Italian Festivals

I have not written lately, but we have been busy with festivals. The first one took place right in our front yard. And I mean literally in our front yard. The Festa de Soco took place right here in our town of Grisignano di Zocco. I would compare it in size the AZ State Fair. It did not have the livestock, but everything else compared. We were fortunate (NOT) to have most of the food vendors and beer vendors on our street. In fact, the beer shack was just to the left of our driveway. The festival began Friday the11th at 6pm. Once it started there was no leaving our house. Things started rocking about 9 or so. Not bad on Friday and Saturday night. However, once Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday rolled around the things starting to crank up at 9 was not fun. The poor kids slept through most of it, but not soundly. We had parades at 9:30, music and announcements cranking over the loudspeakers starting at 10pm, and then on the final night fireworks at midnight. I can honestly say I know what it feels like to be shell shocked and no wonder the soldiers in Iraq have problems when they return. The festival was supposed to end on Wednesday, but we had  days of heavy rain so they extended it one additional day. Yippee!! The roads are so little here and the vendors were so many that I had to do a 5 point turn each morning to get out of the driveway so I would not hit the tables set up in the street. I can honestly say now that I have experienced an Italian festival first hand. Next year we are going to invite friends over and grill out as we watch all the people up and down the street.

Not quite sure what these guys are, but they were part of the parade.

So, a few days after recovering from the festival in our yard I decide to take the kids to another festival to celebrate the movement of cattle from the mountains (Festa della Transumanza). This was an interesting celebration. There is a large farm in this little town and every summer they move their cattle 80km up into the mountains. In Sept they bring them back down to the farm and it is a huge celebration. The cattle were supposed to arrive at 4:30 tonight. Having worked with cattle in my younger years I knew this 4:30 time frame was very flexible and it was. About 4:45 as 1500 + people lined the street of this little town the parade began. First in line were the tractors. It started with the big farm tractors and then local citizens showing off their tractors. There were some pretty cool ones. Next came the band along with majorettes. Next were the shepherds and then the long awaited cows. Of course they had placed cow bells on many of them so they made a ton of noise. The kids loved it. They were only inches from these cows as we had camped out for over an hour to guarantee our spot on the front row. Once the parade was over we left, but the festivities continued with food and dancing late tonight and more tomorrow. I guess this is something we will have to put on the calendar for next year to share with Jeff. He was unable to attend the festival with us as he is on a plane on his way back to the states for a conference this week in Baltimore. We really missed having him with us and Madison commented how she can’t wait to tell Daddy about it and show him the pictures so he will want to go next year.

Italian life is GOOD!

I am a firm believer in the concept that life is what you make it. As an American living overseas this is sooooo true. If you are the type of person who just sits and gripes because of everything that is different or "inconvenient" to the American lifestyle you will have an awful experience. However, if you take those differences, embrace them, and use them to make lemonade, life can be pretty good. As I was cleaning up the kitchen this afternoon I really started to reflect on this concept and how I plan to embrace my Italian experience.

My next door neighbor is Italian married to an American retired soldier. She is super nice and such a huge help. I asked her one day about the Italian preschools here in the area and she told me all about the experience she had at the one in the town just down the street. She could not say enough good things about the school. I told her I would be very interested in sending Nathan there. She spent several days making phone calls to them to see if they had an opening. They did and she went with me yesterday to the school to translate for me. I liked the school and want to send Nathan. The only thing keeping us from committing is the fact that the school runs M-F 8-4. That means he would be in school 40 hours a week at the age of 3. If I worked full time that is what it would have to be, but this is a choice we have to make. This whole experience is for a different post, but where I was going with this is the comment that my neighbor made to me. She told me she thinks it is great how much we are embracing the culture and exposing our children also. I guess the previous tenants of this house locked themselves inside and totally ignored the Italian experience offered to them. To be told by an Italian they think what we are doing is great is so exciting. That means we are fitting in and not standing out like the ugly Americans.

