The Italian Job.
Okay, I will try to keep it as rage-free as I can.
Kate recently asked about how things are going here in Italy.
My reply:
Let’s just say it’s not remotely as fun or interesting as it looked on paper.
The idea was pretty neat: Lazy B. gets stationed in Italy, and our little family comes here, we travel on the weekends and see the sights, we get to take trains through the rest of Europe, and basically have a great time, experience some European culture, eat great food, blah blah blah.
How it worked out so far:
Stationed here… Lazy gets the shaft from new unit.
Little family gains another member, which is good, but house stays the same size, which is crowded.
Weekend travel? Gas prices skyrocket- if gas was costing you eight bucks a gallon, would you go for a Sunday drive?
See Europe? We still are waiting on the baby’s passport. Paperwork involved with having a baby outside the U.S. is horrendous.
Culture? The damn Italians protest us. Never mind that we can’t do anything about being here, and that their own elected government is who they should complain to if they don’t like the U.S. base. They make it uncomfortable for the families of folks who are only here doing their damn jobs. Thanks, jerks.
Food? Italian restaurants don’t have a lot of space for big strollers, and I have yet to see a high chair anywhere. With all our babies and so forth, it’s a huge production just getting in the door.
So yeah, I am really disappointed with the whole experience so far. We weren’t accurately informed of what to expect here, for sure…
…yet I sometimes think to myself that if Lazy were to get stationed in Japan, I would love to go. Meh. Probably not though.
