The Move Went Smoothly

In my minds eye, I kept seeing my precious dresser and Chinese cabinet falling off the scaffold and splintering into a million pieces. The déjà vu never come to fruition and all went better than expected.

I told the men we had 234 boxes, a bookshelf, a couch, a bed, 2 tables, and 6 chairs and a dresser.
Ci sono due cento trenta quattro scatole, un liberia, un divano, un letto, due tavole and sei sedie e un armadio.

Upon hearing the number of boxes we had, they called 2 more guys. In about 3 hours the container was unloaded. Most of the boxes were placed in the apartment but some boxes and items were placed in the garage. We also have a cantina, a basement storage room, where we will be placing the boxes and packing paper for future use. Like a friend of mine said and I quote her “We need many saints here in Italy to combat the stupidity and bureaucracy.”

Zavier's new friend, the dog of our custodi or apartment custodian who lives on the terra floor of the building. The dog is named Pinky and it's a boy. 

The container about 2/3 empty. Most boxes stayed up but when we opened the doors, a few fell out. Only 2 plastic storage containers broke. 

The couch and all our other things get into the apartment via the living room balcony doors. 

The couch is on its way up! 

The movers use a auto scaffold/ladder to move our things up to the 4th floor, which is actually the 5th floor here in Itlay. They do not count the ground floor called terra. 

Our Container Finally Arriveth

Our container arrived today. It left Seattle on February 24, 2005, was trucked to NY, and sailed from NY to the Port of Leghorn in Livorno, about 2 ½ hours from Turin. The container actually arrived at the port on April 6th or 7th but due to red tape only made it our apartment today. As much as I hate to complain… who am I kidding? This situation has been almost unbearable.

In Seattle, I arranged for the movers to come, load up Demetrio’s stuff in their truck and drive the stuff to my house where the container was waiting. They proceeded to fill the container with D’s stuff from the truck and my stuff from the house. The container was the loaded up and the next day it was taken away. The movers were on time and did a good job. The freight guys were competent, punctual, while the representative from Stone Path Logistics, named Eri was a saint on Earth. Smooth, Logical, Timely, Sensible…

Across the Atlantic: Rough, Frustrating, Slow, Mindless, Insane, Exhausting…
In order to park the container in front of our building, we had to get a city parking permit. Without the permit we risk a 600 Euro fine. When we arrive at the city office, the clerk tells us there is no way for us to get the permit because they need 5 days of advance notice. “Okay” we say.….
Deme talks to her as she stares at me, presumably because I am Chinese and she is wondering if I am Chinese/Chinese and here to steal Italian jobs or if I am Chinese/American and just a plain oddity. After a few minutes, she arbitrarily gives in and says she can grant us the permit. Demetrio comments that although things are disorganized and illogical, some people can bend the rules.
I run downstairs to get an 11 Euro duty stamp from the tobacco store as D fills out the forms. She tells us to come back tomorrow so she can tell us how much the permit is going to cost, then to go to the post office to pay the fee, and get back to her office to show her the receipt before she can issue the permit. When D tells me this I almost hit the wall. Why could she not tell us the same day? Why could we not pay downstairs where I saw a window and possibly a register? Why come back the next day? UGH!! My darling husband handled the transaction the next day between meetings, another saint on Earth.

After faxing documentation back and forth for the past two and a half weeks with the freight company in Florence; answering the same questions over and over, bumbling with translations and interpretations, our container is set for delivery. The freight company asked me what floor I lived on and the location of our apartment. I gave them the information only to find out they plan to park the container for 4 hours then leave. They asked me what floor I lived on and I assumed they would deliver to the 4th floor, I was wrong. We have to hire movers, luckily a company was available.

The container was held in Livorno for an extra 18 days at 50 dollars a day because the freight company says they could not reach any at Microsoft for payment. I have to tell you Microsoft Italia is an entirely differently entity from Microsoft USA. We finally paid out of pocket; hopefully the company will reimburse us fully. One last glitch, the container and the movers are both set to arrive at 2 p.m today. D happens to drive by the house at 9:41 a.m. and to his shock the container is sitting outside. As I write this entry our container is parked in from of m our apartment as I wait for D to get off work and pick me up at 1:30 p.m. I hope it’s the same container I loaded up in Seattle.