The start of the school year was one of dread for me due to the ungodly hour we needed to get up every morning to get Madison on the bus. I will admit I still don't like getting up at 6, but it has actually been a good week. Once we get everyone out the door and started on our 10 min. walk to the bus stop life is good. The kids and I usually have a nice conversation on the walk and the kids love listening to the rooster crow as we walk by a yard with a bunch of chickens.  We live in a small country town. Literally 2 houses away is a line of stores to include gelato, florist, meat and cheese, jewelry, tobacco, tapestry store, and an eyeglass store along with a hotel and two restaurants. However, a block from there is this house with a yard of chickens. I guess zoning does not apply here. Once we put Madison on the "school" bus Nathan and I go for a morning run. Or rather I go for the run and he enjoys the scenary. The first morning we did this I chose a road that I thought woud just lead us down some residential streets. Instead, it led us right down this beautiful country road full of corn fields and farms. Nathan loves to look at the horses on the one farm and I enjoy the peace and tranquility the area offers. What a great place and way to start the morning in the middle of nature. By the time we finish and return home it is 8 and time to start the day. Each day is different, but still the time of reflection in the morning allows for a pleasant day. Also, I have always had a hard time getting Nathan to nap, but for the first time in probably a year or more I told Nathan to go take a nap in his bed. Usually he will listen and go to his bed, but for only 5 min. if I am lucky. Today he layed there and actually fell asleep. This early morning thing might just pay off.

One of the things I have learned about Italy is that life is not as stressful here. People take time to "stop and smell the roses." There are no drive through fast food restaurants, almost every store is closed on Sunday, people walk, take the bus, or ride their bikes, they stop and talk to others on the street. Life just seems a little more relaxed here and less stressful. Repair people or service people show up when they say they will (or even earlier) and tradition and pride are very important. This past week everyone on our street has been trimming the hedges in their yards. I asked if there was a law or ordinance for this and my neighbor said no, it is just pride in the area for the upcoming festival next week. They have been preparing for this thing for the past month and we have been warned there will be 100's of people on our street each night.  

Life is not perfect here or in the States, however, as an American living overseas, I am embracing it and enjoying it. Every once in awhile I think how much easier I could do something in the States, but then I stop and think that is only because I have been doing it for so long there. Let me just figure out how to do this and then it will be easy here too. Life is what you make it and I intend to make mine an Italian bed of roses for the next three years.   

First Day of School

As most of you were still in bed or probably just going to bed my big girl started her first day of First Grade. She is attending the Dept. of Defense school on post. She will be riding the bus every morning. Here are a few pictures from her first day.

Not quite sure about this school bus.

Off for the start of a big day.

National Lampoon's Italian driving

OK, I usually don't sit down this quick and write about my experiences, but I had to share this one right away. I had to take the dogs to the post vet this morning to have blood drawn. I went this afternoon to pick them up and I had to take the blood to an Italian vet for testing. He gave me the directions which seemed pretty easy. Mistake number one was taking a way I have never been before. Instead of turning where I should I followed the signs for downtown Vicenza. I knew it was near downtown so I figured what the heck. Soon I finally figured out where I was and which direction I needed to head. I turned around and headed in that direction driving right past the turn for the vet office (did that about 3 times in the course of an hour). I kept looking for a place where I had to turn either left or right as buses were only allowed the rest of the way. Well, I eventually found it, but only once it was too late. I followed all the one way signs around about 100 traffic circles and found myself in the pedestrian area of town. This is an area that actually have streets, but cars are not to be on them. As I turned a corner to try and find my way off these streets all these Italians are looking at my big white American van driving down this street where I am not supposed to be. They are all shopping and eating at the little cafes. Thank goodness it was not market day or a really busy day downtown. I was just praying there were no police around and thank goodness there wasn't. I drove in circles for about another 20 min. before finally finding where I needed to be. Thank goodness. We saw much of downtown Vicenza and how to get to places I have heard about for tourist events. Not sure if I could get back there the easy and direct way, but I can say I briefly saw them today. I don't know what I was thinking not taking my GPS with me today. Oh well, now that I have written it down it will be one of the many (I am sure) National Lampoon adventures of the Whitworth family.

