open gratitude as he thanks God for the work in his life that has enabled him to have this beautiful home for his family and friends to enjoy. Paolo gets a laugh when he says that he, too, is grateful that America will soon have the chance to elect a new president. We fall into a silence of collective respect for little Sara, one of the twelve-year-old twins, when she bravely shares that she is grateful to be here tonight with such nice people because she's been having a hard time at school lately—some of the other students are being mean to her—"so thank you for being sweet to me tonight and not mean to me, like they are." Luca's girlfriend says she is grateful for the years of loyalty Luca has shown to her, and for how warmly he has taken care of her family through difficult times. Simona—our hostess—cries even more openly than her husband had, as she expresses her gratitude that a new custom of celebration and thankfulness has been brought into her home by these strangers from America, who are not really strangers at all, but friends of Luca's and therefore friends of peace.
黛博拉先开始。她说她很感谢美国过不久有机会挑选新总统。苏菲说（先讲瑞典语，再讲意大利语，最后讲英语），她感谢意大利人的善心，以及这四个月来在这个国家所体会的快乐。招待我们的主人马里奥流着泪，公开感谢上帝赐予他工作，使他拥有这栋让家人和朋友乐在其中的漂亮房子。保罗说的话引起哄堂大笑，因为他说他也感谢美国很快就有机会举行新总统的选举。我们一致对小莎拉表达沉默的敬意——这位十二岁的双胞胎之一勇敢地告诉大家，她感谢今晚能在此地与这些好人共度，因为最近她在学校很不好过——有些同学对她不友善——因此感谢你们今晚善待我，不像那些同学。卢卡的女友说她感谢卢卡多年来对她一片赤忱，在困难的日子里热诚地照顾她的家人。我们的女主人席莫娜甚至比她的老公更开怀大哭，因为她感谢这群来自美国的陌生人带给她家新的节庆风俗与感恩之意，这些人不是陌生人，而是卢卡的朋友，因此也是和平的朋友。

When it comes my turn to speak, I begin "Sono grata . . ." but then find I cannot say my real thoughts. Namely, that I am so grateful to be free tonight from the depression that had been gnawing at me like a rat over the years, a depression that had chewed such perforations in my soul that I would not, at one time, have been able to enjoy even such a lovely night as this. I don't mention any of this because I don't want to alarm the children. Instead, I say a simpler truth—that I am grateful for old and new friends. That I am grateful, most especially tonight, for Luca Spaghetti. That I hope he has a happy thirty-third birthday, and I hope he lives a long life, in order to stand as an example to other men of how to be a generous, loyal and loving human being. And that I hope nobody minds that I'm crying as I say all this, though I don't think they do mind, since everyone else is crying, too.
轮到我说时，我开口说Sono grata……，可是我发现自己讲不出真正的想法。换句话说，我非常感谢今晚得以免于这几年啃噬我的抑郁，这抑郁使我的灵魂穿孔，使我一度无法享受如此美好的夜晚。我并未提及这些，因为我不想引起孩子们的恐慌。我只说出更简单的事实——我对新朋友和旧朋友不胜感激。我说今晚尤其感谢卢卡•斯帕盖蒂。我希望他能有个快乐的三十三岁生日，希望他长命百岁，以作为他人的表率，让大家知道何谓慷慨、赤诚、博爱。我说希望没有人介意我说这些话的时候哭了出来，尽管我想他们并不介意，因为大家都哭了。

Luca is so clutched by emotion that he cannot find words except to say to all of us: "Your tears are my prayers."
卢卡情绪激动得说不出话来，只对我们说：你们的眼泪是我献上的祷告。

The Sardinian wine keeps on coming. And while Paolo washes the dishes and Mario puts his tired daughters to bed and Luca plays the guitar and everyone sings drunken Neil Young songs in various accents, Deborah the American feminist psychologist says quietly to me, "Look around at these good Italian men. See how open they are to their feelings and how lovingly they participate in their families. See the regard and the respect they hold for the women and children in their lives. Don't believe what you read in the papers, Liz. This country is doing very well."
撒丁酒源源不绝。保罗洗碗，马里奥把女儿送去睡觉，卢卡弹吉他，大家南腔北调地唱着尼尔•杨（Neil Young）的醉歌。美国女性主义心理学家黛博拉悄悄地告诉我：看看这些意大利好男人。看看他们多么公开自己的感觉，多么关爱自己的家庭。看看他们多么尊重自己生命中的女人和小孩。别去相信报上的报道，小莉。这国家干得很好。

Our party doesn't end until almost dawn. We could have roasted that twenty-pound turkey, after all, and eaten it for breakfast. Luca Spaghetti drives me and Deborah and Sofie all the way back home. We try to help him stay awake as the sun comes up by singing Christmas carols. Silent night, sainted night, holy night, we sing over and over in every language we know, as we all head back into Rome together.
Eat, Pray, Love
我们的派对在将近黎明时分才结束。我们原本可以烤二十磅的火鸡，当早餐吃。卢卡载着我、黛博拉和苏菲一路回家。太阳升起，我们唱圣诞颂歌，帮助他保持清醒。平安夜，圣善夜，我们唱自己知道的各种语言，一遍又一遍，一同回到罗马。