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.

Day 11 - Nov 30

My friend Ed Lawrence called me this morning. Was great to hear from him. He’s the first person outside my wife or boss to call me. Started my day right.

I decided to change it up this morning and not listen to music on the way to work. Usually I listen to Casting Crowns. Today, I decided to listen to one of Buddy’s podcasts. It was the start of the Live It – Tell It sermons. Today it was about praising God when you go thru trials. As it says in James – “count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” Before I came over here, we went thru a lot – basement flooding, money problems, preparing to move to Italy, being sick and hospitalized – and I kept praising God. I come over here and get lonely and I stopped praising God. Oh, I was still going thru the motions somewhat – I was reading scripture and listening to stuff like “Praise You in the Storm”, but wasn’t acting like it. I’ve been doing a lot of “woe is me” stuff. I wasn’t practicing what I preach. I AM gonna praise God in this storm. I’m thankful for what I’m going thru. I’ve asked God for wisdom to see his plan, not mine. This too shall pass. I shall build endurance. There may be another trial right after this one. I’ll praise Him for that too.

Note, that I type this during the day while I work.

Went to get my permit to stay here. There was a problem with my insurance thing not being right. It finally got approved, but the supervisor that could sign it was in a meeting, so I have to go back again tomorrow.

I went to try and use the Internet at lunch and ran into a guy in the hall that I worked with out on the project in Arkansas. He introduced me to some project manager and now all of a sudden they want to put me on a real fun project. God is good! And, the project manager speaks very fluent English.

I spent the afternoon watching people use their computer. They’re having a problem with the new release. I make suggestions, but they don’t trust me yet, so they’re discarded.

Had a lonnnnnng conference call where I didn’t say anything. I had a meeting earlier where I made some suggestions on how to do something different. The conference call, all they did was tell the company on the phone about my suggestions and why we needed to do it that way. Conference call ran past 8, so someone had to give me a ride home. The bus to my house stops running at 8. There are buses running all night, but they change numbers, so I didn’t know which one to take.

Had potato chips (patatine is the Italian word on the bag) and M&Ms for dinner. It was all I had in the apartment. I wanted to order pizza, but there are about 100 places that deliver and I didn’t know which ones were near me. Not like Dominos or Papa Johns. I tried calling a couple, but the numbers didn’t go thru.

Watched Poseidon. Decent movie. Probably not realistic, but who knows. Only got to talk to my family for a couple of minutes.

Day 10 - Nov 29

Day 10

Little to do at work. So I type emails and copy/paste them later when I get access. Supposed to be trained on something later this afternoon.

Got a nice email from my friend Bridget Dodson. Sad, but checking email is one of the highlights of my day. Getting an unexpected email or post on Facebook makes me light up and gives me extra strength.

My wife wrote to me about how many of those that God used were out of their homeland and out of their comfort zone. Well God, here I am. Use me! She talked about Daniel, Paul, Moses.

My friend Amy had me read Psalm 40-43. David was really lonely and felt he couldn't find God, but he still praised him. Sometimes I feel like David. I can sure see his handiwork, though. I catch my bus to work right along the Mediterranean. It's light when I leave the house at 8, but the sun hasn't fully come up yet. Watching it rise over the horizon of the sea is breathtaking. God is awesome!

Going to the bus stop every morning is full of surprises. I think we have a ferry in Alabama that runs from Mobile to somewhere near Gulf Shores. They have them here that run from Sicily and West Africa to here in Genoa. Some mornings you'll see them, they look like cruise ships. I'm told it's about 12 hours by ferry to West Africa. There are all sorts of ships out early in the morning. Neat to see. Can't sit around and stare out at the water long, though. The buses don't stop at every stop. You have to indicate to the passing bus that you want to ride, or it keeps going. Learned that after watching them pass a couple of times.

This is a very fit country. Seems like everyone jogs. Hard to understand why, though. EVERY SINGLE PERSON SMOKES! They take a smoke break almost every hour here at Siemens. They get here at nine and smoke and drink coffee until 9:30 or so. They drink coffee after lunch, too. The coffee here is not like Starbucks. It literally is 3 or 4 sips. It's in a glass about the size of a shot glass. I have a coffee mug that many of you have seen. It has a lot of pictures of my kids on it. I have taken that thing all over the country while I've traveled. It has over 150,000 miles on it. Over here, it's useless. If I were to put coffee in it, it would be 3 sips and done. So I've kind of weaned myself off of coffee. I've been drinking lots and lots of water. It is cheap here. I can get almost 4 of them for the price of one in the US. When I go downtown, I splurge and get a "Coke Light" - Coke Zero in the US. That costs about $1.95 US money.

I found out today that next Friday (December 8) is an Italian holiday. Something to do with Mother Mary. But I get a paid day off. J Supposedly when I come home on the 21^st, I don’t have to come back till sometime around January 12. That will be 3 full weeks at home. Be prepared to get sick of me. Cause I miss all of you tons!