Overseas Schools

So today was new family orientation for the school on post. It is an old school building with K-12 all in the same big building. Half of the building is the Elementary of K-6 and then the rest is High School. All students share the cafeteria at different times. For as old as the building is it is not too bad. They will be moving into a brand new building for the 2010 school year. That is exciting. Anyway, the school has a new principal. He used to teach at the High School so he is not new to the area. He seems really nice. There is a total of 577 students in grades K-6 as of right now. However, every day new students are registering so who knows how many there will be. There are 5 first grade classes with about 18 in each class. We are hoping to put Madison in the Italian immersion class. There were lots of kids who signed up and it is done by a lottery. We won't know until the weekend before school starts if she is in that class or not. If she makes the lottery then she will spend the first half of the day learning everything in Italian and then English the second half of the day. If she is not in the class she will still get an Italian cultural class every week. She already know several other first graders and walked down the hallway like she owned the place so I have no worries about her. We also bought her a school t-shirt for spirit days. She put it on right away and wore it most of the day. I also learned that there is not much of a Parent Teacher organization. The President had never been to a meeting, but took the job so it would not be disbanded. Not a very optimistic way to start the year. I guess I might have to go in there and shape things up a little. I have already joined and volunteered for many things. I am sure that is no surprise to those that know me well. I can never just sit back and not put my two cents into the situation.
Skype has become very popular in our house. We have only chatted with Jeff's mom so far, but the kids are loving it. They had to call her tonight before bed just to say goodnight as they knew she had the day off work. It is quite interesting to be able to see someone while you talk. I don't mind that, but I hate looking at myself in the little corner. We are going to try Madison's fiddle lessons this Wed. via Skype. Unfortunately, she has not practiced at all this summer. I am sure after a lesson or two she will be back up to speed though as she picks it up so quickly.
I had quite an experience with the gas this weekend. I did not fill up the van last week. The gas stations that take NATO coupons aren't open on te weekends. So, I waited until today to fill up. However, when I pulled into the station I was running on fumes. I had to drive past the first one because it was closed for holiday. I won't let that happen again. It took 60 liters to fill it up. It would have cost 75 euro or about $105. Can you imagine paying that about every two weeks.
Tomorrow they are delivering 2 kitchen cabinets. Once they are in I can finish the house. I can't wait. Jeff figured out how to fix my closet too so that should be done in the next few days and I will be back in operation. It will be nice to be unpacked and have other things to move on to. I have until Oct. when I start back to working on my Master's so I want to use that time to catch up on scrapbooking and pictures.
Time to stop and watch a rented movie. The free selection for the library is limited, but they are free so we are watching a made for tv baseball movie. Should prove to be interesting.

Questions?

I know some of you have specific questions you would like answered. Please post them in the comments and I will try to answer them.

Sightseeing in Venice

This is one of the sections of ceiling in the church.

It costs about $150 for a private ride on the gondola.

The "streets" of Venice.

A great class that the post offers here is called "Benvenutti". It is for spouses to serve as a welcome to Italy. On the first day we all met in a conference room to listen to others talk about their experience. They also took time to address any rumors we can heard or concerns. The lead lady for the class then taught us how to make an Italian lunch. Nothing too fancy, just some bruschetta, chicken rolls with proscuttio and cheese, pasta with fresh tomato sauce, and a tossed salad. It was very delicious. We then ended the day learning a few Italian words from an Italian lady who used to be married to an American soldier so she spent many years in the States and works with the military now helping to build the new base here. On the second day we met super early to head to Venice for the day. The day began by rushing the day care center to drop the kids off and then get to the other side of post to catch the city bus. Things went smoothly and I made it with a few minutes to spare. We then took the city bus to the train station down town. We had a large group and she tried to get us a discount rate so paying was a nightmare. She collected money and then tried to pay for everyone. We only had minutes until the train left so we really did not learn how to do it ourselves. Oh well, we at least made the train. We took the fast train which cost about 10 euro ($15) one way. It was fast with only 3 stops and it was air conditioned. That is always a plus in this country and a rare treat. Once we arrived in Venice about 45 min. later we stopped in the little cafeteria area there for coffee and breakfast. Of course, breakfast is a quick sandwhich or something similar and most Italians drink espresso which our guide informed us it to be drank in two sips and no more. She then started leading us through Venice. Our first area of interest was the old Jewish Ghetto. It was called that because long ago all the Jewish people lived in that area and were basically locked in at night. On the way there we went down some tight little alley ways and myself and another lady in the group who have read the Twilight series wondered if we were being led to meet the Volturri. I could not get over how narrow the walkways were and all the waterways. We did not see a single car our entire day in Venice. We went through some really nice shopping districts, but the area was so crowded and we were so rushed to get everything done that you quickly looked in the windows and kept going. Our first major stop was the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. From the outside it looks like a typical Italian building. However, once inside it is gorgeous. It also is the burial place for several saints. There were two different bodies actually on display in tombs. The foot of St. Catherine was also on display. We then enjoyed a nice lunch at a nearby restaurant. We saw burial island. It is the island right beside the hospital and people will be buried there for 10 years. At that point they are removed and the remains given to the family to place somewhere else. It was quite interesting. We ended our day in Venice by taking the water taxi back to the train station. It was such a whirlwind day and I look forward to returning one day and taking my time to shop and see the sites. The pictures above were taken on my trip.

