Contradictions are the New Normal

 2 WEEKS IN! Brain Dump!

Winter arrived after day 1. It has been nonstop rain and Vesuvius has snow! But locals say "winter lasts two weeks" and there's more of this sunshine in the forecast.

We arrived two weeks ago today! Although it feels cliche, I both feel like we just arrived and that this new life is just the way it has always been! In fact much the last two weeks has felt like a litany of opposites. 

Italian   /   English

Just arrived   /   Feels normal

Extravert   /   Introvert

House Hunting   /   House Showings

Overwhelmed   /   Underwhelmed

This is going to be really hard   /   This is totally THE life

Necessary Paperwork   /   Bureaucratic BS

complete freedom   /   technical captivity

Reality   /   Expectations

Picked a lemon and an orange from Brian's colleagues' front yard! 

.  I think the contrast that most exemplifies our first two weeks in Italy, is the fact that we feel simultaneously overwhelmed & underwhelmed. There is an incredible amount of paperwork to complete after arriving. I feel like I could spread out a week's worth of Current Events to grade, for all 175 students, and it would look like the bureaucrat's desk that has exploded in our hotel room:

Registration papers for Olaf, pass a test of roadsigns, do the paperwork to get a car, actually find a car to purchase, open a bank account, get an Italian codice fiscale or Italian social security number, Olaf passport, new Navy ID cards, get a "sojourner" permit so we don't get kicked out in 90 days, find Italian SIMs and port our old numbers, register with the Navy hospital, contact realtors and set up house viewings, decide on a place to live, receipt tracking and reimbursement papers...I'm sure I'm missing something!

After our first week we had mandatory "Area Orientation." By the name, I was expecting something like Ignition where newbies become familiar with their new surroundings. To continue the school analogy, we were required to sit through 16 hours of "briefs" which in teacher terms is direct instruction lectures. A 100 slide PowerPoint with "this is important" resulting in about 100 pictures on my phone of random, out of context slides. For example, on the hour 1 slide 1 there was an instruction to turn in a paper at lunch the following day and that was the last we heard of it. Ultimately it felt like the Navy hired 20 bureaucrats to cobble together a training that 1 professional teacher could have actually made engaging. We got home that night feeling incredibly overwhelmed with the sheer growth of the To-Do List. In addition, Brian was expected to be at work less than 18 hours after we arrived.

We all find the To-Do-List a bit exhausting ;)

Yet, at the same time, there is a sense of underwhelmedness. I feel like an entitled brat saying that. The "We LIVE IN ITALY" feeling is hard to embrace while in a hotel room surrounded by paperwork. We haven't gotten out. We haven't seen Italy. We haven't eaten Italy. We haven't drank Italy. We haven't embraced Italy. And yet, in another contradiction, something about this new life feels newly normal. 

I'm in awe at the constant code switching happening around me as people switch seamlessly between English and Italian. Some of the realtors, the bank lady, and our fieldtrip coordinator have been experts: cracking jokes in English to make us feel more comfortable while also on the phone speaking 100mph Italian to their colleagues. Here I am, using my Duolingo and Google Translate to ask the server if I can take a picture of the wine bottle so we can buy some because it's so good, and him blinking at me and then using experience and context to think I just want a random wine bottle for an Instagram photo. I'll keep working. I did ask the front desk for more soap! I'm acutely aware that I'm in the minority being monolingual. 

Orientation Fieldtrip to town at the Galleria Umberto and the first

coffee beverage I didn't spit out in my life! *Italian espresso*         

The juxtaposition of looking at apartments while also trying to sell a house is pretty funny to me. Last night we were writing down pros and cons of a place we looked at while also coordinating with our realtor in Alaska for a house showing... while doing some quick timezone math! We arrived with little clue about what we wanted in a new place. Our Navy supplied budget allows for a lot of leeway and we have options ranging from vast villas in the suburbs with fruit trees, pools, and outdoor kitchens to the heart of the city with views of Vesuvius, the Mediterranean, and local boutiques. Going out with realtors has been oddly fun as we slowly start to understand where we want to call home. And while it means giving up outdoor pools and lemons trees, we suspect we will settle in the heart of the hustle and bustle to force some language learning and immerse ourselves in something very opposite of North Pole. 

"Vesuvio" from Brian's work at Capodichino 

One opposing notion I wasn't expecting was the idea of complete freedom and technical captivity. While this was recently resolved, it really bothered me - potentially irrationally. Since Brian is the one with the DoD sponsored job here in Italy he is called my "sponsor" and I'm the "dependent." While this may feel totally normal to our military friends it is very uncomfortable for me. For the first 13 days, I was technically not allowed to exist outside of his presence. I needed my red passport and an official piece of paper to leave and enter the base. Technically to leave the hotel room he was suppose to be with me although this clause seems to be 0% enforced. I couldn't even buy groceries without a military ID. To get my ID there was a new to-do-list with new paperwork and until then I was literally required to "show my papers." As a history teacher, and nerd, this did not sit well with me but I faked a smile and flashed "my papers" in compliance. I am now the owner of an official ID and when I bought a few groceries at the Commissary yesterday I felt a rush of independence and relief that buying groceries should not illicit. BUT in typical Italian bureaucratic style, the spelled my name wrong, so back to the office soon. 

This new journey is going to be a huge test of my ability to balance the introvert and extrovert that simultaneously occupy my conscience. Needing to call an Italian vet and ask if she spoke English nearly paralyzed me. I've worked on balancing these two aspects of who I am for a long time. Both Brian and I are natural introverts. We'd come home from workdays of speaking to people all day and often sit in silence for at least an hour while we recharged. Being in this hotel room has given the introvert a lot of time to thrive. I'm excited to be comfortable walking into a formaggeria and ordering buffalo mozzarella for dinner, in Italian, and it not paralyzing me. 

Found an old style skeleton key on the sidewalk during a walk downtown! They're common here!

Ultimately, one of the reasons we accepted this position was to break from a routine that was very comfortable. We wanted to be the minority. To be uncomfortable. To be surrounded by the new. While we aren't fully experiencing that yet, maybe this microdosing while we do paperwork and house hunt is super healthy. I'm living in a world of contradictions and I think, surprisingly, va bene!

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🇮🇹Italian Morsels to Share🇮🇹

1. In Italian, the letter "e" is actually pronounced like "eh" that you would hear my dad or other Canadians utter. So the name GiuseppE is actually pronounced GiuseppEH. This then also applies to the Italian word for THANK YOU.

                      🚫GraziE

                      👍 GraziEH (it's three syllables, "grat-ze-eh")

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2. All their beverage bottles have a little tiny extra piece of plastic so you don't lose the lid. Brilliant!

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3. What we would call "bullhorns" as a hand gesture is a big ol' F-U here. Thank you for something Area Orientation training! I never use that gesture at home but now I might while driving here in Naples😉 

We did watch someone use this gesture downtown in a stab/pointy motion. I mean if we are going to know the gesture might as well do it right!