We've been in Rome for 3 months, as of today! We're all doing well and looking forward to experiencing Natale (Christmas) in Italia. I've received really good questions from family and friends (everyone is concerned about my finding pecans), so thought it efficient to answer all of the questions with this post.
1. We haven’t yet found a dedicated farmer/provider of organic meat. Our local grocery store, Di Per Di, carries organic chicken, which we’re very thankful for!
2. Yes, we found pecans at Castroni. The largest Castroni store is about a half mile away on Via Cola di Rienzo. We love that store! It carries a lot of international items (not a lot of American items) not found in Italian grocery stores/markets.
3. We did find sweet potatoes! On our way to Castroni, there is a single fruit and vegetable purveyor, who carries sweet potatoes. Whenever we go to Castroni, we stop and buy some. We don’t even have to say a word, we just hand the potatoes to the purveyor and they immediately speak English to us, because only Americans buy sweet potatoes.
4. No, we’re not doing as much volunteer work here as we do at home. We volunteer at the kid’s school (family picnic, teacher appreciation and Mayfair in the spring) and we are volunteering at our church’s annual charity auction next month. No, I’m not taking a lead role in the auction, but I am assisting with decorations and set up.
5. We’re not worried about security, but we are cautious. We live on the third floor of our building, which is secured – no one enters without a key. Our apartment has double doors, which are reinforced with metal and four metal deadbolts. We also have a huge safe (I can fit into it!) to store our passports, jewelry, etc. Rome is a very safe city. Violent crime is very rare. Children are prized in Italy, so we don’t worry about the safety of our kids, however, we do escort them to and from their bus stops, and there is another set of parents at our bus stop as well. Yes, we’ve allowed our son to have a Facebook, as all of the kids over here have it. When you live internationally, it is the most efficient and economic way for family and friends to keep in touch. All of the security settings are in place on FB for our kids, and we are friends with our kids, so we can monitor their friends and activity. They Gypsy population has decreased from previous visits, but the old women still beg and Termini can be sketchy, but overall, no issues.
6. Thankfully, the kid’s school hasn’t had issues with H1N1! The virus is in Italy, a handful of people have died, but it’s almost a non-issue over here. Maybe because our weather is still so warm? None of us have been vaccinated.
7. Yes, we had friends visit us for 10 days in October. My husband’s cousin and his wife (who live in Germany) will be with us for Christmas. Mid-March my mom and her bestie will visit for a few weeks. We’ve also had dinner with a few friends who have traveled into Rome, which has been a lot of fun!
8. We don’t plan to go to Africa. We may go to Morocco this spring, but are still firming up our spring travel schedule. On our list: Normandy beaches next week for Thanksgiving, Paris (no kids!) the week following Christmas, continued weekend trips in Italy, and hopefully, Greece and Spain before June. We hope there will be additional school trips for the kids!
9. We are not planning on staying another year, contrary to our daughter’s writing on her Facebook page. She wishes she could stay another year, as does my husband, but the kid’s father wouldn’t allow another year, and I’m very sensitive to their long separation.
10. At this point, our son is not playing sports with any of the local clubs. Baseball starts in October and goes until June. That was too large of a commitment for us (practice twice a week, games on weekends). His soccer skill level is improving, but when he arrived, he would have struggled playing with a local club. In Rome, the city doesn’t organize sports teams. Neighborhoods organize a club, you pay their dues (500 euro or more), pay for your equipment (sports equipment is very expensive over here!), pay for the travel and you’re a member of their club. We haven’t heard about a club basketball team in our neighborhood yet. He plays sports at school on his lunch break and will join after school sports after the winter break, which he’s satisfied with, although he misses his teammates back home!
11. We knew before moving over here, we’d make few friends. We’ve been honest and told people we will be in Rome until June, so most families don’t want to get too close. Also, many families are embassy (American and many other countries!) families, which can be disrupting for them. We have a new American Ambassador to Italy, so there’s been a lot of change. With the kid’s school, our language school and our church, we have ample opportunities to socialize.
12. The buying power of the U.S. becomes very apparent in Italy. Prices for everything are much better in the U.S. than over here - clothing, household items, shoes, jewelry, etc. The dollar to euro ratio isn’t great, however, we’ve experienced worse. Knowing we were coming over here, we bought large amounts of euro, when the ratio was better. The changing markets don’t adversely affect us.
13. Lastly, thank you for all of the offers, but please don’t ship us anything. The receiving of shipped items is a nightmare! We have everything we need and are perfectly content. Thanks so much for the generous offers! And for those who have sent us mail – a HUGE Thank You!
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