There may just be a visa god !

I wonder if others I have met in intercultural relationships can relate.. sometimes and by sometimes I mean often.. I look at an Italian couple or even an American couple and listen to them fight or make-up and whatever meaningless problems they may have and I want to punch them in the face. Because Imp psycho? NO rather when you immigration is Number 1 in your relationship ... everything else takes a backseat!.


I WISH I had normal problems like "ahh he peed on the toilet seat again" or " his obsession with Twilight is causing some distance between us".. no none of that virginal couple problems for me.. Ours are more like .. " oh my god the last day of the application is the 30th! " or him holding me while I tear up at the comune when they tell us we can;t get married due to me not having a stamp in my passport.. ahh the innocence of same- country couples!!!!!!!

well after the failed marriage attempt and the decision to wait for marriage for the "right reasons" and not just "legal reasons" didn't leave me very many options . Once again I was at square one with a boyfriend who wanted to help but didn't know how or want the stress .. sometimes you do feel very very alone. Just handing me a packet of permessos doesn't help me. Obviously any expat has pretty much looked over every visa known to MAN and concluded that 99.9 % would never work for them as they are .. not married/ millionaires/ George clooney/ shakira/ EU citizen and a country where political asylum is the #1 reason. ( would be interesting to try that one , but better in the Bush era)

Back at square one is like being told for one year you were finally going to get your drivers license and car, or better yet a house or better yet a witness protection program to escape some stalker..extreme disappointment ensues. You get much sympathy from said European friends and offers of passports/ blood transfusion.. ahh if it were only that easy,. I consider myself usually a rational person but wow, with this kind of stress I can turn any happy Lassie into a Kujoe in a matter of minutes..

So what are we going to do?? Well since the Italian government passed the security package basically tightening up immigration and so forth and since I can't afford an immigration lawyer, we are trying to get a visa via colf and badanti. Or in english domestic worker ( cleaner/ caretaker) . The Italian government has been nice enough to open up these jobs to the people who do what no one else wants to do.. literally clean up peoples shit and their house.. for less than the average wage. lol..

I have my hopes well, and this would be SUCH an opening to magic world of a permesso di soggiorno and eventually a carte di soggiorno.. I want to kiss that document more than Brad Pitt any day! bring it on!

I am starting to seriously believe that first generation immigrants really are more successful than their lazy offspring ,well I will make sure of that in my case! That said I have a ticket to go "home" to Texas from the 2nd to the 28th..a LONG TIME since my best friend is getting married on the 5th and I am maid of honor and then Christmas. I am nervous about this since my parents can make my vacation more stressful than the immigration process. I am starting to get questions like " can't you and t-man move back here " um NO ( there’s a reason I left Texas for California when I was 18!) and I wish you were around more.

I do feel truly sad about the fact that my family is so far away but I feel like my life is here. Going back home is just a mixed bag of emotions and to be honest, I just don't have allot in common with the folks back home. They don't really ask me about my travels or experiences and I don’t want to "brag" which is how I feel when I talk about Italy/ Europe. I feel like me and my wacky world of expat life is la mia pista ( my path ) in life.. whether or not its "mainstream".

Hopefully I can spend quality time with family/ no arguments or stress and guilt trips.. if not I am coming home early LOL who cares if it will cost me an extra 100 euros to change the ticket! I kid I kid .. I love my family and cant wait to down some Mexican food that undoubtedly make my stomach churn but will be good for the 10 minutes took eating it..

then I will drive around everywhere in a car, never walking except if I go to the gym and target while grasping a large coffee and a copy of OK! with that douche bag Jon Gosselin on the cover.. what is UP with that family? Its bad enough I have to see his face on every cover of magazines when I’m back but and he left his wife? ( ahh why I know these things.. my brain is getting dumber by the 2nd ) ..

I will say reasons why I want to live here in Florence instead of America

• the FOOOOOOD, I miss Mexican food/ BBQ so much but honestly after 2 days in America I miss fresh Mozzarella, basil, and stuffed tomatoes.. there is no comparison.

• the struggle. Yes that seems to be a constant topic of mine but even though it truly is a STRUGGLE, I feel so good when I achieve something, interview in Italian/ get a sale/ do basically anything I would have considered normal back home, getting internet connection in Italy is on the top of that list.. I need the constant struggle to feel ALIVE

• weather, ok Texas sucks for weather, if its not HOT its hailing ice at your car or making impossible for you to drive due to slick roads. Not to mention the gas guzzlers hurtling by at any given moment! California’s has great weather but no seasons! I LOVE that Italy has spring/summer/autumn and winter.. Makes for fun shopping!

• friends, I have AMAZING friends anywhere I have lived but here in Italy we share a common goal, to live here since we chose Florence for whatever reason. That already filters 99% of people before I meet them which is why I find it easy to make good friends here.. and a couch to crash while visiting Europe ;)

• Lifestyle., yes you average Joe American probably get paid DOUBLE of what I do.. this is without a doubt but I don’t think I will EVER be in debt, or obese here because both are pretty hard to due. Banks don’t give out loans easily , everyone saves, and obese people virtually DO NOT exist here even though everyone eats pasta almost every day! I love the fact that I can call a friend and arrange to meet her in the center. I feel like as you get older back "home" , everything takes so much more planning to get together due to everyone’s busy schedules! no one goes out on the weekdays. Here its the opposite. You always make time for an aperativo or beer with a friend even on Monday .. I need that constant social interaction to bitch about immigration and Italians ( jk jk ) .

• inspiration: after living here for almost 3 1/2 years, I find Italy/ Europe extremely inspiring such as when the first Europeans settlers hit Boston ( ok maybe that was a bit dramatic but you get the idea ) . I feel since I have been an abused nanny/ leather seller and whathaveyou here I can do ANYTHING, start a business/ fly a plane/ make a deal.. u name it or just google Georgette and you will see exactly how many jobs I do. LOL.

• food festivals : enough said!

well that’s all for now folks, next post: update on visa and whether or not I have "maimed" t-mans mother due to impromptu bedroom visits she makes when we aren't home. Creepy and very very intrusive.. but t-man doesn’t blink an eye,,, ahh Italians moms will be next post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!