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.