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.