Take Two

When it comes to accomplishing tasks in Italy, lowering expectations is imperative. If you set out with too ambitious a list of errands, or the notion that a particular item must be completed that day, your plans will almost certainly be thwarted. If you rejoice over each small step forward and glean cultural knowledge from each moment, you can have a great deal of fun in the circus that is Italian life. As futile or exhilarating as running errands can be, jumping through all the legal hoops we foreigners face is at a whole 'nother level.

Last year I returned home before actually receiving my permesso di soggiorno [permission to stay] card. Last week I sought to have my utilities turned on in Vicenza but was denied due to not having my permesso. But sometimes, the second time is the charm. I had a major dose of déjà vu as I turned in my permesso application at the Scandicci post office (almost everything important happens at the post office) to the same kind attendant I had a year ago. This time, I was assigned a follow-up appointment in two and a half weeks, as opposed to eight and a half months. How the Italians miraculously streamlined the bureaucratic process, I'll never know. Lest I get too excited, I won't actually have my permesso card in hand until a third appointment, projected to be a month after the second. The receipt for the application, however, is what I was really after, for with these three all-important slips of paper, I was able to go this morning to make the contract to get my utilities turned on. The workers are scheduled to come Wednesday morning!

While in Florence for the last few days on my permesso adventure, I also attended the Thursday night English class and Bible study at church, observed Emily and Jillian's weekly English lesson at a local kindergarden, sat in on a planning meeting for the women's retreat to be held in Tuscany in March, celebrated the eleventh birthday of a sweet girl in Pistoia, caught up with several of my former students, and enjoyed seeing everybody at church on Sunday. Here's a photo with one of my former students and Emily, her new English teacher: