things that go bump in the night, very loudly
When I was 20 I visited my Aunt and her family in Italy. Sleeping arrangements were such that I shared a room with my Aunt. Night one I was jolted out of sleep by what sounded like a ferocious battle between my Aunt and some snarling beast! She was screaming in Italian so I didn't understand the context, but there could be no mistaking the aggression of the bandsaw like responses. After a second or two I realized both parts were played by my dear Aunt. It turns out she snores at an epic degree and talks in her sleep at an Italian "conversational" volume. The same with my cousins. Then there's my poor suffering Uncle, who can't have slept much ever as their nocturnal orchestra reverberated throughout the small apartment. (His metaphor, not mine.) Fast forward almost 30 years. My travel friends start complaining about my snoring. I've forgotten all about my 'family history', and think they're just giving me a ha...