Running Late, I'll be there in 15.....

....that's the story of my life. Although I do have half of an excuse. I'm half Italian.  Or maybe more like 75% by now right? (After all I've been living here for almost 11 years.)  The German side of me however, really doesn't agree with this running late business. But I can't help it. I don't know why.  I try and I try but for some reason it just doesn't work.  The Italians are notorious for being late in fact their idea of being on time is at least 15 minutes late. And that's just really how it goes. So don't expect that just because the store hours indicate that they will be there at 15:30 that they actually will be, it's more like 15:30ish.  But that's beside the point. This past weekend, the internet was out in the house and not only is it  amazing how much we depend on it, but how much not having it has put me behind. I was already running about 10 days behind 'schedule' and the to do list keeps getting longer and longer, but then without connection for 5 days, (even though they told me it would only be a few hours) I am now about 15 days behind, but, I suppose in Italian time, I'm right on schedule.  So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I'm sorry to be boring but I will have something more exciting to tell you soon. Promise.  A presto!

You Say Goodbye...I say Hello

One of the most difficult things about living abroad has to be saying goodbye.  I hate goodbyes. Whether I go home for a visit or my family comes here, saying goodbye is the hardest part.  But somehow we are expecting it, we know that it is going to happen and that we will have to face it soon, but no matter how many times we do it, it never seems to get any easier. 

When one lives abroad it seems as though our lives are full of goodbyes. Its not just our related family that we are forced to say goodbye to, but also the family that we have created here amongst friends.  I know I have mentioned this in previous posts, but we really do become each others extended family,  its an incredible bond that is like no other I have ever experienced.  We have so much in common, based on the single fact that we are all experiencing life in another country from a foreign point of view.  We connect with people that we may have never thought we would be friends with otherwise.  However, that does not necessarily mean that we are all here to stay. Some of us come with a very specific goal in mind, one which includes a time line, an end date. Others come to stay indefinitely,  yet we create the bonds just the same and all of the sudden after spending several years together as a family, celebrating birthday, holidays and just simply getting together to enjoy each others company, after our husbands/significant others form their bonds based the common fact that they all have foreign partners, that end date arrives and we once again have to say goodbye to one of our cherished sisters, knowing that we will always keep in touch, but not knowing exactly when we will see her again, we send her off wishing her all the luck in the world, knowing that she is on to bigger and better things and that she is opening the next chapter in her life.  So we say goodbye for now but most of all we say good luck.  You will be missed and always loved!  So good luck and farewell to our friend Michele!