11 Months Remain

I have no idea where the last few months have gone...but they've flown by. Today marks the start of my 26th month. How did I choose to celebrate?

I didn't.
Why?

Something about finding your official furlough notice first thing in the morning sort of ruins your day.

Why is it that even when something icky, even when you know is going to happen finally happens it still hits with the same amount of impact? I knew it was coming. Shoot, I'm even looking forward to the mandated time off but reading that letter? I was sick to my stomach.

Alex, You're Not in the US Anymore

Per the new policies for staying at Casa di Nico, all visitors must submit a guest blog. To make this requirement easier I decided to provide a list of questions to be answered. No, it's not quite as fun as having someone journal their experience, but it's something rather than nothing. Bonus? It helps pass the flight back home or combat the jetlag that strikes at 3am.

My first interviewee? Alex. (And no, that's not his legal name. Leave it to me to pass that along to my friends doing a huge favor by picking him up at the terminal to discover first. At least the "Alex is actually MIA" text was resolved within 15 minutes.)

Alex and I met back in Monterey in late 2008 when I was still at NPS and he was at DLI. He was part of a larger group, primarily DLI students that I met through the church I was attending at the time. This group was at our apartment weekly (if not more) for a weekly Bible Study or game night. When I was home last year for my sister's wedding, I learned he was at DLI, learning another language so we met up to watch the Giants annihilate the Tigers in game 3 of the WS. When he decided to take some major leave time, he took me up on the offer (extended to everyone), and decided to come visit!

Not only was this his first trip to Italy, but out of the US. Eek!

If it hasn't been incredibly clear, southern Italy isn't exactly the most first foreign trip friendly location especially when your host is stuck at work so you're out and about solo. Luckily, Alex has a gift for languages, and knowing Spanish he was successfuly fumbled through the many adventures he had...like getting off at the wrong train exit for Pompeii during a local transportation strike.

I realize that I'm becoming very immune to all things Life in Naples, but that doesn't mean others aren't. Given that this was his first trip out of the states I wanted to see just how much of an impact Naples had on him and make sure all those "Italian" things that really aren't normal were documented in his trip reflections.

Katie: What was the biggest shock being outside of the US for the first time?
Alex: Probably how the size of everything is reduced from cars to homes. Waking up and hearing voices that aren't speaking English is a bit of shock when you're not accustomed to it.

Katie: What was your favorite Italian dish/food tried?
Alex: This is a tough call being Italian food is my favorite gastronomically. Probably would have to say I can never enough pastas, especially anything with fettuccine.

Katie: What 3 words best describe Italy? Why?
Alex: Beautiful- for obvious reasons, everything from the ocean views to volcanic mountains to densely populated modern yet historical cities.
Community- Italians are very family oriented and extraordinarily friendly and helpful. People you meet in Italy are not likely to be cold or reserved.
Loud- car horns, moped horns, shouting is considered normal communication, and my personal favorite church bells.

Katie: Most frustrating "culture shock" moment?
Alex: There were a couple. The lack of AC. The most frustrating was having to constantly swivel  your head to look for mopeds and motor bikes zipping by within inches when walking around.

Katie: What is something you will never forget about you 2013 Napoli trip?
Alex: The sheer amount of history the city has.

Katie: What did you learn about yourself during this trip?
Alex: Big changes in my environment kind of make (me) expect the worst. This feeling goes away pretty quickly though after I figure things out and get acquainted. As I age I have less reservations with talking to complete strangers.

Katie: Sum up your trip in 30 seconds or less.
Alex: A one-of-a-kind eye opening experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. The sights, sounds, taste, smell, and the feel of Italy have made a tremendous impression on me. Would not have been possible to make the trip without the considerable hospitality of Katie O.

Katie: Any advice for future visitors to Casa di Nico? To Napoli?
Alex: Just remember if you take Space A [Military Air] you should probably buy your ticket back to the states if you're traveling during a busy time of year. Also, don't forget to get your passport stamped. Naples is large and needs more than one or two days to see everything. Lastly, Nico only does the opposite of what you want him to do.

Katie: Next time you head to Italy, what's on your "must see list?"
Alex: Probably Venice, Milan, Verona, and Genoa. I would also like to visit Rome again.

Katie: Anything else you want to put on "record" about your trip?
Alex: I'd love to do it again! I definitely need at least one more visit before I'm mildly satisfied. Only thing that was really annoying was the overall lack of AC in buildings. Thank you so much for having me and helping me plan my trip! 