McDonalds

So today we enjoyed a piece of the US and ate at McDonald's. Pretty much the same here as there except I had to pay for my ketchup and the drinks had no ice. The McDonald's we went to is in the mall here. It never ceases to amaze me how busy it is every time we go there. I guess Italians do like fast food after all and aren't all about an hour long meal. I also had to resolve a bank issue today. They did not pay our rent last week like they were supposed to. Come to find out they try to debit the account the day before the payment is due. I did not deposit the money for the rent until that afternoon so that is why they did not pay the rent. So, now I know how things work. I also found out that we don't want to try and transfer money each month from our bank account in the States into that account. There is a 10 euro fee per transaction for doing so. I guess we will just stick to the allotment out of Jeff's pay check each month into that account to pay the rent and utilities. Now that we know it should make things easier. What bothers me the most is this is an Italian bank with a branch on post for the military and 90% of the military bank there. However, none of the contracts are translated in English and the one teller who set up our account knew very little English or otherwise the rent probably would have been paid with no problem. Today I had a very kind gentleman helping me who took plenty of time to answer all my questions and I left there happy and not ready to change banks. Nothing beats good customer service.

Next we headed to the Thrift Store to shop for jeans for Madison for school. The clothing selection at the PX is limited and I hate to pay full price for things so the Thrift Store is a great option. So far I have found her 2 pair of pants, a skirt and a really nice winter coat that will have to wait until next winter because it is too big for this year. It is brand new and only cost me $4 so I could not resist.

An inconvenience of Italy that I have found is the fact that very few stores or websites from the States will ship to an APO address. I was trying to shop for some household items the other day and found some things I really wanted, but no one would ship to us. This means I now have to go out on the economy and try to find comparable items. I might have to start stopping at different stores and just walking in to see what kinds of items they sell as the outside appearances and names don't provide many clues.

To help the kids learn Italian I bought them each a Disney movie today in Italian. I bought two they know really well to help them make the association with the words. With that being said, Madison just tried to put one of the movies into the player and it won't play because it says it is the wrong Regional disk. I guess I will have to do some research to figure out how to fix the problem. I am really not in the mood to deal with this right now. I just want to take a nap to be honest. I need to go down into the garage and pull out the pieces of our Rubbermaid shed we had in AZ. I have it for sale and someone is coming over tonight to look at it and possibly buy it. We don't have a space large enough in our yard for it and it takes up a ton of space in the garage so I would really like it to be gone. Right now I have 4 different people that want to buy it. The lack of storage space around here makes a great market place to sale the shed. Thank goodness. My goal is to take 10 items a week to the Thrift Store to sell so we can clean some of this stuff out of the house and make more room.

By this weekend I hope to post some pictures from around Italy to include Venice and Verona. Check back for more info.

Another day of unpacking and cleaning. I feel like I accomplished something even if it just looking through shower doors that are not all covered in lime buildup. We had a nice rain tonight. The wind was brutal for a few minutes, but it is so nice and cool now. We have the windows open trying to air everything out and stay cool without running the air conditioners. I am also watching a Thomas the Train movie with the kids for the 20th time (2nd time today). Ever since being on leave and being given a nice collection of Thomas the Train toys by Jeff's aunt Sharon that is all he wants to watch and play with. Thank goodness the library has a pretty large collection of the Thomas movies that we can check out for free. We make a trip to the library once a week to restock on movies as TV absolutely stinks here.

For those of you who have never experienced AFN TV while stationed overseas let me explain. It is a satellite system that broadcasts American channels. The commercials are not the ones played in the states, but military commercials. They get old really quick. The selection of TV shows is limited also. They try to bring the latest shows, but they are at least one if not two seasons behind the states. So, all my favorite shows I am enjoying repeats. The worse part is we have lived with a DVR for the last 3 years and came to rely on it heavily. We do not have one here or can not get one from the research I have conducted, so we are stuck watching live TV. Since the past two weeks have been spent primarily unpacking I have not really wanted to watch TV. However, once life settles down (or at least I hope it does a little) I will most likely watch all my favorite shows on the computer. I have missed this entire season of Army Wives and I am not happy about that. I don't think they air that show or at least I have not seen it on the schedule. I think total we have about 10 channels to choose from so we will spend a lot of time watching movies.

One of the biggest blessing in this house was the closet in our bedroom. Those are unheard of in his country. I was so happy when I got everything hung up and organized. That did not last long. Now, I don't consider myself to have a huge collection of shoes by any means. I guess it was enough though hanging in the organizer to break the entire closet rod. I opened the closet door the other day to find all my clothes lying on the floor. Since our entire house is made of concrete it is not as easy as just hanging it back up. In fact, hanging things at all is a slight challenge that I am determined to solve this weekend so I can get pictures on the wall. I have a few hanging on nails already in the walls, but the remaining ones are placed in the oddest spots and don't work for my remaining pictures.

A positive sign of being moved in took place today, the movers returned to take all the empty boxes and paper. It was so nice to see all that leaving. It opened up floor space in the garage. We are still having problems with our entry way gate. I can stand out there for 10 min and it won't work for me. I call our landlord who comes over touches the button and it works perfectly for him. Thank goodness I did not have to go anywhere today because when I tried to open it to remove the boxes it would not open. I will be so glad when August is over and the Italians all come back from vacation so we can hopefully really get it fixed. I am up a creek without a paddle if it does not work and I have to be somewhere at a certain time. I would park my van across the street in a parking spot, but that is discouraged since thugs will break in looking for things. At this class I took the lady told a story of how her neighbor came home from vacation and did not clean all the trash from her car that night because they were tired. Thugs broke in and actually cleaned up her trash as they were looking for anything of value. They will look everywhere too because they are really searching for the NATO gas coupons we buy. It allows us to buy gas without paying all the tax. It allows me to buy a tank of gas for about $40 instead of $90. I don't blame them for wanting to get their hands on them. At those prices you for sure learn what hours the gas stations are open so you can use the coupons and not have to pay the full price.

So, after another busy day around the house we are getting closer to a normal life and settled in. Thanks for sharing our life adventures.

Food, wine, and shopping

You can not live or visit Italy without talking about food and wine. First thing first, food in Italy is not what Americans think Italian food is. It is much blander here and pizza is its own beast. The food is not bad here, but we have not found anything that we absolutely love. Eating out here is expensive and very time consuming. The only drive thru we have found in this country is the Burger King on post. The next closest thing is the pizzaria right around the corner from us which you can only get pizza to go. Otherwise, meals are very slow and usually several courses. A Friday night dinner at a pizzaria will usually last about 2 hours and run between 30-50 euro for a family of 4. With the exchange rate right now that is between $40-70. It is a very relaxing experience as you usually share some wine with those at your table. We even found a place that has a small playground in the back for the kids while you enjoy food and wine. The chow hall has become one of our favorite places to eat as it is inexpensive, fairly quick, and all you can eat with variety. Pizza is definately not American pizza. They are very thin, little sauce, and some interesting toppings. The kids ate a pizza with hot dogs and french fries as toppings one night. We eat at home quite often as we don't always have 2 hours to enjoy dinner and really can not afford those prices several times a week. The first Italian meal I ate here was spaghetti with seafood. It was ok after I got past the clams still in the shells, octopus mixed in, and the shrimp staring back at me as they were still whole.

Gelato is a nice experience though. You find the stores everywhere and we have one right around the corner from us. You can enjoy a big scoop for 1 euro. That is about $1.50 for a scoop, so not so bad. I have not partaken of the Italian cappucino or espresso yet. Usually because when the opportunity arises I am already about 15 degrees hotter than I want to be and a hot drink is the last thing I want at that point. Once cooler weather arrives though I am sure to enjoy a few cups from time to time.

