2017 in review / catch up

Hello, I'm, back!  Sorry for the long absence from my blog.  When last I wrote, I had just moved to Rome from Malta, because they would not renew my residence permit.   

The first week in Italy, I connected with a friend of a friend, Annika, who was moving out of a nice 2 bedroom apartment.  I agreed to take it over, including a roommate who had just moved in.  I also agreed to let Annika stay until she found another place.  And so began my month of hell.  Annika had turned the living room into a 3rd bedroom, then rented out the other two.  Pretty nice set up, she lived rent free. I made it clear that once I took over the lease, she would pay the same rent she asked of me, and move into the smaller bedroom.  To make a long story short, Annika was outraged that I would dare to charge her the same rent she charged me and beside herself that I would make her move from the big bedroom to the smaller one.  The exact same argument went on till she finally moved out 3 weeks later, into an apartment with no furniture or electricity. Guess she showed me.  The other roommate, Leena, was a little better, but still a bit off and had to go too. I initially said she could stay, in part because I felt bad for her situation. Annika moved her in, knowing she was looking for another apartment. Leena didn't have any money. The problems started when she informed me, the day before rent was due, that she wouldn't be paying on the 1st, but on the 15th. Uh no, you pay tomorrow.  Big argument ensued.  Several times she notified me she wouldn't pay rent, either because she didn't have it, because Annika wouldn't give her her deposit back or because she had to pay a doctor. And she was aggressively argumentative on several occasions. I had to physically push her out the door one morning because she was going to take a swing at Annika, who refused to give her her deposit back because Leena broke a coffee cup.  Definitely not a headache I needed.

You may remember I broke my shoulder in Sept and had surgery in Oct.  I was in intense pain from a condition called frozen shoulder. By January the pain had finally subsided, but I couldn't move my arm. My doctor prescribed intense physical therapy to see if the condition improved.  If not, a 2nd surgery would be required.  I embarked on an intensive 6 month program of stretching and weights.  Eventually my shoulder did improve, but will never be 100%.  

While in Italy, I started a dog sitting business.  I could never have imagined how quickly it took off, I was booked solid for the entire summer.  I took advantage of bookings in different areas to explore Italy.  I had one client in Umbria and made day trips to places like Assisi and Siena.  These are very picturesque small towns, but super hilly. 

Two of my favorite places were the Amalfi coast and Cinque Terra. Both spots are very beautiful villages, perched on the rocky cliffs, overlooking the sea.  On the Amalfi coast, I hiked the Path of the Gods.  It's a beautiful hike, linking the hilltop towns of Bomerano and Nocelle.  The scenery from that high up is spectacular.  You begin by taking a bus to Bomerano, from there the trail is mostly downhill, with amazing views.  Be forewarned, the trail is pretty rocky and totally exposed to the hot sun, so don't forget the water and sunscreen.   I thought I might be alone on the trail and was a bit concerned from a safety perspective.  HA!  The bus was standing room only with other hikers and the trail was literally crawling with people.  As is usually the case though, everyone sorted themselves out and I soon fell in with another single lady named Kim.  The path is about 7.8 km, but the going is slow due to the terrain and all the photo stops.  The hike itself was easy enough, but the end sure packs a whollop!  Once you arrive in Nocelle, you think you're done.  Not so fast, you now have to get down to Positano. One way is a bus, but it only runs once an hour.  Of course, we saw it leave just as we arrived. We could follow the road, about 5 km more, but a more direct path is the stairs.  Depending on who you ask, its somewhere between 1500 and 1800 steps.  Uh nope, my knees were pretty clear on that point; road it is then.  At one point, we thought we were finally done and switched to the steps for the final decent.  OMG, we were not!  My guess is we ended up walking down about 700 steps. The only good thing about this route was the lemonade stand Il Chiosco Del Seniero Degli Dei on a terrace overlooking the coast. I'm not sure if the slushy lemonade and orange juice were the best I ever tasted, or they were just so refreshing after the grueling day, but we ordered one after another.  I'm not exaggerating when I say I could barely walk for the next 3 days.  I'd do the hike again but not the steps coming down.  

My other favorite place was Cinque Terra, a string of 5 centuries old seaside villages on the Italian Riveria in the Liguria region.  The villages are close together and there are trails from one to the next, but it was much too hot when I went.  Each town is filled with colorful houses, rugged cliffs and harbors filled with fishing boats.  Each village was very beautiful and picturesque; and of course crawling with tourists.  I only gave myself 2 days, I wish I had more time.  