Sunshine & Summer Time

It took to mid June, but I think it's safe to finally announce that summer has arrived in Naples! How do I know? Well...

• The freckle count on my face, arms, and shoulders has exploded!
• A wall of hot sticky air greets me when I open my front door in the morning.
• My tomates are turning a brilliant red.
• Nico spends no less than an hour each evening chasing, batting, and pouncing on the junebugs hovering around my patio.
• Running after work requires blantaly ignoring the black flag indicating it's too hot.
• Trucks full of watermelons line the streets on my way home.
• The air quality has tanked on account of the trash/agricultural fires.
• Crazy motorini are zipping through streets with beached dressed people on them.

Casa di Nico Policy Updates

With many guests visiting over the past few months, I'm remembering just how exhausting it is to be tour guide. Don't get me wrong- I absolutely love the company and having adventures but, here are a few new rules as mandated by the managment:

Prior to Arrival

• Check in/out times must be confirmed (exceptions will be considered case by case).
• Understand that I have 0, niente, zilch, nada vacation time (actually, negative at this point) and therefore unable to be your tour guide/transportation during work days (furlough days potentially starting 8 July).
• Given the uncertainty of technology expect to have at least 2 meet up plans and be ready throw them out the window- this is Italy after all!
• I don't live in Naples proper; I live about 20miles out of the city. It's a 20 minute walk (downhill) to the closest train station.
• Expect to eat lots of pizza and drink lots of wine.
• Seriously evaluate your level of adventurness- this isn't like Under the Tuscan Sun. Most days if feels like an episode of The Amazing Race.

During Your Stay

• Cat toys/treats must be presented upon arrival:
• Females, males relatives, & married men should be able to present direction to Signore Nico as he checks you in.
• Single males and all kids, you'll never see Nico so hand them off to me and I'll make sure he knows they are a peace offering. (This may or may not prevent  him from stalking you.)
• Check in will only be processed if:
• Naples itinerary is presented (3+ must see's during your stay)
• Blog post requirement agreement is signed
• You promise not to complain about the church bells ringing after the initial 24 hours
• Keep in mind that plans change:
• Local strikes are common
• The domani attitude paired with the dolce vita mantra means we're very slowly paced, delays happen, it's okay- honest! Turn them to caffè or vino breaks.
• Playing hostess means I see a lot of the same things sites. I'll do my best to customize your visit to avoid overlap, but keep in mind that I may steer you to schedule these events when I'm busy with work.

With all this being said, visitors are still welcomed, but I'm just trying to manage expectations. Napoli is a fabulous city, but can easily be done in 3-4 days. My house can be used as your "base camp" to go explore the north: Rome, Florence, Venice, Sienna. Va bene?

Next steps, pull out your suitcase, book a ticket, and come explore Italy! I'm here for 1 more year, but will be taking reservations through March 2014 for the time being. Call, email, message- Nico is standing by to make your reservation!

All Roads Lead to Rome

They say that "all roads lead to Rome," and on any given road trip throughout Italy, I'd have to agree with Roma signs pointing in various directions. I'm convince that there is more to the saying, and they left out the part about "...but some will take a lot longer." A lot longer.

Why? Well, various of reasons: the distance of the road, weather conditions, paved vs unpaved roads, traffic patterns, the speed of the driver, the mode of transportation, etc. Oh one more little one- if your co-pilot when so kindly already fighting the borrowed GPS unit for you inadvertently tells it to avoid toll roads.

Now, yes. I should have trusted my gut and proceeded on the tang as I always do, but hey, if the technology is nothing short of calling you an idiot for thinking about going any other direction? You do your best to put aside your control freak nature and listen.

Even when you realize you're headed to the port city of your least favorite ship ever that causes more headaches for you than Tylenol has pills.

Even when you keep seeing signs to the road you know you should be on.

Yes, even when you start to follow the signs you know you want through ity bitty towns.

Sigh. It's about the journey- right? This journey was beautiful through the green mountains on a rainy day, but sometimes you want to just reach the destination already! Needless to say, we finally reached our destination (a train station in Rome) to ride the rail into the city for our whirlwind tour of the Vatican, St. Peter's, the Spanish Steps, Roman Forum, and Coleseum. As I saw many of these places for a second, third, even fourth time I realized I had never really posted pictures or blogged on them. Oops. Guess it's time to do that? Domani. Dopo domani.

Furlough Contingency Plans

We already went through the drill once this year, however this time with a proposed furlough letter in hand we're moving a tad closer into the genius solution on how to help the budget. Talk about a fabulous way to start your day- right?