Wine has become a great enjoyment for us. I have never been a fan of red wine, but now I drink a glass almost every evening with dinner. Table or house wines have become our favorite. Before we had a car to shop downtown we were limited to the selection on post. They have a huge selection, but can get pricey at $7-10 per bottle if you drink a bottle in 1-2 days. However, we went downtown one day and found some wine for .85 euro a bottle. That is about $1.25. You can't even buy the bottle in the States for that price. It has become our favorite wine along with several of our friends. We have an inside joke running by calling it our Boone's Farm wine. We bought 7 bottles one night for us and friends and the cashier wanted to know if we really wanted all of it. You quickly learn a few important words when it comes to things like that. :-) When eating out wine is much cheaper than Coke or any other soda and sometimes even cheaper than water if you get the house wine.

Shopping: This is an interesting ordeal and takes some getting used to. Stores close for a period each afternoon usually between 12-3 for ripossa or rest. This is due to the Italian government telling them they can only be open for a certain number of hours each day and so they close during the afternoon so they can be open later at night for more customers. Plus, everything is pretty much closed on Sundays to include the malls. Only big stores like Ikea are open on Sunday. (Ikea is only 15 minutes from our house so I am quite excited about that.) Many stores are closed on Mondays also. The worse part is figuring out what stores keep what hours. I am getting used to the concept though and just plan my day around it. Every Wed. there is a Farmer's Market right down the street here in our town. Each town has one on different days of the week. You can find everything from clothes, purses, produce, cheese, and even fresh meat and seafood. They are interesting to walk through every once in awhile. Another thing about shopping is stores are only allowed to have sales twice a year. Once in July and then again in January. This is a government mandated policy and has something to do with the outrageous sales tax they pay on things. I for sure will miss Target and the clearance racks.

All of these experiences are not bad, just take some getting used to. They are what they are. We are adjusting and getting used to it all. One of the great experiences so far is dealing with our landlord. Ok, he does not speak English and I don't speak Italian, but anytime we call him with an issue he is here within an hour to look into it. He is a dentist in a town just minutes away, but I wonder how many patients he has left waiting to come check out our problem. He is always very friendly and appears concerned about our issues. Like this morning I thought my washing machine was leaking. The repair guy was here for it and said it was not the machine, but something else in the laundry room leaking. There are about 6-7 other pipes, a wash sink and the hot water heater in there that could all be leaking. So, right now we have toilet paper lying all over the place to try and see where it originates from. However, when the washing machine repair guy called our landlord he was here within 20 min when he had told the guy he would not be here until about noon. Having that kind of relationship with our landlord makes a huge difference and we don't feel left out hanging. I just wish I was not calling him almost every other day for an issue.

These are just my thoughts on Italy so far. I am sure not everyone agrees with me, especially with the food. I will say that Italy has some great cheese and I am not a huge fan of cheese. I don't like tomatoes either, but I am sure after 3 years I will grow to like them.

Pictures of the House

I have finally taken some pictures of our house and posted them. The first two are of our kitchen. It was absolutely the best feature of the house. The only bad part is what appears to be a nice pantry cabinet there by the door is actually my refrigerator and freezer on the bottom. Not much space. That is because Italians usually go to the market every few days and get things fresh.

This is our Italian house. You can see the metal shutters on the windows. They have to be locked down like Ft. Knox every time we leave to prevent someone from breaking in. Theft is really bad here. They never break in to hurt people just to steal things. This house is actually part of a 4-plex. You can also see my laundry hanging off the kitchen balcony. Almost every day there is at least one load hanging out there. We have gotten use to the stiff clothes.



As we unpack more of the house and get it it cleaned up I will post more pictures.

My first few posts here will be talking about the events over the last month. Even though our hotel was a blessing in some ways it sure was not a blessing for internet. We had no connection and had to walk to the nearby soldier center. It was a really nice facility, but only a few computers allowed for full access to the internet and it was always a battle for those. Then, the few times I was able to acquire one of the open computers, there was usually some kind of problem with the connection, so I gave up for the most part. However, now that we are moved in to our new house we have a decent connection and I feel reconnected to my life and the world.