Watched 2 movies last night – The Sentinel and Lake House. Both good movies. I especially liked The Sentinel. It had Keifer Sutherland and Michael Douglas. They’re both Secret Service guys and there’s a plot to kill the president. My wife and I love Keifer from 24. On there, he never follows the rules. In the movie, he’s the exact opposite – strictly by the book. Was a nice change of pace.

My daughter called me last night with good news – she’s got all A’s on her latest progress report. On her last report card, she was 3 points shy of all A’s. I was thrilled with that. When she does something like that, I usually get in trouble with Deidra. I’m always sneaking and buying Rugrat something to show her how proud I am. I’m so proud of her. I love hearing her voice because she gets so happy when she has something good to tell me.

Man, I miss everybody. At home, I’d be at church. I love Wednesday nights. I get to eat dinner with my family, see all my friends and this year I started teaching 4^th grade RA’s. That was a bit challenging to start, but those guys are awesome.

Day 9 - Nov 28

They gave me a virtual machine to work with. Basically it's a copy of what they're working on, but I can mess with it and it won't break anything they're doing. I'm supposed to learn what they're doing and then write new features for it. Lately, I've had zip to do, so I've been playing a lot of solitaire and hearts. That doesn't quite help the loneliness. But I'll make it. Twenty three more days!

Got a little time on the Internet this morning. My friend Amy made my day. She sent me a sweet message reminding me how much God loves me and how he's in control. Sometimes I need to practice what I preach.

Hopefully, they'll have more for me to do later. Think I'm gonna hit Blockbuster later. I have to go get more passport photos made and there is a booth near Blockbuster. I have to go to the Police Station on Thursday - get permission to work here while my company applies for my work Visa. I have more documents than I ever thought I'd need. I've had to provide:
The birth certificates of everyone in my family
My marriage certificate
Bank statements to prove I can afford to live here - even though I'm not paying rent
Proof of Health Insurance for everyone in my family
Copy of my high school degree
Copy of my college degree
Copies of my paychecks
Letter stating that I'm still employed by my Company in the US
Letter stating my purpose for working here
Letter stating my expected return date
Copy of the apartment lease
Copy of my passport
Invitation letter from the Italian company

In a nutshell, it all comes down to the fact that the unemployment rate in Italy is about 25%. They want to make sure I can afford to live here (It's about 1.4 times as expensive as in the US). They want to make sure that I'm not taking a low wage job from an Italian who could do the same thing. At home, our jobs are disposable. Here, they have the Italian Labor Union. Once you have a job, it's next to impossible to fire you. If you get fired, it's next to impossible to get another job. People spend their entire careers with one company. Since I graduated college in 1992, I've been at 12 jobs.

I think my father-in-law has been at two companies in his 42 years working. I've been with my current company for almost 2 years. By the time I'm done with Italy, I have to work for them for at least 9 more months. So that will put me at at least 3 1/2 years. Almost a new record for me.

Went downtown and ate at McDonalds. Had a Vanilla shake, too. Although, the lady misunderstood me, so it was Vanilla and Chocolate. Still good. One of the employees at Blockbuster spoke English so she got me set up with a card. I'm in business now. Rented Mission Impossible 3. What a great movie. Didn't do so good at the theater cause Tom Cruise jumped around on a couch, but it was worth my money.

Hoping I get Internet at home soon. They said 20 days, but sometimes it's faster. I have movies, though.

Day 8 - Start of week 2 - Nov 27

Pretty uneventful day. Caught both my buses perfectly. Nothing to do at work until late in the afternoon. They put me on a conference call talking about how to develop something new. Conference call went long. Didn't leave till almost 8 pm.

Used the oven for the first time. Had some leftover pizza to heat up. Couldn't find a pan to use, so used the box. Luckily I only did it for 5 mins, cause the box was burned.

Family was out and about. Didn't get to talk to them till about 1 am. Miss them more every day.

My little girl sends me emails every day. Gets me excited to get to work and read them.

I love reading the messages on Facebook, too. Keeps me somewhat connected.

Day 7 - Domenica (Sunday) - Nov 26

No church for me. I'm not Catholic! I downloaded a month's worth of Buddy's sermons. I haven't heard them anyway. I do 12th grade Sunday School at 8:15. See the students for a few minutes and then head over to my adult class at about 9:45 and then teach 2nd graders at 10:45, so I haven't been thru a full worship service in a couple of months.

Shaved my beard. That was pretty much a laziness thing anyway. Did it when I got sick. Now I'm skinny (well, to me) and clean shaven.