Despite my precarious leave (vacation) status the fact that if I want to do any traveling at all for the next 3 months means I'm taking leave without pay or just leaving town on a regularly scheduled furlough (no pay status) day. It's amazing that although the net income is the same (reduction in pay), the difference between the two are huge in my mind.

· Leave without pay means I'm choosing not to come into work today because it is way more valuable for me to avoid my office and not earn 8 hours of pay.

· Furlough means although I really don't want to be in the office, rather than trying to think of an aliment while in bed in the morning to call in sick with, I'm not allowed to go to work and I'm not allowed to collect pay for the 8 hours of originally scheduled work. In short, Uncle Sam made the decision for me.

Luckily, the once proposed 22 days have been reduced to 11. Even luckier is the fact that as an overseas employee my housing is provided for, regardless. This means that I'm forced to see the irony that on most furlough days I will be not only earning money, but I will be spending more money by taking some sort of adventures with my fellow furlough buddies since my time has always been the limiting factor on adventures; not money. Don't worry- I will still be financially responsible (it's possible, even as a government employee, honest) and just in case funds start running low I figure any or all of the options below can put a little extra cash in my wallet:

Babysitting                    Car washes                  Sell blood/organs

Bake sale                     Tour guides                  Lawsuit against government

Collect unemployment (? but we're not residents of any state)

Clean Houses               Rent out Nico               Garage sale

Rent cubicle space on furlough day                    Caddy at golf course

Create tv show spin off of Survivor- "Furlough Frenzy"

Yep. This list grows on our space's white board daily. I think my favorite idea I've had at this point is the Adopt-A-Civilian  program where 1 or 2 military members "adopt" a furloughed civilian and their family. In my case, I've asked our CSO if Nico and I can show up at this house once a week for meals in addition to presenting a list of "urgent needs" as a result of 20% pay reduction. Brilliant right?

365 Days & Then?

I’m in my last year here in Naples! It’s funny. Only in the past few months have I began to feel truly set up in my house. No. I guess I don’t have that skill all you military folks have of unpacking within a month because you know it’s so very temporary…

Most days Monterey seems a million years ago, a different life time, a fading memory. Other mornings however, I wake up with a Monterey memory on my mind that feels like it just took place.

Some days life in Italy is too much of a struggle with the cultural differences, language barriers, and rush hour traffic. But then there are those days, and luckily they’re most days, when I’m still amazed by the sunrise over Vesuvio, shocked to be driving under a crumbling aqueduct on my way to work, and in love with the hundreds of quirks that make Naples Bella Napoli.

The past 2 years I've traveled bumpy roads, discovered the beauty of round-a-bouts, found myself at a few dead ends, slowed down to enjoy the back roads, flown down the smooth roads while always keeping in mind that there is more than 1 way to reach my destination. I’ve pushed myself to do some crazy things. I’ve explored new places, tried new foods, met new people, acquired fabulous new shoes, learned new skills, increased my caffeine consumption, and traveled more miles than I care to count.

Problem is as fabulous as this experience has been it’s got to come to an end eventually. I have 365ish days left. So then what?

I have no freaking clue. (Queue freak-out.)

Thanks Mom and Dad for reminding me that you all want me back in the USA daily while out here.

The Monterey Option: It’s a bad option, but it’s an option none the less. I’ve already worked through the reasons I should not return. Monterey folks, don’t take this the wrong way! It’s not you- I promise. Remember how badly I wanted out? That’s nothing compared to my reaction when thinking about returning.

The Stay in Naples Option (1 or 2 years): It is an option M&D. Job satisfaction? Eh. Travel opportunities? Fabulous. Finacially? Decent. Social life? Eh…everyone is leaving me. A promition may be in line...

Option #3: Well, pretty much anywhere else MSC or any other DoD agency is. So that whole "the world is your oyster" saying? It's true. As long as it doesn't get too impacted by the current budget climate and silly overseas rules.

Now do you understand my freakout even this far out from when the decision needs to be made? Compound that with my longing for baseball games and Target stores, the fact that I really have no clue if I want to stay in my current job series or try something new, the hope that Mr. Right is out there in his Giants ball cap, and my control freak nature?

Mamma Mia...dammi il vino.

Piano, piano. Here I am again rushing to the next thing, and although these are all major decision that need to be figured out within the next several months I'm still in Italy and guess what? I have to maximize the fun between now and the day I leave. Now if you excuse me, I've got a bunch of Europe to see.

Ciao e amore a tutti!