We ended up staying in the hotel for 30 days exactly. What an ordeal. We had no car and had to walk everywhere. Not such a big deal since the post was very small, but it was so hot when we had to do it. The humidity here is unreal. I guess for people having lived in a humid environment it is not too bad, but coming from AZ and its dry heat it requires a big adjustment. Thank goodness we also had the stroller for Nathan. It not only helped for him, but I made many trips to the commissary (grocery store) and laundry facility (in the main hotel) using it. I got strange looks from many walking with an empty stroller down the road on the way there and then with it loaded up with groceries on the way back. However, those in the same hotel with older kids and no such stroller showed looks of envy. The main walk we had to make almost every day was to the housing office to endure the brutual hunt for a house. Our first day to the housing office we were offered government quarters. This was a house in a nice town about 10 min. from post that the government leases and pays all rent and utilities. It was a really nice house in a nice area except it was small and there would be no internet connection for who knows how long. Their infrastructure is not keeping up with technology so we had to wait for about 100 people to move out of their houses or disconnect their internet connection before we could get a slot in the box. This created a huge problem for us since we are both trying to finish our master's degrees through online courses and Jeff only has one year to finish his. We looked at another really nice house in another town that we would be responsible for rent and utilities. It was huge and I loved the kitchen. The problem there was there was no A/C unit in the upstairs and no mosquito screens on the windows. Let me take a minute for a side note about those pesky little bugs. They are like vampires here. The poor kids looked like swiss cheese for the first 2 weeks here as each morning they would wake up with about 10 new bites. They have adjusted now and a new bite is not a major catastrophy requiring immediate medical attention. Let's just say Madison is a little dramatic and you would have thought she was dying everytime she got a new bite those first few weeks. OK, back to the house. Without those two things the house was not ideal for us as it did not have a garage either. So, we were back to square one. You only have 30 days that they will pay for you to stay in the hotel so it is a push to find a house as soon as you can. So, every morning at 8:30 the kids and I would walk to the housing office so we could sit down on the computer to look at the houses available for rent just praying that something new would pop up that morning. Here is how it works. They keep a computer database with pictures and details of every house they have. When you find one you like and want to go look at you book an appt. When you do that it removes that house from the system so others can not look at it. You will then make an appt. to go look at the house with a taxi/interpreter service. After looking at the house you have 24 hours to let them know if you want the house or not before it goes back onto the computer for others to see. Fine and dandy if it really worked that way. We soon learned that some received favoritism and knew about houses and saw them before they hit the system. Very frustrating when there were so many people looking for a house and they will only take you to see 5. All but one house we saw had some really nice features. None had everything though that we were looking for. Finally, on our 4th house we found the one we are now living in. The kitchen in this house was the most beautiful of all we had seen. Here is the thing about Italian houses and kitchens. Most come with nothing more than a kitchen sink. Italians move with their kitchens so many houses don't have them. If you move into a house without one then you get issued government cabinets and appliances. Not very nice. Sometimes you can negotiate with the landlord to give him more money each month to install a full kitchen, but only if the rent is below the amount you are authorized each month.Other things we liked about the house was the automatic entrance gate and the double car garage that appeared long enough for our van to fit into. It probably is, but I can not get down the driveway and turned to park in there without doing about a 50 point turn each time. Not going to happen. So, where I park the van blocks the entrance to both doors and Jeff can not get his car into there either. The biggest negative is the lack of yard. It has enough for the dogs to roam and the kids to play, but we can not set up our patio set or the new trampoline we bought for the kids just before moving. If we chopped down the olive tree in the front yard we could make it work, but I don't think the landlord would like that. Another positive about the house was a closet. There is one in the master bedroom and a linen closet in the hallway. The house has two A/C units, one in the living room that works great for the downstairs and one in the far corner of our bedroom. We have to run 3 fans to get the cool air from our room to the kids rooms just so they are comfortable. It will be months before we receive our first electric bill to see what this costs us. We try to only use them when we are in the rooms or sleeping as utilities are outrageous. I do have a dishwasher also that I only run about every 2 days. I have a European washer and dryer. They are very nice and high tech, but very small. I did a load of towels the other day and could only wash 4 at a time and it took 2.5 hours for them to wash. Most clothes I hang out to dry to save money, but I can't stand the hard towels so I ran the dryer for those. It took over 3 hours for them to dry. No more only doing laundry 2 times a week. I have to do at least one load a day. By the time we signed the lease for our house, went through the nightmare of having the utilities switched to our name, and moved in we had been here in Italy living in the hotel for 30 days exactly. It is not an easy process by any means.
That was our ordeal with finding a house. There are even more headaches to accompany it. Italy is such a controlling company. Jeff had to be issued an Italian social security number to sign the lease and the kids and I have to be issued what the call sigornno's. They are basically Italian ID's that we will need to carry with us every time we leave the country or we will not be able to re-enter. The vehicle registration was a pain also and cost quite a bit of money. You have to get a ride over to another area of town to pick up your vehicle only after you have gone several other places first. You really need to make friends quickly with someone who has been here for awhile with a car or rent one.
As you can see things are not exactly easy for the first month or so. I think that is why we relied on good times with friends and wine to help ease the stress. There was one night was sat out making fun of our situation that we laughed so hard we were all crying. It felt good to be able to laugh about our situation if only for a few minutes.