I decided that it was best for me to get out for a while so I didn't ruin the progress I made on Saturday. I got dressed and took the bus downtown. McDonalds. Hello Americano. Bacon Cheeseburger, fries and a real Coke. 6 EU - almost $8. Not my money. Oh my! Wasn't the best I've had, but it sure hit the spot. Was tough watching all the families, but I've decided I'm not gonna quit.

Went to Blockbuster after lunch. Couldn't figure out how to rent movies, but I wasn't sure I wanted to yet anyway. My computer plays DVDs, but DVDs are region coded. You can only change the region code so many times before it's permanent, so I wanted to try it before I started renting lots of movies. A buddy of mine at church (Mark McWhorter) was an extra in the movie "Big Fish", so I selected that one. I've learned enough Italian to know if the movie has more than one language, this one has English, too. 9.90. About $13 US. First thing I've bought with my money.

Went home and watched my new movie. Couldn't find my buddy. Still a few hours till my family will call. Studio 60 and Friday Night Lights didn't work on my computer. I watched Heroes. Saw Jon Metz post that it was a great series. He was right. Three episodes and I'm hooked. I'm out of episodes now.

Family called. I didn't get emotional. Told them I was OK. My son got on the phone and told me he loved me and missed me. Then I choked up. I heard him tell Deidra - "Daddy's crying again." I almost hit the floor laughing.

Called my wife later when I was lying in bed. Just was thinking about her. I'm not always the best husband and it's tough to make up for it over here.

Day 6 - Nov 25

We have another employee over here. I've never met him. His name is Greg. He's out of our Canadian office and been over here a little over a year, I think. He called me and told me he was taking me out and about today and then his wife was cooking me dinner and I could use my laptop to get on their Internet.

He came and got me around 10 am. We took a bus downtown. Basically 1 mile from my house, by bus. If I had wandered farther, I would have found it on my own. Looks a lot like NY City. Shops on every corner. Even passed a McDonalds and Blockbuster. I got to see the port, which is magnificent. Some structure that I couldn't even describe. I saw what they call "old Europe" - buildings 5-600 years old. I got to see Casa di Cristoper Columbus - house of Christopher Columbus. They have some big square dedicated to him with his ships depicted in flowers. They told me it's awesome when the flowers are in bloom. Went in some Catholic church. WOW! It was beautiful. Was told it was ok to take pictures, but I didn't have camera with me. Saw some guy confessing to a priest, or whatever they're called.

We walked around a while. Greg found me a place to get bath towels. Fifty Euro - about $65. Not my money, so I bought them. Then we found a place where I could get my own cell phone. Not my money, so I got a decent one and loaded it with a little time. They didn't have unlimited plans. It's based on how much money you put on. I haven't figured out how much I got, but I payed about $30 US for the card. I should be OK till I figure out how much I use. They also sold fast Internet at the store, so I ordered that and it will be installed within 20 days. Hopefully much faster.

Dropped my new stuff off at the apartment and went to a small pizzeria about 2 blocks away. I learned that pepperoni in italian is not the same as English. I had a pepperoni and italian ham pizza. All the pizzas are the same size. They overlap a dinner plate. They are thin crust. There is another word for thick crust, but I don't know it. The pizzas are not cut. You eat them with a fork. This was the best food I had since I got here. I ate about half and saved the rest for later.

Took 2 buses to get to Greg's flat. Took a while, but I got on the Internet. Finally! Connected to the world again. Had a few dozen emails to respond to. Got to see facebook for the first time in a week. Downloaded a bunch of shows to watch later - Friday Night Lights, Heroes and Studio 60. Greg also had a bunch of Christmas music and some movies on his hard drive.

His wife cooked some pasta dish for dinner. Was light. Very good. I didn't eat much. I've been dropping lots of weight and didn't want to ruin it by 2 big meals in a day.

Left his house around 8. Took 2 buses to get home. Did it right the first time. Missed almost every other time by myself.

Called my family. Told them I was finally OK. Mostly meant it.

Day 5 - Nov 24

Went to work, nothing for me to do again. I end up going home around 1 or so. Why won't Deidra let me quit. This isn't worth it. She doesn't understand how lonely I am. Basically the only things I say are "excuse me, I don't speak Italian. Do you speak English" in Italian. Not much of a life.

I wallow around in self pity. I go to bed early and contemplate packing the apartment and calling a cab to take me to the airport. I was really leaning toward it. But I forgot that I left my company laptop at Siemens. And how would I call a cab? And what would I do with the keys to the apartment?

Finally fell asleep.

Day 4 - Nov 23

Got plenty of sleep. Sit around the apartment day. Still several hours till I could talk to my family. I want to go home. I don't want to be here. I try watching TV. Not happening. I play PSP till I think my family is up - around 2 pm here. I call them. Again, wife talks me out of coming home. What a long day. 5,000 miles from home. Know one guy in the whole city. My family calls me again around 10 pm. Wife still tells me I need to give it more time. No communication via Internet is killing me. Noone seems to know how to get it in my apartment and they won't give me access to it at work.

