Day 18 - Dec 7

Better day. They actually explained the project to me. Taken most of the day to get it set up. The Siemens laptop is too slow, so I'm using my company laptop.

The holiday tomorrow is "Immacolata Concezione" (obviously Immaculate Conception). They celebrate the fact that Mary gave birth to Jesus without "knowing a man."

I'm going shopping sometime over the next couple of days. Getting us a printer so my wife can print stuff for Alyssa. In case you didn't know, my wife is going to home-school Alyssa while we are over here. Also gonna go ahead and get Deidra a phone, so she'll have one when she gets over here. I found a store like Best Buy. UniEuro. Not far from McDonalds and Blockbuster.

Looks like my break at home won't be as long as I wanted. I come home on the 21st. They want me back at work on Jan 8 or 9. Which means leaving on Saturday or Sunday. I would love to be able to go to "normal" church while I'm home. Dec 24 and 31 will not be normal services. Not sure we'll even have Sunday School. I sure hope so, though.

I doubt I'll be able to check email again before Saturday or Sunday. But I love getting email.

Monday is Internet day. Which means I can surf freely from the comfort of my couch. Also - FACEBOOK. I miss facebook. Once a week is killing me.

Day 17 - Dec 6

Not much exciting going on today. Nothing to do. Checked email a few hundred times. Played freecell.

Waiting on them to give me directions. They keep telling me they want to meet with me, but they don't have time.

Stopped at the store, got a little food. Picked up a pizza on the way home. Pepperoni is spicy salami. It is much spicier than at home. Luckily, I have Pepcid AC.

Leg is probably healed as much as it is going to. May never look the same. It still hurts, but not nearly like it did when I was in the hospital. I hope it's healed, anyway. I finished my medicine.

Watched a couple of episodes of "Heroes" and went to bed about 9 pm. Family called sometime around 11.

Day 16 - Dec 5

Not much going on today. Sit around and play freecell. But hey, my company is making big bucks off of me.

I have a deadline on a project I haven't even started. This will be a challenge. I need them before I can start and they can't find time for me.

Most of the other developers are in some training today. It's in Italian, so I can't go. So I play freecell.

Basically an uneventful day.

Ironed for almost 2 hours. I have newfound respect for everything my wife does. My clothes don't look anywhere near as good as after she does them. They're not as soft either.

Watched "The Shawshank Redemption". It's probably 10 years old, but I hadn't seen it. It some language that I didn't like. But it was a good movie.

Day 15 - Dec 4

Been learning more and more Italian. They respect the fact that I'm trying. They ordered my lunch for me. When it came time to pay, one of the girls was going to tell the waitress what I had, but I stopped her and said I can do it and did. It made them smile, especially since my pronunciation was correct and I did it right. Basically, I had pollo con patata, crostata e caffe. That's chicken and potatoes, some kind of merainge (sp?) tart and coffee. When I got back to the office, they were calling people in the other office bragging on me. Made me feel good.

Didn't do much today. Sat around and played with the code. But tomorrow they'll fill me in on what they need me to do.

Watched "The Santa Clause 2". Cute movie. Very good. I wanted to make sure I'm caught up so I can take my kids to see the new one when I get home.

Sixteen more days here. Tomorrow I'm at the halfway point. I'm not dreading going home, by any means. But it's a lot different now. This is an awesome place. The time is starting to fly by. I'll be excited to come home, but I'll be excited for my family to come back with me.

Saw where Florida will play for the national championship. Awesome! AU was the only team to beat them. :-)

Read about the Bucs great victory over the Rebels. Serves them right. What's a Rebel doing in December? Watching the Bucs on TV, again.

God is GOOD! We are not. Been studying Romans 8. Flesh vs. Spirit. Must read stuff!

Ciao.

Day 14 - Worship - Dec 3

Thank you Hunter Street. Buddy's sermons are available on the Internet. So last week I downloaded a bunch of them. Been listening to them every day. The Live It - Tell It series. It's on James. How Faith without works is dead. This is one of my favorite books of the Bible. We are saved by Grace and Grace alone. But if a person has true faith, there is a change in their life.

I listened to part four today where he Buddy really emphasized there must be a change. Anyone can believe in Jesus. As James says, basically "so what. Even the demons believe and shudder."

I listened to a bunch of worship music and gave it all to God. The maker of heaven and earth. The name above all names. We talk about God's handiwork - I'm so blessed. All I have to do is look off my balcony and I see the glorious Mediterranean. He created that. I look off the other side. I see the mountains. I'm in the middle of paradise. This place is beautiful. And God created it all.

I'm ready to come home and see my family and friends. To love on you all. Tell you how much I miss you. But I'm ready to come back with my family. This is going to be something that we'll remember all our lives. You are all welcome to come visit. The apartment isn't like you'd be used to. But it is big. We'll be getting some air mattresses or something, but it will be free if you want to stay.

Obviously I have Internet today. I went downtown for a few minutes then came to a guys house to use the Internet. Took one bus a long way to get here. Was really cool seeing some parts of Genova I hadn't seen before.

Downloaded a bunch of shows. Watched the episode of Friday Night Lights I missed and another one of the Heroes. Got plenty of stuff to watch.

Day 13 - Laundry Day - Dec. 2

This is the day I've been dreading most. I haven't really washed clothes since college. My mom or wife have always done them for me.

It was as bad as I thought it would be. There is no dryer and the washer is real, real small and it's Italian. It has a hose that you hook into the faucet and another one for draining. All the writing is in Italian. I was lucky that I was able to buy detergent on Friday. That was hard. Deterivo is that word, in case if you're wondering.

Have the instruction, but obviously it's in Italian. That was a huge challenge. Took 5 loads. Whites, 2 for blue jeans/slacks, and 2 for shirts. The clothes must not spin much. Cause they are soaking. I have to wring out every item or it drips all over the floor. Tried hanging the jeans outside, but it was so cold and looked like it might rain, so gave up on that idea. There are a couple racks here so I moved the stuff out of the dining room. Turned it into a drying room. Hung all the shirts on hangars and hung them on one of the racks, put the jeans over chairs and the whites on another rack. Turned on a fan and hooked up a space heater. Clothes were moderately dry. Maybe tomorrow.

Was gonna go sightseeing, but took about 6 hours to do clothes. Just went downtown for dinner. Spent some time in a shop like Best Buy. Wanted to spend some money, but it's all so expensive. DVDs are in another region, so I wouldn't be able to use them at home. And they're bascially $30 US. Games that I would pay $50 for at home are about $80 US here, so just a lot of browsing. Still some real neat stores.

I needed an iron and finally found a small electronics shop that sold them. No English spoken. That was a real challenge.

They're getting to know me at the McDonalds. Cinque (pronounce Chinco) meal e bebita "coke light" e vaniglia frappe. That's my bacon cheeseburger meal.

Also, leg is about healed. Looks nothing like it did before I left. It will probably be almost normal by the time I come home. It's weak, but getting much better.

Day 12 - Dec 1

Had to take a different bus this morning. Had to go down town to get my permit to stay. All I had to do was show this note that basically said “he’s approved, let him go to a special window so he doesn’t have to wait in line.” Siemens has a lot of pull over here. Yay! Something without incident. Now I am legal here until February 18. My company is working with an Italian legal firm to get my visa so I can stay for up to a year. That’s a longer process. I’m only the second employee we’ve sent over here for an extended period. It was different last time. The other guy was from our Toronto office. Hopefully it will go smoother this time and the process it will be far enough along before I leave for Christmas that I can bring my family back in early January. I can bring them anyway, but if something goes wrong, then we might all have to go home till it’s resolved, then that will cost my company another 3 grand to fly my family back over here.

The weather here is different. If I don’t wear a jacket, I freeze because of the wind. If I do wear a jacket, I sweat to death. Had to do a lot of walking this morning and was just about soaking wet when I finally got to work.

I’m again sitting around doing next to nothing. Finally learned to play free cell. Pretty neat game.

Going to lunch with the group. I’m starving. Got a meeting after that. Hope to leave early today. I want to go downtown.