To make a longer story shorter, they guy with the container has to wait 4 ½ hours for D, the movers and I to get there. Isn’t this a model of efficiency? How is miss the good ole’ capitalistic, “customers are always first” U, S of A.

Our Dream Kitchen aka IKEA Madness

I want to dedicate this post to John Haskin, you know who you are, we think you will get a big kick out of this!

This entry is a bit of a digression into last weekend. Last weekend, we spent 4 hours playing around with the IKEA Design-a-Kitchen software at the IKEA store. It was a frustrating morning that slipped into the afternoon, as we were there when it opened at 10 a.m.

We decided on IKEA for three reasons:

1) They told us we could get a complete kitchen in about 2 weeks, they will deliver and install the entire mess.

2) They have updated the quality of their appliances; we could get a Whirlpool dishwasher and a 5 burner stove.

3) They were the cheapest. We may have to leave the kitchen in the apartment when we leave so an adequate but inexpensive kitchen was just our ticket. Also we have no idea how long were going to be in Turin. Spending an arm and a leg on a kitchen that is temporary seemed just plain stupid.

While designing this Not-Our-Dream kitchen we ran into a few major hurdles. (Another list is headed your way and incidentally he remembers none of the following discourse.)

1) Demetrio would not let me have much of a say in the size and types of appliances we purchased. He wanted the most silent dishwasher, enough for a full 12 place settings worth of dishes while I wanted the “smaller, cheaper and noisier one, which held 9 place settings by the way“. He wanted the 5 burner stove, I did too though. I wanted the larger vent hood but he said the smaller one fit better in the space and had more power given the design of the thing. He picked out the microwave, the biggest refrigerator, the sink, and ¾ of the cabinets.

2) Demetrio would not let me fiddle with the computer program; he held the mouse in a death grip and grunted when I got close. He claims that “when you were not looking at nasty handles or knobs, we were both navigating through all the various design options. “ I am beginning to serious worry about early onset Alzheimer’s. I made a suggestion about the spacing of the wall cabinets and he would not even place the cabinets on the wall so I could have a look at what he called “an ugly looking” idea. He eventually gave in and I got a look at my idea even though he says it was “basically useless“.

3) We both wanted opposite colors for the kitchen cabinets, he wanted red and I wanted a steel blue. We decided on white as a compromise.

4) I was feeling a bit left out of the design process since the only things I felt I really got to choose were the handles/knobs and the kitchen faucet. (He did not like my choice by the way.) He preferred the heavy duty restaurant faucet that I thought was too splashy for a home kitchen and says I bullied him into getting a kitchen faucet he does not like. I must add this comment comes from a man who does no dishes whatsoever.

We left with a tentative design and estimate. To this day he claims he gave into all that I wanted and more. Part II to follow, if and when I stop seething.
**All the quotes were written with Demetrio sitting right next to me, I just typed as he rattled off .**

The Dog gets us in Trouble

This past Monday was a national holiday here in Italy, Independence Day. I am not so knowledgeable about world history but think this had to do with Italy’s independence from the Nazi’s during WWII. Do not quote me on this.

We spent the weekend looking at appliances and designing a kitchen at Ikea. The kitchen design process was a real hassle but we wanted an instant kitchen and Ikea was the quickest way to go. While running all these errands we leave the dog at home as we have many times before and on an especially warm day, I left the terrace door open. Big mistake; we got calls on Demetrio’s cell phone asking when we were coming home because the dog was barking and neighbors were complaining. We hurried home to a not too nice note on my laptop. I quickly went downstairs to smooth things over with the manager. To make a long story short, they don’t want us to leave the dog alone at all from now on. Today I attend classes and we’ll see how the dog does on a 45 min. one way bus ride and 4 hours of class time.

On a side note, I saw the cutest little chihuahua puppy this weekend. 

The front door to our building.  

The inside hallway of our building, the double doors open to allow cars to come in and park in the garage. 