Day 3 - Nov 22

Woke up at 7:30. Guess what the apartment didn't come furnished with? Bath towels. I dried off with a t-shirt. Got dressed, ate another Banana and went to the bus stop. Got on the right bus, but got off one stop too far. I was way early, anyway. They don't start work here until 9.

They set me up on the corner of a desk. Not really ready for me, yet. I read a document all morning. They came to get me at 1 for lunch. I couldn't read the menu, but recognized the word "Spaghetti". That's what I got. Of note, there are two types of water here - Sparkling and Natural. If you order water and get sparkling, it's a mistake you won't make twice. The sparkling isn't bad, it just tastes a lot different. It's bubbly and doesn't taste much like water. Acqua Naturale is how to order normal water. The spaghetti wasn't great, but was the first real food in almost 3 days.

I told them I hadn't talked to my family since Monday morning and they loaned me an Italian Cellphone. Finally got to talk to my wife and kids. That felt like I was dying. That put me over the edge. I wanted to go home. I had every intention of packing up and leaving. On top of that, my leg hurt. I was tired and emotional. I called my boss in Birmingham. He kind of ignored the leaving comment and arranged for me to be at the apartment on Thursday.

At the end of the day, I stopped by the supermarket and got more Bananas and stuff to make Spaghette - like I'm really gonna cook.

Went home. Called my wife and told her I was quitting and coming home. She reminded me Christmas was coming up and that it would be hard to get another job. Kind of rained on my plans. I was dying to go home. I took more Tylenol PM and went to bed.

Day 2 - Nov 21

Landed in Rome around 8:30 or so, local time. Had to wait several hours for my connecting flight to Genova. Had to pass thru customs. Wasn't clearly marked, luckily there was a policeman there to show me where. In Canada, I basically had to provide blood samples of my firstborn. In Rome, they asked me my final destination and that was it. Stamped my passport and sent me thru.

I got to Genova about 3:30. Got my stuff and got a taxi. Driver didn't speak English, so I showed him the Siemens address. While he drove me there, I used my dictionary to write a message telling him to wait 5 minutes while I got my apartment key. He understood. When we got to the apartment, he basically dropped all my stuff on the steps and said 60 Euro. Thanks for the help up 2 flights of stairs.

The apartment is what is considered a luxury apartment by Italian standards. It is fairly large, but fairly old by American standards. The power outlets, when you try and unplug something, the outlet comes out of the wall. It is cold. The heat is controlled by the building. I have a large living room, a large dining room. Two smaller bedrooms. A master bedroom. A master bath about the size of my closet at home. A 1/2 bath, the size of a coat closet at home and a kitchen about 6 feet by 10 feet. In that kitchen is the washer - no dryers - gas oven, refrigerator (a little larger than a college dorm fridge), a large sink and a small table and chairs. Off the living room is a decent sized balcony. I have a corner apartment, so I have two different views. To the south, I can see the Mediterranean Sea. To the East, I can see whatever the mountains are called. The view is breathtaking. There's a bunch of small shops below me.

Bare place. No phone. And most importantly - no Internet. I can tell this will be a challenge.

Got my stuff settled in and went out looking for food and a bus pass. Bus pass was simple. Guy didn't speak English, but I told him the word for Bus Pass and he showed me the price on receipt. Didn't find any real food, but I found Coke, Water and Bananas. I was going to make a salad, so I got lettuce and tomatoes. I was looking for Ranch dressing, but didn't see it. I looked up the word for "suggest" asking the shopkeeper to suggest something and he suggested something in a can. I didn't want to be rude, so I bought it. But I didn't eat it. I'm not sure what it was, but I'm sure it's something I don't eat. Played with the TV for a while - nothing in English, go figure - and took Tylenol PM and went to bed around 7.

Day 1 of the Italian Adventure - Nov 20

Left Birmingham. Kissed my wife and kids goodbye. That's usually the hardest part. When I go out of town, usually I drive myself to the airport. Most trips I leave early in the morning. This one, my wife kept the kids out of school and they all took me. I had lunch with my family at the airport and then they told me goodbye. Seeing my little girl and boy crying about killed me. Thought about turning around then and not going. Pushed on.

Flight to Atlanta was uneventful.

Waited a couple of hours and got on a plane headed for Rome.

That flight stunk. 9.5 hours of air time. Had a guy beside me hogging the arm rest. The meal was horrible. Movie was Pirates of the Carribean 2 - it stunk. I ended up watching Bad News Bears on my iPod. Took a NyQuil and tried to sleep. Maybe got 2 hours. I kept watching the monitor. It would show where we were on the map. Flew near Greenland and Iceland. Over France, Spain and finally into Rome.