Second day here

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More things I have learned about Italy:

People think it's hot here. ..... (long pause) Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I'll acclimate and find it hot eventually.....(another long pause) At this point I'd like to give a big shout out to AL and OK. There it is HOT. AL is a humid, lazy hot, OK is like a blast furnace. Each of those areas could qualify as a special area of purgatory even this early in the summer. In comparison, this morning I ran (interestingly enough in the fitness center to check it out), walked outside and COOLED OFF. It's been pleasant and altogether unbelievably comfortable here. The catch with all this is that AC is practically non-existent. Bedrooms may have it, very little otherwise. I think I can deal.

Right start (Aviano style) is informative and interesting. We've learned (so far this morning) how to navigate the med system, dental, mail system, etc., and that the two largest problems faced here (in the 20 something population majority) are DUI's and STD's. Sense a theme there? We've also gotten a tremendous amount of paperwork telling us about the paperwork we need to fill out for EVERYTHING. This includes cars, dental, housing, visa/soggiorno, and anything else that could potentially be regulated.

Never say Si to an Italian on the phone. There are many phone calls you will get where you think you are verifying your info and instead get signed up for some ridiculous bill or a nice bridge somewhere. Always say no.

70% of people stationed here under the age of 26 will get into an auto accident their first year. 40% of people over the age of 26 will get into an auto accident their first year. Over one 3 day period a few years ago they had 5 fatalities. Despite all this the driving makes a weird kind of sense.

Everything seems to be beautiful here.

Skype does make international calls for cheap, but the reception may not be that great.

Screens pull down and are not fixed like American screens.

Even if you are just drinking Folgers, the coffee does taste better over hear.

Sponsors over here do a tremendous amount to get people adjusted and set up. Imagine that most people don't have a car for at least a few weeks, if not months. Have no phone service. Have no home. And YOU are expected to do everything for them. Chris's office has been incredible. I can't tell you how much we appreciate everything his sponsor, and everyone else, is doing.

I've included pictures of our on base TLF. It's probably overkill, but I know that I like to be able to picture where people are. It's a two bedroom 1 bath apartment like area on the "1st" floor (which really means the second floor to us). It has beautiful granite counters, and is probably almost as big as our old row house (just minus 1 bedroom!) The cats and dog love it, according to them the cabinets were specifically made for stalking prey and surveying territory. The view is of the gate, not towards the mountains, but with the windows open tonight you could hear old church bells in the distance.

More later...
Tiff