Welcome to my blog. After spending a month trying to explain my experience of moving to Italy to all my friends I decided I had a lot to say and this would be the best way to do so. The friends I left behind in Arizona and our family all across America want to know what it is like living in Italy. Several of my friends who have spent time in Europe in the past want to live vicariously through my words and pictures. I thought this might be the best way for them to do so.

A little history about me. My name is Stacy. I served 4 years in the Army. In April 1999 I met my now husband while on a 3 month trip to Southern Italy in the area of Brindisi. We spent the following 9 years between Ft. Huachuca, AZ and Ft. Bragg, NC. I never dreamed we would have the chance to return to Italy. However, the opportunity arose and we took it. My husband will extend his career a little past the 20 year mark to complete this 3 year tour here in Italy, but that was a decision we were willing to make. We have 2 small children ages 2 & 5. I was most excited about this move because of the opportunity it afforded them. They have become very good as saying the word "Ciao".

Our experience getting to Italy was a nightmare. We were to leave the states on May 22nd. My parents drove our entire family along with 12 suitcases/bags, and 2 very large dogs to BWI airport in Baltimore. It was approximately a 2 hour drive. We had to be there at 10:30 at night for our military flight and arrived in adequate time. After unloading two cars onto 4 luggage carts, parking the cars, and caravanning into the airport they informed us we could not get onto the flight because my husband did not have the proper NATO military orders to get onto the flight. One of the biggest reasons we wanted on that flight was because it would only cost us $400 for both our dogs to fly. Flying on a commercial flight would cost us $800 for them to fly. So, late at night we drove 2 hours home to my Mom's house unsure when we would fly to Italy. Of course, no one planned for our extended stay so my parents returned to their normal lives and work. My husband and I spent the entire next day on the phones chewing some you know what over this mistake. They clearly knew what they had done back at Ft. Huachuca and fixed it immediately. However, now we had to try to book a civilian flight. After 10 phone calls I booked us and the dogs on a flight on May 26th. Thankfully my parents were able to arrange their schedules to return us to the airport. This time things went smoothly. However, no one asked us for those NATO orders that kept us from the previous flight. After a very long day we finally arrived in Italy. The military liason at the airport was a huge help and stayed with us every step of the way. The two soldiers who picked us up were really nice and a huge help. We finally got back to Caserme Ederle where we are stationed and checked into our hotel. The actual hotel is this really nice building, but since we had the dogs we were stuck several blocks away in an old apt. building they were leasing. We sooned realized this was an actual blessing. We had a 3 bedroom, 2 bath hotel room with a kitchen. Since we would live here for 30 days it sure beat trying to all stay in one room. Another blessing to the building was the people who also resided there. For the first week those staying in the building were mainly on their way out so we did not get to know them very well. However, soon the building was full of people new to Italy and a really fun group. We soon started having a Sat. night wine sampling for anyone to join. We have made some really close friends that we will stay in touch with our entire tour here and probably beyond.
It is 10:30 here now and I need to head to bed so we can enjoy a nice day touring Verona tomorrow. I have tons more to share so keep coming back to find out what living in Italy is really like from one Army wife's perspective (good and bad).