Moving to a new country definitely requires some paperwork, bureaucracy, patience, grunt work, prodding, copying, multiple appointments, misunderstandings, more patience and then finally success.

It’s one thing to chat with our new Italian friends in our basic Italian and to have them take the time to make us understand or even speak a little English back to us. But when you need to get some official paperwork completed, such as a visa, you better be up on your Italian, have a friend come to interpret and pitch hit for you,  or you’ll be using Google translate and still be misunderstood and also not understand. All in a day becoming a new resident of this country.

I won’t bore you with all the details but here is the sequence we needed to follow and we’re just about there:

 

• I applied (or could just wait for John ) for residency. I need to be acknowledge by the comune as a resident to get free health care.
• John needed his Carta di Soggiorno (5 year visa) to get his Codice Fiscale ( I had mine already being a citizen).
• John gets his Codice Fiscale (Italian Social Security number)
• John applies for residency
• We both go to get our Health Insurance card and assigned a primary physician. If you have a recommendation, you can pick your own.
• Also at anytime now we can get our Carta Identita. ID Card so we don’t have to carry our passports around.

Does your brain hurt yet? Mine did a bit, but we’re at the end of the tunnel and this week we pick up our health cards and open a bank account.

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Update on on Tessera Sanitaria (Italian healthcare card) and bank… John and I got our cards today, so socialized healthcare is now part of our lives and we are very pleased, indeed. Went to open a bank account and, to get the best deal, we need our Carta Identita. John heads off to the grocery store this morning, where they have a photo booth, and get some pics taken. I have mine and Monday we will get our cards, then back to the bank. Everything is falling into place. And hopefully our car will be ready for us sooner than not. Still waiting on delivery to the dealer.

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My good friend, Pam, recently asked me what I’ve been doing apart from all the great trekking through the vineyards with the dogs. Truthfully , not enough of seeing Italy.. Setting up a home takes more time than I remember, because we’re doing a lot from scratch and in a new land. And once all this paperwork is behind us, I sincerely hoping we’ll have MUCH more time to play!

Well, we did take a short trip out to another medieval hill town, as well as walk some more through our ‘home town’, Atri. When you come to Italy, you will be amazed by the number of these hill towns everywhere. The terrain lends itself to these strongholds against invasion, and today are cherished and lived in, thus preserving ancient structures and character. The environs are usually friendly, calling out a greeting, but you will find the ‘older’ group a bit more hesitant until they have given you the once-over. 😉 Here are a few shots of the streets, which we love to walk. Atri is high on our list to do more touring with eight museums, centuries old churches, cisterns and just some wonderful belvederes overlooking the mountains and sea.

 

 

Well, Thanksgiving, a very American holiday, just passed and oh, what a memorable one it was. True, we were not with family, and that is sad, but new friends made it a special day. Having this holiday with other English speaking residents, some from the United States (actually 6 of us out of the 8 for dinner were from Virginia!) and two lovely Brits, just seemed to balance life here in Italy. It’s one thing to make new Italian friends and be immersed, but there is a strong inherent draw to those of the ‘same’ kind. Allowing our brains to relax back into English, share similar stories, jokes and loves, make for a fun and relaxing evening. I put away my cellphone for the evening. No pics. Just be in the moment, eat great food, conversation running rampart and savor the moment.

A few weeks back, I mentioned us signing up for our Italian classes. Twice a week, we meet at a school, for our class. Our teacher, Cristina, is a lovely young lady, that speaks rapid fire Italian with just a smidge of English. And I mean a really small smidge! Sink or swim as John and I see it. It’s a good review for me, as I have had weekly Skype with Stef for over a year, and definitely a great start for John. The other students are all from Africa, progressing toward their work documents. Brave young men that risked all coming to Italy on a boat with many others. Last night we chatted with two young men from Nigeria, who both have high hopes of making it to the United States for jobs. They are all drawn to New York City, Chicago and LA. John and I admire their courage and determination, and wish them all the best. We will all be together in this class for the next 6 months, as 100 hours are required to complete.

So, Thanksgiving and Black Friday are now behind us. Time to pull out the Santas and start decorating! Get a tree and put up some lights….and to travel to different local towns for Christmas festivities! That can only mean more fun and food 😉

I’ll be back soon. Ciao for now….