I met some great friends while in Italy, mostly American.  It was so strange, in Malta there were hardly any Americans, I probably only know 5.  In Rome it seems every person I met was from the US.  My friend Caron was kind enough to bring me into her group of friends and they were wonderful. I met Catherine in Italian class and she was always up for an adventure. Like the time she went with me to the Navy base in Naples.  She talked excitedly for a week about lunch at Taco Bell, shopping for American foods like corn tortillas and just being on American soil for a day.  Well, imagine our shock, after a 2 hour train ride, they wouldn't let her on base with her passport! (Apparently it's base policy that she showed a drivers license or residence card, not a passport) She had to sit by Pass and ID for what ended up being 5 hours!  (I had 2 medical appointments).  I did bring her Taco Bell and bought her the items she had been craving. The funny thing was, she was so amused by the whole thing, she didn't even realize how long she sat there.  She chatted with people coming and going, read her book and enjoyed the food and snacks I delivered.  What she found particularly funny; she's an American born Mexican and talk of Trumps wall to keep Mexicans out was in the news at the time.  She thought it was hysterical, in an ironic way, that the wall worked even in Italy and even though she's a born and raised California girl.  My Swedish friend Sofie was also up for adventures and we did many hikes and day trips together.  Shes moving back to Sweden next year and I hope to be able to visit her.   

Mic and I continued to travel together and we saw each other at least once a month.  We explored a bit of Italy; our favorite place was Florence.  One thing about Rome, for such a huge city, there is virtually no diversity in terms of cuisine.  You have pasta, pizza, and kebab shops on every corner. Florence on the other hand, has so many non Italian restaurants, I just wanted to eat my way around town.  We found several great Mexican places and my favorite, Vietnamese.  I can't really explain why we loved this city so much, it just has such a great vibe and it's small enough to be able to walk everywhere. We also visited Holland a few times.  For Mic's birthday we rented a car and toured the northern part of the country.  It's such a refreshing change from Malta and Rome; everything is lush, green, clean, and so well maintained.  

In August I decided to move back to Malta and apply for residency again. One reason, besides missing Mic of course, was because I didn't want to live in a country where I couldn't speak the language.  I tried for 8 months to learn Italian; intensive language course, private lessons, YouTube lessons, Dualingo, you name it.  The sad fact was, I just couldn't do it!  I couldn't remember words or correctly pronounce the ones I did know.  It was very frustrating!

I applied for residency again, this time as Mic's partner.  He's an EU citizen (Danish) and since we have been together more then 2 years, I may be accepted as his partner, basically a common law wife.  I had to give them proof of our relationship, which consisted of over 100 pages of Facebook posts, letters from friends, pictures, emails, airline tickets and hotel receipts. When I turned in my packet, I asked what my chances were.  The guy laughed and said well you sure do have a lot of documentation.  They said it would likely take up to 6 months to make a decision.  I have a few backup plans if this one is denied.  

For Christmas we decided to go to Budapest and invited his mom and dad. Mom doesn't like to travel but Dad was all for it.  We had a great time; sightseeing, visiting with each other, laughing and playing Uno all night. There is a Facebook group called Grumpy Expats.  It's exactly what it sounds like, expats complaining about pretty much everything.  Over the holidays there was post after post about in-laws. Some are drama about crappy in-laws in general, but many stem from blending families from different cultures.  It made me realize how lucky I am, Mic's parents are great and we all get along well.  His mom doesn't speak much English and doesn't realize I'm trying to speak Danish to her, (Maybe it's because I can't seem to learn that either lol) but we manage to communicate when she visits. His dad speaks fluent English so it's easier with him, but both are such sweet people.  

His dad left Budapest a day earlier then us, so we decided to make a quick trip to Slovakia, which is about an hour train ride.  To be honest, it was for no reason other then to add another country to our list. Our first mistake was not allowing ourselves enough time to stand in line and buy the train ticket. We got there about 5 minutes before the train left, so we asked an agent if we could buy a ticket on board. Sure he says.  I should mention he spoke no English and of course we spoke no Hungarian.  He came around to sell us our ticket and we thought that's an obscene amount for an hour ride. It was about €40 each.  I though maybe it was a return ticket. Nope, one way.  The ticket back; €6 each.  Seems we essentially paid a hefty fine/penalty for buying on board.  Mistake 2, the train station was 30 min from town, in the middle of no where.  Mistake 3, once in town, we realized there was nothing there.  No sights to see, just a tiny town square and a river walk. Since it was cold and windy, that wasn't an option. Mistake 4, it was the day after Christmas.  Massive shopping day everywhere else. Not here, there was NOTHING open.  We walked through the village, not even a town, and found no shops, no food, no nothing open. On the way back, we finally found one little coffee shop.  For lunch we had cheesecake.  Really good cheesecake, so no complaints there.  It seemed like a quaint village, but other than being able to laugh, (much later) it was a complete waste.  No magnet and no picture, so no proof we visited this country.  Oh well.

Caron told me she was going to Thailand in January and staying for 3 months, did I want to go along.  So here I am, bag packed and waiting for my flight to Bangkok tomorrow.   I thought I have to blog about this epic adventure, so I better catch everyone up.