I have to wash clothes this weekend. I don’t wash clothes much – or at all. I had to wash clothes when I was in Canada back in January. Before that, it was 1993 or so the last time I washed clothes. This will be different. It’s just a washer, no dryer. And it’s in Italian. And I don’t know what to get for washing powder. They don’t have Tide or Cheer on the shelf here. So I need to know the word for it. On top of that, the washer is hooked to the sink, only when you’re using it. There’s also a hose to drain the water. I don’t know whether to turn on the water of if it will suck it out itself. Will be an adventure. I anticipate getting a little wet.

Going to my favorite local ristorante tonight – McDonalds. Ma non parlo malto italiano. Parlo soltanto ingles. Viarre cinque meal e “Coke Light” e vaniglia frappe per favore. That means “I don’t speak much Italian. I speak only English. I want meal number 5 with Coke Light (Coke Zero) and a vanilla shake.”

I know more Italian. I’ve still got a long way to go. Trattoria. I don’t know exactly what that word means, but every other corner has a Pizzeria Trattoria. Basically, if it’s a trattoria, I should expect pretty good food, but not a lot of service.

There’s also a “baker” on every corner. Not sure what that word is. But they sell bread and I’m told if I try a certain type of bread, it will be the best I’ve ever had.

There’s a bar on every corner. They all sell caffé – little shots of coffee. Coffee breaks are very big here. There’s a coffee machine and a water cooler in each of the Siemens offices and there’s always a huge crowd outside of them. People stand around and talk for a good while.

This weekend I’m gonna go out and explore a little. If I have Internet access, I’ll send some pictures. I was asking about Christopher Columbus’ house. I saw it last weekend. Basically, a lady I work with said that’s not his real house. They rebuilt his house where it stands now. Several other areas claim Columbus as a native son. The airport here is named after him. It’s really kind of neat. There is lots of stuff named after the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria (I think I got the names right).

They have a really neat aquarium here. I want to do it, but it’s not cheap. I know my family will want to do it when they come over. They have dolphins, penguins, sharks, etc. Supposed to be one of the nicest in Europe. The port beside it is really cool. They built this really cool structure that I can’t describe. But it was finished in 1992 to celebrate the 500^th anniversary of Columbus discovering America.

They invited me to lunch with them. Very nice. Had something that was basically roasted potatoes and sausage. Would have been great, but the sausage was about half cooked. They all cleaned their plates and I left about 1/3 of mine. I told them I was full. Looked kind of weird when they took up the plates. Everyone had dessert, except me. I think that shocked them. I’ve been losing lots of weight, and I want a McDonalds burger later, so I’m trying not to blow it. I did have an Espresso like they did. It literally is less in the cup than you would use of mouthwash. Much less. It’s not a full mouthful. But it packs a punch. I know why they have so much energy.

Had to walk back to the other office for a meeting. The offices are a good mile apart. I would estimate most days I’m walking 2-3 miles without exaggerating. Today was probably 5 miles. Maybe a little more. After getting my permit this morning, I was riding my normal bus and it stopped running about 9:20, about halfway to my office. I tried a shortcut, that didn’t work, so had to backtrack and walk the rest of the way that I knew. Important note – buses stop their normal routes for some reason at 9:20. They all started pulling down some side road.

I have a Siemens laptop now. So I’m officially on a project. My laptop will check email. They block sites like Facebook, though. When I get Internet at home, life will be good.

These people are so nice. As long as I embrace Italian life, they go out of their way to help me.

More Italian notes. They say Ciao for everything. Hello and goodbye. Most people know that. They say “pronto” when they answer the phone. Literally it means “ready”, but they substitute it for “hello”. When they agree with something, they say “si, si, si, si, si, si”. Similarly, when they hang up, they say “ciao, ciao, ciao, ciao, ciao.” Instead of saying “see you later”, they say “see you Alan”. Some of them I don’t work with, I just work near, but they’re all recognizing me now and saying hello. Also, it’s not Graht Zee. It’s Graht zee uh. Emphasis on the zee.

Watched more movies. Can't remember what I watched, though. Blockbuster is getting expensive.