Just Call Me Giuseppe

Okay, I've hooked you with the cute pic, but realize, initially, that this is a long post – so get yourself a coke or a coffee (or in dad’s case, a big glass of Bailey’s) and settle in for a long catch-up session.

Alright. We’re officially settling in. Well, we’re settling in as best we can for living in a hotel. I admit that it’s a little more comfortable than a normal hotel – it has two bedrooms and a kitchenette, and there’s a TGI Friday’s on the zero floor (that’s what they call the first floor here, by the way), but it’s still a hotel. And this is where we shall stay for the next approximately 45 days. Joy.

But where to start? I guess with the trip over. We knew that the plane ride over was going to be an experience. Ella had never flown, so we had no idea what to expect. The plane itself was late departing, which made timing the bottle (apparently if you give a kid a bottle during landing and takeoff it diminishes the discomfort – read: isolable wailing – of the pressure and popping ears). Fortunate for the older couple who sat behind us (who looked directly at Melissa before takeoff and said “We hope for our sake she’s tired…”), Ella pulled through like a champ. Other than one little period where she wanted to be fussy, it was great.

We had one layover in Shannon, Ireland. It was cold, rainy, and dark, and they didn’t even pull up to a terminal when we temporarily disembarked. Regardless, it was worth the inconvenience just to hear a few people with that cool accent.

Even Nash came through things great. Or at least I choose to think so. He went around 12 hours without a potty break, and I doubt he drank much of the water we left him. But, he peed and pooped right on cue after we picked him up at the terminal, and was whisked away by Desiree’ - one (of the many) fantastic people who’d made our move a joy thus far. He’s now staying with a family in the command who have 3 kids and just lost a dog of their own; I’m not looking forward to taking him away from them a month from now…

Once we arrived in Naples, we were eager to get to a place we could call our own, even if it was a hotel. We’d been traveling and interloping on so many people between selling the house and now, we were excited about just being able to unpack. We got our first taste of Naples traffic on our way to the hotel – somewhere around 140km/p/hr I realized that I was probably gonna like this place…

Again, in all fairness, the hotel is fine. Here’s a pic of it taken the moment we first walked in. You can kinda see that the Navy designed it for folks like us who’d be in between houses for a while…

It actually looks like a palace from outside…

The base we’re staying at at the moment is usually just called the “Support Site.” It’s a relatively new installation (built in 2000, I believe), complete with a hospital, a NEX (that’s the Navy’s department store, for you non-Navy types), a commissary (again, most of you may know it as a grocery store), a big hospital, car repair facility, etc. Its also is home to a lot of housing facilities for those who prefer to live on base. The hotel here (called the Navy Lodge) and all the surrounding housing come complete with a lot of amenities from home (such as 110v electricity), but is conspicuously bereft of any real Italian lifestyle. That said, it’s perfect for families who have several kids, since this is where the high school, etc, is located, and it’s a REALLY safe place. Mel and I just saw kids rollerblading in the streets at 8:00 at night.

It’s not a fit for us though – we kinda want to take in the Neapolitan life in all its glory (or horror, depending on your perspective). Unfortunately, choosing to live out in town means finding a place. In order to do that, you have to use the Italian landlord representatives (aka “realtors”) designated by the housing office here, or alternatively, find your own rep. In order to get reimbursed for your hotel time, you have to prove you’re actually looking for a place to live (a design that seems ridiculous to me – who would want to stay in a two bedroom hotel for more than a few weeks?)

The housing market here is crazy, and I won’t go into much detail, but suffice it to say that its hard to find everything you want in a home – every place has its pro’s and cons. Now, that may mean that our list of wants is just too long, but hey, everyone else agrees, so it can’t just be us being picky, right? Right? As of now, we’re weighing two places – one with ample space but away from the coolest part of town and no DSL, and another place in a cool part of town with DSL but much less space. Deciding is proving harder than expected.

The first weekend we were here, we stayed with Rich and Ann. I worked with Rich for about a year or so back in Norfolk, and he was my official “sponsor” (the guy my new command designated as the dude whose job it was to keep me from causing an international incident upon arriving.) He took us around town, showed us the ropes, and kinda got our feet wet on all the good and bad stuff about Naples. We even spent a day on the Amalfi coast, which was freaking awesome. Pics are below. Note the one of the Cabinari – the slightly more elite version of the Italian police, that I surriptiously shot while dining on the steps of an Italian Ristorante despite warnings from Rich that they would shoot me if caught…(looks like that whole “keep me from causing an international incident” thing isn’t working out so well…)

The first full week here, I had to go to an orientation class about all the things I’d need to know. It’s a good program really, albeit a little disorganized. It got me checked in, our medical records situated, and briefed me up on other little things I’d need to know. It gave me a week to really just get acclimated, which was good. It also gave me time to find and buy our second car. And, with great pride, I can now tell you that we are the proud owners of a European-spec 1999 Ford Focus wagon.

Sweet, huh? Well, at least it’ll give me something to haul Nash around in that I won’t feel bad about beating up in all the Naples traffic. And beat it up I will. Like most all cars in Italy, it’s a stick-shift, and despite my best efforts, my manhood was immediately called into question when I stalled it 3 times the first time Melissa got in. So much for inspiring confidence…

Nevertheless, we had a little party the first time I got it to the other end of town. Tomorrow we get the Honda though, and so I’ll go back to being lazy with the shifting…

Oh yeah – and Ella’s officially cutting teeth and crawling at just under the speed of sound. Here’s a picture of what we’ve found is her favorite chew toy: electrical wires.

Well, that’s all for now. Next week is a week of Intercultural Relations Classes for Mel and me, then it’s on to official work. By then I should know a little Italian and will be able to share; until then – ciao!

pac

As usual, some of the pics obviously didn't load, and since it takes 5 minutes per picture, I'll just have to add them later!