Our tiny elevator, fits only 3-4 people 

These are the new keys to our apartment. Giant but very standard 

My namesake restaurant in Rome 1 block from the Spanish Steps 

My handsome husband loves his puppy 

Piazza del Popolo in color 

Piazza del Popolo in Rome  

A Sad Weekend

We were planning on heading to Rome this past weekend for a quick visit but ended up staying from Sunday to Thursday. I will try to make a very long story short: Demetrio’s brother and his wife have 2 children. Alberto (D’s brother) died in 2002. His wife, Lorella died on Sunday morning and leaves the 2 children now aged 12 and 7. Demetrio’s mom who is a saint, along with her husband Mario, have been helping to care for the children for many years; they now are going to become their legal guardians. The other set of grandparents are in their 70’s and they are the logical choice. Demetrio however is the their back-up guardian and in the upcoming months we will be working hard to get to know the children better.

I don't have much else to report as this is a very private matter within the Ceccacci, D'Ambrosi, Di Pascale and Giovannini families.

On Being a Newlywed

Last week my husband, the man I love the most in the world after my dad, left on a business trip to Seattle for 6 days and nights. When he called after being away for one night; I complained. I did not appreciate being left alone in Turin with no car and no friends; basically I was lonely. I reminded him we were still newlyweds and this was an anomaly I did not want us to have to repeat too often. He then broke the news to me that this business trip was to repeat itself every 2 months from now on. While biting on my lip, I tried to hold back frustration and anger, I sighed as I tried quickly to remember my promise to support this man in his pursuit of a better life for our family. This promise is the only thing that grounds me and keeps me sane when I want to run away from him or bury my head in the sand.

One of my sisters, to remain nameless, supports her husband as he paints (as an artist) in his studio at home. She wakes up everyday and heads off to her day job. She is also an artist but paints in the middle of the night after dinner and after a nap. My best friend followed her then boyfriend, now husband, to the middle of nowhere as he completed his Masters’ degree in order to advance his career. He studied so intensely he often locked himself in his office for hours/days at a time. My other best friend works full-time and arranges childcare for her baby as her husband serves our military overseas, in Iraq. He has been gone for almost 8 months. My lovely mother supports her husband as they travel from Guam to Hawaii for cancer treatment, usually for months at a time.

I won’t go into the bit about the silver lining….that’s not the point. Lately I have been feeling homesick for Seattle, for my old independent life and wanting everyday to trade my current one for my old life. I have always known what the point is. I have to muster all the integrity and resilience within me as I remind myself, every hour of every day, its commitment. I better just stop thinking about myself as being a newlywed but a wife. The vows we uttered to each other in the taxi as we were certified husband and wife were not ours. They belonged to Reverend What’s His Face and the State of Nevada. This husband of mine is someone I have been waiting for all my life, he is my dream incarnate. The cantankerous, huffy, irritable, petulant, grumpy, grouchy, crabby, sulky moaning and groaning should end soon.

An Eventful Bus Ride

Yesterday after a full week of classes, I headed home in the rain, without an umbrella but luckily landed a seat on the bus. While looking out the window and trying to pass the time, the phone rang. (I hate answering the phone on the bus because you have no privacy whatsoever.) It was Demetrio and with him in Seattle, I felt an urge to see if he had something important to say to me.

I usually answer the phone with “Pronto” but since I knew it was him I said “Hello”. We began to chit-chat a bit as he let me know when his flight was leaving Seattle and his exit strategy for the day; as I started to speak all heads on the now full bus turned towards me. I think my fellow bus riders just wanted to hear a bit of English. I was practically whispering and don’t think they could make much out. The old Filipino lady next to me did however and when the conversations was over she asked me in English where I was from.

She married an Italian and has lived in Turin for 30 years. Finally she said the words that gave me new hope about my life in Turin. When I asked here where she shopped she happily stated "Dare iz an ee-shan markit, near to via Madama Cristiana, too bad I em lee-bing por the Philipines tomorrow or else I will take you dare." Music to my ears!

More Photos of our New Apartment

As we get closer to moving in, I thought I should post a few more photos of the apartment. It is a light and airy place, with the sun rising in our bedroom and living room and setting on the kitchen and offices. The photos are a bit dark because we have no light fixtures at all.

Living room 

Master Bedroom 

Guest room/nursery? 

My office aka doubles as the laundry room 

Deme's office 

The Progression of my Lessons

There is no doubt that the Italian language is a beautiful one. The people are expressive and the words with their many syllables are tongue twisting but unique. The language consists of 21 letters, very similar to the American alphabet without the following letters: k, v, w, x, j, although these letters are used in foreign words, like the car BWV. Here are a few long words, ammininstrazione, riorganizzaaione, metalmaccanici, contingentamenti, confidenzialmente; I get a headache and sound like a 5 year old when I try to sounds out all the syllables as I attempt to pronounce these words. My teacher keeps telling me to be patient and take things slowly.
My main problems with the language are their grammatical rules. In American English, we read things almost always left to right; in Italian it is a bit different.

A few examples: I am using direct translations of every single word.
Io do una mela a Marco. =I gave an apple to Marco. No problems here.
Io do una mela a lui. =I gave an apple to him. Very logical.
Io la(replaces apple) do a lui(replaces Marco).=I it gave to him, huh? Really this means I gave it to him. But to form this phrase, you have to change the order of how the words are placed in the sentence.
OR
Io gliela(replaces him and it) do.= I to him it give, really that means I gave it to him. This really confuses me.

Everyday I read a bit and write a bit and speak a bit. It is hard and I should not expect to learn the language so quickly, I know all this. I understand much more now but have to think forever before I can really speak correctly. Mostly this is because I am doing a lot of mental translating which my teacher wants me to avoid. Exasperated I tell him it is impossible at this point not to do any translating. Ugh!!

Yesterday for the first two hours, we went over indirect pronouns over and over until I understood them thoroughly; still I cannot guarantee I will remember to use them when necessary. Another problem I with the grammar is their use of double negatives such as; I don’t know nobody and I don’t want nothing. Hmmm…. I don’t think I’ll be saying such things anytime soon.

Boring Week

The hubby is gone this week, back to Seattle for work related duties. He promises to pick me up a pack of index cards which do not exist in Italy along with my favorite toothpaste, Close-Up in raging hot cinnamon.

My days are not too exciting, getting up at 9 am, 1 hour of e-mail and computer time, breakfast, 1-2 hours of lessons, housework then off to class. I get back home at 7 pm and have dinner.
I have been making simple dinners, salad, salad and more salad. Sometimes I add a chunk of gorgonzola to the mix for some excitement. The classes are going well and I am sort of improving. Composing a short story is much easier than chatting on the fly though. My teacher says it takes at least 15 days to see a measurable improvement and I am only on my 8th day. I better get back to my homework.

Seeing A Friendly Face

After a bit of confusion over directions and street signs, we found the Centre Mediterranee, in Cap D’Ail, France. Deme and I left Torino at 7 am to drive 2 ½ hours to meet Sophie, as she and her French class spent the week in France. We arrived at about 9:45 and swept Sophie away for the day as her class and teacher rode a bus to another destination.

We first drove to downtown Monte Carlo in Monaco. I had no idea Monaco was its own little principality, with its own taxation and sovereignty. It's the smallest country in the world after Vatican City, three miles long and one and a half miles wide. The language spoken is French. All the shops and buildings had black ribbons on their flags and in their windows as mourning symbols of the death of Prince Rainier.

We walked, talked and enjoyed the sights. The Grand Prix takes place once a year in Monaco. Deme showed us the path the racecars take as they weave and wind downtown and beyond. After a short breakfast and a bit more walking in the rain, we headed towards Cannes. The very touristy city is the home of the most famous film festival in the world. We met with cruise ship stopovers, Americans, convention goers wearing their badges and other Europeans. I saw a woman eating an entire pot full of mussels as we strolled by a restaurant and had an immediate craving so we parked ourselves for lunch.

She and I chatted about school, Jamie, her parents, her grandparents, aunts, cousins, kung-fu lessons; the whole shebang. After more walking and chatting, it was time to go. We dropped Sophie off at the Centre, we said our “good-byes” and off Deme and I were. It was so nice to see a friendly face and so sweet of her to spend the time with us. Lately, e-mail correspondence has not been adequate and some face time was definitely necessary. Seeing Sophie cured some of my homesickness and I’m glad because Deme left for Seattle this morning and will be gone until Saturday. I’ll have this weekend’s memories to keep me company all week long.

Deme and I in Cannes 

Sophie and I in Cannes 

Monte Carlo was decadent, notice the helicopter on the back end of the largest yacht 

Sophie, Deme and I in Monte Carlo 

Monaco II 

Monaco